Around the road at the bottom of the slope, many figures were busy; at a glance, there were dozens of them, seemingly setting up traps.
In such an environment...
That blue-haired man remained leisurely lying on the slope. No one dared to disturb him, let alone ask him to work alongside them.
This was the privilege of the strong!
With a toothpick in the corner of his mouth, the blue-haired man gazed at the night sky, dazed for a moment, even though more than half a year had passed.
That world-renowned battle still surfaced in his mind from time to time, and he constantly replayed it, though he had already done so a hundred times or more.
It was the first defeat since his birth.
Speaking of which!
Did that guy actually fight to a draw with a woman?
The blue-haired man's chewing motion paused as he recalled the news from the Royal Capital a while ago, his face showing a hint of displeasure.
"To slaughter two noble houses single-handedly, including his own Family, and even manage to escape the Empire calmly... she is indeed a terrifyingly fierce woman."
"She seems like a formidable character; I really want to have a match with her."
The blue-haired man thought silently. He pulled one of his arms from behind his head and rested it gently on the long blade at his waist.
Speaking of which, the number of powerful female experts was indeed small; after all, women were far inferior to men in terms of physical ability alone.
In recent years, an all-female adventurer team called 'Blue Rose' seemed to have gained high fame; they should also be a group of relatively strong women.
Step— Step—
Heavy footsteps approached from not far away and stopped beside the blue-haired man.
"You certainly are leisurely, Brian."
A rough and hearty voice called out.
Brian lazily lifted his eyelids to look at the burly man standing beside him, who had short blond hair, a full beard, and arms as thick as an ordinary person's thighs.
At first glance, his hearty appearance easily garnered goodwill, but in reality, he was no good man—in fact, 'vile' would be an appropriate description.
This blond brute was the leader of the 'Death Spreading Sword Sect' mercenary group, a fellow named Feikampa—a name Brian guessed was fake.
As for his real name...
Brian had no interest in knowing: "Are you sure they will take this road?"
"Of course, my friend. In fact, it's not hard to deduce."
"Even if they have a Demonic Beast like a Ghost Hound as a mount for their journey, that Alchemist gentleman stops at every village and city to stay for a while and sell potions."
Captain Feikampa grinned, a brilliant smile appearing on his face as he licked the corner of his mouth:
"That has given us plenty of time to prepare."
Brian gave a cold snort: "Heh."
"Truly confident. No wonder—even the long-famed Mithril-rank adventurer team 'Rainbow' from E-Rantel fell completely. He indeed has the right to be confident."
A bright light flashed in Brian's eyes—the excitement of a hunter seeing worthy prey.
Seeing Brian's interested expression, Captain Feikampa's smile grew even more brilliant, his heart settling.
To be honest,
Captain Feikampa himself found it somewhat unbelievable that the world-renowned Genius swordsman Brian would actually join their mercenary group.
"Selling potions constantly... it seems that Genius Alchemist is quite short on money." Brian once again lifted the arm that had been resting on his sword hilt and placed it behind his head, shifting into a comfortable position.
Slap! Slap!
Captain Feikampa slapped his muscle-bound neck hard, his eyes showing a trace of excitement and bloodlust: "Who knows? Powerful Alchemists have always been a group that makes money fast and spends it just as fast."
"All I know is that after selling so many Alchemy potions, he must have a few hundred gold coins... maybe even a thousand."
"Hahaha! Plus the bounty, it's incredibly exciting. That blade you've got your eye on—you'll be able to afford it after we finish this job."
Brian remained expressionless, nodding almost imperceptibly.
He needed to become stronger. Besides training his body, techniques, and Martial Skills, weapons were also a path to enhancing one's strength.
The price of magic weapons was extremely high, but what Brian sought was not a simple magic weapon.
Weapons from the distant south, circulating out of the desert cities, possessed performance surpassing ordinary magic weapons even without enchantments.
The price of such weapons was, of course, terrifyingly high.
The weapon he had his eye on was valued at around 5,000 gold coins. An ordinary person couldn't earn that much even if they worked their whole life; it was wealth that could not be acquired through normal means.
Therefore,
Brian had joined this mercenary group of about 70 people. Compared to the messy, restrictive rules of adventurers, mercenary groups didn't have nearly as many regulations.
One could hone Martial Skills by killing and also acquire large amounts of money!
"Alchemy potions for 5 copper coins with healing effects better than recovery potions costing several silver coins... such a cheap price and the inability to be stored for long..."
After a brief silence, Brian suddenly murmured softly:
"Heh, Alchemy potions sold specifically to commoners. That Genius Alchemist seems to be a good person."
Captain Feikampa was stunned at first, then couldn't help but burst into laughter: "A good person? Hahahaha! We're a bunch of villains!"
"True enough."
Brian followed with a low chuckle.
The night gradually faded.
A brilliant golden light began to emerge in the eastern sky.
A carriage pulled by a Ghost Hound Demonic Beast came along the road in the distance, appearing in the sight of the 'Death Spreading Sword Sect'.
"They're here!"
Captain Feikampa lay flat on the slope, his gaze intensifying as he spoke in a low voice.
To one side,
Brian was still lying on the slope with his eyes closed, looking as if he were asleep. In fact, he hadn't slept at all the entire night, but was instead conserving his energy.
He was confident, yet he would not underestimate his opponents.
That Genius Alchemist, the green-haired Magic Caster girl, and the Ghost Hound Demonic Beast were none of them simple characters.
"Everyone get ready. As soon as they fall into the trap, move immediately," Captain Feikampa quickly ordered his subordinates.
The more than 70 members of the mercenary group all pulled out their weapons, fierce expressions appearing in their eyes.
Daytime was not suitable for an ambush—normal people thought so, but Captain Feikampa wanted to do the opposite.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"