What Happened?

At Lin Ze's confident words, the entire tavern fell silent.

Everyone turned to look at Lin Ze.

Their eyes held curiosity, doubt, and anger.

The burly middle-aged man had seen what happened. His brows furrowed slightly, and after a moment's thought, he said,

"Brother, I'd like to hear the details. Would you come with me to an upstairs private room?"

Lin Ze blinked his slightly drunken eyes and studied the burly middle-aged man carefully.

"Who are you?"

The middle-aged man smiled faintly. A man with extremely fluffy hair stepped forward from behind him and said in a rumbling voice,

"We're the Flame Mercenary Group. This is our commander, Huo Lie."

Lin Ze gave the middle-aged man a long look, then nodded.

"Sure."

The middle-aged man was somewhat surprised by Lin Ze's unruffled attitude.

He wondered whether it was the alcohol or something else.

With the entire tavern watching, the group went upstairs to a private room.

Once inside, Lin Ze poured himself a glass of water, wet his throat, and slowly recounted what he had seen through the Death Soldiers.

After hearing him out, a young man with a youthful face from the Flame Mercenary Group slammed his fist on the table.

"Damn it! Were the Wolf Head Mercenary Group really the ones who sabotaged our mission this time?!"

At the young man's words, Lin Ze's thoughts stirred.

It seemed the Flame Mercenary Group's mission had also targeted the Fire Wolf Pack.

A few days ago, he had noticed that the Mercenary Groups in Fire Wolf Town were very active. Those people were evidently from the Flame Mercenary Group.

Huo Lie, who stood at their head, frowned.

After a long silence, Huo Lie fixed his sharp gaze on Lin Ze.

"Brother, leaving aside whether this is true or not, even if it is, you must have your own reasons for telling us, don't you?"

Lin Ze nodded without hesitation.

Hatred showed in his eyes.

"Of course. In that attack by the Wolf Pack, I lost three of my brothers!"

"If I had the means to take revenge, I'd have gone straight to their doorstep already!"

Lin Ze had lost three Death Soldiers this time—three men absolutely loyal to him.

It pained him terribly.

He was determined to kill the people from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

That genuine emotion made the members of the Flame Mercenary Group in the room look at him with new respect.

The sharpness in Huo Lie's eyes softened as well.

He found Lin Ze quite admirable: brave and resourceful, loyal and true to his friends.

His brothers had died because of the Fire Wolf Pack, yet he hadn't rushed blindly into revenge.

Instead, he'd spread the news in a tavern, drawing in people capable of dealing with the situation.

That took both intelligence and courage.

And the lengths he'd gone to for his brothers were proof enough that he was brave, resourceful, and loyal.

Huo Lie glanced at the Fluffy-haired Man. The man immediately understood and stepped forward, snarling in his deep voice,

"So you were planning to use us?!"

The Fluffy-haired Man put on a fierce expression. Years of fighting Magical Beasts had naturally given him a formidable air.

An ordinary person would probably have trembled in fear at the sight.

Lin Ze didn't care in the slightest. Not long ago, he had experienced the feeling of being on the brink of death through one of his Death Soldiers.

To Lin Ze, the man's fierce presence was no more than a gentle breeze.

"That's right. I did intend to use you. But from what you said earlier, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group probably sabotaged your mission too."

"Without me, your mission would have failed for no clear reason, while the Wolf Head Mercenary Group stayed perfectly hidden behind the scenes."

"The people of Fire Wolf Town would have suffered heavy losses, and your Mercenary Group's mission would have failed."

"In the end, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group would have walked away unscathed, the only ones to profit from the whole affair!"

"Surely that's not something you'd want to see?"

Lin Ze's words only deepened the admiration in Huo Lie's eyes.

In just a few sentences, he had tied his own interests to those of the Flame Mercenary Group.

"So it seems we're of one mind, Brother."

"You want to borrow our strength to get revenge, and we want to use your information to strike back at the Wolf Head Mercenary Group!"

Lin Ze had watched the two men's words and actions closely and understood what was going on. One was playing the good cop, the other the bad cop.

But Lin Ze didn't mind. As long as he achieved his goal, that was enough.

"Exactly!"

"Then tell us what you know, Brother. We'll need to catch them in the act before we can confirm whether the Wolf Head Mercenary Group was behind it!"

Lin Ze had no objection and shared all the information his Death Soldiers had gathered.

Huo Lie thought for a moment, then looked at the young man who had first slammed the table.

"Xiao Fei, take the brothers and look into it. Question them thoroughly."

He put extra emphasis on the word "thoroughly."

The young man named Xiao Fei nodded excitedly.

"Got it, Commander!"

After Xiao Fei left, Huo Lie turned to Lin Ze with a smile.

"To be honest, our Flame Mercenary Group was planning to go after the Fire Wolf King."

"Once we take out the king, the Wolf Pack will be leaderless, and Fire Wolf Town will enjoy a period of relative peace."

"Unfortunately, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group sabotaged us halfway through, and all our efforts came to nothing."

Lin Ze listened, nodding repeatedly, then gave him a thumbs-up.

"The Flame Mercenary Group is doing great work. Thanks to you, us mercenaries trying to make a living in Fire Wolf Town have fewer dangers to worry about."

The Death Soldier wore an expression of wholehearted admiration.

The members of the Flame Mercenary Group relaxed at his praise, and some even began to smile.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the town,

Lin Ze's true body sat cross-legged on the bed, listening to the Flame Mercenary Group Commander's words. He shook his head slightly.

He sure knew how to make things sound good.

But mercenaries rarely did anything without expecting a reward.

The Flame Mercenary Group had spent several days working tirelessly, even taking huge risks to eliminate the Fire Wolf King, supposedly just to make Fire Wolf Town safer.

When you heard something like that, you could smile.

How much of it you actually believed was another matter.

If they really were doing it for the whole town, the Garrison Guard of the Jia Ma Empire would have taken the lead. At the very least, the other Mercenary Groups in Fire Wolf Town would surely have joined in.

Lin Ze knew that Fire Wolf Town, like Qingshan Town, was home to several competing Mercenary Groups. No single group dominated.

In that situation, if he were in the Flame Mercenary Group's shoes, why would he fight and bleed only to share the spoils with every other Mercenary Group?

At the very least, he would have brought the other groups along, so they could share the risks.

So Lin Ze judged that the Flame Mercenary Group's mission against the Fire Wolf Pack must have had some additional benefit.

Perhaps there was a ruin in the Fire Wolf Pack's den. Or perhaps the Fire Wolf King had killed an important member of the Flame Mercenary Group.

There were too many possibilities.

Among mercenaries, treasure hunting and revenge were the most common motives.

But Lin Ze didn't particularly care what the Flame Mercenary Group was after.

He only wanted those few members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group to pay the price.

As for the Flame Mercenary Group having ulterior motives toward him?

Lin Ze wasn't worried in the slightest. From beginning to end, it was the Death Soldiers who had dealt with the Flame Mercenary Group.

Lin Ze had remained perfectly hidden behind the scenes.