Chapter 265: We Are the Cai Gutou Mercenary Guild

"Puff! Anthony, this crooked merchant! How dare he sell a plane that doesn't even belong to him?!" Nagelis spat blood; he had never met anyone so brazenly shameless.

The Church of Light holds no advantage here; this place doesn't belong to the Church at all—what good is it to register ownership under Ang's name?

The only effect is that forces under the Eastern Diocese won't harass this place—but what about the Western Diocese? What about other adventurers? These unruly adventurers don't even respect the Church—why would they care about Anthony's property certificate?

But to say it's completely useless? Not quite. It's like a diplomatic statement, signaling that the Holy Church acknowledges Cai Gutou's ownership of the Danhai Plane.

If Ang can seize this place by force, won't those who can't defeat him just go along with it?

Won't small factions who don't want trouble quietly pay taxes rather than stir up trouble?

When those unruly types are hung from the tavern's notice board by Ang, won't others think they deserve it, rather than seeing it as a tyrant's cruelty?

This property certificate is more like a "righteous mandate," representing the recognition of another major power—similar to establishing diplomatic relations. Thus, small factions who rely on the Holy Church will naturally acknowledge Ang's ownership, instead of recklessly seeking death.

All of this depends on Ang being able to control this plane. If he can't control it, ten thousand certificates are useless. If he can control it, whether this document exists or not makes little difference.

That's why Nagelis is furious—this worthless thing changes nothing, yet Anthony delivered it as a gift. The only possible use is perhaps allowing them to openly trade with the main plane…

"Huh? I get it now! Anthony the crooked merchant wants to transport grain! With this, the Danhai Plane can openly trade with the main plane—he's doing it for his own convenience, yet expects us to owe him a favor!" Nagelis was so furious he wanted to fly over and punch him.

A peculiar ripple suddenly spread from Bolke's body, and soon Anthony's voice echoed: "Just tell me whether you want it or not."

"Huh? Projection?" Nagelis exclaimed: "Why is your projection so noisy?"

Nagelis himself projected onto Ang every time—silently, without a sound. If he didn't speak, no one could sense his presence on Ang.

"Of course my projection is noisy—I'm crossing planes! The farther the distance, the louder the disturbance." Anthony grumbled.

"Then why is mine so quiet?" Nagelis asked, puzzled.

"Because the Master's spiritual force is like an endless ocean—you can't create any disturbance." Anthony said.

Nagelis nodded: "I got it—you're saying I'm weak."

"Great Lord Nagelis is wise!" Anthony cried out.

After a few playful jabs, Anthony turned directly to Ang: "Master, I've registered this plane under your name. From now on, you may plant anything you like across this sea. Do you need it?"

Nagelis's heart sank—damn, Anthony had learned to hit the key point.

Sure enough, as soon as Ang heard he could plant things, he nodded without hesitation and took the box from Bolke's hands.

Plane +1.

Bolke bowed and withdrew, then paused suddenly. Anthony's voice rang out again: "Great Lord Nagelis, why did the Master register his name as 'Cai Gutou' in the Mercenary Guild? Do you know how embarrassing it was for me to write that name on the property certificate?"

Nagelis bristled at the mention: "What can I do? All the nice names are taken. Only this one's available. Speaking of which, I almost forgot to ask—why is the Mercenary King called 'Cai Gutou'?"

"Anyone who completes a Super Task is called a Mercenary King."

"If we turn in Locke's bones, what title would we get?"

"You'd get the title 'Dead Head.' All mercenaries in the world would come after you—for the 400 million magic crystals."

"Then forget it. Compared to 'Dead Head,' 'Cai Gutou' sounds much better."

…

On the ground-effect airship, Jielisi gazed far off toward Shazhou, lost in thought, occasionally sighing softly.

Lily, Aiwei, and Mark huddled together, whispering: "Do you think Master Ang doesn't like women?"

"How could that be?" Aiwei said.

