Chapter 250: One Day of Joy for Zhullan

Soon, they found Zhulant’s tracks, but they couldn’t make a move outside the city gate. That scoundrel actually hid at the bottom of a carriage, quietly leaving only a few hundred meters outside the city gate, then turned and stood up from the roadside, patted the dust off his body, and swaggered into the city.

After entering the city, Zhulant immediately entered the city defense camp closest to the gate, which made the other wizard apprentices look at each other in dismay. Since when could this scoundrel run rampant in Drake City? You should know that the city defense camp is not that easy to enter; it’s hard to come and go freely without some connections.

They suddenly thought of someone. Wasn’t that person seemingly the instructor of the city defense army?

Seeing Zhulant skillfully greeting the city defense camp guards and even being punched in the chest by one of them, then feigning pain and wailing pitifully, causing the other party to burst into laughter, the wizard apprentices were quite speechless.

This wasn’t just a casual acquaintance; it was practically like brothers, wasn’t it?

In fact, Zhulant didn’t come to the city defense camp very often, only about six or seven times a month, and each time he would be beaten black and blue. The rapid improvement of his combat power was not unrelated to the beatings from these city defense soldiers. And there was another reason why the city defense soldiers liked him: this scoundrel was actually a registered disciple of the instructor.

Many soldiers had been bullied, lectured, and even pranked by the instructor. Although they were very grateful to the instructor for helping them improve their strength, some of the instructor’s little tricks still left a deep impression on them. Why wouldn’t they be happy to openly retaliate against the instructor’s disciple?

You ask about the instructor’s father? Haha, he’s a mid-level knight, and he’s very good at dealing with people. He often manages to dissuade the instructor’s sudden whims and helps them save face. He’s absolutely untouchable. So, first Angor, and now Zhulant, became the punching bags.

Moreover, the instructor offered special treatment: if they defeated Zhulant and Angor when their strengths were not too far apart, they could enjoy half a day of training exemption. This privilege could be accumulated, so if the young instructor had another sudden whim to prank people one day, they could use this privilege to escape.

Free beatings and special privileges—who wouldn’t like such treatment? So Zhulant and Angor also became particularly favored by most of the less powerful city defense soldiers. Yes, favored as special existences to be beaten.

The city defense guard on duty at the gate just now was reserving his next sparring opportunity with him. This was something you had to fight for, otherwise, you wouldn’t even get in line.

“Teacher seems to be considering new training methods recently. It’s said to be called the Special Warrior Training Method, including balance beams, mud pits, large nets, stone walls, and so on. I’m not very clear on the specifics, but based on what I know, it definitely won’t be easy to pass.”

Zhulant whispered, “If you have the chance, you can go to the underground activity room of the Youth Activity Center and take a look. I feel like the teacher’s routine might have been brought from there, but it will probably be even more difficult.”

With a slap on Zhulant’s back, the intermediate warrior chuckled and said, “Good brother! Next time we spar, I’ll try my best to go easy on you. If the instructor has any new moves, remember to tell me in advance. The instructor is good at everything—strong abilities, clever methods—but sometimes he just likes to prank people and watch us in a mess.”

“Just inform a few close buddies, but don’t let everyone know. Otherwise, if the teacher sees through it and changes the program, don’t blame me for not explaining beforehand. The teacher has sharp eyes.” At this point, Zhulant whispered, “Also, absolutely, absolutely do not say that I leaked it, or I’ll be worse off than all of you.”

“Don’t worry, for our good days ahead, we will definitely work hard to protect you,” the intermediate warrior patted his chest, promising not to betray him. But as soon as Zhulant entered the city defense camp,

That scoundrel immediately turned around and spread the news everywhere, selling Zhulant out completely.

“Brother Zhulant, what exactly is in that Youth Activity Center? You know, I’m getting on in years, and it’s really not appropriate for me to go to a place where little kids play.” The commander of the first battalion hooked arms with Zhulant, trying to extract some information. He had clearly received the news Zhulant had just leaked and knew the instructor was about to make a new move.

Instructor Declan never acted without purpose. Although his training methods were a bit tricky, the results were excellent. In just half a year, the combat power of the city defense army had increased by at least 50%, which was something they couldn’t have imagined before.

