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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nDeep into the evening, Arkas and his group finally successfully arrived at the Spider Valley.

nAfter putting down the bags he was carrying, Arkas took in a deep breath of air, then told the black robed merchant beside him, “Sir Wanu, the sky is getting darker. Why not let us rest nearby for the night, then search the surroundings to see if there are any steel mines tomorrow?”

n“That’s good, look, there’s a small hill up in front. We can stay there for the night!” Looking at the small hill not far away, the black robed merchant by the name of Wanu heaved a sigh of relief.

nUnder Goode’s orders, he and another one of his colleagues had disguised themselves as merchants and headed deep into the Terras Forest, acting as bait together with Arkas and the rest. According to his prior arrangement with Goode, he was to rest at the small hill in front after they closed in on the Spider Valley.

nArkas had purchased a general map of the Spider Valley from the association before he set off and saved himself a large amount of time. However, he did not know that the association had with them an even more detailed map that was not disclosed to the public. He was also oblivious to the fact that Yang Ling had led his men in setting up a trap at the small valley before he even set off from Wissen Town.

nThe most experienced killers often took action when their targets are at their most relaxed state!

nTaking advantage of this point, Yang Ling had preemptively set up a heavy ambush at the small hill. Of course, as a precaution, he had sent out many Horned Bee Beasts to monitor Arkas and the rest along the way, in case the killers suddenly took action before leaving quickly.

nArkas did not have any suspicions as he looked at the small dry hill not far away, and instructed the group to move. They set up a few tents on the hill and made a campfire, in case any wild beasts would suddenly barge into their campsite. They sat around the campfire after making the necessary preparations, warming themselves up as they chewed on the rations they brought.

nAfter taking a large bite of rations and taking a swig of rum, Arkas spoke as he looked at the black robed merchant beside him, “Sir Wanu, does your merchant team primarily focus on the sale of steel ores?”

n“That’s right, we not only develop steel mines, we also sell items such as weapons and armor!”

nSeeing that Arkas had not doubted their identities, Wanu looked at his partner, a faint smile spreading from their lips. Originally, they had been afraid that the enemy would take action along the way, and had been rather fearful; However, they had put down all of their worries after arriving at this hill.

nThey saw a cross made from withered branches near the entrance of the valley. According to their arrangement with Goode, that meant that the enemies had taken the bait. All they have to do next was to wait calmly for the enemies to step into the threat. With the leader taking action personally, they were full of confidence for this mission.

nHaving toiled the entire day, the group returned to their tents and slept after munching on their rations. Of course, as a precaution, Arkas got Triangle-eyes to stand guard along with the hunting dog while he went to sleep. He was going to take the next shift after he woke up.

nRoar…

nThere were the howls of wolves coming from the distance, but Arkas and the rest had grown used to it, continuing to sleep without worry. They were completely oblivious to the fact that the two merchants in the other tent had secretly opened their bags and put on tight armor. They gently whipped out their sharp weapons and completed their necessary preparations.

n“I’m so tired. I still have to keep guard at night even after travelling throughout the day. These crystal coins are so hard to earn!”

nAfter taking a yawn, Triangle-eyes, who was responsible for guarding the area, rubbed his blurry eyes. He leaned on a tall tree and closed his eyes to rest after taking a piss. Slowly, his consciousness became more and more hazy, completely oblivious to the faint rustling sound gradually approaching him. He also did not notice the weird little holes under the thick layer of withered leaves nearby.

nCreak…

nSome time later, Triangle-eyes was salivating in his sleep; However, the hunting dog crawling beside him raised its ears in alarm when it heard the sound of dried twigs being stepped on. It stood up quickly, staring straight at where the sound came from.

nThe hunting dog had keen senses, but it did not have the time to alert the group when a sharp arrow came from within the forest, pinning it onto the ground in an instant. The wound was pitch-black. The arrow had obviously been coated with a lethal poison.

n“One man to every tent, quick!”

nAfter killing the hunting dog with an arrow, the black robed man by the name of Draxas gave a hushed order, leading the black robed men straight for Arkas and the rest who were sleeping in the tents. However, just as they were pouncing forward, an accident happened!

nChitter…

nA large group of Horned Bee Beasts cried as they charged forward, fast as lightning, shooting out a concentrated rain of poisonous stingers. Caught off guard, two of the black robed men got hit by the rain of stingers, slumping helplessly onto the ground.

n“Not good, we fell into a trap, retreat, quick!”

nAfter rolling on the ground and avoiding the rain of poisonous stingers, Draxas was alarmed as he instructed the remaining two black robed men to retreat quickly. Unfortunately, it was too late. A horde of Red-haired Tarantula suddenly emerged from under the ground, instantly surrounding them.

n“Hmph, let’s see where else you can run off to!”

nAfter letting out a cold grunt, Yang Ling walked out of the shadows together with his group. Aside from Goode, Orlando and the rest, there was also the Holy Puppet Kayseri who was dressed in a long black robe and wearing a straw hat. In order to allow the puppet to regain its normal movements as soon as possible and train its reaction speed, Yang Ling had decided to bring the puppet along with him.

