Chapter 294: Mercenary Team in the Snow Mountain (12)

In the depths of the Heaven's Pillar Mountain Range lies a valley of an unnamed snow mountain.

The valley is piled with thick snow, while large cotton-like snowflakes drift from the sky, and the valley's cold wind 'woo-woo' blows nonstop, like the mocking voice of a mountain god.

'Splash~ splash~ splash~'

In this extremely harsh environment, a team presses on against the wind and snow, moving slowly.

The team consists of five people, all wearing thick cold-resistant leather clothes, carrying a rattan basket loaded with supplies, and having thick wooden boards specially tied to their feet for walking on snow.

Despite being well prepared, the valley's altitude is simply too high.

Although the wind and snow fill the air, it remains dry and cold, the pressure is extremely low, and the steep, difficult road makes everyone pant as they walk, their faces turning a frightening purplish-black.

"Captain, there seems to be a stone cave ahead; let's rest a while."

The man leading the team saw the stone cave, then turned to look at the members behind him, feeling that everyone was about to reach their physical limit, and nodded in agreement.

"Then let's rest a while."

The stone cave isn't deep, but it does provide some shelter from the wind.

One person took out charcoal and firestone, fiddled for a while, and finally got a charcoal fire going; another immediately placed an iron pot filled with snow on top of it.

During the break, a red-haired team member complained somewhat discontentedly.

"Captain, we're still far from the Radiant Empire; do we really need to be this careful?"

The captain took off his leather hat, shook off the snow on it forcefully, and beneath it was revealed a purplish-red face full of knife-carved wrinkles.

"We're doing a life-risking job; no amount of caution is excessive."

He put his hat back on, then took out a pipe, skillfully filled it with tobacco, placed it on the fire to light, and took a pleasant puff.

'Whoosh~~~'

In the bluish smoke, this middle-aged captain again let out a low voice.

"Let me reiterate: we are not mercenaries, but herbal gatherers in the snow mountains!"

"Before the final strike, we must not use any magical power or any magical artifacts."

"In terms of technique, we must achieve absolute invisibility!"

As he spoke, he looked at the team members: "This job we've taken on is a big one; if we fail, we'll be wiped out on the spot, our souls completely scattered."

"But if we succeed, we will make our name known throughout this multiverse world; from then on, it won't be business choosing us, but us choosing business."

He said this quite clearly, but the team members obviously had their own ideas.

"Captain, the Lord of Truth didn't hire just us; it's said he hired as many as fifteen teams, over a hundred people in total."

"In my view, he's basically using us as a suicide squad."

"Yeah, I think we don't need to go all out; we'll take the job if there's a chance, otherwise we'll withdraw."

The middle-aged man inhaled a puff of smoke with a 'bah-bah~', then let out a long sigh: "Ah~~ you young people, you have no ambition at all."

"But complaining aside, you still have to listen to me from now on. Otherwise, you'd better quit my team early, so you don't drag me down later."

Upon hearing this, the young team member immediately fell silent.

As legendary mercenaries who do big business across planes, they still have brains.

To pull off a big job, one needs not only strength but also experience.

This middle-aged man before us is no ordinary person.

His nickname is Hei Man, and he possesses the full cultivation of Legendary 11.

It is said he also carries a legendary artifact of tremendous power, and it is precisely this artifact's effect that gives him stable legendary power.

Moreover, he has personally participated in multiple missions that shocked various planes, playing a major role in each, and in the end he always successfully received payment and made a dignified exit.

Regarding his ability, the team members are still fully convinced, so after voicing a few complaints, no one spoke further.

The snow cave fell silent, leaving only the crackling sounds of the burning charcoal.

After a while, the water heated up; one person was given a bowl and began to gulp it down with audible breaths.

After drinking the hot water, their bodies warmed considerably, and much of their resentment dissipated.

Initially, the red-haired team member asked: "Captain, what exactly is the origin of this Natural Emperor? To provoke such a powerful deity to go to such lengths against him?"

Hei Man took a puff of his pipe: "He is an extraordinarily powerful mage-emperor, also a madman, and moreover a ruthless person."

"The demons he has killed—I mean true demons, not their lackeys—number four. The strongest among them reached Legendary 6."

Another grey-haired team member scoffed: "He's an emperor with a great army; killing a few low-level demons isn't impressive—it's just the accomplishment of his subordinates."

"Then you're mistaken."

Hei Man laughed: "As far as I know, every time he faces demons, he charges forward to confront them directly."

Upon hearing this, the team members couldn't help but inhale the cold air of the snow mountain.

The red-haired team member who had asked earlier curled the corners of his mouth.

"Then this guy really is a ruthless person, indeed quite mad—having so many soldiers at his disposal, yet he insists on going himself."

Another black-haired team member added: "Come to think of it, this shows the emperor has immense confidence in his own strength; he won't hide like most emperors do."

"For this mission, that's actually a good thing."

