Chapter 971 - Competing for a Spot
In the end, neither side came to blows. The manager recognized Han Wu’s strength and knew there was no guarantee he could come out on top if they actually fought. On top of that, a fight would wreck the Wanderer Association’s property and make their already tight finances even worse.
It was better not to fight. Peace was the best policy.
“Please have a seat. Let’s talk this out,” the manager invited, gesturing for Han Wu to sit and pouring him a cup of freshly brewed tea. “Purifying Spring Water isn’t something the Wanderer Association just has in stock. You have good timing, though. This year’s portion of Purifying Spring Water will be produced in half a month. I can give you a spot to compete on behalf of the Wanderer Association. If you can defeat the other factions’ competitors, you’ll earn a share of the Purifying Spring Water.”
Han Wu nodded, having already expected as much. A resource as rare as Purifying Spring Water was unlikely to be stored in reserves. There was no other option but for him to join the competition.
“Fine. I’ll take that spot,” Han Wu said, then got up and left.
As the manager stared at the mess covering the floor, he couldn’t help but silently fume.
“Where’s that wanderer from earlier?” he shouted, voice echoing throughout the entire Wanderer Association. “Get him in here to clean this up!”
Han Wu didn’t stop after leaving the Wanderer Association. After all, this was just one of the factions residing in the Golden City. Many other factions besides the wanderers existed as well, and Han Wu wanted to pay them all a visit.
He headed to the Little Dwarf camp next. Little Dwarves were weak, but with enough numbers, strong fighters could still emerge among them. The only issue was that they weren’t friendly toward humans.
When Han Wu approached the camp, the Little Dwarves immediately attacked him. Arrows, rocks, and javelins flew at him as though they cost nothing. It was their way of telling Han Wu that he wasn’t welcome. Han Wu was a very polite person, and he believed in returning the favor.
Since the Little Dwarves had generously sent him arrows, rocks, and javelins, Han Wu felt compelled to return some gifts of his own. His Swordwind form seemed fitting for the occasion. Soon, powerful slashes of wind were slicing through the air and cutting down every Little Dwarf that got too close.
More of them charged out, eager to avenge their fallen kin, but none of them stood a chance against Han Wu’s strength. After fighting for a while, Han Wu decided that dealing with Little Dwarves was a waste of his energy, so he switched to his Fourth Form, Crystal Lich.
In this form, he could use Summon Skeletons and Osteomancy. A volley of bone projectiles wiped out a large wave of Little Dwarves. Han Wu then used Summon Skeletons on their corpses.
The undead skeletons attacked the Little Dwarves, killing more of them, which then drew even more Little Dwarves out to fight. Han Wu stayed in the back, occasionally firing off bone magic to pick off any Little Dwarf that stood out.
Under Han Wu’s careful cultivation, the skeletons soon numbered in the tens of thousands. Both their bodies and souls were weak, but Han Wu had a solution. Using Merge, he fused them all, producing ten skeletons comparable to a Fourth Form fighter.
Unfortunately, the White Soul Civilization seemed to suppress skeletons, reducing the chance of special undead variants like Osteomancers or Skeleton Reanimators forming. Without Osteomancers, Han Wu’s signature skeleton swarm tactic would be difficult to pull off.
While Han Wu was worrying over this, the Little Dwarf camp’s leader finally appeared. It had reached the Seventh Form, and despite its short stature, the pressure radiating from its body was genuinely threatening to Han Wu.
When the Little Dwarf leader saw its people’s heavy casualties, it immediately released its Seventh Form, Little Vajra. Golden energy coated its entire body. Sharp metallic sounds rang out as it moved, proving how hard its body had become.
The Little Dwarf leader charged at Han Wu. Its tiny body leaped ten meters into the air like a cannonball aimed straight at him.
One option when faced with a tough, armored opponent like this was to try matching hardness with hardness if they were on equal footing. However, as things were, Han Wu would be at a disadvantage without the Demon King Transformation. Going head-to-head would be the worst move.
The best approach was thus to counter strength with flexibility. Han Wu shifted into his Second Form, Swift Shadow. His body melted into the shadows, and countless shadow tendrils flew out, wrapping around the Little Dwarf leader.
Binding it wasn’t his goal; he wanted it dead. With that in mind, Han Wu directed the black shadows into its nostrils, mouth, and every other opening.
The Little Dwarf leader’s exterior was as hard as diamonds and impenetrable, but underneath that was still flesh and blood. The shadows pierced and sliced through its insides, killing the Little Dwarf leader on the spot.
Han Wu immediately used Summon Skeletons on the corpse. This time, he got lucky and summoned a special Sixth Form undead skeleton called a Vajra Skeleton. The Vajra Skeleton’s rigid bones and devastating destructive power made it far stronger than the Merged Fourth Form skeletons.
When the rest of the Little Dwarves saw their leader die, they scattered in terror. Even Han Wu couldn’t catch that many of them fleeing all at once. A pang of disappointment hit him. He had wanted to demand a competition spot from the Little Dwarf camp, but had wiped the camp out instead.
On the bright side, that meant one less rival faction. It saved the other factions some effort. Han Wu quickly identified his next target.
Three days later, Han Wu had secured competition spots from every remaining faction. He had also assembled a large army of skeletons, establishing himself as a major faction in the Golden City.
Rising to prominence in such a short time was a clear testament to Han Wu’s power. The other factions scrambled to get on his good side, hoping to form alliances for future conflicts. Han Wu accepted every offer and shamelessly pocketed every gift they sent.
The Kobold faction went a step further and presented him with a Fifth Form legacy called the Jackal Deathsworn. After examining it, the Desolation Manifestation concluded that it was extremely powerful.
It had three effects. They were the Jackal Transformation, the Black Sand Avatar, and the Immortal Soul Indestructible Body. It was practically cheating for all that to fit into a Fifth Form.
Naturally, when Han Wu saw this, he decided the Jackal Deathsworn was going to be his Fifth Form.