Chapter 5

After some thought, Xiao Li still temporarily set aside this idea; he was merely a lowly fighter, with no leisure to help others.

The team slowly entered the Magic Beast Mountains; whether mercenaries or personnel of the Ten Thousand Medicines Hall, everyone grew tense, for entering the Magic Beast Mountains inevitably meant casualties—a consensus among the people of Green Mountain Town, and no one wished to be the one who died.

As they walked in, Xiao Li covertly observed the other mercenaries, learning their methods of erasing traces; these were veteran mercenaries who had roamed the Magic Beast Mountains for years, and he knew such skills would surely be useful when he later ventured out alone for training.

In the silent forest, the large contingent marched quietly, pairs of watchful eyes continually sweeping the dark spots among the surrounding trees, palms tightly gripping their waist weapons, ready at any moment to face any sudden situation.

As veteran mercenaries who had roamed the Magic Beast Mountains for years, even though this was their first cooperation, they could still maintain basic rapport; in the exchange of glances, they could discern from each other's eyes signals representing danger and safety.

Xiao Li held his spear slanted behind him, tip pointing to the ground, warily scanning the surroundings; this time the destination of the Ten Thousand Medicines Hall's party was a small valley ten kilometers into the Magic Beast Mountains for herb gathering, where the density of magic beasts was already relatively high.

Even occasionally there were traces of second-tier magic beast activity, and only in such places had they not been completely scoured clean by the numerous mercenaries of Green Mountain Town.

The mercenaries closer to the Ten Thousand Medicines Hall's herb-gathering party appeared to belong to the same mercenary corps, their uniforms bearing identical markings, and the badges on their chests all engraved with the same one-eyed wolf head.

Observing how these Wolf Head mercenary members guarded the herb-gathering party, it was clear they too were hired by the Ten Thousand Medicines Hall as escorts, and moreover, the Hall's trust in the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps seemed far greater than that in the earlier loose mercenaries; otherwise, they would not have been assigned as personal bodyguards.

From chatting with those nearby, Xiao Li learned that the leader of this Wolf Head Mercenary Corps contingent was Gan Mu.

Xiao Li glanced at one mercenary in the troop with a strong killing aura, a seven-star fighter; his ability was decent, but Xiao Li was confident he could severely wound him within five moves and finish him off within ten.

And Gan Mu was already the strongest person among this mercenary group.

"Have you heard? The chief of the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps, Mu She, has broken through to become a powerful fighter; lately the Wolf Heads have been incredibly arrogant," a mercenary said, seeming somewhat resentful.

Upon saying that, others echoed his sentiment.

"That's right; relying on their numbers, they've snatched several things others had their eyes on."

"Exactly, exceedingly arrogant."

……

Outside the Magic Beast Mountains, everything was still relatively calm, but shortly after the team entered the mountains, a small-scale magic beast attack cruelly unfolded before Xiao Li's eyes.

Four first-tier magic beast Iron Feather Eagles swooped down violently, aiming at the few with the weakest aura; judging by their ferocious expressions, they were obviously starving, otherwise they would not have attacked such a large human force.

The mercenaries quickly formed small squads, joining together to meet the enemy.

After a bout of combat, the difference became apparent: the Wolf Head mercenaries coordinated more seamlessly, and both attacking Iron Feather Eagles were completely slain.

As for the loose mercenaries on this side, they merely managed to drive the enemy off with difficulty.

Seeing the Iron Feather Eagle swoop down again, Xiao Li moved his spear, and a thunderclap exploded.

Flash lightning strike

The spear shattered the Iron Feather Eagle's bird head, and a powerful energy ripple spread out.

Gan Mu's forehead hairs were lifted by the aura, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"This child's strength is probably a notch above mine; if he has backing, it would certainly be extraordinary; if not, perhaps we could recruit him..."

Xiao Li struck out fiercely; the Iron Feather Eagle, equivalent only to a low-ranking fighter, naturally had no chance of survival.

He opened the Iron Feather Eagle's skull and abdominal cavity, found no magic core, and took only the few most valuable hard iron feathers.

"Everyone contributed, so I, Xiao, shouldn't hog it all; let the rest of you split the remainder."

Xiao Li's words startled the few mercenaries who had been dumbfounded.

"Little brother, your strength is truly extraordinary; you're probably a five- or six-star fighter."

"Perhaps not; I see that Gan Mu's moves aren't as clean and decisive as Xiao Little Brother's."

"I've really been living like a dog these past few years."

The few in Xiao Li's squad chattered away, their eyes full of astonishment.

Suddenly several fell silent, gazing warily at Xiao Li's back.

Xiao Li turned his head and saw that the comer was none other than Gan Mu of the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps, with a youth in his twenties following behind.

"Little brother, your skill is extraordinary."

Gan Mu clasped his hands, smiled, and launched straight into a compliment.

However, Xiao Li had no good attitude toward those who would later hunt down his brother.

"What business do you have, sir?" Xiao Li replied indifferently.

He stopped Mu Li from speaking; Gan Mu's smile undiminished, "I would like to invite little brother to join the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps; I wonder if little brother..."

Gan Mu's words carried a query, and Mu Li behind him seemed not too taken with the still-young Xiao Li.

"Our Wolf Head is the largest mercenary corps in Green Mountain Town; I don't know how many people want to join," Mu Li said proudly.

His own father had just broken through, so Mu Li naturally walked with a bit of swagger, looking down on anyone below the fighter rank.

Xiao Li's face turned cold; "I, Xiao, am accustomed to being idle, so I won't join."

Gan Mu's smile faded; "Well then, forget it."

Gan Mu said no more; seeing the other's attitude was clear, further words were useless, and he pulled Mu Li back to his own squad.

On the contrary, Mu Li seethed with resentment: "Uncle Gan, that kid is so arrogant—does he still look down on our Wolf Head?"

Helplessly glancing at his nephew, Gan Mu explained: "This kid is strong; forcibly recruiting him would go against our original intention; better to keep things as strangers."

Though he said that, Gan Mu evidently still harbored some misgivings about whether Xiao Li had backing; such a young high-ranking fighter was unheard of before.

Gazing at Xiao Li's space ring on his hand, Gan Mu licked his dry lips, yet had to suppress his inner thoughts.

Only the corps chief Mu She possesses a space ring; besides that, even snatching this kid's space ring would be not bad.

It's a pity, though; looking at the dozen or so loose mercenaries around, Gan Mu couldn't guarantee getting every one, and there were also the Ten Thousand Medicines Hall personnel—many eyes, making a move inadvisable.

In the team, Xiao Yixian was well protected by the mercenaries, her big eyes rolling as she looked at Xiao Li.

"This person's strength is amazing; how had I never heard of him before?"

Xiao Yixian pressed her lips together: "If I had that kind of strength, I wouldn't be exploited by the Yao Zhai supervisor; tonight I'll definitely go out again to gather some herbs and poisons to make something for self-defense."

(End of chapter)