Xyrin Empire
Chapter 531 Brawl

Chapter 531: Chapter 531 Brawl

In front of a Kepulu-Ironforge joint venture bar named "Gauss Guns & Cool Iron Hammers", the wide street was encircled three layers deep by fully armed Imperial Soldiers. The chaotic ground was littered with the marks of burning flames and forceful shattering, with half-melted steel bars and the pulverized remains of buildings making it hard to believe that such destruction was wrought by human hands. In fact, it indeed was.

In a clearing that onlookers had vacated, three Ravens hovered a few meters above the ground. Arcane Chains stretched from their hands and interwove together, securely locking down the public property destroyer in the center of the clearing. As the restrained Human resisted, the Arcane Chains constantly burst with bright energy sparks. Although these energies, capable of knocking out a whale, had little effect on the bound man—they were designed mainly as a painful warning—the fact that he could completely ignore this pain was quite alarming.

That ostentatious red hair, the proud figure, the crescent moon on his back, and even more eye-catching, the belt tied around his thigh... Ahem, that distinctive and idiosyncratic belt—the silhouette was just too familiar. It was the legendary Bashen An who, on his first day of transmigration, nearly picked a fight and ended up knocked out by Vega’s Sonic Charge with a tail whip.

Alright, that last part belongs to the black history let’s selectively blur that out.

But looking at him now, Bashen An’s condition really wasn’t looking good.

His hands and neck were tightly bound by the triple Arcane Chains, and his entire figure was stretched into a position like Jesus’ crucifixion—making it extremely difficult for any Human to exert strength. His clothing and the exposed skin were covered in burns from energy scorches, and those were just the visible damages inflicted by the Ravens. What was more lethal was his own abnormality: bulging veins, contorted muscles, as if clusters of scalding flames beneath his skin were trying to break through, twisting and surging relentlessly. Those twisted muscles even spread to his face, rendering Bashen An’s features ghastly and terrifying. He seemed to have lost all reason, and the incessant release of punitive sparks from the Arcane Chains, which could render even a resolute Holy Knight temporarily incapacitated from pain, could not stop Bashen An’s struggle. Amid his beast-like growls, he fought back with complete disregard for bodily harm—I could even faintly hear his bone joints making grating noises that made one’s teeth ache. At this rate, he might even break his limbs!

Unfortunately, the Ravens lacked anything resembling sympathy. Had it not been for a prior rule against injuring transmigrators (which could cause irrevocable damage to Dingdang’s annual bonus, as the little thing had almost run out of bonus money since taking office, now relying on that annual bonus to survive), these proud Ravens would probably prefer to directly whittle the disobedient captive into a human stick to save themselves trouble.

"Rampaging... and a complete rampage at that, without a shred of rationale left... What on earth is going on? How did Bashen An suddenly go berserk?"

I approached a Subordinate Commander and grumbled discontentedly.

"My utmost honor to face you, Your Majesty," the Nameless Commander promptly saluted, "The reason should be those few people over there."

I turned my head—Qijia She was leading Charmy and Chris over here, all blinking blankly with concentric circles of aiming reticles on their heads. At first glance, it looked like a tight hoop curse. Of course, that wasn’t the main reason why these walking nuclear bombs were quieted down. The real cause was Sandora next to me, grinning sheepishly. I’d bet that if this girl was willing, the band from Hell could perform a soulful rendition of "My Sun" in front of the entire Void audience.

Of course, that would be a personal attack, and afterward, the man named She would have to desperately seek out Sandora.

"Damn, all the trouble just has to pile up..."

I muttered under my breath. Although I knew this transmigration wave was filled with uncertainties, with Yuri and Tan Ya both potentially appearing before me, actually witnessing Bashen An fighting with the newly arrived Great Snake Clan still filled me with a profound sadness in the heart (depressing sadness).

However... it seemed fate still considered my troubles inadequate. Just as I was about to step forward to put a stop to Bashen An’s rampage, sudden whooshing sounds came from behind. The corner of my eye only caught a glimpse of a green blur before my body instinctively reacted—side-stepping, twisting at the waist, aiming a hand-chop at the head—I absolutely won’t admit that this series of exquisite martial arts adaptations was self-taught under Lin Xue’s Sandboxing Fifth Rank training.

"Bang!" A loud noise echoed. Given the chaotic energy I had just felt from the attacker, I used a lot of force, and as a result, the assailant was smashed to the ground, cement flying everywhere.

"An assassin! Protect the Emperor!"

"Assassin my ass!" I waved off the approaching Imperial Soldiers. Haven’t these guys ever watched a TV drama? Whenever someone shouts assassin, nine times out of ten, some unfortunate Emperor meets his end. Isn’t that cursing me?

"Alright, Lianna has arrived," I said, rubbing my forehead with a headache, looking at the girl struggling violently to get up from the ground, "and she’s rampaged too."

Even though I couldn’t see her face, the cool green military outfit and the chic ponytail were unmistakable, not to mention the air of brutality she exuded, just like Orochi. Her hair had turned blood-red, but her identity was already quite clear.

