Chapter 427: Fight! Fight!

Logically, since they slipped into the Pioneers' territory to conduct sabotage behind enemy lines, those goblins scattering in flight must absolutely not be spared.

After all, if they run away, they'll inevitably expose the group's existence and location, and when the Pioneers charge in to encircle, this ragtag squad will have no way out but death.

Thus Knight Commander Bo Ge led his armored knights to begin the pursuit immediately, and amid the warhorses' hooves they shredded several desperate green goblins on the spot.

Unfortunately, there are too few sober people and too many mad ones.

When the members of the Allied forces could no longer wait and rushed into the village to loot and slaughter, no matter how hard these few tried, they could not cut off all the tongues.

They could only retreat outside the village to act as scouts, watching the little green goblins that had already vanished into the woods while muttering curses.

"These short‑sighted cowards! We'll all be killed by them!"

According to his plan, the Allied forces' first battle should involve wiping out a Pioneers settlement, letting those lawless bastards taste blood and, in the process, boost the group's morale.

In the end, nearly ten thousand people surged forward, only to burn down a shabby village that, even when squeezed dry, yielded little profit—utterly ridiculous!

But Bo Ge's anger was utterly meaningless, for even if he did manage to wipe out all the green goblins, what would that achieve?

From a nearby hill, watching this scene of beings crying and laughing, angry and joyful, Ji Ming, who had personally created all this, quietly snapped a photo.

【Sha Ge, don't blame me for not telling you, our little brother was killed by a bunch of unknown living beasts】

Although the goblin village wasn't large, the Allied forces still spent a full three hours burning, killing, and looting before finishing.

It's not that they were blessed with extraordinary luck; they simply discovered a highly valuable underground dungeon in this otherwise unremarkable village.

Rather, from fruits and livestock to pots and pans, there were too many mouths and too little food, and almost anything could become a coveted spoil, so all their time was spent on infighting.

And they were truly starving; although they didn't stage a public performance, they still took a female goblin's intimate clothing for mockery and amusement, and even asked passing women if they'd like to play poker together at night.

The little goblins weren't spared either; besides being toyed with as prey, An Dlei perhaps thought that having only two giant goblin skulls hanging on his neck was too plain, so he added a few palm‑sized ones as decoration.

Ji Ming knew this could very well be their final frenzy, so he frowned on one side while shouting for all the power‑players in his circle to join the grand event.

But Bo Ge was already seething, having lost his mind and caring not who was who, he brandished his whip and began randomly lashing this bunch of utterly useless bandit‑like soldiers.

Although no one wants to be hit by others, these few who are the first to flee in marching and fighting, and the scumbag who first targets innocent civilians, aren't fools.

Facing the wrath of their superior and the strongest combatant, they only curl up and run, while secretly scripting a sweet romance between themselves and Bo Ge's mother in their heads.

Yet you don't dare to provoke, but there are people who do.

At least against this iron‑canned "rootless, source‑less" yet everywhere‑spreading fury, someone in the crowd who possessed a sustainable red‑warmth power stepped in.

"Stop!"

Snap! Grabbing his wrist, An Dlei roared from his lofty position.

"You've turned against me, you dare to strike my people?"

However, she's not a native of the Motherland, and Bo Ge isn't a locomotive; how could Bo Ge possibly obey like a dog just because of her simple threat?

"It's wartime now; you also fall under my command, understand?"

So he also, in a reverse move, grabbed An Dlei's wrist, and in the unyielding icy chill began a primal stare‑down with her.

【Okay, possessive wild dominant female X career‑driven cold‑noodle boss male, strong CP, battle camaraderie, tacit hand‑holding, deep gaze, I'm into it!】

"Get lost!"

It wasn't just Ji Ming and the little boss; everyone present quickly cleared a big circle for them, delighting in the spectacle as they began to watch like onlookers.

But the two in the arena were seriously arguing, each feeling the other had unlawfully encroached on their own domain.

Consequently, An Dlei's grip grew stronger, she shook her head, and two rows of white teeth, each about the size of a Mahjong tile, suddenly blossomed into a friendly grin.

