Pirates

Kloze was a seasoned warrior who had walked the line between life and death countless times. He had never underestimated an opponent. But he never imagined he would be defeated so easily by a Barkley, and on the very swordsmanship he prided himself most.

Attacking an opponent with the pommel of a sword wasn't an uncommon move, but the difficulty lay in doing it so casually and naturally, as if the sword had become one with the opponent.

Yet, that was a shoddy sword the opponent had casually picked up?

It was clear that this continental was a true sword master, his understanding of power, technique, distance, and positioning far surpassed Kloze's own.

As a Great Swordsman, he knew that after being repelled by the pommel just now, his opponent had ample time to rush forward and cut him down.

But the opponent had simply stood there, waiting for him to recover and continue the fight.

The opponent's confidence in victory was even greater than his own.

Kloze had only seen people possessing such sword skills and unwavering confidence in the Meitengheim Death Squad—those were seasoned Great Sword Masters, veterans who had dedicated most of their lives to the sword.

But the young man before him looked no older than twenty. Even if he had started training from the womb, he shouldn't possess such skill.

Besides, a continental with such sword skills would have long been famous...

Kloze lowered his head, looking at the bulging muscles on his own arm, then at Li Ang, who was nearly half his size.

It wasn't necessarily skill that decided the victor, but also strength.

And when it came to strength... Kloze felt that their physiques already clearly showed the difference.

Although challenging again in this situation would be a loss of honor, for the freedom of his people, Kloze decided to try once more.

He raised his sword, lowered his head, bowed again to apologize, and then swung his greatsword like a windmill.

This was a sacrificial fighting style where the person moved with the sword. In an instant, sword shadows crisscrossed, and the wind howled. Kloze's formidable strength swung the giant sword, truly creating an effect of unstoppable momentum.

If he were on the battlefield, he probably could have indeed cut down everything in front of him with his greatsword—people, horses, or anything else.

But this imposing sword light quickly vanished with a loud "clang."

Kloze stared blankly at his empty hand, his tiger's mouth split open, and then incredulously at Li Ang, who still held his sword with both hands.

Li Ang had simply used a spinning diagonal slash to knock his sword flying.

This looked like a victory of absolute power.

The other Meitengheim onlookers were also incredulous. No one expected this young man to be able to overpower Kloze in a head-on confrontation.

How could such terrifying power be hidden within that 'scrawny' body?

This was unscientific!

"Iron God above!"

Kloze dropped to one knee with a thud.

He knew himself that the young man before him hadn't surpassed him in terms of strength; at most, it was a draw.

However, this sword, which had slashed diagonally along his sword's momentum, this sword technique that borrowed force and used force, and the timing—it was unlike anything he had ever seen. The opponent's skillful use of force even surpassed that of the Great Sword Masters he had encountered.

All the Meitengheim people also dropped to one knee in unison, beginning to chant to their unique deity.

Then, Kloze picked up his giant sword, which was now clearly bent into an arc, held it above his head with both hands, and offered it to Li Ang.

"We swear allegiance to you by the God of Steel. Where your sword points, that is our battlefield, Lord Li Ang."

Li Ang took the sword and, with over a dozen hulking figures like mountains of flesh and leading the golden-maned horse, left the arena.

Behind them were the complicated gazes of the Fat Boss Andrew and a few attendants.

Quite complicated—because Li Ang had taken those greatswords... Although they were just a few crudely made iron-core swords, the dozens of pounds of iron alone were worth tens of Dinars!

However, Andrew clearly had no intention of asking for them back. He knew Li Ang was currently broke and he likely wouldn't get them back.

Besides, those Meitengheim people weren't very friendly to him...

And the sight of over a dozen bare-chested strong men following Li Ang looked strange no matter how you looked at it—it felt like they were going to deliver 'goods' after being summoned by some noble lady...

Hmm, a certain unspeakable business common among nobles...

Li Ang naturally felt the scene was somewhat strange, but he no longer had time to consider his image. He had to leave immediately.

He certainly intended to take these greatswords with him. After all, this group of bare-chested subordinates had no equipment right now—it was only on the warm West Coast; in the Northern Territory, they would likely freeze to death.

So he had to seize any opportunity to get some 'loot.' After all, these muscle men couldn't protect themselves without weapons.

He had gathered these men precisely for his own safety.

In Pendor, except for the dueling grounds, one-on-one combat was never favored elsewhere... No matter how skilled one was, they couldn't withstand a group attack. The Crimson Brotherhood, the bandits everywhere, and the heretics wouldn't fight him one-on-one.

Moreover, he still needed to register as a Pioneer Lord in Lion City to ensure he wouldn't be killed in the street by some noble.

But pioneering a territory was no simple recreational activity; it required significant investment—for example, equipment, food, and housing construction.

This required a massive amount of Dinars.

But Li Ang was currently poorer than a church mouse.

And he didn't dare linger in Mistveil City any longer; who knew what 'accidents' might happen if he stayed any longer.

Li Ang led his newly joined subordinates eastward out of Mistveil City, feeling quite worried along the way—he needed to make money! Without money, he couldn't move an inch; he didn't even have the travel expenses to get to Lion City.

But the entire way was wilderness, and he hadn't even seen a village...

Only desolate hills and forests remained.

As he wondered if the fierce men would eat Alice if they got hungry, Kloze suddenly seemed to see something and said in a low voice, "Someone... it's them!"

Before Li Ang could react, a group of Meitengheim people tensed up as if facing a great enemy, even starting to look for cover.

"What's going on?"

Li Ang was a bit bewildered.

"It looks like that group of pirates..." Kloze explained the situation in a low voice.

Mistveil City was a natural deep-water port, and there were many places along the coast outside the city where ships could dock.

In fact, the entire Fieltzway Alliance—now a kingdom—apart from some local nobles on the west coast, had its upper echelons originally composed of pirates, slave traders, and smugglers from Vanskery. It was just that they had all gone legitimate now; former warlords, mob bosses, and illegal merchants had all become lords.

So, it was quite normal to see pirates near the west coast.

But the problem was, they had traveled more than ten kilometers eastward. Kloze saw this group of pirates in the valley—this place was a full twenty kilometers from the sea, and there were no towns or villages around!

That was a bit abnormal.

Why would pirates gather in this godforsaken, desolate place?

A month ago, this group of pirates had robbed Kloze's employer in the nearby waters. The employer had abandoned them and fled. Kloze and his companions, unwilling to surrender, had their ship smashed by the pirates. They fell into the sea, lost consciousness, and were then sold to Mistveil City.

As everyone knew, if a pirate raid was successful and the victim escaped, the pirates should generally lie low.

But lying low would definitely be in a city or town, because—where there were more people, the easier it was to hide.

Unless, this place was a secret pirate stronghold?

The Meitengheim strongmen around them gritted their teeth and confirmed with each other that these were indeed the pirates who had reduced them to prisoners of war and slaves.

This was because one of the pirates was carrying their proud weapon—a Meitengheim two-handed sword.

But Li Ang suddenly became excited...

At sea, Vanskery pirates were indeed rarely matched.

But now they were on land!

And in mountainous terrain!

The group of fierce men by his side were from Meitengheim, a region entirely made up of mountains!

Heh heh...

"Guys, do you want to get your equipment back?"