Gloomy Mountain Range

"Master Saine, all we need to do is cross this mountain range to enter the border region of the Lisia Alliance." In the evening camp, mercenary leader Haishan pointed to the dark, twilight-shrouded Gloomy Mountain Range in the distance and said.

A month has passed since Saine and his group left Clark City.

Because they were carrying a batch of supplies and some non-combat personnel, their travel speed was slower than when Saine was traveling alone.

Saine refers to himself as an Intermediate Magic Apprentice to Haishan, the leader of the mercenary group.

After demonstrating his Fire Wall to the mercenary leader, Haishan immediately recruited him into the group.

The reason why Haishan is so respectful and enthusiastic towards Saine is because Saine wants to keep this powerful Mage in the mercenary group for a long time.

In Clark City, every mercenary group with Mage is a large mercenary group with a certain reputation.

This Intermediate Squire, Haishan, is somewhat ambitious. It is said that his ancestors were nobles, and the Battle Qi techniques he personally teaches in the mercenary group seem to have been passed down from his ancestors.

However, Saine remained extremely indifferent to Haishan's deliberate attempts to win him over.

Earning Gold Coin within a mercenary group, or even risking his life to obtain one or two noble titles in the future, was not what Saine was after.

He also discovered that the Knight were indeed very different from the magic apprentices.

Back in City of Peterte, Frank, Intermediate Apprentice, discovered Sain's Advanced Apprentice level shortly after Saine conversation.

But even though Haishan clearly possessed the strength of a mid-level Knight Attendant, she failed to notice that Saine was even stronger, assuming that Saine, as he had introduced himself, was merely a Intermediate Apprentice.

Saine judged that this difference was mostly related to the difference in Mental Strength between magic apprentices and Knight Attendant.

Apprentice magicians with higher Mental Strength can keenly judge the approximate Mental Strength strength of other apprentices and compare it with their own.

Of course, it's not to say that the Knight didn't have ways to assess the strength of their opponents.

When the Knight grow to a certain level, their Mental Strength will naturally transform to a certain intensity.

Prior to this, some Knight Attendant with rich combat experience or who had gone through countless life-and-death trials could judge the strength of their opponents by intuition and a sense of danger.

But clearly, our mercenary leader Haishan, does not have that ability.

This was merely a Intermediate Squire with a bit of drive, but also cautious in his actions.

If they were truly ruthless individuals, they would dare to venture into the heart of the battlefields of the Sifa Kingdom and the Ok Empire to carry out mercenary missions, even if the opponent only possessed the strength of a low-ranking Knight Attendant.

Instead of, like Haishan, simply leading her mercenary group to the Lisia Alliance on a supply transport mission.

The Gloomy Mountain Range that Haishan pointed out were the last hurdle for Saine to overcome before leaving the Underdark.

Similarly, this was the most dangerous area they passed through on their way to the Lisia Alliance.

That Gloomy Mountain Range, also known as the Magical Beast Mountain Range, has served as a natural barrier for the borders of the Lisia Alliance over the years.

Even a powerful empire like the Ok Empire never considered crossing that mountain range to attack the Lisia Alliance.

It is said that there are Level Magical Beast in the mountains, far exceeding the strength of ordinary people, but no one has ever seen them.

However, mercenary leader Haishan led her team to the Lisia Alliance several times, and she said that there were indeed powerful magical beasts inhabiting the mountains.

The strongest magical beast he had ever seen was the Jade-Eyed Crystal Monkey, which had reached the level of a high-level magical beast.

Once they cross the Gloomy Mountain Range, the danger of this mercenary mission will be reduced by about 70%.

After a night of rest, the mercenary group set off to cross the Gloomy Mountain Range.

At this time, there were about thirty people in the mercenary group. In addition to Saine and the other mercenaries, there were nearly ten people who were the employer and his private team.

The employer was an old man with a goatee who was said to have some connections in the Lichia Alliance, which was why he came to Clark City to trade grain and ironware.

Once he sells it to the Lisia Alliance, he'll make a fortune.

The old employer was quite capable; his private entourage included two Intermediate Squire, four low-level attendants, and even a Low-Level Magic Apprentice as an advisor.

Based on the strength this old man has demonstrated, he is already on par with Haishan's mercenary group.

As a Advanced Apprentice and alchemist, Saine also discovered a unique elemental rhythm in the old man that resembled a Low-Level Magic Item.

"Master Saine, we'll be relying on you Dodo for this journey through the Gloomy Mountain Range," the old man with the goatee said respectfully to Saine before setting off.

With that Low-Level Magic Apprentice as an advisor, the old man knew that the man before him, Saine, was not as simple as the Intermediate Apprentice he claimed to be.

Faced with the old man's compliment, Saine simply hummed in response without offering much reply.

The Gloomy Mountain Range were indeed the most dangerous area on their journey to the Lisia Alliance. On the very first day they entered the mountains, one member of the mercenary group was killed.

This guy wasn't killed by a monster attack, but accidentally stepped on a special plant with barbs in the forest. Because he discovered it too late, he died from poisoning.

"It's Bailang Flower! Damn it, I already told them to be careful, but people still fell for it!" Mercenary leader Haishan cursed, his men were the ones who died.

Although he was an ordinary member who did not possess Battle Qi, after his death, according to custom and the contract he signed before joining the group, Haishan had to provide compensation to the family of the deceased.

Saine didn't pay much attention to the dead ordinary man; he only managed to collect a few drops of translucent liquid from the man's blackened soles as a specimen.

Given the vastness of the Gloomy Mountain Range and the speed at which they were moving, it would take them at least five days to get out of here.

The first and last days are generally safe, but the middle three days are dangerous because of the location Gloomy Mountain Range.

On the second day after entering the mountains, Saine released Owl Qi.

The appearance of Owl Qi deepened the respect and awe that the mercenaries held for Saine.

Especially after realizing that this was a powerful magical beast, mercenary leader Haishan no longer mentioned the idea of recruiting Saine into the group.

Their small mercenary group couldn't accommodate such a powerful figure.

However, after the regret, joy followed immediately.

The stronger Saine appears, the lower the cost for them to cross the Gloomy Mountain Range.

"So, Qi, have you found any powerful magical beasts inhabiting this area?" Saine asked the owl circling in the sky.

At this moment, Qi's brown eyes looked towards the west of the Gloomy Mountain Range, an area that Saine and the others had never been to.

"There are magical beasts that are no weaker than me in the east and west, especially in the west, where it seems that even stronger magical beasts inhabit," Qi replied.

If Qi is stronger than Quasi-Level Magical Beast, then it is naturally Level Magical Beast comparable to Formal Magician or a formal Knight.

I never expected that the Gloomy Mountain Range would even have such powerful creatures.