Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 230: Chapter 67: White-Hot

“`

The atmosphere quieted down for a short while. Cai Qian and several other pirate factions each won a battle, but with the Qianjun Biao included, the Red Flag Gang had already won three battles. This caused some subtle changes in the expressions of certain people.

“Tianbao Dragon Head, winning three battles means paying out six hundred thousand taels. It seems that the wages calculated for your Red Flag men might not be enough,”

one of the accountants from Cai’s Tianbo Division said, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.

Without hesitation, Li Yan replied, “Lantau Island will provide ten eighty-meter twin-masted wide ships, each equipped with fifteen cannons, one hundred firearms, and fifty crossbows. Let’s convert that to silver and put it in the pot first, then we’ll talk if more is needed.”

The group of accountants clicked away on their abacuses, their pens flying across the paper. They wrote down the figure “one million two hundred thousand taels.”

...

At this moment, the Demon Thief spoke up, “I’ll take the next round. Which brother would like to enlighten me?”

Having already fought one battle, Li Yan did not bring up the idea of fighting the Demon Thief again.

With the Demon Thief’s notoriety, when Zhang He said he would fight, there was a momentary silence. Since there were no limits to the number of times one could fight, the tactic of using lower-tier fighters against higher-tier ones had little effect, and would only waste silver.

“…”

After a while, Zhang He chuckled lightly, “What’s this, could it be that without fighting… ”

“How about I join after I finish applying this ice?”

Li Yan had an ice pack over his eyes and interrupted Zhang He mid-sentence. Just as he spoke, Yuan Laoda, one of Cai Qian’s men, stood up.

The old man removed his melon skin hat, his hair tips flickering with flames, “I’ve long heard of the great name of the An Nan Demon Thief. Though I am not much myself, I wish to ask for some guidance, and hope for Zhang’s mercy.”

Zhang He’s tone was still arrogant, yet he was extremely serious, “Not at all. Others may not know, but I’m aware that the Cai family has several well-hidden old monsters.”

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, somewhat puzzled by Cai Qian’s intentions.

This wealthy man was stubborn as iron.

Up to this point in the competition, the Red Flag had three wins in three battles, with six hundred thousand taels of silver not wasted at all, but Cai Qian had also fought three battles, winning only one and having already thrown four hundred thousand taels of silver into the fray.

So far, Cai Qian’s challenges had all been the straightforward fighting style of headstrong youths.

Whether it was Yan Ajiu against Li Yan or Yan Laoda against Zhang He, the Yan-named companions fought hard battles in all their matches.

It’s not that Cai Qian’s men definitely had no chance of winning, but this was certainly not the approach of a business-minded individual. It would only favor Lin Ajin and Zhufen’s men, allowing them to preserve their strength.

Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao exchanged glances and chose to wait and see the changes.

As expected, Yan Laoda was also of the Fiery Cauldron species, named Che Guzhu.

Li Yan and Yan Ajiu’s fight involved weapons and was a fierce close-combat struggle. Since they both had held back a little, insiders saw the danger, while outsiders did not find it very exciting. Overall, it appeared rather ordinary until the last few moves when they both got really fierce.

But it wasn’t the same with these two. The battle between Yan Laoda and Zhang He was intense, the extreme heat causing the sea mist to rise.

Their spellcasting was a back-and-forth of radiant light and dark smoke, visible even dozens of miles away. Even a child could see how formidable they were.

Yan Laoda, with his impressive fiery arts, and Zhang He’s Taiping Document, opened the eyes of everyone present. Besides the Qingluan, Great Ming King, Wind Drinking and Fire Bathing Spell, Hollow Knife, and Replacement Body Spell that Li Yan had seen before, there was also the Dragon Head Play, Wang Lingji, Garan Tie, Moving Mountain, Minor Universe Skill, Talisman Ghost, and True Martial Holding Troops that only Zhang He himself could perform,

Considering that many spells are not suitable for individual combat, the spells Zhang He obtained from the Taiping Document are even more numerous than those mentioned above.

It’s worth noting that the strength of these two could not be determined from just a fleeting glimpse. Without a doubt, both of them should rank within the standards of the Nine Luminaries.

…

After watching for a while, Cha Xiaodao communicated with Li Yan through their teammates’ contract saying, “If it suddenly turns into a chaotic battle, leave Yan Ajiu to me. You’ll have to pick one of these two.”

Li Yan chuckled, “You think highly of me. Don’t underestimate Yan Ajiu. I always feel that her strength is even above that of Yan Laoda.”

“My fire and blade skills are useless against a fire expert like Yan Laoda, and I’m not confident against Zhang He either. Do you think I want to?”

Zhang He and Yan Laoda were furiously locked in battle, the outcome uncertain for the time being. Unfortunately, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and soon a downpour began.

The dozens of fire serpents at Yan Laoda’s feet, which had been darting around, were extinguished by the heavy rain, draining most of his magical power and leaving him to suffer a regrettable defeat at Zhang He’s hands.

Yan Laoda bowed and showed no sign of dejection, “The reputation of Zhang’s Taiping Document is indeed well deserved.”

Li Yan thought to himself, “Although Yan Laoda lost to the rain, by the end of the fight, the winner would have been Zhang He.”

Hiss~~~

White smoke filled the air.

Zhang He shook his sleeve, and carbonization and marks of cutting and chopping were evident on the deck around the two men.

