395 - 404
Chapter 395: The Situation Is Worse Than Anticipated (Part One)
"General, I think we should go and see Mr. Alexander now. Don't you think you are crossing the boundary?"
Soroyov sneered as an impatient expression appeared on his face.
"Crossing the boundary?" Drogba sneered back, "Yuck! Cross your mama!" Drogba pointed at Soroyov's noise and questioned in a tone that Fei liked to use, "King Alexander is the No.1 Commander of Jax Battle Zone, and he was appointed by both Emperor Yassin His Majesty and the Military Headquarter! Every single soldier in Dual-Flags City is a subordinate of King Alexander! I'm helping his majesty's subordinates to find justice! Where did I cross the line?"
"Enough! General, pay attention to your words! You are facing a level 2 Noble of the empire! His status is not lower compared to that King Alexander you are referring to," a nobleman stood out and argued for the mayor.
Drogba picked his ears and said, "What? What did you say? Are you comparing this fat pig to King Alexander? I can bet you all the money I have that even hemorrhoid on His Majesty's ass is 10,000 times better than this disgusting fat pig!"
"I need to correct you, Drogba," Pierce who had a serious expression suddenly said, "I don't think there is hemorrhoid on His Majesty's bottom. Are you trying to smear His Majesty's image?"
Drogba couldn't come up with a comeback to that.
"You..."
"You guys are too reckless!"
"Guards, arrest these two ignorant bastards! We will bring them to Alexander and get our justice!"
The nobles started to draw out their swords as they shouted angrily. The mocking coming from these two strongmen had offended their pitiful pride, and their guards looked at each other and hesitated a little before they charged at the two strongmen.
"Hey, Pierce, it is your showtime," Drogba raised his chin.
"Damn, why do I have to do this all the time?" [White-Haired Fast Sword] Pierce was also influenced by the way Fei talked. After he complained a little and stepped forward, he punched out rapidly. His fists made a series of booming noises with the air, and all the guards were knocked away like punching bags before they could react.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
These 50 guards didn't even last 30 seconds, and they were now all whining as they rolled on the ground.
If the guard captain of the mayor who got kicked away by Drogba prior was included, then none of the guards could stand up.
The nobles who showed their viciousness a moment ago by drawing their swords were dumbfounded. Their swords didn't completely leave the scabbards yet, and it felt like their swords were glued onto the scabbards.
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"God! How can this dumb-looking man be so strong?" they thought.
"This... he is a Star-level Warrior? From the look of it, he didn't even use much of his strength; he is capable of more... is he really a soldier under the command of the king of Chambord?" even Soroyov who was sly and calculative started to tremble in fear.
He found out shockingly that he still underestimated the king of Chambord.
Before, he still wanted to play around with this new No.1 Commander and wanted to see if he could get back the control; after all, he heard that this new No.1 Commander was young, and young people tend to make mistakes. But now, the cruel reality slapped this sly noble in the face and told him how ridiculous his plan was; he couldn't even deal with two of the king of Chambord's generals.
"It is ok. He is fit, and he is not in life-threatening danger. However, he lost a hand; not sure if the mages with us could put it back for him..." Drogba inspected that pale and tall soldier who got his right hand cut off; this soldier had fainted due to the loss of blood. After inspection, Drogba calmed down a little and said, "Hey, you guys, find a stretcher and bring him to the healing facility that was set up in the camp of [Wolf Teeth Legion]; the doctors and the mages in the legion will treat him. Also, in the name of King Alexander, he will be rewarded with 20 gold coins for his bravery."
Chapter 395: The Situation Is Worse Than Anticipated (Part Two)
Soon, the soldiers found a stretcher and took that fainted soldier away.
"Ok, we have wasted enough time. Now we need to hurry up!" Pierce patted the shoulder of that young soldier and smiled as he said, "Bring your peers with you. Let's all go to King Alexander His Majesty and report everything that had happened. His Majesty will determine the appropriate rewards and punishments."
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This young man nodded in excitement and perturbance.
"Let's go, Mr. Mayor! Do you want us to drag you to His Majesty?"
Under the threats of Pierce and Drogba, Soroyov and the nobles followed them and walked towards the west gate with their heads down as if they were chickens that lost the chicken fight.
...
Fei sat under the watchtower on the west side of the defense wall and listened to the reports from the commanders from various defense locations; these commanders were reporting on how many enemies they killed and how many casualties they suffered.
After doing some basic calculations, more than 4,000 soldiers in Dual-Flags City were killed or severely injured today, and the herald brigade of [Wolf Teeth Legion] suffered 513 casualties... this level of casualties was far worse than Fei's expectation.
The number of Zenit soldiers Dual-Flags City had was fixed, but the enemies could get more reinforcements.
If this situation didn't change, it would be a miracle for Dual-Flags City to last ten days. Even if the rest of [Wolf Teeth Legion] got here, the reinforcement would only contain 34,000 soldiers. It seemed a little impossible for Dual-Flags City to last through the winter.
The situation was worse than anticipated!
"Pass my order! The 30 Saint Seiyas shall patrol around the defense wall and monitor the enemies. All other soldiers shall rest and eat! We need to get ready to fend off the enemies in their next siege."
Fei didn't show any anxiousness and worries on his face; he appeared confident. This allowed the commanders around him to be more confident as well.
"Sir, Mayor Soroyov, and the nobles are here," a soldier came over and reported.
"Bring them over," Fei waved his hand casually as he said.
"As you wish."
Soon, Soroyov and a dozen more nobles appeared under the lead of Pierce and Drogba; they look very uncomfortable. Behind them, there were their guards; these guards could only endure the pain Pierce's fists brought to them as they didn't dare to make a sound.
Right now, Soroyov and the nobles were very worried.
Even though they agreed that they would fight against the king of Chambord and would lay low and be patient for now, what happened earlier completely destroyed their courage to rebel. These two subordinates of the king of Chambord could wipe out all of them; patience couldn't do anything to dominating strength.
Too weak!
Way too weak!
This was the phrase they liked to use when describing the civilians, and they felt like it described them for the first time as well. Finally, these high-up nobles got to experience what it was like to be powerless.
Currently, Soroyov didn't even know what attitude he should have when greeting this young opponent of his.
After walking on the defense wall and being stared at by the soldiers of [Wolf Teeth Legion] with caution for a while, they finally arrived at the watchtower on the west gate.
They met the king of Chambord who have brought fear to them for the whole day.
They were surprised that the madman who they cursed in their minds every second was so young. The face of the king told them that he was not yet 20 years old. Although these nobles knew that this No.1 Commander of Jax Battle Zone was quite young, they were still shocked by how young he looked.
However, the presence and aura this young man had didn't allow the nobles to underestimate him.
Soroyov who was walking at the very front was shocked; his pupils contracted instantly.
When he looked at this young man who was thinking about something, he sensed something special. When he wasn't this fat and when he was still a young noble knight who had dreams and ambitions, he sensed something similar on another person; however, that was 26 years ago.
After sensing this special aura, his last bit of hope and courage disappeared.
The only thing that held him from kneeling down was his pride as a level 2 noble of Zenit.
The cold wind blew by, and the two flags on the watchtower made a series of noises as they fluttered.
One of the flags was golden with the image of a sharp curly blade on it; it looked quite majestic. It was the Royal Flag of Jax that Emperor Yassin got after he conquered the Capital of Jax – Amsterdam. This flag had been hanging here for the last 26 years; it represented the glory of Zenit, and it also reminded the people of Jax that they were once conquered.
This flag represented shame in the eyes of the people of Jax, and it was stabbed into their hearts like a thorn.
Chapter 396: In the Name of Alexander (Part One)
For the last 26 years, the people of Jax dreamed of taking this flag away of Dual-Flags City and bringing it back to Amsterdam to wash away that shame. However, as long as that demon-like figure resided in the Capital of Zenit, none of the people of Jax dared to do such a thing.
But now, it seemed like this opportunity arrived.
In order to officially bring back that Royal Flag, they had to start the war.
...
Fei sat under this Royal Flag and rubbed his chin. He looked through the battlements that were stained by blood and looked at the desert; the wind was blowing, and the sky even turned yellow as a result of flying sand.
The king was thinking about how he could deal with the upcoming issues, and he was so absorbed in the thinking that he forgot about these nobles who were shivering in fear.
All of them including Mayor Soroyov didn't dare to interrupt this young man who made they feel desperate; they all waited with their backs bent.
Finally, one noble's legs numbed from standing up for so long, and he almost fell to the ground. The noise he made pulled the king back to the situation he had on hand.
"Huh," Fei looked at the nobles, and his eyes landed on Soroyov. "You are the mayor of Dual-Flags City, Soroyov?" he asked.
"Yes... Sir, it is me," Soroyov quickly replied; he was quite bitter.
"Oh..." Fei responded casually and said, "I don't have extra chairs here; you guys need to stand for a while."
"Don't worry. It is not a problem..."
"Yeah, Legion Commander, we aren't qualified enough to sit down in front of you."
"Yeah! We should stand up! It is within reason, haha!��
Before Soroyov could respond, all the nobles behind him answered for him. With flattering expressions on their faces, it felt like they would kneel down and lick Fei's boots if Fei wanted them to.
Fei frowned; he couldn't find any noble-like temperaments and qualities on them.