"Hyah—"

Under the influence of Mad Blood, even a hand chop powerful enough to flip an armored vehicle (can we still call that a hand chop?) only managed to daze Lianna for a moment. The next second, with a bestial growl, the girl in the military outfit had leaped up and pounced in this direction, and her method of attack... was biting?

She really had no sense left, huh? A cool young girl had just turned into a wild beast. For the sake of love, peace, justice, glory, and most importantly, for the cool image, please sober up first.

Dodging Lianna’s attack with another step to the side and a twist of my waist, I casually pulled out a small plastic cup and quickly stuffed it into Lianna’s mouth to prevent her from hurting herself. Then, with my free left hand on the back of the girl’s neck, I released my spiritual power instantly.

I didn’t understand what kind of attribute the energy produced by Mad Blood was, but I knew that regardless of how it worked, cutting off its flow was the best choice. Fighters are a bunch of human tanks who’ve honed their bodies to withstand mammoths. They basically have no risk of fatally injuring themselves due to sudden weakness—although, if it’s possible to make them quiet down with a little injury for the next few days, that wouldn’t be bad either.

"Creak—umm..."

Lianna bit down on the plastic cup, which miraculously remained undamaged despite the immense biting force, while the former let out a low cry of pain. At the same time, her hair returned to its sea-like blue color—seems like she had already recovered.

Uhm, is anyone curious why an ordinary plastic cup could withstand the rampaging Lianna’s assault?

Actually, it’s quite simple. That cup was usually used for playing with Dingdang, in other words, a Divine Artifact.

I named it the Holy Grail. According to Gilgamesh’s own appraisal, this regrettable cup’s mystical level and magic power strength were on par, if not slightly superior, to that of the genuine Holy Grail. Of course, when it comes to its regular functionality, it’s still a plastic cup bought for two and a half yuan.

"Feeling better?" I patted Lianna’s shoulder and asked helplessly, she shook her head, and her eyes finally focused on me: "... You... Are you the Xyrin Emperor? I saw your holographic sculpture in the registration hall... Sorry, what happened just now?"

After a moment of surprise, Lianna showed a meticulous expression. Although she was apologizing, she seemed more like a soldier collecting evidence during a mission.

"Ah, you went berserk just now," I scratched my hair, "and then tried to bite me."

Even someone like Lianna was stunned at that moment. It took her half a minute to analyze what kind of incident biting the Emperor in public at the Imperial Capital would be, and then she immediately noticed the circle of Heavy Soldiers surrounding us.

The girl’s complexion changed on the spot.

"That... may I ask... am I going to be arrested now?"

After hesitating, Lianna earnestly inquired, ready not to resist. As a military person, she was all too aware of her situation, even though the after-effects of her berserk state still left her somewhat dazed, and her mouth felt terribly painful (the Holy Grail had caused that), it didn’t prevent her from estimating how likely she was to defeat the entire Imperial Army alone—a force that had once killed her instantly with just two Soldiers.

"Just go and rest. Since no harm was done," I simply waved my hand in exasperation before her surprisingly astonished gaze, "I left something small inside you with my spirit, try using it to control your bloodline. There might not be me to help you if you go berserk next time."

Lianna was stunned for a moment before she understood what I meant. Perhaps she had also noticed the Mad Blood within her that had gone as still as dead water. With surprise and confusion intermingled in her expression, she snapped to attention and replied loudly, "Yes, thank you for your generosity!"

There, that’d do. You’d better just stop causing trouble as a way of thanking me, and my main man Dingdang.

Ignoring Lianna, who was still immersed in joy, I walked over to Bashen An, who was still bound by the Ravens. As if sensing the threat instinctively, this man, who had been struggling like a beast for quite some time, suddenly became quiet. He then watched every move I made with his eyes—clouded, yet still filled with killing intent and vigilance. The sparks from the Arcane Chains danced upon him, with a seventy-percent-done Texas brisket aroma filling the air.

Truly worthy of being one of my favorite characters from King of Fighters back in the day. Maybe his aloofness wasn’t visible now, but his combat awareness amidst the madness was still admirable.

As we locked eyes, Bashen An stayed alert to my movements while I calmly observed his distorted face. Fifteen seconds later, I concluded: That’s definitely a leek.

...Damn it, reality really is a place of despair, asshole! This isn’t how you bring back the dreams of my childhood—that immortal persona who needed neither food nor drink. This Bashen An, who had just eaten his fill of leek and egg dumplings, can just go die!

Of course, a big dude and a pretty girl aren’t treated the same—I woke Bashen An up with a single uppercut—actually, I was thinking about doing a Rising Dragon Strike at first, but as soon as I started, I felt the move was too stupid, so I simplified it to an uppercut.

This was a golden opportunity. To punch Bashen An, who is ridiculously overpowered in various fanfics, down to zero health with a single fist—I just can’t help myself, what you gonna do about it?

"Awake now?"

With a nod, I signaled the Ravens to release Bashen’s restraints and bent down to speak to the gradually recovering red-haired man.

"Tch, talk about preferential treatment," Bashen lay there quietly for a while before suddenly springing up. "No need for your concern."

