Chapter 1206: Chapter 1206: The City Lord
However, in this main city, the nefarious deed of squeezing or nipping others' Illusion Points was done openly and systematically.
Someone had become the self-proclaimed city lord and more than that, the lord had ordered all the martial artists in the city to submit to his or her will and laws. In fact, handing in half of their Illusion Points was the same as getting killed once by the city lord. The self-proclaimed lord was so brazenly arrogant to demand that term to be met.
When the warrior saw Zen's outraged expression, he warned, “I advise you to obey and go register right away, otherwise you may not be able to leave this city ever again!”
“What do you mean 'unable to leave the city'?” Despite Zen's cold agitation, his interest was also piqued at the same time.
If this “city lord” had really been milking all of the warriors in the city for their valuable Illusion Points, then the number of Illusion Points that this individual had amassed must be huge indeed! Zen could only smile at the juicy target that this had created.
In confronting this “city lord”, it would save Zen a lot of trouble to secure a prodigious amount of Illusion Points in one fell swoop. Zen's grin spread even further and he looked like a cat that stole the cream.
The warrior chuckled. “The city lord has already taken control of this city. If you do not register and hand over your Illusion Points, you will be an easy target for hordes of other warriors who will attack and kill once you leave the city! Under this situation, how do you expect to leave and survive?”
Zen's eyes flashed faintly. He did love a challenge! The situation the warrior had described was only for ordinary martial artists.
Since the main city was so big, even if he proved to be no match for the city lord, it wasn't difficult for him to find a random place and escape from here…
Seeing Zen's disapproving expression, the warrior said, “I advise you to go register on your own initiative, otherwise you might lose more than half of your Illusion Points. I'm afraid you will lose all of your Illusion Points in the end. In the end, you will have nothing but regret!”
Somebody had proclaimed himself the city lord, but there were many warriors who had refused to acknowledge this self-promulgated person as their leader or obey him. Those brave warriors tried to leave the city again and again, but only a very small number of them were successful. Most of the warriors who left the city were immediately attacked and killed. Then they would get revived in the main city again. These warriors were trapped in an endless cycle which culminated in despair. After repeated death, the number of Illusion Points the warriors had accumulated would have rapidly decreased!
“Where should I register?” Zen smiled faintly. He had already come up with a devious plan in his mind.
“Over there!”
The warrior pointed off into the distance.
After Zen nodded his head, he strolled through the main city, taking in the sights. Not long after, he saw that at the entrance of a building in the main city, there were quite a few martial artists lining up. This was the place where warriors grudgingly registered and reluctantly handed over their Illusion Points.
Previously, Zen had handed in three hundred thousand Illusion Points to obtain the Teleportation Token. However, those Illusions Points had then been deducted by the Illusion Battlefield, not some selfish fop who took what was not earned.
To pay Illusion Points here meant that martial artists had to voluntarily stretch their necks for this so-called city lord to kill them! Death was the only way to transfer Illusion Points.
If the city lord wanted to kill Zen, he would have to do it outside the city…
Thinking of this, Zen also joined the long line.
The warriors queuing up all had more or less depressed looks on their faces. After all, no one in their rational mind would be willing to offer up half of their Illusion Points to anyone else. Certainly not without a fight.
Among the warriors standing dejectedly in the line, some of them had previously refused to pay the Illusion Points, but they later got killed repeatedly by the subordinates of the city lord. In the end, they had no other choice but to come here to pay the Illusion Points.
As for some warriors, they had initially left the city to explore, but after returning, they had fought against the “city lord” but had been defeated and killed. After reviving, they had wanted to leave the city, but to do that they had to come here to register, so that the “city lord” could kill them once more before they could leave this place!
The most unfortunate ones were the martial artists that had died in the wild. Some martial artists did not land in this city in the first place, but they had accidentally trespassed into the surrounding areas of this city while exploring the wilderness. As a result, they were killed by the many vicious legendary beasts which roamed in this region.
According to the rules of the Illusion Battlefield, if any warriors died in the wilds, they would be made to revive in the nearest main city. This main city was the closest to them, so after reviving, they would automatically enter this city… Entering this main city meant that they would have to be killed by the city lord again in order to leave here safely.
The reason why Zen was queuing here was not to hand over his Illusion Points. Illusion Points were so precious, how could he give them away to others so easily? ʀ𝙖ꞐоΒËᶊ
His target was the city lord of this main city!
After waiting for about five minutes in the long line, it was finally his turn.
“Name!” The warrior in charge of registrations called coldly.
“Thad Luo,” Zen said faintly.
