Chapter 231 - 143: Protection Fee (2)
"Really?" Neng Hua’s eyes lit up, but on second thought, he decided against it.
"Forget it. Just let them go with you." He waved his hand, dismissing the newly promoted heroes to join Mei Yuan’s legion.
Just then, Mei Yuan let out a soft chuckle. "Heh heh, I’m afraid that’s not up to you."
The heroes beside Neng Hua, who had just been promoted to the Excellent grade, suddenly swarmed forward and seized him.
"What are you doing? I’m your lord!"
The heroes didn’t answer. One of them produced an Eye Demon from his robes and gently placed it on Neng Hua.
"What is this? This is... this is..."
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[World Chat Channel (788111)]
Neng Hua: "Mei Yuan, Mei Yuan, he, he, Eye Demon"
Ding Dong: "What about Mei Yuan?"
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[World Chat Channel (788111)]
Neng Hua has retracted the message!
Ding Dong: "What about Mei Yuan?"
Neng Hua: "Nothing’s wrong!"
Ding Dong: "What were you just saying about Mei Yuan and the Eye Demon?"
Neng Hua: "Oh, that was a typo. I just saw Mei Yuan take out an Enchanting Demon, and I was so shocked!"
Ding Dong: "What? Do you mean an ’Enchanting Demon’ in the way I think you do?"
Neng Hua: "Yeah. A Teleportation Gate just opened up over here, an Enchanting Demon came out, and Mei Yuan killed it."
Ding Dong: "Badass!!!"
Meanwhile, Neng Hua was already possessed and controlled by the Eye Demon. The demon took a moment to adjust, then walked back into the city, ordered his second-in-command to assemble the army, and to follow Mei Yuan’s main force north.
The second-in-command asked with concern, "My lord, are you all right? What just happened?"
"Oh, it’s nothing. I’m perfectly fine now."
"After the troops are assembled, you should go and raise your grade as well. I see your current grade is a bit low."
"Yes, my lord." The second-in-command didn’t notice anything unusual about Neng Hua, simply nodding in agreement.
...
Mei Yuan’s main army had halted, waiting for Neng Hua to organize his troops and merge with their forces.
At the front of the main army, the four Xiong Family brothers—who had been the first to encounter Neng Hua—all activated Forced March. Their armies consisted entirely of Cavalry, so they tore across the land at high speed, eager to catch up to the other lords ahead.
"Boss, why are we rushing so much?"
"Why? To get to the front and collect protection fees, of course!"
"But do we have to go this fast? Can’t we just collect from any lord we happen to run into?"
"Go check our internal chat group yourself!"
[Northern Expedition Legion]
Dylan Isaac: "To everyone at the front: can you please stop randomly collecting protection fees?"
Dylan Isaac: "I just ran into a lord who couldn’t stand being fleeced by you all, so he quit the competition and went home."
Dylan Isaac: "The buildings in his territory immediately turned into ruins, and all his people scattered and fled."
Dylan Isaac: "If we keep this up and word spreads, there won’t be anyone left for the lords in the back to fleece!"
Liu Kun: "You’re just slow, and you’re jealous that those of us who are fast get to collect the protection fees."
Dylan Isaac: "The problem is, what are you ’protecting’ them from? The people behind you are just going to demand protection fees again and again."
Dylan Isaac: "If this goes on, the reputation of our Northern Expedition Legion will be utterly destroyed!"
Liu Kun: "So what if it gets destroyed! Isn’t our legion just a Bandit Army anyway? ╮(﹀_﹀")╭"
Dylan Isaac: "Do you really think we can just steamroll everyone?"
Dylan Isaac: "There are seven hundred and eighty thousand lords in this second stage, and how many of us are there? 250!"
Dylan Isaac: "If we provoke the lords on the northern route into uniting against us, we’ll have no choice but to disband on the spot."
Dylan Isaac: "We all gathered together to seek riches. If we get nothing out of it, wouldn’t that be a massive loss?"
Liu Kun: "Fine, I admit you have a point. So, what do you suggest?"
Dylan Isaac: "Let’s take turns collecting the protection fees. I saw someone do a great job of it earlier. After they collected the fee, they helped that lord block attempts from the rest of us to collect more."
Dylan Isaac: "How about we line up and collect in order? First come, first served."
Dylan Isaac: "Whoever collects a protection fee has to use their troops to help guard that lord. Once Lord Mei’s main army has passed, you can rejoin the vanguard."
