The frustrating outcome of the torture was a huge blow to Warden Oleg, who had always been confident in his "techniques." Feeling humiliated, he was spurred to work harder and began to study torture techniques with fervor, so that he could better serve His Majesty the King.
However, for King Majesty the King himself, this matter was no longer important.
Before the caravan set off that morning, Redknapp, the manager of the Soros Merchant Caravan, had a charming young woman in red deliver a thin booklet. The booklet was densely filled with detailed records of the Blood Blade Mercenary Corps's influence in the capital, including the number, names, and skill levels of their members. For a force like the Soros Merchant Caravan, obtaining such intelligence was incredibly easy. Moreover, this information wasn't exactly a valuable secret; anyone in the capital could easily gather the details with a little inquiry. Redknapp seized the opportunity, essentially doing Sun Fei a favor!
Around noon, they finally left the territory of the Kingdom of Black Rock.
"Your Majesty King of Chambord, we are about to enter the territory of Kingdom of Thrace. I heard that there has been some unpleasantness between you and Kingdom of Thrace!" Redknapp spurred his horse forward, but dared not approach because the Big Black was too ferocious, and laughed from afar.
"Haha, it's more than just unpleasant. The King of Thrace chose to side with the King of Black Rock and become an enemy of my Chambord City. On the day of my coronation ceremony, he actually sent Prince Obinna and the country's top He Shengzhen, Ha Seung-jin, to assassinate me on the summit of Chambord East Mountain. They were both personally killed by my sword. We are already mortal enemies!" Sun Fei laughed heartily.
"In that case, Your Majesty must be extremely cautious once you enter Kingdom of Thrace!"
"Why should I be on guard? I actually hope that the King of Thrace still has the same courage as the King of Black Rock, daring to lead his army to appear before me, which would save me a lot of trouble!" The midday breeze was warm and refreshing. Finally, they had emerged from the dimly lit Blazing Sun Mountains. Looking at the flat plains in front of them, Sun Fei felt that the sky was high and the earth was vast, and his heart was filled with boundless joy. For a moment, he was filled with high spirits and great ambition, and he started to boast without any restraint.
Redknapp smiled but remained silent.
Since this morning, he had been observing Sun Fei's every word and action. The previous intelligence from the Chamber of Commerce had not provided detailed descriptions of this King of Chambord. Now that he had the idea of persuading the higher-ups to launch that plan, he had to carefully observe and personally confirm that the King of Chambord was worth the Chamber of Commerce's investment. However, based on his current observations, he could not convince himself to draw a definitive conclusion. This young King was sometimes polite like an old nobleman, sometimes frivolous, arrogant, and reckless, sometimes old-fashioned, and sometimes unrestrained like a naughty child. Redknapp had seen countless young heroes and considered himself a master at judging people, but now he truly could not understand this young King of Chambord.
"This young king seems to be shrouded in a thin veil, making him impossible to fathom." Redknapp grew increasingly astonished as he thought about it.
Surprisingly, although he knew of the arrival of the Chambord Expeditionary Army, the King of Thrace did not take any action, nor did he send out scouts to closely follow and monitor them like the King of Black Rock did. He acted as if nothing had happened, allowing the Chambord Expeditionary Army to cross the territory.
As evening approached, the expeditionary force and caravan camped near a waterfall in the wilderness.
"This is a notorious dangerous place in Kingdom of Thrace, known for its wild beasts. It is said that a large pack of level-three magical beasts, the Wolf of the Gale, often roams here..." Old Zola suggested that Sun Fei change his campsite, but the scouts reported that there were no better campsites nearby except for the waterfall, so they could only strengthen their defenses to avoid being attacked by magical beasts.
As it turns out, Zola was indeed Raven.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, the howling of wolves echoed around the camp.
"Damn it, it's the Gale Wolf..." Redknapp heard the commotion, hurriedly dressed, rushed out of the tent, jumped onto a boulder, and looked around. His face turned tense and grim. "Damn it, it really is the Gale Wolf. Judging by their numbers, there are probably at least six or seven hundred... Strange, how come there are so many all of a sudden?"
On the Azeroth Continent, the level three magical beast, the Gale Wolf, is merely considered an ordinary low-level magical beast. Individually, it is not particularly strong. However, what makes it terrifying is that these magical beasts love to live in packs and exist in enormous numbers. Once they spot prey, the pack will summon all its companions within a radius of several kilometers, surging in from all directions like an endless tide. Each wolf is fearless, completely frenzied, and relentlessly determined to fight to the death... Even regular armies would find such a pack troublesome, as a slight misstep could lead to their complete annihilation.
"Something's not right. How could so many wolves suddenly appear?" Redknapp sensed something was amiss. The young woman in red, Shirley, and the white-clad swordsman from before appeared beside him, both with rather grave expressions.
"Get ready... Hurry, archers... Don't let those beasts get close!"
"Lazybones, hurry up and put on your clothes and grab your knife. Do you want to be eaten to pieces by the Gale Wolf?"
"Damn it, how can there be so many?"
"Make the fire bigger! Gale Wolf are afraid of fire when they travel at night, add more firewood... Quick, light all the torches!"
