Chapter 382: Sword Intent and Secrets (III) (1/2)
Chapter 382: Sword Intent and Secrets (III)
In the morning, the Yue Ye Merchant Group slowly left the Southeastern Fort, and headed towards the demon territory. After obtaining the directives from the Warrior Temple, the inspection on the road became a lot more relaxed.
Long Haochen and his comrades were seated in a cart in the middle of the caravan.
Finally returning to the demon territory, their mission started anew. But their frame of mind when facing demons was now totally different. If during their last trip, they could be described as apprehensive or excited, now they were a lot more steady, and gained the self-confidence they didn’t have before.
The Yue Ye Caravan was rich and imposing, and the cart in which Long Haochen’s group resided looked the same as the one Yue Ye rode in, the first time they followed the caravan to the demon territory.
The interior was spacious and warm. It even contained a table and a food storage inside, stocked with great quantities of food.
Opening the window curtains, Long Haochen looked outside. Dawn came, and they exited the Southeastern Fort. Outside, the sky gradually lit up, though the weather wasn’t so good, and it was drizzling.
From the Eternal Melody, Long Haochen retrieved a map made of sheepskin, and spread it on the equally shared table.
This map contained densely packed annotations and descriptions of all the circumstances in every demon province, the various demon clans residing in every province, as well as the locations of the demon gods. In all certainty, the officials from the Temple Alliance wouldn’t have such a detailed map.
This map was naturally obtained from Yue Ye, who gave it under the condition that Long Haochen wouldn’t hand this map to the Alliance.
Long Haochen pointed to a town in Nareiks Province on the map, “This is the capital of Nareiks Province, and the place where the Birdy Demons are stationed. It’s where our first mission will need to be completed. Approximately in the evening, the Yue Ye Caravan will reach the demon camp, if everything goes without a hitch. Tomorrow in the afternoon, the caravan will pass through Naduo City, the capital of the Nareiks Province. Since the incident, when the Yue Ye Caravan was ambushed the last time, the check of the demons in the Yue Ye Merchant Group became a lot more relaxed. We should take this chance to go find and kill five Golden Birdy Demons and complete our first mission in Naduo City, before following the merchant group penetrating further inside the demon territory.”
Wang Yuanyuan asked, “Captain, if we assassinate the Golden Birdy Demons after reaching Naduo City, wouldn’t the merchant group become suspect? According to the map, there should be a demon god watching the city.”
Long Haochen nodded, “It will be bound to look suspect. However, even so, they wouldn’t dare search the merchant group. And even if they search it, would they even find us?” Right at this moment, he couldn’t help but reveal a smile.
Wang Yuanyuan immediately had a flash of realisation and nodded in response. The others also had smiles on their faces. That’s right! Spotting Long Haochen’s group wouldn’t be an easy task.
Why was it that Long Haochen dared accepting sixteen missions, even including a challenging mission demanding to kill the 72nd demon god? The confidence in their strength aside, it was also because they had a survival method other Demon Hunt Squads didn’t have, and that was the Tower of Eternity. When encountering strong enemies, they were easily able to avoid crossing their path.
With a flicker of light, Long Haochen’s look became ice-cold, “Okay, now the first plan is settled. I will ask for the help of the people from the Yue Ye Merchant Group to make a stop at a certain location in the Golden Birdy Demons territory. To complete the assassination as fast as possible, we will have to act separately. Cai’er and I will both take out one Golden Birdy Demon each. Lin Xin, you are forming a team with Han Yu. You will use the Spiritual Stove of Blue Fire Phoenix to kill one Golden Birdy Demon while Han Yu will be providing support for you. And Yuanyuan, Sima Xian, you two will handle one Golden Birdy Demon each, with Chen Ying’er supporting you.”
“Yes.” Everyone accepted boisterously, showing excited expressions.
After staying in seclusion for a year, they felt eager for action, and welcomed the chance to kill demons. And by facing so many of the Golden Birdy Demons in individual battles, they would all be able to test their progress. This was the first time they didn’t have doubts when facing this kind of strong creatures, which proved their confidence.
The process of entering the demon territory went without a hitch. Exactly as Long Haochen said, the Yue Ye Merchant Group was treated a lot better than in the Temple Alliance upon reaching the demon territory. Many of the demons knew already about Yue Ye’s relationship to the crown prince of the Devil Dragons, the sole successor of the Demon God Emperor, so who would dare inspect their caravan? This was to say nothing about the lesson the three demon gods that had assembled an army against the Yue Ye Merchant Group had been taught. As a result, now no matter where the merchant group went, they were unimpeded.
This was also the reason why Long Haochen regarded the Yue Ye Merchant Group so highly. With this protective cover, they would be saved a lot of troubles. More importantly, the Yue Ye Merchant Group would provide them with a lot of information. At first glance, many of the sixteen missions looked very challenging, but with the help of the Yue Ye Merchant Group, their troubles were at least lessened by a third, which at the same time reduced the degree of danger.
After smoothly passing the demon checkpoint, in the morning of the following day, the merchant group was already deep in the Nareiks Province, and exactly as Long Haochen estimated, they reached the capital of the Nareiks Province, Naduo City by mid-day. The merchant group temporarily rested here for an hour, before continuing their journey.
To a group of freelance merchants like the Yue Ye Merchant Group, the process of trading wouldn’t lead them to stop at inns, as it would add up a lot to the expenses while reducing their efficiency. Thus, they carried tents in their carriages, making it so that they could rest wherever they stopped. Thus, after entering Naduo City, the pressing need was to replenish their supply of water and food, while providing Naduo City with goods for trading. This process took just one hour. Naduo City in itself was filled with some people from the Yue Ye Merchant Group, who made their preparations and were waiting for them long ago, to optimize their efficiency.