An imposing hall.
The lights were dim.
A tall, strong man sat on a throne, unruffled.
Iron King walked into the great hall from the far gate, stopped at a distance, and knelt on one knee.
"Iron King pays homage to the Lord!"
The majestic man remained silent. Instead, a scholar-like man emerged from the side, fanning himself as he calmly said, "The Young Lord is currently in Northlandia's Crystalpeak City and has encountered some resistance. He requires your assistance."
The man looked up in surprise: "The Young Lord is a heavenly genius who has always been undefeated in battle. How could he face resistance?"
"Even tigers nap sometimes. Go now. Assisting the Young Lord to unify Crystalpeak City's four major clans and then rule Northlandia will bring you great honor."
"I will spare no effort to assist the Young Lord! But...rumor has it the Young Lord is an invisible, inaudible god. Not knowing his appearance, how shall I recognize him?"
"Simple. The one who is suave, steals jade and incense, is surrounded by beauties, and excels at pretense - that is the Young Lord. Remember this well."
"Aye! Thanks to the Tactician and the Lord's trust. This subordinate will do everything to assist the Young Lord!"
"Remember - the Young Lord enjoys pretending to be invisible. You must give him all face and avoid using force unless absolutely necessary. He's currently competing with a local family's young master. Your actions must appear natural and smooth to win the young master's favor."
"Thank you for the Tactician's guidance. I shall remember it well!"
...
Crystalpeak City.
Fyren and Xena were eating ice cream.
"Hey, are you really getting engaged to Eliza?"
Fyren ignored her concern. "Engaged my ass. Things are getting out of hand anyway."
Xena grinned mischievously. "Hey, why not get engaged to me instead!"
Fyren looked up at the goblin.
"Haven't you fooled me enough, big sister? I'm warning you - don't push your luck. I have a temper too!"
Xena giggled uncontrollably. "Then...be my boyfriend."
Fyren laughed. "Fine. Come to my place tonight wearing one of those JK uniforms - the easy-to-remove kind. Then we'll see if I take you up on that."
"Fuck you!" Xena blushed. "No way."
Fyren said, "Let me make this clear - I'm doing this project to lose money. I didn't ask you all to follow up with five or ten billion dollars invested. If you lose money, don't come complaining to me. You made your own decisions - you bear the responsibility."
Xena grunted, "You'd do a losing deal? I don't believe it. If you, Fyren, are willing to throw in fifty billion dollars, surely you can make a hundred billion. Do you think I don't know you?"
"You really don't know me," Fyren said. "In the past, I only cared about money, with no regard for morality. But now, my soul has ascended to a saint-like realm. I just want this world to be filled with love and leave behind a beautiful earth. It doesn't matter how much money I lose."
"Aigooooo, you're really shameless. Go ask anyone in Crystalpeak City if they believe that kind of talk."
Fyren was utterly depressed and kept eating.
Xena went to pay the bill.
It was such a trivial matter that Fyren didn't bother arguing with her.
But moments later, a fight broke out over there.
Xena was arguing with a man.
"Why are you so bitchy? You bitchy man!"
"Little girl, watch your mouth, or don't blame me for being rude!"
Fyren rushed over and shoved the man away. "What's your problem?"
Xena said, "He cut in line! I called him out, and he cursed at me!"
Fyren looked at the man and shook his head. "Cutting in line is already disgraceful, and now you're cursing? Do you have any family values? Did you ever learn the Five Virtues and Four Principles?"
Xena said, "Fyren, don't waste words on him. Tell your lackeys to beat him up!"
At that moment, Zaring leapt out from the inner card table and grabbed the man's arm. "Kid, looking to die?"
Zaring was surprised to find that this guy was extremely strong! Normally, his push would send someone stumbling back, but this man didn't budge at all!
While Zaring was still processing this, several more men surrounded them—clearly outnumbering them!
Zaring wasn't about to back down.
"Damn it! Young Master Fyren of Crystalpeak City and Miss Xena are eating ice cream here. Which one of you has a death wish? Take another step forward!"
All four men stepped forward in unison.
"Oh, so there's no discussion? Fine—jianghu rules! Single combat!" Zaring roared.
The four men remained expressionless, exchanging glances with faint mockery and disdain in their eyes.
Fyren sensed something was wrong.
From Zaring's momentary surprise earlier, Fyren concluded that these men weren't to be trifled with.
Fyren quickly said, "Forget it, they seem like outsiders. Zaring, settle the bill and let's go."
"Yes."
Zaring knew his limits—he was fully aware that even one of these men might be more than he could handle.
So he quickly took the opportunity to back off.
Xena protested, "Hey! He just cursed at me and hasn't even apologized yet!"
Fyren wrapped an arm around Xena and smiled. "Forget it. I'll apologize for him—I'm sorry."
"I won't do it! No one has dared to scold me since I was a kid. What right do they have? Are you afraid just because there are more of them?"
At this moment, a big black-faced man stood up from his seat and turned around. "What kind of people are making all this noise? I can't even eat in peace!"
Fyren's heart skipped a beat when he saw this person.
Holy shit, no way!
What the hell!
Iron King!
That's a character who doesn't appear until much later in the story!
He's one of the Four Talents of the Northlandia Border Shit Battle Team - incredibly strong and overbearing. In the later stages, he follows Otto loyally, willing to walk through fire for him.
