Night poured like water over the valley. Spring had arrived, and even at night, the fragrance of flowers and grass remained intoxicating.
On that quiet night, danger lurked amid the low chirping of insects. Squads of mercenaries were stationed throughout the valley containing the Mithril Mine, filling the stillness with cautious vigilance.
A troop clad in black armor moved slowly through the lush bushes like shadows in the night, carrying a sinister, uncanny air. Edwin, the Dark Archmage, floated in the air to lead the way, with three hundred Death God Guards following silently behind him like ghosts.
Two thousand mercenaries of the Jialuo Mercenary Group, led by Loretta, followed the three hundred Death God Guards, slowly advancing toward the valley containing the Mithril Mine. Behind the Jialuo Mercenary Group came a disorderly collection of a dozen or so minor factions, numbering roughly a thousand skilled fighters in mercenary uniforms of various colors.
Three factions had gathered to guard the valley containing the Mithril Mine. However, since all three still needed to defend their home bases, they had deployed only a little over a thousand mercenaries to protect this valley. These thousand-odd mercenaries were outnumbered more than three to one by the two thousand elite mercenaries Loretta had brought out in full force, the three hundred Death God Guards of the Calamity Church, and the thousand-odd skilled fighters from the ten minor factions combined.
Edwin, the Dark Archmage, cast a Dark Magic spell. A mass of black vapor slowly spread outward, and the brightly moonlit area in front of the valley was suddenly shrouded in a thin mist, as though the nighttime moisture had gradually gathered together.
Some of the insects that had been chirping softly gradually fell silent for some unknown reason. Arthur, the Monroe Family's Wind Archmage, was