"How couldn't it be? Sister Jielisi is a ripe, sweet, juicy woman—he doesn't even glance at her, spending all day tinkering with soilless vegetables. Is that normal for a man?"

"What's abnormal about it? If I were Aiwei, I wouldn't look either—I already have Lily in my heart." Aiwei patted his chest, earnestly.

"Don't say that—Sister is beautiful," Lily scolded, swatting Aiwei's forehead.

Aiwei chuckled foolishly: "You're prettier."

"Am I? How am I prettier?"

"Vibrant, straightforward, adorable—when you smile, my heart melts. Truly, I'm not lying." Aiwei said seriously.

"Am I? Hehe, actually you're not that ugly either—you're round and kinda cute."

"Hehe, you like round things? Then I'll eat more."

The trio huddled together became a pair—Mark had initially nodded along, agreeing that Sister Jielisi was indeed sweet and juicy, but as he kept nodding, he realized he'd been pushed to the side.

Listening to Lily and Fat Aiwei's chatter, Mark felt like he was losing—but he didn't know how.

At that moment, a sudden burst of white light erupted from the distant Shazhou.

Jielisi reacted instantly, scrambling up the mast's highest point to stare at the flash.

There, Ang stood holding his staff, his entire body surging with holy light.

The holy light poured relentlessly into the staff, making it brighter and brighter—until it suddenly exploded into a blinding flash, like a flare.

When the flash faded, strange creatures appeared before Ang: titans, goblins, humans, elves—even a horse wearing a fur hat?

Jielisi had heard the three youngsters whispering earlier. Her heart was confused—why did every other adventurer or mercenary stare at her with hungry eyes, yet Master Ang never so much as glanced her way? Did he really not like women?

Now, seeing this, she revised her thought: Did he not like people?

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—a breeze suddenly stirred beside her, sounding like flapping wings. She turned—and saw a cute, pink little girl, her twin wings gently beating, hovering motionless beside the airship, tilting her head at her.

Jielisi froze instantly. She didn't find the girl cute at all—because it was a four-winged angel…

The little angel brought Jielisi and the airship back, then bounced over to Ang, begging for praise.

Ang solemnly patted its head—it truly deserved praise. At least it hadn't blasted the airship to pieces.

"Sunlight and sand! Oh my, fresh water too? So you'll be soaking in it all day—won't your skin rot?" Lu Se had just teleported in, stripped down to his shorts in seconds, and dove into the nearby water.

The Purple Bone Titans also dove in. Lightning dove in. Any undead who weren't afraid of water rushed in immediately.

"Hey hey hey, don't just play—where's my body? Where's my body? Who brought my body here?" Nagelis shouted in panic.

For the past four months, Nagelis had been projecting onto Ang, because his body had fallen in the main plane and hadn't been brought along.

"I've got it." Lu Se rushed over, pulled a dragon corpse wrapped in oil paper from his space artifact, and tossed it onto the beach—then sprinted back to the water.

Unwrapping the oil paper revealed Nagelis's body, covered in Xi Rang. Because of the Xi Rang, the once vibrant, plump dragon corpse had now shriveled and hardened.

Nagelis projected onto it—couldn't move. The flesh and skin were rigid. Only after Ang used the Purifying Elixir to rehydrate the corpse could he move again.

The final wave of light brought Lisa and the others. Seeing Nagelis, they asked: "Great Lord Nagelis, what happened? Why summon us all here?"

"Anthony gave us this plane. We must seize control of the teleportation array and Shazhou, occupy this plane, and prepare for reception. Around one hundred thousand people will arrive through the teleportation array—we must prepare food, shelter, and clothing for them." Nagelis said.

Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, hesitating: "This? This sandbar?"

Lu Se was the first to shout excitedly: "Really? Great! I'll build a beachfront villa here—ocean right outside, sunbathing through the window!"

For a child raised in an underground city, this white sand and sunlight were beyond dreams.