"After being controlled by a bunch of idiots like them, how much have this most important city in the northwest region of Zenit rot?" Fei was scared just thinking about it.
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These nobles confirmed that Dual-Flags City was in a terrible situation once again.
However, Fei had to defend against the siege of a level 1 Empire on this terrible foundation.
"Fu*king ridiculous!" Fei shook his head and thought to himself in self-ridicule. After he glanced at the nobles again, he looked back at Soroyov and asked, "Blood? And a few wounds? So you did help with the defense?"
Soroyov didn't know how to answer.
At this moment, he already lost the courage to lie. Also, he realized that staining his body with blood and ordering his guards to cut off the heads of the corpses to get military merits was stupid.
Fortunately, it seemed like the king of Chambord wasn't trying to get a clear answer.
With a strange smile on his face, Fei asked again, "One... two... ten... 16... eh, I only see 29 nobles. If I am not wrong, there should be 36 noble families in the city, right? I ordered all nobles to help with the defense today... who can tell me where the other nobles are? Did they die heroically in the last siege?"
All the nobles felt like their hearts were hammered hard by this question.
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"S... Sir... the other seven noble families... they didn't listen to your order and didn't help with the defense," Soroyov told Fei the truth; he didn't dare to say anything but the truth.
He was in a strange mood. He was planning to use Fei to get rid of those seven noble families who rivaled against him, but he felt sad telling Fei the truth as if what was going to happen to those seven noble families would happen to him as well.
"Is that so? Interesting! As nobles of the empire, they aren't willing to fight for the empire. You guys tell me, do they still deserve to live?" at first, Fei was murmuring to himself, but he then turned his head and asked Pierce, Drogba, Kanort, and Huerk.
Chapter 396: In the Name of Alexander (Part Two)
Before they could respond, Fei ordered, "You four take 500 elite cavaliers and invite the leaders of the seven noble families here; I want to listen to their explanations! If anyone dares to resist, they shall be executed immediately!"
"As you wish!"
The four warriors replied and quickly disappeared from the defense wall with murderous spirits.
Since the situation was crappy, it needed to be treated by effective and direct methods.
Since the situation was crappy, Fei didn't have the patience to play around with these bug-like nobles. He had to wipe out all the unstable factors inside Dual-Flags City; that was the only way that everyone inside the city would focus 100% of fending off the enemies.
"Young brave soldier, come here."
Fei waved at the young soldier who came with Drogba and Pierce.
At this moment, a real warm smile appeared on the king's face.
"I'm... Glenn, it is nice to meet you," the young soldier said his name, and he was so emotional that his voice shivered. He single-kneeled in front of Fei and said, "May the gods bless you, Your Majesty!"
"Don't be nervous, warrior. You should call me sir; only Chambordians address me as their majesty."
Fei switched to Paladin Mode, and the kind and holy light shone. A dash of golden energy was injected into Glenn's tired and injured body, and all the wounds on him were recovering at a visible speed.
In Diablo World, the Paladin was the representation of generosity, kindness, and justice. Even in the actual game, Paladins would be favored by the NPCs and would get better treatments.
After Fei switched to Paladin Mode, a warm and welcoming aura appeared on him. It was intimate and holy, and it made all the people around him wanting to worship him and stay loyal to him.
The injuries on Glenn's body had soon recovered; these common injuries caused by standard blades were nothing in the eyes of a Paladin.
After Fei used [Prayer] for a dozen seconds, even the deep wound on Glenn's shoulder that made his shoulder bone visible disappeared; it looked like he wasn't injured from the beginning.
"Ah? This... Thank you, sir!" the young warrior was stunned. He stretched his shoulder and couldn't sense any pain. He felt like the pain and fatigue left his body forever; he was full of vitality as if he was reborn again.
Fei smiled as he stood up from the stone chair.
The golden battle ring under his feet started to expand, and it soon enveloped all the soldiers around him. All these soldiers felt a warm energy flowing in their bodies, and all the pain and fatigue they felt went away. Those soldiers who came with Glenn were also enveloped in this golden battle ring, and their eyes opened wide as they were shocked by the changes in their bodies.
After seeing this, the hearts of Soroyov and the nobles sunk.
However, the power of an individual was limited. Currently, Fei couldn't envelop the whole city with his aura and help all soldiers.
"You guys can come over as well," Fei called over the few soldiers who came with Glenn. As he looked at the tents inside the camp of Jax that was quite far away, he asked, "I heard from Pierce and Drogba that something tragic happened on the north side of the defense wall. What exactly happened?"
...
"Your older brother is a true warrior," Fei patted Glenn's shoulder and said after Glenn told him about what happened. "His honor won't be stained by anyone. I promise you that he will be treated fairly."
After that, Fei turned around and said to these soldiers who were no longer that nervous, "I, Alexander, promise you as the No.1 Commander of Jax Battle Zone that no one can strip away your rights and merits! You will be rewarded for your bravery and sacrifice. From now on, anyone who protects this city against the enemies will be rewarded! Even if they were beggars, slaves, and prostitutes!" Fei was very sincere.
What Fei said moved a lot of soldiers; they felt like the motivation, and the morale returned to them! As low-class soldiers, they weren't asking for much; they only wanted their hard work and value to be recognized. Today, this young king did that.
"Cech?" Fei waved his hand.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" Cech walked over.
Chapter 397: Pass My Order – Kill! (Part One)
"Record everything that I have said and post copies around the city. Also, remember to write down that the families of deceased soldiers will be compensated with five gold coins, and any soldiers who got injured in battle will be compensated with 50 silver coins. One kill of the enemies will be rewarded with ten silver coins, and the military merits each person earned will be recorded on the Military Merits Ledger. After each battle, it will be evaluated by the logistics department, and the people who are qualified to get promotions and monetary rewards will get them right away!"
Fei rubbed a rough battlement on the defense wall as he said determinately.
"As you wish, Your Majesty!" Cech recorded down everything Fei had said.
Fei stared into afar. After a few moments of silence, he added, "After the logistics department is done with the evaluation, bring the ledger to me for a view before distributing the rewards. Anyone who dares to mess around on the ledger will..."
Fei suddenly paused and punched behind him without even looking back.
Bam!
A guard got turned into a cloud of blood mists before he could react.
All the blood spilled onto the faces of his peers and the nobles.
That wet sensation and the nose-piercing smell of the blood immediately terrified a lot of them; some timid nobles screamed as they collapsed onto the ground. Even though most of these nobles could control their body a little bit, they all kneeled onto the ground including Mayor Soroyov. The last bit of pride and courage Soroyov had as a level 2 noble of Zenit disappeared as soon as the blood got onto his face.
Bam! The partial corpse of that guard fell onto the ground.
This guard was the one who wanted to decapitate Glenn's older brother's corpse for military merits.
"If anyone dares to insult the corpses of brave soldiers, they shall be executed!" Fei said with a determinate tone as he stood still on the defense wall. As if nothing had happened, he ignored the nobles who all kneeled down in fear and continued, "Organize everything I have said and make them into the temporary military law. Spread it around the city, and make sure to emphasize that the punishment for anyone who dares to mess around on the Military Merit Ledger would be what happened to this guard!"
"As you wish," Cech carefully recorded everything Fei had said.
Fei nodded and smiled at the soldiers around him. He said with a calm tone, "Alright, enough time wasted. You guys can go back and rest; you need to prepare for the next siege. Of course, come to me if you guys encounter any issues. Also, tell your comrades about what I said; let them monitor and see if I would go back on my words.
"Yes, sir!"
These young and brave soldiers held back their excitement and saluted at Fei. Afterward, they left and went back to the north side of the defense wall.
They would remember this meeting for the rest of their lives.
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Perhaps some of them would die in this war, and maybe some of them couldn't come this close and chat with this mighty king in the future, but what happened in this 10-minute meeting would be the most precious memory they would ever have; it was engraved into their souls.
After the soldiers walked away, Fei turned around and looked at the nobles kneeling on the ground; the warm smile had already turned into coldness.
"Gathering all the soldiers into the city, refusing to protect the 2,361 citizens of Zenit around Dual-Flags City and letting them die, giving the control of the area to the enemies of Jax, pulling your own forces out of the battle, getting ready to ditch the city, robbing the military merits of the base soldiers... Humph! Great! Is this what you nobles of Dual-Flags City want Emperor Yassin His Majesty and the Military Headquarter to know?"
The nobles and their guards who were kneeling on the ground sweated buckets, and they didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
"According to the Military Law of Zenit, what you did are no different to treason. You should be executed 10,000 times!" Fei shouted at them.
As soon as the nobles and their guards heard the word treason, their bodies shivered violently as if lightning struck them. They quickly crawled forward and begged for mercy.
"Sir, please spare us! We are guilty, but please show mercy! We only did it once!"
"Sir, sir! Soroyov made all of the decisions; we didn't dare to resist against him. Please investigate!"
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"King Alexander! We are willing to fight and willing to protect Dual-Flags City! Please give us the opportunity!"
Chapter 397: Pass My Order – Kill! (Part Two)
All the nobles were terrified. If they were charged with treason, they were dead for sure; even relatives of the Royal Family of Zenit would be executed if they were found guilty of treason.
Fei didn't respond right away. He stood in front of a battlement and looked into the sky; it looked like he was thinking about something.
