The Flame Mercenary Group's headquarters.
Huo Lie waved for his men to take the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's people away.
Later, they would join forces with the other Mercenary Groups in Fire Wolf Town and negotiate with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Huo Lie walked over to a chair and sat down, his gaze settling on the pool of blood Liu Hu had left behind.
The Fluffy-haired Man walked up beside Huo Lie and said with a smile,
"Regiment Commander, I thought you'd try to recruit A-Liu."
"He... isn't a good fit."
Huo Lie hesitated, then replied.
The man asked curiously, "Is it because A-Liu saw what you were getting at, but still insisted on killing that man?"
Huo Lie shook his head. "That's only a minor reason. If he joined the Mercenary Group, I'm confident I could bring him around."
"The most important reason is his strength. Although he performed that Dou Skill quite convincingly, the realm he revealed when he unleashed it was only One Star Dou Practitioner."
"He's over twenty and has only just managed to break through to One Star Dou Practitioner. He may be brave and resourceful, but he's ultimately not suited to a Mercenary Group. After all, a mercenary's strength is what matters most."
Strength!
Lin Ze understood the makeup of his own strength: one part was his personal strength, and the other was his Death Soldiers.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, taking stock of his remaining Death Soldiers.
22 White Common Death Soldiers, 1 Blue Rare Death Soldier.
It was worth noting that, aside from the three Death Soldiers who had perished during the Wolf Pack's attack,
some of the others had also been injured.
Death Soldiers were different from ordinary people and could recover through Flesh Essence.
Lin Ze felt that unless an injury was severe enough to cause a limb to be severed,
ordinary wounds could be healed as long as the Death Soldiers had enough Flesh Essence.
For instance, when Death Soldiers had used Proxy State to the limit earlier, they had injured themselves internally.
Internal injuries like those were harder to treat than external ones, but for Death Soldiers, Flesh Essence was all they needed to recover.
In a way, the Death Soldiers' special nature had saved Lin Ze a fortune on healing medicine.
Because of the Wolf Pack's attack, he had gained only a dozen or so units of Flesh Essence today.
Looking at the day's haul, Lin Ze couldn't help shaking his head.
"In a Mystical World like this, any random mishap can throw my plans for growth into disarray."
Lin Ze was quite troubled by that, and he was actively looking for a better place to grow.
For example... Jia Nan Academy!
Compared to a small town on the edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Jia Nan Academy was clearly much safer.
Jia Nan Academy might be located in the Black-Corner Region, a notoriously dangerous place, which made it seem like a risky choice.
But if Jia Nan Academy brought out all its resources, it could turn every major and hidden faction in the Black-Corner Region into a pack of idiots beating each other senseless!
With Elder Qian and Elder Bai guarding it, Jia Nan Academy counted as a safe haven across the entire Northwest Continent.
Even if a Dou Venerate-level expert attacked, Jia Nan Academy could still call for backup.
A Half-Saint expert—Mang Tianchi!
Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, Lin Ze could hardly find any other faction as reassuringly safe with such low entry requirements.
"Looks like I'll need to gather information about Jia Nan Academy next and find out when they're holding their entrance exams."
"Given my age and strength, meeting Jia Nan Academy's admission requirements should be easy."
"Once I join, I can spend a few years in the Outer Academy, then a few more in the Inner Academy. With the help of the Bronze Mirror, I'll definitely be able to protect myself by the time I graduate!"
As Lin Ze made his long-term plans, the early hours of the morning quietly arrived.
"Bronze Mirror, reflect!"
The Bronze Mirror flashed, and four hazy white figures appeared on its surface.
A hint of disappointment showed in Lin Ze's eyes. It seemed that getting a rare one on his first try last time really had just been a stroke of luck.
But then Lin Ze took a closer look at the words on the Bronze Mirror and noticed something interesting.
The odds of reflecting a Blue Rare Death Soldier had risen from 1% to 5%!
Seeing this unusual change, Lin Ze's thoughts raced, and he quickly understood why.
"So that's it. Reflecting also has a special pity system?"
"Each time I reflect, the odds go up by 1%, and they only reset to normal once I reflect a Blue Rare Death Soldier."
"So the odds are dynamic!"
"But with this pity system, even if my luck is impossibly bad, after reflecting ninety-nine White Common Death Soldiers, I'm guaranteed to get a Blue Rare Death Soldier!"
Once he understood what had happened, Lin Ze suddenly realized that yesterday's result hadn't been a lucky first try after all.
He had reflected ordinary Death Soldiers three times first, raising the odds to 4%, and only then had he drawn a Blue Rare Death Soldier.
That made getting a Blue Rare Death Soldier much easier.
After all, compared with White Common Death Soldiers, Blue Rare Death Soldiers were far stronger. They had not only skills but also talents.
There was another effect Lin Ze had yet to confirm: whether their Cultivation Talent was also better.
It was just that the Blue Rare Death Soldiers had been cultivating for too little time to tell.
At this point, Lin Ze had twenty-seven Death Soldiers at his disposal.
"I should send a few people to keep an eye on the Flame Mercenary Group and see how they negotiate with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group."
"Fortunately, the Death Soldiers are absolutely loyal, and the ones I've just summoned have never shown their faces in Fire Wolf Town. They can pretend to be newcomers looking for work here."
Lin Ze didn't fully trust what Regiment Commander Huo Lie of the Flame Mercenary Group had said.
From beginning to end, Huo Lie had never directly addressed what Liu Hu had said earlier about the Fire Wolf King Cub.
He'd sidestepped the issue.
That meant Huo Lie was still leaving out details.
The first time Huo Lie left out details, he'd managed to shift all the blame away from the Flame Mercenary Group.
So what was he trying to hide by leaving out details a second time?
Still, based on the information Lin Ze had gathered earlier, he could make a rough guess.
Since this generation of Fire Wolf Kings had mutated and gained greater powers of command,
could he infer that the Fire Wolf King's cub had the same ability?
If so, the Flame Mercenary Group had obtained the Fire Wolf King Cub and successfully tamed it. By taking advantage of its power to command, they could control a great many Fire Wolves at minimal cost.
As enemies, vast numbers of Fire Wolves were something everyone avoided at all costs.
But as subordinates, they would be highly coveted by the Mercenary Groups in Fire Wolf Town.
Thinking of this, Lin Ze couldn't help shaking his head.
Huo Lie really was a shrewd man.
If things went as he'd claimed, the Flame Mercenary Group had seized the Fire Wolf King Cub and gained the greatest benefit.
Yet the major Mercenary Groups in Fire Wolf Town would share the risks.
On top of that, the Flame Mercenary Group could claim the moral high ground for helping Fire Wolf Town eliminate the menace of the Fire Wolf King, and even earn the praise of most of the town's mercenaries.
If things played out that way, the Flame Mercenary Group would have gained the Fire Wolf King Cub, and its future would be bright.
The ordinary mercenaries in Fire Wolf Town would be rid of the enormous threat posed by the Fire Wolf King and could enjoy a long period of peace.
Only the other major Mercenary Groups would suffer. They wouldn't get the greatest benefit, yet they'd still have to shoulder enormous risks.
Thinking of this, Lin Ze couldn't help thinking to himself:
If I have to deal with the Flame Mercenary Group in the future, I'll need to be extra cautious.
Before you continue