FWF Chapter 455 Rhodes Market
Chapter 455 Rhodes Market
Chapter 455 Rhodes Market
For the next half day, Bai Ze spent his time lecturing to the comrades, explaining his understanding of the Ursus spirit.
Having previously infiltrated Vladimir's "Divine Will Channel" and almost made a name for himself in the Ursus Federation, Bai Ze spoke eloquently, making everyone sigh with regret that he wasn't from Ursus.
Dmitri was already almost fooled by Bai Ze, but after this lecture, the word "quickly" was completely removed, and he really fell ill.
He even revealed that the marshal from Ursus would send someone to Rhodes Market to meet with Bai Ze to discuss future cooperation.
If a military strategist is sending someone, who could it be? Could it be Catherine?
Bai Ze thought about it and realized that Ekaterina was the only person he could talk to, since she was the person he had the most contact with, and they were in the same age group and even had similar strength.
I wonder how strong Catherine is now. She was given the "Sutra of the Holy King of the Wheel of Life" when we traded it to her, which is related to her "Mahayana Buddhist Path". I guess she has made great progress.
The thought lingered in my mind for a moment before I let it go.
Bai Ze didn't care who came to meet him, as he wouldn't suffer any losses anyway. All the losses would ultimately be passed on to Yingguo, at most causing some hardship for the Yingguo people, who would bear the infamy of Ursus.
And so, the group rode on black flying birds and arrived near the Rhodes market.
In the distance, one can see towering mountains situated on the earth, their height estimated to be at least five thousand meters or more.
The Rhodes Market is located in a valley nearby, surrounded by mountains on three sides, all of which are mountain walls over three thousand meters high. The only entrance is marked by gray-white stone pillars.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the stone pillars were actually huge bones, likely ribs that had been removed from the structure.
Each rib is over thirty meters long; it's hard to imagine how old the owner of these ribs must have been.
These bone pillars still retain the aura of their original owner, and even carry a strong sense of malevolence, intimidating the surrounding beasts.
In the realm of mountains and seas, the aura of giant beasts is the strongest deterrent. Wherever such an aura is present, ordinary beasts dare not approach.
If this behemoth is alive, then this is its territory, and unauthorized intrusion will result in a merciless hunt. If this behemoth is dead, then it's even more dangerous to get too close; the being capable of killing it may be located here.
Despite being beasts, they possess considerable intelligence due to their living environment. Some powerful beasts even have intelligence comparable to or surpassing that of humans.
In its early days, Wan Yi Zhi Ji secretly ostracized its competitors by destroying the remains of giant beasts.
If these remains are destroyed, large and small monsters will appear in droves, making it impossible for a settlement to survive.
Real business battles are always this simple and unpretentious.
Bai Ze and Ursus landed outside the market. The large black bird attracted both overt and covert stares, as well as some unpleasant curses.
It seems they don't have a good impression of the Ursus military.
"Comrade, in these markets, our military uniforms are the best deterrent."
Dmitri patted his shoulder and laughed, "Everyone knows that the soldiers of Ursus are the most united. No one who offends us ever ends up well."
If you beat the small fry, the big fish will come, and even the gods might get involved. Anyone who sees this should think twice before acting and consider the consequences of being an enemy of the Ursus military.
The reason why those stereotypical villains in novels are so arrogant is because if you beat the young ones, the old ones will come after you.
Another entity that does this is the Social Security Bureau of the Eastern Xia Federation, but those legal institutions in Eastern Xia mainly operate within the territory, and those who practice the "Northern Emperor's Black Law" are all reasonable people.
The Ursus military, however, is unreasonable.
"The market has its own rules, but overall it is still a no-man's-land. In Dongxia terms, it is a mixed bag, a place where all sorts of people mingle."
As Dmitri walked, he explained, "Here you'll find martial artists from all over the world, as well as scum from all nations. They can be explorers, or they can be murderers and thieves. Especially those from India... never trust them."
When the topic turned to the Indians, even the Ursus general, a paragon of brute force, showed an embarrassed expression.
It was a disgusting and twisted feeling, like swallowing a fly.
"You can never figure out what those Indians are thinking. They're all crazy, they should all have their lobotomies removed and be sent to a mental hospital," Dmitri said candidly, sharing his experience.
