Chapter 176: Sumeru A Ru Cun Autonomous Territory

Actually, Dixiya still had some leads on the identities of those mercenaries stationed in A Ru Cun.

The news came from her father, Kuseila.

God King's Legacy.

This is the senior mercenary group that controlled Kuseila back then, the Ahemaer's Mustache mercenary corps.

Earlier, after Dixiya and he had resolved their heart knot,

Kuseila chose to defect to the God King's Legacy, and even brought all of his subordinates with him.

At first.

He also worried that his blatant defection would invite severe retaliation.

Moreover, the Ahemaer's Mustache still had incriminating evidence left at the God King's Legacy headquarters; if the God King's Legacy handed this evidence over to the Academy, they would be in big trouble.

Life is good now.

The brothers went from initially not understanding to willingly and even enthusiastically participating in the construction of A Ru Cun.

Kuseila saw all of these things.

So he had many times thought of sneaking back to the God King's Legacy, but when he actually tried, he was caught by Kantisi as soon as he left the village.

Exactly.

He was caught back.

Luo De had long guessed that Kuseila might sneak back to the God King's Legacy, attempting to sacrifice himself in exchange for the Ahemaer's Mustache's true freedom for the rest of their lives.

Therefore he asked Kantisi to not restrict Kuseila's freedom, but absolutely not allow Kuseila to return to the desert.

Kantisi fulfilled her promise very well.

After several attempts failed to evade Kantisi's surveillance, Kuseila could only reluctantly give up the idea of leaving, anxiously waiting in A Ru Cun for the God King's Legacy's retaliation.

And the large number of mercenaries that suddenly appeared outside A Ru Cun overnight also made Kuseila keenly realize that this was likely the delayed retaliation from the God King's Legacy.

After seeing a familiar face among these mercenaries, he became even more certain of this.

"God King's Legacy."

Luo De, returning to A Ru Cun, did not rush to drive away those mercenaries; instead, he stood on a hill outside the village, gazing at the noisy mercenaries from afar.

His complexion had already calmed down.

When he first heard this in Sumeru Cheng, he was indeed quite angry.

But now he is not angry.

Knowing who is behind it makes things easy.

Originally Luo De thought it would be some troublesome person causing trouble behind the scenes, but after a while it turned out to be that bunch of riffraff from the God King's Legacy.

Their methods are actually quite clever.

They know how to use rumors to cause trouble for themselves.

On the way back to A Ru Cun, Luo De deliberately listened to the sounds along the route.

Indeed, quite a few people were talking about A Ru Cun.

Especially Kawanyi, which borders A Ru Cun.

The anti-desert sentiment there was already severe, and now they found an excuse; many of the outrageous rumors being spread originated from there.

"What are you going to do?"

"Go straight to the God King's Legacy headquarters?"

Dixiya said, then immediately rejected that idea: "You didn't say the Dendro Archon only gave you two days of rest? If you went to look for the God King's Legacy, there wouldn't be enough time."

This trip back to the desert didn't bring Dina Zede.

Luo De and Dixiya flew back at the fastest speed.

But even so, by the time they reached A Ru Cun it was already night; if they still wanted to go deep into the desert to find the God King's Legacy headquarters to settle the matter, the time Nadixa gave would definitely not be enough.

Moreover, before entering the World Tree,

Not only Nadixa needed to adjust to her best condition, Luo De did as well.

It's certainly not a good idea to waste all the resting time rushing along the way.

"No need to go look for them."

Luo De originally had no intention of going to the God King's Legacy headquarters either; he curled his lips into a wicked smile: "Come on, let's go find Kantisi."

"Oh, okay."

Dixiya couldn't figure out how he intended to solve these troubles, and followed him in a daze.

Soon.

They then bypassed the mercenaries' eyes and ears, went into the village, and found Kantisi.

"Mr. Luo De! When did you get back!"

Kantisi, who was on watch at the lookout tower, saw Luo De's figure and immediately changed from wary to delighted.

During this time she had really been tormented and was a bit annoyed.

A Ru Cun is not like before.

Before, if anyone dared to damage the village's reputation, Kantisi would definitely have sent those people to feed the wild beasts.

But now.

The village needs to establish a good reputation, so those original violent methods are no longer suitable.

Those rumors spreading from unknown sources only made Kantisi worry endlessly.

People's words are fearsome.

As for these four words, Kantisi can truly say she now understands them deeply.

She and Uncle Anpu went to find those merchants who had previously cooperated with the village; the result was that those people either avoided them outright or made various excuses to get out of it.

