Chapter 25: The Ministry of Revenue Refuses

“Daxi, summon the Minister of Revenue to wait in the Imperial Study,” Qin Xiao said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Bu Qingyi’s eyelids twitched. Was His Majesty finally drawing his sword?

“Won’t being so direct alert the enemy?” Bu Qingyi asked cautiously.

“No, this is not merely a warning…”

Meanwhile, Lin Chong’s saber in his right hand stretched to about a meter in length, its blade curving ever so slightly. It was slender, razor-sharp, and weighed just over two pounds—more than a pound lighter than the Song saber, making it far more nimble and agile.

“What… exactly is your profession?” Drunken Fortune finally couldn’t hold back his question. He had only known Zhuang Lan for less than half a day, yet he still couldn’t figure out what Zhuang Lan truly did for a living.

Thanos’s eyes flickered. Gazing at the energy sphere formed by the power of the five Infinity Stones, a suppressed greed flashed across his face. “Leave it to me,” Thanos said calmly.

The nobles froze, then their expressions shifted in shock. Before them stood a figure, bloodied and still bearing a wooden box upon his back, several golden needles protruding from a wound in his chest. Though the bleeding had stopped, the gaping hole was still horrifying to behold.

Now he understood completely—King Ming had made up his mind. This blame was going to fall on them, whether they liked it or not.

Never mind that his desperate counterattack couldn’t kill him—even if it could, dozens of grandmasters were already closing in. In his crippled state, how could he possibly resist?

All those words of praise from the past now seemed like little more than jokes, filling him with shame.

“With the emergence of the Anomalous World, demand has multiplied tenfold compared to before,” Yi Tian said with a bitter smile.

Besides, however powerful the energy cannon, it was still a lifeless weapon; people, on the other hand, were unpredictable. A submarine lurking two or three hundred meters deep was indeed formidable, but a B-rank ability user could lay waste to an entire city.

Once those eighteen puppets were released, who could say if the enemy wouldn’t leave a drop of blood behind and reincarnate?

After all, the hero Big Tree was born to be a tank, boasting both crowd-control and recovery abilities. If he became too eager to dominate his lane, he’d only draw the enemy’s blind monk to the top lane, bringing trouble.

Habben stammered, then fell silent. Staying behind with An Mu and failing to graduate was clearly not worth it.

The Blade Spirit scratched his head bashfully, grinning, “You flatter me, Miss Peach Kernel. I’m really not that good—just a simple, foolish fellow.” He kept scratching his head and chuckling.

“So this is your new partner, LeBlanc?” Watching the two work together seamlessly, Wade murmured to himself.

“I will seek justice from my father, Hong Xuanji,” Hong Yi gazed up at the sky and spoke slowly.

“…So this is how she feels?” He’d thought he should wait until she liked him before confessing. Was that the wrong approach?

What’s more, the other side had a card to throw—either a gold card to stun or a red card for wide-area slow. Even with Mu Jing’s supernatural perception, there was no way to pull off a one-vs-two or one-vs-three at level one.

He rather took a perverse pleasure in Thorn’s defeat. After all, it had been ages since any rookie team had broken into the CEST semifinals, let alone beaten Thorn to reach the finals.

The bullet reached the Ninth Generation Leader in an instant, but he merely raised his cane. The projectile seemed to hit a fiery shield and vanished. A serpent of flame shot from his palm toward the sniper’s position; with a sudden flare, the sniper was incinerated on the spot.

On the screen, EZ unleashed his ultimate—Trueshot Barrage—perfectly, finishing off Lucian, who had been left with a sliver of health after Liu Hao’s Syndra combo.

“Even mortals have their own troubles—they still have to worry about filling their stomachs,” Rong She said, rising to his feet.