He lightly knocked the battlement that was made from rocks, and that made a series of tapping noises. These noises sometimes were fast and sometimes were slow, they sometimes sounded like a breeze and sometimes sounded like a storm. Although the soldiers in the area found the noises interesting, the nobles were traumatized; they were afraid that this young man would make the decision right now and execute them all.
At this moment, a series of footsteps sounded.
"Sir, we have brought back the leader of the seven noble families," Drogba reported loudly. Behind the four commanders, there were seven people; these people were in fancy clothes, but they were tied up with ropes.
"Alexander! You bloody butcher! You shameless butcher! I'm a noble of the empire! You can't arrest me..." among the seven nobles who were arrested, a mid-aged man who had an aquiline nose and a gloomy face shouted as soon as he saw Fei, "I will bring this matter to the Royal Family! I will report you! You are committing a crime!"
"I already sent out the order, so why weren't you on the defense wall helping with the defense?" Fei stopped a Saint Seiya from slapping this man, and he asked this noble calmly.
"Yuck! You don't have the right to summon nobles to fight for you, and I also have the privilege of not participating in battles..." this aquiline nosed noble shouted angrily.
"I'm the No.1 Commander of Jax Battle Zone, and I'm appointed by Emperor Yassin His Majesty himself! Why do you think I don't have the right? As nobles, you are respected by the civilians and enjoyed the privileges granted by the Royal Family. But at critical moments when the empire needs you, you make excuses not to serve? You didn't just break the Military Law; when you are confronted with your crime, you still don't see your wrongdoings! Disappointing... execute him!"
As soon as Fei ordered, the Saint Seiya beside this aquiline nosed noble slashed down with his blade.
That noble was shocked; he never imagined that the king of Chambord dared to kill a level 3 noble. Before he could say anything or do anything, that blade already landed. After a cracking noise, blood spilled, and a head fell to the ground. That arrogant and idiotic noble was executed right there.
"For real?.... he got killed? He is a level 3 noble of Zenit!"
In Dual-Flags City, this noble's status was only lower than Fei and Soroyov. It was heard that this aquiline nosed noble named Miller had significant connections in St. Petersburg, and that was why he was so arrogant; he even didn't care about Soroyov's orders in the past... this noble that wasn't restricted by the law was killed like a pig!
Miller's head rolled on the ground, and the expression on his face told everyone that he still couldn't believe what happened the moment he died. The hot blood left a trail on the ground, and steam came off of it in the cold winter weather.
Bam!
The headless corpse fell to the ground, and that golden and prestigious robe got stained with blood and dust and was no longer fancy.
"Aaaaaa..." a few nobles were shocked, and they fainted after they screamed in terror.
Fei's face didn't even change expressions.
After he walked back to his stone chair, he sat down and waved his hand. Shevchenko stepped forward with a scroll in his hands and read off of it, "Miller Family, level 3 nobles, committed the following crimes. First, they conspired with the desert bandits three years ago, killed more than 100 people in Dean Merchant Group, and robbed 30,000 gold coins. Second, they kidnapped 103 poor women three years ago and sold them in Jax Empire for profit. Third..."
As Shevchenko announced the crimes committed by the Miller Family one by one, all the nobles who were still conscious were shocked.
Most of the nobles in their circle knew about these crimes, and most of the nobles committed crimes like these as well themselves. Most of these crimes were unsolved as no one in public knew that the Miller Family was behind these crimes. The nobles thought the king of Chambord was framing the Miller Family at first, but they all felt like these crimes were investigated, and the king of Chambord got all the facts.
"How did he know? How did he get so much information in just one day? What else does he know? Scary..." Soroyov and other nobles who were kneeling on the ground felt like they were in a freezer.
Chapter 398: A Series of Executions (Part One)
"According to the laws of Zenit, except for the execution of the head of the Miller Family, the family will be stripped away their hereditary nobility status. All males who are younger than 16 shall be made into ordinary civilians, and all men who are older than 16 shall be placed into Suicide Squads in the military and help with the defense of the city. All women shall be turned into civilians as well. Also, all the properties of the Miller Family will be confiscated and turned into the funding for the military!"
Shevchenko announced the punishment.
No one objected to this verdict; perhaps they were all terrified of the king's power and domination.
However, all the nobles here had to admit that this punishment was very lenient compared with the sentence some other noble families in the history of Zenit received. Only Miller was killed, and the men under the age of 16 and all women were turned into civilians; in other cases when a noble family was charged with treason, all the men were executed, and all women were turned into military prostitutes.
"Since everyone agrees that the verdict is fair, continue to the next one," Fei lightly waved his hand and said. He was calm; in his eyes, killing a guilty and disgusting noble was no different to killing a pig.
"The Adam Family committed the following crime. First..."
Shevchenko opened up the second scroll, and it contained all the crimes that the Adam Family committed in the last ten years; every single incident was recorded in detail. As Shevchenko continued to announce them, all the nobles felt an unusual coldness, and the leader of the Adam Family collapsed onto the ground.
"Execute!" Fei said after Shevchenko finished reading.
Chop!
The head of the leader of the Adam Family dropped onto the ground like a watermelon.
The west side of the defense wall was destined to be stained by the blood of the nobles.
"Next," the king's voice was still very calm.
"The Max Family committed the following crimes. First..." Shevchenko opened the third scroll and read all the crimes this family committed; this was the third noble family that went against Fei's order from earlier.
"Execute!" after Shevchenko was done, Fei ordered again without hesitation.
Each of the crimes these nobles committed would result in the death penalty, and some of the crimes were so cruel and so disgusting that a reasonable person couldn't even comprehend them. These crimes weren't made up by Fei; all of this information was gathered and processed by Zolasc using the [Letter Office], and Fei was confident that all these crimes were linked back to the right perpetrators. As a result, Fei didn't feel bad at all when he ordered their executions.
Bam!
Another corpse fell onto the ground.
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"The Lody Family committed the following crimes. First..." Shevchenko's calm and just voice sounded again, and all the nobles shivered in fear as if they heard the call of the Grim Reaper.
"No...no!! Your Majesty! King Alexander, please forgive me! I'm willing to hand over all my properties, and I'm willing to fight for Dual-Flags City! Please..." the leader of the Lody Family was crapping his pants. He kowtowed repeatedly, and blood came out of his forehead.
"Execute!" Fei ordered calmly; he didn't even look at that noble.
Chop!
Another head rolled on the ground, and another headless corpse fell onto the ground as blood flowed out of the neck.
"Alexander, you are this young, yet you are this vicious... You are a murderer! You are a bloody butcher! The Royal Family of Zenit won't forgive you for this! Your ending will be similar to ours!..." after seeing this, the leaders of the other three noble families knew that they wouldn't be spared. They all shouted angrily, and it looked like they wanted to charge at Fei and tear him into pieces.
Fei didn't respond; he just sat in his chair calmly.
The golden sunlight in the winter shined on the king's body, and he looked like a beautiful yet terrifying statue.
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"The Kurt Family committed the following crimes. First, 11 years ago..." Shevchenko opened the fifth scroll and read from it slowly.
"Execute!" the order was the same.
With his back facing the nobles, Fei looked at the sun that was setting. His voice didn't contain any emotion as if nothing significant was happening.
Chapter 398: A Series of Executions (Part Two)
Chop!
The blades in the hands of the Saint Seiyas had no mercy.
"The Dinus Family committed the following crimes. First..."
"Execute!"
Chop!
"The Lesi Family committed the following crimes. First..."
"Execute!"
Chop!
Chop!
Chop!
In less than 20 minutes, the leaders of the seven noble families who disobeyed Fei's order all got executed. Although they were powerful and influential before, they were no different to dead animals in a forest. The seven corpses lied on the defense wall, and their blood stained the ground below them. The blood flowed between the stone tiles, and the smell of blood was everywhere.
"Hang their heads on top of the west gate. Anyone who dares to disobey military orders shall get the same treatment!"
Fei gave another order, and the soldiers around him picked up the seven heads and put them into a small rusty metal cage. This cage was hung on top of the west gate of the city, and blood dripped down to the ground from time to time; this was a warning to all soldiers and nobles about the consequences of disobeying orders.
"Pierce and Drogba, you guys lead 500 soldiers and confiscate the properties of these seven noble families; they shall be used as the fund for the military. Also, make sure that the Military Judge would finish counting all the military merits for each soldier and compile the list of the brave soldiers who died in the war so far. They shall be rewarded according to the structure I just mentioned!"
"As you wish, Your Majesty!" Pierce and Drogba replied and left the defense wall.
"Move their corpses and give them back to their families," Fei said as he looked at the seven corpses on the ground and frowned. He waved his hand, and soldiers walked up and moved the bodies away.
After all that was done, Fei stood up from his chair and walked over to Soroyov and the nobles who were shivering in fear.
A series of merciless executions had already terrified these nobles.
It was way too surprising to see people they were familiar get executed, and it was way too shocking to look at these people's heads that were being hung on the city's gate as warning signs. Five nobles already fainted due to the trauma, and other nobles including Mayor Soroyov sweated a whole lot and didn't dare to move; it felt like their knees were already cracked from kneeling down too long.
They all knew that the king of Chambord was trying to establish his dominance.
By using the heads of these arrogant and guilty nobles, he was able to build an absolute dominating image in the shortest time.
With their heads lowered, the nobles could only listen to the footstep of Fei. When Fei's boots that were stained by blood appeared in their vision, their heads turned blank; as if the sickle of the Grim Reaper was placed on their necks, they were so nervous that they forgot to breathe.