In short, they're all on the hot right now, and nobody wants to get into trouble.

Although merchants seek profit, they must first ensure their own safety before pursuing profit.

The rumor of rebellion.

It's indeed hard to put these merchants at ease about cooperating with A Ru Cun, since everyone fears that if the Academy issues any ban on this matter, their investment could easily go to waste.

The Academy has done this sort of thing before.

Given past precedents, the merchants truly dare not take this risk.

Moreover, there is still another factor contributing to this.

That is, the military power of Sumeru relies entirely on outsourced mercenaries.

So the rumor that A Ru Cun is gathering mercenaries to rebel wouldn't cause such a fuss in any country with a regular army, but given Sumeru's national situation, such an outrageous thing becomes plausible.

Moreover, the desert peoples have always had a bad reputation in the rainforest region, and lately the rainforest and desert areas have been unsettled due to competition over jobs.

This only added fuel to the fire.

Luo De knew.

Besides the God King's Remnants, surely someone behind the scenes is fanning the flames, spreading these rumors harmful to A Ru Cun.

But none of that matters now.

Luo De had come up with an excellent solution.

In a murmur of whispered conversation,

Kantisi and Dixiya, who had been unaware beforehand, first stared in shock, then widened their eyes in surprise; both wore strange expressions for a moment before Dixiya asked, 'Your plan... does it really work?'

'Hey, there's no better plan than this.'

Luo De gave a hehe smile, raised an eyebrow at Kantisi, and said, 'You say so, right, Kantisi?'

'This is indeed a method never thought of before.'

Having been asked that, Kantisi stopped pondering further, nodded, and said, 'I think it's fine, but Lord Luo De, won't your doing this provoke the Little Auspicious Grass King's displeasure?'

'It's fine.'

'Rest assured.'

Luo De waved his hand, making an 'I'll handle it, you can relax' expression, and said, 'I'll just tell Nadixa about it; she won't say anything. Do you agree? Just agree.'

'Of course I agree.'

Kantisi laughed and said, 'There's no better plan than this.'

'Alright, just agree.'

Luo De also gave a hehe laugh and said, 'Make good arrangements for the personnel; wait until tomorrow to bring those outside scoundrels into the village.'

With those words,

Dixiya and Kantisi then lingered no longer on the watchtower, each returning to prepare for tomorrow's impending events.

Come the next morning,

A cry rang out, breaking the tranquility of A Ru Cun.

'The Academy announces that A Ru Cun is to be made an autonomous territory of Sumeru, to be administered by the Red King lineage; provided that A Ru Cun remains part of Sumeru's territory, it may maintain Red King faith on its own, its laws and regulations shall be based primarily on A Ru Cun's original system, its armed forces shall be self-organized, and the Academy will no longer interfere in any way with A Ru Cun!'

'By the Dendro Archon, what have I seen?!'

This is a new notice from the Academy posted on the Void Terminal.

The publisher is the Little Auspicious Grass King, using the Academy's highest authority, indicating the legality of this regulation under Sumeru law.

Everyone who saw it, from the rainforest region to A Ru Cun, was dumbfounded.

Here in A Ru Cun, the Void Terminal has low coverage, so there hasn't been a major uproar yet.

But in the rainforest region, it's caused an uproar!!!

After all this commotion, A Ru Cun seeks independence.

As it turns out, the Little Auspicious Grass King directly acknowledged this.

Of course.

The premise of this new regulation for A Ru Cun's independence is that they won't actually rebel; otherwise the Academy would launch the harshest crackdown, which is clearly written into the law.

But this is enough.

Within the Dendro Archon's domain, A Ru Cun may openly worship the Red King, build temples for him, restore Red King-era rites, and it remains lawful and reasonable.

With such high autonomy, even the radical faction of A Ru Cun that just heard the big news has nothing to say.

Moreover, not only are the radicals unable to cause trouble, but the moderates, who started out utterly shocked, have become overjoyed and are vying to begin celebrating.

The mercenaries surrounding A Ru Cun still don't know why the formerly dull village suddenly became lively, whispering to each other.

'Boss Hamzai, what are they shouting about?'

'You ask me, I ask who? Hmm, could it be that the fake Red King adult god's envoy's grass god lackey has come back?'

'That wouldn't cause such a commotion, would it?'

'Shahbut, go check the village and see what's happening.'

'Yes, I'm going now.'

'Hey, Boss Hamzai, look— that woman came out! Why is she bringing so many people!? Boss Hamzai, she wouldn't finally be unable to resist attacking us, would she??'

