Chapter 839
Chen Xiaolian and Tian Lie stood side by side. They were standing in front of a manor located on the outskirts of Paris.
Tian Lie was not using his bald-headed appearance. Instead, he had changed back to the janitor appearance he had back in Hang’an City. It was a most inconspicuous, law-abiding look.
“I’ll remind you once again. Do not kill for no reason.” Chen Xiaolian glanced at Tian Lie.
“When did you become so soft-hearted?” Tian Lie threw a glare at Chen Xiaolian. “If I can’t even kill, then why did you call me over? To be a mascot?”
“I didn’t say you can’t kill a single person!” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “Without some blood on our hands, these idiots might not be obedient. When necessary, some kills are necessary. But if you kill too many, it would mess up my future plans. Why else would I bring you here?”
Having said that, he turned and threw a glare back at Tian Lie. “If it’s just a matter of killing, would I need your help?”
“Hah, that’s true.” Tian Lie’s mouth widened as he grinned. “Truth is, you can show off some of your power and kill just a little bit more of them to scare them. The reason you brought me over is because you don’t want to kill so many people, right?”
“Hopefully, your name still works.” Chen Xiaolian smiled. “Say, we’ve been standing here for a minute now, right?”
“Yes. How much longer do you want to stand here?” Tian Lie looked at Chen Xiaolian. “This gate is not exactly durable. What are you waiting for?”
“Naturally… I’m waiting for them to open the gate.” Chen Xiaolian shrugged.
Right after he said that, the gate automatically opened.
“At least they’re sensible. Looks like we won’t have to use too much brute force.” Chen Xiaolian raised his eyes to look at the camera above the gate and waved his hand at it. Then, he walked inside, with Tian Lie beside him.
He had not killed the tailcoat fellow back in Bucharest. Clearly, the tailcoat fellow had reported the matter to the headquarters right after leaving the place.
Going inside, they saw a field of lavender flowers. A trail cut right through the field, going all the way to a three-storey medieval-looking building.
The building was completely white. Every single one of the columns under the towering steeples of the building had beautiful reliefs engraved upon their surface.
“How disgusting. Since when did the guys from Thorned Flower Guild become so pompous?” Tian Lie turned and spat at the field of lavender flowers beside him. “Did they have to make a place like this as their headquarters?”
“They are no longer members of Thorned Flower Guild. Even if all of them were to dress up like Louis XIV, there’s nothing you can do about it.” Chen Xiaolian chuckled. “Looks like some fellows have come to receive us.”
Three figures walked out from the building up ahead.
One was an old man with white beard and hair. He had a big, hooked nose and appeared to be at least seventy years old.
The second was a man with a shining, bald head. While he was short, his body was muscular.
The third was a big-bellied fatty. Even though it was winter, he wore just a single beach shirt. But despite that, he was sweating profusely and had to keep wiping his sweat.
After walking out of the building, the three of them stopped in front of the building’s terrace and formed a line as they waited for Chen Xiaolian and Tian Lie.
Chen Xiaolian walked forward slowly. His eyes swept past the faces of the three men and he said with a smile, “You three, which one of you is the manager of the European branch?”
“My name is Shamash, the assistant manager of Starfall Guild’s European branch. These two are June and Baktoria.” The old man took off the little round hat on his head and performed a Jewish courteous gesture. “I’m guessing you must be the Awakened who raided our Bucharest branch and broke the limbs of Big Wave previously. However, it seems this friend was not there at the time. How should I address the two of you?”
“Do you know these three guys?” Chen Xiaolian turned to ask Tian Lie, ignoring Shamash’s greeting.
“I know two of them.” Tian Lie nodded. Extending his hand, he pointed at the three fellows. “This old man named Shamash is the Team Leader of Team F. Thorned Flower Guild has a total of 26 teams. Amongst them, only three Team Leaders are Awakened ones. He’s one of them.”
“Since there’s discrimination against Awakened ones in Thorned Flower Guild, this fellow’s strength must be quite good to be able to make his way to the position of Team Leader, no? Is it up to the [A+] class?” Chen Xiaolian nodded.
“More or less, but he is not the strongest one.” Tian Lie grinned, pursing his lips to the side. “And there’s also the fatty. He’s the Deputy Team Leader of Team B. His relationship with B Team’s Team Leader is not that good. Only, his position of Deputy Team Leader was arranged by Shen. Due to that… hmm, that Gaza fellow had been very unhappy with him previously. Thankfully, one is a Player while the other one is an Awakened. These two did not have much opportunities to meet one another except for when they must enter instance dungeons.
