"By the way, I saw Viert, the Blood Axe sub-leader, looking worried when he found you before. Afterward, he seemed much more relaxed." Laine immediately changed the topic, though he was indeed curious about what had transpired: "What did he say to you?"
"Viert asked me if we would have to endure another brutal battle like before. If so, he might consider terminating our employment relationship." The female sorcerer's face didn't seem to show much concern.
"How did you respond to him?" Laine thought it was just as he suspected; this task was really too dangerous, and no mercenary corps leader would take on such a potentially annihilating mission.
"I told him there wouldn't be. Belte has already gone out to sea, so we shouldn't encounter such battles again, right?"
"If only things were as you imagined..." Laine frowned. The female sorcerer's considerations were correct, but he had an uneasy feeling that things wouldn't be so simple.
"Laine."
"Hmm?"
"Will you be my partner?"
"Emmm... Are you really asking for a partner and not just a runner... (whispers)?"
"LAINE!!!"
The night in Kaltenhaven was not peaceful.
The sea was even more tumultuous.
Between the Nord Kingdom and the Northern Wasteland lies a narrow strait, known as the Chaos Sea. Within its depths are countless bones buried over hundreds of years, even longer, in the wars between humanity and the Northern Barbarians.
The sea west of Nord Kingdom's seaports is called the Dark Sea, notorious for the plundering fleets of Dark Elf pirates. Whenever their black sails and flags appear on the horizon, it becomes a nightmare for all merchant ships.
In the dark night, a swift ship sped along a route.
"Faster, even faster! Don't worry about pirates and sea monsters! Hurry!" A middle-aged man stood at the bow, wearing a high-footed hat and pulling his collar high, his voice was deep and hoarse.
"We're already at full speed with full sails, sir!" A sailor replied discontentedly; this employer seemed to never sleep, spending all his time at the bow, constantly urging them to speed up.
The sailors felt utterly fed up! Many of them worked over sixteen hours a day.
"Alright, shut up! Once we're done with this mission, you won't be lacking in rewards!" The first mate on the ship viciously shoved aside a sailor who wanted to argue, "After this voyage, everyone gets a turkey to eat!"
The sailors then scattered excitedly.
The middle-aged man watched as the sailors returned to their stations, his scimitar slowly sheathing at his waist.
He could hardly wait to offer blood and glory to his new master,
but the first mate seemed to sense something, and he tried his best to keep other sailors away from him, making him give up the idea of killing two sailors for sport.
Ah~ What powerful strength.
After he told his fearsome master the weaknesses of the northern fortresses without reservation, he received a generous reward. Years of challenges in breakthrough realms were effortlessly crushed under his master's power.
Despite the increasingly dramatic changes in his body, his skin turned redder, horns sprouted from his head, countless gray blood vessels covered his skin, and nails proliferated wildly all over his body.
Yet he enjoyed it.
Everything he saw was tinged with blood color, the color of blood. The Blood God never questioned the origin of blood; it only required its followers to enjoy blood and slaughter, to strive for the strongest position.
Belte swore he was ready.
"Then, let's give those still chasing me a taste of something!"
The Fallen Hunter's sinister crimson eyes glowed red.
He had already connected with a terrifying entity.