'What's there to panic about?'

The man named Hamzai shouted at his flustered subordinate, then said, 'We haven't broken A Ru Cun's rules; that woman has no reason to attack us unless she no longer wants A Ru Cun's reputation—hmph, I want to see what she's here to do.'

Actually, not all of the mercenaries besieging A Ru Cun are from the God King's Remnants.

Many of them are other mercenary groups contacted through the Mishale linked to the later leaders of the God King's Remnants.

The reason these mercenary bands can unite against A Ru Cun is certainly not because of dealing with the rebel Ahemar's issue.

They have gathered together for the title of Red King's Envoy.

For deeply faithful desert mercenaries, Luo De, who bears the title of Red King Envoy yet submits to the Dendro Archon, is an outright betrayal of Lord Red King.

Mishale's ability to contact so many mercenary groups willing to work together is also due to this.

However, openly opposing Luo De, the Dendro Archon's red man, is certainly unwise.

Thus Mishale came up with a nasty trick.

Luo De, you're not from A Ru Cun, are you?

Then we'll target A Ru Cun.

In any case, from the perspective of the radical Red King followers, A Ru Cun, which no longer upholds the agreement between A Ru Pure Land and the rainforest, is likewise a lackey betraying the Red King.

It's convenient to settle both new and old grudges together.

Previously, due to A Ru Cun's rules, even a single mercenary group, even if it were the entirety of the God King's legacy, could gain no advantage against A Ru Cun.

However, amid calls to exterminate the Dendro Archon's lackeys,

The scattered mercenary groups in the desert responded en masse, preferring to forgo profit in order to join in sabotaging the relationship between A Ru Cun and the rainforest region.

"Anything goes, but just make sure not to violate A Ru Cun's rules; as long as you don't give that woman a handle, you can cause a ruckus, raise a fuss, make trouble until they're unsettled, and let these Dendro Archon's lackeys properly accept punishment."

Recalling Mishale's instructions and carefully reviewing his subordinates' recent conduct, Hamuzai confirmed that no one had violated A Ru Cun's rules, then stepped forward head high and chest out, full of confidence, to meet Kantisi approaching head-on.

Having broken no rules, they were in an invincible position.

If you're capable, Kantisi, break your own rules; see how A Ru Cun will conduct itself thereafter.

"Huh?"

As Kantisi drew nearer, Hamuzai's expression suddenly froze, and he muttered, "Is this woman really here to cause trouble?"

Hamuzai saw clearly.

The arrivals were not just Kantisi; there were also A Ru Cun's guards, including the A Te Er Mercenary Group and the Flaming Light Hunting Beast Mercenary Group that they themselves had hired.

A mighty throng of people.

Seeing this, Hamuzai felt a faint unease.

Although he firmly believed Kantisi would not actively break the rules, what if this woman had been driven to desperation and wanted to use violence to drive them away?

"Glug—"

Hamuzai swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his eyes darting around, and he summoned several other mercenary group leaders or managers.

Mishale had said.

If Kantisi makes a move, she and A Ru Cun will be completely ruined.

But doing so would surely earn him a beating.

Hamuzai didn't want to be beaten alone, so dragging a few backups to accompany him wouldn't be bad.

Not long after,

Kantisi then led her people to the mercenaries' camp.

Upon meeting, she said nothing, waved her hand, and the A Ru Cun guards immediately stepped forward to completely surround the mercenaries' encampment.

"You lot, what are you up to?"

Hamuzai's voice trembled slightly, yet he shouted sternly, "We haven't violated your village's rules these days, woman; you'd better think it through—don't break the rules yourself and ruin your reputation!"

The one answering him was not Kantisi.

But Luo De, clutching a Void Terminal.

I then heard him clear his throat. He read Nadixa's newly issued autonomy order word for word, clearly and loudly, to Ha Mu Zai and the others. He chuckled and said: "Since you all have come to pay homage to me, the Red King's divine envoy, you must surely be loyal followers of the Red King. Fortunately, A Ru Cun has obtained autonomy from the Dendro Archon, so from now on, the only place in the entire desert that is a lawful and compliant gathering place for Red King's believers is right here. Given how devout your faith in the Red King is, I see no need for you to leave; stay in A Ru Cun and continue serving the Red King."

He finished speaking.

Luo De waved his hand, and the guards, who had been bursting with anger, immediately surged forward like wolves and tigers, subduing each of those mercenaries who had not yet come to their senses, and forcibly dragged them to A Ru Cun.

(End of chapter)