164: Chapter 164: When Monkeys Play

"purple soul fruit?"

Tightening the reins to stop his horse, Primo rubbed his ears, doubting if he had misheard.

Beside him, Raglan and Malz also halted their horses, both wearing expressions of disbelief.

"Yes, My Lord, it's the purple soul fruit. Someone caught a glimpse of several purple soul fruits while fighting the beast tide."

The three of them knew very well that the knight would never lie to them, and his answer didn't include words like 'suspected' or 'possible'.

The trio couldn't help but look at each other, and for a moment, a hint of joy quietly surfaced on their faces.

Since discovering the Earth Dragon Fish, they had been fighting the Giant Elephant Tribe for a long time without gaining any benefits, and they had lost so many men.

Now, the appearance of the purple soul fruit felt like a consolation from the gods.

Although the purple soul fruit was slightly less rare than the Earth Dragon Fish, it was still a top-tier resource.

Now that it had appeared, they had to get their hands on it.

As if remembering something, Primo looked at the knight and asked, "Did the person who found the purple soul fruit see any signs of other factions nearby?"

"Reporting to My Lord, the scout didn't see anyone from other factions, but that area is quite close to Lord Cronin's territory."

Hearing the knight's reply, Primo didn't show much of a reaction beyond a slight flicker in his eyes.

However, Raglan and Malz, who were on either side of him, suddenly looked anxious.

Raglan spoke up, "Primo, if Cronin's people find the purple soul fruit, given his personality, he'll definitely fight for it. We can't let him beat us to it."

"Exactly. And given Cronin's overall strength, it wouldn't be wise to fight him head-on. We should head there as quickly as possible," Malz added.

"Look at you two, getting anxious again."

Primo, who had calmed down, analyzed, "I've been thinking about it carefully; the appearance of this purple soul fruit is just a bit too convenient."

"Just as we're about to rush back to the lake, news of the purple soul fruit appears. Combined with everything that's happened before, I find it hard not to suspect someone is deceiving us again."

Raglan and Malz immediately cooled down upon hearing this. "Then Primo, what do you think we should do?"

""

Nodding slightly, Primo responded, "The Earth Dragon Fish is still very important; we must go back and fight for it."

"As for the appearance of the purple soul fruit, it could be a deliberate distraction, but it could also just be our luck."

"So, for the sake of that sliver of possibility, we still need to confirm it—Malz, take a few knights and go check it out."

In truth, beyond what he said, the reason Primo was so obsessed with the Earth Dragon Fish was largely due to having been tricked earlier.

As a member of the Andrew Family, and a talented one at that, he possessed no small amount of pride.

Now, he wasn't just fighting for the Earth Dragon Fish; he was fighting to reclaim the dignity he had lost after being deceived.

Hearing this arrangement, Malz didn't object; instead, he was quite delighted.

Compared to the Earth Dragon Fish that a crowd was fighting over, the purple soul fruit—which likely had no competition—was much more tempting to him.

"No problem. Once I get the purple soul fruit, I'll immediately rush over to help you guys."

With that, Malz took nearly ten knights and galloped off in the direction of the purple soul fruit without looking back.

Meanwhile, similar scenes were playing out within various factions, only with different target locations.

On the other side, at the lake.

The Earth Dragon Fish was quite large, and dragging it up from the depths of the lake took a considerable amount of effort from Lister and Red.

Fortunately, both were knights with great physical strength. Despite the effort, they soon brought the Earth Dragon Fish to the surface.

With a loud splash, the sound of the three emerging from the water caught the attention of those left behind by the surrounding factions to monitor the area.

Lister and Red had sensed them long ago, but they still didn't make a conscious effort to quiet their movements.

To them, time was the most important factor. They had to evacuate quickly before the main forces of those factions returned.

By this time, Spartacus was already waiting on the shore. Seeing the two appear with their prize, he looked delighted.

