12: Queen Medusa, here I come!

The tavern's clamor, as if a formless hand had suddenly clutched its throat, ceased abruptly.

Dozens of gazes, mixed with surprise, scrutiny, and apprehension, focused uniformly on Li Ao, who had just pushed open the door. The light streaming in from outside outlined his young yet exceptionally calm face, and the sheathed long saber at his waist, which was still stained with blood.

News traveled faster than the wind in Sand Scorpion Town. The clean, almost cruel, slaughter at the town entrance had, in the shortest time, seared itself into the minds of every desperado. No one dared to treat this seemingly ordinary young man in green robes as a fat sheep to be casually manipulated.

Li Ao seemed oblivious to the various gazes directed at him, walking straight towards the counter. As he passed, the crowded people instinctively shifted their bodies, clearing a path. No one dared to stand within three feet in front of him.

Behind the counter, a fat, droopy-eyed boss, who was wiping a wine glass, looked up. A glimmer of shrewdness flashed in his cloudy eyes, then he reverted to his lazy demeanor.

"Customer, what can I get for you?" The boss's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing.

"Information." Li Ao placed an ordinary gold coin, found in Mu She's storage ring, on the greasy counter. "About the Snake-People Clan, about the unusual movements in the desert, especially... anything related to 'fire'."

His voice wasn't loud, but in the tavern where a pin drop could be heard, it was clearly audible.

"Fire?" The boss's motion of wiping the glass paused slightly, his droopy eyelids lifted a bit as he carefully scrutinized Li Ao, then lowered again. "The desert has no shortage of fire; the sun's fire."

"I'm not talking about the sun's fire." Li Ao's tone was flat, yet carried an undeniable implication. "I'm talking about the... 'Heavenly Flame' that can transform a person, or burn them to death."

The moment the words "Heavenly Flame" left his mouth, the already stagnant air in the tavern seemed to grow colder. Many mercenaries showed looks of horror, instinctively shrinking their necks, as if those two words themselves carried scorching heat and deadly danger.

The boss was silent for a moment, then swept the gold coin under the counter, and slowly said, "The Snake-People Clan has been heavily fortified recently. The strong individuals from several large tribes are gathering towards the Holy City. It is said... that their Queen has some big plans." He paused, lowering his voice even further, "As for Heavenly Flame... that's a legendary item, no one has ever seen it. However, half a month ago, deep within the Fire Lizard Tribe's territory, three hundred li to the east, there was a violent eruption of underground fire. The temperature was terrifyingly high, even melting the sand. After that, that area was completely sealed off by the Snake-People Clan. Those who approach... die."

Fire Lizard Tribe territory, underground fire eruption, Snake-People Clan blockade.

These keywords strung together, the direction was already clear enough.

Li Ao nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to walk towards an empty, knife-scarred wooden table in the corner of the tavern.

As soon as he sat down, the tavern door was pushed open again, and a hot, dry aura surged in. Three mercenaries, dressed in unified crimson leather armor with a roaring wolf head emblem embroidered on their chests, walked in. The leader was burly, with a rugged face and arrogant eyes, and his aura had clearly reached the level of a nine-star Dou Master! The two behind him were also at the seven-star and eight-star Dou Master level.

The appearance of these three changed the atmosphere in the tavern again. The crowd, previously suppressed by Li Ao, now showed looks of awe, many even instinctively lowering their heads.

"It's the people from the Blazing Wolf Mercenary Group!"

"The one leading them is the Vice-Captain Hmong! A nine-star Dou Master! Why would he come to a small place like Sand Scorpion Town?"

"Keep your voice down, the Blazing Wolf Mercenary Group is one of the top five major powers in the desert, not to be provoked..."

Whispers rose from the corners.

Hmong's gaze swept across the tavern with a condescending scrutiny, finally landing on Li Ao in the corner, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. In the entire tavern, only this young man remained calmly seated after he entered, not even raising an eyelid.

This disregard made Hmong, accustomed to being revered, feel a hint of displeasure.

He didn't immediately flare up. Instead, he led his two subordinates and sat down grandly at the best table in the center of the tavern, banging on the table and shouting, "Boss! The best wine, and make it quick!"

The tavern owner dared not delay, and quickly personally delivered the drinks.

Hmong took a big gulp of the cheap wine, his gaze once again flicking towards Li Ao's direction, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for half the tavern to hear: "Hmph, nowadays even cats and dogs dare to venture into the desert, thinking that after killing a few useless people outside, they can swagger through the Tagor Desert? Utterly ignorant!"

His words were clearly pointed.

One of the seven-star Dou Masters behind him chuckled and echoed, "Vice-Captain is right, the rules of the desert can't be established with just a broken blade. Some youngsters probably won't even know how they died."

Another eight-star Dou Master also chimed in sarcastically, "I heard things aren't peaceful around the Fire Lizard Tribe lately. The Snake-People Clan are like madmen, killing anyone they see. If some ignorant fools run into them, tsk tsk..."

The three of them sang in unison, their mockery undisguised.

