Chapter 127

Night fell again, oppressively shrouding the wilderness. After several days of tense trekking, the team led by Jie Ming had now set up a temporary camp deep in the wilderness, hundreds of miles away from Golden Port.

The air was filled with the fishy smell of soil, the burnt smell of wood burning in the campfire, and a faint, not yet completely dissipated scent of blood.

Jie Ming showed no signs of fatigue. Before sunset, he and General Brandon inspected every possible camping site and finally selected an open area backed by a small hill, with slightly higher terrain that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

The carriages were ordered to form a circle, creating a simple defensive fortification to protect the nobles in the center of the camp.

Campfires crackled throughout the camp, the flames leaping, casting flickering shadows on the tired and uneasy faces of the nobles.

They were now huddled in their respective carriages or snuggled up by the campfires. Despite wearing gorgeous clothes, they could not hide the wolfishness and depression exuding from their bodies.

Count Reinhardt, this once highly respected old noble, was now sitting by a simple campfire, struggling to cut a piece of roasted meat with the silver tableware he carried with him.

His face was pale, and his eyes were full of worry about the future. Beside him, Baron Fabio's fat body was almost buried in a simple animal skin cushion. He used his thick, fat fingers to uneasily rub a worn token tied to his waist.

General Brandon sat alone to the side, holding a short sword wiped exceptionally bright. His eyes were bright and piercing, but he looked toward the direction of the Royal Capital from time to time, his brows tightly locked.

"Count, although Lord Jack is god-like and invincible, the orcs and magical beasts in this wilderness are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs before him..." Baron Fabio lowered his voice, almost leaning to Count Reinhardt's ear, his fat-stacked face full of worry.

"But after arriving at the Royal Capital, my distant cousin from that branch has long coveted my title and Golden Port's industries. Now that we have lost our territory and only have these family assets left, I'm afraid those clansmen in the Royal Capital won't let us off easily..."

Count Reinhardt stopped his movements and sighed softly.

He understood the darkness and cruelty of the noble circle in the Royal Capital better than Baron Fabio.

A few bitter smiles appeared on his weather-beaten face: "More than just titles and industries? Fabio, those grandchildren of mine have been fighting openly and secretly for the family inheritance on weekdays. Now that the family has suffered heavy losses, if we elders 'accidentally' die on the road, those collateral branches and juniors can rightfully divide all our inheritance."

General Brandon, who was listening to their conversation from the side, couldn't help but interject: "Count Reinhardt's words are very true. That useless nephew of mine has been eyeing the military power in my hands for a long time. With his personality, in order to inherit the legacy openly, he might even collude with outsiders, or even create an 'accident.' The noble circle of the Royal Capital is even more sinister than the jackals, tigers, and leopards in this wilderness."

A trace of imperceptible coldness flashed in his eyes.

Baron Fabio shuddered with fear, his fat body involuntarily leaning toward the campfire: "My god, General! Are you saying they will send people to intercept and kill us on the road?"

General Brandon didn't answer directly, just coldly glanced at the nobles scattered around in the distance.

As members of the nobility, they knew best just how filthy things could be under a noble's command.

In this wilderness fraught with danger, this fear was infinitely magnified.

They were once high-and-mighty rulers, but at this moment, they were like a group of helpless lambs.

They lowered their voices, their words filled with madness for power and money.

And in the corner of the camp, inside an inconspicuous tent, Jie Ming was not asleep.

He sat cross-legged, the Eye of Investigation in his hand taking in everything in the entire camp.

The nobles' whispered secrets, their fear, worry, and subtle suspicion all turned into strands of red-dust energy, silently absorbed by the talisman seal in his dantian.

"Not a bad sample." Jie Ming chuckled.

He knew these nobles were wary of his powerful strength, but because of this strength, they were also incomparably dependent on and afraid of him.

This contradictory mentality was exactly the "sample" he needed.

He stopped paying attention to the nobles' whispers and turned his attention to another matter.

Previously, he had summoned several mercenaries who had shown relative cleverness during the day and had already developed awe for him.

Compared to those soldiers, these people acknowledged the role of strength more, and at least until they encountered greater benefits, they would obey his orders.

Because they had been walking for several days, the surrounding environment had also left the sweeping range of the main orc force, and small towns and villages began to appear gradually.

It's just that these villages were more conspicuous as targets, so the nobles would rather endure worse environments than camp outside.

The task Jie Ming gave them was very simple: to collect intelligence and information in the surrounding villages.

