Sinisi exhaled, relieved. Though the journey had been perilous, even encountering the Mountain Giant Ape, it had passed without a fight—a stroke of luck for Yaotian.
“Master Mengke, we have arrived at the location you mentioned. Will you have us escort you inside, or will you go alone?”
Mengke’s gaze fell upon a cave entrance halfway up the mountainside, a smile gracing his features. “I am unsure of the situation inside. Let us all go in together; it will be safer.”
Despite his feigned concern for the journey, Mengke subtly stepped back, placing Li Xi in front of him.
A cold smile touched Li Xi’s lips. So, they had reached their destination, and the true intentions were about to be revealed.
Without further thought, Sinisi waved his hand, and the group began their ascent.
Half an hour later, they reached the cave entrance. The gaping maw descended into darkness, the depths obscured beyond a few dozen meters.
“Bring out the glowstones, and let’s enter the cave.”
Four magical glowstones were produced, banishing the darkness. Li Xi surveyed the cave, noting its appearance as an artificially constructed mine shaft with no immediate anomalies.
The group descended for a solid fifteen minutes before the downward slope leveled off. Sinisi studied their surroundings. “This appears to be an abandoned mine shaft. From the tunnels we’ve traversed, no beasts or magical creatures seem to have entered.”
He then turned to Mengke. “Master Mengke, you mentioned you were searching for the Umbral Flower. I mean no offense, but the Umbral Flower typically grows in dark, damp places guarded by magical beasts. This location doesn’t seem to fit that description.”
Mengke pointed down the advancing tunnel. “From the information I have, the Umbral Flower is located at the bottom of the mine. Let us proceed a bit further, and we should find it.”
Seeing Mengke’s insistence on pressing onward, they had no grounds to object and continued forward.
Another hour of walking brought them to the end of the labyrinthine underground tunnels.
At the tunnel’s terminus lay a vast underground expanse, larger than a sports stadium. The persistent dripping of water hinted at their immense depth underground.
Sinisi searched for a considerable time, finding nothing but rock. “Master, what do you see…”
Before their eyes, Mengke approached a section of the wall and tapped it.
*Click.*
The stone wall slid open as if by a mechanism, revealing another secret passage.
“This is as far as you need to go. The rest of the path, I shall take with young brother Li Xi.”
Mengke addressed Sinisi and the others, then pulled Li Xi inside.
Li Xi, seemingly oblivious to the wary glances from Sinisi’s group, followed Mengke with a cheerful demeanor.
Sinisi hesitated several times, wanting to follow, but ultimately stopped. Though suspicion gnawed at them, there was nothing outwardly amiss. Any rash action could backfire and severely damage the reputation of the Black Tiger Mercenary Group.
Shortly after Mengke led Li Xi into the secret passage, they were abruptly met by a pink gauze curtain. In the center of the curtain lay a large, two-meter-wide double bed.
Upon the bed reclined a stunning beauty, scantily clad, her curves alluring, her skin as rosy as dawn.
Every movement, every subtle shift of her gaze, exuded an irresistible allure. Any man encountering her could only feel one thing: pure desire.
Seeing the woman, Mengke’s waist bent slightly, his throat constricting as he swallowed hard. Li Xi could feel the old man’s body temperature rising several degrees in an instant.
Li Xi himself was no better. For a fleeting moment, he felt an urge to transform into a werewolf and tear away the palm-sized cloth that concealed her.
Beyond a primal lust, the woman evoked no other specific feeling in Li Xi. Conquest, ravishment, possession—he struggled to find words to describe his surging emotions.
“Lady Camella, I have brought the suitable candidate. Do you have what I requested…?”
From within the gauze curtain, a flawless, snow-white arm, smooth as solidified fat, slowly rose. Li Xi couldn’t help but lick his dry lips, feeling an overwhelming thirst.
“Master Mengke truly keeps his word. Very well, I shall tell you what to do.”
A voice, so seductive it seemed to penetrate their very bones, emanated from behind the curtain, sending a shiver down both their spines. Li Xi imagined that even a frame of steel would turn to jelly before this woman.
Mengke dared not look directly at the curtain, his gaze fixed on the ground. “I implore you, Lady Camella, to guide me.”
The woman, Camella, gestured further into the room. “There lies a coffin. What you seek is within. Remember, once removed from the coffin, it will only remain potent for three days. After that, it will lose its efficacy.”
Mengke offered his profuse thanks, released Li Xi’s arm, and rushed towards Camella’s indicated direction. Whether it was his eagerness for the long-sought prize or his desire to escape the temptress’s presence, he moved with haste.
With Mengke gone, Li Xi remained. Camella extended her arm, beckoning him, her slender hand as perfect as carved jade. “Little brother, come closer. Sister will show you the most beautiful things in this world.”
Li Xi’s eyes blazed with fire. Without even wiping the saliva from his lips, he grasped Camella’s hand and rubbed it vigorously, as if wanting to meld her into his very being.
“Older sister, you are so beautiful.”
Camella giggled, pulling Li Xi into the embrace of the gauze curtain.
Meanwhile, Mengke reached the spot Camella had indicated and found a coffin. He pulled it open with all his might, revealing a silver teapot inside.
Upon seeing the teapot, Mengke could barely contain his joy. He cradled it as if it were a bride he had just won, his hands trembling.