Everyone in the tavern held their breath, their gazes darting back and forth between Li Ao and Hmong, waiting to see a good show. The Vice-Captain of the Blazing Wolf Mercenary Group, nine-star Dou Master Hmong, against this mysterious and ruthless young man in green robes—who would back down first?

However, Li Ao seemed not to have heard these harsh words at all. He didn't even touch the wine glass in front of him, merely keeping his eyes downcast, as if resting, or perhaps contemplating the information the boss had just provided.

This complete disregard was more humiliating than any verbal counterattack.

A muscle twitched in Hmong's face, and a flicker of anger flashed in his eyes. He put down his wine glass, stood up, and walked towards Li Ao's table. His heavy footsteps were exceptionally clear in the silent tavern.

He reached Li Ao's table, propped his hands on the surface, leaning forward, exuding an oppressive aura, and stared down at Li Ao.

"Kid," Hmong's voice carried undisguised menace, "I'm talking to you, didn't you hear?"

Li Ao finally lifted his eyelids.

His gaze was calm and unruffled, like two bottomless ancient wells, reflecting none of Hmong's aggressive image.

"Your voice," Li Ao spoke, his tone indifferent, "is very noisy."

Hmong was stunned, then erupted in fury! As the Vice-Captain of the Blazing Wolf Mercenary Group, when had he ever been so belittled?

"You're courting death!" He roared, and the powerful Dou Qi of a nine-star Dou Master burst forth. Crimson Dou Qi, like flames, swirled around his right fist, carrying a scorching heatwave, and he smashed his fist fiercely towards Li Ao's face! The punch whistled, faintly producing a sonic boom!

"Crimson Flame Fist!"

This punch, delivered by Hmong in anger, held nothing back, enough to shatter a ten-thousand-jin boulder into dust!

A gasp of alarm rose in the tavern! Everyone thought this young man in green robes was being too arrogant; facing a nine-star Dou Master's full-power strike, he would likely be splattered with blood on the spot!

However, facing this incomparably fierce punch, Li Ao remained seated in his chair, not even changing his posture.

He merely raised his right hand, index and middle fingers together, and lightly sliced towards the whistling crimson fist.

There was no Dou Qi radiance, no earth-shattering momentum.

Only an extremely condensed, almost imperceptible pale white thin line erupted from his fingertips, silently meeting the violent fist force.

"Chh—!"

Like a red-hot knife cutting through solidified butter.

That seemingly mighty and irresistible crimson fist force, the moment it contacted the pale white thin line, was actually split in two, easily torn apart! The violent fire-attribute Dou Qi seemed to have met its nemesis, instantly disintegrating and annihilating!

The pale white thin line continued unabated, in Hmong's horrified gaze, it swept past his fist, and then his wrist.

"Puff!"

A soft sound.

Hmong's forward motion suddenly froze, the fury on his face transforming into extreme terror and bewilderment. He looked down at his right hand—from the tips of his joined index and middle fingers, a thin line of blood rapidly spread, instantly traversing his entire palm, all the way to his wrist!

The next moment, his right hand was severed at the wrist! The cut was smooth as a mirror, even revealing the cross-section of bones and blood vessels!

"Ah—!!!"

The delayed excruciating pain impacted Hmong's nerves like a tsunami. He let out a desperate, inhuman shriek, clutching his gushing wrist and staggering backward, his face ashen, looking at Li Ao as if he were a demon crawled out of hell!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

In the tavern, everyone was petrified, mouths agape, but unable to utter a sound.

Nine-star Dou Master Hmong, the Vice-Captain of the Blazing Wolf Mercenary Group, had his wrist severed by two fingers... with a casual flick?!

This was no longer a battle; it was an overwhelming crush! It was the despair of an ant facing a deity!

The two seven-star and eight-star Dou Masters Hmong had brought were already scared out of their wits, frozen in place, not even daring to move a finger.

Li Ao slowly withdrew his fingers, not even glancing at the severed hand on the ground or the screaming Hmong, his gaze once again lowered, as if he had merely flicked away a speck of dust.

He picked up the untouched, cloudy ale on the table, gently swirled it, but did not drink.

"Now," he looked up, his gaze sweeping over the collapsed Hmong and the two cowering Blazing Wolf mercenaries, finally resting on the pale-faced tavern owner, his voice still calm, yet carrying a bone-chilling coldness, "it's quiet."

The entire tavern was utterly silent. Only Hmong's suppressed gasps, filled with fear and pain, were exceptionally clear in the dead silence.

Everyone understood that the rules of Sand Scorpion Town, and even this desert region, had changed from this moment on.

And the source of this change was the terrifyingly calm young man in green robes sitting in the corner.

Li Ao put down the wine glass, stood up, and tossed a few silver coins on the table for the drink.

He didn't look at anyone else, walking straight towards the tavern door.

The moment he pushed the door open, the system's notification sound rang in his mind:

"Ding! The host has intimidated Sand Scorpion Town, initially gaining fame on the edge of the Tagor Desert, rewarding 300 system points."

Li Ao's steps did not falter, his figure merging into the scorching sunlight and sand outside the door.

His direction was precisely where the boss had said: three hundred li to the east, the territory of the Fire Lizard Tribe.

Green Lotus Core Flame, Queen Medusa... I'm coming.