The Highest Bounty

Lilliath had tried to signal Gu Ding because Malcolm was obviously denying that he knows such a person. This could only mean that he did not want someone else to know that he had imprisoned this person. However, Gu Ding did not hesitate to ask the question, which slightly worried her about Malcolm taking action against them out of anger.

However, Malcolm looked stunned as he asked, “Do you know this person?”

“We don’t, but he is a junior of a friend. Uncle, why did you imprison him?” Gu Ding asked next.

Lilliath was dripping cold sweat over his questioning.

Malcolm looked a little exasperated as he explained this, “That man is a battling maniac. He came looking for me a few months ago when he was Rank 9 Gene Body and issued me a challenge. I agreed since I did not have much to do. I thought it would be no harm to give a junior some pointers. I arranged a guest room for him here after he had lost the fight as an offer of consolation. I had thought he would leave after one night. I never expected him to continue staying here comfortably and issuing me a challenge every few days. I had to chase him out of here since there was nothing else I could do. I never thought he would end up settling down in the dungeon. I’ve had this house for close to a hundred years and if it wasn’t for him, I would have never known there was a dungeon below.”

“I tried chasing him away but that kid must have realized I was not willing to kill him. Every time I took action, he made no attempts to defend himself. I have no choice but to let this go and allow him to stay on. If you have a way to get him out of here, I’ll be willing to give each of you a Golden Combat Armor!”

“Uncle, do you have a lot of Golden Combat Armor? There are four of us who need it,” Combat Armors can only be used by humans. Robert and Tagore would not be able to utilize them, but Gu Ding did not forget about Biggie, who was still lying in the cell repair berth.

“I wouldn’t have enough if you wanted forty of them, but four is no problem at all,” Malcolm had already thought about a meeting gift for Gu Ding when he visited because he was good friends with Roland as Gu Ding had a good relationship with Roland. Moreover, the Golden Combat Armor was only useful to those below demigod level. He would need to give the Golden Combat Armors to someone sooner or later. It just so happened that he gave Gu Ding a mission to get rid of that person.

To be honest, the Golden Combat Armor was quite a generous gift. The market price of a Golden Combat Armor was worth at least eight hundred million Universe Credits, but there was no supply for it. Every time Golden Combat Armor appeared at an auction, it would be auctioned off for no less than one billion and two hundred million Universe Credits because of the level of enhancement of combat effectiveness it provides for those below demigod level, typically around a fifty-time increase. For those who were not demigods, this was an item that was more useful than a demigod item. Gu Ding had been an Interstellar Pirate for around half a year but has yet to hear from Neptune about any Golden Combat Armor being put up for auction. He would have made a mad dash to purchase if there was one available.

“How is Dockett’s combat effectiveness?” Gu Ding quickly thought up a plan on how to get rid of the troublesome Dockett.

“He has the ability of psychokinesis. He was a Rank 9 Gene Body a few months ago, but now he has achieved Rank 12. His combat effectiveness is slightly more powerful than a normal demigod, but his power is limited. He owns a demigod item in the form of a scalpel and has a very special ability. He can transfer his wounds to his enemy, but it would first require him to touch his opponent physically,” Malcolm quickly shared some information about Dockett.

“Uncle, take me to him,” Gu Ding made a rough estimation of his own combat effectiveness. Even though he no longer had the enhancement effects of Ultimate Arts and the Bronze Grade Combat Armor, his basic combat effectiveness had reached one hundred million points. Even without the use of Damage Stacking, with the help of the enhancement effects of his other abilities, he would be able to reach two hundred billion points. If he included the use of Advanced Damage Stacking, his highest combat effectiveness would go up to more than two hundred trillion points. A 1-Star Lower Ranking Deity’s basic combat effectiveness was only at one hundred trillion. Gu Ding also had the martial arts domain, which could suppress his opponent’s combat effectiveness by 90%. Add that on to his current battle effectiveness, he could take down nearly any demigod.

Gu Ding’s plan was quite simple. As long as he was able to suppress Dockett, Dockett would be sure to change targets and go after Gu Ding instead of Malcolm. The only downside about this was the possibility of this guy harassing Gu Ding, but for the sake of the Golden Combat Armors, Gu Ding decided to temporarily sacrifice himself.

