Show Me the Money

A massive firebird slowly appeared in the sky. Like a fiery setting sun, it seemed to cover half the continent.

"Screech!"

Another long screech resounded, and the monsters on the ground disregarded their lives to attack the townlet. Avian monsters dove down like rainfall and covered the top of the town wall in a black mass.

Over ten Yao bosses gathered up and cast attacks at the same patch of wall. With a rumble, that patch crumbled. The soldiers standing on it shouted in shock, as several of them fell off and were surrounded then torn to pieces by the monsters.

"Stay calm!" The general's shout eclipsed the bird's screech. At the same time, the archers on the wall released a volley of arrows at the Yao bosses and forced them back.

Flap flap… The firebird soared towards the townlet and looked down at the soldiers on the wall.

Fatty sneakily tossed Appraisal and got the bird's information-

Mutated Fire Kite

High-rank Yao Boss

Level: ???

……

As expected, he got next to nothing.

The Mutated Fire Kite was nearly one hundred meters long from head to tail, its wingspan reaching up to two hundred meters. Its body was fiery red and the feathers looked like flames. Whenever a feather fell, it would set whatever it touched on fire. At this moment, the bird was flying around above the townlet, enveloping it in its massive shade as it stared at the general.

Yao bosses varied in strength. While they were all high-rank Yao bosses, the ones that the general had slain all combined were obviously still inferior to this mutated bird.

The bird didn't make a move as it hovered in the air. It only watched as the monsters below risked their lives to charge at the wall.

From his hiding place, Fatty couldn't hear anything from the wall, but it could be seen clearly that everyone was very anxious. The general kept sending out orders and gathered his troops.

After a large number of monsters died, the Mutated Fire Kite let out a loud screech. The monsters that were still alive all heaved a sigh of relief as the bosses led their underlings to retreat.

The wall was damaged in many places. A lot of soldiers were heavily injured and even more had died without a whole body as they were pulled down and torn apart by the monsters.

The general firmly grasped his blade with both hands and coldly locked eyes with the firebird.

Hoooo… The bird fluttered its wings. A sky of flames fluttered down like the most beautiful fireworks, but also carried with it fatal danger.

"Hah!" Following the general's lead, the four guards behind him, as well as some military officers, attacked in unison.

Blades danced and sword lights soared into the sky. Magic skills and arrows pierced through layers of fire and struck the bird.

Puff… The majority of the flames were snuffed out by the attacks, the few that landed on the wall were put out by the soldiers.

As for the attacks that struck the bird, the beast only budged ever so slightly at this in addition to the few feathers that fell out.

"Damn it!" Fatty cursed and nimbly climbed down. Unluckily, several flames had landed on the tree where he was hiding.

Whoosh! The Yao bosses that hadn't left abruptly raised their heads and looked at the place where Fatty landed dubiously.

Puff! A lizard opened his mouth. A tongue over ten meters long shot out at Fatty.

Fatty rolled on the spot and dodged the tongue, but this revealed his body.

The Yao bosses immediately stood up and stared at Fatty like tigers eyeing their prey.

"Passing by, I'm just passing by." Fatty smiled awkwardly and ran for the townlet. He was sure he could slay a Yao boss; two of them would get a bit difficult. More than three at once? Fleeing was the only choice.

"Help!" screamed Fatty as he ran. All the NPCs on the wall and the Mutated Fire Kite turned to look at him.

Flutter… The bird gently flapped its wings. A series of flames quickly drifted towards Fatty.

"Who are you? State your name!" The general shouted loudly.

"Arghh, save me first and we can talk after!" Fatty evaded the flames in a flurry.

When he got to the wall, Fatty deployed the Zephyr Wings, wanting to fly up.

"Stop! One more step and you'll die." An elite archer aimed his arrow right at Fatty.

"Damn it! General, this little me is a citizen of Black Tortoise City. I came here for a mission. This is proof of my identity." Fatty tossed up the Bronze Medallion.

"This is indeed Black Tortoise City's medal. So he's an honorary citizen," The general commented as he checked the medallion.

"General, this thing can be forged…" a guard stepped forth and alerted.

"It's fine. Look at his strength, we can easily handle him if needed. Let him up." The general waved his hands.

Fatty climbed up the wall. He didn't get to catch his breath when an NPC grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the general.

"Why aren't you staying in your city and ran here instead?" The general questioned.

"This little me came here to find the materials to fix the God Destroyer Crossbow for master Karl of the Imperial Capital," Fatty quickly answered without hiding anything.

"Karl? He still hasn't given up on that ballista?" The general was obviously familiar with Karl. He gestured the soldier to let go of Fatty's collar.

