Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 232: Chapter 69 Chaos

Zhao Xiaoyi vigorously shook his long black spear, creating eddies that sent his opponent’s dual blades flying. The spear tip grazed the man’s throat, and a trickle of blood could be seen.

“I concede.”

The opponent’s face turned ashen.

Zhao Xiaoyi retracted the spear and, slinging it over his shoulder, walked back.

The last 200,000 taels wagered by the Red Flag Gang were on Zhao Xiaoyi. His opponent was Anqian Gang, the former second-in-command of the Black Flag Gang, who had set up his own faction after Madam Guo’s incident.

Below the stage, Anqian Gang’s face was unsightly; he shot a venomous look at Zhao Xiaoyi, but he couldn’t voice any objections.

...

No matter the internal scheming and struggles, as a member, Zhao Xiaoyi was qualified to fight on behalf of the Five Flags Alliance.

“For now, I’ll let you off, but when we really start fighting with the Red-haired Men… Hmph.”

Anqian Gang vowed with bitterness in his heart.

Afterward, Cai Qian won against a skilled fighter from the White Bottom Gang, and Zhang He defeated the junior head of the Niuwei Gang. All the money from the three families was now exhausted.

The accountant stacked the freshly inked xuan paper and announced aloud:

“The Five Flags Alliance, victorious in nine matches, drew in five and lost seven, totaling three million taels.”

“An Nan Zhang He, victorious in nine matches, drew in five and lost seven, totaling three million taels.”

“Cai Clan’s Tianbo Division, victorious in nine matches, drew in nine and lost six, totaling three million three hundred thousand taels.”

“Precious Ship Lin Clan, victorious in eight matches, lost four, totaling two million two hundred thousand taels.”

“Yishi Zhufen, victorious in eight matches, lost four, totaling two million two hundred thousand taels.”

With the military power of the Red Flag in Li Yan’s hands, and a portion of the Blue Flag’s ships and manpower, this was all he could muster. Zhang He had also nearly squeezed dry the military provisions and finances at his disposal.

Cai Qian coughed twice, “Look at what this has turned into… Shall the three of us throw in a bit more?”

“No need, let’s watch how the Lin and Zhu families fare. Mr. Cai, if you have excess funds, you’re welcome to add more, but it has to be military provisions. Silver, silk, and lands do not count.”

Zhang He said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. After the King of An Nan died at the hands of the English, the land split into several pieces, and Zhang He’s losses were not small, three million taels was already his limit.

Two hundred thousand taels is no small sum, the liquid silver in a great pirate’s treasury is only about two hundred thousand.

Asking Zhang He to muster up another twenty large ships and dozens of cannons for two hundred thousand taels was utterly impossible.

To put it bluntly, the fight for the position of the Alliance Hierarch amongst the demon thieves and pirates had truly reached its end.

Zhang He did not resent Li Yan; with the deep enmity between their families, this situation had been expected all along.

However, if not for Cai Qian’s interference, Zhang He would have stood a fighting chance for the position of Alliance Hierarch. Moreover, to calculate Zhang He’s fleet and manpower so precisely—something the Red Flag Gang couldn’t do—only the Tianbo Division, which had set the rules and collaborated with all the pirates for many years, could have achieved this.

By this act, Cai Qian had thoroughly offended Zhang He.

Blinking, Cai Qian responded, “If you two aren’t adding, I’m not in the mood to do so either.”

Li Yan shook his head, “Let’s not add any more.”

The gap in military expenditure between the three families of Li, Cai, and Zhang, and the two families of Yishi and Precious Ship King had widened. Placing higher stakes wouldn’t change the outcome of the game.

Li Yan was curious about what Cai Qian planned next.

Li Yan yawned, bent down to whisper a few words to Zheng Xiu’er, and then left the round table.

“Where is Tianbao Dragon Head going?”

Yan Ajiu asked.

“To pee.”

Li Yan replied and, as he passed by tables where the Red Flag leaders sat, he whispered, “Have someone return to the ship and bring Old Man Lin. I’ve already notified him; he knows what to do.”

Cai Qian, noticing that some of the Red Flag pirates had sneaked away, paid it no mind and turned away to look at the deck.

The minor leaders of each household, who were fishing in troubled waters, had a rough idea of what was going on. They were making calculations about how many matches they had won and what positions they could secure within the future Great Pirate Alliance; some were happy while others were not.

And now, the only pirate forces that could still compete were the Lin and Zhu families.

Both great pirate houses had only won eight matches—less than Li, Cai, and Zhang by one match. But… they had enough military provisions to secure another three or four victories.

“Hahaha…” Zhufen laughed heartily, “Who would have thought, eh, Old Lin? That in the end, it is we who would have the last laugh. So, do you still have enough silver to win a few more matches?”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Lin Ajin coughed a few times before he could catch his breath. He looked at Zhufen indifferently and said, “It doesn’t matter how many more matches I can win. What’s important is that you, Elder Zhufen, will not win any more matches from now on…”

At those words, Zhufen snorted coldly, “That will depend on your ability. Brother Tie He, it’s your turn.”

A man wielding a Nine Rings Broadsword stood up behind him. His chest bore a tattoo of a skull. He stepped onto the deck, thumped his chest, and called out, “Who will fight me?”