“As for the bald guy, I don’t recognize him. Looks to me he was just a minor character.”
“I don’t think so.” Chen Xiaolian looked at the bald guy named June. “Since he came together with them, he should be around the same level as them. He may be someone that Shen recruited later on.”
“Whatever.” Tian Lie spread his hands out noncommittally. “There’s just a motley bunch anyways.”
The two of them conversed, ignoring the three fellows standing before them.
The fatty named Baktoria already had a somewhat contorted look on his face while June’s face had turned red. It seemed as though they could no longer hold themselves back.
Shamash was the only exception. His eyes merely flashed with light and he let out a cough.
June took several deep breaths and pulled himself back from the cusp of bursting out with rage.
“Sir, looks like you two know us very well.” Shamash looked at Tian Lie and said, “I’m actually not surprised by this. Since you two dared to break into our Starfall Guild’s Romania branch and raise such a ruckus by coming to our headquarters, you must be quite confident in yourselves. However… can you first tell us, just what is it you two want?”
“Didn’t that pretentious tailcoat fellow tell you guys?” Chen Xiaolian cast a cold look at Shamash. “Phoenix is my friend. I want to take her away. It’s that simple.”
“I’m sorry, but our manager is the one who captured and imprisoned her.” Shamash shook his head slightly. Despite the sorry coming out from his mouth, there wasn’t a hint of sincerity on his face. “We have no authority to change our manager’s decision.”
“If so, call your manager over,” Chen Xiaolian said impatiently.
“Most unfortunately, our manager is currently not at the headquarters right now.” Shamash shook his head. “Why don’t you two tell us your names first. We’ll pass the…”
“Enough nonsense!” Chen Xiaolian frowned. “The f**k is this not the one in charge and the one in charge is not here shit? You’ve already forced me to stay here for so long. Don’t you know that time is precious?”
Shamash was a very shrewd and restrained person. Even so, he could not stop his expression from flickering.
These two fellows are simply too rude.
He had originally wanted to probe for these two fellows’ background. Even if this was just a diplomatic talk before resorting to force, they had to at least give him some face.
It would appear, however, that this youngster had no intentions of speaking courteously.
Tens of figures abruptly appeared from the surrounding area of the manor, surrounding Chen Xiaolian and Tian Lie. Amongst them were five mechs and a Thunderstorm Tank.
“I don’t know which branch sent you over to stir up trouble, but did you really think… our European headquarters is that easy to break into?” Shamash’s eyes were like that of a falcon, fixed intently upon Chen Xiaolian and Tian Lie. “I’ll admit it. The Bucharest incident was very embarrassing for us. But right here? Things are different!”
He had completely misunderstood what was happening due to what Tian Lie said earlier about the three of them.
Since the two of them had appeared when there was no instance dungeon in progress, it meant that they were Awakened ones and not Players.
And for him to be able to tell the situation within the old Thorned Flower Guild so clearly showed that the other party was also originally a member of the guild.
Recently, their European branch had absorbed a high number of small guilds. They had recruited a high number of formidable members and killed off the targets who refused to join them. Shamash knew that the other branches had long since started to look at them with predatory eyes.
Naturally, for the other party to only send two men forward, there must be something emboldening them.
But this was their headquarters, their most vital part.
After receiving Big Wave’s message, Shamash had immediately organized for all the nearby high-level members to come over to the headquarters and wait for the enemy to come.
He did not believe in the nonsense about wanting to save Phoenix. Obviously, that was just an excuse.
As a Jew, Shamash understood very well that this was a procedure of finding an excuse to start a war. Things like this had happened many times throughout history.
Take for example the efforts to hunt down the arsonist who burned down the German Reichstag and the attempt to enter Wanping Fortress to find a missing soldier…
Shamash, however, did not care what the excuse was.
All that mattered was for his side to win.
“They sure have quite a bunch of guys with them.” Tian Lie looked around and grinned. “This is enough kills to last me a while.”
“Did you forget what I said just now? Kill less!” Chen Xiaolian glared at Tian Lie.
“Then… how about you do it?” Tian Lie pondered for a moment and a worried look appeared on his face. “You know me. I fear I might lose control by mistake and become addicted to killing.”
“Those are all your former guild mates!” Chen Xiaolian rolled his eyes. “You bastard. Have you never given a single thought about your friendship with your guild mates?”
“I only have one friend in Thorned Flower Guild and that person is Shen. If it weren’t for him, why would I join any guild?” Tian Lie said with a disdainful harrumph.
“Wait. You… who are you?”
