They did not have to wait long. About an hour later, Commander Zhou Wen from the City Lord's Residence arrived.
Everyone already understood the purpose of this expedition into the mountains, so there was little unnecessary talk. After a few well-worn instructions about obeying orders, they set off at once.
"Chen Cang, once we enter the mountains, stay beside me. Do not leave my sight. Understood?" Commander Zhou Wen said solemnly when they reached the foot of the mountains.
"Understood."
"Good. No need to be too nervous, either. There are sixty-two of us altogether. Apart from you and me, there are nine Dou Shi, and every other mercenary is at least a Five-Star Dou Zhe. Our overall strength is quite good. Even if we encounter a Fifth-Tier Magical Beast, we can still put up a... it would still be hard for it to wipe us all out."
Commander Zhou Wen had intended to say they could put up a fight, but that would have been too much of an exaggeration.
A Fifth-Tier Magical Beast was comparable to a Dou Wang expert.
In fact, because of a magical beast's naturally powerful body, it could be even harder to deal with than a human Dou Wang if one was unfamiliar with it.
Although Zhou Wen was already a Seven-Star Dou Ling, he still had no chance of defeating a Fifth-Tier Magical Beast, even with dozens of people assisting him.
"Commander Zhou, are there really azure nether fruits in the Black Eagle Mountains?"
"I don't know. Perhaps there are. No one has ever found any here before, anyway. Every high-grade medicinal ingredient is something you can only encounter by chance, not seek out at will. The Black Eagle Mountains merely meet the conditions for it to grow. His Majesty's oil is nearly spent and his lamp is guttering, so he refuses to let even the slightest chance slip by. All we can do is follow orders."
The fact that he knew this much was enough to show how deeply the city lord trusted this commander.
Chen Cang chatted with Zhou Wen all along the way.
Although the large party avoided magical beasts as much as possible as they entered the mountains, quite a few still blocked their path, courting death.
Neither Chen Cang nor Zhou Wen needed to act against these magical beasts. With a sweep of their sleeves, Lou Baishan and his brother would send mercenaries forward to swiftly deal with them.
If one was not enough, they sent two. If two were not enough, they sent four...
Overall, the party advanced deeper into the mountains quite quickly.
By nearly noon, they had already reached the area where third- and fourth-order magical beasts were most active.
At this depth, the danger increased sharply, and mercenaries in the party began suffering injuries.
Fortunately, with Zhou Wen, a High-Rank Dou Ling, overseeing them, no one had died yet.
"Our goal is to search for azure nether fruits, not fight these magical beasts to the bitter end. Moving together makes too much noise. Let's change our approach. Split into groups of ten and search the surrounding area, using this cave as your base. Whatever you find, you must return here in four hours to regroup. Then we'll advance deeper together and repeat the process."
Inside a secluded, well-hidden cave, people crowded shoulder to shoulder as Zhou Wen sat in the center and issued instructions.
Without any definite information about the azure nether fruits, they could only try their luck with this crude method.
As for the outcome, they would leave it to heaven.
In any case, doing their best was enough.
Lou Baishan exchanged a glance with his younger brother, then asked, "Commander Zhou Wen, since you'll be stationed here, could you come to our aid if we run into danger? After all, losing too many men would also hinder our later operations."
As representatives of the employer, Chen Cang and Zhou Wen did not need to take risks the way the mercenaries did. If they had to handle everything themselves, what was the point of hiring them?
It was the same principle as taking someone's money to rid them of their troubles.
The Soul-Eating Mercenary Group understood this too, which was why they adopted such a humble attitude now.
If Zhou Wen chose to help, it would be a kindness. If he ignored whether they lived or died, he would merely be keeping to his duties. There would be nothing to reproach him for.
"Yes. If you encounter a magical beast you can't handle, buy as much time as possible. I'll help where I can. But there are only two of us, and if things get complicated, we can't be everywhere at once. Understood?"
"I understand. Thank you, Commander."
Lou Baishan cupped his hands, then swiftly divided the party into six groups, each with either one or two Dou Shi.
