Sword Among Us c1-1268

by Black Swordsman Online

  "...What?" Wu Kuo cast a few glances at his surprise in surprise. He seemed to be puzzled over why Phantasmal Shadow would describe her own ally as terrifying.

  Phantasmal Shadow exhaled deeply. "He's facing a loss of one-third of his elites, and yet, he can handle this so calmly. He can throw all of the clan's profits into the refinement of weapons and creation of pills, and it's no wonder why these Mu Clan members are willing to follow him so wholeheartedly and become so strong, but that's not the most frightening thing about him."

  "Indeed, it's hard to imagine this guy is just a university student. That's eight billion worth of real cash!"

  Wu Kuo nodded, seemingly understanding what was going on.

  But Phantasmal Shadow just rolled her eyes at him in great resignation. "I'm saying that he announced this in Yangzhou City while there are so many people paying attention to him. He's not only doing this to put the Mu Clan members at ease, but also making those Towering Palace members tremble in their boots. This is his most terrifying aspect!"

  "Huh?" Wu Kuo could not understand.

  "If Happy secretly made this decision, he might need to spend a little more time to get rid of Towering Palace, but once news of this decision spreads and travels into those Towering Palace members' ears, do you know what effect it will bring?" Phantasmal Shadow s.u.c.k.e.d in a sharp breath, and she suddenly pitied the Music sisters a little.

  These two women chose such a terrifying opponent.

  While Wu Kuo continued asking her questions with a bewildered expression, Phantasmal Shadow said with a myriad of emotions churning in her, "Towering Palace… might end up falling apart on their own within a short period of time."

  Chapter 772 - Death Compensation

  When Happy personally led the Mu Clan members and Wind Assault Tower members to receive all the Mu Clan members who died and were revived in the Guanlin Temples in Yangzhou City, due to how the Towering Palace member had disappeared without a trace, the areas nearby were considered to be peaceful, and countless martial artists just watched by the side.

  As time passed, a saying quickly spread through Yangzhou City!

  The market and restaurants were always the places where news travelled rather quickly. Quite a number of people chatted with each other there.

  "Did you hear? Mu Clan lost nearly four thousand people this time, and Happy gave a compensation of nearly ten billion. Each person also obtained two million taels of silver—"

  "Your information isn't the full version, you know?"

  There were all sorts of people gathered around a table in the restaurant, and sunflower seed shells as well as spit flew all over the place.

  "Mu Clan is rich and has great style. They also take care of their subordinates. This time, aside from receiving two million taels of silver, those who died also get a piece of equipment."

  "Yup."

  "I heard that those twenty or so people who are more unfortunate received a blessing in disguise. All of them received an Illusion Life and Death Pill. You know, the thing that's worth cities? Whew, that's Illusion Life and Death Pills we're talking about, and they're treasures that many sect leaders spend a large sum of money to buy so that they can protect themselves, but Happy actually used it on normal Mu Clan members."

  "That's what we call boldness!"

  "True that… Or else, they won't be giving priority to those who died to use the clan prisons in all branches, you know? I say, within less than a month, this group of people's strength will return to their original state."

  "That's what I think so too."

  "What's Towering Palace doing?"

  "...Heh, don't mention them. Once they shifted their headquarters, they no longer have a place to stand in Yangzhou. I heard that Musical Note ordered all Towering Palace members to leave Yangzhou and head to nearby cities and branches."

  "This time, Towering Palace can be considered to have suffered a big fall."

  Someone at the table laughed and said, "That's right. Tens of thousands of people worked together with Class One Hall and some foreign martial artists, but they didn't manage to get rid of all the elites in Mu Clan's branch in Yangzhou. Instead, they turned the tables around and got rid of their headquarters, causing them to lose tens of thousands of men…"

  "Do you know the precise number?"

  "I think it's around thirty thousand."

  "They're in a miserable state this time."

  "Mu Clan got rid of all the worries within those Mu Clan members who died, you know? I wonder what Towering Palace will do as a countermeasure."

  "What else can they do?" Someone cackled at Towering Palace's misery. "I heard that once Clear Music heard Happy's announcement at a Guanlin Temple, her face immediately turned red with rage, and she left without a single word."

  The group of people by the table were stunned by this news.

  "Logically speaking, because of Clear Music's mistake in her plan, Towering Palace's status plummeted to the ground, and a large group of Towering Palace members died. She should have something to say about this and compensate the losses of her palace members who died for her."

  Someone else explained. "You're right, but how is she supposed to compensate them?"

  "This time, Mu Clan lost nearly four thousand people, while Towering Palace lost nearly thirty thousand, that's nearly ten times the difference. Besides, they suffered a lot of sacrifices when they surrounded Mu Clan. Mu Clan could obtain a batch of equipment automatically from the people they killed during the defense, but Towering Palace will lose their equipment straight away when they die. Besides, what about those at the south? They also lost tens of thousands of people over there as well. Can Towering Palace even compensate those losses?"

  "That's true, too."