From behind Lin Ajin, a man whose face was concealed by a conical hat stepped forward. His clothing suggested a fighter ready for short-range combat, muscles rippling on his forearms.

He removed the conical hat, revealing white hair, eyebrows, and a beard rolled into a bun, giving him the imposing presence of a regal lion.

“Precious Ship Lin Clan, Quanlang Sea Ghost, Ao Xing seeks guidance.”

The scene erupted in commotion.

“Quanlang Sea Ghost? Wasn’t that technique lost?”

“The Gaoli ghost from the Five Flags, the Quanlang Type from the Precious Ship Lin Clan — it’s only by combining these two secret arts that the Quanlang Sea Ghost can be forged.”

“The legendary guard of the Heavenly Mother?”

The five great pirate forces had varied depths to their foundations, with the Cai Clan’s ranks including named followers of the Yan surname practicing the Fiery Cauldron Species. Zhang He was valiant in combat, seizing victory in four bouts, his disciples demonstrating formidable strength.

Li Yan, through painstaking efforts, led a capable group — not to mention Cha Xiaodao, along with Zhi Nong, Zhao Xiaoyi, and Qianjun Biao, all had their moments of bravery.

Even Zhufen had the support of a skilled practitioner, Dragon Granny.

The only one who seemed to have muddled through without any notable figures emerging was Lin Ajin, the head of the Precious Ship King. But in this moment, Lin Ajin finally unleashed his power.

The man knew the stakes; he spurred into action, hacking his broadsword towards Ao Xing’s head.

Ding~

The several dozen kilos of the thick-backed chopping sword struck Ao Xing’s eyelid, yet Ao Xing remained unmoved.

Witnessing this, the crowd gasped in shock. Was this even human?

“Is it my turn yet?”

Ao Xing grasped the chopping sword in one hand and with a slight effort, twisted the fine iron weapon into a crumpled piece of scrap metal.

Tie He of Zhufen’s rank stared with bulging eyes, barely able to believe his own sight. As he stood dumbfounded, Ao Xing’s palm came sweeping in, knocking his teeth out, bloodied and spinning into the air, and leaving Tie He crumpled on the ground.

There was a blood mark on Ao Xing’s forehead. When he turned around, he saluted towards Zhufen: “Elder Zhufen, please send another challenger.”

Zhang He, who had no more equipment to compete, scoffed upon hearing this. The arrival of the Quanlang Sea Ghost, with its iron-crushing hand, was indeed startling. But his discerning eye could see that the man’s skills were first-rate but not top-tier, roughly on par with Yan Laoliu and the Tianbao who was called Xiaodao from the Red Flag.

Compared with himself, and especially Yan Laoda, there was a shortfall.

If he wasn’t out of money for the competition, there wouldn’t be a chance for this Ao Xing to secure the limelight.

Yishi Zhufen’s ranks were diverse, but true experts were few. As Ao Xing stepped up, Zhufen’s ambitious plans were drenched by a cold bucket of reality.

In three successive bouts, Ao Xing alone vanquished three of Zhufen’s pirates, then stepped down from the stage, utterly exhausted.

Lin Ajin, with eleven victories, led by a wide margin.

Zhufen’s face turned grim as he shouted to the crowd, “I… I will add another hundred and fifty-foot sailboats, equal to 200,000 taels of silver. Who will fight me?”

But by then, none were willing to step up for further combat.

Zhufen, with eight victories, was the bottom of the rankings.

“It seems… the outcome has been decided.”

Cai Qian sighed and stood up elegantly: “Gentlemen, Precious Ship Lin Clan has the most victories. According to the rules we agreed upon, Lin Ajin shall be the Alliance Hierarch decided by this Tianbo Division assembly…”

The gathered pirates looked around, those aligned with the Precious Ship Lin Clan were visibly thrilled, Zhufen wore a sullen expression, Zhang He grinned coldly, showing his pearly whites, concealing whatever scheme he harbored. Zheng Xiu’er seemed contemplative, Li Yan was off urinating and hadn’t returned.

“Hold on,”

The speaker was surprisingly Lin Ajin.

All the pirates turned their attention to the slight and unassuming middle-aged scholar.

“With my frail body, I’m hardly suited to the tumult of war. How could anyone worthy of being the Alliance Hierarch be absent from the frontlines?”

Upon hearing this, brows furrowed. Lin Ajin appeared to have anticipated this, his expression serene:

“The Precious Ship Lin Clan admits its inability to occupy the grand position of the Alliance Hierarch. Winning a few more bouts was merely luck; I hereby withdraw from this battle for the position at the Tianbo Division assembly.”

“How can this be?”

“You’re bringing this up now, Elder Lin? Are you mocking us?”

“What happens now?”

As the crowd murmured and questioned, one voice rose coldly above the rest, heard clearly by all:

“With Lin Ajin stepping down, the Five Flagsi Alliance and Mr. Cai each have nine victories, but since Mr. Cai offered the most money, according to what was just said, the Alliance Hierarch should naturally be Mr. Cai…”

Zhang He slammed the table, pointing his finger at Cai Qian with a grim tone: “Look at you, surnamed Cai, in cahoots with Lin Ajin!”

Yan Ajiu partially drew his Fire Essence sword, Elder Yan’s eyes half-closed, half-open.