Star Gate

Chapter 559: All Revealing Themselves (II)

“More like utter contempt for regulation!” Seated in the head position, the incomparably dignified Yellow Dragon snorted. “It is one thing to be exterminating pirates and raiders, but I have received word that Night Watcher Li Hao has killed Xu Zhen of the Steadfast Duke’s household! Although the royal family has retreated behind the scenes, they are still the nobility of the dynasty. The Steadfast Duke is officially acknowledged by the nine ministries!

“Li Hao is just like his master, one who flagrantly defies the law. The Night Watchers were formed to stand against such people. He breaks the rules knowing full well what they are. He disregards law and order! Light Sword joined the Steadfast Duke as a slave and has turned traitor, killing her master. How can such a violent criminal be rescued by the Night Watchers instead...”

All eyes snapped to Hou Xiaochen. Here it came! Everyone knew that Yellow Dragon would not let Hou Xiaochen find his footing in the central region. As expected, the man was berating their newest addition at his welcoming party.

“Deputy Director Hou.” Yellow Dragon looked at Hou Xiaochen. “Li Hao has broken the law knowing fully well what it is. You are a veteran inspector and Night Watcher. What say you, how should he be punished?”

“I should stay out of it to avoid accusations of bias,” Hou Xiaochen responded calmly. “Let’s see what the director says. If not, let’s see what everyone thinks...

“We can remove Li Hao from his position if it comes down to that,” he laughed. “It’s not like we’ll arrest him for questioning, will we? There’s no one in Silver Moon who will listen to me after my departure. Why don’t Deputy Director Yellow send someone to capture Li Hao? I have no opinions about that. Miscreants such as these should be punished!”

“And if we send Deputy Director Hou to arrest him?” Yellow Dragon frowned.

“Sure!” Hou Xiaochen grinned. “I’ll set out immediately with my people. We’ll bring in Li Hao, Earthturner Sword, and the others. But they’re very strong, so headquarters will need to give me a certain degree of support. I’ll absolutely capture them within a year!”

“......” No one said a word. They’d finally brought Hou Xiaochen to the central region, wouldn’t it be letting the tiger return to the mountain if they sent him back?

The old man who’d yet to say anything coughed gently. “Alright, let this matter end here! The Steadfast Duke... has not publicly admitted that the one who died is one of his. He hasn’t filed a report, so we have no right to be involved. They can do as they wish.” He gave both sides a way out of the situation.

“Being newly arrived, Xiaochen is not too familiar with our situation. The Night Watcher headquarters possesses five commanders in addition to us directors. They are in charge of the north, south, east, west, and central regions. Deputy Director Yellow Dragon has always been acting commander of the north. Xiaochen is also from Silver Moon of the north and is unfamiliar with the other regions. Director Yellow...” The old man turned to Yellow Dragon.

“Let’s give the position of northern commander to Xiaochen. He knows the area well and this gives him something to do. Being commander will prevent his talents from being wasted in just sitting around.”

Yellow Dragon’s expression froze over. When it came to the hierarchy of power, the five commanders were certainly lower than the deputy directors. But in terms of actual power, the five commanders were much greater than regular deputy directors. They directly commanded a portion of the Night Watchers!

He’d always been the commander of the north, but the old fart wanted to make use of Hou Xiaochen’s arrival to knock him down a peg! Was he supposed to just give up the position of northern commander??

“Director, that would be inappropriate, wouldn’t it?” Yellow Dragon was naturally unwilling. “Director Hou is only familiar with Silver Moon. There is unrest in the north now and the director is likely unknowing of the entire situation. The Night Watchers of the other eighteen provinces may not be satisfied if we brashly change their commander.

“Why don’t we take it slower? It’s alright if I have to labor under a heavier workload. Isn’t the director also a commander of Skystar City? There isn’t much for a commander of the central region to oversee, why not let Deputy Director Hou take over that?”

A commander of the central region was officially known as the Skystar commander. They oversaw the central region, but in name only. There were so many powerful institutions in the central region, alongside the nine ministries and royal families. There were also large sums of princes and dukes as well. Each central region province was also overseen by a domineering personage. Who would listen to the Skystar commander?

That position was sheer nonsense. Commanders of the other four areas might be able to exert some strength in their position. There might be some who didn’t listen to them, but not all of them wouldn’t ignore the commander.

The old man glanced at Hou Xiaochen, then at Yellow Dragon. “That is just as well!” He nodded with a smile. “Then that’s settled. Xiaochen has just arrived and could do with some time to familiarize himself with new surroundings. Then the position of Skystar commander will be given over to Xiaochen. I’ll send word to the Inspectorate in a moment. We shouldn’t run into too much trouble particularly as Director Yellow also gives his support. There won’t be any issue with this.”

Yellow Dragon frowned slightly. Do I support this?

