Armipotent

This was x many times Tang Shaoyang encountered such a thing. The people, for some reason, did not like him and his group and looked for trouble for him. He was also aware that he was the cause of this trouble. He could avoid a situation like this easily by backing down, but he was in the position to do so. If his people saw their Emperor lowered himself just to avoid trouble, he would lose respect from them.

Tang Shaoyang tried to ignore the man, but of course, as usual, the man called Russo would not back down after stepping up. That would hurt his pride which would lead the other adventurers to think he was a coward, 'Is there no other way to get out of this situation without crushing this man's head?'

There was an urge inside him, wanting to crush the man to the floor repeatedly. He had done it many times in his head, but he just did not put his thoughts into action. He could see the man did not have that much mana through the Dragon Eyes, even much lower than Goldien, who specialized in close combat. It would be easy to crush Russo, but the aftermath would be troublesome.

The relationship between them and the natives deteriorated. Zhang Mengyao reminded them not to trust the natives, but she also instructed them to build a good relationship with the native, 'Don't trust them, but also don't antagonize them. Act neutral!'

The reason behind the advice was that they needed the natives to control the resource in the tower. Just like the System said in the World Congress, the tower was a resource for them to claim. The natives knew their worlds would be useful later, so Zhang Mengyao asked them not to purposely antagonize the natives unless it was necessary.

'Is this the necessary part she talked about?' Tang Shaoyang noticed Russo's hand moved, trying to reach his shoulder. He made the decision that the moment Russo touched him, he would take action.

The hand was about to reach his shoulder, but someone slapped the hand away, "F*ck off, Russo! Unless you want to get kicked out of Murika?"

Another Gold Rank Adventurer came, and Tang Shaoyang recognized the man. He was the one who received them at the plaza earlier, 'Gold Rank Adventurer, Harold, right?'

The cheering died down as the other adventurer booed at Harold. The entertainment was about to start, but Harold spoiled it.

"Don't meddle, Harold. I will teach this traveler the rule of our guild and world. They get it too easy, become adventurers without a test, and now they want to take three quests at one time even though they are a novice. There's no way I will let this slide!" This Russo had a vicious expression when he expressed his thoughts.

Tang Shaoyang was puzzled by Russo's reaction. He understood if this Russo did not like him, but to hate him? This was their first meeting, no animosity between them, but why did he sense malice from the man?

'Is this man part of the group who wants to get out of the tower?' It made sense if that was the case, but the man was too obvious. It would make people suspicious of him if he acted hostile openly toward the traveler. That would only expose the man's identity as part of the people who wanted the Tower Break to happen.

"Why do you suddenly care about the rule when you break it repeatedly?" Harold questioned the man while standing between Tang Shaoyang and Russo.

Russo merely gritted his teeth and clenched his hand, staring at Tang Shaoyang. It was as if Tang Shaoyang had wronged him or even he was the man's parent killer or something like that to receive such hate. Glaring at the group of ten for a while, Russo turned around and left the guild.

Harold took a deep sigh while approaching the counter, "Let Sir Tang Shaoyang and his friends take three quests at once. I will take the responsibility if something comes up," Then the man turned around and met Tang Shaoyang's gaze, "Actually, I recommend you take this gathering instead of this one, Sir." Harold took one of the quests from the table and presented a new one in his right hand, "These herbs grow in an area close to the quest you have taken, so you will be more efficient in finishing the quest."

"Then I will follow your recommendation," Tang Shaoyang nodded. There was a small detail as such where the herb grew, and it was the guild's task to give the adventurer a direction for that.

"But…." The clerk still hesitated.

"I will speak to the Guild Master after they accept the three quests, so don't worry about it," Harold put the quest paper on the counter and convinced the clerk. The latter relented and accepted the quest for Tang Shaoyang and his group.

*** ***

Tang Shaoyang left Murika through the south gate as the herb grew to the south of Murika. He could just let his subordinate complete the quest, but he did not do so. He thought outside Murika, where the natives were away from them, was the safest place for them to discuss the next course of their action.

"What do you guys think about the Mayor and the Adventurer Guild?"

"They are all suspicious," Ava responded immediately, "Everything about them is suspicious. If they really want to help us to clear the floor, they should put fewer quests to complete. Even though they said the time on this floor flowed three times faster, we have no way to prove that. Mayor Celap might be lying about that, delaying our time to clear the floor."

"Didn't Mayor Celap tell us the reason? The natives want the traveler to solve the problem for the natives; in exchange, they will cooperate with us," Liang Suyin tended to believe in Mayor Celap, "If anything suspicious, it's the man called Russo. I feel like he is part of the group who wants the Tower Break to happen."

"I heard that, but if we clear the floor faster without a hundred quests per individual, we will obtain permanent access to the third floor, no? We can help them anytime by then, and in exchange for the exclusive resources on the third floor for us," Ava shook her head and disagreed with Liang Suyin's opinion, "But that Russo was indeed suspicious. That man hates us even though we have never met him before. It just does not make sense to hate someone you don't know."

"I am seventy percent sure that man is part of the group who don't want us to clear the floor. I think he wanted to probe how strong we are before sending their main force if Mayor Celap himself is not part of the group. Just like Ava said, everything is suspicious, and we can't trust them blindly," Tang Shaoyang voiced his thoughts.

If all the natives agreed to use the delay tactic, delaying them from finishing the floor, Tower Break could be achieved without killing the players. Just like Ava said, Mayor Celap might be lying about the flow of time, which was three times faster, lowering the players' guard down and making the players think they had a lot of time to clear the third floor.

"For now, we will complete the quest first. Mayor Celap said we would know everything once we complete the quest. Of course, it does not close the possibility that they send us away from the town to make a preparation, preparation to kill us. Get ready to fight anytime, and the healers stay close to me when we return to the town," Tang Shaoyang shared all the possibilities that might happen to them later, "If the attack doesn't happen, we will gather more information before deciding the next course of our action.