Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 231: Chapter 68: Out of the Game?!

Zhi Nong’s face turned pale.

Actually, Zhang He’s condition was not good, for the bout with Yan Laoda had drained much of his energy.

Despite the bloodshot in his eyes, the look he gave Zhi Nong still made the woman shiver all over.

Li Yan frowned and said, “Surname Zhang, aren’t you being shameless here?”

Zhang He coldly said, “The feud between your Li family and mine dates back a long way. Years ago, to force me to show myself, Madam Shi flayed my foster father and his whole family. Do I have any obligation to talk morals with you Red Flags?”

Zhang He was halfway through speaking when he suddenly clutched his heart, a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Far from being startled, he was furious, glaring at Zhi Nong.

...

Zhi Nong, affected by Zhang He’s backlash, felt as if thousands of thunderclaps exploded in her head. Her eyes rolled back, her body trembled, and she sweated profusely.

Li Yan whisked her away like a startled swan, and a series of tooth-achingly sharp tearing sounds filled the air.

The Demon Thief’s Wang Lingji struck empty.

“Enough, Red Flag admits defeat.”

Li Yan announced loudly.

Zhang He wiped the fresh blood from his mouth and returned to his seat.

At that moment, a rare silence fell over the arena.

In this kind of chaotic contest, speaking later usually means having an advantage, in other words, as long as one’s skin is thick enough not to voluntarily step up to fight, picking opponents at the end, one could always have quite an advantage.

Zhufen was determined to implement this tactic. He wouldn’t speak until he saw which opponent had taken the field, and was certain he could win.

Of course, every pirate faction harbored deep enmities and still valued their pride highly. Up to this point, only Zhufen was so unscrupulous.

“I say…” Lin Ajin spoke up, “Surname Zhu, I have been counting, and it seems you barely ever send someone up first, right? You are considered a hero in your own right. Have some dignity. With your behavior, how can you lead as the Alliance Hierarch and command respect?”

Cai Qian, Li Yan, Zheng Xiu’er, and Zhang He all fixed their gazes on Zhufen.

“Cough cough~”

Zhufen’s face turned alternately red and white, “Dragon Granny, you go!”

Having no other members who had won before, and feeling guilty himself, he could only place his hopes on Dragon Granny, who had already won twice.

The old woman with the shackles once again entered the ring, but Cai Qian’s man was quicker and sent forth Yan Lao’er.

Yes, it was Yan Lao’er, the man with the ability of the flying sword, who had interfered in the fight between Li Yan and Yan Ajiu.

This time, Dragon Granny lost, her strange clay figurine cleanly severed by Yan Lao’er’s flying sword, and she left the stage with a defeated expression.

Cai Qian caught up with three victories.

Zhang He spoke up, “Ruan Ping, it’s your turn.”

Almost the instant Zhang He sent his man into the ring, Li Yan, brandishing the Tiger Head Great Spear, also leapt onto the stage.

“Ptui!” Li Yan spat on the ground with a ruffian’s scowl, “Come on, let’s fight!”

Before this Ruan Ping could show his skill, Li Yan’s Tiger Head Great Spear tore through the air like a wild storm, and within a dozen exchanges, Ruan Ping was sent flying into the sea.

When Zhang He’s man was fished out by Cai Qian’s men, his limbs were limp, his bones shattered.

Zhang He glared at Li Yan with a dark expression. Li Yan glared back, pointed to the deck, and cocked a finger at Zhang He.

Red Flag and the Demon Thief flared up, each eager to get the upper hand.

Zhang He’s face twitched a few times, he lowered his lids, picked up his tea cup, and ignored Li Yan; black smoke billowed and wafted under his great cloak. After a silent moment, he suddenly let out a chuckle: “Master Qi, I must trouble you.”

Li Yan frowned. This Master Qi, whom the Demon Thief spoke of, was full-named Qi Daoji, a wandering Taoist. Zhang He, initially unable to read the full Taiping Document, had relied a lot on exchanging ideas with him. Therefore, he respectfully called him “Master Qi.”

