Man Proposes, Heaven Disposes

Lion King Valley.

The Wild Ox Thieves' Guild was heading there.

In Emerald Territory, the Wild Ox Thieves' Guild was an infamous band of thieves. Its leader's original name had long since been forgotten; everyone called him by his nickname, Wild Ox.

The thieves' guild had taken its name from him as well. It had originally been registered with the Mercenary Guild as Gold Diggers, but because it committed too many crimes, the Mercenary Guild classified it as a thieves' guild and re-registered it as "Wild Ox," lest those posting bounties become confused.

Captain Wild Ox, who possessed peak Level Two Heaven-rank strength, was one of the Emerald Lord's secret weapons for keeping the local city lords in check. With someone backing him from behind, Captain Wild Ox had no fear of being wanted. Leading a band of wicked madmen, he ran rampant throughout Emerald Territory, burning, killing, plundering, and looting everywhere. Should any local city lord refuse to side with the Emerald Lord, the lands under his rule would inevitably suffer the Wild Ox Thieves' Guild's attacks and ravaging.

Since the Emerald Lord's rebellion succeeded, of the more than one hundred city lords under him, only ten whose interests were bound to his had loyally supported him.

Thirty city lords supported him only on the surface.

If those thirty city lords could at least be said to give him some face and acknowledge the Emerald Lord's rule, then the other fifty-odd city lords were a thorn in his heart.

These city lords had remained neutral all along, neither supporting nor opposing him.

Other than paying a small symbolic tax each year, they secretly resisted the Emerald Lord's authority. They refused the officials he dispatched, and some even secretly supported several rebel city lords in remote and perilous regions, continuing