Chapter 799: Extort—Protection Money - 2

Chapter 799: Extort—Protection Money - 2

"Watch out, idiot!"

A man in front of Leo was pushed by another man behind him, causing him to stumble into Leo. Following the principle of ’venting on the weak after getting preyed on by the strong,’ the man turned sharply toward Leo.

"Step aside, basta—!"

The words died in his throat when he saw a man two heads taller than him looking down with a calm smile.

"Hehe, E-excuse me, I stumbled on my foot."

It was then that he noticed the 3-meter-tall, nearly 5-meter-long wolf—6 meters if its tail was included—glaring at him with its fangs bared as it lowered its head towards him.

Just the sight of the beast was enough to drain the colour from the man’s face.

That thing could eat me whole in a single bite!

"Calm down, Nyxa. He didn’t do it knowingly."

Leo internally wondered what would happen if Nyxa grew to her maximum height of 8 meters, with a body length of 16 meters.

Well, that was something to save for later.

"I’m sorry!!" The man broke away from the line and quickly ran off into the forest. He was surprisingly fast and disappeared among the trees in no time.

As Leo slowly made his way towards the gate, he realised that many people seemed rather accustomed to the outrageous toll tax. One had to remember that 5,000 AC was equivalent to 2 Gold Coins.

He also figured out that most were merchants, carrying goods on carts and beasts across the mountain to sell their wares on the other side for a profit.

"The profit doesn’t seem to be small..." Leo muttered.

If they were willing to spend more than 30 Gold Coins altogether on carts, beasts, security, and personal passes, then their profits must be substantial.

At a glance, Leo spotted numerous cartloads of beast pelts, low-ranked spirit equipment, Beast Cores, Mana Crystals, herbs, magic plants, and refined metals. There were even live beasts and some beast eggs.

Though all of them had ordinary or mortal bloodlines, which Leo wasn’t interested in.

As for why such businesses boomed even with an establishment like Aurelius Hall around, it was because common people couldn’t afford to travel that far.

Even students found it difficult and expensive to travel to Aurelius Hall from places more than 100 kilometres away unless some place had a teleportation array, so expecting common civilians to make the journey was far-fetched.

After getting closer to the gate, Leo got a proper look at the lead guard. He was a heavily built man who radiated the strength of a Pseudo 3-Star. However, the man was stocky, so Leo was still about four heads taller than him.

When it was Leo’s turn to pay, the man suddenly seemed wary. Maybe because he couldn’t sense Leo’s strength, or the beast beside him.

Tsk, I should have used the Heaven’s Gate Medallion to make myself look weaker. Leo regretted.

The Heaven’s Gate Medallion was perfect for creating good drama...

Life-Saving Safeguard:

- The medallion protects its bearer...

- By manipulating the space around the user and designated individuals, the artifact is capable of concealing their true strength, which cannot be seen through by beings ranked High 8-Star or lower.

And Leo needed some drama right now, though he could still manage without it.

"Pay 15,000 AC, or 6 Gold Coins, or anything of equal value to pass through," the stocky man informed him.

However, he noticed the wolf beside Leo wasn’t carrying any luggage, which made him even more cautious.

"No. I’m here to meet your territory leader, city lord, or whatever you call him. Tell him to come out quickly before it’s too late," Leo said without changing his expression.

"Huuh..?" The stocky man growled.

In an instant, the other guards around him raised their spears, while some reached for the weapons hanging from their scabbards.

"Are you deaf? I said to call him out before it’s too late."

The people standing in line behind Leo tactfully backed away, unsure of what would happen next.

"Our City Lord isn’t someone who meets just any random person! Get out before we arrest you for disturbing the peace!" The stocky man pulled out the hammer strapped to his back.

He didn’t even wait for a response before swinging the hammer at Leo.

"Not even going to ask me the reason?" Leo chuckled as he caught the hammer with his left hand.

"Wha—!"

He couldn’t even finish his exclamation before Leo snatched the weapon away and threw it aside.

"I won’t say it again. Go... call your territory lord."

Leo’s demeanour changed as Nyxa’s size also began to increase.

GRRRRROOOOWWWLLLL!!!

Suddenly, the 6-meter-tall bear beast within the walls growled loudly and came rushing out.

GRRROooo—ull?!

The bear’s second growl vanished the moment it spotted the 8-meter-tall wolf glaring at it.

The bear’s standing height was 6 meters, meaning it was only 6 meters tall even when standing on two legs. Nyxa was taller than it even while standing on all fours. There was simply no comparison.

The soldiers who had been trying to surround Leo and Nyxa began staggering backwards at the sight of the wolf’s enormous size. Even the stocky man turned pale with fear.

At that moment—

"The mountain is moving..." someone among the people waiting to enter the city said in disbelief.

"Look over there!"

As the people turned their attention towards the location, the colour drained from their faces.

There they saw it—a massive landmass moving slowly across the landscape.

"T-the mountain is moving?!"

"That’s an Ancient Savage Beast!!!!" someone suddenly cried out.

Everybody’s eyes widened in realisation. They all recalled the Oreback Behemoth in the interacademy competition, a beast that was 5 kilometres wide and had taken even the elite students nearly a month to eliminate.

"I-I know it! That beast has already travelled more than 400 kilometres! It’s migrating to a different location!" someone exclaimed, recognising Howl from the countless viral videos circulating around.

Leo simply turned back towards the stocky man, whose legs had begun to tremble. Even the bear beast had already lain down on the ground, afraid of Nyxa and Howl.

"Are you still not going to call your leader, or should I make that beast trample over your territory?"

"H-huh?"

"W-what are you talking about?" The man somehow managed to ask sensible questions.

"I’m the one leading the beast’s path after making a deal with it. If you aren’t quick to call your leader for a talk, I might as well make it walk right over this territory."

The stocky man’s eyes widened in realisation.

"I’ll be quick!!" He immediately turned around and dashed away at a surprisingly high speed.