The Two Great Families

By our count, we had been out for over ten days now—it was about time to head back and rest. We retraced our marked path from the third level of the cave, and as we crossed a stone bridge, we noticed a narrow passageway to the left. We attempted to follow it for a while, but the passage had no branching paths, no monsters, and no visible end in sight. Eventually, we had no choice but to turn back.

Upon reaching the second level of the cave, I recalled the stone coffins inside the King's Tomb, so I discussed with Gu Bing about taking a look—perhaps we could still find some Magic Equipment. The mention of magic gear made Gu Bing visibly excited. Following my memory, we arrived at the King's Tomb, but to our surprise, the place was completely empty. I had initially worried about encountering Blood-Red Skeletons, but none were present. All the stone coffins had been opened, and the skeletal remains inside had vanished. However, there were still some rings, necklaces, and other items inside the coffins. We each picked out a few pieces before quickly leaving.

Gu Bing chose a necklace with a golden coil, from which hung a small black ebony pendant. I picked one with a black cord, evenly adorned with seven golden tooth-shaped ornaments, and a ruby pendant at the bottom. After putting them on, we both felt a noticeable increase in our attack power—our strength had been enhanced. Additionally, we found a pair of black crystal rings and each took one. We even jokingly called them our "brotherhood tokens." However, for some unknown reason, I was able to wear the ring, while Gu Bing couldn't. Or rather, after putting it on, the ring didn't shrink to fit his finger like the others had—it remained loose and could easily slip off at any moment. It seemed that Magic Equipment might have specific requirements for the wearer, such as strength, swordsmanship, or other attributes.

There was also the gray-white skull helmet I had obtained from the Blood-Red Skeleton. It had never fit me properly—it felt heavy, and turning my head while wearing it was awkward. Because of this, I had left it stored in my Qiankun Bagthe entire time.

"Say, if these stone coffins originally held Blood-Red Skeletons, why are they all gone now?" Gu Bing asked on our way out.

"I have no idea," I replied, shaking my head in confusion.

As we made our way back from the second level to the first, we still encountered some Skeletal Fighter monsters. Considering we were retracing our original path—the same one we had already cleared—it was strange to see more enemies appearing. It seemed that these monsters weren't confined to specific locations; instead, they were actively moving toward a certain direction.

Stepping out of the Orc Cave and into the sunlight was an incredible feeling. After spending more than ten days in the dark, damp underground tunnels, we were thoroughly sick of it. Even with the two of us keeping each other company, the oppressive atmosphere was hard to bear.

Upon returning to Baiqi City, we first visited the Wang Family Pharmacy to check on Da Xiong and see how well he was recovering from his injuries. We also brought along some Bat Guano, Grub Eggs, Scorpion Tails, and other medicinal ingredients we had gathered in the cave. While we were there, we couldn't resist asking about recent events in Baiqi City—especially any news regarding that damned Lord Wang.

"The day you left, someone jumped Lord Wang and gave him a serious beating—left his face bruised and swollen," Da Xiong said gleefully. "He spent the next several days scouring the city for the culprit, but only gave up a couple of days ago."

"Did he catch anyone?" Gu Bing and I kept our expressions serious, resisting the urge to laugh.

"No," Da Xiong said, squinting at us suspiciously. "It wasn't you two, was it? I heard the attackers were two young men."

"Of course not! How could it be us?" Gu Bing and I quickly denied it, then I smoothly changed the subject, "So, anything major happen in Baiqi City lately?"

"Major events?" Da Xiong thought for a moment before nodding. "Actually, yeah, there's been something big going on."

He then told us about recent changes in the city's defense system, as well as the situation involving the two great familiesand the Palace Guards.

It turned out that Baiqi City was dominated by two powerful families—or rather, two major guilds. One was Tianmen Gang, led by Liang Shan, and the other was Silverleaf Sect, led by Wei Li. We had already heard these two names when we had our "encounter" with Lord Wang. Each guild was centered around their respective family's influence, recruiting followers and maintaining a balanced rivalry within Baiqi City.

Tianmen Gang, under Liang Shan's leadership, trained their core family members from a young age at the Bairi Daoist Sanctuary. Only after their Taoist Arts reached a certain level would they return to Baiqi City to manage the family's business affairs. Tianmen Gang had strong ties with Baiqi Kingdom, which granted them the exclusive mining rights to Baiqi Mine. This meant that all minerals extracted from the mine were handled by Tianmen Gang. Power and wealth naturally made them a dominant force in the city.