“His combat effectiveness is not that low. It would be better for your crew member, Biggie, to take him on,” Malcolm guessed Gu Ding’s thoughts when he heard Gu Ding’s question about Dockett’s combat effectiveness. He had just watched the video of Gu Ding’s huge battle on Red Shield. Although those videos ended after Robert had released his powerful annihilation cannon, the contents at the beginning of the video were enough for many to see the combat effectiveness of Gu Ding’s crew. Malcolm was slightly surprised when Gu Ding appeared in front of him because he had never expected Gu Ding’s crew to be able to escape from the hands of Porti. From the videos, he could tell that Gu Ding’s battle effectiveness was not good enough for him to be going against Dockett.

“Biggie was badly wounded. I’m strong enough to handle this fight,” Gu Ding did not think that Dockett was a threat to him.

“Wounded?” Malcolm frowned slightly. He had seen Porti summon three corpse dummies in the video. It was highly unlikely for Gu Ding’s crew to make a safe retreat from the fight with such a powerful enemy. It was quite impressive for them to be able to escape and only normal that Biggie was wounded.

However, Malcolm did not think Gu Ding could win. “How about this, what if I let you borrow the Golden Combat Armor? You would have a higher chance of winning with it.”

“It’s fine. I would never overestimate my abilities, and I know I can definitely win,” Gu Ding shook his head in disagreement. He knew Malcolm would not believe in his combat effectiveness. The only thing left to do was to prove his ability.

“If you say so. Follow me!” Malcolm did not argue when Gu Ding said that to him.

All three of them followed behind Malcolm and soon came to an entrance at the courtyard, which led them to the dungeon below the palace.

The dungeon space under the palace was surprisingly larger than the surface area of the palace. The dungeon was kept very clean and did not smell at all. Duke Malcolm must have cleaned it up during his free time.

The four of them walked into the deepest part of the dungeon and saw a young man sleeping with his feet up on the stone bed. It looked like he was sleeping and it would seem so if he was not shaking his legs. It was obvious that he was not asleep.

The young man immediately sat up when he heard footsteps coming nearer, and it sounded like there was more than one person. There were several scalpels hidden in the sleeve of his robe, all prepared to spring into action.

He relaxed slightly when he saw Malcolm in the front, although he was still cautious. He asked, “Who are all these people?”

“Hi Dockett, I’m Gu Ding,” Gu Ding took off his mask as he greeted him.

Even though he stayed in the dungeon, Dockett did not forget to update himself on the latest news. “I know who you are. You’re the Interstellar Pirate who made a mess on Red Shield. You even had a drink with Grand Duke Roland before. I have a question, how did you make your escape? That lady from the Dark Sectors was quite something. She didn’t die instantly at the hands of that robot from your crew, did she? The Skynet’s video only showed the robot making his move, and all surveillance videos after that were blinded. However, most of the locals said that you were transported into her domain. If that was the case, there wouldn’t be a high chance of all of you escaping, would there?”

“We did get pulled into her domain, but we killed her and made our escape,” Gu Ding was not planning on delving into the finer details.

Dockett did not believe Gu Ding’s answer at all. However, Malcolm was surprised. There were only three people left on Gu Ding’s crew. This was enough to inform him that it had been a horrible battle. He quickly stopped Dockett from continuing his questioning. “Gu Ding, you should tell him what you are here for.”

“We met your senior Orm in the Border River and he informed us of your ability. We have two crew members who are heavily wounded and we hope that you would be able to treat them using your ability,” Gu Ding informed him of their reason here.

“You met my senior? How is he doing now?” Dockett quickly asked when he heard Gu Ding mention Orm.

“He is now a spiritual healer at a temple in Tampa and helps treat illnesses. Didn’t he call you on your communicator? We found your number and passed it to him. He asked us to relay some news but we thought it would be inappropriate for us to do and requested that he tell you personally through your communicators.”

“We haven’t seen each other for six years and I have never received any message nor calls from him. What news could he have for me?” Dockett was curious.

“He said your master has fallen,” even though Gu Ding felt that news of this nature should not be told from an outsider such as himself, he also thought that the truth should not be delayed.

“The old man is dead?” Dockett did not look sad at all, but he did look surprised, and at the same time, it looked like he had expected this news.

“My condolences,” Even though Gu Ding did not really understand why Dockett did not react emotionally to the news, he proceeded to console Dockett.

“Actually, my senior and I have expected this. His life had long come near the end and it was about time he would have fallen. It is considered a release for him and not necessarily a bad thing. Where are your wounded crew members? Take me to them,” Dockett provided a reason for his lack of emotion.

“They are at the harbor. I didn’t bring them along. We would like you to come with us,” Gu Ding did not plan to waste any more time.

“I’ll tag along with you,” Malcolm offered as he had free time and wanted to see how badly Biggie and the others were wounded.