Chapter 1202: A Dunce of a City Lord

“Redbud City Lord Jian Wenhe greets the three eminent lords!” Jian Wenhe and his men fell on their faces in a grand gesture of considerable respect when they reached Zhuo Bufan and other two.

Lu Yun looked at the meatball sprawled on the ground and cast a wordless glance at Zhuo Bufan, transmitting, “Is lying on the ground when you bow one of your customs here?”

The enforcer’s face spasmed and he snapped coldly at Jian Wenhe, “Get up, you embarrassing thing!”

“Yes, yes, of course!” Wreathed in smiles, Jian Wenhe bounced right up. “Right this way, august lords! This lowly one has set a welcome banquet and dearly hopes that the distinguished guests will grace us with your presence!”

“There’s no reason for him to be fawning over us like this. Let’s go and see what he’s got cooking,” transmitted a perplexed Lu Yun. This Jian Wenhe was plainly in the superior cultivation realm, but he was humbling himself to an absurd degree. Obviously, he had a favor to ask.

Having newly arrived in the Hongmeng, Lu Yun was inordinately interested in everything. Though their destination was Starcloud City, that wasn’t his final goal. He was here to raise his cultivation, improve his strength, and find Qing Yu.

“Fine, then.” Zhuo Bufan naturally wouldn’t turn down the meatball now that Lu Yun had made his preferences clear.

In front of others, however, Executive Zhuo Bufan outranked black-robed Lu Yun and the little fox. Thus, the two stayed half a step behind the man.

……

Hongmeng beasts, also known as chaos beasts, were an unparalleled delicacy in the Hongmeng. Full of vitality, they were the highest honor one could show a guest. All Redbud experts had been gathered for the banquet. Roughly a hundred people drank toast after toast to each other in the enormous banquet hall, exchanging empty pleasantries and feting Lu Yun and the other two like a sky full of stars clustering around the moon.

“Hongmeng beasts again? I’ve gotten so tired of them,” muttered the downcast little fox as she looked at the delicacies in front of her made from Hongmeng beasts.

Countless chaos beasts lived in the abyss and as a veteran foodie, the lizard-dragon frequently grabbed a few to fry, bake, boil, or stew. The little fox often entered the fissure in search of a free meal.

The lizard-dragon was a preeminent existence within the superior realm. It was close to being hailed a king, and its culinary skills far outstripped what was on display for this banquet. Just the smell of the dishes on display alone killed the little fox’s urge to raise her chopsticks.

The masks that enforcers wore were a strange item. They seemed like a layer of colored gas, but fully covered the face and didn’t affect the wearer’s ability to eat or swallow.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

As quiet as the little fox’s voice was, her every word traveled clearly into everyone’s ears and delight seized Jian Wenhe. If they’d gotten tired of even Hongmeng beasts, then these three were highly important beings and the city really was saved this time!

“Servants, clean up the banquet and serve our unique Redbud fish feast!” he quickly commanded.

“Enough!” Lu Yun slapped the table out of impatience. “Be frank about whatever’s on your mind, there’s no need for this exaggerated servility.”

“Yes, yes!” Jian Wenhe shot to his feet when he realized that one of the black robes was directly addressing him. He bowed circumspectly and said, “Please save my people, oh revered lords!”

“Hurry up.” Zhuo Bufan was also losing patience.

“A tide of beasts has erupted from the depths of Redbud Plains. Endless wild beasts are flooding out of the land. They’ll reach us in three days’ time, and we won’t be able to withstand a horde of their scale with our current strength. “Jian Wenhe explained with a long face, “A mysterious power has interfered with our transportation formation and broken it. We can’t get any word out regarding the beast tide, much less withdraw…”

Lu Yun’s face sank. “Then what are you doing currying favor with us and not making defense preparations for the beast tide? There’s only three of us, what can we do? Do you take us for titled kings?”

He really wanted to cuss with everything in his vocabulary at their current straits. There’d been nothing out of the ordinary after they entered the city; citizens went about their business as they would without the slightest hint of nervousness or trepidation.

Lu Yun also finally understood why they’d suddenly landed here.

A strange power enveloped the area. Any transportation formation or light from a formation that passed through was instantly rendered ineffective.

Jian Wenhe gaped slightly at Lu Yun’s words. “I, I haven’t announced the matter. I was afraid of the people rioting or panicking once they heard…”

Lu Yun itched to stomp all over the meatball’s face. The tide of beasts would be here in three days, but this fellow was more worried about civil unrest?!

He really wanted to lift the man’s scalp to see what was in that head of his.

“Take away this mind-numbingly unappetizing banquet and announce the tide of beasts. You will set up your defenses immediately!” the little fox suddenly raised her voice. “Everything is to be completed within forty-five minutes, or you’ll pay with your life!”

A command token appeared in her hands as she spoke. It was one that looked extremely similar to Zhuo Bufan’s Execution command token, but the word “justice” was on it instead.

Execution command tokens were used on Hongmeng beings that barged into the chaos without authorization, while Justice tokens carried out the death penalty on heavyweights that violated the rules of the Hongmeng.

Not even black-robed enforcers had the right to own a Justice token. The karmic repercussions of it were so great that they could only be used on Hongmeng heavyweights that’d flouted the laws. Even so, this command token possessed an immense deterring effect in the third realm.

Both Lu Yun and the little fox owned one, and they’d come about it through Zhuo Bufan utilizing his father’s connections.

A sheen of cold sweat immediately beaded Jian Wenhe’s forehead.

“Servants, quickly, do as the noble lords say! Release the information and set up the city’s defenses!” The city lord spun around in a knot of anxiety.

“He’s the same as you.” Lu Yun flicked a sideways glance at Zhuo Bufan.

“Eh?” The man blinked.

“Both bumbling dunces,” Lu Yun snorted.

Zhuo Bufan shrank in on himself.

“See if you can communicate with the other enforcers.” Surprisingly, the little fox was very cool and collected. Though she was a bit of a ditz, she never failed when it came to important matters.

“I’ve already tried—no word can get out. There seems to be an immense forcefield surrounding Redbud City and the Redbud Plains,” Zhuo Bufan hastily responded.

Both he and the little fox looked at Lu Yun.

……

News of an incoming tide of beasts spread like wildfire. After momentary disorder, Redbud City began methodically setting up all sorts of defensive measures. Since its transportation formation was broken, everyone had to fight to the death if they didn’t want to die.

With the arrival of two black robes and one executive from the Enforcer Alliance, the presence of three great personages infused the citizens with surging hope.

Lu Yun stayed behind closed doors during these three days. He was just in the lowly inferior realm at the moment; he didn’t even count as cannon fodder in the face of a tide like this. Instead, he spent his time studying the Abyssal and Nihil Flame that Violetgrave had given him. The Sanguine, Hadal, and Netherdark Flames also floated in front of him.

The Karmic Tree had relit the gray Abyssal Flame and white Nihil Flame. They glowed with vitality, and even the Sanguine Flame slowly returned to its former glory.

“These five hellfires probably won’t be of much use for the moment, and they shouldn’t be easily exposed.” After some thought, he flipped his hand over to materialize a silver moon that glowed softly.

The Oddmoon—the treasure that he’d obtained after Zhuo Bufan killed Evilfox.