Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After freshening themselves up, Yang Ling and Yuna began their journey back to the Aila Mountain Pass. Along the way, they kept their guard up, choosing to travel in deep mountains and dense forests. Even though they had managed to kill Flowing Venom despite being caught off guard, they might be so lucky if they encountered another terrifying assassin.

They were cautious while they traveled, completely oblivious to the uproar that was happening in Montson, thousands of miles away.

Before any killer went on a mission, the association would place a magic mark on their bodies so that they could get a sense of their general location and situation at any time. After losing Flowing Venom’s tracks two days ago, staring at the magic orb slowly spinning in place, the expression of a few black-robed men began to sink.

A black-robed man said slowly, “Two days have passed and we still do not have any news. Could there be sage level fighter hiding near Yang Ling, causing even Flowing Venom to meet with misfortune?”

Two days without any news meant that there was a high possibility that Flowing Venom was hurt, or worse. Flowing Venom had reached the level of Lesser Sage twenty years previous. His abilities were within the top few in the association. There was only one explanation if even he was no match for Yang Ling, and that was that there was at least a sage level fighter hiding nearby.

“We have suffered such a huge loss this time, we cannot let it rest like this. With Flowing Venom’s indefensible poison techniques, he would not be at a disadvantage even if he encountered a sage-level fighter. Even if he met with misfortune, the other party would not be too well off either. In my opinion, rather than wait like this, we should go all out on killing Yang Ling, who is escaping back into the Magical Beast Territory!”

Staring at the slowly rotating magic orb, a black-robed man with a white moustache had a steely expression, speaking as he clenched tightly to a mottled, snake-shaped magical staff. The association had lost a large number of elites in their pursuit of Yang Ling this time around. Their losses were unprecedented in the past decade.

Furthermore, he had the closest relationship with Flowing Venom in the Association of Assassins. He hoped to increase the intensity of the pursuit. He wanted to kill the detestable Yang Ling in one strike.

“No, Elder Kurt, even though the reward this time is considerable, it would not be worth it to lose more of our elites because of it!”

After a moment’s consideration, a horse-faced man rejected White Moustache’s suggestion and continued, “The family behind a noble who has a sage level fighter as a guard must have abilities far superior to our imagination. Offending a great noble who has existed for thousands of years for a sizeable reward is not a smart choice!”

Hearing the horse-faced man say this, the group fell silent in thought, White Moustache included. Even though he was furious, he understood the severity of the situation.

Some ancient families might seem peaceful on the surface, but their hidden abilities might have reached alarming states. Even the massive Church might not dare to offend these families, much less the Association of Assassins that acted mostly in the shadows. If they mobilized all of the elites in the association, they would be able to kill Yang Ling even if he had a sage level fighter guarding him. But after accomplishing the mission, they had to consider the fact that they might be the target of an act of vengeance!

The Master of the association looked at the people arranged around the room from inside a black ball of light. Presently, he ordered, “Pause all pursuit of the target, extract all the spies we have in the Magical Beast Territory, and find Flowing Venom as soon as possible! Also, seal off all information regarding this!” He left quickly, vanishing into thin air, only leaving behind a faint ripple.

After receiving the order, the black-robed men scattered one after another, quickly taking action. But despite the seal on the information, they could not hide the matter from those who truly wanted to investigate.

Four hours later, the envoy of the Banto Empire left Montson in a hurry, journeying overnight back to the Banto Empire. The foreign affairs minister Grichie suddenly cleared all of his appointments, claiming that he was suffering from a severe illness. He locked himself at home, secretly gathering all of the warriors he had sent out.

If the strange actions of the envoy of the Banto Empire and Grichie gave the merchants a sense that something was changing, then the Emperor’s actions made them visibly excited.

In the early morning of the second day, the Emperor, whose position on the Yang Ling question had been hazy, announced that he would be sending a diplomat to stay in the Magical Beast Territory, thereby officially announcing support for Yang Ling and the Magical Beast Territory under his control.

As the news spread, a commotion broke out within merchant associations of all sizes, each officializing their plans to establish a presence in the Magical Beast Territory. In the past, they were still a little worried if Yang Ling could guarantee their benefits or not. It now looked like it had been overthinking on their part!

Successfully breaking through the obstacles of the many warriors as well as avoiding the pursuit of various elite assassins was a testament to Yang Ling’s ability. Even though they did not know the specific details, in the eyes of the people, there was no way that Yang Ling could successfully avert these crises alone. He must have had the support of his family behind him.

No one was clear on how many families with thousands of years of history there were on the continent, but no one doubted the abilities of the family behind Yang Ling. A family that could summon a large number of Magical Beasts to do battle definitely had abilities far superior to an average noble family!

The more uncertain they were of Yang Ling’s true identity, the more hesitant his enemy factions would be to act recklessly. The experienced, crafty Grichie was no exception.

Even though he wanted to kill Yang Ling with one strike so he could split the resources in the Magical Beast Territory evenly with the military minister of the Banto Empire, he had no choice but to reconsider his stance after knowing that even the killer Flowing Venom had met misfortune against the man. The resources in the Magical Beast Territory were alluring, but it would not be worth it if his entire family had to die for it.