nLooking at the army of spiders and Horned Bee Beasts baring their fangs, looking at Yang Ling who was said to have even defeated the killer Flowing Venom, Draxas swallowed with difficulty, knowing that their mission had ended in a complete failure. However, he was definitely unwilling to just die here.

n“Hmph, go!”

nAfter letting out a cold grunt, Draxas advanced instead of trying to run away, leading the remaining two black robed men in raising their sharp daggers and pouncing toward Yang Ling who was not far away. They suddenly changed their directions while moving at high speeds, trying to escape the embattlement from three directions, their actions highly coordinated.

nEven though there were many Red-haired Tarantulas, their defensive capabilities were not strong. The experienced Draxas had decided on the direction he was going to escape from in an instant. Unexpectedly, at the instant when he was about to kill off a tarantula blocking his path, an accident happened once again!

nAs the mysterious figure in the straw hat raised his hand, a ball of light enveloped the bodies of the tarantulas in front. His sharp dagger seemed to have hit a piece of sturdy granite.

nHaving their attacks defended against, the three black robed men could not avoid the attacks in time, getting entangled by the sturdy spider’s web of the many tarantulas. Following that, the Horned Bee Beasts launched a second wave of poisonous stingers. They felt their bodies turn numb in an instant. They did not even have the ability to commit suicide, much less counter attack.

n“High-level group Holy Shield, my god, a Red-robed Cardinal of the Church?”

nGoode, Orlando and the rest heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that all of the black robed men had been captured. However, a wave of shocked exclamations came suddenly from the distance. Following that, a few muscular men in dark green armor ran outward at high speeds. They were extremely fast, leaving behind a string of afterimages on the snowy ground.

n“Quick, chase after them, quick!” In his surprise, Goode led his men in pursuit even without Yang Ling’s instruction.

nGoode was fast, but his speed was incomparable to Yang Ling’s!

nYang Ling appeared at the spot where the muscular blokes had been hiding after letting out a cold grunt. Other than a pile of firewood that had not been ignited, Yang Ling discovered a few heavy bags. Opening the bags to take a look, Yang Ling saw a pile of mid to high-level Magical Beast Essence Crystals, a general map, as well as a few troop handbooks!

nMoore Troop Team?

nYang Ling had a thought as he flipped to the identification page of the troop handbook. Looking at the messy state of the surroundings, it seems that the other party had not been hiding intentionally, and were instead troops that had coincidentally passed by the area.

n“Goode, no need to chase after them, let them go!” Recalling the shocked exclamation of the few troops before they left, Yang Ling came up with a plan to take advantage of the mistake.

nAccording to the records on the troop handbook, the Moore Troop Team was a level nine troop team that had over two hundred years of history, and had strong abilities. Furthermore, judging from the speed in which the other party had escaped, they were clearly not average troops.

nAny powerful troop team would definitely have good connections with the Troop Association. Under these circumstances, the troops would definitely report to the Troop Association in a timely fashion now that they had encountered such a strange scene.

nSince they were under the misunderstanding that Yang Ling had the support of an expert from the Church, then Yang Ling would rather allow them to escape and spread the news to the headquarters of the Troop Association. That might bring about unexpected benefits to himself and the Hunter Association.

nThe abilities of the Church were among the best within the Tailun Continent. The Troop Association might have no choice but to act with caution and reconsider engaging in conflict with the Hunter Association after misunderstanding that the Hunter Association had the support of the Church!

nAfter searching the surroundings and ascertaining that they did not miss anything strange, Yang Ling quickly left with the group. Arkas and the rest followed behind them, confused.

nEven though they did not know what was going for the time being, they knew that these were all grave secrets, seeing that important figures like Yang Ling and Goode were taking part in this mission in person. They knew to keep their mouths shut even without Goode having to say anything. Being thieves in the past, they were smarter than the average person. They knew what they could ask, and what they should not talk about.

nJust as Yang Ling had expected, the few troops had quickly spread the information to the headquarters of the Church Association after running a great distance and confirming that they were not under threat. As the main forces of the Moore Troop Team, each of them had a Magical Communication Scroll on them.

nSoon, at the faraway Montson, a few of the managing elders of the Troop Association had gathered together in the night. Their faces were grave as they looked at the information given to them by the Moore Troop Team.

nIn this period of time, they had mobilized all of their forces to investigate Yang Ling’s family, but unfortunately, they had been unable to learn anything new. The more they were unclear of the influence of the family behind Yang Ling, the more worried they were about the consequences of taking action on the Hunter Association.

nA few large families that had existed for millennia had abilities far more powerful than an average person could imagine. Even the families backing the Troop Association had to consider the consequences of engaging in a feud with a family of Ancient Summoners.

nThey now had another worry after receiving the news of the Moore Troop Team.

nThey could not think of a Spellcaster who had abilities powerful enough to instantly cast a group Holy Shield other than the influential Red-robed Cardinals of the Church. Sending a Red-robed Cardinal to Yang Ling’s side meant that the Magical Beast Territory and the Hunter Association had received the silent approval and support of the Church. If that was the case, they had no choice but to consider the reaction and interference of the Church if they wanted to take action on the Hunter Association.

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