The Almighty Ring

“Ho! You want to talk about things, do you? Sure, let’s discuss,” said Jiang Fei invitingly.

He walked forward while activating Omnisurge. With it boosting his power, the first step Jiang Fei took released a huge crackle of energy. The next step was different, it was a kick off the ground.

Jiang Fei had no intention of calmly discussing the matter at hand. He would play by the rules of Dhiras instead.

“Heh, as expected of a Valsalrian soldier!” said the Valsalrian as he held his ground.

Jiang Fei’s fist was high in the air—a predictable yet dangerous move. Even so, the Valsalrian was not going to back down. As mentioned, he wasn’t confident that he could win, but if it was a fight Jiang Fei wanted, then a fight he would get.

Dying was natural, an inevitable outcome that would come sooner or later. That was a thought that everyone in the Tallgeese Advanced Outpost shared. They did not want to die, but they would not reject a fight if it was offered. In such a hellhole, there was no difference between dying now and dying later.

WHAM!

As their fists clashed, the winner was instantly decided. Jiang Fei remained unharmed and unmoved, while the Valsalrian was blasted away with blood spurting from his hand.

“Ka-hack! Ugh… you win. My life is now forfeit. Kill me if you want, or let me die here,” said the Valsarian, having absolutely no will to live.

That punch was enough for him to know that Jiang Fei was the stronger one. If Jiang Fei wanted him dead, then so be it. If Jiang Fei wanted him to become one of his followers, he would do so as well.

Arching an eyebrow, Jiang Fei said, “What are you blabbering about? Take your men and leave me alone. I’m tired and all I wish for is a peaceful night’s sleep. Is that too much to ask?”

He was not going to kill the Valsalrian, or rather, he could not kill him.

“A-Are you letting me go?” asked the Valsalrian as he struggled to get back onto his feet.

In this world where everyone was constantly on edge due to the never-ending fatal threats, it was odd to hear something so nonchalant from someone powerful like Jiang Fei. Here, fighting and killing were the best ways to vent their stress.

Throughout the long time he had been posted here at the Tallgeese Advanced Outpost, the Valsalrian had never seen anyone letting their opponent go after they had been defeated. And he for one had never done so either!

“No, I’m not letting you go. I’m chasing you away! Get off my lawn!” yelled Jiang Fei, sounding like an old man. He headed back towards his palace but turned back to shout again, “Keep quiet or I’ll be kicking your ass once more!”

“Heh! You heard that? Get out of here!”

“Yeah! Don’t you dare come back!”

“Shhh! Sir Jiang Fei demands quiet!”

…

The commotion ended as quickly as it had started. Naturally, the soldiers under Jiang Fei’s banner now took the chance to rub salt into the wounds of the defeated. They shouted insults at the gathered crowd before eventually piping down.

Fights such as this happened everywhere on the planet. Similar incidents also took place in the Valsalrian Army, albeit less frequently. Soldiers who were only at 700,000 combat level or weaker were not afraid to challenge other fighters, though they were clearly stronger. In extreme cases, some would even challenge others who had combat levels of 4,000,000.

“Let’s leave…” said the group of uninvited guests.

They dragged the man that Jiang Fei had just defeated up to his feet and walked away, sulking and moaning in defeat.

“I can’t believe that Kratos was defeated in just one hit. That new kid is strong!”

“I can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the Valsalrian Army. Why would they punish that boy? What did he do to deserve such a brutal punishment? He’s still so young and has every potential to grow stronger. Give him a few hundred years and I’m sure he can rule the entire system!”

“That could be the reason! He might have been a pain in the ass! They must have sent him here to die before he could become strong enough to overthrow them!”

“That must be it!”

“Why are we still talking about them? They’ve clearly discarded us for no good reason. We should be worrying about what Wayne’s going to do when he finds out about this.”

“Hah! I almost forgot about that! Kratos is Wayne’s subordinate! I’m sure he won’t take things lying down when he hears about how the kid defeated his men!”

“Thank god I survived the last Ultralisk attack! This godforsaken planet is going to be riled up!”

…

Back in his room, Jiang Fei lay down and tried to forget about his troubles, unaware that he had inadvertently wronged someone stronger. His display of combat prowess was only done in an attempt to adhere to the rules of Dhiras.

Here at the Tallgeese Advanced Outpost, the weak shall never be cared for, and only the strong shall be revered. If he had not put on that show of power, trouble would definitely come knocking again.

Three days after the first incident, Jiang Fei was still frowning in his room, unable to solve their food problem. Though their current provisions were enough to sustain his soldiers, the days of famine and starvation would come eventually.

Jiang Fei let out a scream of frustration. “How am I going to hunt for meat when there’s nothing here that could be called meat?!”

Hearing his screams from the next room, Sarila went to check on him.

“Fei, there’s no point in worrying about things you cannot solve. I’m sure the solution will present itself. Right now, we’re still in the process of getting used to this new environment. How about we try talking to our soldiers and asking them what they usually eat?” suggested Sarila.

“Right. Let’s find out what their eating habits are first, then think of a solution from there,” said Jiang Fei.

Just as he was about to leave the room, he felt a disturbance around him. With the blessing of the Core of Will, Jiang Fei possessed unparalleled psychic powers that perhaps only Theon could surpass.

With such powerful psychic abilities, Jiang Fei also had an acute sense of presence. He could sense that someone had not only slipped into his palace, but was already inside this very room with him.

“Ever heard of knocking? You should try it sometime,” said Jiang Fei, addressing the hidden intruder.

After two seconds of silence passed, he decided to attack with psychic waves in order to unmask the intruder.

The sounds of the intruder’s grunts were heard from just outside the door, “Ugh…”

“Oh my! Is she one of your people?” asked Jiang Fei, surprised when the intruder was revealed to be another catgirl.

The intruder’s ears and furry tail were of a different colour and style than Sarila’s. She was also much taller than Sarila, and about 30 centimeters taller than Jiang Fei.

While Sarila looked like an orange Maine Coon with her brown irises and slightly tanned skin and fur, this intruder’s appearance was like a regal Birman. She had striking blue eyes and skin as fair as the pale night moon.

“Identify yourself!” snarled Sarila as she drew her blades.

“Hmm… you must be a Caithian,” said the unknown catgirl, unfazed by the fact that she had been discovered.

“I am, but I know that you’re not!” replied Sarila.

The Caithians were not a strong species. If there were any strong Caithians on planet Cait Sith, Sarila would not have needed to join the Valsalrian Army to save her people.

“Indeed, I am not. My name is Kaa’lna and I am from the planet Kuu’lgarth,” said the girl, introducing herself.

Jiang Fei snapped, “I don’t care if you’re from planet kool aid, why are you here?”

As he examined the girl, the scope displayed information about her origin. She was 8,600,000 combat level strong, much like a well-trained Valsalrian soldier.

“I come in peace. I am here to see the man who defeated Wayne,” said Kaa’lna, purposely giggling.

“What is Wayne to you?” asked Jiang Fei.

He had never heard the name before, but judging by her manner and speech, she was probably talking about the Valsalrian that Jiang Fei had defeated, or rather, chased away, three days ago.

“Wayne is nothing to me. We are not acquainted,” said Kaa’lna, giggling again.

Jiang Fei replied snarkily, saying, “Well then, you must be used to it by now. Begone!”

Besides her regal aura and beauty, nothing about her left a good impression on Jiang Fei.