The region of Fanzhu has the most unclaimed passageways on Earth, resulting in a large number of Fanzhu people and their corpses.
In addition, wanted criminals from various countries who fled to India would also enter the Shan Hai Jie through those passages.
If the spatial passages in the Sanskrit-Buddhist region could be controlled, the chaos here in the Mountain and Sea Realm would likely be reduced by half.
"The Indians are indeed very abstract." Bai Ze nodded in deep agreement, indicating that great minds think alike.
"That's right, it's abstract."
Dmitri laughed heartily, "But don't worry too much, just don't trust those Indians. Although there are strong people among the Indians, most of them are just guys with brain problems but no real strength."
He was delighted by Bai Ze's approval and felt deeply that Bai Ze was indeed a like-minded comrade.
It can only be said that the power of words still exists.
As they walked and talked, when they reached the bone pillar, Dmitri gave the order for everyone to move around freely, which was met with cheers.
Afterwards, Dmitri led Bai Ze into the Rhodes Market.
Rhodes Market covers an area larger than a typical town, and its interior resembles a market scene from two centuries ago. Rows of wooden and stone houses are scattered about, all hand-built, and appear rudimentary compared to the architecture on Earth.
Of the few buildings that could be considered exquisite, one-third were brothels, where women from various countries dressed up in flamboyant attire and called out phrases like "Come and play, sir!" in their respective languages.
There are also various stalls on the street, displaying items such as furs, herbs, and teeth.
Most of the items are cheap; even if there are expensive ones, they won't be displayed to avoid being snatched away.
According to Dmitri, the truly valuable goods were either taken back to Earth to be sold, or auctioned off at the auction house in the center of the market.
Knowing that Bai Ze was looking for someone, Dmitri took Bai Ze directly to a small tavern.
The tavern's architecture is a mix of East and West; the tables and chairs are Western-style, but the sign outside is in the style of the Eastern Xia. Inside, there are people of all races, and an Eastern Xia man is standing at the front telling stories.
Dmitri and Bai Ze went in dressed in military uniforms, their Ursus-style attire making those nearby nervous. Fortunately, they quickly went into the inner room.
"Xia, we've got a customer."
Dmitri, speaking in a strange Dongxia dialect, called out as he entered.
As he spoke, he turned to Bai Ze and introduced him: "Xia Hai, the biggest information broker in Rhodes Market. He has the best information here."
When speaking to Bai Ze, Dmitri switched back to Ursus language, even though Bai Ze was actually from Dongxia.
But at this moment, Bai Ze appeared as an Ursus general, so Dmitri naturally spoke in Ursus.
This Ursus giant may look rough and tough, but he's actually quite shrewd; otherwise, he wouldn't have become a general. Bai Ze only managed to fool him because of his ability to manipulate thought with his words and his comradely facade.
Inside the room was a middle-aged man from Dongxia, who looked unremarkable and resembled an ordinary person. He sat behind a wooden table, holding an abacus in one hand and calculating with his fingers in the other.
Bai Ze glanced at it and noticed a hint of divination in it.
This seemingly ordinary tavern owner is probably quite the fortune teller.
Upon seeing the two, Xia Hai casually stood the abacus upright, put the beads back in their place, and subtly lowered his hand, which had been calculating.
He replied in fluent Ursus, "Please stop torturing my ears with Dongxia language. It's not like I don't understand Ursus."
Clearly, he had a problem with Dmitri's accent.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Dmitri, still speaking in his somewhat strange Dongxia dialect, said, "The customer is God, and now I am God. Tell me the truth about any unusual news here lately."
Uh... tell the truth?
Bai Ze began to understand why Xia Hai had objections.
Dmitry's Dongxia language did have some issues, but not too much; it was at least better than the accents of those colonels.
The problem is that he doesn't understand the historical allusions of Dongxia and misuses idioms, which is a bit of a hassle for those who do.
"But Dmitri seems to know this boss so well..." Bai Ze thought to himself. He must be a frequent customer, buying information from here often. It's probably because there's a passage controlled by the Ursus Federation nearby.
Bai Ze didn't need to think much to know that the other end of that passage was in Ursus territory.
As a major general in Ursus, Dmitry naturally needed to know the situation in the vicinity so that he could respond promptly if there was any danger.