“`

“Mr. Cai, the ships from the Tianbo Division are very sturdy, right?”

Zhang He made a jesting remark. The two had fought until the sky darkened and the earth dimmed. Although the Tianbo Division’s ships were chained together, strong enough to withstand cavalry trampling, they only showed some wear on the surface after such a dazzling ordeal and were worthy of his praise.

“The Tianbo Division has been passed down through my family for generations. Since I have offered it as a venue for the competition, naturally I have some confidence in it.”

Cai Qian turned and instructed the accounting office, “Add one hundred thousand taels worth of ammunition, armor, and food supplies.”

Zhang He also added, “Two hundred thousand taels should be about right for four An Nan three-sailed sluice ships.”

Seeing that both the Red Flag Gang and the Demon Thieves were ahead, Lin Ajin and Zhufen grew anxious and sent up much stronger fighters.

…

From this moment on, the various factions began a chaotic battle where one would take the stage as soon as another finished performing.

The Red Flag Gang was in the lead, with everyone else eyeing them closely. Li Yan no longer sent people first, preferring to wait and take advantage of others’ efforts, but his men were outdone by the Demon Thieves and Zhufen’s people twice.

When the others suggested they could fight the Red Flag Gang’s people first, Li Yan didn’t compete any further.

Zhufen also had the level of the Ten Cities. Once he entered the fray, he won against a disciple of Zhang He’s, who was a Demon Thief pirate.

His subordinate, Dragon Granny, also defeated an elite sent by a minor leader. Together, they had won three bouts.

After tallying up, the accountant announced loudly, “Yishi contributes a thousand firearms and fifteen fifty-meter sluice ships, valued at four hundred thousand taels.”

By this time, the torrential rain in the sky had almost ceased, revealing the remnants of a red sunset in the west. Li Yan watched for a while before urging Cha Xiaodao to enter the fray.

Unexpectedly, the stubborn Cai Qian clashed with Li Yan again!

He sent Yan Laosi to face off against Cha Xiaodao.

The Calming Sea Salamander fought furiously against Cha Xiaodao. Both of them were tough-skinned and fought bitterly for quite a long time.

Perhaps because Cai Qian had lost too much, Yan Laosi fought with extra effort this time, as if he held an irreconcilable grudge against Cha Xiaodao. Despite several cuts to the bone, he still chose a devastating tactic of trading wound for wound.

In the end, the two ended in a draw. Cha Xiaodao wisely kept a trick up his sleeve – with his Culinary Skill, a Crispy Blast could help him recover eighty percent of his strength within half an hour, including both preparation and consumption, allowing him to fight again. But Yan Laosi didn’t have this ability. Continuing to fight like this would mean making a losing deal.

…

Watching several of the top fighters take their turns, Li Yan thought for a while and decided to send Xue Ba to test the waters.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Zhang He also had his eye on him and sent his cousin, who had fought with Qianjun Biao, to fight. The two families bore deep grudges and their battle was also brutal.

Both suffered serious injuries. Xue Ba’s hammer crushed his opponent’s shoulder, but he himself lost an ear.

Li Yan and Zhang He hurriedly called a halt to the fight, and this bout, too, ended in a draw.

In case of a draw, no victory was counted for either side, and each contributed one hundred thousand taels.

“Tianbo Division contributes a retired English Vasco Warship, with two hundred sailors, valued at one hundred thousand taels.”

“Demon Thief Zhang He contributes seven thousand White Scarf Sailors, valued at one hundred thousand taels.”

Unexpectedly, the Treasure Ship King rose from behind, with several brothers from the Quanlang Type of the Lin Family taking turns in battle, defeating a Gaoli ghost from the Red Flag Gang, a Yellow-skinned Native pirate from Yishi, and a disciple of the Demon Thieves, leading inexplicably by four bouts.

Lin Ajin coughed a few times, his sickly face breaking into a smile, “I think Tianbao Dragon Head’s approach is good. Calculating after each win is too troublesome. My Lin Family contributes five one-hundred-meter Blessing Ships and one thousand five hundred skilled sailors. Convert them into silver and put them in the pot; we’ll settle the account afterwards,”

The accountants were busy for a while, finally announcing, “The Precious Ship Lin Family’s exclusive one-hundred-meter Blessing Ships, five in total, and one thousand five hundred skilled sailors are valued together at one million six hundred thousand taels.”

The accountants recorded each item carefully, and unbeknownst to the parties involved, the assets in the pot had become a tremendously formidable naval force.

After a chaotic battle in the arena, Lin Ajin unexpectedly took the lead, with Zhang He and Cai Qian focusing on him, each making Lin Ajin lose a round.

It was already pitch dark, and nearly all the top fighters had taken their turns.

Lin Ajin won four bouts, Yishi Zhufen won three, Zheng Xiu’er of the Red Flag Gang won three, Demon Thief Zhang He won three, and Cai Qian won two rounds. The military assets converted into silver in the pot had reached a staggering four million five hundred thousand taels!

That was when Li Yan finally spoke, “Zhi Nong, it’s your turn.”

Zhi Nong’s Wupozi sorcery was tricky, giving her a chance to win even against opponents stronger than herself.

Zhi Nong smiled confidently. At this point, there were no particularly challenging opponents left.

She gracefully stood up and walked onto the deck, bending her fair arm and bowing towards Li Yan. When she raised her head again, standing opposite her was none other than Demon Thief Zhang He!