On the other side, Wei Li's Silverleaf Sect controlled several key trade routes. These routes extended from Baiqi City to Snake Valley Village, Gobi Earth City, the Bairi Daoist Sanctuary, and even Border Village. Silverleaf Sect was responsible for ensuring that trade convoys were not attacked by Orcs or wild beasts, as well as dealing with any bandit strongholds along these routes. However, all merchants had to pay a protection fee to Silverleaf Sect in exchange for safe passage—or they could hire the guild directly as escorts. The core members of the Wei family followed a training path similar to Liang Shan's group, but instead of learning at the Daoist Sanctuary, they studied in Ginkgo Valley, which meant that Silverleaf Sect's elite forces were primarily mages.

Aside from their core members, both factions also recruited external forces. They often hired warriors from places like Feitian Fight School and other martial arts academies, and they also had a number of retired soldiers from the kingdom among their ranks.

The so-called major event that had recently taken place mainly came from Silverleaf Sect. Since Silverleaf Sect members frequently traveled as escorts, they had numerous sources of information. Somehow, they had caught wind of the Orcsplanning to attack Baiqi City and immediately reported this intelligence to the King of Baiqi.

That's right. They had also learned about the Orcs' plan to invade Baiqi City.That's right. They reported it directly to the king, completely bypassing that bastard Lord Wang.

Upon receiving the report, the king took it seriously after some verification. He then ordered Prime Minister Wang to take charge of the city's defense coordination, deploying the Tiger Guard, Wolf Guard, and Eagle Guard to organize the fortifications.

At this point, Da Xiong took some time to explain these military units to me. As I listened, I was both amazed and annoyed—so many elite soldiers, all just to protect a single king? That was absurd.

The soldiers of Baiqi City were generally divided into four groups. The first type was the Greatsword Guards, stationed at the city gates. They belonged to the City Patrol, which was under the jurisdiction of Lord Wang. The remaining three groups were the Tiger Guard, Wolf Guard, and Eagle Guard.

The Wolf Guard had five thousand soldiers and served as the main force for defending the city. They were usually stationed in the mountains east of the city but had been recalled to reinforce the city's defenses.

The Eagle Guard consisted entirely of archers. In fact, the archers who stood guard along the city walls and the Imperial Palace were all members of the Eagle Guard. There were only five hundred of them, and they typically worked alongside the City Patrol to maintain Baiqi City's security.

The Tiger Guard, however, was an elite unit with only one hundred soldiers. They were rarely seen because their sole duty was to protect the Imperial Palace—essentially serving as the king's personal bodyguards.

At this point, Da Xiong mentioned, "I've heard people say that there used to be a Dragon Guard, made up of just three warriors, said to be the strongest fighters in the entire world. But after those three died, the Dragon Guard position has remained vacant ever since."

Hearing about the Dragon Guard, I recalled something Old Yu had once told me back in the village. He had mentioned that our village had another name—Land of the Dragon Guard—because one of the legendary Dragon Guards had once come from there. But that was all from a long, long time ago. As with most legends, over time, the story had either become ridiculously exaggerated or faded into obscurity.

"So, all of them are participating in the city's defenses?" I asked.

"It's more than just them! Besides these elite guard units, the two great factions have also been assigned to defend the two bridges over Woma River," Da Xiong said with great enthusiasm.

Woma River divided Baiqi Continent into two major regions. To the west of Baiqi City lay Greatwood Forest, home to the Orcs, while the northern region was occupied by Woma Forest, the Orcs' main stronghold. However, the southeast region had never reported any Orc activity. Therefore, securing the two bridges over Woma River would ensure that the Orcs could only attack from the north and west, preventing Baiqi City from being completely surrounded. If things went south, at least there would still be a path for retreat.

"This sounds like top-secret information. How the hell do you know all this?" I asked skeptically.

"Heh, it's not nonsense, I swear," Da Xiong said defensively. "I found out because members of both factions have been coming to us frequently to purchase all kinds of medicine for battle preparations. I got familiar with them, and they told me about it."

"I see."

From the looks of it, the great battle was truly right around the corner.

"Are we going to take part in this?" Gu Bing suddenly asked.