Eh? Preferential treatment? So you’re saying you were actually in control just now?

Noticing my slightly awkward and curious glance, Bashen, still irritable, nonetheless grunted, "I’m different from her."

So, Bashen can already control his rampage to some degree? What was that crazy act just now then?

Okay, okay, I got it—you really went at it with those three nuisances. But could you please pay the fine for damaging public property?

These powerful transmigrators don’t just cause trouble with their strength; their problem is their personalities, one more unique than the next. And Bashen An is indeed one such character; not even the entire Imperial Army with guns to his head could make him bow. As for the incident where he smashed up a hotel entrance and wrecked the street during his rampage, he muttered under his breath, "I’ll take responsibility," then swaggered off from the scene, treating the surrounding Terminators as if they were nothing. This wasn’t because he misunderstood his ability to run amok here, but because this kind of pride had become instinctive—he didn’t even know what "Shadow City Resident Civilized Rules" were, let alone follow them. And frankly, according to my initial calculations, someone like Bashen An being knocked down by my public uppercut—or even starting a fight straight away—would’ve been normal. So the fact that he was able to restrain himself as if nothing happened was quite a surprise to me.

I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, anyway. It’s difficult to change one’s nature. Getting Bashen An used to heading to the vegetable market every morning with the Today and Tomorrow Sisters from "Poverty Sisters Story" and promptly going to the central park at 4:30 p.m. to help kids tie their kites is as hard as getting Lianna Inbas from No. 24 District to stop causing chaos every day. Let things take their natural course.

"Let them go."

I came in front of the three from Qijia She and sighed, speaking to Sandora.

"You guys must have just come over recently, right? I remember the transmigrators who made a bit of a name for themselves these past few days."

Ignoring the wary looks from the three, I spoke with a nonchalant air.

"So you’re the leader here?"

Qijia She immediately recognized the person before him. Despite this being the first encounter, the Xyrin Hosts responsible for designing and constructing Shadow Base had already created numerous grand and majestic holographic projections of me and Sandora. The sole purpose of these city sculptures was to show off, continuously reminding people in the streets and alleys what the boss of this place looked like.

It must be noted that, aside from Sandora’s model, which was full of queenly dignity and commanded awe for its lifelike accuracy, the other model - clad in a flashy imperial outfit, draped in a wide golden-red cloak, and holding a Crystal Heavy Sword - was so far from my actual appearance that I even suspected that, save for using my face, the entire body was merely a fabrication from some Xyrin Host’s imagination based on the Meow King.

No wonder almost every transmigrator meeting me for the first time would raise the pitch of their voice when mentioning my title: this contrasted hugely with the appearance of the fellow before them, who looked lazy and carefree, decked out in street market clothes and often with a Big Dragonfly perched atop his head – the discrepancy in demeanor between such a person and a leader was indeed too substantial.

"Pretty much, yeah, you got your temporary residence permit?"

Qijia She was taken aback, then pulled out a small crystal, "We just got it this morning, and were on our way to register at the community committee..."

"Then you ran into that guy," next to Qijia She, a woman with an explosive figure and bangs completely covering her eyes - Charmy - shook her head in resignation, "Men are such troublesome creatures. If it weren’t for Ah She’s impulsiveness, we could’ve avoided this hassle."

"So it was all a misunderstanding?" I shrugged, "Sandora, was that the case?"

"By the time I got there, they’d already started fighting," Sandora came over cheerfully and latched onto my arm, cozily leaning on me without any reservation, "But this woman named Charmy and the little boy really were just watching with a headache at the beginning, so I guess it was pretty much like that."

"Look, can’t you all just behave a little?" I sighed hopelessly as I looked at the hulking man known as She, who showed no sign of embarrassment on his face, "You’re not in your original world anymore, Orochi has nothing to do with this place, so what’s with the fighting? Bashen An isn’t Kyo Kusanagi or Shenle Qianhe, so do you really need to fight to the death every time you meet?"

"This matter concerns our Heavenly Divine Race and the Three Sacred Treasures," Qijia She replied calmly, "Though this is your territory, you probably don’t have much say in this."

Tch, talk about personalities - especially these people from the Great Snake Clan when it comes to that millennium-old emotional entanglement.

"Heavenly Divine Race, huh? So you think an ordinary person like me, no matter how powerful, isn’t qualified to intervene?" I laughed scornfully, "Do you even know what real divinity is? Honestly, your so-called Earth’s spirit, Orochi, is nothing more than a village official to me, and an unofficial one at that - a district director from some remote village who should show a bit more courtesy in front of a national leader, don’t you think?"

The moment these words were spoken, not only Qijia She, but also Charmy and Chris, had a change of expression and stepped forward together...

"Dingdang says you’re mortals!"

Without any need for me to intervene, Dingdang, who had been lying on my head like an ornament, let out a delicate cry, and in the next second, the three self-proclaimed "Heavenly Divine Race" King of Fighters characters fell to the ground in unison, twisting into three pretzel sticks.

And judging by their spasms... Guys, that instant feeling of a transformation in life form doesn’t feel great, does it? (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, and we encourage you to support the author and read legally!)