Hei Man nodded: "That's true, but we must therefore not underestimate the target." The red-haired team member then asked: "Captain, you said he is an extremely powerful mage; what specific magical accomplishments does he have?"

Hei Man then pointed with his pipe at the legendary artifacts on the team members present.

"The most commonly used auxiliary artifact for advancing to Legendary rank—the Legendary Crystal Artifact—was actually invented and promoted by this Natural Emperor."

"Huh, wasn't it created by the Nawate?"

"No. The Nawate obtained it from this plane. Of course, the Nawate people have always claimed they developed it themselves, but the quality of the Legendary Crystal cannot be fooled."

"The fact is, the best Legendary Crystal currently is in this plane, and very likely within the Natural Empire."

"The emergence of the Legendary Crystal has increased the number of mortal Legendary powerhouses in the multiverse world by at least a thousandfold, and it continues to grow."

"This greatly elevated the status of mortals, causing the void gods and demons who once regarded mortals as mere ants to gradually begin to trade with them."

The red-haired mercenary glanced at his legendary crystal staff and said, 'Then I still have to thank His Majesty the Emperor.'

Hei Man chuckled indifferently: 'Who says it isn't?'

The grey-haired mercenary gave a heh laugh: 'What's there to thank for. This staff is something we fought for with our lives; it wasn't given by him.'

Having said that, he looked at Hei Man: 'Captain, how long has the legendary crystal been appearing?'

Hei Man nodded: 'It's obvious.'

'How much can you sense?'

'It makes De Rui Tan this cautious, so the strength is at least equal to his, possibly even exceeding. But the excess shouldn't be too much; otherwise, given De Rui Tan's nature, he would likely just abandon the assassination.'

'That is, a soul strength around Legendary 13.'

'Correct.'

That remark made all the legendary mercenaries present unconsciously furrow their brows.

The red-haired mercenary chewed hard on his hardtack, resentfully saying, 'Look, De Rui Tan is just using us as a suicide squad.'

Their team averages Legendary 5 strength, they have mastered several powerful spells, and among mortal legendaries they count as top‑tier experts; against small mortal kingdoms they could easily overthrow them.

But this opponent not only has Legendary 13 cultivation, but is also the emperor of a great empire, and the legendary magic he commands is absolutely astonishing.

Moreover, he has countless generals and soldiers protecting him.

It feels like this assassination operation is literally a life‑risking gamble.

The grey‑haired mercenary gave another heh laugh: 'A suicide squad is a suicide squad; we earn money by risking our lives, and besides, De Rui Tan's pay is quite generous.'

Hei Man nodded in agreement: 'Luo Ken, that's well said. Lai Si Li, your attitude is wrong.'

The red‑haired mercenary shrugged: 'Alright, alright, I admit my mistake.'

After saying that, he then laughed and said: 'Captain, you also left out something just now.'

'I've heard that this Natural Emperor is still a philanderer.'

Hei Man chuckled: 'Can't really call him a philanderer; at most it's normal for an emperor, even a bit low.'

He tapped his pipe, refilled the tobacco: 'This emperor is very young; he's probably still under 30 this year.'

'This emperor's throne wasn't handed down by his ancestors; he won it himself.'

'If it were me, having achieved such great deeds in my youth, I'd probably have tens of thousands of women.'

He then looked at the team members, saw everyone wearing a smirk, and shrugged: 'You lot shouldn't laugh either; if you had this ability, you'd probably have even more than me.'

'Of course, except for Li Li; she doesn't have the men's fun stuff.'

Before his words faded, a dissatisfied female voice came from the deepest part of the cave: 'You black eel, jokes are jokes, why drag me into this?'

The voice sounds under thirty, but taking into account the boost from legendary power, her real age is at least around a hundred.

In fact, everyone present is not young in real age; the average age is estimated at around 110.

For mortals, that's an age to look up to, but for legendary powerhouses it's still quite young.

Hei Man laughed heartily: 'I apologize to you, Miss Li Li; I was just talking too much.'

His attitude toward Li Li is much more respectful than toward the other team members, and it's not because of her being a lady.

In fact, legendary powerhouses hardly distinguish between men and women.

His respect comes from her ability, because she is a Soul Hunter, highly skilled in a very powerful and rare soul‑hunting technique.

For mortals, strength lies in magic and magic items, but the soul is weak.

Soul Hunting Technique: from dozens of kilometers away, using secret methods to seize the opponent's soul from their body to deal with them.

Thus, no matter how noble one's worldly status or how powerful their magic and magic items, they become mere decorations.

Therefore, this Li Li is the core figure of this assassination mission.

Li Li is a person of silent temperament; seeing the black cat yield to her, she nodded and stopped pursuing the matter, continuing to lower her head and read a black‑covered magic book.

A group of legendary mercenaries rested in the cave, waiting for the wind and snow to stop, and everyone basically recovered their strength.

Captain Hei Man then extinguished his pipe, stood up, and said.

'Take advantage of this nice weather, let's keep marching!'

(End of chapter)