"Welcome back, Brother Peppa."
An ordinary-looking man stepped out from behind a tree.
"Ah, it's you!" Shen Ye exclaimed in surprise.
-Wasn't this the Shadow Brotherhood's man in charge at the Human Race Position back then?
The first time he had met this man had been in the Shadow Hand's camp tent.
He had even sold Feign Death packages with a horse and a dagger.
"Brother Peppa, please follow me."
The man turned and headed deeper into the woods.
Shen Ye immediately followed.
"Things have been tense lately. They say the undead could attack at any moment and fire the first shot of the war," the man said.
"Do we have any arrangements to respond?" Shen Ye asked.
"The king has only just ascended the throne and has more matters than he can handle, but he's kept the frontline in mind all along. Preparations in every area are being stepped up."
"-I came back here today to prepare a Shadow Ritual for you."
The man spoke.
Shen Ye listened attentively, but felt somewhat puzzled.
A Shadow Ritual... I've never heard of that before...
But this was hardly the time to ask.
He followed the man in silence all the way into the depths of the woods.
There was a small camp here.
Several assassins in fitted leather armor, with short blades and daggers hanging at their waists, had already been waiting for quite some time.
At the sight of Shen Ye, they all made "love you" gestures and spoke:
"Peppa."
"Young Peppa."
"Brother Peppa."
"Hello, seniors," Shen Ye greeted them.
"No need to say more. Perform the ritual for him immediately," the man ordered.
Everyone immediately got to work.
They brought various spellcasting materials and components of rune arrays that had already been inscribed out of their tents, then began