Stranger Danger - Chapter 776: Do I Have Your Support?
Chapter 776: Do I Have Your Support?
“I’m not shouldering the blame for this. I warned you all that people will die if you don’t choose your answer carefully.”
Strangely, Gong Wuwei did not seem worried in the slightest.
Feng Xiong’s eyes narrowed dangerously and angrily. “You really have lost your mind, Gong Wuwei. Brothers and sisters, let’s get her. Today will be the day Gong Wuwei and the Celestial Cave are no more!”
“Kill Gong Wuwei!”
“Destroy Celestial Cave for our dead brothers and sisters!”
“Kill!”
Enraged, the crowd charged Gong Wuwei at once.
Thump!
Unfortunately, they didn’t even manage to get close to her when a drumbeat broke out. Heavy as a mountain and loud as thunder, it dropped countless people to the ground except high level warriors such as Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi. For a time, the bloodcurdling screams would not stop.
“Why the hurry? Let me show you a little something. You can decide after I’m done with my presentation, okay?”
Gong Wuwei shot Feng Xiong and the others a wink before sweeping her hand in front of her. A row of heads appeared on the ground, and the entire place fell as silent as death.
“Just in case some of you don’t recognize these heads, allow me to make the introductions.”
Smiling, Gong Wuwei pointed at the leftmost head and began, “This is Ding Banshan. This is Yu Youya. This is Chen Ah Sheng. This is Yin Haichao. This is Xu Laodao. This is Chen Shangxue…”
Every time Gong Wuwei said a name, everyone present would shudder and turn just a little whiter. It was because every name she mentioned was an infamous name that they were very, very familiar with.
Ding Banshan was the head of the Mountain Mover Brigand, the ninth brigand of the Thirteen Brigands of Chu. He was a Trueman.
Yu Youya was the head of the Black Hawk Brigand, the eleventh brigand of the Thirteen Brigands of Chu. He was also a Trueman.
Chen Ah Sheng was the head of the Chaos Heaven Brigand, the twelfth brigand of the Thirteen Brigands of Chu. He was a Half-Step Grandmaster.
Zhong Qiu was the head of the Swordless Peak, one of the five peaks of Mount Qi. He was a Trueman.
Yin Haochao was the head of the Dragonslayer Fort, one of the nine forts of Mount Qi. He was a Half-Step Trueman.
Xue Laodao was the head of the Hidden Saber Fort, also one of the nine forts of Mount Qi. He was a Trueman.
Fang Shangxue was the gang boss of the Fast Snow Gang, one of the eighteen gangs of Mount Qi. She was a Half Step Trueman.
……
Every one of these heads belonged to the strongest leaders of Mount Qi; the type of people who could shake the entire Mount Qi if they added a bit more strength to their footsteps. They were troublesome existences who had plagued Northern Xinjiang and even the entire Chu for the longest time.
Now, they were all dead.
Earlier, some of them were confused by the fact that none of the leaders of the foremost factions had shown up. Now, they understood that they had arrived long before they did—in their heads, that was.
As if that wasn’t enough, the way the leaders had died was quite odd. Every single one of them was wearing an amiable, tranquil smile devoid of any pain or fear whatsoever. It was as if someone had removed their heads while they were asleep.
Every single one of these people were a Trueman or a Grandmaster. They were also faction leaders whose bedroom had to be guarded by numerous elites. And yet, someone had somehow removed their heads in their sleep!
Of course, that was just their speculation, but the question remained the same: If even these people—warriors who were definitely stronger than them in one way or another—could not survive whatever it was that had killed them, then what was the chance that they would survive?
How could they not be terrified?
By the time Gong Wuwei finally finished reciting every head’s name, everyone was looking pale and trembling like a leaf. Even the likes of Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi were no exception.
Damn. The bastard got seriously lucky.
Hidden amidst the crowd, Ye Qing was raising an eyebrow and looking at Chen Ah Sheng’s head.