This was a critical moment.
Their lives were under the control of King Alexander.
"You guys..." the devil-like voice sounded, and the hearts of the nobles started to race. As they licked their dry lips, that voice continued to speak, "Your crimes are all recorded in those scrolls. If I follow the law of Zenit, none of you could escape the execution."
Puff!
One of the nobles was so scared by what Fei said that he lost control of his lower body; he defecated all over himself, and it smelled disgusting.
"However, since you guys obeyed my order this time and helped with the defense, I will give you guys an opportunity. If you guys could earn enough military merits in battles, I will pardon you guys from the death penalty. If some of you earned a lot of military merits, they could cancel out all the crimes that you committed; I will treat it as if nothing had happened," Fei said.
"Ah? Really?
"Thank god! Thank you, King Alexander!"
"Really? We don't need to die?"
After hearing this, the nobles were stoked. As if they escaped from the hug of the Grim Reaper, they quickly praised Fei for his generosity and justice.
Some of the nobles were so excited that they cried, and even Soroyov shouted, "Thank you, King Alexander, for your generosity."
At this moment, a strange smiled appeared on Fei's face. He recalled a famous phrase that a novel commenter liked to use and said it out loud, "You can be pardoned from the death penalty, but you can't escape from punishments."
Chapter 399: Temporary Peace (Part One)
"Pass my order! Arrest Mayor Soroyov for now! He shall pay 10,000 gold coins, and that amount needs to be paid in full in three days! Other nobles shall be charged 50,000 gold coins each, and the amount needs to be paid in full in three days as well. Also, each family needs to hand over 100 personal soldiers to help with the defense of the city..." as Fei said that, he looked at the nobles who were stoked to be alive and continued, "From today on, you guys will defend the west side of the defense wall. I will be here as well watching everything!"
Fei's tone was very decisive and didn't allow any room for negotiation.
"Sir! We are willing to pay and hand over soldiers for the defense; we are willing to listen to all of your calls and orders..." one of the nobles who had a fat face was already showing his good side as a flattering smile appeared on his face.
The nobles were happy that their lives were spared; although some of them felt painful giving away that much money, they couldn't do anything about it.
In the end, they all looked at that first fat nobles in disdain as they all copied his attitude and expressed their willingness to pay and defend.
"Ok, you guys can leave now. Go back and prepare; bring people to the defense wall by tomorrow morning."
Fei waved his hand, and some soldiers walked up and took Soroyov away. The other nobles all bowed at Fei respectfully and quickly escaped the defense wall; some of them were so scared that their legs were soft.
"From now on, this west gate will be my command center! As long as Jax doesn't pull back its forces, I won't leave this side of the defense wall!" Fei decided to put his command center on this side of the defense wall. Anywhere was the same in his eyes, and he would be able to discover the movements of the enemies by placing his command center here,
This action made the soldiers and the commanders admire him even more.
More and more people started to believe that there was still hope in this war where Zenit was at a severe disadvantage; as long as this young king was here to protect the Dual-Flags City, they could see a future.
...
The red sun was finally about to disappear on the horizon.
The sky darkened, and the white clouds in the sky were painted into the red color of the sunlight; they looked bloody from afar.
The temperature was dropping quickly.
Since it was the desert and the sand could not hold in the heat, the temperature difference between the day and the night was huge.
It was heard that even the Sand Tigers that were known as the [Boats in the Desert] could be freeze to death in the cold winter nights.
As a result, it was almost impossible to travel and battle in this climate. There had never been a case of enemies sieging a city in a winter night in the desert, so Fei and his fellow commanders didn't need to worry too much about the safety of the city in the night.
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The soldiers in Dual-Flags City who had fought for the whole day could finally get a good rest.
The seven noble families were confiscated, and the value of properties was worth more than 1,000,000 gold coins; there were more than 600,000 gold coins in their mansions on top of the rare treasures.
All of these were put into the military fund.
The soldiers in Dual-Flags City witnessed and participated in the whole expropriation process, and Frank Ribry who woke up after being treated by Fei a second time and the doctors in the city also appeared and helped. There were lots of witnesses and proofs that indicated that Chambord didn't misappropriate the treasures.
[Wolf Teeth Legion]'s actions earned the respect of the native soldiers in Dual-Flags City.
After the herald brigade entered the city, the attitude of the native soldiers changed from skeptical to cautious and to respect. One had to admit that Fei's charisma did 80% of the work, but the friendships that were built between the native soldiers and the soldiers in [Wolf Teeth Legion] during the battles today also helped a lot.
From strangers to friends; the two different groups of soldiers were getting to know each other quickly,
Fei was happy to see this; this would help to increase the concentration and the combat ability of the military forces.
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Before the night arrived, the news about the king of Chambord executing the leaders of the seven noble families already got around the city.
Chapter 399: Temporary Peace (Part Two)
On top of being shocked, the people in Dual-Flags City sensed the direct and aggressive personality of the new No.1 Commander. Fei's new policies around the reward and punishment system were made into posters and got posted around the city as they came to effect immediately.
No one in the city dared to disobey the orders anymore unless they wanted to hang their heads on the west gate.
This greatly motivated the soldiers and the civilians!
Inside the massive watchtower on the west gate, Fei hosted his first military meeting as the No.1 Commander of the Battle Zone.
Frank Ribry who was the head commander of the native soldiers of Dual-Flags City participated in the meeting alongside the commanders in the herald brigade of [Wolf Teeth Legion]. In this meeting, the powers and rights of each level of the commanders were clearly drawn out, and the channels of communication were set up. As the head commander of the 30,000 native soldiers, Ribry earned a lot of respect and was liked by Fei; he was given a lot of power.
Shevchenko, Cech, and Ribry were the three direct reports of Fei
"Ribry, I will put you in charge of building the militia. You are much familiar with the city compared with the others," Fei laughed and said, "You will be doing a lot of work in the next few days."
"It is an honor to serve you. I don't mind the hard work," Ribry replied. He was a straightforward person, and he was quite manly. Since he already admired Fei a lot, he followed all of Fei's orders without hesitation.
"Great. Out of the 36,000 soldiers we have, they shall be divided into three groups, and you three will each lead one. Each group will be responsible for patrolling and guarding the defense wall at a given time, and you guys shall rotate the responsibilities; the number of soldiers patrolling the area can be reduced by half in the night. All resources will be provided by the logistics department in [Wolf Teeth Legion], and that is all for now. The rest of [Wolf Teeth Legion] will be here in two days, and we shall discuss more issues then!"
Fei wrapped up the meeting.
This meeting wasn't that long, and the commanders all left and went back to their defense locations.
Ribry who was recognized and valued by Fei was very excited. Without worrying about the injuries that still hadn't fully recovered yet, he started to prepare for the construction of the militia. Since the appearance of the invaders, there was a curfew at night in Dual-Flags City. However, it didn't feel less intense and less busy at all when it was dark outside.
Fei kept Pierce, Drogba, Huerk, and Kanort as his temporary guards.
Although soldiers were patrolling in front of the watchtower, it was quite empty inside the watchtower.
Fei was sitting on a stone chair that had a layer of leather on it, and he was thinking about how the rest of [Wolf Teeth Legion] could get through the enemies of Jax who had surrounded the city; the number of enemies was increasing by the day since there were a lot of reinforcements coming.
This was a big issue! Except for the soldiers, there was also the central logistic department who held a lot of resources including food and supplies; their movement speed was quite slow. Unlike the cavaliers in the herald brigade who were able to get through the enemies' defense lines in one charge, the rest of [Wolf Teeth Legion] that had 30,000 soldiers in it would suffer around 7,000 casualties if they wanted to get through the enemies by force, and the loss of food and supplies couldn't even be counted.
On top of that, it was a headache just thinking about how these soldiers could enter the city. It would take a while for 30,000 soldiers to enter the city, and the enemies might use this opportunity when the gate was open and charge in; that would be catastrophic.
Fei felt exhausted just thinking about it.
If it wasn't for Krasic's death and if Chambord wasn't only 400 kilometers away from Dual-Flags City and might be in danger after Dual-Flags City gets conquered, Fei would want to dust himself off and leave this place.
Since he had Diablo World, he could stay in Chambord and only show-off his strength after he becomes invincible; that was a more thrilling life.
Fei looked through the door and looked at the campsite of Jax that was quite bright in the dark, and a lightbulb appeared in his head.
He remembered that both Tanasha and Paris gave him a few magic boxes.
"Open up the boxes in order once you encounter difficulties," that was what these two intelligent and famous women told him when they gifted him the boxes.
...
3,000 meters away from Dual-Flags City.
Inside the campsite of Jax.
The long and cold night arrived, and even the soldiers of Jax who already got used to this weather had to go back to the tents with campfires inside of them. Only by getting warmed up by the heat from the fire could they survive the coldness.
Since they had the advantage in the war and it was freezing in the night, the defense and the patrol of the campsite wasn't too tight.
There were blockages set up 300 meters away from the campsite, and they were there to stop the cavaliers of Zenit charging directly into their campsite. Of course, the chances of that happening was really low in this weather.
There were wooden watchtowers all around the campsite, and the soldiers would be changed every 30 minutes to reduce the harm the cold weather would do to them.