  A man with a full beard smacked his lips. "Mu Clan has set the standard right up at two million, and Towering Palace is also a top-class sect. If they really try to compensate for it, they will lose all their money based on this standard! They lost around sixty thousand to seventy thousand men, and they will have to compensate around one hundred billion… If we add equipment into the mix, that number will be even higher."

  "But they can't just provide no compensation," someone mentioned.

  "That's right!"

  "They fought for their sect as well, and Towering Palace is even the ones who took the initiative to attack. Mu Clan had to passively get through this disaster, and Mu Clan still compensated their members fully. But Towering Palace isn't doing anything about it. I heard that someone asked Towering Palace's higher-ups at that time about whether they will receive any compensation, and in the end, he was scolded by a few elders."

  "Huh?"

  That group of people had indignant expressions appear on their faces.

  "So, about dozens of people quit Towering Palace on the spot."

  "...If I were them, I'd leave as well. I fought with my life on the line for them, and in the end, I was scolded? What the heck?"

  "I know, right?"

  *****

  Towering Palace had indeed been forced into a very dangerous situation by Mu Clan.

  But that was not because of Silver Wolf and the others' counterattack, not because of the reinforcements provided by Wind Assault Tower and a group of Mu Clan elites, and not because Happy had killed that group of Dragon Sect elites.

  The destruction of their former headquarters might cause them great pain, but Towering Palace still had a lot of power stored in them. In their grief, if they were united, they could still pose as a certain degree of threat to Mu Clan and cause them trouble.

  But what Towering Palace did not expect was that the spirit of this grieving army which allowed them to be united quickly caused the internal members of Towering Palace to quickly have a fallout with each other once Happy publicly announced those words.

  Death compensation!

  As one of the top-class sects, Mu Clan had publicly announced a death compensation, and the standards for it were very high! He had also anno
unced loudly and clearly. He also used the clan's resources for it, which was entirely within reason.

  All this made a number of players who were originally immersed in grief to be unable to help themselves to cast their gazes on their higher ups, specifically, Clear Music and Musical Note!

  They were also a top-class sect.

  If Towering Palace could bring out the same amount of death compensation, the Towering Palace members will definitely serve them wholeheartedly, and they will fight against Mu Clan to the end.

  Unfortunately, one hundred billion was practically the total profit in a month for Towering Palace!

  Right now, they lost half of their territory, and it was already difficult to tell whether they could still retain their remaining profit. Clear Music absolutely did not want to continue with this topic.

  But among the tens of thousands Towering Palace members who died, there were some who regarded this with great importance. Once they learned of Mu Clan's arrangement, they believed that it was only natural that their palace took care of them and provided them with compensation after they sacrificed their lives for their palace. Besides, Towering Palace did indeed have resources that were the cause of envy for many people, and they also had a lot of money.

  When they saw how the higher-ups evaded the issue and how the elders as well as the palace masters ignored this, many people found this to be increasingly unfair!

  Rumors spread even further, and they became even wilder, as if they had a mind of their own.

  There were even people who said that Towering Palace's end was nigh. There was no way the Music sisters could cough up so much money for their normal disciples, because it will just return them to the state before they were powerful.

  Hence, the hearts of the palace members swayed, and there were plenty who left the palace! There were also those who said that the higher ups of Towering Palace were corrupt and pocketed the palace's money. To a certain degree, this matter affected the palace members' hearts even more than the destruction of their headquarters.

  During half a day since Mu Clan rebuilt their branch in Yangzhou, tens of thousands Towering Palace members quit Towering Palace, and among them, the main ones were the ones who died in the battle this time.

  Compared to Mu Clan's timely reinforcements and announcement, Towering Palace's actions did indeed make them seem very…

  But no one knew that if Towering Palace truly chose to provide death compensations like Mu Clan, Towering Palace will not be able to handle the subsequent wars that were bound to come.

  Because Happy absolutely did not intend to have Mu Clan's members participate in the plan to destroy Towering Palace.

  Once he opened his mouth, the death compensation will be like an invisible mouth that will devour Towering Palace at an even faster speed.

  Chapter 773 - Ally

  The destroyed branch was rebuilt in Yangzhou, and soon, Wind Assault Tower's branch was also built in Yangzhou!

  As the Towering Palace members left, the resource points nearby were naturally taken by the Mu Clan members and Wind Assault Tower members who were shifted to the branch from the areas nearby.

  Towering Palace and Class One Hall fell completely silent.

  They could only watch as Mu Clan worked together with Wind Assault Tower to occupy the eastern cities of the coastal area and divided Towering Palace's territory from the middle.

  Because of it, not only was Class One Hall unable to mobilize forces to provide reinforcements, the various sects, Mu Clan, and Chivalry Sect, who were all in the southern cities in the coastal area could become part of the cities to the south of Yangzhou.

  Towering Palace had their progress hindered by Happy and Phantasmal Shadow as they served as garrisons in Yangzhou. Towering Palace could not provide reinforcements, and they could only watch as most of the cities in the coastal area swiftly landed in other people's hands.

