Brawl

In the Northern Frontier today, the Imperial Army and the Resistance Army's territories were intricately interwoven, with small-scale battles breaking out every day.

The Northern Frontier had nine major towns.

The Imperial Army was well-equipped and well-trained, occupying major cities such as Northshire and Volterren. Northshire was the Northern Frontier Capital, while Volterren was an important port connecting the Northern Frontier to the Empire. By holding these two places, the Imperial Army possessed both legitimacy and a steady stream of reinforcements.

The Resistance Army was no pushover either. Its supreme leader, Usok, was himself the Lord of Spiked Helm City. With Spiked Helm City as its base, the Resistance Army enjoyed widespread support throughout the Northern Frontier.

As for the other neutral territories in the Northern Frontier, once their Lords had tasted the benefits of no longer paying taxes to the grand lord of Northshire, they were unwilling to see the Empire restore its rule over the Northern Frontier and began secretly aiding the Resistance Army.

Of course, to avoid becoming the Imperial Army's primary targets, the Lords still maintained a neutral stance on the surface.

Within every territory, arguments over the Imperial Army and the Resistance Army had never ceased.

Some believed that the Empire had been too cowardly in the face of the High Elves, willing to surrender the Northern Frontier's interests in exchange for temporary peace. Such a rotten regime had to be overthrown. As long as Usok became the new grand lord of the Northern Frontier, he would surely be able to protect it.

Others believed that the Empire's peace agreement was merely a temporary measure. Once it had caught its breath, it would naturally launch a counterattack against the High Elves and drive those pointy-eared bastards back to the Saimu Isles. The civil war started by Usok's Resistance Army was draining the Empire's strength and instead giving the High Elves an opportunity to exploit.

After playing a tune, the bard put down his recorder and picked up his accordion.

It was obvious that this bard favored the Imperial Army. The song he sang was Usok the Regicide.

"..."

"Drive out the rebels and reclaim ourselves, rebuild our homeland with blood and armor;"

"Kick down Usok, the regicide; your death is worth less than a dog's!"

"..."

Bai Xiaowen swept his gaze across the tavern, taking in everyone's reactions.

After draining the last of his wine, Bai Xiaowen suddenly rose to his feet and kicked his stool aside.

"Shut up! Stop your slander, Imperial dog!"

That was right—Bai Xiaowen's target was the bard playing the accordion.

The song stopped, and everyone's eyes focused on the two men facing off.

The bard was tall and lean. He fixed Bai Xiaowen with pale blue eyes. "What do you want? What I sing is my freedom. I don't need interference from a pauper like you who can't even afford his drinks."

"With that sandpaper voice of yours, I couldn't care less what you sing. But you insulted the great leader of us Vikings!" Bai Xiaowen stepped forward twice, stopping in front of the bard and meeting his gaze. "If I hear one more word insulting Usok from that mouth of yours, I'll beat the shit out of you."

The surrounding drinkers immediately began whistling. The two burly men seated at a corner table, who had been drinking with their heads lowered, also paused and turned to look.

The bard's face reddened.

"You insulted me. I challenge you to a duel!"

Bai Xiaowen rolled up his sleeves without hesitation. "Come on!"

Both men drew their daggers.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, brothers," Old Hunter called with a wave. "Vikings don't point weapons at their own countrymen. You should settle your dispute another way—no weapons, no magic. How about seeing whose fists are tougher?"

The bard sheathed his dagger and snorted. "I don't consider this barbarian my countryman, but for Old Hunter's sake, I agree to teach him a lesson with my fists instead."

As he spoke, the bard tossed out a money pouch, its coins clinking inside.

"This pouch says I can knock you flat, pauper!"

Bai Xiaowen drove the Fang Dagger into the counter with a backhanded motion and replied bluntly, "Beat me, and it's yours."

The Elite Tier weapon, the Fang Dagger, reflected a cold gleam in the fireplace's light. Those nearby who recognized its value lit up, letting out low exclamations.

A trace of greed flashed through the bard's eyes. With a roar, he lunged forward and threw a probing punch at Bai Xiaowen's chest.

Bai Xiaowen did not dodge. He charged forward instead, taking his opponent's punch squarely with his chest! A dull thud rang out. Bai Xiaowen's body swayed, but his arms had already wrapped around the bard's waist.

Step, step, step...

Bai Xiaowen drove forward with his legs like an enraged bull, forcing the bard step by step into a corner and knocking over who knew how many tables, chairs, cups, and plates along the way.

Once he had forced the bard into the corner, his opponent had no room left to maneuver or dodge and could only trade injury for injury!

Bai Xiaowen took three punches from the bard. Including the first punch, his Life Value had already dropped by 14 points, falling to a dangerously low level. But Bai Xiaowen's heavy fists also hammered out blow after merciless blow.

The bard was the first to give out. He clutched his head and lay sprawled in the corner like a dead dog, without the strength to get back up.

Bai Xiaowen let out a breath. He looked somewhat battered as well, his face pale and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Of his 20 Life Value, more than half had been knocked away, leaving only 6.

He glanced at the bard and silently reviewed the battle, thinking to himself:

Hmph, punk. Your Agility may be as high as 8, but your Strength is only 3, and your Constitution is the same as mine—just 2! The moment I got close, you had already lost!

Once someone with an Agility Specialty was pinned at close range in a cramped corner, they were practically crippled. Bai Xiaowen had defeated the Elite Zombie Rat Black Fang before, and now he had beaten the bard; both victories had come from proper tactical execution.

With a victor's smile, Bai Xiaowen returned to the counter amid cheers. He picked up the bard's money pouch and poured out a pile of copper coins with a clatter, mixed with several gleaming silver coins.

"Buy every Viking brother in this tavern a drink, on my tab," Bai Xiaowen said to Old Hunter with a smile. "If there's anything left over, use it to compensate for the overturned tables and chairs."

"Woohoo!"

The tavern grew even more lively. A group of Viking men hurriedly set the tables and chairs back up, laughing as they raised their cups to Bai Xiaowen. The unfortunate bard curled up in the corner, ignored by everyone.

Old Hunter laughed. "What a generous young man. You're treating everyone with all the money you won?"

"Vikings are one family. I came all the way here from warm Volterren without a single copper coin on me. Without the hospitality of my Viking brothers, I never would have made it to Elu City," Bai Xiaowen said.

The Viking drinkers were solemnly impressed, inwardly stamping Bai Xiaowen with a huge label: "reckless fool."

The two burly men in the corner exchanged a glance.

"Hey, brother, want to come have a drink with us?" One of them, a burly man wearing fine-linked chainmail and carrying a greatsword on his back, invited Bai Xiaowen.