The moon was shining beautifully in the sky, and the silver moonlight shined on the ground, making everything seem more beautiful and more poetic.
At this moment, a dash of shadow suddenly charged at the direction of this campsite from the west gate of Dual-Flags City.
Chapter 400: Sneaking into the Enemies' Camp (Part One)
The closer it was to the campsite, the faster this shadow was. In the end, it was so fast that this shadow was almost invisible to a human eye.
This shadow was so fast that it didn't leave any trace nor sound on the way. Like a phantom, it bypassed all the blockages and all the watchtowers, and it entered the campsite of the troops of Jax.
This dash of shadow was Fei who switched to Assassin Mode.
After he switched to Assassin Mode, he was as light as a feather and as Jax as a flash of lightning. Using the abilities of the Assassin, he easily sneaked in.
Most of the territories in the Jax Empire were deserts, and a lot of the people of Jax lived a nomadic lifestyle. Therefore, the soldiers of Jax were great at setting up appropriate tents at different locations. In this case, they were using triangular tents; these tents were stable, easy to move, and no sand could accumulate on top of them. The top of the tents was spherical, and each of the tents was about six meters apart; looking from far, they looked like numerous small sand hills, and it would be difficult for their enemies to discover them.
Under Assassin Mode, Fei used the skill [Cloak of Shadows].
Fei's Assassin Character was level 68, and using this skill would allow him not to be seen by enemies within 50 meters from him. Also, if he wanted to, he could blind all enemies within 20 meters from him and put them in a state of chaos.
Since the Assassin Character offered top-tier stealth skills and trap identification skills, none of the master warriors on the side of Jax could spot him, and the magic traps that would be triggered by outsiders were useless in front of Fei.
Fei casually wandered around inside the campsite of Jax.
With [Cloak of Shadows] activated, Fei won't be exposed unless he took the initiative and attacked someone. Right now, no one could sense his existence; it felt like the campsite of Jax was Fei's garden.
For 30 minutes, Fei had walked passed tens of thousands of tents, and he got a better grasp of the strength of Jax.
Since they grew up in this terrible natural environment, the soldiers of Jax had more endurance, were more vicious, and had better combat abilities compared to the soldiers of Zenit. After Fei did some screening, he had already discovered about 700 low-tier Star-level Warriors! This ratio of Star-level Warriors to ordinary soldiers was terrifying!
If that haughty Prince Fairenton decided to siege Dual-Flags City non-stop without caring about the casualties, Fei wasn't confident in successfully fending off the invaders.
After another 30 minutes, Fei finally found the tent where the head commander of the enemies resided.
This tent was only a little bit larger than the tents for ordinary soldiers; it could hold a dozen people at maximum capacity. Also, there weren't any symbols on the tents; the only thing that set this tent apart from the others were the 30 guards outside of it.
It looked like this Prince Fairenton wasn't someone who enjoyed luxury by the look of his tent.
Fei slowed down, chugged down a bottle of [Mana Potion], and used [Cloak of Shadows] to the maximum.
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As a result, a translucent cloud of energy appeared around Fei and covered an area of 40-meter radius around him, and Fei was able to walk pass the guards easily. Looking from the outside, it looked like these guards who were all Three-Star Warriors were acting and pretending not to see Fei.
Voices sounded inside this tent.
"Your Highness! I have sent a team of Sand Tiger Cavaliers to the closest Oasis – Bergburg Oasis for a dispatch of food. Don't worry! The second batch of food will arrive in three days..."
Fei heard someone speaking inside the lit tent.
He found a spot on the corner of the tent and peeked into it through a slit on it.
What surprised Fei was that although the exterior of the tent looked ordinary, the interior of the tent was luxurious. Several glided patterns were drawn on the dark red furs of some unknown Demon Beasts, and an orange magic lantern close to the skylight emitted warm lights. With corresponding magic lamps on the walls of the tent, they lit up the tent and showed off its clean design.
Although there wasn't a campfire inside the tent, it was very warm inside of it.
Fei saw many magic pathings on the walls of the tent and sensed the surge of magic energy. It was obvious that there were delicate magic arrays inside the tent that were keeping it warm.
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There were about eight people inside the tent.
Most of them were wearing brown armors with their helmets in their hands. They all had dark brown irises and full-grown beards; they looked like typical warriors of Jax.
In the center of the tent, a handsome young man was sitting on a fancy chair; he was Prince Fairenton, the fire-elemental Eight-Star Warrior and the head commander of this troop of Jax.
Chapter 400: Sneaking into the Enemies' Camp (Part Two)
The person who just spoke was one of the generals who had an aquiline nose.
"Eh, great. The only weak link in our expedition is our food supply. If we run short on food, we could only retreat for now and give up on conquering Dual-Flags City temporarily," Prince Fairenton nodded in satisfaction as he replied. After some thoughts, he added, "General Dene, make sure this issue is taken care of!"
Fei hid there quietly and carefully listened to all this.
As an Eight-Star Warrior, Prince Fairenton still couldn't sense Fei even though Fei was less than 10 meters away from him; this goes to show how amazing the stealth skills of the Assassin Character in Diablo World was. If Fei wanted to, he could assassinate this prince tonight and leave this campsite quietly and safely.
"Don't worry about it, Your Highness!" this general named Dene replied with confidence, "I will make sure it is taken care of!"
"Your Highness, we have a lot more soldiers than Dual-Flags City. If we sacrifice a bit more soldiers, we will conquer the city for sure. Why aren't we giving it all to conquer it?" a short and muscular general asked Prince Fairenton.
"That would result in way too many casualties. Since a master warrior like the king of Chambord is here, we won't be able to conquer the city unless we reach 40,000 to 50,000 casualties. Although our Jax Empire is huge, we don't have much inhabitable land. Also, we lack males in the empire, and each soldier of Jax is like a treasure to the empire. It is not worth it to trade so many soldiers for this little Dual-Flags City," Prince Fairenton rejected the proposal of this general without hesitation. He shook his head and continued, "Also, we are just in the preliminary stage of the war, and we just want to test them. The empire is not yet ready for a full-on war; we need to wait for a better opportunity."
"Why don't we just pass by Dual-Flags City and invade the northwest region of Zenit? We would be able to gather a lot of resources��… there is an ancient city near here..." another general recommended.
A strange expression appeared on Prince Fairenton's face.
After a short pause, this prince shook his head and said, "We don't need to discuss these issues; we couldn't make the decision. Emperor Fuji His Majesty and the Military Headquarter already decided on conquering Dual-Flags City first, and there must be a reason for that. Before we conquer this city, we shouldn't invade the inner territories of Zenit."
All the generals fell into a moment of silence.
The orders from the Military Headquarter of Jax confused these generals. Not sure what those officials in the Military Headquarter of Jax were afraid of, but they didn't want to push in and invade Zenit directly. Their careful and hesitant strategy frustrated these frontline generals who were used to direct and upfront battles.
At this moment, a guard walked into the tent and handed Prince Fairenton a secret letter.
After this prince stood up and read the letter, his face changed color.
He passed the letter to the generals in front of him and said, "Damn! This King Alexander is such a character! He is direct and vicious! Such balls! I heard that he had created the Law of the Twelve Tables that was rumored to be the Law of the Saint, and I thought that was an exaggeration. Now it seems like this man has his specialties. In just one day, he is able to grasp the torn and divided Dual-Flags City and make it into an iron plate! Just like what I suspected... this man will be the biggest obstacle we will face on the way to the east!"
The other generals also read the letter, and they started to chat among themselves.
Fei heard their chatters, and he was surprised as well.
In that letter, it recorded everything that had happened after the second siege of the day was over. It contained the details on the execution of the leaders of the seven noble families, the surrender of the 29 noble families, and the construction of the militia... none of the key information was omitted, and there wasn't a single mistake in it.
"How? This letter must be from the inside of Dual-Flags City... So there is a traitor in Dual-Flags City? And his or her position isn't low... otherwise, he or she won't be able to record everything that had happened in Dual-Flags City in this much detail... this letter even included every word I said in the watchtower on the west gate."
Chapter 401: That Fire in the Night (Part One)
"Your Highness, since this king of the little affiliated kingdom is so hard to deal with, why don't we report back to Emperor Fuji His Majesty and ask for a powerful warrior to come to deal with him?" one general came up with a direct recommendation after sensing the power of Fei.
"Eh, I'm already doing it. However, since the No.1 Swordsman Mr. Huntelaar hadn't returned, it would be hard to deal with the king of Chambord since the other Moon-Class Elites the empire has are all busy at the moment. However, I have already invited a powerful Senior Fellow Disciple of mine to come here. This Senior Fellow Disciple of mine is the most talented and most powerful disciple my master has, and he will be here in a few days," Prince Fairenton said.
Fei saw a hopeful expression on Fairenton's face when he said that, and he knew that this prince admired his Senior Fellow Disciple.
"The Senior Fellow Disciple of this famous prince of Jax is this powerful? Even Fairenton admires him? Huh... is this Senior Fellow Disciple still on the Star-level or is he already a Moon-Class Elite?" Fei thought.
Under Barbarian Mode, Fei was already invincible in the realm of Star-level.
He really wanted to meet this genius warrior Fairenton was talking about; he hoped that through battling with a genius warrior, he would be able to get the inspiration and break through the threshold to become a Moon-Class Elite.
After some more chats, the generals left the tent.
