Golden Wolf
This appearance was hardly surprising. After all, the Wild Wolf Gang’s lifelong nemesis, the
He was now standing midway up Sunset Peak, at what used to be a Seven Mysteries Sect sentry post. Surrounding him were dozens of the Wild Wolf Gang’s red-robed iron guards. These fifty or sixty guards were his carefully cultivated personal soldiers, whom he had invested enormous effort in training. Not only were they all highly skilled in martial arts, but their loyalty to him was absolute and unwavering.
He had always regarded this group as a priceless treasure, seldom deploying them in ordinary skirmishes. But now, he had brought them all along with him, intending to completely intimidate the restless leaders of the various small and medium-sized factions. Otherwise, the leaders of groups like the Iron Spear Society and the Duanshui Gate would not have been so obediently submissive.
After all, these factions were unwilling to let the Wild Wolf Gang dominate alone. They hoped the two major powers would remain locked in perpetual struggle or balance, so they could carve out a survival space in the cracks between them.
If Jia Tianlong hadn’t swiftly seized control of the families and children of these faction leaders, coupled with generous promises of profit, these small and medium factions might have already turned against him.
Thinking of this, he glanced back at the dozen or so leaders of the smaller factions standing not far behind him.
Every one of them looked dejected and disheartened. When they saw Jia Tianlong looking their way, they either glared back with anger or timidly avoided his gaze.
Witnessing this scene, Jia Tianlong let out a cold laugh inwardly. Turning back around, he couldn’t help but start mentally formulating feasible plans for absorbing these smaller factions after capturing the Seven Mysteries Sect.
Ahead of Jia Tianlong, nearly a thousand people dressed in various colors and wielding different weapons were swarming like a chaotic mass to attack another of the Seven Mysteries Sect’s sentry posts. Their formations were disordered, with no coordination whatsoever, and their casualties were considerable.
But Jia Tianlong didn’t care in the slightest. Because those attacking weren’t members of his own Wild Wolf Gang, but rather disciples from the Iron Spear Society, the Duanshui Gate, and other factions. He had never expected these people to capture Sunset Peak, the final and most perilous pass. He simply wanted them to exhaust the defenders’ energy, after which he would send his own elite forces to finish the job with a single volley from the repeating crossbows.
At the mere thought of those military-grade repeating crossbows, a hint of pleasure appeared on Jia Tianlong’s refined features.
It could be said that the Wild Wolf Gang’s easy upper hand this time owed its primary credit to these lethal weapons from the army.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible not only to annihilate the enemy’s negotiation team but also to capture the dozen or so sentry posts already taken before reaching Sunset Peak without the Wild Wolf Gang suffering significant losses in strength—something highly detrimental to his future plans of absorbing the smaller factions.
This batch of military crossbows hadn’t cost Jia Tianlong any effort at all; they had simply fallen from the sky into his lap.
Whenever Jia Tianlong thought of this, he felt immensely pleased.
That was three months ago. At the time, he was at the gang’s headquarters planning this operation when suddenly an officer claiming to be a relative came to see him. Surprised, Jia Tianlong agreed to meet. It turned out to be a cousin of his. Years ago, when the Wild Wolf Gang’s predecessor was still a bandit group, a batch of them had been pardoned and recruited by the government. This cousin of his was among them. After many years, this cousin had risen to the high military rank of deputy commander. By sheer coincidence, this deputy commander cousin was escorting a shipment of supplies to a border fortress in Lan Prefecture, passing right through the area. Upon hearing that his close relative Jia Tianlong was the leader of the Wild Wolf Gang, he naturally came to visit.
Upon meeting, the two exchanged emotional greetings and then caught up on their experiences over the years. When Jia Tianlong mentioned the recent conflicts and skirmishes with the Seven Mysteries Sect, the cousin curled his lip dismissively, saying it was nothing. Give him a hundred or so strong crossbows, and he could wipe out the entire Seven Mysteries Sect, from top to bottom.
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Jia Tianlong’s mind stirred, and he cautiously asked his cousin if he could provide some crossbows. The cousin smiled slightly and frankly told Jia Tianlong that the shipment he was escorting did indeed contain many repeating crossbows. It wasn’t that he couldn’t part with some, but silver would be needed to grease the palms of the receiving officials, and he couldn’t give too many.
Delighted, Jia Tianlong immediately paid over twenty thousand taels of silver in exchange for over three hundred repeating crossbows. He handed them to his trusted subordinates for careful use, and it was this that led to the string of victories over the past few days.
“It’s breached!”
“It’s been broken through!”
…
A tumultuous roar that shook the heavens jolted Leader Jia from his reverie.
Startled, he hurriedly looked up toward the peak. He could see the sentry post that previously flew the Seven Mysteries Sect’s banner was now crowded with men from the smaller factions. It really had been breached.
Jia Tianlong furrowed his brow. He found it somewhat strange. Judging by the defensive strength of the previous posts, this final one should theoretically have been even harder to take. How could it fall so quickly to this motley crew? Was there some kind of trap?
His expression darkened. Anyone familiar with Leader Jia knew this was a sign of his displeasure. If someone angered him at a time like this, that person would likely find death a mercy.
“Hey, since it’s breached, why aren’t you moving?” a voice like a cracked gong rang out, devoid of any respect for Leader Jia.
By rights, Jia Tianlong should have flown into a rage, but instead, he turned sideways and replied respectfully:
“Immortal Master Zhang, I feel there’s something suspicious about how quickly this post fell. I fear there might be a trap set inside. It’s better to be cautious!”
“What’s there to fear? With me by your side, how could mere mortals possibly hurt you? Move it, move it! I’ve been stuck here almost all night and I’m about to drop. Let’s get rid of these Seven Mysteries Sect guys quickly so this old man can finally get some rest.” The voice didn’t sound old, but it put on a grating, elderly tone that was exceedingly annoying.
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(End of Chapter)