With a rustle, Whitebrim, a yellow talisman stuck to his forehead and dressed in a Taoist robe, was the first to enter the base. He greeted Peroroncino warmly.
"Oh my, Peroroncino, you're practically famous now. You got chased by so many people and still made it back alive. I give you a big thumbs-up."
As he spoke, Whitebrim gave him a thumbs-up. The companions who returned after him also showered Peroroncino with praise, until Mu Fengyu showed up.
Peroroncino's face twisted. His fists clenched, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent. Did Mu Fengyu know what he'd been through these past few hours? He hadn't dared let his guard down for a second. If he'd been caught, they would have killed him and camped his corpse until all his gear and items had dropped and his level was back to zero.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Peroroncino charged straight at Mu Fengyu and unleashed a rising dragon punch, followed by left, right, left, right, B, A, B, A. As he beat him up, he vented all his grievances.
"I'll teach you to sell out your teammates! I'll teach you to call yourself the best son in the world! I'll teach you to act like a jerk all the time! Let's see if I can beat you to death!"
The beating went on for more than ten minutes, and no one stepped in to stop it. After all, Peroroncino had made such a huge contribution to the group this time. It might have been accidental, but he was bound to have at least a tiny bit of resentment bottled up.
Mu Fengyu knew he needed to let off some steam. A beating, plus the apology gift he'd prepared, would surely be enough to get his dear son to forgive him.
Peroroncino flipped Mu Fengyu over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground, finally ending the one-sided beating. Having vented his frustration, he raised both arms and shouted,
"That felt... GREAT!!!"
Once it was over, Genjiro and the others reluctantly put away their recording devices. They looked at Peroroncino with envy in their eyes.
Getting to beat up Mu Fengyu in broad daylight was a dream for many in the group. Whenever they sparred, that guy always sneaked in a bunch of traps to keep them at a distance, then bombarded them with attacks.
Even assassins like them had a hard time getting close to Mu Fengyu. And after winning, he would always taunt them to their faces, making all sorts of snide remarks until most of his companions wanted to beat him senseless.
Only people like Touch Me and Ulbert could beat him with ease: either they activated the World Champion's [Dimensional Defense], tanked his attacks, and took him down in one go, or they used [Great Calamity] to clear the whole area.
"Phew, how'd you all do? Did you capture the best parts? Someone give me a photo. I'm going to hang it in my room and admire it every day."
He asked everyone for photos taken from different angles and compared them one by one. At last, he got the shot he liked best from Nishikienrai.
"Should've known a ninja could get a shot like this, even from that angle."
It showed Peroroncino spinning through the air, building up speed before landing a heavy punch on Mu Fengyu's face. Looking closely, the punch had actually caved his face in.
Holding the photo, he crouched in front of Mu Fengyu, who was sprawled on the ground. Mu Fengyu looked at it as if he'd just eaten shit.
Peroroncino immediately lowered his head until they were face-to-face and said in a strange tone,
"Yeah, that's the look. That look in your eyes, like you want to hit me but don't dare. Seeing you like this is getting me so damn excited."
Everyone turned to look at Bukubukuchagama, as if asking how long he'd been like this and whether they should take him to a doctor.
With everyone giving her strange looks, Bukubukuchagama felt her dignity was on the line. She hurried over, dragged Peroroncino aside, and prepared to have a heart-to-heart with him. Before long, his pig-like squeals rang out.
Mu Fengyu slowly sat up and shook his head. He still felt a little dizzy. Peroroncino had grabbed him and spun him around twice, after all. Just thinking about the world turning upside down made him feel like throwing up.
After the roughhousing, everyone gathered in a circle around the spoils. Now came the delightful moment of dividing the loot. Touch Me, the group's leader, summed it up.
"Besides most of the basic supplies, this is everything we got from this outing: seven divine-tier pieces of equipment, twenty-one legendary pieces, a number of other items, three billion six hundred million gold coins, and various special items and materials."
"Peroroncino made the biggest contribution this time. He held off most of the Storm Horn guild's fighting force by himself, buying us enough time to destroy their guild weapon. He gets first pick."
Peroroncino stood tall, looking smug, as if to say, "You couldn't have pulled this off so easily without me."
Everyone played along and applauded him. At this rate, it seemed like he'd fly straight into the sky if not for gravity.
He cleared his throat and glanced at a green item, then at Mu Fengyu.
"Ahem. I'll only take this [Source of Vitality] from the spoils. I remember Yu saying last time that he wanted to use it to strengthen [Cecilia's Flower], so this is all I need."
Mu Fengyu was deeply touched. Peroroncino still remembered something he'd said a long time ago. This item could only drop from a snake-shaped boss called Forest Calamity, and it was rarely available on the market.
"Peroroncino, you..."
Before Mu Fengyu could finish, Peroroncino cut him off.
"I know you want to thank me, but don't rush to. I don't think empty words mean anything. It'd be more meaningful if you let me beat you up a few more times."
Those familiar words—weren't they exactly what he'd said before screwing Peroroncino over? At that moment, Mu Fengyu felt their friendship had reached its end. He announced then and there that they should each follow their own dreams and live their own lives, unilaterally declaring their friendship over.
"You're really going to be this heartless? We've known each other for so long."
"Hah. You mean all the times we've hurt each other? Our friendship must be rock-solid, then. You've snitched to my sister every other day and gotten her to confiscate my collection."
"Ahem. Well, how about this? Give me the [Source of Vitality], and I'll give you the materials to make four divine-tier weapons."
Mu Fengyu's offer was tempting. Making divine-tier weapons required plenty of trial and error, and crafted weapons could be better than ones that dropped. Peroroncino was tempted, but held back. If he waited a little longer, Mu Fengyu might raise his offer again.
When Peroroncino stayed quiet for a long time, Mu Fengyu knew exactly what he was thinking. They'd played together for so long—Mu Fengyu knew what Peroroncino was up to just by the way he stuck his butt out.
He sent Peroroncino a message. When Peroroncino saw it, he immediately exclaimed,
"Really, Father?"
Mu Fengyu nodded with a dark expression. Peroroncino rushed over, dropped to one knee, and cupped his hands in a salute.
"Your son, Nuo, has drifted through life for half a lifetime without meeting a worthy lord. If you do not reject him, Yu, Nuo is willing to call you his adoptive father."
Peroroncino's antics amused all his companions. Mu Fengyu was the only one still scowling; he kicked him back to his place.
The distribution of the spoils continued. Takemikazuchi took some forging materials, hoping to make his next weapon even stronger.
Nishikienrai took some gold coins. Bukubukuchagama had lost twenty levels from using a World Item, so she took a divine-tier accessory.
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