Fine, it had been his suggestion. He just hadn’t thought that the old thing would agree so readily. It went so smoothly that he felt something was amiss.

The Skystar commander did indeed lack actual power, but it was also nominally the head of the five commanders. Its authority was very high as it oversaw all of the supernatural affairs in the central region. The old director had the intent of doing so, but lacked the strength to exercise his authority. He’d hunkered down in his office the entire time.

If Hou Xiaochen decided to carry out the letter of his duties... there might be some trouble then. But in that case, he would offend a large sum of institutions and organizations. Yellow Dragon smiled again. If Hou Xiaochen was unafraid of death and insisted on sticking his nose into things, then that was his prerogative. Yellow Dragon wouldn’t have to do anything then for someone to teach Hou Xiaochen a lesson!

“Alright, I’ll send word to the inspector general as well,” Yellow Dragon acquiesced. “We shouldn’t have much of an issue.”

“My deepest thanks.” Hou Xiaochen smiled. “I’ve just arrived and don’t understand anything. If there’s anything untoward that I engage in, I hope for some leniency from everyone.”

No one discussed the matters of the North Sea any further. It was too far away for them to do anything. And with Hou Xiaochen in the mix, people couldn’t say much about Silver Moon martial masters.

Hou Xiaochen looked at the old director and then at the other deputy directors. He smiled and didn’t say anything further. The old director plainly wanted to set him up against Yellow Dragon. Everyone could see that and sense how helpless the ole director was. However, Hou Xiaochen wouldn’t underestimate the man for it.

The old man had been director of the Night Watchers when it was formed. He was still their director after all these years. The old director had been a powerhouse back in those days. How else would he have been the first generation director? Though he seemed like a figurehead now due to many years of inaction, was he really just a figurehead?

Hou Xiaochen’s thoughts turned to Earthturner Sword and the others. Those guys are seriously crazy. They either didn’t make a move, or killed so many powerhouses when they did. Life... would not be easy in the days to come.

Although all sides were wary of each other and didn’t want to be the first to expose themselves, taking such a high profile stance also revealed all of their capabilities.

Hou Xiaochen sighed inwardly. As each Silver Moon martial master was exposed to the public eye, powerhouses of various factions would be prepared and know more about the province. When they felt that they held most of the information they wanted about the province, that was when they would act.

Silver Moon would be in grave trouble from now on!

Should he relinquish the province?

The thought vanished from Hou Xiaochen’s mind as soon as it occurred to him. That was their root, how could they abandon it? Not only was he unwilling, but so were the others.

......

A hubbub of discussion rose on all sides.

Meanwhile, close to the North Sea.

A domineering middle-aged man with a wan complexion looked toward the North Sea. He held someone in his hand and coldly demanded, “Has the fighting stopped in the North Sea?”

“It has... stopped...” quickly answered his quarry. “Noble... sir... I was just passing by... I don’t know anything...”

The man rifled through his target’s clothes and took out a pendant. He looked at it and inclined his head. “Not bad, Earthturner Sword... has concealed his strength. and Black Widow escaped?” The man furrowed his brows, then quickly smoothed them out. “It’s fine, there’s no point in killing her. That can wait until Ying Hongyue comes.”

The person in his hand trembled ever more violently. After he finished speaking, the man tossed his quarry into the air and blew him up!

He would kill a scout of the three great organizations if he wished. The middle-aged man looked around. He’d wanted to find Yuan Shuo, but Yuan Shuo had gone missing. After learning of a battle here, he came to find Light Sword, but the fighting was over. So now what? Where should he go?

After a brief moment, the man had his answer. He would go have some fun with the North Sea King!

The Starlight Pirates were the greatest among the North Sea pirates. Their leader self-styled himself as the North Sea King. He seemed to have been involved in this operation and even sent out one of his dukes. And yet, the North Sea King himself hadn’t appeared.

The man took a step out and vanished on the spot. It wasn’t until he was gone for a very long time that a head popped out of the ground. “Was that... Tyrant Blade?” it murmured with shock.

Tyrant Blade was still alive!

He’d always been alive, but so very few people had seen him around. That did seem to have been Tyrant Blade. Many people were familiar with pictures of the thirty-six heroes of Silver Moon; those were core files of numerous organizations.

Tyrant Blade had come to the North Sea!

The scout in the dark was shocked by how strong Tyrant Blade appeared. First it was Earthturner Sword, then Tyrant Blade, just how many powerhouses were hidden in Silver Moon’s martial world?

He swiftly entered words into a jade pendant and prepared to pass the message back that Tyrant Blade had appeared in the vicinity... The scout had just utilized a thread of mysterious power when...

BAM!

A massive explosive rang out as a surge of blade qi destroyed everything, including the person underground. Off in the distance, the middle-aged man who’d departed looked back coolly. He couldn't be bothered for a second look and promptly vanished. Everyone knew that Tyrant Blade should not be disrespected with surveillance!