Chapter 153: Chapter 152: The Stir Over Changing Cabins
Richard walked to the door and opened it, expecting Gro to be knocking, but was surprised to find an unfamiliar figure—a bulky man.
Among the fifty or so people who had followed the wooden boat, he was a well-built young man, barely seventeen or eighteen years old, yet nearly two meters tall. They had not interacted much during the voyage, but through conversations with others, Richard had picked up some information about him.
His name was Tyson, a Noble who had boarded the boat at Keya City after Cuijin City through an Examination Exemption Certificate. He had a bit of a temper and had been causing trouble since boarding, but nothing too excessive, so Siv hadn’t dealt with him.
So why was he knocking on the door?
Looking at him, Richard noticed that Tyson didn’t seem inclined to explain his purpose and was instead inspecting the cabin with interest. The next moment, he brazenly walked in uninvited.
Touching the cabin wall, Tyson let out a “huh” and then turned around to introduce himself, “I’m Tyson.” After delivering this lone introduction, he deliberately flexed his broad shoulders and powerful arms.
“And?” Richard asked with a glint in his eye.
“I like your cabin, let’s swap. Mine’s too damp, I’m not used to it,” Tyson said. He phrased it like a request but his tone was commanding.
“Hah!” laughed Richard.
Although he had guessed something might happen based on Tyson’s previous behavior, he hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. This certainly indicated that Tyson was very confident about his success.
“What, you don’t agree?” Seeing Richard’s continuous laughter but no response, Tyson frowned and again flaunted his broad shoulders and sturdy arms. No threatening words were spoken, but the intimidation was exceedingly clear.
Richard’s eyebrows raised slightly.
Sometimes, with clever and rational people, one can reason. But with foolish people, simpler methods are often best.
Tyson’s request to exchange cabins wasn’t really an issue. The problem was, if Richard agreed, there was no guarantee that Tyson wouldn’t make more demands later on.
But refusing could inevitably lead to conflict. If not handled well, that could attract the attention of the White Stone Tower. After all, it wasn’t certain that every visit would be from Luther.
So… what about killing Tyson outright?
Nevermind, perhaps leaving him half-dead would be better?
Richard squinted at Tyson, who issued an ultimatum, “Kid, give it to me straight. Do you agree or not?”
“Come here,” Richard said.
“Huh? What for?” Tyson stood still, glaring at Richard, obviously unwilling to accommodate him, “Kid, don’t play any tricks with me!”
“Heh, you won’t come here? Well, alright, if you won’t come, then I’ll come to you,” Richard said softly, stepping toward Tyson.
Tyson’s face showed wariness as he watched Richard approach, instinctively reaching out to block him, only to be forcefully grabbed and twisted by Richard.
Tyson’s eyes widened, exclaiming, “Kid, what are you trying to do, what trick are you playing?”
Richard ignored him and followed up with a fierce kick to his lower abdomen. Tyson’s eyes bulged, his body bending like a shrimp. His mouth opened, about to scream.
But the scream never came out. Richard, quick as lightning, struck again, seizing Tyson’s throat and locking all of his sounds deep in his throat like a clamp.
The other party’s temples bulged, blue veins emerged fiercely, struggling desperately to break free from Richard’s grip.
But at that moment, empowered by “Wind Force,” Richard’s hand seemed to possess infinite strength, and no matter how the other struggled, he still firmly choked the opponent’s neck.
The opponent’s face turned crimson, his eyes bloodshot and a deep red due to the inability to breathe, looking terribly frightening. The rest of his body started to weaken, his nearly two-meter-tall frame inching down until he finally collapsed on the floor with a “thump,” beginning to convulse.
“Nine, eight, seven…”
“Three, two, one.” Richard silently counted down in his heart, and just before the other was about to suffocate to death, he released his hand.
The opponent collapsed to the ground with a “bang,” his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air.
Richard watched quietly and spoke, “How about that, fun isn’t it? Do you enjoy this kind of game?”
“I… gurgle gurgle…” The opponent made weird noises from his throat, too weak to respond to Richard, simply greedily breathing in the air, continuously gasping.
A good while later, Tyson finally regained some strength and prepared to stand up, but the next moment he saw Richard’s hand descending once again.
Panicked, Tyson tried to dodge, but he couldn’t escape.
“Slap!” Richard’s hand once again seized Tyson’s neck.
Tyson hit Richard’s arm fiercely, Richard remained expressionless.
Tyson’s slapping strength quickly waned, and he began to convulse all over even sooner than before, his eyes rolling back.
Richard continued to calculate the time in his heart, then he let go.
“Huff puff! Huff puff! Huff puff!”
Tyson’s lungs made noises like a bellows being pumped, as he struggled to breathe, looking at Richard with terror in his eyes.
But Richard didn’t choose to let his opponent go. A few seconds later, before the other could even out his breath, Richard’s hand descended for the third time, choking his neck. This time, the opponent couldn’t even put up a fight, only despair and pleading showed in his eyes.
Richard did not relent, continuing to tighten his grip around the neck.
Tyson found it immensely difficult to breathe, the last bit of air in his body depleted, his vision darkened, unable to move at all, on the brink of death.
Suddenly, the hand on his neck loosened, and he came back to “life.”
“Huh huh huh,” Tyson breathed, desperately gasping for air, knowing that a hand would soon choke his neck again, tormenting him.
But this time, Richard did not strike, just squatted next to Tyson and said, “If you think this is fun, I can keep playing with you. Of course, if you don’t find it amusing, then never appear before my eyes again, and also don’t let me hear any displeasing words. If you agree, then say ‘okay.’ If you don’t agree…”
“Okay… okay… okay…” Tyson managed to utter.
“Very good,” Richard said. “Now I’ll give you ten seconds to disappear from this cabin, remember not to appear before me again.”
“Yes… yes…” Tyson struggled to get up, staggers out in a panic, thinking that today he had hit the worst luck possible, to dare and swap cabins with a Demon? Hell!
As he watched Tyson leave, Richard shook his head expressionlessly.