The guards of the Soros Merchant Caravan were experienced and reacted extremely quickly. In less than three or four minutes, more than forty people had quickly taken up the most advantageous defensive positions. A bonfire was lit in the camp, illuminating half the sky. Swords were drawn, arrows were nocked, and Long Spear were raised, as if facing a formidable enemy.
In contrast, the Chambord Expeditionary Army camp was much calmer.
King of Chambord never showed himself. After a brief moment of panic, his soldiers seemed to have received some orders: those who were sleeping continued to sleep, and those who were patrolling continued to patrol, each doing their own thing, without being disturbed by the wolves that kept swarming in from afar.
Just then, two solitary figures appeared on the boulder beside the waterfall.
One was a colossal, over two-meter-tall man, as heavy as a mountain of flesh, with a scar on his face. He exuded a faint, eerie, and oppressive aura that inspired fear. The other was a tall, handsome, blond-haired youth, carrying a longbow and carrying hundreds of large, Wolf Fang arrows in his quiver. He was elegant and graceful, like Prince of the moon.
Redknapp knew both of them.
One was a prison warden under the King of Chambord, and the other was the King of Chambord's personal bodyguard.
What puzzled Redknapp was why, at this critical moment, the incredibly powerful King of Chambord hadn't personally led the charge, but instead only sent these two men. Did he have confidence in the abilities of his two subordinates, believing that these mere two could repel those ferocious wolf packs? Or was King of Chambord arrogant and unaware of just how terrifying the Gale Wolf, these pack-like magical beasts, could be when they went berserk?
The black-robed supervisor favored the latter.
Having experienced extraordinary things and witnessed all sorts of mysterious the Storm Riders, he could already smell a strong sense of conspiracy from the suddenly appearing giant wolves. His keen intuition, honed over many years, told him that this matter might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface, and that someone had deliberately lured the wolves here using some special means.
Before he could think further, a long and eerie wolf howl echoed, and the wolf pack that appeared in the distance began to rush forward like a tidal wave. In the darkness, pairs of blood-red eyes were like the eyes of demons, sending chills down his spine, like a blood tide rushing towards him.
Redknapp stood atop the boulder and began to softly chant a magical incantation.
Surrounding him, all the guards and experts of the Soros Merchant Caravan stood ready, some gripping their weapons so tightly that their palms were sweating profusely, and their bodies were shivering with cold...
Meanwhile, on another boulder in the distance.
The fat man, as big as a mountain of flesh, had a blade of grass in his mouth. He clapped his hands and sat down with a thud, seemingly ready to watch the show. He crossed his arms, showing no intention of making a move. Beside this annoying fat man, the handsome blond boy, who looked like an elf Prince, held his longbow level and finally drew the first arrow from the quiver on his back.
"What?! You actually sent someone to do such a thing?" Inside the magnificent tent, a jade-faced, golden-armored boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old roared in fury, " Alpha, who gave you permission to do such a stupid thing?"
The golden-armored youth's furious appearance made everyone in the tent tremble with fear, not daring to even breathe. Only an Old Man with gray hair, who was bearing the brunt of the rage, remained unmoved and calmly replied, "Your Highness, I don't think this is a foolish thing to do. By clipping his wings, Your Highness can personally kill him without much trouble."
"Damn it! Killing him is a piece of cake for me, how could there be any trouble? How dare you have so little faith in me?" The golden-armored youth was still furious, sneering and roaring, " Alpha, I order you to immediately cease all your foolish actions. I'll wait here for that lawless King of Chambord to arrive, and I'll personally kill him. I won't take advantage of him!"
The gray-haired Old Man lowered his head and remained silent.
Behind him stood numerous of Sun Fei's mortal enemies, including the King of Black Rock, the King of Thrace, and the King of Red Water. Surprisingly, these men were all arrogant and conceited, ruling over a nation's territory and its people, high above others and self-important. Yet, before this hot-tempered golden-armored youth, they were like mice before a cat, trembling with fear and daring not to show the slightest resistance or disobedience.
After a while, the golden-armored youth finished his tantrum and issued several orders before finally shooing everyone out of the tent.
"Lord Alpha, shall we continue with our plan? His Highness seems quite dissatisfied." As soon as they stepped out of the tent, King of Black Rock was the first to ask impatiently.
"Yes, what if His Highness finds out about this and blames us..." King of Red Water hesitated.
The others also looked at the old man named Alda, who was clearly of high status.
On the surface, the gray-haired old man Alpha, appears to have no martial prowess whatsoever; he is merely a butler-like figure beside the golden-armored youth. However, his frail body exudes a sinister and eerie aura. Only those who truly understand him can comprehend just how terrifying this seemingly weak, skinny old man with a goatee can be.
Third update.
Damn heating company! I paid the heating bill more than ten days ago, and the radiators are as cold as a heartbroken girl's.
My boss and I have both caught it. Dizziness, blurred vision, dry mouth, runny nose. I'll update tomorrow depending on the situation; if I can't get up due to the fever, I won't be able to update at midnight. Just letting you know in advance, I thought I'd escaped this seasonal flu outbreak, but who knew...