"This king of Chambord sure is a talented person! If he is willing to become a part of Jax, I'm willing to give him my prince status!" after he put away the letter, Prince Fairenton suddenly sighed as if he thought of something while looking at the empty tent.
Fei was quite surprised to hear this.
He didn't expect this haughty prince of the Jax to have such a good impression of him.
Fairenton still hadn't discovered Fei's existence.
After about five minutes, he put on a cape and started to patrol the campsite with a few guards with him in the cold.
Putting their opposite stances aside, Fei quite appreciated this prince's character. At least regarding professionalism and valuing the soldiers' lives, this cold and haughty prince demonstrated the temperament and behavior of a good leader.
After seeing that Prince Fairenton and his guards disappeared into afar, Fei sneaked into the tent.
It was quiet inside the tent.
Fei easily found that letter and read it carefully. He confirmed that someone inside Dual-Flags City wrote this letter; the events were recorded in so much detailed that Fei felt like he relived through what happened today.
Fei did expect there to be spies of Jax and traitors of Zenit inside Dual-Flags City.
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What surprised him was that the status of this traitor was quite high; it was very likely that this traitor was standing around the watchtower on the west gate and had witnessed the execution of the leaders of the seven noble families.
"Who could it be... A commander of the native forces? Or... A thorn like this inside Dual-Flags City is troublesome! If he or she took action and disrupted the defense of Dual-Flags City at critical times, it would affect the entire war!" Fei though to himself.
"Who could it be?" Fei thought through everyone who was around the area and didn't spot anyone who was suspicious.
"I need to take it slow; if I get anxious, it would have a bad influence on the morale of the soldiers."
After memorizing the font and the writing style of the letter, Fei put the letter back to its original location and sealed it up using the original method.
Before Prince Fairenton came back, Fei did more searches in the tent.
He quickly found a military map with a lot of comments and tiny red arrows on them. Fei studied it for a bit and realized that the red arrows showed several paths and roads in the desert that were unknown to others.
Fei also found four more maps just like the first one. These maps all had different paths with different locations; they were all important military maps for strategic uses.
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Fei carefully observed the maps and memorized everything on these maps. The king had a good memory to begin with, and the miraculous skill [Learn] enforced this ability and allowed him to have a photographic memory. Therefore, although there was a lot of information on the maps, it wasn't a heavy-duty task for Fei to memorize all of them.
After that, he found a lot of military documents on the table that Prince Fairenton used.
Using his insane memory, he just memorized everything on these documents without fully understanding them; he didn't have time to slow down and comprehend everything.
When he placed everything back to their original spots and made sure that no one could see the difference, footsteps sounded.
Fei could sense Prince Fairenton's Eight-Star Energy; it was like a bright campfire in the night. After Fei double checked and made sure that no one could tell that someone was here, he used [Cloak of Shadows] and disappeared in front of the guards.
Prince Fairenton returned to his tent and didn't discover anything strange.
...
Chapter 401: That Fire in the Night (Part Two)
Fei didn't leave the campsite of Jax after he left Fairenton's tent. After he searched a bit more, he found the storages that contained food supplies for these soldiers of Jax.
Behind a sand hill where the wind was weaker, there were a ton of food supplies stored in several big tents. These tents were protected by invisible magic traps, and they were also guarded by a lot of elite soldiers. In addition, there were 50 Star-level Warriors between the level of Two-Star and Three-Star patrolling around the area.
After some carefully screening, Fei discovered that there were several warriors on the level of Four-Star and Five-Star hiding in the dark.
It was clear that the food supplies were crucial.
It made sense; food and water were the most critical resources in the desert, and they were more important in a war in the desert.
The people of Jax had their way of finding water sources. Fei had already seen more than a dozen water wells that connected to the underwater 100 meters deep. Everyone knew that there was underwater near Dual-Flags City; Emperor Yassin used [Dragon Fist] to created wells for the people in Dual-Flags City, and this story was well-known in the region.
Although it wasn't hard to find water, the food supplies had to be transported on land.
Under Assassin Mode, Fei easily got around the Two-Star and Three-Star Warriors who were patrolling the area, and he dodged the magic traps like a pro.
After he entered a storage facility, the skills of the Assassin Character were complete demonstrated. In just a few seconds, Fei assassinated four Four-Star Warriors who were hiding in the dark.
When he was trying to assassinate that Five-Star Warrior, he encountered some issues. When Fei attempted to slit the throat of that Five-Star Warrior, the warrior made a muffled noise to warn the others. It was fortunate that the wind was blowing fast, and the whistle of the wind covered this muffled noise; the patrolling elite soldiers didn't hear it.
Fei decided to destroy these food supplies.
He was able to use the skill [Venom] of the Assassin Character to poison these food supplies. The poison created by this skill was deadly; this poison was odorless and colorless, and one drop of it was enough to kill more than 100 enemies. Only warriors who were above Three-Star could potentially survive this poison.
However, Fei hesitated about poisoning more than tens of thousands of soldiers of Jax.
He wasn't a person who would show kindness to the enemies, but directly poisoning the enemies in secret was just too vicious and too cruel. After all, Fei was only a university student in his previous life and wasn't a vicious person who would do anything to achieve his goals; he naturally disliked poisoning a ton of people.
After he gave it some thoughts, he decided to act like a "saint" and not poison the enemies; he was going to use fire to burn these food supplies.
If the soldiers of Jax had no food to eat, they would have to retreat; that was the best outcome that Fei could wish for; of course, it was only a wish.
After he put on the devil mask, switched to Sorceress Mode, and shot out his first fireball, an angry roar sounded from Prince Fairenton's tent. Next, Fairenton dashed out of his tent and rushed towards this location.
"Huh? He spotted me?" Fei was quite surprised, but he didn't stop shooting out fireballs.
"Stop! Who are you? Soldiers! Come! Put out the fire!"
Haughty Prince Fairenton's loud shout resonated in the camp, and he punched out forcefully. That fist energy was very impressive; it created a series of thunders and winds. The tents inside the campsite all shook violently and made even more noise as a result of it.
However, Fei easily dodged this attack.
In this situation, he didn't want to fight with this prince. Instead, he played the role of an arsonist even more and shot out more than 30 fireballs. Like the kisses of the devils, these fireballs instantly ignited the food supplies, and the fire quickly spread around the storages.
Chapter 402: You Won't Kill Me (Part One)
"Who are you? Sh*t! Stop! I will fu*king kill you!"
After seeing that the food supplies were being burned, Prince Fairenton shouted angrily as burning rage appeared in his eyes.
In the desert, food was more precious than gold. It was accurate to say that the lifeline of the 60,000 soldiers of Jax was being destroyed by this evil mage who was shooting out fireballs recklessly; the prince was really mad.
However, Fei still didn't fight the prince head on. As he dodged the attacks from this prince, he continued to set the food on fire.
The air was quite dry in the desert, and the food supplies in the storages were dry as well after they were kept there for three days. They were easily flammable; they would be ignited using regular fires let alone magic fires that were a lot hotter. Even though some of the mages on the side of Jax prepared to cast water-elemental spells, the power of these spells was weakened since there weren't a lot of water magic elements in the area.
Fei laughed and started to run around in the storages.
Then, something unusual happened; fires would appear wherever Fei went. As if he was a devil that was walking in the night, even sand under his feet would burn vigorously.
This was the skill of the Sorceress Character – [Blaze]; this skill would leave a wall of fire in Fei footsteps, and all the enemies could be burned into ashes.
In the meantime, Fei also used the new skill [Hydra] that he just learned. After he pointed at a stack of food supplies with his wand, the ground opened, and a multi-headed beast that looked similar to snakes appeared. It was three meters tall, and it was made from pure fire magic elements.
This monster looked viciously, and its mouths would open and spit out fire regularly; these fires were enough to kill a One-Star Warrior.
The blowing wind helped the fires to burn even more.
Soon, the food supplies that were going to last the 60,000 soldiers of Jax for the next three days were all enveloped by the flames, and crackling noises sounded as some of the food like corn popped.
Fairenton's superior intelligence was shown at this moment. After he forced himself to calm down, he thought about the situation and realized that although they lacked water, there were a lot of sands around; the sands could extinguish fires as well.
"Damn it! Stop looking for water! Use sand! Use the sand to put out the fire!... Quickly! All mages! Use earth-elemental spells and move the sand onto the food!"
As Fairenton chased after Fei, he ordered the soldiers and mages anxiously.
After hearing the command, the soldiers and mages who were in a state of panic got a bit more organized and started to use the sand.
Under the work of tens of thousands of soldiers, the fires finally got controlled.
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Fei laughed and quickly dashed out of the campsite of Jax. He didn't go back and set more fire; it seemed like the food supplies that got saved could barely last 60,000 soldiers for a day, and his goal was achieved.
"Escape? Where are you going?" Prince Fairenton chased after Fei angrily, "I will kill you!" he shouted.
Both Fei and Fairenton were speedy, and they quickly disappeared into the night. The warriors of Jax wanted to chase after them to protect their prince, but they couldn't catch up.
Fei didn't head towards Dual-Flags City.
He chose to go deeper into the desert.
After he got to know this prince better tonight, he decided to lure this prince out to the desert and have a good talk.
...
The deeper one was into the desert, the colder it was.
