Chapter 141: The Royal Cordon

From the moment they entered the Magic Beast Forest, Xu Wen had kept the Black-wind Condor soaring high above to serve as a scout and sentinel.

Aside from lone mercenaries with exceptional concealment skills, no person or magic beast could evade the surveillance of 'Little Black'. It acted just like a smart satellite placed in the sky by Xu Wen, immensely increasing their safety.

After listening intently for a moment, Xu Wen furrowed his brows slightly... Although the Black-wind Condor had not yet received specialized training in message transmission and the signals it relayed were somewhat chaotic, he could still vaguely deduce certain details.

Little Black reported that a large group of unidentified human mercenaries had appeared in the northeast direction and were currently engaged in combat. There was even a powerhouse of the eight-star realm fighting fiercely in the air, and many of them were rapidly approaching their current location!

Wang Xiaoshuai proved worthy of his former title as the commander of the Handsome Mercenary Corps, showing deep concern for his surroundings. Just by observing the high-altitude eagle cries and Xu Wen's actions of gazing into the distance, he deduced a considerable amount of information and asked:

"That direction is where I was imprisoned. Has something happened over there?"

Xu Wen cast a slightly surprised glance at Wang Xiaoshuai:

"You were imprisoned deep within the forest?"

Previously, he had assumed Wang Xiaoshuai had fled into this place from the city.

Wang Xiaoshuai's expression tightened as he nodded in reply:

"The people who took us in were extremely mysterious and possessed extraordinary backgrounds. They allegedly belonged to the 'Hidden Blade', and the person in charge was known as 'Lord Shadow', an eight-star powerhouse... Everyone imprisoned there shared a major common trait—each and every one of them was a mercenary of the six-star realm or higher. After being secretly sent here, all of them had to offer their soul flames to 'Lord Shadow'!"

Xu Wen's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this.

Old Xie also wore a look of surprise, furrowing his brow in deep thought.

The Crimson Alliance was vast, rich in resources, and populated by a massive number of people. Its social order differed greatly from that of the Azure Cloud Empire, and it was entirely plausible for certain factions to secretly establish underground operations.

As for the soul flames, they were also a necessity—after all, six-star martial slaves could easily cause massive trouble at any moment if not subjected to strict constraints. It was just that... judging by Wang Xiaoshuai's tone, the number of six-star martial slaves secretly sheltered in this forest seemed quite substantial!

Furthermore!

The Hidden Blade was one of the top ten civilian mercenary corps in the Crimson Alliance, ranking second in strength with a force exceeding a million mercenaries. Why would they still covertly raise and harbor a massive horde of martial slaves in secret?

"Let's leave this place of trouble first!"

Xu Wen knit his brows tightly and said to Old Xie:

"Release the Demonic Transformation state!"

Having spoken, he glanced at Wang Xiaoshuai once again.

The latter had tactfully changed into a set of loose-fitting magic robes and swallowed a breath-concealing pill. At this very moment, he looked precisely like a four-star intermediate magician.

However, he still seemed bewildered by Xu Wen's instruction to 'release the Demonic Transformation state', staring in astonishment as Old Xie's body began to undergo changes, a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face.

With a long cry, the Black-wind Condor descended from the sky, plunging into the forest.

Xu Wen stepped forward, stroked Little Black's sleek feathers, and shifted his gaze to Wang Xiaoshuai:

"Fine, I'll help you one more time. Get up here!"

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and the five guards vanished into thin air, while Little Tiger also disappeared safely... Meanwhile, Old Xie, who had already shed his Demonic Transformation state and slipped into a black robe, leaped onto the back of the Black-wind Condor at the same time—avoiding unnecessary trouble from the air was indeed the fastest and most effective method.

Before Wang Xiaoshuai could recover from the shock of the Demonic Transformation being reversed, he swallowed hard, leaped up onto the bird, and stared at Xu Wen with an even deeper sense of mystery.

"Demonic Transformation... how... when did you..."