The expression on Shamash’s face flickered.
This sickly-looking person. The way he talked and the things he talked about, why does it feel so familiar?
Like someone he knew?
“You finally remember me, Shamash? Looks like you aren’t too stupid, after all.” Tian Lie laughed and stepped forward.
“You… you are Tian…”
Shamash’s mouth fell wide open as he watched Tian Lie’s body wiggle about, inflating like a balloon.
His body, which had been thin and small, had become tall and strong with bulging muscles. His hair had also disappeared completely. His head was even shinier compared to June’s.
Tian Lie stood before Shamash, towering over him. “Do you finally remember, Shamash?”
“Tian Lie?! Didn’t you die already?”
June, who had been preparing to attack, abruptly blurted out upon seeing Tian Lie’s transformation.
“Seeing me alive and well, are you surprised? Shocked?” Tian Lie had a very wide grin on his face.
“I…” June clenched his teeth, but said nothing else.
“Since you know it’s me, hurry up and let the prisoner go. Even though your manager is not here, you guys should have the authority to do something as minor as this.” Tian Lie glanced back at Shamash.
A drop of sweat slowly trickled down Shamash’s forehead.
Silence…
“Looks like… this is a refusal?” Tian Lie waited for a few seconds and began feeling impatient.
“Enough, Shamash! Don’t say anything else!” June suddenly roared.
Tian Lie turned, brows raised as he looked at June. Next, he sent a sudden kick towards him.
Instantly, June’s body became like a phantom as he evaded Tian Lie’s kick.
“Attack, Shamash!”
June re-appeared somewhere a few metres away. He raised a grenade launcher and fired a grenade at Tian Lie.
At the same time, the other Awakened ones who had been lying in ambush around them also attacked.
The grenade struck against Tian Lie’s body, but there was no explosion. Instead, large quantities of liquid burst out.
Instantly, sizzling sounds came from Tian Lie’s body as it swiftly melted.
“Sulfuric acid grenade?”
Tian Lie, though, seemingly did not care about the damage from the sulfuric acid grenade. With a wild grin, he charged towards June.
The fatty, Baktoria, took a deep breath. Immediately, his entire body grew ten times bigger. With his towering body, he sent a heavy punch down on Tian Lie.
The moment he punched, a layer of holy light instantly enveloped his fist.
Tian Lie had only just arrived before June when Baktoria’s giant fist came smashing down from behind him, not giving him the time to attack June.
If it had been just a physical attack, Tian Lie would have ignored it. However, it would appear that the holy light enveloping the giant fist was at quite the high level. Thus, Tian Lie had to swiftly turn around. His fist, which he had put all his strength into, collided against Baktoria’s fist.
Amidst the explosive collision, Tian Lie’s figure staggered a few steps backwards. Baktoria, on the other hand, was sent flying, his giant body hurtling through the air in a manner that seemingly violated the laws of physics.
“Decent strength, but still a waste!”
Tian Lie bellowed and both his hands condensed out a black sword each.
That said, the earlier attack from Baktoria gave the others an opportunity to open fire.
Tens of War Pets, all of varying colours and appearance, were summoned. At the same time, a high number of weapons were used to attack.
As for June and Shamash, they both hastily retreated to the edge of the battle. June kept firing acid grenades while Shamash was swiftly chanting.
Following Shamash’s incantation, a wave of black energy swirled up from the ground to summon out a huge bone dragon.
Cyan flames raged within its mouth.
“Tian Lie… you’re too disappointing!”
Chen Xiaolian let out a deep sigh and continued, “I had originally thought that your status in Thorned Flower Guild would be very useful.”
Tian Lie snatched up a Griffin War Pet. With a roar, he ripped it to bits. Next, he evaded several beams of light before roaring at Chen Xiaolian. “Bitch please! Not everyone here is from Thorned Flower Guild! Some of them were recruited later! Also… to them, I’ve long since died!”
“But if it’s Shen, these fellows would have bent the knee long ago. Your ability to restrain them is still insufficient.”
Chen Xiaolian shook his head as he ridiculed Tian Lie. At the same time, his palm swung towards the neck of a charging Awakened who arrived before him. The Awakened’s body twitched slightly. Then, his eyes rolled up and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Due to the intense bombardment, Tian Lie’s body had become deformed while the sulfuric acid unleashed upon his body was also relentlessly corroding his body. However, Tian Lie did not stop attacking. In but moments, he had already killed off three men.
“You think he’s good? Then, go bloody get him over! Why look for me?” Tian Lie severed the limb of one of the enemies with a slash and howled at Chen Xiaolian.
