Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 744

Chapter 744: 744

There was some disapproval in the mercenary’s eyes despite his verbal deference . The neutral lands were filled with hidden talents, and there were countless among these assassins and mercenaries who possessed combat strength exceeding their cultivation . There were even some special abilities that could erupt with extreme power in special environments .

How could one kill off all these people? Even if Qianye was a fierce tiger, how could he withstand the onslaught of a wolf pack? This mercenary and his team didn’t count for anything in the neutral lands .

Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to say this out aloud . The most important thing at the moment was to escape with his life . He might even get the five thousand gold coins since Qianye wanted him to spread the message anyway .

He clambered up slowly . He saw that Qianye had no intention of attacking and was just about to leave when Nighteye said, “Wait, take off your clothes . ”

The mercenary trembled, and then said in an evidently panicked voice, “T-This isn’t too appropriate, is it?”

Nighteye’s expression turned cold . “You don’t need to leave anymore if you keep pretending . Any other person can send this message!”

The mercenary discarded any thoughts of getting through by a fluke and took off his combat attire . There was a look of pain on his face as he handed his clothes to Nighteye .

“What function does this suit have? Why does it enable you to move through the Black Grove?”

The mercenary replied honestly, “This is a product of Alloy Labs, capable of isolating the natives’ perception . Those who wear it won’t attract the forest’s attention as long as we don’t cause any damage . Such a suit costs three thousand gold coins at the very least, and is the only reason why our group dares to operate in the forest . ”

At this point, he glanced at Qianye with an odd expression .

Noticing the change, Qianye asked, “What are you thinking?”

“Uh, y-you two caused quite a bit of destruction during the battle . Why didn’t the forest react at all? Don’t tell me you’re natives?” After saying this, the mercenary shook his head . “Impossible, natives won’t destroy the Black Grove and will even protect it at all costs . ”

Qianye picked up a piece of burning wood and passed it to the mercenary . “Look . ”

The mercenary sniffed the item and said in astonishment, “It’s wood from the Black Grove!”

He glanced over at the burning estate and suddenly thought of a possibility . “You mean the entire place was built from this wood?”

Qianye didn’t reply to the man’s question . “What’s your name?”

“Rockwell, known as Black Mosquito in the mercenary world . ”

Qianye patted the man’s shoulder, saying, “When you go back, I’m sure you’ll know what you should and should not say . ”

Rockwell left slowly and only hastened his steps after he was certain the two weren’t chasing after him . He thought back to Qianye’s words—there wasn’t any threat in them, but he could still feel a chill run down his spine . He knew he might have to spend the rest of his life in hiding if he were to speak too much after going back . Otherwise, he would likely lose his head someday .

Nighteye patted Zhuji . “Go, remove their combat robes . ”

The little girl pouted . “Why don’t you go? Why must I do all the tedious stuff? I’m still young!”

Nighteye broke into a laugh . She knocked the girl’s head lightly and said, “Then what kind of job do you think is easy?”

Zhuji’s eyes lit up . “Fighting! I want to beat up people who can talk!”

“Off to work you go, I’ll let you fight next time . ” Nighteye coaxed the girl off to work like she would a kid .

Qianye shook his head . “It looks like we have to let her join the next battle . ”

“She’s still young!” Nighteye wasn’t quite satisfied .

“She’ll join secretly even if we don’t let her . Do you think she’ll watch obediently from the side? She’ll definitely remember your words . ”

“Ah, this…” Nighteye didn’t know what to say . In the end, she said, “Kids these days…”

Qianye chuckled . “You must’ve been pretty disobedient when you were a kid . ”

“No way! I’ve always been a lady!”

The Monroe princess, with her Eye of Destruction, was the incarnation of slaughter itself . After reaching the duke rank in the future, or even higher, her combat strength would be head and shoulders above the other major characters . Such a person was actually calling herself lady-like?

“Stop reading useless books in the future,” Qianye chided .

“Fine!” Nighteye replied with a harmless-looking smile .

Qianye had no way to deal with her . He went over to collect the spoils from the three enemies and began studying the unusual combat robes . These robes were weaved from special materials and constantly emitted a mellow fragrance that wasn’t easily discernible . Qianye discovered that this smell was similar to the core of the trees in the forest . That was probably the reason why the natives would overlook those wearing such clothes, thinking they were part of the forest .