"Special news, news about the Indians?" Xia Hai said irritably. "Recently, some Indians heard the story of the White Snake in my tavern, and then went to find a snake spirit and slept with it. Do you want to hear it?"
"Lady White Snake? Oh, it's the story of that heroine with the grass python. That's what I heard the people from Dongxia say."
Dmitri paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, slamming his hand on the table and saying, "Who wants to hear the crazy news from the Indians? I'm talking about important matters!"
Xia Hai remained silent, only gently rubbing his right index finger and thumb together.
Dmitri recognized the gesture; it wasn't like an idiom. He simply said, "Same as always, I'll deposit the Eastern Xia Federation points into your account later."
"readily."
Xia Hai immediately beamed with joy and said, "First of all, three eight-star martial artists from the Social Security Bureau of the Eastern Xia Federation were killed three days ago. The scene still had extremely high levels of radiation and had been hit by an explosion. It is suspected that the Western Alliance was responsible. Perhaps another person in the Western Alliance has trained a uranium crystal combat body."
"I know that, I was nearby at the time," Dmitri said, waving.
"You know? That makes sense, you were heading in that direction before."
Xia Hai thought for a moment, then said, "There's another piece of news related to this matter that you probably don't know. Because a member of the Social Security Bureau was killed, the Eastern Xia Federation has decided to retaliate. It has been confirmed that the Eastern Xia military's Baxia base is already moving towards the scene of the incident."
Upon hearing this, Dmitry's expression immediately turned serious.
To deter the beasts, Rhodes Market needs to erect the remains of giant beasts, but forces like the Eastern Xia military would not simply erect remains.
The Baxia base in Dongxia was not named after the story of the dragon having nine sons, but rather because the base was built on the back of a giant Baxia beast.
The entire base is carried on the back of a giant beast, allowing it to move freely.
Similar bases exist in other countries, but in small numbers.
If such a base is deployed, that would be a major event.
"50,000 Dongxia points, I need the specific details," Dmitri said.
"That will take time," Xia Hai said.
"how long?"
"Two days. If you're willing to add 10,000 points, it can be shortened to one day."
"make a deal."
The deal was quickly concluded; Dmitri got what he wanted, while Xia Hai was beaming with joy.
Bai Ze, who was standing to the side, also gained an understanding of Xia Hai's abilities.
He even knows about the situation at the Dongxia Baxia base; this guy has quite a large intelligence network in the Dongxia Federation.
"I'm looking for someone else," Dmitry said, looking at Bai Ze. "This is my good brother, my comrade-in-arms. He's in the 13th Army and might become a field marshal in the future. I'm looking for someone."
"I can see that. The person who made you his adjutant, even if he's not a big shot, is a super big shot in the future."
Xia Hai spoke casually, asking, "What are you looking for? I can find a little bit of information about anyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Even if I don't know the specifics, I at least know where he was last seen."
"It's not that wide a scope," Bai Ze smiled and said, "The person I'm looking for is in Rhodes Market, and his name is Xu Cheng."
"Flying Yaksha, a wanted criminal of the Eastern Xia Federation."
Xia Hai smiled and immediately called out Xu Cheng's nickname.
Compared to the seemingly ordinary name Xu Cheng, "Flying Yaksha" is much more famous and widely known.
"He is indeed in Rhodes Market right now, but unfortunately, he went out a day ago."
Xia Hai knew Xu Cheng's whereabouts like the back of his hand. "Based on my speculation, this should be related to the 'White Night' group. Two days ago, people from 'White Night' appeared nearby, and Xu Cheng has not shown up since."
Half a day ago, members of "White Night" appeared near Xu Cheng's safe house, after which Xu Cheng left the market.
"Bai Ye, that assassin organization?" Bai Ze asked.
This is an organization I've dealt with before.
At that time, Bai Ze was a newly famous super freshman who had just chosen the Alchemy Club and the Astronomy Club. On his way back, he was assassinated.
It was later discovered that the assassin belonged to "White Night." Since that organization was based in Fanzhu, it was difficult to retaliate. Furthermore, it was later discovered that Yun Yan was the one who hired the assassin, so the matter was temporarily put aside.
Unexpectedly, after so many years, Bai Ze was able to meet "Bai Ye" again.