"Is that so? Then look around; the battle has long since ended, so the time should be under my control!"

Yet more terrifying than brute force is cultural violence, and Bo Ge immediately seized a tiny loophole in her words.

"You manage logistics? Fine, now that the battle's over, where are our spoils?"

"Spoils, aren't they just…"

The empty reality interrupted An Dlei's unthinking reply, because strictly speaking, this battle truly had no "spoils".

According to the rules the nobles follow when forming an alliance, all captures from a battle should first be pooled together, and after the alliance leader and representatives of each faction finish negotiations and reach maximal consensus, the handover takes place.

However, the current situation is that even pooling never occurred; all the valuable items in the incinerated village have already ended up in everyone's pockets as private property, so there are essentially no spoils at all.

"…"

Only then did An Dlei suddenly realize what the mud‑cloaked bishop's hesitant expression had been about when he saw her earlier.

She had thought the skinny, numb‑hearted one harbored resentment and was waiting for revenge, or that he was overreaching by trying to invite her to poker, or perhaps both, and now realized it was because of this.

Unfortunately, the Angry‑Heart Church… it's already enraged; how could it bow its head because of its own mistake? Naturally it would strike back furiously in a fit of shameful anger!

So An Dlei let out a low growl, giving Bo Ge a powerful shake that nearly made him fall.

"Spoils are a matter for nobles; I'm of the church, I don't understand you pig‑like fools' stupid rules!"

WTF!

As the Count's Knight Commander, Bo Ge, famed as the "Iron‑faced of Flaming Mountain," has always cared most about decorum; this time, nearly embarrassed in public, he was truly enraged.

He no longer cared about who was a lady or not; after all, have you ever on horseback seen a petite lady three meters tall, broad‑shouldered and waist‑round, who can, with a mere inch of force, make a 200‑plus‑pound strongman stagger?

In short, Bo Ge's reverse grab sent his hard iron hand straight toward An Dlei's inevitably soft neck.

"You!"

Even though An Dlei's swift evasion prevented him from executing the Unbreakable Grip, he still managed to yank the opponent's necklace off, the force enough to crush the blood‑stained skull of a giant goblin.

While turning an enemy's skull into a chain is indeed a macabre hobby, there is a reason An Dlei doesn't find it repulsive enough to refuse wearing it.

—It symbolizes her leading companions to defeat a powerful foe, representing absolute honor and authority.

Thus the bizarre necklace Bo Ge ripped off is nothing but An Dlei's face!

Such humiliation is enough to make her…

"Looking for death!?"

Seizing the moment before Bo Ge's forward force waned and his rear force launched, the completely irrational An Dlei threw a straight punch straight at his face.

"!!!"

Boge had the good habit of not speaking while fighting; he didn't say a word as he smoothly threw a backward elbow swing, and his right foot, following the motion, whipped onto Andre's knee.

You must understand that this was a kick wrapped in solid iron armor, no different from swinging an iron hammer at it; even Ji Ming wouldn't want to take such a blow.

But Andre not only blocked the blow with his flesh and blood, he also swung his arms wide, leaned forward, and launched another attack.

Thus the two demonic musclemen began a pure fist-and-foot melee, the crackling sounds unceasing.

They were truly evenly matched; although Andre was the church's combat instructor, Boge's hand-to-hand skill had also been honed by a renowned master.

Likewise, although Boge's iron armor was forged by a master craftsman, Andre's giant bloodline was certainly no empty reputation.

Their levels were similar, their specialties matched, making it the most grueling bout; yet the outcome would decide their future standing and honor, so they had to grit their teeth and continue despite the hardship.

Thus, after exchanging over a hundred moves without a clear winner, what had been a tentative sparring match finally escalated in intensity.

The pure contest of strength and technique ended there; Andre's giant battle markings began to emit a faint red light, while Boge's fists rolled out scorching flames.

Moreover, both are nearly level forty beings; if they really went all out, even if they couldn't uproot mountains, a single explosive demolition would certainly be possible.

Thus Andre could crack a finger-wide fissure in the ground with a casual kick, while Boge could whip up a flame gale with just a slight horizontal sweep.