But before he could examine the contents of the teapot, a black mist suddenly billowed from within the coffin. The mist expanded rapidly, forming a mass as large as a house. From this cloud emerged a mirror-like portal, smooth as polished glass, from which emanated countless biting sounds.
Sensing danger, Mengke’s finger flashed over his spatial ring, and a puppet appeared—humanoid from the waist up, with wheels for legs. Mengke leaped onto its back and slapped its flank. The puppet shot forward like a race car.
Passing by the gauze curtain, he could still hear the muffled sounds from within. The couple, engaged in their passionate rendezvous, were seemingly unaware of the unfolding events.
Mengke, piloting the puppet at breakneck speed through the secret passage, spotted Sinisi and his companions waiting. Without a word, he attempted to flee.
However, Sinisi, noticing Li Xi’s absence, blocked his path with his massive one-meter-long greatsword. “Master Mengke, where is young brother Li Xi?”
Mengke replied with forced urgency, “He has a small matter to attend to inside. We should wait for him outside.”
As Mengke tried to push past, Sinisi maintained his blockade. “Master, it would be best if we left together. Should anything happen to Li Xi, it would be difficult to explain.”
Though Sinisi used Li Xi as a pretext, his suspicion of Mengke was evident. Mercenaries were not usually expected to harbor such mistrust towards their employers, but Mengke’s suspicious behavior and numerous fabrications had raised their guard.
One entered, one emerged, and then he was in a desperate hurry to leave—anyone could see something was amiss.
As Mengke tried to explain, the sounds of gnawing from behind him in the secret passage grew louder, a rustling like countless tiny teeth feasting on scraps of flesh from bone.
The Black Tiger mercenaries’ faces turned ashen. “Imps!”
Imps were the lowest class of demons in the abyss, their numbers so vast that even the abyss itself couldn’t account for them. Standing less than a meter tall and weighing under forty kilograms, their combat strength was less than that of a Rank 1 magical beast. While individually weak, they were devastating in swarms, capable of devouring everything in their path.
During the Age of Chaos, the imps had been responsible for immense devastation across the continent. Ordinary people couldn’t defeat them, and their sheer numbers made encounters often fatal.
Furthermore, imps, being a chaotic race, would typically fight amongst themselves without the command of higher demons. The presence of such large swarms indicated the presence of a higher demon overseeing them.
Even with the Black Tiger mercenaries boasting combat capabilities at the Intermediate Warrior level (Rank 2) or above, they would have little chance of survival against commanded imps, their fate resting entirely on the demon’s whim.
“Move!”
Sinisi roared, abandoning any further thought of Li Xi. He led his men in a desperate attempt to escape.
Unfortunately, the tunnel through which they had descended was now blocked by a massive boulder.
An assassin struck the boulder with his fist, the dull thud echoing faintly. He pressed his ear to the stone, listening intently. “Boss, it’s at least ten meters thick.”
Sinisi glared fiercely at Mengke, who responded with a helpless shrug. “Form a formation.”
The Black Tiger mercenaries drew shields from their spatial rings, bracing themselves and focusing their attention on the secret passage.
Mengke, too, deployed five combat puppets from his spatial ring.
These puppets were clad in silver heavy armor, each wielding a greatsword taller than a man. Standing together, they towered at two and a half meters, resembling formidable giants.
Sinisi, who had been concerned moments before, regained his confidence upon seeing these five Rank 3 combat puppets. As long as the commanding demon was no higher than Rank 4, they stood a good chance of victory.
The mercenaries took measured breaths. Their extensive combat experience taught them the importance of remaining calm before a major engagement, conserving energy, and coordinating their efforts.
Sinisi had unwavering faith in his Black Tiger Mercenary Group. Though only an E-rank mercenary group, most D-rank groups were no match for them.
The sound of imps grinding their teeth grew steadily closer. Sinisi lowered his visor, transforming into a walking suit of armor. As the first seven or eight imps emerged from the secret passage, Sinisi leaped forward, both hands gripping his greatsword, and brought it down with immense force. The imps were instantly cleaved, and the greatsword continued its path, gouging a three-meter-long, half-meter-deep gash in the ground. Any imps caught on either side of the scar met a swift and brutal end, falling like slaughtered fowl during a festival.
“Boss is mighty!”
The mercenaries behind cheered as Sinisi mowed down the attackers. Having a Level 4 Earth Warrior as their leader was their honor and their guarantee of safety.
After cleaving the initial wave of imps, Sinisi tightened his grip on his sword, spun, and took up a defensive stance at the tunnel entrance, unleashing a mighty whirlwind.
The greatsword in Sinisi’s hands became a storm of destruction, shredding every imp that dared to emerge, leaving not a single intact bone.
The entire underground space filled with the whistling of swords and the screams of imps. Those behind, witnessing Sinisi’s relentless defense, began to step forward to share the burden, creating a situation where they might even achieve a significant victory.
Meanwhile, within the gauze curtain in the secret passage, Li Xi’s pants remained firmly in place, though his leather armor had long since been discarded. With his head resting on Camella’s soft bosom, he watched the endless stream of imps emerging and asked, “How many imps are there, really?”
Camella stroked Li Xi’s chest, her enchantingly skilled hands moving over him, evoking waves of heat that radiated from his body.