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Chapter 576, Make Him Take It Out
Challenge the Island Lord?
The tavern fell silent instantly. Everyone looked ahead in surprise and confusion.
With the newspaper's circulation, the Island Lord had gained immense popularity on the island.
And now, someone was openly challenging him.
Judging by the challenger's attire and demeanor, he was no ordinary person. And the fact that he mentioned coming from the guild's headquarters…
Further proved that he held some status.
No one in the tavern was foolish. Though they found the challenger arrogant, no one spoke up against him.
The young man still wore a confident smile.
He added, "Everyone, feel free to spread the word. I will formally issue the challenge at the guild. The time and location will be set within the next few days."
After speaking, he clasped his hands behind his back and stepped down from the wooden stage.
At the entrance, he reunited with an elderly man holding a wooden staff, and together, they left the tavern.
Someone peeked out through the window, watching them leave.
Then turned back and said, "They're gone. Took a carriage toward the central district."
...…
Once they confirmed the departure, murmurs and discussions erupted in the tavern.
"The last guy who was this arrogant ended up at the bottom of the sea."
"Someone from the guild's headquarters… Looks like they came specifically for the Island Lord."
"The pirates of Emerald Sea all died by the Island Lord's hands, and this pretty boy thinks he can challenge him?"
"But the pirates were killed using firearms and tactics. The Island Lord specializes in investigations and solving cases, and his class is Necromancer. If his skeletons are allowed in the fight, he'll definitely win. But if it's a direct duel without them, he might not have the advantage."
The discussions quieted slightly.
If it was a duel…
And skeleton minions were allowed, the entire island was filled with them. The challenger wouldn't stand a chance, making the duel pointless.
But if skeletons weren't allowed, a Necromancer would lose one of his main advantages.
Would he really rely solely on negative status effects to win?
That might be difficult.
Everyone fell silent, deep in thought.
Meanwhile, the tavern owner pulled out a wooden board again.
Hanging up a new betting pool—whether the Island Lord would accept the challenge or not.
...…
"Leave this room untouched for now."
A man entered the private room, stopping the bartender from cleaning.
Then, he slipped a few copper coins into the bartender's hand. "We're reserving this room. No need to clean it for now. If we need anything, we'll call you."
The bartender tucked the coins away with a grin. "Of course, just call out if you need anything."
With that, he stepped out and closed the door.
After the bartender left…
Several figures entered the room.
The one in the center removed their hood—it was none other than Macintosh, who had recently signed a contract with Wu Heng.
Macintosh entered, and the door was shut behind her.
She scanned the room and ordered, "Search."
The group spread out, checking under tables and chairs.
After a thorough sweep…
One of them handed over a crumpled ship ticket. "Boss, nothing else left behind. Just this ticket."
Macintosh sat at the table and pushed the utensils aside.
She flattened out the ticket and placed it on the table.
Raising two arms above her head while the other four hovered over the ticket, she activated her Seer ability.
Her eyes went blank, and fragmented visions surfaced in her mind.
Moments later, clarity returned to her gaze. "Bring me paper and a pen."
Someone immediately handed them over.
Macintosh quickly recorded what she had seen and handed the paper to her subordinate. "Deliver this to the Island Lord's mansion. Avoid the main roads—take the back alleys."
"Understood."
...…
Zombie World, Airport.
Central Command's representative, Lü Chang'an, boarded the plane with Qi Hancai.
The canvas covers on both sides were lifted in succession.
Lü Chang'an smiled and said, "2,000 machine gun rounds, 1,000 grenade shells, 5,000 machine guns, and 200 kilograms of gold. Vice Leader Qi, please verify."
"I'll have my people check, and then we'll settle the grain exchange with Commander Lü."
Qi Hancai nodded and gestured behind her.
A few survivors from the base stepped forward to count the supplies.
Then, Lü Chang'an and Qi Hancai moved aside to talk.
Lü Chang'an asked, "I heard that Xinfu City's base has started attacking the surrounding cities?"
"No choice. Bases across the region are calling for help over the radio. Just like Central Command said—the harder the times, the more we need to stand united," Qi Hancai responded.
Lü Chang'an nodded. "If you need anything, we'll help as much as we can."