Although he had the Eye of Investigation, Jie Ming didn't know much about the front-line intelligence or the situation of the surrounding towns, so he needed to collect relevant information, at least so he wouldn't foolishly run into a town controlled by orcs.

Several hours later, at the deepest moment of the night, the darkest moment before dawn, the mercenary captain finally returned to the camp, panting.

"My lord! I've found out!" The captain knelt outside Jie Ming's tent, his voice carrying uncontrollable trembling, "The orc army is indeed gathering. Relying on the supplies transported from Golden Port, their vanguard troops have already gathered in several towns north of the Royal Capital and may launch a large-scale offensive at any time!"

Jie Ming nodded calmly; the orcs' actions didn't exceed his expectations too much, and he signaled the other party to continue.

"Besides that, there is no more specific intelligence. If I have to say... there is probably a rumor about those foreign demons." The mercenary captain's tone was a bit conflicted.

"Oh? What rumor?" Hearing about wizards, Jie Ming became interested.

The mercenary captain took a deep breath: "Last month, multiple kingdoms joined forces to kill a powerful foreign demon named 'David'! It is said that the wizard was exceptionally powerful. After descending into this world a few months ago, he successively destroyed several tribes of the orc kingdom, and later broke into the elves' area, where he was also invincible! If it weren't for... if it weren't for the manifestation of gods, plus the disregard for casualties by warriors from various countries, he could not have been eradicated at all!"

The private soldier captain's eyes were currently filled with excitement for "gossip": "My lord, you don't know! People in those taverns said that the great battle was simply earth-shattering! It is said that even space was torn apart, countless mountains turned into powder, and rivers changed their courses! After that David wizard died, his soul even turned into a vengeful spirit, cursing many nobles and priests who besieged him, causing them to contract strange diseases and eventually die miserably!"

Jie Ming appeared to be listening with interest on the surface, but his heart was shocked.

"David?"

There are many wizards named David, but if we are talking about the most famous "David" among the wizards who just descended in this session, it is probably only that ten-level genius from the First Nolen Academy.

He dismissed the private soldier captain and fell into deep thought alone.

"Manifestation of gods—does this refer to something like an angel? If it was a team led by a Tier 3 living being plus a siege by a group of Tier 2 living beings, it is indeed possible to kill that genius."

As a ten-level genius, that David's trump cards would definitely not be much worse than his own.

But just like the problem Jie Ming encountered initially, if there was a team led by a Tier 3 living being, the other party might have killed him before he had time to play his trump cards.

"That's not right either. Judging from the rumors, both sides should have experienced a great battle. However—"

Jie Ming couldn't help but search his memory, pulling out the last contribution ranking list.

During the two months Jie Ming lived in seclusion in Golden Port to conduct research, the contribution ranking list was still updated on time.

Because he had made no contributions in the past two months, Jie Ming's ranking had dropped by two places and was now down to sixth.

However, the growth rate of other wizards' contributions also began to slow down; it seemed they had all entered a dormant stage.

"David..."

Jie Ming quickly looked through the changes regarding David on the previous contribution lists.

At the very beginning, David had always been in the top three of the contribution list.

But by the second month, his contribution ranking had retreated; at his lowest, he had even reached fifth place, indicating that the growth rate of his contribution points had slowed down.

It seemed he should have wiped out the orc tribes near his landing site; with no prey, that should have been the time he transferred to the Elf Kingdom.

After arriving in the Elf Kingdom, he should have encountered many enemies, and his contribution ranking rose all the way to the top three.

"Then last month, David's ranking went directly to first place. It seems he really should have encountered a great battle."

Jie Ming's fingers subconsciously trembled: "It seems David was indeed killed—no, this only shows that he experienced a great battle last month, and it doesn't mean the person who died was him. I still have to look at the changes in this month's contribution list."

Although he said so, Jie Ming knew very well in his heart that if David really experienced such a siege, the possibility of death would be very high if his luck was bad.

"Is it possible for such a huge loss to be caused by just an incomplete plane war? As a ten-level genius, is it really possible for that David to die so easily? Wizards are all smart people; they shouldn't really choose such a reckless fool as an heir, right?"

Jie Ming looked like he was deep in thought with his eyes closed, but his mind was constantly surging with various thoughts.

Finally, he sighed long: "Forget it, it's meaningless to consider these now. I'll wait until I reach the Royal Capital to inquire about more specific news."

Putting these aside for the time being, Jie Ming sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating before dawn.