CHAPTER 59: 59 CHAPTER MASTER, I WANT TO HOLD A BIG MEETING_1

Yan Xing, cigar clenched in his mouth, shouldered his Double-Handed Greatsword and left the tent.

Steel Fang immediately stood up and followed him out.

He said to Yan Xing, "Master, I understand. Eden is willing to exchange food for your agarwood at a rate of 200 to 1... This means that all the Werewolf Tribes doing business with him around Thunderous Swamp have been deceived by Eden. In the past, he merely used a 10 to 1 rate to take away such precious spice from us."

Yan Xing, with Steel Fang, walked to an open space and had Eddie drive his spear into the ground.

The spears wielded by the Eternal Domain’s militia had shafts of stainless steel pipe. The domain’s Blacksmith Shop simply forged rebar into spearheads and mounted them onto the stainless steel pipes to fashion a spear. Since they weren’t wooden shafts, ordinary blades struggled to damage them.

Eddie drove the spear into the ground and stepped aside.

Yan Xing gripped the sword with both hands and gestured at the spear while speaking to Steel Fang, "News of my previous promise to exchange food for agarwood at a 200 to 1 rate should have spread among the Werewolf Tribes on the edge of Thunderous Swamp by now. But as of now, apart from the Red Mud Wetland, no second Werewolf Tribe has brought agarwood to my Eternal Domain for food.

I know the Swamp Tribe members are quite xenophobic and don’t dare to easily trust a strange human. Perhaps they also can’t believe that what you consider mere rotten wood could be exchanged for so much food."

Having said this, Yan Xing swung his sword horizontally.

The entire blade swept through the spear’s midsection. Only after a few seconds did the spear actually snap in two.

The upper half of the shaft CLATTERED! to the ground.

The sharpness of the Double-handed Sword sent a chill down Steel Fang’s spine.

This was just an ordinary slash, without any combat techniques. If he had used one...

Steel Fang didn’t dare to dwell on it further. He quickly followed Yan Xing’s line of thought and replied, "Yes, we of the Swamp Tribe, though considered barbaric, are simple in nature. The trade with Eden has allowed us to feed more of our kin, and we all value our relationship with him deeply. And this price of 200 to 1... we suspect it’s more of a deceitful scheme with ulterior motives."

Yan Xing exhaled a puff of smoke and extended five fingers, gesturing for Eddie to plant five spears in the ground.

"Now do you have any more doubts?"

Yan Xing slashed at the five spears just as before. The Double-Handed Greatsword sliced through two spears before the blade embedded itself in the third.

Based on the current performance of the Double-Handed Greatsword, even the armor Yan Xing equipped his militia with could be cut through by this sword.

"No more, Master." Steel Fang, seeming more accustomed to his new role, spoke much more naturally. "I have already sent someone to notify my brother, Li Zhua, that he intends to visit your Eternal Domain. When he arrives, I will tell him about your trade agreement with Eden; Stenchwater Forest will send the agarwood soon after."

Yan Xing pulled the Double-Handed Greatsword out from the steel shaft. He inspected the blade; there were no nicks visible to the naked eye.

He then had Eddie set up three more spears.

"I don’t have time to wait specifically for Li Zhua; I have more important matters to attend to in Nuta City. Return to Stenchwater Forest now and tell Li Zhua to come to my Eternal Domain in five days. Then proceed to the other Werewolf Tribes—you go *personally*...

"Tell the Clan Leaders of those Werewolf Tribes what you have seen and heard here.

"Let them know that in five days, I will be hosting them in the Eternal Domain.

"If they come... their tribes will receive not just food from me, but also weapons from my domain!

"If they don’t come..."

After finishing, Yan Xing gripped the sword with both hands, bent his knees, gathering his strength.

Blood Heat!

A faint red light emanated from Yan Xing’s body, seeping through his armor. His entire demeanor transformed instantly, his fighting spirit soaring.

Swirling air currents whipped the decorative tassels on his armor about.

It also scattered the ash from the cigar in his mouth.

The ember at the tip of his cigar burned brighter.

The warriors surrounding him stood motionless, as if time had stopped at that very moment.

Skyrend Slash!

The Knight combat skill activated, and he swung the Double-Handed Greatsword with unstoppable momentum.

Where the blade passed, all five spears were simultaneously severed.

The unspent force of the swing transformed into sword energy that swept forward, crashing into the domain’s protective fence.

SLASH!

A three-meter-long gash was torn through the wire mesh fence!

Yan Xing exhaled a puff of smoke, lowering his sword. He was very satisfied with the strike’s power. The sword energy he had managed to unleash using a mere steel pipe for Skyrend Slash back then couldn’t compare to this.

Steel Fang stared at the five severed spears and the long gash on the protective fence, completely awestruck.

"Yes, Master Yan Xing. I will inform Li Zhua to visit you in the Eternal Domain in five days. I will also go to the other Werewolf Tribes and convey your invitation to their Clan Leaders.

"May I ask... if some Clan Leaders don’t come, are you planning to wage war against them?"

Steel Fang assumed the devastating slash Yan Xing had just executed was meant to convey precisely that.

Yan Xing looked at Steel Fang with a strange expression and said, "Why would you think that? Am I the kind of person who resorts to violence the moment things don’t go my way?

"If they don’t come, so be it.

"They’ll just have to watch as other Werewolf Tribes eat their fill, arm themselves with weapons obtained from me, and then take leisurely strolls through *their* territories...

"Go find Gao Sipa. Get a set of lamellar armor and Steel Chains from him. Take a slingshot too.

"Off you go, and make it quick."

Hearing that he could get a set of lamellar armor, Steel Chains, and a slingshot, Steel Fang immediately thanked Yan Xing and ran off to find Gao Sipa.

He had to notify as many Werewolf Tribes as possible within five days, which meant running non-stop along the southern edge of Thunderous Swamp.

Steel Fang left.

Yan Xing, holding the Double-Handed Greatsword, practiced some phantom slashes.

So far, Skyrend Slash was the only sword skill he possessed. It was powerful, undoubtedly, but required a wind-up period. In actual battle, opportunities to unleash Skyrend Slash were scarce. Instead, lower-powered combat skills that could be used at a moment’s notice were more practical, such as Charge, Rush, or Blood Heat... But that was his *only* sword skill.

Besides, when wielding the Double-Handed Greatsword, Yan Xing felt he possessed great strength but couldn’t fully channel it.

He knew that just a few days ago, he was merely a recent graduate, an office worker with no combat training whatsoever. Swinging this Double-Handed Greatsword now was purely reliant on the brute strength granted by his Hero-class level.

To truly unleash this sword’s potential, he needed not only to learn combat skills for activating abilities but also to find a good instructor to teach him proper swordsmanship.

That was why Yan Xing was eager to visit Nuta City.

Eden had mentioned that Nuta City had a Knight Training Ground, where renowned Knight Instructors trained Knights for the duchy. As long as one paid, even Knights not affiliated with the duchy could train there.

Once the assembly of Werewolf Clan Leaders from the southern edge of Thunderous Swamp concludes, I’ll set out for Nuta City immediately.

Yan Xing continued practicing his self-devised sword forms.

He also asked his subordinates nearby, "Do you guys think I look particularly cool doing a Leap Strike with a cigar in my mouth?"

Yan Xing took a deep drag from his cigar, making the tip flare bright red. Then he leaped, raising the Double-Handed Greatsword high and bringing it down in a heavy chop.