Liu Kun: "What if we run into someone who refuses to pay? And how much should we charge?"
Dylan Isaac: "If they don’t pay the fee, they don’t get our protection! Whether they get attacked or plundered will depend on everyone else’s mood."
Dylan Isaac: "As for how much to charge, that will depend on the abilities of the lord collecting the fee."
Liu Kun: "That sounds decent enough, but why should we listen to you?"
Mei Yuan: "Do as Dylan Isaac says. If anyone violates this rule, they will be asked to leave our legion."
Liu Kun: "Alright, alright. Since Boss Mei has spoken, I’ll listen. I just don’t know how the other brothers feel about it."
Qiao Peng: "It’s a good plan. I’ll follow Boss Mei’s orders."
Yang Yang: "Me too."
Robert Hayden: "Let’s do it. People are already starting to fight amongst themselves over who gets to collect the fees. If we don’t have some rules, we might as well just disband."
...
Just as the two lords were endlessly debating, Mei Yuan stepped in and directly ordered the outer-ring lords to proceed according to Dylan Isaac’s plan.
Although it was only a temporary legion, Mei Yuan was its core, and with the full support of over fifty other lords, his words carried weight. Thus, the outer-ring lords complied with Dylan Isaac’s plan.
The outer-ring lords who had been traveling at the rear began to accelerate, one by one, each wanting to get to the front to be the first to collect a protection fee.
The four Xiong Family brothers were the same. Shortly after collecting the protection fee from Neng Hua, they had helped him fend off the prying from other outer-ring lords, which caused them to fall to the very rear of the outer-ring Lord’s Legion.
Although their armies were composed entirely of Cavalry, they couldn’t reach the very front of the column in a short amount of time.
By the time the four Xiong Family brothers reached the very front of the line, ready to collect a protection fee, they discovered things had changed yet again.
"You there, no cutting in line! I’m talking to you, stop looking around—yes, the four of you."
The four Xiong Family brothers were stopped by Dylan Isaac. They walked over, looking confused.
"You planning on collecting a protection fee?"
"Yeah. Didn’t you say it was first come, first served? No one’s gone to that territory up ahead, right? Can’t we go?"
"This is what I’m talking about. Can’t you people finish reading the full announcement before you rush over to collect fees? The second you see ’first come, first served,’ you all swarm over like dogs that have spotted shit."
"If I hadn’t made arrangements, were you all planning to have a brawl in front of that lord’s city to decide who was first?"
"We wouldn’t do that! We just saw that there was nobody in front of this lord’s city," Xiong Da said, scratching his head.
"Come on, get registered. On the legion’s route of advance, every time we encounter a lord from whom a protection fee can be collected, I will private message you in order. Remember to check your DMs. If you can’t make it within 10 minutes, you’ll be skipped and will have to queue up all over again."
"What are your names?"
"Xiong Da!"
"Xiong Er!"
"Xiong San!"
"Xiong Xiaoming!"
(ﾟ⊿ﾟ)ﾂ? Huh?
"Xiong Xiaoming!"
"Oh, oh! You brothers have some really interesting names! All right, you’re all set. You can go. And don’t go harassing any lords who have already paid their protection fees."
After giving a few more instructions, Dylan Isaac pointed behind them. "Look, here comes the fee collector now."
A lord leading an army hurried over from the rear. He walked up to the city and shouted, "Listen up, lord in there! The Northern Expedition Legion is passing through this area. For a protection fee of just one hundred thousand points, we can guarantee your safety. If you know what’s good for you, hand over the points."
...
Xiong Da watched the arrogant lord and blinked. "Is it really a good idea for him to be so arrogant and demand such a high price?"
Dylan Isaac replied, "What’s not to like? We’re just here for the money. If you can ask for more, who would ask for less?"
"But... a lord with a hundred thousand points wouldn’t be weak, right? This city looks so small..."
"That depends on the skill of the lord in that city. He can either borrow the points, quit the competition, or bargain to bring the price down."
"But no matter what he chooses, that lord’s turn to collect a protection fee will be considered used up. He’ll have to queue up all over again."
As they spoke, the city ahead suddenly emitted a burst of bright light. Within the glow, all the buildings began to decay and crumble.
In the blink of an eye, only the destitute citizens were left in the city. With a great cry, they scattered and fled in all directions.
"Looks like he chose to quit the competition," Xiong Da said, watching the scene speechlessly.