"Same here. If we need anything, we'll contact Central Command."
The two chatted briefly.
Meanwhile, the supplies were fully accounted for. The weapons were unloaded from the plane, while trucks loaded up grain into the cargo hold.
Once the exchange was completed…
The two sides waved farewell.
The plane took off from the airport, heading into the distance.
Wu Heng emerged from the building with his skeleton attendants and a small owl wearing a sweater.
"No major differences from the last exchange. They seem capable of mass-producing grenades and machine gun rounds. 200 kilograms of gold, 5,000 machine guns," Qi Hancai remarked.
Wu Heng thought for a moment. "That's possible. But if they can manufacture them, where are they getting the raw materials? Resources are an issue right now."
"That's true. Maybe I overthought it," Qi Hancai nodded.
"Doesn't matter. As long as they're selling to us, we'll take it. Gao Rong is also working on reverse-engineering their weapons."
"Got it."
Wu Heng stored the supplies.
His eyes lingered on the gold.
Unlike the loose jewelry from before, this time they had received solid one-kilogram gold bars—two hundred in total.
It looked like someone had raided a gold reserve.
And they likely hadn't traded everything in one go.
Once everything was stored…
The skeleton guards resumed their watch over the airport.
The convoy headed back toward the arms factory.
After arriving at the factory, Wu Heng used a portal to return to Gold-Silver Island.
...…
Island Lord's Manor.
Wu Heng descended the stairs, followed by his newly converted skeletons.
The alchemists and mechanists were assigned to their respective rooms, and the chefs and gardeners were placed in their roles.
The tailors would be brought to the clothing factory in the next two days—just in time, since he needed them.
Only the coroners remained—Wu Heng still wasn't sure where to place them.
He definitely couldn't send them to the guild. If skeleton coroners showed up and replaced the two human ones, that would just be taking their jobs!
Let's deal with it later.
After settling the skeletons, Wu Heng went downstairs.
As soon as he stepped onto the first floor, Minnie quickly approached.
She took out a piece of paper from her spatial ring. "Master, Macintosh sent this over. She said someone publicly challenged you in the tavern today. This is the intelligence report."
Challenge me?
Recently, his reputation on the island had improved significantly. Why would someone choose this moment to challenge him?
"Let me take a look first." Wu Heng took the paper and opened it.
The contents were clear:
「The challenger calls himself 'Luan Randolph,' a human male appearing around 25 years old, with blond hair and blue eyes. He carries a rapier at his waist and publicly declared his challenge to the Island Lord at the Golden Sail Tavern.
Accompanying him is an elderly man dressed in robes and carrying a wooden staff, presumed to be a spellcaster. The two are in a master-disciple relationship.
Both are members of the guild, and after leaving the tavern, they proceeded to the guild.
The Seer's perception indicates that the two arrived at noon via Pier No.1, aboard the merchant vessel 'Andres.'」
After reading the intelligence, Wu Heng raised an eyebrow.
Macintosh's report was indeed detailed—it even included their ages, appearances, and the ship they arrived on.
But Wu Heng found these two rather odd.
They had just arrived today, were associated with the guild, and yet their first action was to challenge him?
Were they sent by someone to cause trouble?
Or did they have another motive?
"Master, is everything okay?" Minnie asked softly when she saw his frown.
Wu Heng put an arm around her shoulder. "It's fine. A pair of guild master and apprentice arrived and want to challenge me."
"The guild? But aren't we part of the guild too? Why challenge you?"
"They're just bored. Some people have too much free time and go around looking for trouble." Wu Heng laughed.
"Should we have 'Robert' throw a grenade into their lodging? Save you the trouble."
"If they die on the island, it'd be a hassle too. Just ignore them. They'll leave on their own in a few days." Wu Heng led her toward the dining hall. "What's for dinner?"
"Prepared some oysters for you, to keep you nourished."
...…
The next day, at the guild.
Wu Heng walked through the cold corridors and entered the morgue.
Inside, two coroners were working on the corpses.
Seeing Wu Heng enter, they gave a slight bow. "Island Lord."
"What are these corpses?" Wu Heng scanned the three bodies in the room and asked.
One coroner replied, "These two were wanted criminals taken down by Squads One and Four. Their identities have been confirmed. This one over here was recovered from the sea, dressed like a fisherman."
