In Battle Through the Heavens, lying down makes you stronger.

Chapter 112 The taxes belong to the city lord, but your life is your own.

Desert City.

With the Amethyst Winged Lion King as his mount, Xiao Ran naturally wouldn't squeeze into a public monster spawn with the others.

In addition, the Amethyst Winged Lion King is a sixth-tier magical beast, and its flight speed is extremely fast.

Furthermore, with the two flying at full speed, there was nothing of importance along the way.

In less than ten days, a city in the desert, Mo City,

He appeared before Xiao Ran.

Due to its proximity to the desert, the weather here is quite dry.

The scorching sun beat down from the sky, baking the earth and causing waves of heat to radiate outwards, distorting people's vision.

At the city gate, a dozen armored soldiers, armed with spears, shouted to passersby entering the city to pay the city entry tax.

Xiao Ran slowly approached with the Purple-Gold Winged Lion King, which was comparable in size to two lions.

Is this Mocheng?

The angel investor must be in this city, right? I'll get the map first, then go to my older brothers' Iron Grinding Mercenary Group. And as a powerful Dou Wang, how can I be without maids by my side?

And...and...

Just as Xiao Ran was deep in thought, he reached the city gate, only to be stopped by soldiers.

"Hey! You..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Amethyst Winged Lion King behind Xiao Ran let out a low growl.

When the soldier saw the blue magical beast following closely behind Xiao Ran, he froze, swallowing hard.

Upon hearing the roar of the Amethyst Winged Lion King, Xiao Ran, who was deep in thought, turned his head.

"Quiet down!"

Then he looked at the soldier and asked.

"What's wrong? Is there something you need?"

A soldier who appeared to be a superior officer rushed forward and pushed the previous soldier down.

He cursed, "Are you blind? How dare you offend an adult!"

Then he quickly bowed and smiled apologetically at Xiao Ran.

"Sir, I'm so sorry to have given you a bad experience entering the city."

"That person was a temporary worker. Are you heading into the city?"

"Would you like me to introduce you to our Mo City...?"

Xiao Ran waved his hand and said with a smile, "No need."

Then he walked directly into the city gate, and the Amethyst Winged Lion King turned his head and glared coldly at the soldier who had previously blocked Xiao Ran.

Those emotionless eyes instantly terrified him, making him tremble all over and almost wet his pants.

"Lion King, we should go. Let's not waste our time here." Xiao Ran's voice came.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King didn't speak, then turned and followed Xiao Ran.

This was an agreement between it and Xiao Ran: when meeting people, it would generally try to speak as little as possible.

To avoid being discovered that he was a sixth-tier magical beast, since all sixth-tier magical beasts can speak human language, and to prevent causing other trouble.

After Xiao Ran left with the magical beast.

The soldiers at the gate all breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken.

Although the superiors can shift the blame to the temporary workers, if they really anger that unknown powerful figure, will they have a good outcome?

The officer slapped the soldier hard on the head.

"Damn it, you'd better watch your step next time!"

"That's why they don't bother with people like us."

"Yes, boss! I... I was wrong!" the soldier said, crying.

"Remember this in the future: be more polite to anyone whose background you can't tell."

"We're all on fixed salaries; the taxes we pay belong to the city lord, but our lives belong to ourselves. Remember that?"

"yes!"

……

Upon entering the city, Xiao Ran immediately began searching his surroundings.

After asking around, it took about half an hour.

Only then did I arrive at this map shop called "Gutu".

Entering the store,

The interior wasn't very spacious, but the two moonstones illuminated the shop fairly well.

Xiao Ran's gaze swept over the shop, and it indeed matched the cold and aloof demeanor of the Ice Emperor, not at all like a shop.

Behind the counter, an elderly man was carefully making a map with his head down. The man was very old and had a full head of white hair.

Xiao Ran knew that this was the target of his trip: angel investor Binghuang Haibodong.

However, Xiao Ran did not disturb him while he was making the map, and his eyes swept across the map on the counter.

Finally, on a wooden shelf to the side, among a pile of yellowed maps, they found a tattered map about the size of a palm.

Without saying a word, Xiao Ran took it in his hand, turned around and went to the counter to ask,

"Shopkeeper, how much is this map?"

Hai Bodong slightly raised his head, revealing a horrifying scar running from his left cheek to the corner of his eye.

He was slightly taken aback when he saw the map in Xiao Ran's hand.

Have you seen these map fragments before?

Xiao Ran smiled and said, "That doesn't seem to be your concern, sir. How many gold coins does this map cost?"

Hai Bodong glanced at Xiao Ran warily before lowering his head to continue making the map in his hands.

"Not for sale."

Xiao Ran wasn't annoyed by Hai Bodong's attitude, and said with a smile,

"Really? I never thought that the Ice Emperor Haibodong, who was once famous in the Gama Empire, would be hiding in this small map shop."

Hai Bodong's expression changed drastically, and the ink brush he was holding snapped abruptly.

His gaze was fixed on the large patch of ink smeared on the map, and when he looked up, a faint chill lingered in his cloudy eyes.

Who exactly are you?

As he spoke, he lightly tapped a spot on the table with his hand.

The open door slammed shut with a bang.

Immediately, Hai Bodong stared at Xiao Ran with a sharp gaze, and a cold and domineering aura emanated from his body.

Just as the icy aura pressed down on Xiao Ran,

With a loud bang, the door was slammed open by a large claw.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King squeezed its head in with difficulty.

"Bah! Human, why did you lock me out? I'm dying of heat!"

Hai Bodong, who was about to make his move, saw the enormous creature enter and his pupils shrank sharply. His aura instantly vanished, and he said in a trembling voice,

"Purple...Amethyst Winged Lion King?!"

Upon hearing Hai Bodong's voice, the Amethyst Winged Lion King turned its head.

He was immediately delighted.

"Oh ho ho, I didn't expect it to be Xiao Bing. I never thought I'd see you here."

"Hurry! This damn desert is killing me with heat! Quickly unleash your ice-based battle aura and cool me down!"

Hai Bodong looked embarrassed and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

"Lion King, it's been a long time. What brings you here instead of the Monster Mountain Range?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King nodded its head at Xiao Ran.

"I came here with this human, you don't need to worry about me."

Hai Bodong's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at Xiao Ran in astonishment.

He no longer dared to underestimate the young man in front of him, who looked to be only at the Great Dou Master level.

With a solemn expression, he clasped his hands in a respectful fist salute to Xiao Ran.

"Young man, I am Hai Bodong of the Mittel family of the Jiama Empire. May I ask who you are...?"

Xiao Ran smiled and returned the greeting.

"The Xiao family is desolate!"

Xiao Ran's introduction was simple, but it sounded very natural to Hai Bodong.

The simpler it is, the more it reveals the problem, and the more it shows that Xiao Ran is not simple at all.

(End of this chapter)