In the ranks of the Demon Thieves, this man was the second in command, essentially Zhang He’s trump card.

But before Li Yan could speak, Cai Qian unexpectedly interjected, “Ajiu, have a bout or two with this Mr. Qi.”

Zhang He’s eyebrows shot up, glaring daggers at Cai Qian, “Cai, what are you playing at, offending both sides like this?”

Cai Qian spoke with a casual air, as if oblivious, “We’re all competing for the position of Alliance Hierarch based on our abilities. What’s this about offending or not offending?”

Yan Ajiu stepped up to confront the second in command of the Demon Thieves.

…

After a fierce struggle, Yan Ajiu finally defeated the second in command of the Demon Thieves but also broke one of his arms in the process.

Cai Qian claimed another victory.

In the arena, besides Zhufen who had only won three matches, the rest had all won four.

After the likes of Yan Laoda, Yan Ajiu, Zhang He, Li Yan, Cha Xiaodao, part of the top tier, had fought several bouts and expended a great deal of energy, the various houses began sending relatively weaker central members to the stage, and the spectacle wasn’t as exaggerated as it had been at the beginning…

Seeing the elite forces of the big pirate factions like the Five Flagsi Alliance, the Demon Thieves, and the Tianbo Division all laid out, the leaders of the various houses were itching to join in. Earlier it was like gods fighting, out of our league, but now that it has come to this, and with most of our silver already at stake, isn’t it time for us to step in?

The situation became even more intense.

Red Flag and Demon Thieves were sworn enemies; now it was point to point, thrust for thrust. If you took to the stage, I’d target you, and vice versa. Yet Cai Qian had to meddle again. This Cai was interesting – he wasn’t looking to win, only to draw; and whichever side between Red Flag and Zhang He won an additional match, he would aid the other side against the victor!

The three sides were locked in a stalemate. This inadvertently left the genuinely weaker forces of Zhufen and Lin Ajin out in the cold.

By dawn, including the matches won against other minor leaders, all the big five pirate factions had won eight matches each, and the amount of silver in the pot had reached the startling sum of over twelve million taels!

Officially, all five families had won the same number of matches.

But in reality, that wasn’t the case, because counting the draws, the number of times Cai Qian, Zhang He, and Li Yan had been on the stage almost doubled that of Lin Ajin and Zhufen!

No need to calculate – to put it plainly, Cai Qian, Li Yan, and Zhang He… they were running out of money…

That bastard Cai Qian actually managed to wear out his own silver, and also drained the Five Flags and Demon Thieves’ reserves for their ships and ammunition!

“The Red Flag Gang offers seven lorcha ships from Lantau Island, Guangdong, with a hundred cannons, valued at eight hundred thousand taels.”

Li Yan, with his arms crossed, glared at Cai Qian.

“An Nan Demon Thieves offer two small shipyards, valued at eight hundred thousand taels.”

Zhang He clenched his fists so tight they crackled as if he wanted to tear Cai Qian limb from limb.

The accountants took a long time with the sums, then hurried over to the round table, “Boss, Protector Zhang, Tianbao Dragon Head, you three have about two hundred thousand taels of silver remaining each on your plates. Do you have anything else to pledge?”

“…”

Nobody spoke.

“Gentlemen, are you almost out of money?” Cai Qian spread his hands, “Coincidence! I’m almost out too.”

Zhang He spoke up, “Cai, what exactly do you mean by all this?”

Cai Qian had firmly dragged Li Yan and the Demon Thieves into this, now all three sides had pushed their reserves to the line of life and death, squeezing out the most silver. Just one more round to go…

In contrast, the Zhufen and Lin Ajin households could bite the bullet and scrape together seven to eight hundred thousand taels, which was entirely doable. With other minor pirate leaders entering the fray, they could definitely continue to win by picking off their matches.

At this point, one could say that the three factions were effectively out of the running. The Pirate Alliance Hierarch would either be Lin Ajin or Zhufen.

“Such matters aren’t decided until the last moment, who knows who will win or lose?”

Cai Qian smiled slyly.