Once he stepped through the entrance, the space opened up before him. From outside, he had thought it was a residence, but only after entering did he discover there was nothing here except an empty lawn enclosed by walls and a roof. Even in Bear City, this counted as a luxury, but for a mercenary group, it was a necessary one.
A closer look revealed that this was no useless stretch of grass. The lawn looked neat yet disordered, marked by the passage of countless feet. Weapon racks lined two of the walls, holding long blades, short blades, bows and arrows, great axes, throwing spears, darts, flexible whips, rigid clubs... everything one could want. Along the other two walls stood straw dummies lashed to wooden crosses. These poor dummies were used for practice, and not a single one remained intact; all were missing arms or legs. At least there was no blood on them-the only comforting detail.
This ground, originally used by hunters to practice their hunting skills, had been relatively quiet lately.
Several long benches stood beside the weapon racks, along with a wooden platform bearing several sheets of brown paper. A fingerprint ink pad sat beside them. It looked like a registration desk.
No one was around, so Zeng Mu could only sit on a bench and wait.
About ten minutes later, a second person appeared. The instant his foot crossed the threshold, Zeng Mu sensed an unconcealable killing intent, like a sharp obsidian blade that no sheath could contain.
The man stood about nine feet tall, with wrists as thick as a black bear's and a neck that merged directly into his chin. His striking good looks and high nose bridge gave that bulk an oddly harmonious appearance. Three claw marks on his left cheek lent him