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't know."

Old Xie let out a cold snort to cut off Wang Xiaoshuai's words.

The Black-wind Condor let out a timely, piercing screech, whipping up a fierce gale from within the forest as it rose high into the sky, beating its wings to speed away in the opposite direction of the trouble.

Wang Xiaoshuai stood at the back, filled with doubt and apprehension.

Those guards were actually summoned entities? The forbidden art of the dark mages from legends, the irreversible technique of Demonic Transformation, had actually been replicated on Old Xie!

A six-star fire mage possessing two five-star contracted beasts? Why was someone from the Azure Cloud Empire able to gain the allegiance of a seven-star dark mage in such a short period of time?

Several unbelievable questions tangled endlessly in Wang Xiaoshuai's mind.

Glancing down at the Flying Dragon Spear in his hands and the robe that concealed his wretched and embarrassing appearance, Wang Xiaoshuai looked toward Xu Wen with an increasingly solemn and mysterious gaze.

"..."

"We have trouble."

Just as Xu Wen's voice reached the ears of Old Xie and Wang Xiaoshuai, the two of them spotted a small black dot rapidly approaching from the distance.

The Black-wind Condor altered its course, but the other party changed direction as well, heading straight toward them!

Clearly, it was targeting the Black-wind Condor!

Upon seeing this, Old Xie unhesitatingly took a step forward, half-shielding Xu Wen; Wang Xiaoshuai stepped up from the other side, faintly blocking Xu Wen's remaining flank in a protective posture.

Xu Wen felt a chill in his heart. While instructing the Black-wind Condor to lower its altitude, he retrieved a 'Devil's Eye' and a 'Turbulent Element Pill' from his treasured belt.

The approaching figure was evidently an eight-star powerhouse, but Xu Wen was confident that with these two pills, ensuring the safe landing of the three of them was entirely achievable.

"Halt!"

From afar, a warning imbued with immense majesty swept over them. A thin black film flickered briefly before vanishing completely—fortunately, protected by the barrier cast by Old Xie, neither the three humans nor the beast suffered a direct impact from this overwhelming aura.

"When did the people of the Royal Mercenary Corps also start engaging in dishonest businesses like highway robbery?" Old Xie had already sharp-sightedly spotted the badge insignia worn on the other's chest. Although his tone was displeased, his expression relaxed considerably.

The newcomer was an elder of over sixty years old, with graying sideburns and flowing long hair. Hearing this, he cast a deep look at Old Xie and the other two figures on the back of the Black-wind Condor.

They were completely unfamiliar!

"The Royal Mercenary Corps has been ordered to seal off this area. Unless you can prove you are not members of the Hidden Blade Mercenary Corps, no one is allowed to leave." As he spoke, the opponent unhesitatingly initiated an attack. An invisible aura of frost spread rapidly with him at the center, blanketing an area hundreds of meters around them.

A dark barrier clearly manifested around the Black-wind Condor, beginning to resist the erosion of the chilling cold. Old Xie's expression tightened as beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. Relying purely on spiritual power, he was certainly no match for a legitimate eight-star mage. He quickly glanced at Xu Wen, preparing to trigger his Demonic Transformation.

"Wait!"

Xu Wen's voice halted Old Xie's impending action. Although Old Xie's combat strength after transforming would undoubtedly be no inferior to the opponent's, the battle could not be concluded in a short time. Should it draw more members of the Royal Mercenary Corps, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Even though Old Xie's identity as a plunderer and Wang Xiaoshuai's status as a martial slave could not be exposed, he had the Azure Cloud Empire backing him up, and furthermore, the enemy seemed to be targeting the Hidden Blade Mercenary Corps... He immediately spoke out, carrying his voice far away using his spiritual power:

"Esteemed sir, I am Xu Wen, a student of the Azure Cloud Academy of the Azure Cloud Empire. These two are both my servants, and I can vouch that they are not members of the Hidden Blade Mercenary Corps as you claim."