Although the results were good, when it came to pranking people, the instructor was never ambiguous, even taking pleasure in tricking all of them. It was just a pity that someone always managed to escape each time, and seeing the instructor’s displeased expression, those soldiers felt quite satisfied, provided they hadn’t been tricked themselves.

Escaping a predicament myself, seeing the instructor’s displeased face, and watching other soldiers get thoroughly tricked—that feeling was truly exhilarating.

Zhulant knew he had been sold out again. Hmm, why did he have to say “again”?

There was nothing he could do; he was used to it. And after more than three months of learning, he gradually understood some things. The scholar-teacher actually wanted to use this method to help him integrate into the city defense army, and at the same time, give these soldiers some buffer and preparation in advance, so they wouldn’t have resistance to new projects.

In fact, Zhulant always felt that even if the soldiers had resistance, the scholar-teacher could still handle them; it would just take a little more effort.

Following smart people makes you smart—this was Zhulant’s biggest takeaway from the past three months, especially since this smart teacher was also willing to guide him to become smarter. Leading by example was truly effective. Yet, many people chose to ignore it. For example, that scoundrel, the Singer, had such good conditions but stubbornly refused to learn, always being foolish yet thinking himself clever. Meanwhile, the Beast Tamer, Cat Girl, and Police Dog quietly went about their business, and now each of them was rolling in money.

Indeed, following the scholar-teacher not only made one smarter but also wealthier. And during his time at the Ten Thousand Affairs House, he also discovered that it was indeed a gathering place for eccentrics, but their eccentricities were acceptable.

The black market merchant liked to trick his own people, and the teacher, knowing this, deliberately didn’t tell him. After his hard-earned money was swindled, the teacher then took him on a tour of the black market. They visited every stall that had tricked him, and everything he had liked before but couldn’t afford was devalued. Then, the teacher spent a few silver coins to buy a few small items, which he then sold back to the black market merchant at a hundred times the price, making him help Zhulant recover his losses.

And I was stunned by the teacher’s haggling skills and eye for distinguishing items. The mix of genuine and fake, fake and genuine, made it indistinguishable to others, yet he almost never missed. Even the universally hated black market merchant could only obediently listen; he wouldn’t haggle no matter what price the teacher named.

And the money I was tricked out of was recovered several times over from the people who tricked me, using the unique methods of the black market. After that, Zhulant went to the black market a few more times but only looked and didn’t buy, mostly just following the teacher to gain experience.

Zhulant noticed that after the teacher bought something in the black market, he would never sell it back there. He even deliberately sought a balance; for example, after buying an extremely valuable item from a stall, he would often intentionally buy one or two fake items, so that the vendor would be even more enthusiastic in welcoming the teacher next time.

A few gold coins for fakes really didn’t amount to anything in front of the teacher’s hundreds or thousands of gold coins in net profit. On the contrary, it allowed the teacher to maintain a good image as a half-baked expert—that was the evaluation those black market merchants gave the teacher.

But who could know that all those fake items the teacher bought were intentional? Even more ridiculous was that someone actually disguised a good item as something merely decent, “fiercely” “earning” over thirty gold coins from the teacher, only for the teacher to turn around and sell it for over a thousand gold coins to Senior Knight Jasmine.

Zhulant trained in the city defense camp until very late, leaving only as night approached. He took a roundabout route, leading a group of little followers on a tour of the black market, enjoying the thrill of haggling. Then he dropped a line about forgetting his money and said he’d come back next time, then walked away. The wizard apprentices following him watched, dumbfounded. Was this even possible?

How despicable! Was this still the honest and simple Zhulant, who used to just endure being bullied?

Watching him tease people, dogs, and cats, then stroll through a shop, he then leisurely arrived at a slightly open area. “Are you going to come out yourselves, or do you want us to drag you out?” Zhulant’s voice had a hint of teasing, but the surroundings were silent.

“Attack!” With Zhulant’s command, a flurry of fighting suddenly erupted around them. The sounds quickly ceased, and Zhulant left without even looking at the outcome. Who were the ones fighting?

Heh heh, who else could it be besides Brute Loli, Yami, Nicole, Police Dog, and the Black Merchant? They were the only ones he could summon along the way. You ask about the scholar-teacher? Hmph, the teacher wouldn’t be so childish. This kind of game is just for me to play; there’s no need to disturb the teacher.