"Master Karl studied it for several decades. Now that he has confirmed a plan to fix the ballista, he only needs to gather enough materials," said Fatty.

"The God Destroyer Crossbow is said to be able to shoot down Gods. How can it be so easy to fix?" The general shook his head. "But if we have it, we won't need to fear that damn fire kite."

Only now did Fatty had the chance to observe this general. He wore a greenish-black outfit from top to toe and a pair of military boots with a blade sheath hanging at the side, only his neat face was revealed. The general looked stalwart in this attire.

"I am General Luo Kun, stationed here at Iron Chain Town. What material are you looking for here?" the general asked.

"Mega Dragon Skeleton." Fatty's thoughts quickly turned and he decided not to mention Sky City.

"Mega Dragon Skeleton?" Luo Kun couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Ignoring the pitiful possibility of whether you'd be able to find those dragons' habitat, even if you find it, it's impossible to sneak in and steal a skeleton. The Mega Dragons care very much about their bodies. On the verge of death, even if a Mega Dragon can't go to the clan's burial site, it would plead with others to either take its body there or destroy it on the spot."

"Heheh, I'll just do all I can and leave the results to the Heavens. I actually don't hold much hope myself." Fatty tried to gloss it over.

Luo Kun shook his head and let Fatty be. The general once again turned to the Mutated Fire Kite.

"General, why does this monster want to attack the town?" asked Fatty curiously.

"It wants to advance," Luo Kun replied.

"Advance?"

"Mhm." Luo Kun mused a bit before explaining, "It has reached the peak of Yao tier. If it wants to keep cultivating, then its only choice is to advance to the Celestial tier.

"What does it have to do with attacking the town though?" Fatty continued asking.

"The town is built right above something very useful for its advancement," Luo Kun explained the cause of their conflict with one sentence.

"Screeech!"

Alongside another long bird screech, countless huge fireballs appeared out of thin air and hurled towards the townlet.

"Defense up!" ordered Luo Kun. A white protective shield rose up to shroud the town and stopped the fireballs outside.

"General, at this rate, our magic stones will run out soon," a military officer reported.

"What other choice do we have? We're not afraid of its attack, but the citizens will suffer heavy casualties. Moreover, our army provisions are still there. If they're burned, we'll have to retreat," said Luo Kun helplessly.

"Damn it! If it wasn't because this thing destroyed our Teleportation Portal and prevented us from calling for support from the Imperial Capital, we wouldn't be this passive." Another officer gritted his teeth.

"General, can't you beat this fellow?" Fatty couldn't help but ask.

"I can't do anything to it, although it can't do anything to me." Luo Kun sighed. "What a pity, I've been stuck at the peak of the War General rank for too long, unable to break through. Otherwise, I could end it in one slash."

War General? 8th class enhancement, same as Lucas before he ranked up. Fatty inwardly nodded.

"General, if there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to tell me," said Fatty.

"Hahaha." Hearing his words, the soldiers around all laughed merrily. Luo Kun also smiled and nodded.

"I appreciate it, but this big fellow isn't easy to handle. You just worry about getting your skeleton to report to Karl. If Karl really succeeds in restoring the ballista, I'll definitely borrow it for a few days and clear out all of the high-ranked monsters in this area."

"General, our soldiers report that our stock of magic stones can only last for three days at most," an officer came to report.

"Three days." Luo Kun's smile faded as he fell into contemplation.

"We can't let a monster beat us with so many people. General, I request to be deployed!" an officer with a fiery temper shouted.

"General, what's down there? Can we just give it to the bird?" Fatty asked.

"If it wants to get that object, this town must be destroyed first," Luo Kun explained. Then, he told the surrounding officers, "Heed my orders, gather a group to break out, lower the defensive shield and return to the Imperial Capital to request for support!"

"Yes, sir!" The NPCs obeyed and went to get ready.

"General, it takes one month for a round trip to the Imperial Capital and back. Won't it be too late by then?" Fatty hastily asked Luo Kun.

"As long as they can safely arrive at the capital, His Majesty will have a space mage set up a Teleportation Portal and get here in a moment," Luo Kun replied quickly as he was in a hurry to send out his troops.

"General, please wait. I can help deliver the news." Fatty took out a Recall Scroll.

"It's useless." Luo Kun shook his head. "The Recall Scroll will only get you back here, otherwise we would have used it."

"Ah? General, if you can offer me enough benefits, I can die and go back." Fatty clenched his teeth.

"There's a forcible respawn point in this town. Even if you die, you'll still respawn here," Luo Kun told Fatty in an odd tone.

Pfff! Fatty nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood at Luo Kun's face.

A forcible respawn point, plus a Teleportation Portal. It means this town is extremely important and must be protected at all cost.