“Which force of the human race are you from? Which world? And which sacred place?” the warrior continued to ask, barely looking up at Zen as he began to scribble with a quill on a parchment.
“Why do you have to know these things?” Zen asked.
“Answer my questions!” The warrior now stared coldly at Zen.
The corner of Zen's mouth twitched into a faint smile when he saw the warrior's stern face. The “city lord” must have a strong background since he had so many warriors to serve him; otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many people following him.
After all, everyone was of equal status in the Illusion Battlefield. This reminded Zen of Ezra, whom Zen assumed must also have a strong background among the ogre race. However, Ezra had only managed to trick a small number of ogre warriors to serve him in the beginning. When many of the ogre warriors realized what was really going on, no one had followed his orders.
The reason why this “city lord” had such a rallying power could only be due to his status outside of the Illusion Battlefield!
“The Humanity Alliance, Spirit Reading World, Spiritual Force Sacred Place,” Zen replied mechanically.
Hearing Zen's words, the warrior lightly sized him up, then he called another martial artist and said, “Okay, follow him to the outside of the city. After you've paid your Illusion Points, you can leave!”
Zen's face was expressionless as he followed the other warrior to the north gate of the main city.
When he arrived at the edge of the city, Zen finally understood why the first warrior had warned him that there would be no chance for him to leave this city without permission!
On the walls of the main city, at every hundred feet, stood a Soul Sea Realm warrior who was like an iron tower. These warriors were wearing black armors and wielded light golden sabers in their hands. They looked as solemn and unforgiving as graveyard statues.
“Friend, where are these warriors from? Why do they wear uniforms?” Zen asked curiously.
The warrior leading the way lightly glanced at Zen, disdainful of his surprised look. “What garbage! These black armored warriors are all guards of the city lord. Isn't it normal for them to dress in uniforms? What backwater city have you crawled from?”
“Normal? The city lord could even bring guards into the Illusion Battlefield?” Zen asked in amazement.
Noticing the puzzled look on Zen's face, that warrior seemed more smug and puffed up, and he even boasted of the details which he had heard, “The city lord of our main city is from one of the top three clans in the Thoughtless Minds, the Ji Clan! This time, the Ji Clan has placed great hope on the city lord to succeed in this Illusion Battlefield! They conscripted ten thousand top Soul Sea Realm warriors and sent them into the Illusion Battlefield together with the city lord!”
All warriors who entered the Illusion Battlefield would randomly be sent to different main cities, but the chances of the warriors in the same region being sent to the same place had always been quite high. The Ji Clan had arranged for over ten thousand warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, so after being distributed to the main cities, twenty percent of them were allocated to other main cities. However, eighty percent of the warriors still followed the city lord and landed in this main city!
This meant that from the moment the city lord from the Ji Clan had entered the Illusion Battlefield, eight thousand warriors of the Soul Sea Realm had followed him and guarded him.
It was also because of these eight thousand warriors of the Soul Sea Realm that the city lord had such great power and control. He took the main city as his own and had been further growing by taking his toll from all the lesser warriors in the city!
“So that explains it.” Zen nodded thoughtfully, but he was also utterly disgusted at the way in which the Illusion Battlefield system had been manipulated.
As he was speaking, Zen and the warrior escorting him had already arrived at the city gate. Not far away was a martial artist in blue who was holding a black long sword. His eyes were closed in meditation as he was gathering his energy.
Standing in front of the warrior in blue was a row of warriors at the Soul Sea Realm!
These warriors of the Soul Sea Realm didn't have any intention of resisting. They just stood there lined up like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
They had no choice. They could still slowly continue to earn Illusion Points after paying half of their Illusion Points. If they didn't pay up, it would be impossible for them to leave this main city…
The blue-robed martial artist stayed where he was for a long time before he suddenly opened his eyes in narrow slits. He had been gathering energy for a long time, and now that he activated the black sword in his hand with that energy, he could use it like it was an extension of his body.
The radiance on the sword erupted. In the blink of an eye, the black long sword had slashed out!
“Puff, puff, puff…”
As blood splashed, seven or eight red dots of light wrapped around the souls of these martial artists and flew into the main city behind them where they would wait to be resurrected.
In addition, the yellow light dots of their Illusion Points burst forth from the ground. Because these martial artists had been slain by the blue-robed martial artist, these Illusion Points shot directly towards the blue-clothed martial artist!
'It certainly saves a lot of time in accumulating Illusion Points this way...' Zen thought. Following this line of logic, the number of Illusion Points which this guy had accumulated must definitely be quite significant. “Is he the city lord of this main city?” Zen asked immediately.
To his surprise, the warrior who was leading the way shook his head and said, “No, he's not.”