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Fei's endurance wasn't that great under Sorceress Mode, and he didn't like to sprint under this mode. Since the Sorceresses in Diablo World couldn't cast spells that could make them fly, Fei wasn't that fast if he was compared to Prince Fairenton who was chasing after him like a madman.
As time passed by, Fairenton got closer and closer. The prince was being enveloped by his red Warrior Energy Flame, and he was at his peak state while he repeatedly shouted to empower himself.
Fei thought of something and quickly changed to [Assassin Mode]. Like a shadow, he instantly disappeared.
Chapter 402: You Won't Kill Me (Part Two)
Boom!
A lot of force spilled to the surroundings as Fairenton landed onto a sand hill. With his guards up, he looked around and observed.
"Huh? Where did he go? Strange... he was here a moment ago... how did he disappear? I can't even sense his aura. Does he know how to fly?" the haughty prince's eyes looked all red as the moonlight shined on him, and the red Warrior Energy was spread out like waves.
With the strength of Eight-Star, a warrior was capable of using his or her Warrior Energy to sense the location of enemies close by. As long as the enemies weren't a lot more powerful and didn't have unique stealth techniques, their locations would be revealed.
However...
"I can't sense anything, not even a trace... It feels like he is turned into thin-air!"
Fairenton was shocked.
He detected the power of that fire-elemental mage in the campsite, and he knew that the mage was less powerful than him. "How can he avoid be detected by me now?" he thought.
"Hey, are you looking for me?"
A loud and clear voice sounded behind him.
The prince was shocked even more.
"Someone sneaked behind me, and I didn't even notice?"
As a talented warrior, his instinct told him not to turn around immediately.
Like an arrow, he instantly dashed away for 20 meters. When he gained a safe distance, he readjusted his mentality and unleashed his Eight-Star Warrior Energy.
After his Warrior Energy cycled in more than 80 energy channels inside his body and created a tsunami-like noise, he turned around carefully.
It was fortunate that this enemy didn't want to sneak-attack him.
Fairenton saw the person who spoke to him standing on a sand hill not too far away.
After he saw the face of this person, he was more surprised than angry; the rage that was burning inside of him instantly disappeared as if it was never there.
He lowered his guard as if he wasn't worried about getting harmed by this person, and he asked after a moment of silence, "King Alexander of Chambord? Is it you? Did you send that mage to lure me here? Who is he?"
"He is one of my subordinates," Fei who had switched to Barbarian Mode shrugged and laughed. Then, he asked with a strange tone, "Your Highness, it seems like you aren't worried. Do you have the confidence to escape? Or you are sure that I won't kill you?"
"You won't kill me," Fairenton replied with confidence; he even pulled back his Warrior Energy and calmed down. With a relieved expression, he continued, "You aren't prepared to deal with the revenge of the Jax Empire once you kill me, at least not yet."
"This reasoning... is trash. The two empires have declared war against each other. We had been fighting all day; why would I be afraid of the revenge?" Fei said as he slowly walked down the sand hill and approached this prince.
"Zenit isn't ready for the war yet," Fairenton replied; he had already calmed down completely.
A smile appeared on his face as he continued, "Alexander, maybe we could talk a bit more."
Then, he did something that even surprised Fei.
He took out a rug from his storage space that was made from the fur of a Sand Tiger and laid it on the ground. After he sat on it and used his Warrior Energy to block out the wind, he gestured at Fei and invited him to sit down.
"Huh? Weren't you trying to kill me?" Fei laughed; he realized that this prince was an interesting character.
"I would slit the throat of anyone else, but I can't do much against you. I can't defeat you and kill you," Fairenton shrugged and sighed.
"Perfect reasoning," Fei laughed.
Fairenton pointed at the rug and continued, "This is a rare opportunity. Perhaps we can have a good talk. Jax isn't ready for the war as well; both of us need more time... Your Majesty, are you afraid of sitting down and talking to someone who is weaker than you?"
"Haha! I have to admit that your goading effort worked," Fei laughed as he walked over and sat down two meters away from this prince. He rubbed the surface of this rug and somehow thought back to the famous tale of Aladdin and his magic carpet. He sighed, "Such a beautiful Sand Tiger Rug, it is as nice as a piece of well-fertilized land... Your Highness, since both empires aren't ready for war, why did both emperors declare war against each other? Could it be that their heads got kicked by a pig and aren't thinking straight?"
Fairenton felt a little speechless; he didn't expect this mighty king to talk about the two emperors in such a direct manner. After a moment of silence, he said, "In this world where killing and robbing are common practices, no war would give you enough time to prepare. Even though the Jax Empire had been preparing for this war for the last 26 years, the Spartax Empire and the Eindhoven Empire are more anxious than us; that was why the Martial Saints Battle in St. Petersburg happened. I heard that Martial Saint Krasic already died, so the war is certain."
Chapter 403: Loyalty to Zenit (Part One)
"The Spartax Empire and the Eindhoven Empire are more anxious because their emperors are even more stupid than the emperor of Jax," Fei replied as he suddenly got murderous after hearing Krasic's name; he had to try not to attack this prince of Jax.
The nightly wind was fierce like blades, and the sands were all blown into the sky.
After thinking back to the purpose of this meeting, Fei put away the negative emotions in his mind. As he looked up at the moon in the sky, he took out a bottle of liquor, two cups, and some delicate snacks and put them on the rug.
He poured himself a cup of liquor.
After he took a sip and zapped his mouth, he continued the conversation.
"I have heard from the traveling poets on the way here that Emperor Fuji is a wise, ambitious, and far-sighted ruler. I was wondering why this emperor who had endured everything for the last 26 years would lose his patience now, but this explains it! His allies no longer want to wait! Damn, we shouldn't be afraid of god-like enemies; instead, we should be scared of pig-like allies!"
"The latter portion of your sentence is quite true... According to our plan, this war should start a year from now," Fairenton didn't sense Fei's initial murderous spirit, and he didn't hold himself back. After he poured himself a cup of liquor and chugged it, he praised, "This liquor is made for the Royal Family of Zenit? Damn! Only the rich land of Zenit could create such divine drinks. The Jax Empire is mostly desert, and it could only bury corpses and bones and bring death and disasters."
"The jealousy of rich land has always been the origin of wars on this continent. I do understand the Jax Empire; everyone wants to live in a comfortable environment with rich resources," Fei thought back to the quote of a famous dictator on Earth and sighed, "Therefore, even if Zenit didn't conquer Jax 26 years ago, this war would still occur, right?"
Fairenton nodded and agreed. After that, he picked up a piece of dessert and ate it; he even licked the dessert flakes off of his lips.
The atmosphere was a little strange.
Fairenton wasn't behaving like the prince of Jax who was currently Fei's enemy, and Fei wasn't acting like a head commander who was facing his enemy. It felt like they were two buddies who were discussing how to pick up girls.
If anyone else were seeing this, they would have thought that these two men were plotting an evil plan together.
Actually, Fei was planning to do that.
This king laughed and casually suggested, "You see, since Emperor Fuji also doesn't want to start the war this early, Zenit is in a mess, and I don't want to fight this war, how about we put a stop to this war for now and come back here in a year?"
"Your Majesty, you must be joking," Fairenton replied as he looked at Fei in the eyes. However, he saw the sincerity and felt like the king wasn't joking. After some thoughts, he shook his head and said, "That is impossible. Both you and I don't have a say in how this war is going to proceed."
"Why you got to ruin the moment?" Fei said as he curled his lips.
He took the liquor bottle out of Fairenton's hand and poured himself a cup. The king was a great actor; he immediately put on a threatening expression and said, "I'm a lot more powerful than you! I can just beat you half-dead and capture you. Then, the soldiers of Jax would be afraid of attacking Dual-Flags City! If they dare to siege, I will cut off some flesh off of you and send it to them!"
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Fairenton knew that he couldn't defend against this man, but he wasn't afraid either. With a helpless expression on his face, he replied, "You... you have strange ideas, but this method won't work."
After he drunk more liquor, he continued, "You think this way because you never met Emperor Fuji yourself; you only got to know him through the stories. In reality, he is a cruel and wise emperor; he won't give up on the plan that he prepared for the last 26 years for one of his sons. He won't accept this kind of threats, and I'm only one of the 136 sons he has; he doesn't care that much about me anyway."
Chapter 403: Loyalty to Zenit (Part Two)
"You made some good points," Fei poured himself more liquor and said, "Since I can't capture you and threat Jax, how about I just kill you? Without you, all these soldiers of Jax will not be organized. Before your reinforcement comes, I can easily wipe out these soldiers."
"Although I'm only one of the 136 children of Emperor Fuji, I am not that insignificant. Also, my master is someone who even my father Emperor Fuji doesn't want to offend. Therefore, if you kill me, you would be in trouble like poking the nest of wasps. By then, not only Dual-Flags City but Chambord City will also be wiped out in revenge. Alexander, you are a sly character. I'm sure you already know about my status and who my master is. You won't kill me; otherwise, you would have already done it during the daytime."
"Yeah! You are like the ass of a dragon; no one dares to touch you!" Fei replied with an attitude.
After he looked at the moon that seemed a little murderous, he stared at this smiling prince of Jax and shouted, "You are right! I have done my research before coming to Dual-Flags City, and I know everything about you, including your powerful master and your powerful Senior and Junior Fellow Disciples. Too bad for me I guess! If I triggered Emperor Fuji and your master, Zenit could bear the consequences, but Chambord couldn't."