Having learned that Yang Ling had successfully escaped the pursuit of the elite assassins, Harribell became so excited that she teared up. If not for the work in her hands, she would immediately lead a team personally into Wissen Town. She had not had a good night’s sleep since Yang Ling had been surrounded, and she frequently dreamed of a bloody Yang Ling appearing before her eyes…

Even though she could not personally travel to Wissen Town, she did quickly send a large-scale merchant team. After having effortfully planned this for so long, she believed that it was time for her and Yang Ling to reap the benefits of their work.

According to the previous agreement, she would obtain forty percent of the income of Renaya’s crystal mine, as well as the rights to build and manage the harbor at the estuary of Donau River. She would also have priority when it came to purchasing rare resources. She and Yang Ling would get what they needed from each other, a win-win situation!

Harribell acted quickly, but large merchant teams like the Aragon Merchant Team were not slow to react either. They all quickly formed large-scale merchant teams, and all of them rushed toward the faraway Magical Beast Territory. Each knew that those who reached Wissen Town first would have the opportunity to obtain an even greater benefit.

While Montson was in uproar and the merchant teams were dispatching merchant teams, Yang Ling and Yuna had avoided trouble and successfully returned to the Aila Mountain Pass riding the Unicorn. They returned to Wissen Town with Ashnamov and the rest who had just arrived at the Aila Mountain Pass, under the protection of a team of guards.

Even though they had set off a few days earlier, Ashnamov and the rest had only reached the Aila Mountain Pass not long before Yang Ling. As it turned out, they had frequently encountered the pursuit of black-robed men when they entered the Wilderness of Siberia. For their safety, Ashnamov had tread carefully, sometimes even leading the group to ambush the pursuing men. They only made it to the Aila Mountain Pass after taking a long detour.

After receiving news of Yang Ling’s successful return, Goode, Alice and the rest waited for him a dozen miles outside of Wissen Town. The townspeople also gave him the warmest welcome when they approached Wissen Town. Looking at the many carriages, seeing the various able craftsmen, they broke into commotion.

“Brother Yang, didn’t you say that you would be back in half a month? Why did you take so long to return?”

After returning to Wissen Castle and waiting for the congratulatory townspeople to leave, Alice finally had a chance to ask. Her eyes were red, her expression haggard. She had been constantly worrying when Yang Ling was not around, her color getting worse each passing day.

“Oh, I stayed in Montson for a few more days to have this necklace custom made for you. See if you like it!” Yang Ling spoke as he took out a small wooden box from within his robes. He then opened it and hung the sparkling crystal necklace on the woman’s neck.

He had bought a crystal necklace for Alice when he was shopping around Montson in the last few days to divert the attention of the enemy faction. A protective magical spell formation was carved into the crystal face, and it would automatically form a magical barrier at times of crisis, absorbing a fatal attack against the wearer once. It was the most suitable present for the woman who did not know any Battle Energy or magic spells.

“I love it, it’s very pretty. Thank you Brother Yang!”

Stroking the sparkling crystal necklace on her neck, then looking at Yang Ling who put on the necklace for her in front of everybody, Alice, despite being touched, felt a little shy at the same time. Her face turned red, as if everyone was looking at her. Folding her sleeves up, she left quickly after stealing a glance at Yang Ling. She was excited to prepare a scrumptious meal for him. Her steps were light, happy as a carefree Bugu Bird.

After sitting down in the meeting hall, Yang Ling listened in silence to the report of Goode, Casey, the Gnome elder and the rest. They spoke of the construction projects happening in the territory to the exploration of resources, from the recruitment of soldiers to the increasing number of troops and adventurers appearing in town…

“That’s right, elder, how’s progress on the Magical Spell Formations?” Yang Ling asked the Gnome elder beside him. He took a sip of rum. The Gnome’s Magical Spell Formation was convenient and practical. If they could equip a large amount of drawn Magical Spell Formations on the weapons and armor of his troops, it would undoubtedly make the Aila Mountain Pass even more impenetrable.

“Sir, this…, there’s not much progress in terms of the Magical Spell Formation!” The Gnome Elder smiled awkwardly and continued. “But my clansmen and I have created a black powder using the Black Pulp Melon, sulfur and black clay. Mixing them in a certain proportion would make them explode on contact, its power more than double that of a Black Pulp Melon!”

Seeing Yang Ling’s look of partial doubt, the Gnome elder led the group out to a vast field, signaling for one of his clansmen to demonstrate the power of the black powder. The latter threw it out with force before the powder blasted the trunk of a large tree into two.

Black gunpowder?

Smelling the pungent scent of sulfur in the air, looking at the black powder in the hands of the Gnome elder, Yang Ling was visibly elated. He did not expect the stumpy Gnomes to have such a unique skill, for them to be able to formulate a black gunpowder of immense power using Black Pulp Melon, sulfur and black clay.