The mercenaries of the Flame Mercenary Group watched the odd-job workers celebrating their new leather armor. They sneered inwardly, but also felt a trace of pity.
How many of these people would make it back alive today?
Of course, the most likely outcome was that none of them would.
In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, inexperienced mercenaries like these were always the first to die.
Some of the regular mercenaries even suspected that one or two of the workers would be lost before they reached the Fire Wolf Lair.
As for whether the Flame Mercenary Group would suffer any consequences if all the workers died in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?
There would be consequences, but they would be minor.
When they recruited this batch of workers, they had set certain limits to minimize the impact.
Of the workers, the one who pleased the Regiment Commander most was a man named Wang Wu.
He had no parents, no wife or children, and no one else in the world.
A man like that could die in the Magical Beast Mountain Range—or even in Fire Wolf Town—and no one would speak up for him.
Few of the workers were as extreme as Wang Wu, but most of them were loners who made their way through life on their own.
Under the circumstances, even if every one of them died in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the impact on the Flame Mercenary Group would be slight.
After all, being a mercenary meant living by the sword.
High rewards came with high risks.
Mercenary groups often paid a terrible price to hunt Magical Beasts.
Such stories were commonplace in Magical Beast towns like Qingshan Town and Fire Wolf Town.
When an accident like that happened, no one could be blamed.
It was like the Iron Blood Mercenary Group, which Lin Ze had once belonged to. They had suffered heavy losses after encountering a Magical Beast that was far too powerful.
No one could be blamed for a disaster like that.
After all, you had chosen that path yourself, and you had to bear the consequences.
If you chose to become a mercenary for the high rewards, you also had to accept the profession's high risks.
If the friends and relatives of a fallen mercenary were strong enough, they could track down the Magical Beast and kill it to avenge their loved one.
If they weren't strong enough, all they could do was hope that some powerful mercenary would slay the beast.
At least the mercenary squad Lin Ze had left in Qingshan Town ranked the Iron-Armed White Ape as their top priority for intelligence gathering.
It was the culprit behind the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's heavy losses.
Once they grew strong enough, they would kill it!
As Lin Ze's thoughts wandered, the Flame Mercenary Group had already entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range in several batches.
Lin Ze hadn't sent the Death Soldier Squad to hunt Magical Beasts today. Instead, he had them spread out across the mountain range's outskirts.
Once the Flame Mercenary Group entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, they quickly set up the traps he had prepared and put them on standby.
Some of the traps had been dug in advance.
In short, to deal with these two mercenary groups, Lin Ze had laid dozens of traps of varying sizes across the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Every trap had been carefully crafted by the Blue Death Soldier. Using his talent, he had made them blend into the surroundings so naturally that they were hard to spot.
As they drew closer to the Fire Wolf Lair, the other workers wore expressions of curiosity, excitement, and nervousness.
These ordinary workers knew nothing about the terrain on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
They had no idea they were heading toward the Fire Wolf Lair, an abyss that could swallow them whole in an instant.
The Wang Wu controlled by Lin Ze glanced at the Flame Mercenary Group mercenaries surrounding them, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"They really are ruthless."
Wang Wu carried a Broad-Backed Saber on his back.
It was the weapon Lin Ze used most often when controlling the Death Soldiers.
That was why he had chosen it; it felt more familiar in his hands.
Awooo—
A piercing wolf howl rang out in the distance, sending the workers into a panic.
"What are you afraid of? We're here!"
A mercenary in the group snapped in a low voice.
Compared to the Magical Beasts far away, the mercenaries right beside them were far more terrifying.
The workers fell silent at once, not daring to make another sound.
Noticing the mercenaries' change in attitude, Lin Ze knew they had stopped pretending.
They really were Huo Lie's men.
In Lin Ze's view, a mercenary group's overall character usually had a lot to do with its higher-ups, especially its Regiment Commander.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group was greedy and profit-driven.
The Flame Mercenary Group's character, on the other hand, was much more like Huo Lie's.
Even its ordinary mercenaries had a certain degree of cunning.
Take the mercenary who had recruited Lin Ze, for example.
When recruiting workers, he had painted one grand promise after another.
At the Flame Mercenary Group's base, he had also been quite friendly.
But now that they had entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, they had finally dropped their false, friendly masks.
Lin Ze blended into the crowd without drawing attention.
He kept an eye on his surroundings and watched the mercenaries.
He wasn't in Proxy State, so his senses were a little less keen than theirs.
Before long, he noticed the mercenaries growing solemn.
They're here!
Lin Ze's heart tightened. In the distant woods, he caught sight of a flash of fiery red fur.
Fire Wolves!
And there were definitely more than one or two.
They were already close to the hill where the Fire Wolf Lair was located.
Fire Wolves had a strong sense of territory.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range was full of powerful Magical Beasts, so their territory couldn't be very large.
Even so, this mercenary group had reached their lair. That was enough to draw the entire pack out.
Even if the pack didn't all come, the Fire Wolf Lair's defenses would be weakened.
With its defenses thin, they could take advantage of the opening and seize the Fire Wolf King Cub.
Clearly, the Flame Mercenary Group's job was to draw the Fire Wolves' attention.
That meant the task of seizing the Fire Wolf King Cub naturally fell to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Though there were two Fire Wolf King Cubs, giving the groups grounds to cooperate, that didn't mean they could trust each other.
The two mercenary groups were bound to keep each other in check to some extent. For instance, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's Young Leader was staying at the Flame Mercenary Group's base.
That way, they could prevent the other side from setting them up to die.
While these thoughts flashed through Lin Ze's mind, the Flame Mercenary Group's mercenaries were already getting busy. They formed a defensive line, preparing to fight as they retreated.
Their only job was to draw the Fire Wolves' attention and create an opportunity to seize the Fire Wolf King Cub.
They weren't there to fight the Fire Wolf Pack to the death.
After all, even the most respected Regiment Commander would instantly lose everyone's loyalty if he gave his men a mission that was certain to kill them.
Through the eyes of a Death Soldier stationed on high ground, Lin Ze saw a squad swiftly approaching the hill where the Fire Wolf Lair was located.
He murmured to himself,
"The show is about to begin!"
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