Fight

In the current Northern Territory, the two opposing forces—the imperial army and the resistance army—were intertwined in daily battles. Small-scale battles broke out every day.

There were nine major cities in the north of the Lionheart Empire

The imperial army was well-equipped and well-trained. They occupied North County, Walterlund, and other large cities. North County was the capital of the Northern Territory, while Walterlund City was a port city functioning as a key connecting link to the empire. After occupying these two places, the imperial army had justification and endless reinforcements to fight the resistance army.

The Resistance Army was not to be trifled with. Ursok, the supreme leader of the Resistance Army, was the lord of Sharp Helmet City. The Resistance Army operated in Sharp Helmet City, which was its base. It received wide support in the north.

As for the other neutral territories in the north, ever since the lords of the respective cities tasted the sweetness of not having to pay taxes to the North County Lord, they were unwilling to let the Empire regain its rule in the north and began to secretly help the Rebellion Army.

Of course, in order to avoid becoming the main target of the imperial army, the suzerains still pretended to maintain a neutral stance.

Within the various territories, the disputes regarding the Imperial Army and the Resistance had never subsided.

Some people thought that the empire was too cowardly in front of the High Elves and would sacrifice the Northern Territory's interests in order to retain sovereignty over the nation. Such a rotten regime had to be overthrown. As long as Ursok became the new lord of the Northern Territory, he would definitely be able to protect the Northern Territory.

There were also people who thought that the empire making peace with the High Elves was merely a makeshift measure. After taking a breather, they would launch a counterattack against the High Elves and chase the group of sharp-eared people back to the Saimu Islands. The civil war initiated by the Ursok Resistance had exhausted the empire's vitality and given the High Elves an opportunity that could be exploited.

After the minstrel played for a while, he put down the flute and started to play the accordion.

It was obvious that this minstrel was in favor of the imperial army. The song he sang was "Ursok the King Killer".

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"Expel the rebel army and find your true self. Rebuild our homes with blood and armor."

"Overthrow Ursok, the king slayer! Your death is less pitiful than the death of a dog!"

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Bai Xiaowen swept his gaze across the tavern and looked at everyone's reactions.

Following that, he stood up abruptly and kicked the stool away.

"Shut up! Stop your slander, you slave to the imperial court!"

That's right, Bai Xiaowen was shouting at the minstrel who played the accordion.

The singing stopped, and everyone focused on the two people confronting each other.

The minstrel was tall and thin, and he glared at Bai Xiaowen with his pale blue eyes. "What are you trying to do? It's my freedom to sing whatever song I want. I don't need a pauper like you who can't even afford to pay for alcohol to interfere."

"With that scratchy voice of yours, I could care less about what you sing, but you've insulted the great leader of the Vikings!" Bai Xiaowen took two steps forward and stared into the minstrel's eyes. "If I hear another word insulting Ursok from your mouth, I'll beat the shit out of you," he threatened.

The surrounding customers whistled. The two burly men sitting at the corner table, who had been drinking with their heads lowered, also stopped drinking and turned around.

The minstrel's face flushed with embarrassment.

"You're humiliating me. I want to fight you!" he yelled.

Bai Xiaowen rolled up his sleeves without hesitation. "Come on!"

Both men drew their daggers.

"Hey, hey, relax, my buddies." Old Hunter waved his hand and shouted, "Vikings don't aim their weapons at their compatriots. You should settle your quarrels in another way. Don't use weapons or magic. Just see whose fists are stronger. What do you think?"

The minstrel retracted his dagger and snorted. "I don't think this rude fellow is my compatriot, but for Old Hunter's sake, I will agree to teach him a lesson with only my fists."

As he spoke, he threw out a money pouch. The coins inside clinked loudly.

"I bet this amount of money that I can take you down, you pauper!" he snarled.

Bai Xiaowen took out the Fang Dagger and stabbed it into the counter. He remarked arrogantly, "Defeat me and it's yours."

The elite-grade weapon, Fang Dagger, reflected a cold light in the fireplace. There were some people who were good at recognizing such treasures. Hence, the moment they saw the Fang Dagger, their eyes lit up and they let out low exclamations.

A hint of greed flashed across the minstrel's eyes. He roared and pounced toward Bai Xiaowen, throwing a tentative jab at the latter's chest.

Bai Xiaowen did not dodge at all. Instead, he charged forward and met his opponent's fist head-on with his chest! Bai Xiaowen's body swayed slightly, but his arms wrapped around the minstrel's waist.

Thud, thud, thud…

Bai Xiaowen pushed the minstrel to the corner of the room like an enraged bull, knocking over countless tables and chairs along the way.

After pushing the minstrel into a corner, the other party had no room to dodge and could only try to disregard his injuries and punch Bai Xiaowen repeatedly.

Bai Xiaowen had taken three punches from the minstrel. Including the first punch, his HP had been deducted by 14 points, and it was now at a rather dangerous figure. However, Bai Xiaowen's punches were merciless.

The minstrel was unable to hold out. He clutched his head and sprawled in the corner, without the strength to get up.

Bai Xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief. He was also in a sorry state. His face was pale, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Originally, he had a total of 20 HP, but more than half had been deducted. Currently, he was left with only 6 HP.

He glanced at the minstrel and summarized all that he had learned in this battle.

He thought to himself, "Hmph, this is an easy fight. Although your Agility is as high as 8 points, your Strength is only 3 points, and your Physique is only 2 points like mine! The moment I closed in on your figure, you had already lost!"

Once a person who had an Agility specialty was closed in and trapped in a narrow corner, it would be equivalent to half of his strength being crippled. Bai Xiaowen had previously killed the Elite Zombie Rat Blacktooth. This time, he had defeated the minstrel by executing his strategy well.

With a victorious smile, Bai Xiaowen walked back to the counter amidst the cheers. He picked up the minstrel's money bag and poured out a pile of copper coins, along with a few shiny silver coins.

"I'll treat all the Viking brothers in the tavern to a drink. Everything will be on my tab." Bai Xiaowen smiled at Old Hunter. "If there's any money left, it'll be used as compensation for knocking over the tables and chairs."

"Whoo-hoo!"

The atmosphere in the tavern became even more lively. A group of Viking men who looked a little drunk pushed themselves up while holding on to the table, raising their glasses at Bai Xiaowen with laughter. The unlucky minstrel shrunk into a corner. No one paid him any attention.

Old Hunter smiled and said, "What a forthright young man. Are you going to use all the money you won to treat everyone?"

"Vikings are one united people. I came all the way from warm Walterlund to here without a single copper coin on me. If I didn't have the hospitable Vikings who helped me along the way, I wouldn't have been able to reach Elu City," Bai Xiaowen said.

The Viking drinkers were filled with respect for Bai Xiaowen. In their hearts, they labeled him as a hothead.

The two burly men sitting in the corner looked at each other.

"Hey, buddy, would you like to join us for a drink?" One of the men, who was wearing finely patterned chain armor and carrying a large sword on his back, extended an invitation to Bai Xiaowen.