Chen Wuxin was really the Heartless Brain, so he would survive any injury that wasn’t brain damage.
That was why Ye Qing thought he was lucky. Clearly, his killer had preserved his head so they could use it to intimidate this band of hooligans. If not for this, he would probably be dead as a dodo.
As for why his killer had killed Chen Wuxin, that was obvious. They planned to take control of every major and minor faction in Mount Qi and become its master.
Chen Wuxin, Ding Banshan, Zhong Qiu, Xu Laodao and more were the top contenders in Mount Qi. If you wanted to shoot a bird, shoot the one that poked its head first. If you wished to defeat a group of bandits, aim for the bandit leader first. Naturally, they became the Celestial Cave’s primary targets.
Ding Bangshan, Zhong Qiu, Xu Laodao and more hadn’t climbed to their position being meek and humble. Naturally, they would never submit to the Celestial Cave peacefully. So, the Celestial Cave killed them all and claimed everything they had.
After putting all the major factions under their thumb, all that was left to do was to inform the small fries about their fate, and that was exactly what Gong Wuwei did. She gathered everyone by exploiting their greed and kindly informed them exactly what would happen if they did not submit.
The plan wasn’t complicated. In fact, it was simple to the extreme. That said, it was possible only because the Celestial Cave possessed a level of power far beyond everyone’s imagination. If they did not possess the strength to slay the Truemen and Grandmasters effortlessly, then this plan would have failed right from the start.
The corners of Ye Qing’s lips curled up when he thought until this point.
“Do you know why these people died?” Gong Wuwei looked up and asked.
Feng Xiong, Cheng Xiuyi and more did not say a word. They didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly for fear of earning Gong Wuwei’s ire.
“It’s because they refused to be good boys and girls.”
Gong Wuwei sighed sympathetically and angrily. “If they were good boys and girls, they would still be around to greet you all. Just why must they choose death? Sigh…”
“Anyway, now that you’ve seen what I have to show you, I’m going to repeat myself. From now on, I am the master of Mount Qi. Do I have your support or not?”
There was a moment of silence. Then, someone yelled, “I support you!”
“Me too!”
“I support you as well!”
Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi wheeled around and saw that the speakers were none other than Dou Yuan, head of the Green Wolf Brigand of the Thirteen Brigands; Seven Kills Guan, head of the Seven Killing Peak; Xin Wuyang, head of the Flowing Cloud Peak, and more.
“You guys…”
Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi exchanged glances with each other. At this point, even the slowest person realized that Dou Yuan, Seven Killing Peak, Xin Wuyang and more had surrendered to Gong Wuwei a while ago. Today’s show was for them and only them.
Feng Xiong gritted his teeth. No wonder he, Cheng Xiuyu and Imp Zhu were the only ones who stepped out to lambast Gong Wuwei. He had thought they were silent because they were two-faced cowards who did not dare to offend the Celestial Cave openly. It was only now that he realized that they were the clowns this whole time.
With so many leaders throwing in their lot with the Celestial Cave, the frightened mooks were only less inclined to fight. Echoes of support immediately broke out from all sides. Everyone was afraid that Gong Wuwei would change her mind if they were too slow.
When the noise subsided a little, Gong Wuwei looked at Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi with a smile that didn’t reach the eye. “Head Feng, Head Cheng, why are you quiet? Do you disagree with my appointment after all?”
The noise immediately vanished, and all eyes landed on Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi.
The two men shuddered a little under the gaze before opening their mouths to say, “We… wouldn’t dare!”
They knew it was over. They could fight with their life on their line, and they still wouldn’t be able to change anything.
From the looks of it, the foremost factions of Mount Qi had either thrown in their lot with the Celestial Cave, or had their leaders killed and replaced. Not only that, the Celestial Cave had caught all the small fries in one fell swoop. If they so much as breathed the word “No”, they would join the row of heads on the stage in no time.
Therefore, the one and only way they might survive this was to surrender.