Why is someone like him appearing so early?
This is bad! I need to find a way to get out of here fast!
Xena said angrily, "They're your men, right? Control your people properly! They cut in line and started cursing!"
"Hahaha!"
The big black-faced man laughed as he walked over. "Sorry, but we always cut in line, and we curse even more freely. And we especially like beating people up."
Xena raged, "You'd hit me? How dare you! My boyfriend is Fyren, the youngest of the Zhang family. He's the only one who bullies people in Crystalpeak City - no one dares to bully him! Or his girlfriend!"
Fyren covered Xena's mouth and forced a smile. "You guys go ahead first. Zaring!"
Zaring quickly pulled out two thousand dollars and slammed it on the counter. "Keep the change."
Fyren dragged Xena out of the shop, mouthing silently, "Bye bye bye."
Xena pushed Fyren away. "Fyren! Didn't you see them bullying people?"
Fyren thought to himself: Big sister, there's no way to explain this to you. This situation isn't simple - I might actually be held accountable here.
"I know, I know. Let's go back and talk about this."
At that moment, Iron King called out: "Stop!"
Fyren gritted his teeth inwardly:
[Shit! We've caught his attention!]
Iron King laughed as he approached. "This chick looks good."
The four big guys joined in the laughter. "This chick is nice."
"I can't believe that on my first visit here, this King would meet such a pretty and cute little girl. Hahaha, Northlandia truly has no shortage of beautiful women!"
The four big guys chorused: "Northlandia is full of beautiful girls!"
Xena glared at them. "Have some self-respect! What does Northlandia having beautiful women have to do with you? You five look like demons. One glance at you could kill someone's appetite for three days. In the future, you should avoid being seen by women, you trash!"
Iron King laughed heartily. "A violent loli! Hahaha, I like it!"
The four big guys echoed in unison: "Violent loli, we like it!"
Xena thought these guys were insane. "Are you four just repeaters?"
Fyren moved closer to Xena. "These guys aren't to be trifled with. Let's get out of here first."
Xena said, "If you want to go, go ahead. But if they don't apologize, this isn't over."
Fyren nodded: "Okay, then I'll go first. We'll contact them another time."
Xena stared in shock and anger as Fyren actually turned around and left.
Iron King reached out and grabbed Xena's wrist: "Hahahaha, little girl, come have some fun with this king, ahahahaha..."
At that moment, Fyren stood in the doorway. "Iron King, get your fucking hands off her!"
Iron King didn't expect this young man to know his name. Startled, he instinctively loosened his grip.
"Your Excellency is...?"
Fyren was out of options.
His mind raced.
According to the plot, none of the Four Talents had ever met Otto, nor did they know he used the name "Otto" here.
Their organization was so secretive they barely knew each other.
The fact he dared to harass Xena, the female lead, meant he hadn't met Otto - otherwise he wouldn't have dared even with eight hundred times the courage.
In other words, he'd just arrived in Crystalpeak City and hadn't assessed the situation yet.
Fyren's heart pounded, but his face remained calm.
He slightly lifted his chin, looking at Iron King with cold eyes.
Fyren slowly walked in, approaching Iron King until they stood face to face.
Iron King suddenly felt uncertain.
This guy... his footsteps, breathing, and physique didn't suggest martial arts training. So why... does he have this aura?
Iron King raised his eyebrows. "Who exactly are you?"
"Who am I?"
Zaring, whose wrist had been grabbed by Iron King's men during the struggle, now felt a dull pain. Rolling up his sleeve revealed red swelling.
Zaring's instincts were sharp - he now fully understood: these were all trained practitioners, extremely dangerous. If he attacked, he'd be taken down instantly.
What to do? Can't panic now. Absolutely can't panic while Fyren's confronting them.
But... what can I do? They're outnumbered and all trained...
Fyren looked at Iron King and smiled coldly. "Who am I?"
He turned to Xena and Zaring and laughed. "How dare this idiot ask who I am? Hahahahaha!"
Iron King's men moved to strike, but Iron King raised a hand to stop them.
Narrowing his eyes, Iron King asked, "Young brother, may I ask your name? Do we have some... prior connection?"
Fyren turned, clasping his hands behind his back as he regarded Iron King: "I am the God of War. What connection could I possibly have with trash like you? Iron King, let me ask you one thing - do you even remember why you came to Northlandia?"
This shocked Iron King.
He stammered, "Your Excellency... could it be..."
"Shut up! You fucking moron!"
Fyren was certain now.
Their hesitation meant his bluff was about 80% successful.
The Four Talents in this story were essentially "single-celled organisms" - the author clearly hadn't put much thought into their characterization.
They're plot devices! Just tools for the male lead - obedient, hardworking bricks for the protagonist to build his image upon... That's all they're good for, so they don't need to be smart.
This gave him an opportunity. No matter what, he had to get through today.
He couldn't just let Iron King take Xena away, could he?
Though Fyren wasn't as tall or imposing as Iron King, his current aura was undeniably regal.
Fyren shouted, "What the fuck did I send you to Northlandia for? You've completely forgotten, haven't you?"
Iron King narrowed his eyes, thoroughly confused.
"You... Murphy..."
Fyren suddenly swung and slapped Iron King's big black face.