Line Up, One at a Time!

The middle-aged dwarf was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted.

With a look of relief, he grabbed the bag of gold coins and dashed toward the city gates…

"I, Lord of Ming City, have always operated with honesty—no deceit, no cheating! Pay your tolls and be on your way; we won't make it hard for anyone!"

The crowd fell silent, clearly dumbfounded. They had never seen such an audacious robbery, and yet, the person behind it was speaking so confidently.

Those attending the grand event usually had some gold to spare. Seeing Ronald's ruthless demeanor and the hunter squad brandishing repeating crossbows, no one was eager to be the first to challenge him. Most reluctantly decided to pay and leave.

"Come on, line up! One at a time, pay your dues!"

Black Moon, holding a large sack, was collecting the gold. Ronald stood nearby, maintaining order. This level of boldness in robbery was truly unprecedented.

In the City Lord's Tent:

"Lord, should we pay?" one of the attendants asked, glancing uneasily at the people standing in line.

The city lord frowned, watching the scene unfold. After a moment of contemplation, he snorted.

"For now, it's best not to engage them. Pay the toll, and try to learn something about their origins."

"Yes, Lord..." the attendant nodded, already heading to make the payment.

Later, at the City Gates:

The majority of the Behemoth tribe arrived, but by then, Ronald had already completed his business and was retreating with several heavy bags of gold. Striding through the bustling streets of Chaos City, his mood was light.

In just half a day, he'd earned over ten thousand gold coins from the robbery, not to mention the nearly thirty thousand he had scavenged from the battlefield and the fifty thousand he'd brought with him. His confidence was through the roof.

He made his way to a shop, bought a map of Chaos City, and left with the shopkeeper casting fearful glances at him.

It seemed the rumors of his ruthless methods had already spread. This, to Ronald, was a good thing. In this world where the strong devoured the weak, fear was a tool that could save him from many potential threats.

Studying the map, he set his course and led his hunter squad toward a tall building.

At Yunlou Pavilion:

Inside the second-floor private room, Ronald sipped his fragrant tea and waited patiently.

Yunlou Pavilion was part of the Yunlou Chamber of Commerce, the largest and most powerful merchant guild in Yunzhou. Rumor had it that the guild's president had reached the Spirit-Communing realm. The wealth of the guild was enough to rival entire countries, and for hundreds of years, it had remained unshaken. Anyone who dared challenge them had long since turned into corpses.

A few moments later, a snake-like elder swiftly ascended the stairs. Upon seeing Ronald, the elder nodded slightly.

"I am Qing She, a guest elder of the Chamber. I've heard that you have high-tier beast corpses for sale. Might I take a look?"

Ronald returned the greeting with a nod and studied the elder. The old man's appearance was almost indistinguishable from a human. If not for the faint greenish snake scales on the corners of his eyes, one would never guess his true race.

He smiled and said, "Elder, the Water Ape's body is rather large; I'm afraid this room is too small for it."

The elder nodded and made a gesture.

"Follow me, please."

Outside in the Pavilion's Courtyard:

The elder carefully examined the Water Ape's massive corpse.

"Young friend, may I ask if the magic crystal of this beast is still in your possession?"

Ronald shook his head.

"What a pity," the elder sighed. "This beast was at the Ninth Layer of the Body Refining realm. Normally, a mature Cloud Cang Water Ape would only reach the Fifth Layer, so it's quite extraordinary that this one managed to achieve such a level. If only the magic crystal were still intact, it could have fetched a sky-high price. But now…"

Ronald couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. It seemed that, once again, he had been taken in by Liu Chen's little trick.