"Brother Lin, the Wudu Mountain Range is so dangerous, how dare you come in here?" Lan Ling asked Li Lin, stepping on dry branches that crackled underfoot.
"I had no idea it was so dangerous inside, I wouldn't dare come again even if it killed me," Li Lin said.
"Is there a next time? If it weren't for your junior sister kindly taking you out, could you still have made it out alive?" Zhao Qing coldly said from the side.
"Yes, yes, I have to thank Miss Lan Ling for this," Li Lin quickly nodded and said.
"No need to thank me, it was just a helping hand," Lan Ling lightly laughed.
"It seems like quite a few people have come." Zhao Qing's expression slightly darkened as he looked around, his brows furrowed, sensing movements from behind.
Lan Ling bent down to the ground, pressing her ear against it to listen to the movements, her round and perky buttocks, slender waist, and jade shoulders forming a tempting perfect curve.
"There are dozens of people, coming straight for us, could they be targeting us?" Lan Ling stood up with a serious expression, dusted off her hands, and then said, "Everyone, quick, hide up in the trees. If they're not looking for us, let's not cause any trouble."
After saying this, Lan Ling then said to Li Lin, "Brother Lin, let me take you up the tree to hide, remember not to breathe."
As soon as her words fell, Lan Ling swept Li Lin up by his waist, stomped her foot, her Qi vibrating, and her figure instantly ascended a twenty-meter-high tree. With a few steps on the branches, leveraging her momentum upwards, she quickly reached a height of seventeen or eighteen meters, hiding behind a huge tree branch, just enough to cover both of their figures.
At the same time, Zhao Qing and the other two, with a tap on the ground and Qi vibrating, quickly reached a large tree each, watching Li Lin and Lan Ling sticking together, Zhao Qing's expression towards Li Lin became even more gloomy.
Seeing Zhao Qing's expression towards him, Li Lin could only give a bitter smile. As the saying goes, beauty is a source of trouble, and now half of Li Lin's body was leaning on Lan Ling, with a faint fragrance emanating from her body, and a soft mass pressing against one of his shoulders, Li Lin knew without guessing it was one of Lan Ling's perky breasts.
At this time, Lan Ling seemed to truly regard Li Lin as a younger brother, not feeling anything inappropriate, and focused her gaze below.
"They should be nearby, search carefully." Fifty or so figures appeared in the forest below, seeing these people, Li Lin's expression changed drastically, all were members of the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group, including the big man with the yellow axe they had encountered not long ago, and the thin man who seemed to be a leader, whom Li Lin had seen after killing two of the Violent Wolf mercenaries and hiding in the tree.
Among these people, a giant man also caught Li Lin's attention, whose aura seemed much stronger than both Lan Ling and Zhao Qing.
"Brother, I feel like there were people here just now, those few ran really fast?" the big man with the axe said.
"Search carefully, they should be nearby, maybe they are hiding." The giant fat man said, "Release the Scent Tracking Rat, find those people."
A big man in yellow quickly took out a ten-centimeter-long earthy yellow rat from his body. Under the big man's signal, the rat sniffed around and then quickly started searching the ground.
Seeing this earthy yellow rat, Lan Ling's expression slightly changed. Although the Scent Tracking Rat is a first-order demon beast with low attack power, it is naturally a hunting expert, able to smell any scent.
"Squeak squeak…"
The Scent Tracking Rat in the tree canopy squeaked a few times, then climbed up a large tree where Zhao Qing was hiding.
"Actually hiding in the tree, come down." The man with the giant axe laughed and called out.
"Found us, let's go down," Lan Ling said softly, her Qi vibrating, pulling Li Lin and with a few flashes, lightly descended from the air.
The graceful and exquisite curves were fully revealed, immediately many of the big men below stared straight at Lan Ling, such a woman was not something you could find just anywhere.
"Chi chi..." Zhao Qing and the other two's faces also turned grim. They immediately leaped down from the tree, keeping a vigilant eye on the people around them.
"Dear sirs, do we have any grievances with your Violent Wolf Mercenary Group? What do you want?" Zhao Qing stepped forward and said, "If we were within the territory of the Myriad Beasts Sect, I wouldn't even spare a small Violent Wolf Mercenary Group a glance. But now, this is the Misty Mountain Range, a chaotic place on the outskirts. The Myriad Beasts Sect has some influence here, but no one will easily yield. In this place, strength is the ultimate rule."
"Are you people from the Myriad Beasts Sect?" A giant man stared at the five of them and asked, his gaze different from the others, as he was lecherously ogling at Lan Ling's prominent chest and curvy buttocks.
"That's right, we are from the Myriad Beasts Sect. You Violent Wolf Mercenary Group can't afford to provoke us," Zhao Qing said.