"Azure Cloud Academy?"

The eight-star water mage hovering in the distant sky was visibly startled:

"What proof do you have to verify your identity?"

"I have a handwritten letter from Dean Nordin here, along with documents identifying me as a student of the academy. I wonder if that is sufficient proof?"

Xu Wen replied neither servilely nor overbearingly.

"Documents can be forged. I need factual proof. I've heard that Xu Wen of the Azure Cloud Academy is the most outstanding disciple of this generation, having deeply inherited Harman's mantle. Demonstrate a spell taught by your master."

"Very well."

Xu Wen had no other choice. Complying with the demand, he cast the 'Condensing Sun Blasting Wave', followed immediately by a 'Golden Flame Fire Wheel', causing the surrounding chill to instantly plummet.

"Very good."

The opponent consciously reined in his aggressive chilling aura, evidently convinced of Xu Wen's identity.

"I am 'Angus', the captain of the Third Squad of the Fourth Regiment of the Royal Mercenary Corps."

"Lord Angus, may we take our leave now?"

"Apologies!" Angus shook his head:

"Normally, as students of the Azure Cloud Academy and honored guests of our Crimson Alliance, since your identities have been verified, you should naturally be allowed to pass. However... this matter is of vital importance! Our Royal Mercenary Corps must ensure that no information leaks out, so until the operation here concludes, you must remain by my side."

Angus's words caused Xu Wen's heart to sink.

"What on earth is going on? My contracted beast just noticed a large number of people heading over from that direction!"

Xu Wen's words caused Angus to be slightly startled:

"What!"

"Roughly how many people are there?" Angus asked urgently.

When it came to eyesight, even an eight-star powerhouse like Angus could not compare to the Black-wind Condor.

Xu Wen pondered for a moment:

"At least over five hundred... Every single one of them is at the six-star realm or higher, and further away, individuals of the eight-star level are fighting. As a student, I felt something was deeply amiss and prepared to take to the air to leave this place in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire." Xu Wen's innocent expression was dialed to the absolute maximum.

Angus flew closer, sweeping his spiritual power across to verify the truth in Xu Wen's words.

Deep within the forest, there were indeed an increasing number of figures moving at high speed, and their numbers and momentum were staggering.

"Damn it!"

Angus cursed aloud:

"The blockade line of the 'Kozmo Team' was actually breached with such a massive gap..."

His brows were tightly furrowed, and his gaze flickered with uncertainty. Over five hundred powerhouses ranging from the six-star to seven-star realms—even Angus would never dare to dream of blocking them single-handedly.

Xu Wen timely posed a question:

"Captain Angus, what on earth has happened? Are they members of the Hidden Blade? Isn't the Hidden Blade a relatively prestigious civilian mercenary corps in your Crimson Alliance? Why is the Royal Mercenary Corps moving against them this time?"

Angus's suspicions toward Xu Wen had completely dissipated. It was impossible for someone from the Azure Cloud Empire to have been absorbed into the Hidden Blade Mercenary Corps in such a short span of time—if they truly belonged to the Hidden Blade, they would at this moment be following closely behind the breakout army, seizing the opportunity to escape while this group drew the attention of the Royal Mercenary Corps.

Immediately, an astonishing piece of information tumbled from Angus's lips...

"During the process of resisting the beast tide, some mysterious elite suicide squads frequently caused chaos in the rear, launching desperate attacks on the mercenary corps' defensive lines and accelerating the spread and intensity of the beast tide... Through multi-faceted reconnaissance by our Royal Mercenary Corps, we suspect that the higher-ups of the Hidden Blade secretly orchestrated these events! But just as our men infiltrated the interior of the Hidden Blade, specifically that secret stronghold, we unexpectedly uncovered a heaven-shaking secret!"

"..."

Seeing the attention of Xu Wen and his companions fully focused, Angus stated heavily: "There are traces of necromancers within the stronghold. Follow me."

(To be continued)