After giving each group its instructions, they began searching in six different directions, taking the cave as their starting point.
Everyone knew that what lay ahead could be extremely dangerous, yet not a single person backed down.
As mercenaries, they had long grown accustomed to staking their lives.
Once those men departed, the cave immediately became much quieter.
"Don't dwell on it. The city lord paid an enormous sum to hire them for half a month. Of the sixty men who came in this time, I reckon at least half will remain in these mountains forever. As for the survivors, never mind what they gain over the next half month-the commission from the city lord alone will be almost enough to keep them fed and clothed for the rest of their lives."
Seeing Chen Cang sitting in a daze at the cave entrance, Zhou Wen thought he was lamenting the hardships of ordinary people, so he offered some words of comfort.
Thinking back to his younger days, he too had often let his thoughts run wild. Gradually, however, he had grown used to it-or rather, adapted.
After all, those were the laws of survival in this world.
What he did not know was that Chen Cang was hardly so saintly. He might have looked as though he were daydreaming, but he was actually sorting through the magical beasts' memories he had read along the way, lighting up his map of the Black Eagle Mountains.
At those words, Chen Cang nodded as though reassured. There was no need to explain anything.
As it turned out, this depth of the Black Eagle Mountains was still far too dangerous for the mercenaries.
In less than fifteen minutes, thin columns of red smoke shot into the sky from both the northwest and northeast.
These came from the signal-smoke sticks commonly used by mercenary groups.
Red meant critical danger.
Zhou Wen's brows drew together slightly. Which group to help had become a dilemma.
Just then, another column of red smoke rose directly to the north.
At the sight, Zhou Wen hesitated no longer. He gave Chen Cang's shoulder a firm pat and headed north.
"Come on. Let's take a look."
From beginning to end, Zhou Wen never considered splitting up with Chen Cang.
How could the mercenaries' lives matter more than the safety of one of his own?
Chen Cang quickly rose as well, following closely behind Zhou Wen as he glided low over the ground.
One of the hallmarks of a Dou Wang expert was forming wings from Dou Qi and soaring through the skies.
But a High-Rank Dou Ling with abundant Dou Qi could also fly briefly—or, more accurately, glide at low altitude.
Chen Cang was eager to see just how wide the gap between himself and a Dou Ling was. Secretly pitting himself against Zhou Wen, he pushed his speed to the limit.
Yet no matter how much he accelerated, the distance between him and Zhou Wen remained almost unchanged.
When he sped up, Zhou Wen sped up. When he slowed, Zhou Wen slowed.
Clearly, Zhou Wen was still holding back.
If I use Ashen Extinction Flash, perhaps I can narrow the gap a little.
Chen Cang suppressed the thought as soon as it arose.
If he dared use Ashen Extinction Flash now, Ding Dian would dare lock him in a dark room for questioning once he returned.
Ding Dian had told him before: what was given to him was his.
Those words could also be understood as: only what was given to him was his. What was not given to him, he could neither steal nor seize!
Racing like the wind and lightning, the two reached the battlefield in just a few minutes.
A quick glance revealed that only six of the group's ten mercenaries remained. They stood back to back, weapons in hand, warily watching two black-and-white-striped wolf-type magical beasts, one in front of them and one behind.
Striped Wolves, among the finest tier 2 magical beasts!
The two Striped Wolves were equivalent to two Nine-Star Dou Shi.
Had there not been a Dou Shi among this group of mercenaries, they would probably have been wiped out already.
"Commander!"
Seeing Zhou Wen and Chen Cang arrive, the six mercenaries who had been struggling to hold on felt an immense weight lift from their shoulders. Their taut bodies relaxed at once, and they slumped to the ground as though utterly drained.
The commander was here. They were safe!
Zhou Wen nodded slightly but did not act. Instead, he turned to Chen Cang. "Two Striped Wolves. Can you take them?"
Chen Cang drew his gaze away from the four blood-soaked corpses on the ground. With a flick of his spear tip, he strode forward.
"Give me three minutes, then we'll head to the next fight!"
Before you continue