"You ignorant kids, do you think this is the Myriad Beasts Sect? This is the Misty Mountain Range," the giant man glanced at Zhao Qing and then swept his gaze over the five of them one by one. He continued, "A few days ago, two members of my Violent Wolf Mercenary Group were killed by you, right? Hand over the spatial bags, and I might spare your lives."
"What are you saying? We don't understand. We haven't killed any of your people," Lan Ling's expression turned grim as she stared at the giant man.
"They are looking for me," Li Lin naturally realized that the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group was making a fuss just to find him. It seemed like they were searching for something specific within the spatial bags.
Li Lin suddenly remembered when he was hiding in the big tree earlier; the leader of these skinny men in front seemed to be searching for something in the person killed by Little Dragon. Could there be something important in that spatial bag? After obtaining the spatial bag, Li Lin hadn't had a chance to check it these past few days while being with Lan Ling and the others.
"Don't be too unreasonable. We are not easy to mess with either. Provoking the Myriad Beasts Sect, you should know the consequences," Lan Ling's expression turned grim, and she warned.
"Hmph, what an arrogant girl. I'll see later if you're just as arrogant in bed," the leader of the skinny men coldly retorted. He produced two short knives, each about half a meter long, with a chilling radiance. With a swift burst of true energy, he launched an attack towards Lan Ling.
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"Is he also a First-Rank Martial Master?" Li Lin observed the skinny man. Judging from his aura, he was on par with Lan Ling and Zhao Qing, both at the First-Rank Martial Master level.
"Little brother Lin, you're on your own now. I can't protect you," Lan Ling said to Li Lin beside her. Then, she activated her true energy, holding a blue longsword in her hand, enveloped in a fiery red aura. With a flick of her sword, she sent it towards the skinny man.
"Hmph, taste my axe!" At this moment, the second-in-command of the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group shouted. His true energy surged, and his giant axe was enveloped in a whirlwind of true energy. A sharp blade cleaved through the air as he fiercely attacked Zhao Qing. His cultivation was noticeably higher than the leader's, likely at the Third-Rank Martial Master level.
Sensing the strength of this axe-wielding man, Li Lin frowned. The Four from the Myriad Beasts Sect might not be a match for the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group. The enemy had around fifty people, and the three leaders seemed to be getting stronger one by one. With this axe-wielding man's strength, Lan Ling and Zhao Qing couldn't contend.
As for the remaining giant man, judging from his aura, his strength was probably even more terrifying. In any case, Li Lin was in trouble this time.
Facing the second-in-command of the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group, Zhao Qing's expression panicked. Suddenly, a blue light radiated around him, and a water attribute aura expanded. His silver-white longsword surged with true energy and clashed with the enemy's attack.
"Sss"
As an axe and a sword clashed, the force scattered wildly. Zhao Qing's body staggered backwards, the strength of these two leaders terrifyingly strong.
"Everyone, attack! Kill them all, leave no one behind." A giant man bellowed, his seemingly obese body moving at an astonishing speed, dragging a phantom-like afterimage and unbelievably reaching in front of Liu Peng, an eight-level warrior.
Liu Peng's expression flickered with surprise, and immediately, the hooked weapon appeared in his hands, a light blade slicing through the void, instantly hooking towards the giant man.
"Your strength is not enough," the giant man said coldly. His somewhat chubby hands formed a seal, and a ball of crimson flame enveloped Liu Peng's hooked weapon.
Upon contact with the giant man's condensed fiery anomaly, the weapon turned red in the blink of an eye. The temperature transmitted through the weapon to the handle made Liu Peng's expression turn to shock, and he quickly released his grip, retreating rapidly.
At that moment, the giant man's condensed flames howled and surged, instantly engulfing Liu Peng within. To the naked eye, Liu Peng's protective qi around his body visibly dissolved rapidly, turning into black smoke that drifted away.
"Sss, sss!"
In a panic, Liu Peng's face drastically changed. His hand seals rapidly changed, and, being not too weak a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect, he had some techniques. His hand seals condensed, and the qi within his body surged madly, the earth attribute qi completely enveloping his body. An invisible surge of qi burst forth.
"Boom, boom..."
After a muffled sound in the space, Liu Peng staggered back, his face pale as if he had expended a lot of energy.
"Not bad, but now it's time for you to die," the giant man roared, his body rushing forward, his palm curling into a claw, with strands of flame, like an eagle's claw, viciously aiming for Liu Peng's chest.
Watching the flaming claw imprint coming towards him, Liu Peng's face turned deathly pale, only able to retreat rapidly. However, he couldn't match the speed of the opponent, whose claw imprint unbelievably pierced through his defense, immediately landing on his chest.
Five sharp penetrations poured down, Liu Peng's pupils instantly narrowed, and five finger marks pierced through his chest, blood spurting out. His body heavily fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Kill..."
The remaining dozens of members of the Savage Wolf Mercenary Group also attacked Yan Baiqing and Li Lin at this time. Among these nearly fifty people, about fifteen were of warrior cultivation, and the rest were of martial disciple level.