  They lost their territory, rumors traveled nonstop among the people, and they lost their elites. Their allies could do nothing to help them as well. Their enemies also had an overwhelming advantage they could not hope to win over, causing Towering Palace to instantly fall several levels from the prodigious status of a top-class sect. They fell straight to the ranks of a normal, large-sized sect, and they completely lost the right to stand on equal grounds with Mu Clan and Chivalry Sect.

  Within less than three days, a chain reaction that was like the domino effect happened in the structure of the Chinese server.

  Under Mu Clan's tacit agreement, some of the sects worked together with Mu Clan and took the initiative to mobilize their forces and attack Towering Palace's branches as well as occupy the resource points in the nearby cities.

  Mu Clan did not even do much, but they still managed to easily obtained half of Towering Palace's resource points, and they also obtained half of the control as well as absolute authority in the eastern side of the coastal area.

  Wind Assault Tower also developed very quickly!

  They originally had fewer than five branches, but very soon, they set up eight branches in the eastern side of the coastal area, and their strength increased by one fold. Now, they could legitimately fight against the current Towering Palace.

  Class One Hall had once announced in a very flashy manner that they killed Nine-tailed Fox, but Mu Clan's series of victories and Towering Palace's retreat caused them to quickly exercise restraint. It was as if they never showed their previous stance in the matter at all.

  But many people still remembered Barren Murderer's arrogant words at Mu Clan's branch when he returned.

  And many people began guessing that once Mu Clan was done with Towering Palace, their next target will be Class One Hall.

  Mu Clan and Happy will not overlook Class One Hall anymore!

  *****

  The situation in Class One Hall's headquarters in Beijing was different compared to Towering Palace's dreariness and nearly dying state. At that moment, the main hall of Class One Hall's headquarters was not filled with a troubled and worried air, which the outer world assumed them to be in.

  Dream Clouds, Barren Murderer, Blood Robes, Monk with Thick Eyebrows, Evil Wolf, and other elites were laughing and talking in the main hall while they hosted a group of people.

  Sitting in the seats were Dragon Sect's vice sect master, Dragon Sect's young master, and thirty-six Dragon Sect elites.

  There was also a young man who was less than thirty among them.

  He was Drifting Sword, the mysterious masked man in black who had risen to fame during the battle at Yangzhou Port as well as White Robe Sect's sect master.

  "It's all thanks to your hall that we were able to break out of the encirclement formed by Mu Clan, Vice Hall Master Blood, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to bring these brats out of that troublesome place. This toast is for you."

  Blood Robes waved his hand and smiled before he said, "Thanks. I've also received orders from my hall master to do so. Besides, with my compromised strength, I wouldn't have been able to bring all of you out of Yangzhou. It's all thanks to my hall master's great foresight that she asked me to move with all of you, which is how we managed to escape being read by Universe Secrets Inkstone. If you want to thank someone, it'd be best if you thank my hall master."

  "Oh? Then, I, Teacher, will have to use your wine to give you a toast, Hall Master Dream. I give a toast to the greatest heroine in the Chinese server!" Teacher turned to Dream Clouds.

  "You praise me too much." But Dream Clouds drank readily. She lifted the cup and downed everything in one go.

  "This time, it's already certain that Towering Palace will fall into decline. What are your plans, Teacher and my friends from Dragon Sect?" Dream Clouds asked with a smile once she put down her wine cup.

  Teacher turned his head around and cast a glance at his young master.

  The young master had not said anything since the start.

  Dragon Sect's young master did feel some shred of regret to the Music sisters.

/>   After all, the attack on Mu Clan's branch was his decision, and his thoughts just happened to coincide with Class One Hall's, but he had once promised Musical Note that he will definitely kill Happy. Yet in the end, when Happy appeared, he killed quite a few of their people, and they could not do anything about it.

  Right now, Towering Palace was in such a miserable state…

  Even though they managed to break out of the encirclement and were safe, he could not become happy, causing him to not be in the mood to listen to whatever Dream Clouds said.

  He said, and Teacher shook his head before he said to Dream Clouds, "We haven't received detailed news just yet, and we want to observe for a few more days. But we're regretful for Towering Palace's fall this time as well. In the future, Mu Clan might want to declare themselves king in the Chinese server, and we've helped Towering Palace in killing quite a number of their elites. Next time, it'll be very hard for us to find our footing here."

  "That's true. Happy is someone who will definitely take revenge for any slight against him. Last time, it was Three Dragons Guild. Then, it was Towering Palace. Right now, his only thorn in the flesh might be the Class One Hall I built."

  Teacher said nothing about that.

  No matter what, Class One Hall was a professional gaming guild, and their foundation in strength in the game was much greater than Chivalry Sect and Towering Palace! Their management over their organization was strict, and they had plenty of elites! They were the only organization whose strength in their middle management could fight against Mu Clan.

  "I heard that your elites came over to the Chinese server this time because you want to research what our occupation-based players have done. At the same time, you're also looking for martial art manuals, is that true?"

  "Yes."

  "I wonder if my hall can work together with your sect."

  "Oh?" Teacher's act of lifting his cup into the air paused for a moment, and he stared at Dream Clouds in shock. "Hall Master Dream, you're willing to sponsor our activities in the Chinese server?"