Published: February 11, 2025
“Let’s hear it,” Ye Zhongming said as he put away his puppet. His bloodline ability was also in cooldown, and the sand soldiers from the Sand Soldier Music Box had vanished. The only ones left on the battlefield were the dozens of carnivorous plants, along with Gao Yi and Zhao Xiangxue.
However, the stewards did not think Ye Zhongming was without combat power.
Tong Steward glanced at the leader of the royal guild with a complex expression and said directly, “You can kill this person; the loser has no right to make demands.”
Ye Zhongming was slightly taken aback; he hadn’t expected Tong Steward to say something like that.
The royal guild leader looked at Tong Steward with resentment but did not say anything.
“We can compensate for your losses here, and it will be double,” said Tong Steward. The only sounds were his voice and the flowing seawater around them.
“This is the first solution.”
Ye Zhongming nodded, waiting for him to continue.
“Using this method allows Mr. Ye to release his pent-up grievances while compensating for the losses, but… it would cost us our friendship.”
“Is your friendship really that valuable?” Zhao Xiangxue coldly replied, looking at this androgynous figure from behind.
Having adapted to the apocalypse, she was used to silence but also knew that sometimes, it was necessary to intentionally take on a role. Some words had to be spoken by her to give her boss some leeway in negotiations with others.
Tong Steward glanced at Zhao Xiangxue, a flash of envy crossing his mind. He wished he could have a subordinate like her.
“Whether our friendship is valuable or not can only be determined after negotiations,” Tong Steward smiled and turned his gaze back to Ye Zhongming, continuing, “There is another method: you hand him over to me, and we will still compensate you, and he… will also pay a life-saving price. After that, we can sit down and talk about cooperation.”
Seeing that Zhao Xiangxue was about to respond again, Tong Steward quickly waved his hand, “Don’t rush to refuse, and don’t say anything else. We’ve come this far not only by killing, right, Mr. Ye? Sometimes, hatred can be set aside, especially since you hardly have any hatred in this matter.”
Zhao Xiangxue looked at Ye Zhongming and stopped speaking. She knew it was time to let her boss make the decision.
“It doesn’t have to be specific, but I need to know what I can roughly get in return.”
Ye Zhongming swung the leader of the royal guild’s body, allowing the blood to splatter everywhere.
Many warriors from the five rings society watching this scene showed expressions of indignation. However, upon seeing the tragic state of the royal guild on the battlefield, they were filled with some awe.
“You wouldn’t skimp on the life-saving price, would you?” Tong Steward walked up to the royal guild leader, sneering slightly.
Although they were all part of the same organization, it was clear that he was closer to Water Steward, while the royal guild leader had more understanding with White Steward. Elder Ouyang remained relatively neutral.
For Tong Steward, the downfall of the royal guild didn’t mean much; it was just that the old man’s mention of the Gore Clan weighed on his mind, prompting him to want to preserve his life this time.
However, he also didn’t want to let the royal guild leader off easily. It would be best if he could make him fall from grace and lose all power in the five rings society.
The royal guild leader looked at Tong Steward without nodding or shaking his head.
“You’d better hurry; the blood is about to run dry,” Tong Steward shook his head, glancing at the leader's feet.
This time, the royal guild leader finally agreed, hesitantly uttering two sentences. Tong Steward looked at Ye Zhongming, who thought for a moment, nodded, and released the leader.
Immediately, a few people came over to pour a potion down the royal guild leader's throat. At the same time, one of them set his broken bone back in place, poured some black liquid over it, and chanted a few incantations. The liquid instantly turned into black little insects, quickly crawling into the wound, while crackling sounds of bones healing could be heard, visibly recovering.