Chapter 746: Origin Power is Everything (1/2)

In the period that followed, the Black Grove of the southern wilderness became a life-devouring blackhole. It was a one-way trip regardless of how many people arrived here. The wooden stakes erected on the forest borders only grew in number, and the corpses flying on them seemed to be telling a tale of the forest’s terrors.

No one, from lone assassins to hundred-men mercenary corps, could escape this fate.

For a time, even the greediest and most bloodthirsty of criminals began to hesitate because one would need to be alive to receive the reward. Now that things had reached such a state, everyone understood that the two youngsters were fitting of the reward. Other famous characters couldn’t help but secretly weigh how much the Wolf King would be willing to offer if they were in Qianye’s shoes. The results weren’t always satisfactory—some were worth a few thousand and others, twenty. To be frank, those worth over fifty thousand wouldn’t be doing such risky businesses.

In the neutral lands, every gold coin of bounty was worth its value.

But these mercenaries and assassins were like hungry vultures. They were unwilling to give up despite being clear about the situation. They held onto the fantasy that Qianye would grow tired and make a mistake under the combined assault of the wolf pack. If they were lucky enough to encounter a heavily wounded Qianye, it would change their lives forever. This was worth gambling for.

Some shrewd people believed Qianye couldn’t have produced such accomplishments. They felt that the youngsters were only there as bait, while the true expert was waiting in the shadows.

All kinds of guesses and conjectures were made. It was just that all these mercenaries and assassins kept them a secret, unwilling to exchange information amongst themselves. Everyone was afraid of losing this vast amount of wealth to another.

The situation in the Dark Grove fell into an eerie calm as all squads deliberately maintained a fair distance from the forest. After all, those who could fight freely in the woods were rare—most of them had already entered the woods long ago and become hanging corpses.

Two weeks thus went by peacefully. Things were so calm that many realized that something was wrong. They began talking to each other and found that there hadn’t been a single battle in the recent period. Only then did they realize that Qianye might’ve left.

That was only a guess. They still didn’t dare act carelessly because they would become targets if this were a trap. As such, the cautious mercenary companies began exploring the area little by little. At this rate, their investigation would take half a day and still not cover the entire forest.

Qianye and Nighteye were already in Port City as the situation in the Black Grove fell into an impasse.

The old airship was puffing clouds of steam and emitting ear-splitting rumbles as it swayed toward the airship port. About ten meters from the ground, the unsteady descent turned into a freefall, and the airship slammed into the landing platform. The impact was no different from a crash, but the sturdy vehicle somehow remained intact even after such a landing.

The airship doors opened up and the passengers walked out of the airship one after the other. Despite experiencing this massive jolt, many of the passengers seemed fine and their expressions, unchanged. Apparently, all of them were used to riding such old airships. Some started vomiting after exiting the airship, desperate to squeeze their stomachs out.

The guards nearby glanced disdainfully at those who were throwing up. “More newbies.”

An old veteran said meaningfully, “Newbies are good.”

A couple of other soldiers broke into an evil laugh.

However, there were also some exceptions among the newcomers⁠—Nighteye and Qianye for instance. Their physical strength allowed them to endure the rolling of advanced high-speed airships for an entire day, not to mention this little jolt.

After walking off the airship, Nighteye glanced into the distance. “That’s Port City?”

Qianye also looked over at the surroundings and said, “This should be it. There are only grasslands and farms in the surrounding areas.”

“This rundown city isn’t much better than that small town of ours. Well, there’s a small area over there that’s well built.”

Qianye smiled. “Interesting, half of it is built in the vampire style and the other in human fashion.”

“Let’s go and take a look.”

“Leave that for when we’re free. We need to find the old man first.”

The guards and passengers nearby were stunned upon hearing their casual conversation. Everyone looked in the same direction, but all they could see was a faint mist hanging in the air. Being able to see a couple hundred meters could already be considered great eyesight.

Port City was quite misty and would often be shrouded in it in the mornings and evenings. The mist rising from the Eastern Sea, regardless of thickness, possessed the ability to insulate perception. The stronger one’s cultivation and perception, the farther one could see through the mist. That was why the eyesight test had always existed throughout the history of the neutral lands. Numbered targets would be placed inside the mist when it arose. The further away one could see, the better one’s perception and eyesight. Many major powers would use this method to choose snipers and scouts.