Tier-Two Magical Beast Hibiscus Snake

"Occupied by the Snakefolk? When did that happen?" Qing Mo asked.

"Just three days ago." The dark-faced man said with a hint of anger: "Everything was fine originally, but those Snakefolk lost their minds or something and suddenly attacked our settlement."

"Even Master Mu died at the hands of those Snakefolk!"

"Master Mu?" Qing Mo asked in confusion.

"Master Mu was the manager of the market and a Two-Star Battle Master expert. It's just a pity that to cover our retreat, he stayed behind alone to hold off that Snakefolk Battle Master until all of us retreated safely, but he... never came back."

Grief appeared on the dark-faced man's face.

"Ah, what a good person! Master Mu had the most upright character, never oppressing passing mercenaries, and took extra good care of us brothers at the bottom. Whenever supplies were difficult, he would rather suffer himself to ensure everyone's safety and rations."

The dark-faced man shook his head and sighed.

Xiao Hu and Niu Da at the side also had red eyes.

"Yeah, Master Mu had a grace of rebirth towards us. If it weren't for him, I would have died in the mouths of magical beasts long ago!"

"Those damned Snakefolk, I must make them pay the price!"

"My condolences," Qing Mo sighed softly. No one wanted to see this kind of thing happen.

"However, you just said suddenly. Why would you say it like that?"

Snakefolk and humankind were mutually hostile, and conflicts occurred from time to time. This kind of thing shouldn't be worth being surprised about.

"Little brother doesn't know this, but every oasis is at least a hundred miles apart. At such a distance, Snakefolk generally don't come over. Moreover, even if they attack an oasis, this place is closer to humans and farther from their tribe, so they generally don't stay long."

Saying this, the dark-faced man's expression was somewhat solemn: "Not only did they go deep into the hinterland, but they also stayed behind to garrison. This was rarely seen in the past. I'm afraid... those Snakefolk are harboring evil intentions!"

"You mean, the Snakefolk might launch an attack on Stone Desert City?"

Qing Mo widened his eyes, then immediately felt it was unlikely. At this point in time, the Medusa Queen was still preparing for her evolution; where would she have the idle mind to attack Stone Desert City?

Wait, it seemed not entirely impossible either. For the Medusa Queen to complete her evolution, she first needed the help of a heavenly flame.

During this period, the Medusa Queen probably hadn't discovered the Green Lotus Heartfire yet—no, perhaps she had already discovered it, just not knowing its specific location.

Perhaps they wanted to use these oases as forward bases to prepare for their next move!

According to records in the original text, the Green Lotus Heartfire wasn't far from Stone Desert City. It wasn't easy for Medusa to pinpoint the location of the heavenly flame.

Countless thoughts flashed through Qing Mo's mind in an instant. The original text hadn't mentioned this, but Qing Mo felt it probably had a certain connection.

"I see. Then why are you guys still lingering here?"

This place was only thirty miles away from the oasis, which was at most a little over half an hour's journey. Staying here, what would happen if the Snakefolk attacked again?

"No matter what attention the Snakefolk are paying, we humans are not to be bullied easily."

"Staying here is, on one hand, to remind passing people, and on the other hand, we plan to retake the oasis and use the blood of the Snakefolk to memorialize Master Mu! This is our best repayment and promise to Master Mu!" The dark-faced man said with a firm tone.

"Retake the oasis?"

"That's right, the Mercenary Association will soon send Battle Master experts over. If little brother wants to leave, please leave as soon as possible. If you can lend us a hand, after it's done, we will definitely reward you heavily."

Black Face said earnestly.

"Can you tell me about that Snakefolk Battle Master?" Qing Mo didn't answer immediately.

"I didn't face the Snakefolk Battle Master and don't know its strength, but that Snakefolk Battle Master seemed to also manipulate a Tier-Two Hibiscus Snake."

"This time it was also because of the existence of the Hibiscus Snake that we were caught off guard."