However, although surrounded by fifty people, only those fifteen warriors actually charged at Li Lin and Yan Baiqing. The two only really faced two or three people at a time in the siege. Unlike spirit users who could attack from a distance, being surrounded by dozens of spirit users would be a certain death.
At this moment, Yan Baiqing's face was pale. A man dressed in a warrior outfit, seemingly of the seventh-level warrior strength, rushed forward with his qi trembling, and with a punch, a qi-condensed fist imprint blasted out.
Retreating rapidly, Yan Baiqing clenched his fist as well, carrying a fierce qi, quickly colliding with the opponent's. As they collided, a crisp cracking sound followed, and both were sent staggering back by the fierce qi. Yan Baiqing's punch, however, seemed to have the upper hand.
But then, a sixth-level warrior and a fifth-level warrior came sweeping in together, both wielding long swords, casting several sword beams, enveloping Yan Baiqing.
Yan Baiqing, true to his status as a disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect, had his expression turn cold, seemingly ready to go all out, and bellowed, "Get out of my way."
As his voice fell, Yan Baiqing's body suddenly surged with qi, and his figure, like a ghostly shadow, weaved through the sword qi, the two burly men's sword qi failing to trap him.
"Let's take care of these small fries first," a voice instantly spoke by Yan Baiqing's ear, as a flame claw mark tore through the void, the powerful qi force sweeping across.
Yan Baiqing's face darkened, the opponent's strength too overwhelming. In a panic, he struck out with a palm, colliding with the flame claw mark.
As the two attacks met, Yan Baiqing's body was like a leaf in the autumn wind, sent flying awkwardly. The claw mark contained a powerful hidden energy that struck his palm, piercing through and directly impacting his internal organs with a scorching aura.
"Pff." A gush of blood spurted out, and Yan Baiqing's body heavily crashed to the ground.
"Hmph, too weak, simply seeking death." The fiery aura receded, and the giant man leader's figure appeared in front, his piercing gaze then fixing on Li Lin, who was surrounded by the mercenaries at a distance.
"Sss, sss."
As Yan Baiqing's body hit the ground, several members of the Savage Wolf Mercenary Group pounced forward, seizing the opportunity to break his neck.
With Yan Baiqing and Liu Peng killed, though this tale seems long, it actually unfolded in less than a minute. In that minute, an eighth-level and a seventh-level warrior were slain, falling entirely by the hand of the giant man leader.
"Baiqing, junior brother."
Lan Ling's expression drastically changed, and with a sharp shout, her blue sword continuously sliced through the void, sword beams swallowing, pressing the skinny man breathlessly.
All this was witnessed by Li Lin, surrounded by a dozen people forming a semi-circle around him, his expression also turning grim. Retreating continuously, he was always looking for a chance to escape, and these mercenaries seemed not to feel the presence of qi in Li Lin, not attacking immediately.
Watching the scene, Li Lin was most wary of the giant man leader, whose strength was probably at the sixth or seventh level of a martial master, far too strong for him, a difference of an entire rank. He was no match, and not even the Vermilion Bird Art would work now.
"Are you not attacking yet?" the giant man leader coldly shouted.
"Kid, die." The surrounding people encircling Li Lin hesitated, then a martial disciple swung his blade towards Li Lin.
"Ah." Li Lin intentionally screamed in fright, scrambling and rolling, coincidentally dodging the martial disciple's attack.
"So he's just a coward, and here I thought disciples of the Myriad Beasts Sect were supposed to be something special." Seeing Li Lin's act, the mercenaries, who were somewhat tense at first, burst into laughter.
"It's over." Though pretending to be foolish, Li Lin's gaze constantly stayed on the giant man leader. Seeing the leader approaching, he inhaled sharply, ready to give it his all, or perhaps with Little dragon's help, there might be a chance to escape.
"Get back."
Just as Li Lin was making up his mind, a loud, delicate shout came from ahead, drawing the giant man's attention quickly.
Following the gaze, Li Lin saw Lan Ling, after her shout, her towering chest heaving slightly, repelling the skinny man with a sword, then sheathed her blue sword, formed a strange hand seal, and slapped a pouch at her waist, from which a streak of light shot out instantly.
"Ga."
The streak of light soared into the sky, then transformed into a one-meter-tall crimson flying hawk, a powerful aura spreading out. The crimson flying hawk's claws were like hooks, and its sharp curved beak was like the barbs on a sharp knife.
"A third-order monster, the Blazing Flame Hawk." Li Lin was surprised; if he wasn't mistaken, this was indeed a third-order monster, the Blazing Flame Hawk, a fire-type monster capable of spewing blazing flames.
At this moment, Lan Ling formed another strange hand seal, a stream of essence blood spat out, her face instantly turning pale. She took out a medicinal pill, mixed the essence blood with the pill, changed the hand seals, and then tossed the pill towards the Blazing Flame Hawk.