Chen Xiaolian was left speechless.
A good number of the Awakened ones did reveal a look of dread at having to face Tian Lie. Even so, they continued to attack.
As for Shamash’s team of three, after their initial shock, they had swiftly reacted, leading their subordinates to surround Tian Lie.
Chen Xiaolian sighed. It would appear that Tian Lie had gone missing for too long. Although the status he accumulated was still there within their hearts, clearly, it no longer possessed the suppressive deterring force that it used to have.
Moreover, that Shamash had already set up an ambush beforehand. Killing a single Tian Lie might not be impossible for them.
“Forget it…. I’ll do it myself.”
Chen Xiaolian shook his head helplessly. His figure flashed and he abruptly appeared in front of June.
June had not expected this display of speed from this youngster. His eyes turned tense and a layer of armour – made from neither metal nor stone – suddenly enveloped his entire body.
In his right hand was a dagger, which he furiously stabbed towards Chen Xiaolian.
Blade light flashed.
June’s dagger only made it halfway forward when it hurtled through the air, along with half of June’s arm.
A knee strike against June’s abdomen area caused the armour there to shatter and June’s body curled up like a shrimp.
Right after dealing with June, Chen Xiaolian flashed away again to re-appear in front of Baktoria.
Comparison wise, it was like a confrontation between an elephant and a mouse. But Chen Xiaolian instantly formed a sword beam that was also ten times bigger. The sword beam shot through the sky before descending furiously.
Baktoria bellowed ferociously and he put both his hands before his body. Holy light gathered before his arms as he attempted to stop Chen Xiaolian’s sword beam.
But the thick layer of holy light, so thick that it was practically tangible, was easily broken through and shattered with a booming sound. Baktoria himself was sent flying backwards, his figure smashing into the flower field. After tumbling back a few times, his body simply lay there, unmoving.
Blood and ripped flesh littered the way and the bones on both his arms had broken into who knows how many pieces.
The next sword attack was aimed directly at the bone dragon in the sky.
It had only just opened its mouth and was preparing to dive down and unleash the cyan flames in its mouth at Tian Lie when the sword beam charged into its mouth. A furious explosion blew up the bone dragon’s head in its entirety and it fell to the ground, where it broke apart, littering the ground with bones.
“Do you guys still want to continue?”
Shamash, who had yet to even react to what happened, saw Chen Xiaolian appear before him. The cold tip of a sword rested upon his neck.
Chen Xiaolian looked at him, killing intent spilling out from his eyes. “I’ll say it again, hand Phoenix over! I’m not a very patient man. So, this will be the last time.”
Shamash’s heart pounded. He was in complete disbelief at what just happened.
This fellow… how could he be so strong?
As Shamash hesitated, Chen Xiaolian grew impatient. His right hand jabbed lightly with a finger and a big hole appeared on Shamash’s arm.
“Ever… everyone, stop!”
Shamash cried out wretchedly.
The other Awakened ones swiftly backed away as they stopped fighting.
In just that short time span, Tian Lie had already killed off three of them while two more were grievously wounded.
If it weren’t for the fact that Starfall Guild’s European branch had extremely strict rules, they would have turned tail and ran long ago.
Tian Lie seemed to have expended quite a bit of strength for that as well. He panted for a bit before straightening his back.
These Awakened ones who were summoned to defend the headquarters could already be regarded as the elite members of the guild, after all. Even for Tian Lie, facing a siege from so many elite Awakened ones was no walk in the park.
But with Chen Xiaolian around, Tian Lie was not worried at all.
“Phoenix… at…”
Shamash’s lips moved and he was about to speak when he heard a cold harrumph come from somewhere behind him.
“Who told you fellows to stop?”
Chen Xiaolian raised his head and saw that a person had – at an unknown time – appeared on the roof of the building.
He was a middle-aged man with a face as cold as blade.
He sported a peaked cap and a slim-fit Russian military overcoat. His eyes were pure blue, as deep as a lake. But despite his military garb, the atmosphere he exuded did not fit that of a military man. Rather, it was colder and more sinister.
Tian Lie narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man on the roof and said coldly, “So, it’s you. Dimitri.”
The Wanping incident in July 1937 happened in China. A minor case of a Japanese soldier missing from his post led to an exchange of fire which escalated into all-out war, the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The German Reichstag fire happened on 27th Feb 1933, four weeks after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Hitler used the fire as an excuse to suspend civil liberties and to ‘ruthlessly confront’ Communists, making it pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.
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