He didn't waste any time and pointed in a certain direction. "Lord Lister, I've cleared the path that way. We can leave directly."

"Good," Lister nodded.

Immediately, Spartacus, the strongest of the three, took the initiative to shoulder the Earth Dragon Fish, and the trio prepared to leave quickly under the cover of night.

However, the monitoring knights from the various factions couldn't just stand by and watch.

Although visibility was poor in the dark, their mental strength could clearly sense that what Lister and his companions were carrying was indeed the Earth Dragon Fish.

If they didn't act now to stop them and their respective lords found out, they would certainly face severe punishment.

Moreover, these factions had been entrenched here fighting for so long; how could they let some unknown group come out of nowhere and fish in troubled waters?

Having been suppressed for so long, they had been itching for an outlet to vent their frustration.

So, just as Lister's group started to move, the scouts from all factions rushed toward them together.

"Where did you people come from? That's the Earth Dragon Fish Lord Cronin wants! Put it down immediately!"

"You dare do such a thing right under the nose of our Giant Elephant Tribe? Do you have a death wish?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Put down the Earth Dragon Fish! If Lord Arlin finds out, we'll get whipped!"

""

Shouts rang out one after another in the darkness, clearly audible in the silent night.

Lister paid no heed to their interference. Once Spartacus had the Earth Dragon Fish secured, the three of them kicked off the ground and vanished from the spot.

The speed of the trio was so fast that the scouts from those factions were all struck with astonishment.

But they quickly reacted. After leaving behind people to report, the rest took up the chase again.

Unfortunately, they were all Bronze Knights. Before Lister's group, who were Silver Knights, they simply weren't enough.

In just a few breaths, Lister's group left them far behind, until not even a shadow could be seen.

Having lost the direction of the pursuit, the crowd was infuriated and could only continue chasing in the direction they guessed.

While Lister's group was rushing back to their temporary camp outside the forest,

the main forces of the various factions, who had been led on a wild goose chase, finally hurried back to the lake.

Upon hearing the reports from the monitoring knights, a surge of rage rushed to the brains of the various lords, making them feel as if they were suffocating.

The Earth Dragon Fish they had spent so much time fighting for had been easily snatched away by a faction they hadn't even seen.

This wasn't just a matter of lost manpower and resources; it was more about their dignity as lords.

Leading a group of subordinates out on a mission, only to be played like monkeys and gain nothing—even if their subordinates didn't say it, they would surely harbor grievances.

The factions that arrived later were somewhat better off; they hadn't put in much effort beyond a skirmish with the beast tide.

But the three lords led by Primo and the Giant Elephant Tribe were the most unfortunate of all.

If they didn't find a good outlet for their anger, they truly feared they might die of rage in their beds within a few days of returning.

Unlike the cursing commander of the Giant Elephant Tribe, Primo and Raglan felt slightly better, since they still had Malz searching for the purple soul fruit.

Once he got his hands on it, their trip wouldn't have been entirely in vain.

Just as this thought arose, Malz arrived with his team.

Before the expectant duo could even ask, Malz began cursing, "Dammit, there was no purple soul fruit! It was all a damn lie!"

"To even cheat an honest man like me, whom my mother always praised—where is the basic human decency?"

After venting for a bit, Malz looked at Primo and the other and asked, "How is the Earth Dragon Fish?"

Hearing this, Primo and Raglan shook their heads with looks of disappointment.

"We were too late. The Earth Dragon Fish has already been stolen."

"What!" Malz was shocked, and then he felt a wave of dizziness as if he might fall off his horse at any moment.

This time they had spent several days out here, and five knights alone were heavily injured.

Raglan and Malz especially had suffered the most losses, and returning to their territories would take even more time. The various costs were not low.

With this time, they could have happily enjoyed a few 'romances' back in their territories.

For a moment, the two felt a trace of resentment toward Primo.

Seeing this, Primo said in a heavy voice, "This failure is largely my responsibility. I will compensate your losses in the form of cultivation resources."