"No—it's this plane. From now on, this plane belongs to us!" Nagelis declared loudly.

A moment of silence—then a chorus of shocked exclamations erupted: "No way? Really? A whole plane? Is Anthony that rich?"

But after learning the situation, everyone simultaneously cursed: "Crooked merchant! He gives us a plane but expects us to fight for it ourselves? If we can take it, why do we need him to give it?"

"We have to trade with him to take it? He's just giving his illegal act a legal cover!"

"Forget it, it's free anyway."

While still soaking in the water, they quickly agreed on a plan—after bathing, they'd seize the Light Sandbar. The Church of Light had already withdrawn completely, leaving only scattered adventurers—no organization, no real combat strength.

While others chatted, Ang tilted his head, listening.

After a long while, Ang raised his head and said to Nagelis: "Someone is praying—for me to bless them, that they may seize Shazhou successfully."

"..." Nagelis didn't know what to say: "What are the odds? Last time too—the guy who wanted to burn your fields prayed to you. There are so few followers of the God of Death, and every single one ends up running into your scythe."

"Get up, get up—we're moving! Someone's eyeing Shazhou—crush them!" Nagelis kicked everyone in the water, and as they hastily gathered their gear, they turned—and Ang and the little angel and little zombie were gone.

Nagelis felt a dread. When he arrived with the main force, he saw the horrifying sight: the adventurers gathered on Shazhou now lay sprawled everywhere, groaning.

Following the trail of wounded, they soon found Ang and the two others. Ang had summoned his Soul Armor, punching one after another, one after another.

The little zombie didn't lag behind—its hoe had been replaced by a mallet; it charged forward at every opening, smashing wildly.

The little angel's hands were wrapped in holy light like gauntlets, punching and hammering anyone in front of her with "hehe hahaha!"

Probably because Ang had ordered it, none of those struck were killed—only injured.

Soon, Ang broke through the crowd and reached the teleportation array.

In a place like the Danhai Plane, the most critical element is the teleportation array—it's the sole channel connecting to the main plane. Whoever controls the array effectively controls the plane.

Of course, if someone could teleport large numbers of troops here like Ang does via the Heavenly Staircase, they wouldn't need the array.

The Church of Light had mysteriously withdrawn completely, leaving all adventurers bewildered. Some powerful ones inevitably began to harbor other thoughts.

But the Church had only left at noon—now it was still before nightfall. They hadn't yet organized. After much discussion, they'd just begun to move to seize the array—when Ang and the two others attacked.

It wasn't even a fair fight. This remote plane wasn't a place for large mercenary guilds to operate. The strongest adventurers here were few—and Ang tore through them effortlessly.

When Nagelis arrived with his forces, there was nothing left but to sweep up the wreckage.

Having seized the teleportation array and blockaded the docks of Light Sandbar, all adventurers were herded together. Lu Se climbed to a high point, proudly manifesting his aura into a sword—the mark of a High-Rank Sword Saint.

"Hello everyone. We are the Cai Gutou Mercenary Guild. We've purchased this plane…"

Before Lu Se finished speaking, the adventurers erupted.

"Cai Gutou? The Super Mercenary Cai Gutou? I remember that name—it's so ugly!"

"Purchased a plane? From whom? Who sold it? Why? Who has the right to sell a plane?"

Amid the chaos, no one noticed a school of small black fish swimming silently through the clear, transparent waterways, slowly filling every channel, surrounding the entire sandbar.

Occasionally, one or two fish surfaced, revealing heads utterly unlike any normal aquatic creature—and sharp, needle-like teeth.

Wherever they passed, floating boats were swiftly gnawed into splinters with a soft rustling sound.

Meanwhile, night fell. The sky darkened. The black fish blended into the darkness—if anyone fell into the water now…

After the black fish had completely surrounded Shazhou, a handsome man among the gathered adventurers showed a calm expression.