152 Machete of Blood (2/2)

Two machetemen went up.

”Each person pays a hundred silver taels. The loser loses all, the winner takes a hundred and eighty and the organiser takes ten percent of the pot.”, Tuo Nengya explained.

Gu Shenwei took out a small amount of gold. Tuo Nengya took the gold and passed it to a macheteman. The gold was passed around. As Gu Shenwei didn't know who received his gold, he was unable to find out who was the organiser of this contest.

After three rounds, one died and two were injured. Gu Shenwei felt that one of the machetemen had decent skills, who was slightly better than those machetemen who were sparring during daytime. However, the macheteman was still considered to be mediocre, since he felt that sparring could not prove anything. He wanted a macheteman that can kill people, instead of a person who liked to show off.

”Next pair!” exclaimed the old man on the court. ”It's your turn,” Tuo Nengya spoke gently to the young man.

Gu Shenwei went forward. Since most machetemen at the gathering were middle-aged, Gu Shenwei was one of the only few young people around. Someone in the crowd laughed, ”Who is the one that is so lucky?”

The ”lucky” person was a tall, strong macheteman who had bushy beard. He resembled Bighead Kingpin, but was smaller in size. He was holding on a big special machete. As the machete was heavy, he dragged it on the ground and it created a deep mark.

Someone shouted the macheteman's name and Gu Shenwei didn't bother to listen. Gu Shenwei pulled out his blade, while waiting for the opponent to come closer.

The bearded man shouted, raised his machete and rushed towards his skinny opponent. It would be an easy victory for Gu Shenwei.

Gu Shenwei had learnt a few machete skills, but he complied with Golden Roc Fort killer's motto, which was not to underestimate his opponent and to defeat the enemy in one blow.

The big machete slid past the young man's shoulder. For a moment, it seemed like the young man was hit. The machete landed heavily on the ground. The bearded man lost his balance, took a few steps forward and landed directly on top of the bonfire. He almost extinguished the fire. In a short while, his beard was burning.

Several people went up and pulled the man out from the fire. Needless to say, the man was burnt. He was already dead before he fell.

Not many could clearly see how the young man attacked. He was like a monster that came out during nighttime, which killed people using evil secrets rather than machete skills.

The bonfire was reignited. Hundreds of spectators were speechless until the old man gave the young man a hundred and eighty silver taels. The old man then shouted, ”Next pair”. Then, the spectators started to talk among themselves.

Gu Shenwei suddenly became the center of attention and everyone was asking about this mysterious young man.

In the next few rounds, the fight became a showcase of machete skills. Everyone was trying to their best so to leave the young employer a good impression. However, most of the machetemen who went up to fight had died.

The Machete of Blood Contest ended at 11 pm. Tuo Nengya asked the young man to stay behind. This time, Gu Shenwei requested, ”I haven't seen you fight.”

There were twenty odd people following Tuo Nengya and Tuo Nengya spoke on behalf of them all. ”We can participate and kill people, but that is not our strength nor is that the reason why you should hire us.”

”We?”

”Yes. I'm not alone. There're a total of 23 people. Either you employ all of us or not a single one.”

Gu Shenwei didn't know whether other machetemen would behave in such a way, where they would make bold requests to their potential employers before the deal was concluded.

”What are your strengths?”

Tuo Nengya pulled out a machete and issued a command with a loud voice. His tone was not slow, as though he was an enthusiastic general. He commanded, ”Gather. Charge forward. Turn left. Defend. Attack. ... ”.

Gu Shenwei's father was a court guard, hence he knew little about battle formation. When he was young, he was curious so he entered the training grounds with his like-minded friends to watch the troops train. Hence, he could somewhat understand the various formations. Tuo Nengya and his group of machetemen were rather disciplined and possessed a certain aura. However, there were too few people, hence the effect was rather insignificant.

”I don't understand...”

”We are not good at fighting solo, but we can beat twenty people with ten machetemen and fifty people with twenty machetemen. Allow me to pick a few more machetemen until we have fifty machetemen. We will be invincible in South City by then. Other than Golden Roc Fort, we are unrivaled.”

This style was completely different than that of a killer. As Gu Shenwei was skeptical, he asked, ”Did First Young Master employ all of you because of your formations?”

There was a change in the Tuo Nengya's expression as though the young man had just asked a very rude question. But in the next instant, his expression returned to normal as he replied, ”No. He was uninterested in our battle formations. I owed him a favor.”

This was exactly what Gu Shenwei was worried about. However, he wanted to make use of this sentiment, because he wanted to employ machetemen who were dissatisfied with Golden Roc Fort. The most important part was how to control them without telling them the truth.

”How much are you willing to sacrifice for this favor?”

”He is dead, so the favor is gone. We are machetemen, not patriots nor chevaliers.”

”Good,” Gu Shenwei said while extending his hands as he planned to employ this group of machetemen. They had a lot of details to discuss about, such as the most important aspect, the salary.

”Hey, does anyone want to make a lot of money? Come over here. Take the money before you work!”

Many disruptors came over as though the arrangement was pre-planned. Fifth Young Master Meng led a group of followers and machetemen and came over. Some were carrying heavy boxes. They placed the boxes down and opened it. Under the light of the bonfire, boxes of silver glittered with a warm light as though it could bring comfort to people and soothe them from the harsh coldness of winter.