In an instant, the arena filled with flying sand and rocks, the earth shaking and mountains trembling; the scorching aftershocks spread outward, terrifying the spectators, whose faces paled as they retreated again and again.

"Uh-oh, the two lords have really gone all out!"

"Lord Bishop, please intervene and separate them quickly!"

"Yeah, if they keep fighting, something will surely happen!"

They no longer dared to just watch; they hurriedly hid behind a nearby thigh, fearing they'd accidentally get caught up and be turned on the spot into a meat roll.

"But..."

Bishop: I don't dare!

Come on, if anyone had the ability to tear those two apart, they wouldn't still be playing second fiddle, just a nameless background figure watching from the sidelines.

But leaving the two to continue their heated clash was also inappropriate, so representatives from all sides—namely the officers of the current allied forces—quickly gathered for a meeting.

"... It's over; those two have already lost their heads, and I can't think of any solution other than violence!"

But when they were at their wits' end, they suddenly recalled.

"No, the supreme commander of our allied forces isn't these two."

"Right, what about the Shadow God's Chosen?"

"What else can they do? They're just resting."

Everyone said Ji Ming came just to have fun this time; he wouldn't care about their life or death.

He found a hilltop with the best view and was now happily watching a live cricket fight.

Anyway, he's already called everyone he could; if those two keep dawdling, when the angry players swarm in, not a single one of the tens of thousands will escape.

But these officers couldn't know their superior's thoughts; like aggrieved elementary students, they swarmed over to beg the God's Chosen to act.

"My lord, I know this is dangerous, but if they keep fighting, we'll surely be the ones to lose!"

Ji Ming:???

Look, this little junior isn't being humorous? I've clearly been winning all the way—double wins, in fact—so I never thought I'd suffer a loss.

Seeing the God's Chosen give no response, one of them gritted his teeth.

"My lord, look, I have a medicine here that I've heard is quite precious..."

……

Oh oh, now I get it—taking less is a loss, right? So that's what a loss is.

But...

I understand, I understand! Take a look at this.

He let them raise the price threefold in silence before Ji Ming slowly descended the hill.

As he walked, he sighed inwardly.

"With this bunch of losers actually getting things done, you'd see ghosts; wanting the leader to act only after getting a benefit is bad enough, but each of them actually feels entitled to it!"

Thus the last shred of mercy in Ji Ming's heart was worn away; this crowd of humanoid stars deserves no kindness at all—the best outcome would be for them to mine to death for the sake of everyone's cause.

But that doesn't mean Ji Ming truly wants to leave them to be slaughtered by players in their internal strife; such an outcome would waste his plans, after all—he needs to cause more trouble for the players.

Thus the Shadow God's Chosen instantly turned into a gray mist, blowing against the wind spilling out from the battlefield.

"Cough... uh!"

Although higher-level professionals inevitably have stronger survivability, as carbon-based lifeforms requiring heart and lung function, they cannot completely exist without oxygen.

So when this gray mist enveloped their mouths and noses like a cover, the two locked in high-intensity combat immediately felt a sense of suffocation.

But they instinctively thought it was some damn foul trick by the opponent, and in unison thought, "Damn, what a shameless bastard!"

They had wanted to swipe it away and then pour double the rage onto the enemy, but found their fingertips touching nothing at all.

???

!!!

Now they stopped fighting, all panicking in place, slapping their own mouths hard... well, they were frantically trying to grasp the cause of all this.

Fortunately, just as they were about to suffocate completely, their faces turning deathly pale, the gray mist flew out from their mouths and noses.

"Cough cough cough!"

But once they caught their breath, they dared not hold any grudge against Ji Ming; instead they all pretended nothing had happened, standing there somewhat awkwardly.

After all, they couldn't beat him in a glance—why bother making themselves unhappy...

The God's Chosen also didn't blame them for their pre-battle infighting, glanced at the recent batch of players' positions, and pointed in a direction.

"We've lingered here too long; the Pioneers are likely already converging on this spot—everyone, leave immediately!"

(End of chapter)