"Not a local?" Wu Heng looked at the last body.
"Our team asked around, and none of the island's fishermen are missing," the coroner responded.
Wu Heng examined the body's face—it was well-preserved, not too bloated from soaking in the water.
"Wait outside for a moment. I want to examine the body myself."
"Yes!" The two coroners acknowledged and exited the room.
After confirming that they had left, Wu Heng took out the rare artifact [Faceless One's Skin] and placed it over the corpse's face.
The moment they made contact…
The skin melded seamlessly, as if it were the corpse's own.
Even the transition between the facial and surrounding skin showed no visible seams.
Wu Heng waited a few seconds, then pressed his fingers against his face and carefully peeled off the mask.
The mask returned to its original state as a piece of human skin.
He glanced inside the mask—there were no residual traces from the corpse. Still, he wiped it down with a tissue before putting it on.
First, it formed his own face.
Then, with a mere thought, he felt his facial structure shift and tighten.
Taking a mirror from his spatial ring, he checked his reflection.
He now looked exactly like the corpse—identical in every detail, from eye color to facial contour and hair color.
"Pretty impressive."
Wu Heng murmured in admiration, then tugged the mask off from behind his ear.
He stored it back in his spatial ring.
Having accomplished his goal, Wu Heng exited the morgue.
The two coroners were chatting at the door.
"I'm done. You can continue your work." Wu Heng said.
The two bowed again and returned to the morgue.
...…
Leaving the morgue,
Wu Heng passed by the Steward's office. He hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door.
Hearing a response from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.
Inside, Sheila Grey and Shiyali were both in the office. When they saw him, they stared at him intently.
Wu Heng touched his face, confirming that he had removed the mask.
Then he asked, "What are you looking at?"
Sheila Grey took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Here, the challenge letter. I was just about to have someone deliver it to you."
Wu Heng frowned as he took it and glanced at the contents.
At the top, the words "Challenge Letter" were clearly printed, followed by clauses regarding fair competition.
At the bottom was an official guild seal.
"Seriously? They even have official challenge letters?"
He hadn't expected the guild to have such a formal process—it seemed like they endorsed challenges.
"Not exactly endorsed," Sheila Grey explained, "but the guild does permit competition among the younger generation. It serves as motivation for development. Plus, disputes can also be resolved through duels like this."
"So, since he submitted this, am I obligated to accept?" Wu Heng asked.
"Of course not. He submitted it through the guild, which simply acts as a mediator. Whether you accept or not is entirely up to you—it's not mandatory," Sheila Grey said with a smile. "So, are you going to accept?"
"Of course not. I don't even know who he is, and why should I accept? If he loses, he just leaves, and no one on the island even knows him. But if I lose, how can I continue being the Island Lord?" Wu Heng placed the challenge letter back on her desk.
Sheila Grey nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. But he's not as unknown as you think. At the guild headquarters, he's considered one of the most outstanding young human talents. He's said to have exceptional potential and has defeated quite a few veteran powerhouses.
If you defeat him, your reputation at headquarters will rise significantly."
...…
In an guild dormitory.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed 'Luan' entered and said, "Teacher, this island is well-developed. Those things around the guild—they're called streetlights. I heard they shine as bright as the sun at night and never go out."
"Must be some kind of special magic device. The stories about him say his homeland specializes in developing machinery and various inventions," the elderly mage replied with a smile.
"It's quite nice. If we get the chance, we should consider settling here," Luan continued.
The old mage took a sip of tea. "Did you send the challenge letter?"
"I submitted it to Sheila Grey. According to guild protocol, she will have someone deliver it to him," Luan replied as he sat down.
The old mage gave a final word of caution. "If he has caught Imiro's attention, then he must have some skills. Don't show off too much—end the fight quickly."
A sharp glint flashed in Luan's eyes. "I understand."
"The news is already spreading. If you win, do it in a way that earns you even greater fame."
Luan poured himself tea, taking a small sip.
"I can't wait to begin… to defeat him in front of everyone."
...…
Steward's office.
Sheila Grey said, "His background is strong, and he's been nurtured by the guild for years. His strength isn't weak. You really don't need to accept this challenge."