Tempest of the Battlefield

Wang Tong’s sunshine-like smile nearly persuaded Xiao Yuyu to relent her duty at the Sect. “I, too, feel that I could be of good use here with you guys. But, I have unfinished business that I need to tend to in the Sect. Perhaps we will fight side by side again in the future. ”

“You bet!”

“Great! Vorenus will stay with you. He is a warrior, and his talent is needed here more than back at the Sect.” Xiao Yuyu said. Touched by Wang Tong’s sincerity, she had slowly opened up to him, as her gaze grew soft and face turned pink.

“Thank you!” Wang Tong replied as he extended his hand for a handshake.

Xiao Yuyu set her small and tender fingers into Wang Tong’s palm, ready for him to give her a peck on the back of her hand like a real gentleman would. However, Wang Tong was not a gentleman by any stretch of imagination, as he grabbed her small hand and shook it forcefully like he would to a man.

Startled by Wang Tong’s unexpected, if not uncouth handshake, Xiao Yuyu’s heart skipped a beat. The warmth from Wang Tong’s palm felt comfortable.

“Wang Tong, I…we will miss you.”

“Don’t forget to visit us at the sect!”

“Yes, if you are ever back into the market for a girlfriend, look no further than us martian field medics!”

“Ye Zi, watch him for us! Haha!”

The girls’ frisky and sassy comments rendered Wang Tong at a loss. He was not yet used to the way Martian girls expressed their affection. At the time of departure, a few outgoing girls even stole a kiss or two from Wang Tong.

“Stop ogling! You are going to slobber all over yourself!” Ye Zi scolded Wang Tong.

“Haha, I will stop. Gosh! I have so many things to do!” Wang Tong said lightly.

“I will support you in whatever you do.” Ye Zi answered quietly but firmly. She knew that there was no hurdle that he could not pass.

However, seemingly impassable hurdles came much sooner than anyone had thought.

Rebuilding an entire city, even as small as the Maersa City, required tremendous resources, which Battle Wolf did not have. In addition, after consolidating the power of the district, it was up to them to feed all the soldiers that it had acquired through other factions. To make matters even worse, the promise of safety had driven more and more people to settle in the city, adding even more mouths to feed.

Even Einherjars ate three meals a day as any other soldiers would.

Sensing that Maersa was in desperate need for food and supply, the greedy businessmen finally revealed the true color of their heart.

A setback in purchase caused by the sudden rise of price had Aamir riled up. The money this merchantman was asking for was so outrageous, it was outright blackmailing.

Even when the price was fair, Aamir received a small budget for purchasing supplies, since the money was needed on many other more urgent projects.

After initial negotiation with a businessman, Aamir had given everyone his word that he would secure the food sources. However, the same businessman changed his initial offering without even giving him a reason. Frustrated, Aamir conceded that he had to bring this to Wang Tong’s attention.

“What kind of a businessman is he? How could he change the agreement on a whim?” Tan Bu shouted with anger.

Tan Bu and Duo Lun both had improved their powers by leaps and bounds, so much so that they had quickly risen in ranks to become Wang Tong’s most trusted companions. Their success was not because of Wang Tong’s favoritism, but their unwavering commitment to the training.

Training as hard as Wang Tong had expected for every day was easier said than done. So far, only Tan Bu and Lun Duo had the willpower to follow it through.

Aamir was impressed by the two young soldiers’ striking improvement. Meanwhile, he also admired Wang Tong’s ability to draw the potential out of any soldier who listened to his instructions.

No one knew what had happened to those a hundred or so warriors during the two weeks that they were gone. But, everyone knew that they had Wang Tong to thank for their astonishing improvements. In the eyes of an ordinary soldier, Wang Tong was a synonym for god, since other than a god, no one could have transformed a level fifteen no-account into a level twenty super soldier.

Members of Battle Wolf were so proud of themselves that even those who were not chosen by Wang Tong to enter the crystal space felt a sense of honor to be part of the team.

Everyone had been poking around for any clue as to what kind of trick Wang Tong had pulled off to help his students. However, all lips were sealed, and no one was willing to talk about their experience in that two weeks’ time. The exact power of Wang Tong was still shrouded in mystery for most people, and his worship as a god continued.

“Hehe… Tan Bu, we have to be patient. This company controlled the lifelines of many cities, including ours. We need to tread carefully.” Aamir urged. The lack of management talents in Wang Tong’s band was evident, so he knew that Wang Tong needed him badly.

“Tan Bu, can you be smarter next time like Captain Aamir?” Wang Tong advised.

“Yes, boss.” Tan Bu nodded.

The comical exchange didn’t make Aamir laugh, but it made him marvel at how loyal and devoted Wang Tong’s followers were to their leader. These soldiers must have followed him willingly without being given any pressure to do so; otherwise, regardless of how mighty Wang Tong was, he would not be able to bring so many powerful warriors under his banner.

“Who is that dude anyway? What made him so confident?” Wang Tong asked.

“His name is Han Dun. He is the son of the Lord of the Egypt City, the third largest city in the area controlled by Zambrotta.” Aamir remarked in a serious voice.

Aamir’s brief introduction was enough to highlight the political clout of their business partner. Zambrotta and his Thunder Drum were the strongest local warlord on Mars, and also the priority on Maersa’s list of factions to befriend. Sooner or later, the Zergs would come back for the city, if not for Wang Tong. Therefore, defenders of Maersa needed friends.

“We had a deal, so why did he back out?” Yin Tianzong asked. He had lived on Mars for half of his life, and therefore, he had a much clearer picture of the current political scenario. He shared Aamir’s concern; Zambrotta was not someone that Wang Tong wanted to rub the wrong way. They had just secured the foothold at Maersa, and compared to the traditional big players, Maersa was nothing but a babe in the woods. It was wise to respect the power of larger factions and tread carefully.

Maersa had already refused to join House Lie and the Sect, and if they made an opponent out of Zambrotta, they would have truly isolated themselves in an unforgiving world.

“He didn’t give us a reason.” Aamir grinned wryly. This was a dog eat dog world; the fittest never needed excuses for bullying the weak.

“Has he taken our deposit?” Wang Tong asked.

“Yes, and it was not refundable. That is what really pissed me off.” Aamir complained, his words laced with guilt for screwing up this order.

“Hehe, fine then. Aamir, lead me to this Prince Han you were talking about.”

The smile on Wang Tong’s face looked warm and kind, but his friends, especially those who used to be his opponent, knew that somebody was going to get hurt real bad very soon.

…

Wang Tong and Aamir arrived at Han Dun’s temporary residence in Maersa, a lavish building in a war-torn city. Aamir had seen to it that he had gotten the best accommodation in Maersa. However, his hospitality was all for naught.

As soon as Wang Tong entered the dining area, he heard Han Dun scream, “What kind of food is it? Are you feeding me horse feed?”

The servant girl’s face turned red out of embarrassment and anger, but she kept her silence. She didn’t want to get fired from her job. So, she quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor without protesting.