There was a calculated element to these words, but it was only a small part; he was mostly paying for his lost face.

Raglan and Malz had, after all, responded to his call, and he was the one in charge, so he had to take the initiative to shoulder the primary responsibility for the failure.

Otherwise, if such a thing happened again in the future, he wouldn't be able to gain their support.

Between the support of the two and affordable cultivation resources, he knew very well which was more important after weighing the options.

Sure enough, just as he expected, the resentment that had just arisen in the two of them instantly dissipated upon hearing his offer.

After appeasing the two, Primo regained his composure and said, "Although we didn't see the true faces of the people who took the Earth Dragon Fish, I suspect they shouldn't be from a very distant faction."

"It is midwinter, after all. Normally, no faction would come to the Water Marsh Forest, so it's highly likely that the commotion caused by our various factions was too loud."

"It was noticed by some nearby faction, so they sent people over to snatch it."

"And according to the monitoring knights, the people who took the Earth Dragon Fish fled toward the northwest."

"I remember that area is in the direction of the Tianping Mountain Range. The owner of the territory on the other side is a lord who arrived not long ago, named Lister Howard."

"Although as far as I know, he doesn't seem to have any background, guts have no absolute relationship with background."

"After returning, I will send people to investigate his territory, as well as some surrounding territories."

"Of course, those people might also be trying to mislead us; they might have come from another direction."

""

"So I hope you two will also send people to investigate the surrounding territories after returning to see if you can find anything."

The two nodded, indicating it was no problem. Without finding the culprit behind the scenes, they would find it hard to swallow this insult.

Just as they were discussing their withdrawal, the people from the Giant Elephant Tribe suddenly launched an attack on them.

They were all shouting that it was because of the interference from Primo's trio that they hadn't obtained the Earth Dragon Fish.

"A bunch of savage dogs! I haven't even settled the score with you yet, and you dare to come and pick a fight?" Malz was furious.

Raglan chimed in, "Exactly. If we don't give them a lesson, they'll really start thinking they're something special."

Even Primo, who usually had good emotional control, was truly enraged at this moment.

"Everyone, mount up immediately! Kill them!"

With an angry shout, the knights and Soldiers who had been suppressing their anger immediately drew their longswords and brandished their spears, charging toward the Giant Elephant Tribe.

In an instant, the eerily silent Water Marsh Forest was filled with the noisy, vibrating sounds of intense combat.

A short while later, several other lord factions joined the fray. They had long been fed up with these tribal factions.

In their own territories, they might have had to be cautious, but now that the lord factions had the numbers, why should they be afraid?

Just fight!

Soon, except for Cronin and the Flame Tiger Tribe, all other factions had joined the battle.

The Water Marsh Forest, which originally had a fine natural environment, was suddenly damaged quite a bit by the intense combat.

Knight Captain Sinir asked, "Lord Cronin, shall we join the battle?"

Shaking his head, Cronin said with a cold expression, "These people are just venting their anger. It has nothing to do with us."

"Furthermore, the Flame Tiger Tribe is still on the other side. If we act, the development of the situation will become unpredictable. We'll just wait here."

The same question was asked within the Flame Tiger Tribe, but the one asking was Commander Arlin.

Zakri said with a calm expression, "This is the Giant Elephant Tribe's business; there's no need for us to participate."

"What we need to do now is send people out as quickly as possible to find out which faction got the Earth Dragon Fish. Check all surrounding tribes and lords."

"And according to the monitoring warriors, those people didn't kill the Earth Dragon Fish, which means they intend to take it back to raise it."

"In that case, we still have a chance to take it back."

"By the time we find out who stole the fish, the battle between the tribe and the Frost Lion Tribe should have gradually subsided."

"We can then mobilize more people to take the Earth Dragon Fish back from that faction."

"Young Master Gallup really needs that Earth Dragon Fish—"