The Strongest Way to Survive in the Apocalypse - Chapter 29：The Black Flame Warrior's City

Li Qiang paid each of the 3 groups in China a visit. He went alone, timing his arrival in each base precisely when they were having a meeting. He began with the Black Flame Warriors in the West.

Li Qiang’s figure loomed over the Black Flame Warrior’s base, his black clothing blending perfectly into the night sky. He deactivated Qi-Walking and landed lightly on his toes. He then blurred. A shadowy figure flashed throughout the camp, too quick for anyone but perhaps the strongest in the Black Flame Warriors group to notice. He came to a stop behind a door. Inside, was the council room.

“Qi Jian, we can’t go on like this! Our base is on the verge of collapse! The White Demons destroyed a large portion of our agricultural land and the rest of this f*cking place is desert! We have no food and our people are fleeing to other groups!”

Suddenly a loud bang came from inside the room.

“Tang Guo, am I the Leader of the Black Flame Warriors, or are you? We will not attack the other groups just for food!”

No one spoke for a few seconds.

“Qi Jian, me and the rest of the upper brass have discussed this. Your power is unmatched throughout the land, but your leadership skills are questionable. We think that change is needed.”

Another voice broke in.

“What Tang Guo is trying to say, is that you are no longer the Leader. We have voted Tang Guo to replace your position.”

Another silence.

Then laughing echoed out from the room, resonating across the camp. It carried an odd power, giving an ordinary individual chills at the repressed emotions from the laugh.

“Tang Guo, Yan Xiaofan, you two scoundrels. I established this f*cking group. I spread my ancestral teachings on how to awaken and train the Black Flame Anima. And now, after you suck me dry of my possessions, you want to get rid of me?”

The laughing became louder and louder.

“Well then, if you really want to get rid of me, cripple your cultivation. Your Black Flame Anima is only thanks to me. As long as you do this, I will leave without a word.”

“Qi Jian don’t go too far. If we cripple our cultivation, who will fight the White Demons?”

“I will. All you f*cking weaklings only weighed me down anyway.”

A silence.

“Qi Jian, how is your wife?”

Another huge bang sounded.

“Yan Xiaofan, you wouldn’t dare!”

“Yan Xiaofan! You-You-You f*cking ingrate! I’ll kill you!”

“Qi Jian, your wife is in our hands. Proceed cautiously.”

A final silence.

“Alright. I want my wife back. I will leave.”

“And you will leave your Black Flame teachings as well.”

A sharp gasp sounded.

“Alright. Alright. I want my wife. And the rest of you, I better not see your f*cking faces ever again!”

Li Qiang had been enjoying listening to all this. He would have been perfect with some popcorn.

He sighed and pushed open the door and walked inside the room. It wasn’t as impressive as his own conference room, but it wasn’t anything to scoff at. An expensive-looking chandelier hung from the ceiling and the long table screamed nobility and history.

Qi Jian, Yan Xiaofan and Tang Guo looked about what he imagined. Qi Jian was a rough yet honest looking man with clear features. Tang Guo was a handsome man, with a head full of glossy black hair, and Yan Xiaofan was a beautiful and slender woman, with phoenix eyes.

Another man, who looked like a weasel, stood up and exclaimed at Li Qiang.

“Who are you! Don’t you know that this room is only for the Black Flame Knights!

Leave rightno- ”

Li Qiang condensed an unnoticeable blade of Qi in the air and swiped lazily. The weasel-looking man’s head split in half down the middle and he fell to the floor. The entire table burst to their feet, shouting and screaming at Li Qiang, apart from Qi Jian, who held his head in his hands at the end of the table, oblivious.

“Silence.”

Li Qiang growled, and room immediately quietened. A woman continued jabbering and Li Qiang waved his hand once again. The woman met the same grisly fate as the weasel-looking man.

Now, the room was deathly-quiet.

“My name is King Qiang. I am the King of the Sword of Carnage, the group that rules the North.”

A man interrupted him, rubbing his hands together.

“So, it was King Qiang, we should have prepared a host for you. However, perhaps there was no need for such viole- ”

Li Qiang’s hand waved a third time and the man’s head rolled.

“Don’t interrupt me.”

A fearsome aura emanated from Li Qiang as he said those words.

“I want China. As long as the Black Flame Warriors decide to accept my rule and become a branch of the Sword of Carnage, no-one will die. In fact, I can promise that you will all become much stronger.”

Li Qiang paused, intending to continue talking after a moment. However, an unfortunate individual mistook this for inviting them to talk.

Yan Xiaofan stood up and bowed towards Li Qiang.

“Mr Qiang, we will have to humbly refuse your proposal as- ”

Li Qiang’s hand waved.

“I wasn’t finished. Address me as King. And I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to Qi Jian.”

Her lifeless body fell to the floor.

Tang Guo stood up, aghast. He looked as if he was going to say something but seeing the provocative look in Li Qiang’s eyes, he decided better of it.

“I will either kill everyone in here or you will submit to me. There is no other option. Does anyone have anything to say?”

The room full of strong Knights bowed their heads and avoided eye-contact with Li Qiang as if he was the plague.

“Qi Jian will remain as the leader and if his wife is not with him in the next hour everyone is dead. In regard to the actual terms of your submission to me, I will send my people over to discuss taxes and development plans.”

Li Qiang swept his eyes across the room and landed on Qi Jian.

“Do you have anything to say?”Qi Jian shook his head.”It would be a please to serve King Qiang.”

Qi Jian’s attitude took a full 180 after Li Qiang’s entrance. However, LI Qiang understood. Some people found it more natural to follow and some found it natural to lead. They took to it like a fish in water.

Li Qiang nodded approvingly and turned away. A minute later, he was in the sky, moving at blistering pace towards his next target, the White Crane Sect in the South.

Li Qiang had no intention of killing anyone when he got to the Black Flame Warrior’s City. However, his stomach turned when he heard the conversation within the room, and he despised such spineless cowards who would betray their leader. Unless he encountered a similar situation in the White Crane Set, he wouldn’t kill anyone.