The remainder were gold coins, munitions, and supplies—there was nothing special about them . Qianye and Nighteye had no use for these combat robes, but they would make for a small fortune when sold . The profits from dealing with this small mercenary band were quite good . Fighting and robbing was indeed the fastest way to fortune .

After organizing the spoils, Nighteye asked, “What’s the next step?”

Zhuji was also looking intently at Qianye and there was ample reason for this . The next battle would be her first formal battle . To this little fellow, it was almost like a coming of age ceremony and proof that she was now a qualified warrior .

Qianye brought out a map and studied it for quite some time . Yet, he still couldn’t form a plan .

They knew little about these desolate lands beyond the area around the small town . What they knew about the Wolf King and neutral lands came from the residents of the town and the Xue Brothers . They knew little apart from that . Although they had found some maps on the mercenaries, one could imagine the difficulty of forming an operation plan based on unfamiliar geography and names .

Qianye was somewhat regretful at this point . He should’ve kept Rockwell around and asked him about the surrounding lands .

Nighteye drew her finger across the map, saying, “Let’s walk along the outer rim of the Black Grove toward the northwest . Since those mercenaries are rushing over, there’ll be a sequence to their arrival . That’ll make it easy for us to destroy them one after the other . ”

Qianye pondered for a moment . “How do we know if they’re here for us or not?”

Nighteye said indifferently, “The Wolf King has already turned this area into a no-man’s land . Why else would assassins and adventurers come here? All we’ll meet here are the Wolf King’s forces and mercenaries who want our lives . We can’t be wrong in killing them . ”

Qianye nodded .

Nighteye looked at him and said, “I thought you’d stop me because we might meet some unfortunate bloke who’s just stumbled into the area!”

Qianye replied, “It’s as you said . It’s their misfortune to have stumbled in . Getting killed is also their misfortune . ”

“That’s a bit unlike you . ”

“All those who want our lives will say it’s a misunderstanding after falling into our hands . I won’t risk putting you in danger for this so-called kindness . ”

Nighteye’s gaze landed on the map, almost as though she didn’t dare look at Qianye . “Then, let’s set out . ”

The quiet forest suddenly became quite clamorous as rumbling explosions and gunshots echoed from time to time .

Three faintly discernible figures were advancing slowly along the border of the Black Grove . They moved at a certain distance from one another but remained close enough to help each other out at the critical juncture . Apparently, it was a tacit understanding that had been born through countless battles .

The man at the front formed a sudden gesture . The three men halted their steps at the same time and retracted their auras, leaving only faint hazy shadows . The leader remained in concealment for a moment before moving slowly toward the border of the forest . There, under the cover of an ancient tree, he poked his head out to observe .

Upon looking, his aura was immediately thrown into chaos and his figure became much clearer than before .

The two companions were astonished and immediately assumed a combat stance . On the battlefield, a brief moment of carelessness could produce extremely serious consequences .

Fortunately, nothing happened, and the leader managed to contract his aura once more after that short lapse in control . He gestured at the other two to come and see .

The two arrived at the forest borders and hid behind the tree before looking out, exercising the utmost caution under all circumstances .

Despite being prepared, they almost lost their composure at the sight .

On a hill outside of the forest, there were dozens of wooden stakes with a corpse each hanging from it . These people were uniformly equipped and likely belonged to a single organization . It was the insignia on their attire that shook the three .

They retreated into the depths of the forest and gathered around a tree . There, they brought out a writing board each and began communicating rapidly .

“It’s the Predator Mercenary Corps!”

“Right, I saw their leader’s corpse . ”

“Judging from the number of corpses, it seems they were completely wiped out here . ”

“Are they here for the bounty?”

“Why else would anyone come here?”

“That means they probably died to the targets . ”

“Very likely . By putting them on display like this, are the targets trying to warn the other hunters or provoke the Wolf King?”

“Both, I guess . Someone who dared to kill Gary won’t put the Wolf King in his eyes . ”

“We need to reassess the risks involved . ”

“My opinion is to retreat . ”

“I agree . ”

“Agreed . ”

After coming to a consensus, the three put away their writing boards . Their figures gradually faded as they made to re-enter stealth and leave this dangerous forest .

Unexpectedly, a voice rang out beside their ears at the same time . “I don’t agree . ”

Shocked, the three looked over at the same time and saw Qianye standing not so far away, staring at them with a spurious smile . That gun in his hand filled their hearts with fear and trepidation .