Iron Axe didn't fly into a rage as had been expected, he didn't even have a change in facial expression, which surprised Thuram slightly. Thuram remembered that in the past, this mixed-blood would never allow anyone to threaten the princess of Osha, not even verbally.
He couldn't help but look over at Drow Silvermoon, only to find the Divine Lady had no reaction either. It appeared as if she did not care about her own safety at all.
What were they thinking?
Thuram felt for the God's Stone of Retaliation in his pocket, his fierce expression frozen on his face.
"In fact, I'd never rest our hope on you to defeat the watchdogs. Since you didn't do it eight years ago, I know you don't have the guts... At least you're not as brave as you claim," Iron Axe slowly said, "I'm not returning only for revenge."
His first half of his words stung Thuram to his core, but the second half slightly shocked him.
"Not just for revenge?"
"I'm going to challenge the six clans to make Osha the strongest clan." Iron Axe said word by word.
Although the clans in Iron Sand City managed the oasis together, they were not considered equal. It was universally acknowledged that the strongest would occupy the best area in the city. If another clan desired that area, they had to challenge the clans that ranked above them. For the Osha clan, which had nothing, it meant they had to defeat all six of the clans to take the core area of Iron Sand City.
Only a crazy person would try to do that.
The path of challenges could not be interrupted once it had started, which meant that they had to win six challenges in succession. Each battle would require a ridiculous amount of physical exertion. This will make people desperate, not to mention their opponents would be first-class Mojin warriors. Generally speaking, it takes clan warriors over six months to recover from a holy duel. If a warrior died a new one had to be re-cultivated or recruited.
Basically, the clans with the most resources have the most solid foundations. Wildflame, the First Clan, had occupied the position for decades.
Avengers varied greatly, so it was hard to classify them.
Some of them hit their mark on the first shot, while others lost everything. It was not unusual to see some of them hesitate or even give up during preparation. So they might be half-dead, the moribund, or dead... Undoubtedly, only a crazy man would belong to the last type.
That left nothing to talk about.
Thuram found that he no longer enjoyed listening to them. They were biting off more than they could chew by attempting to avenge the Ironwhip Clan. Not to mention they were even claiming they would challenge the whole Iron Sand City? Just thinking of it made him anxious. He had no intention of being implicated in the trouble, so he directly shouted, "Boys, catch this guy as well as that woman!"
There were four clansmen standing in the room and two standing outside the door, all of them were holding sharp blades and God's Stones. They already had an advantage in numbers; in addition, Iron Axe and the Divine Lady's weapons had been confiscated before they entered the room. No matter how strong Iron Axe was, it would be impossible for them to escape.
"I should be greatly rewarded for killing the mixed-blood and for giving the descendant of Osha to the Iron Whip clan," he thought. "Maybe I can regain my position as the watchdog for this small oasis."
Just then, the princess of Osha stood up and sneered, while she took off her hood, removing the thin veil that covered her face.
Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders as her beautiful face was revealed. She was indeed a Divine Lady, but... she was not Drow Silvermoon who Thuram was familiar with.
None of the Sand women would have a snow-white complexion like her.
Her long dark hair spilled down her back like a waterfall and her golden pupils shone with dangerous light.
"Who... are..."
Thuram hadn't even finished his words, while the woman easily dodged a strike from a clansman in front of her and then punched another clansman in his face.
The dark-haired Divine Lady didn't need to use a weapon, her fists were actually more powerful than iron hammers. With a muffled thump, the clansman directly in front of her had been knocked into the air and smashed through the wooden wall, falling from the second floor!
"...you?"
As he finished his query, a second clansman had been hit and also thrown through the wall.
The tavern immediately fell into chaos.
A chilly gust of wind blew in, swaying the flames in the fireplace.
The Divine Lady didn't stop fighting, instead, she moved as if dancing with the wind. Her shadow was amplified by the firelight and it horrified Thuram. "Why? Didn't my clansmen all wear God's Stone of Retaliation?"
He had bought the God's stones from Graycastle with lots of gold royals. Common people deserved to have a chance when fighting the Divine Ladies, but why was she not restrained by the magic stone at all?
The fourth clansman fell to the ground, spitting blood. He had been kicked in the spine by her from behind and almost snapped him in half.
Even a diving Four-winged Eagle couldn't hit more powerfully than that!
No one lasted more than one round. In just a moment, Iron Axe, the Divine Lady, and Thuram were the only ones left standing.
"Damn it, come here quickly, all of you. Someone is causing trouble on the second floor."
"Where's our Head?"
"Why the hell didn't you watch the door?"
"A guest has been smashed to death!"
Rapid footsteps could be heard on the stairs. By the sound of it, many people were coming to the Head's room, unfortunately, the tip of a blade had been placed against Thuram's throat.
"Wait, don't come in, all of you!" He shouted at the door, regardless of the piercing pain where the blade had nicked his skin. A cold sweat oozed from the pores on his forehead.
"Head?"
"Go downstairs! Now!"
Thuram sadly found that Iron Axe had been right, and his courage was indeed less than what he claimed. In the face of a death threat, his first thought was to compromise rather than fight against it. Perhaps, from the beginning, he was never a moribund who had the hope of rising from the ashes like a phoenix. Instead, he was a half-dead who was trapped by his hesitation.
"Now can we talk about it?"Iron Axe said calmly.
"Even if I promised, nothing would change! The watchdogs here are supported by the Iron Whip and Cut Bone clans. You have made such a mess here. Do you think they won't know it? Iron Sand City will hear the news tomorrow!" Thuram growled, "It's impossible to summon the clansmen within such a short time. Besides, most of them have become slaves to other clans. Even if they're willing to come back, they'll be defeated easily by the warriors cultivated by the larger clans. If you don't want to die here, you'd better escape from the oasis now!"
"As I said before, I didn't expect you to defeat the watchdogs."
Thuram grit his teeth and thought, "What does he mean? If he really is so powerful, why doesn't he become a challenger directly? Why does he want my support?"
Unless... Unless the force he gathered hadn't been from the Southernmost Region!
When the realization hit, the old Head felt his heart tremble in horror.
Did they launch the holy duel in the name of another clan?
Suddenly, they heard thunder dully break twice outside the window. It was not very loud and seemed to come from a great distance.
Surprisingly, Thuram did not see any lightning streaking across the sky. Common sense would dictate that lightning should precede thunder.
Suddenly, the expression on Iron Axe's face finally changed.
"Listen, thunder is coming."