Black Face said with a somewhat serious expression. Although the Snakefolk had snake characteristics, they didn't use controlling serpentine magical beasts as their main combat method; more Snakefolk used weapons to fight just like them.

"Hibiscus Snake!"

Hearing this, Qing Mo's eyes lit up. Wasn't this just right?

"Since I've come, how can there be any reason to return empty-handed?" Qing Mo immediately agreed.

"Haha, good! Since little brother is willing to lend us a hand, that's just great! With your joining, our chances of retaking the oasis have increased a bit more!"

The dark-faced man was overjoyed. As for Qing Mo, he hadn't looked down on him because of his young age; if a talented youth like this didn't have trump cards, how could his family let him out?

"My name is Black Face, and these two are Xiao Hu and Niu Da." Black Face pointed at the two beside him and introduced them.

"Qing Mo, and this is my younger sister Qing Lin."

Qing Mo nodded.

"Haha, good! Since it's like this, the two of you, please come in..."

"Xiao Hu, arrange living quarters for the two of them."

Xiao Hu: "Got it."

"The two of you, follow me." Xiao Hu led the way in front, introducing as he walked: "Because it's a temporary camp, it's a bit run-down, with only some simple tents and wooden walls for protection. The environment certainly can't compare to the oasis market, so I ask the two of you to bear with it!"

"Is there water?" Qing Mo asked. The water they were carrying was already running low, and they needed to replenish their water source.

"Of course there is, these will all be prepared for you. However, the reserves aren't very large; daily use is fine, but for things like bathing, the two of you might need to economize just a little bit." Xiao Hu replied.

"That's good."

Soon, Xiao Hu led the two to a tent.

"This is the temporary residence for the two of you. As for the rest of the supplies, I'll bring them over for you in a moment."

"Alright, then thank you."

"Not at all, this is what I should do." Xiao Hu smiled, "The two of you, please rest for a moment."

The tent naturally couldn't be considered very good. Inside there were only some simple things: thick animal skins cut neatly and spread on the sandy ground to act as a simple bed,

and a few pottery jars used for holding water piled in the corner. The whole space wasn't large, but it was considered clean, at least able to block out the sand and dust a little bit.

After a while, Xiao Hu brought some people over carrying a pile of things, including both water and food.

"Could I also trouble Brother Qing Mo to register your information."

"Sure."

Qing Mo directly reported the identity of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.

"Alright, if you need anything, Brother Qing Mo, just remember to call me. I live right over there, and during the day I usually patrol at the main gate."

Xiao Hu put away the registration form and pointed in the direction where he lived.

"Okay." Qing Mo nodded.

Returning to the tent, Qing Mo put down the water skin in his hand and sat on the stool to begin thinking.

"Is the Snakefolk's action this time really related to the Green Lotus Heartfire?"

Although the Medusa Queen was powerful, she wasn't all-knowing and all-powerful. The concealment of a heavenly flame was extremely high, requiring a long period of reconnaissance.

Qing Mo's gaze narrowed slightly. After a moment, he still shook his head. The Green Lotus Heartfire was of no use to him to hold onto, and Medusa couldn't possibly attack Stone Desert City right now anyway.

Whatever, it's none of my business.

I should still think about how to get a wood-attribute serpentine magical beast first...

Compared to searching aimlessly in the boundless desert, participating in this operation to retake the oasis was undoubtedly the most efficient path.

His current strength was Seven-Star Dou Practitioner, but the two Earth-Tier Dou Techniques he practiced allowed him to rival ordinary Battle Masters.

This was only under the condition of a head-on confrontation; if he were to hide in the dark and launch a sneak attack, below Five-Star Battle Master, there was a high probability of a one-hit kill!

"The number and strength of Black Face and his men aren't strong. The Battle Master experts sent by the Mercenary Association are the main force of this battle."

Qing Mo knew this well. He only needed to play a key assisting role and leverage the momentum to accomplish his own goal.