"Hahahaha! It looks like you aren't as loyal to the Royal Family of Zenit after all! A lot of my generals thought you are very loyal to Zenit, and they are all wrong! Otherwise, you won't let this opportunity get away! Even if your Chambord will be destroyed, you should still take the risk and destroy the 60,000 soldiers of Jax here if you put Zenit's interest at first... Hahaha! Although you are unlucky that you encountered me, I'm lucky enough to encounter you! If I encountered a mad lunatic who is 100% loyal to Zenit, I would have been killed already!"
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Fairenton felt very good after he said that. He wasn't as strong as Fei, and he lost in battle today as tens of thousands of people watched. However, he felt like all of the negative emotions he had as a result of what happened today all disappeared after he said what was on his mind.
"Ay, Your Highness, I have to remind you not to provoke me. I'm not good at controlling my emotions, and I might do something that is not logical when I get mad," Fei was a little angry at Fairenton for stating all those facts, but he suddenly thought of something and laughed, "Haha! The food supplies of your 60,000 soldiers are all burned by me! If you don't retreat, your warriors will all starve to death!"
An awkward expression appeared on Fairenton's face, and that expression turned into anger quickly.
Food supplies were very precious to the people of Jax, and these food supplies the soldiers had were all accumulated from the hard work of their people. A grain of rice was more valuable than the piece of gold of the same size in the desert, so burning so much food was like stabbing this prince in his chest and twisting the blade.
"Ah! It is pretty late already; if we continue to chat, our generals and commanders might freak out. On top of that, we don't have much in common," Fei stood up and stretched his back. He put the rest of the liquor back into his storage space and suggested, "Don't siege the city in the next few days. Otherwise, I might do more bad things to your campsite like poisoning your water source."
Fairenton's face changed color.
However, after he gave it some thought, he laughed, "Dual-Flags City and my troop share the same groundwater. If our water gets poisoned, then your people would be poisoned too! Haha!"
"Da fu*k!" Fei shouted something that Fairenton didn't understand.
Fei felt exhausted and tired when he was in St. Petersburg, but he felt very relaxed and casual when talking to this enemy prince for some reason. He replied to the prince, "Don't worry, I got the antidote."
Chapter 404: [Fei's Murderous Helmet] (Part One)
Although Fei had the antidotes, he couldn't poison the groundwater. Most of the groundwaters in the region were connected, and he might poison civilians on both sides.
However, there was a positive to this; this meant that the soldiers of Jax couldn't use the same tactic against Dual-Flags City. Otherwise, they could have easily poisoned the water source in Dual-Flags City with all their spies and the traitors of Zenit they had.
"Alexander, we might become friends if there isn't this war," Fairenton put away the fancy rug and sighed.
"That is meaningless now. Since the war has already started, I don't think that is impossible," Fei replied. After a while, he added, "But you are an interesting character. If you want to be my friend, you can go and convince Emperor Fuji. If this war is over, that possibility could open."
"Impossible," Fairenton shook his head. As a helpless expression appeared on his face, he continued to try to convince Fei, "However, I have to recommend you join the Jax Empire. If you are willing to do that, I'm sure that Emperor Fuji would be willing to give you the honorable title of Duke. By then, you will be at the top of the power ladder in Jax, Chambord will be spared from this war, and we can still become friends."
Fei shook his head.
At this moment, he suddenly thought back to the scene where that thin figure turned into dust and ashes on the peak of Martial Saint Mountain and covered the territory of Zenit. This scene appeared in the king's dreams numerous times as if it had already engraved itself into the king's soul.
"In my lifetime, I would never join the Jax Empire! Doesn't matter what kind of danger I'm facing! Therefore, we can only be enemies! You should stop trying to convince me; otherwise, I'm afraid that I might lose control and kill you."
Fei looked at this prince coldly as he said that.
Fairenton's body lightly shivered.
He could sense the sincerity in the king of Chambord's words; he knew that this king was being 100% truthful.
"It seems like I have touched one of his taboo subjects. If I say anything more on this topic, he might kill me," he thought.
"I have promised a friend that I will protect the land that his ashes had covered. If anyone wants to cause chaos on this land, he or she should be prepared to bleed to death!"
Fei felt genuinely heroic saying that to Fairenton.
At that moment, he felt like all the worries and obstacles in his way disappeared, and he could grasp onto anything if he wanted to.
"I think we are both crazy to be talking to each other for this long. Last two things; first, since we both have difficulties, how about we agree to not battle in the next three days? You can prepare your food, and I will train my soldiers."
Fairenton thought about it and nodded, "Ok, what about the second matter?" he asked.
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Fei laughed and replied, "Since you agreed to my first recommendation, then the second matter is trivial. If you don't do anything that makes me mad, I can still spare your life next time I see you!"
After he said that, Fei switched to Assassin Mode and disappeared like a dash of smoke.
Fairenton looked at the direction where Fei disappeared from and didn't end up saying what was on his mind. He sighed, shook his head, and dashed back towards the campsite of Jax.
...
When Fei returned to Dual-Flags City, the campsite of Jax already quieted down.
"Don't worry about the enemies. Pass my order, tell the soldiers to rest well and just patrol the defense walls tomorrow," after he sent away people like Shevchenko and Ribry who were anxious to report back to him, Fei said to the four strongmen – Pierce, Drogba, Huerk, and Kanort who were now his guards, "I need to rest for a few hours. You guys guard the watchtower and don't let anyone enter."
"As you wish," the four strongmen walked out of the watchtower and guarded the area carefully.
Under Assassin Mode, Fei laid a few magic traps that weren't too powerful in the watchtower just in case if some people rushed in carelessly. Then, he switched to Barbarian Mode and entered Diablo World.
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Fei had to increase his strength immediately.
...
Chapter 404: [Fei's Murderous Helmet] (Part Two)
It was noon in Diablo World, and it was rainy; everything just seemed dark and gloomy.
Fei didn't enter [Rogue Encampment]. Rather, he found Elena, and both of them entered the fifth map [Harrogath]. After Fei accepted the third quest [Prison of Ice], Fei and Elena went to the location of this quest [Frozen River] through the portal in Harrogath.
This quest asked Fei to save a young alchemist named Anya, and everyone in the city suspected that the last elder named Nihlathak was involved.
"The passage to [Frozen River] is very narrow, so we have to be careful. If we get crowded by the demons and monsters, we might die," with his dual-swords in his hands, Fei said to Elena as they entered [Crystalline Passage].
Elena nodded.
[Crystalline Passage] was a dry river bed that was now completely frozen. Ice and frost were everywhere, and that was how it got its name.
It was pretty dark and chilly here, and the path was curly like an endless maze. There were a ton of monsters in here, and they were quite powerful. Although they had high damage and defense, they didn't pose any threats to Fei and Elena.
In Fei's eyes, these monsters were good experience points.
He was facing a lot of pressure in the real world, and he had to increase his strength to protect the ones he loved. Therefore, he had been focusing on the Barbarian Character. This character was only 11 levels from max level 99 in Normal Mode. Fei suspected that he would become a Moon-Class Elite after that.
[Crystalline Passage] was long, and Fei couldn't see the end.
As Fei and Elena killed the monsters that jumped at them, they looked for the traces that were left by Anya.
There were blood and bones everywhere, and Fei and Elena would sometimes see Barbarian Warriors who were tortured to death on wooden poles. A rotten smell of death filled the area.
Finally, they found the young alchemist Anya who was enclosed in ice by the [Frozen River].
There were a lot of monsters nearby, and they rushed to Fei and Elena like floods. Roars and screams filled their ears, and Fe had to back off slowly and drag these monsters out into the passage to protect Elena who was a lot weaker.
After the monsters were taken care of, they returned to Anya and talked to her.
"The demons had controlled Nihlathak, and I got frozen by his spell. You need to return to Harrogath and get the special thawing potion from Malah to free me," Anya said.
All this was same as what happened in the game, and Anya was no different to other dull NPC characters.
Fei had to use the [Town Portal Scroll], get the special thawing potion, and free her.
This quest took Fei two hours, and Fei was now a level 90 Barbarian after he completed this quest. Elena was now a level 79 Archer, and her Paladin Bloodline was now level 30.
After the quest was completed, Fei got two rewards.
The first reward was a precious scroll from Malah; this scroll could permanently add 10% to all of Fei's resistance properties. Using this scroll was much more effective compared to leveling up and getting better items.
The second reward he got was a helmet. Anya gave it to him, and he named it [Fei's Murderous Helmet].
After he took a better look at this item, he realized that it wasn't bad at all.
It had a defense of 100, +2 to all resistances, and contained a special magic called [Frost Star] that would cast by itself 50% of the time when this helmet was attacked. On top of that, it had a durability of 66, and it required a level of 88. As a level 8 Elite Item, it was much better than the helmet that Fei had.
This was the first level 8 Elite Item that Fei got.
[Fei's Murderous Helmet] looked luxurious; like the skull of a god, it was emitting a golden light. When Fei put on this helmet, it felt very comfortable and very light. Also, it had an attached mask; when Fei pressed a small button on the side of the helmet, a grey colored mask instantly appeared and covered his face. This helmet as a whole had great ventilation, and Fei didn't feel like it was hard to breathe in it.
Gold and grey; these two contrasting colors added to the presence of this helmet.