Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

After listening to Lanris's tearful "experience-based advice," Cohen, inside the carriage, showed no sign of nervousness. Instead, he chuckled and said:

"Don't worry, there will be no problem."

After saying that, Cohen gave Lanlis no more chances to persuade or ask questions, and slowly lowered the curtain of the car window, cutting off Lanlis's still fearful and confused gaze.

Inside the carriage, Cohen turned his head and exchanged a glance with Nephthys beside him; both of their eyes gleamed with unspoken understanding.

Sand snake?
They happened to appear on this path, which experienced drivers had declared absolutely safe, and their target was so clearly heading straight for them.

There aren't that many "coincidences" in this world.
This was clearly a meticulously planned man-made disaster. The "fish" they were waiting for could no longer hold back and was about to take the bait!

Seeing that the other party wouldn't listen to his advice, Lanlis had no choice but to trust him.

Outside the car, Lanris, left alone, felt a surge of powerlessness and despair upon seeing his employer's "stubbornness" and "blind confidence."

He knew that anything he said would be useless, and at this moment, he had no choice but to pray that these two unfathomable employers really had some hidden trump cards.

He had no choice but to trust the other party.

Time slowly passed in the suffocating silence…

Before long, the faint, bloody snake smell that Lanris had previously detected began to grow stronger and clearer.

It was as if countless slippery creatures were rapidly approaching from beneath the sand from all directions!

Immediately afterwards, a dense, chilling rustling sound began to emanate from the surrounding sand.

The sound was like countless scales rubbing against grains of sand simultaneously, coming from afar, layer upon layer, like a tightening net of death.

"They're here...they're here, they're here!"

Lanris muttered to himself, his face ashen, and his body began to tremble violently uncontrollably.

With his almost instinctive intuition for danger honed from years of working in the desert, and the increasingly clear sounds and smells, he made a judgment in an instant:

"Middle class!"
The commotion and the concentration of that fishy smell definitely indicate a medium-sized group of quicksand snakes!
It's over, it's over, it's really all over now!
"I'm doomed here today!"

Lanlis's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, his eyes completely losing their light.

Soon, the once flat surface of the sand sea in the distance began to undulate violently as if boiling, with waves of yellow sand surging towards the lizard vehicle where they were.

This is a typical sign of a sand snake swarm launching an attack; they are collectively manipulating the quicksand, attempting to devour their prey along with the place where it is standing.

Faced with such a powerful attack, unless one possesses the legendary or higher-level ability to alter terrain, they would be doomed once trapped within it.

Soon they will be entangled by endless quicksand and countless slippery, cold snake bodies, and ultimately die a miserable death in extreme fear and suffocation.

Lanris seemed to have already foreseen the final fate of himself and the two "stubborn" employers in the car, and his eyes were filled with nothing but despair.

At this critical moment, a dragon's roar, seemingly from the ancient primordial era, suddenly erupted from the carriage behind him.

The dragon's roar wasn't particularly loud, but it carried a terrifying pressure that surpassed all things, clearly echoing across the entire sea of ​​sand.

As the dragon's roar resounded, the sand waves that had been churning violently like boiling water seemed to be suddenly suppressed by an invisible giant hand.

The restless yellow sand subsided rapidly, visible to the naked eye.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling dark golden light suddenly shone from inside the carriage.

Within the light, the faint phantom of a massive, ferocious, and majestic black dragon could be seen circling and flying around the carriage.

The phantom was incredibly solid, radiating an ancient dragon's might that sent shivers down one's spine.

This was clearly Cohen secretly activating the sacred artifact given to him by Shanes—the "Eternal Ring: Dragon Blood Pact" belt.

The main body of this belt is meticulously crafted from the complete spine of an ancient dragon, and the energy core in the very center of the belt is the eye of an adult dragon.

This sacred artifact itself contains extremely pure dragon primordial power and dragon might.

At this moment, the dragon's might emanating from Cohen, activated by his own power, was like encountering a supreme natural enemy rooted deep in the bloodline for some low-level quicksand snakes.

The moment the dragon's might spread out completely, countless sand snakes that had been hiding beneath the sand could no longer maintain their stealthy and attacking postures.

With a deafening roar, the sand dunes exploded from all directions, and countless snake-like shadows of varying lengths and thicknesses, adorned with dark yellow and blackish-brown markings, shot wildly out from beneath the sand.

The sand snakes had completely lost their previous ferocity, leaving only instinctive fear. They desperately twisted their bodies and fled at high speed, heading away from the lizard vehicle.

In just a few breaths, the despairing tide of death completely subsided.

Apart from the messy, serpentine tracks left on the sand, it was as if nothing had happened.

Lanris, who had survived the ordeal, sat slumped on the sand, mouth agape, staring blankly at the now-peaceful, ornate carriage.

My mind went blank; I couldn't understand what had just happened.

Just as Lanris was still reeling from the shock and disorientation of surviving the ordeal, a hoarse voice, filled with greed and undisguised murderous intent, suddenly rang out from the shadows of the sand dunes to his side:
"Tsk tsk tsk... So pure, so domineering dragon might."

"Kid, you must be hiding some incredible legendary-grade magic equipment, right? Hand it over obediently, and maybe I'll give you a quicker death later!"

Before the words were even finished, whoosh!
Four figures clad in wide black robes appeared silently, like ghosts, on the open sand not far from the lizard vehicle.

They had clearly been lying in wait for a long time, just waiting for the quicksand snakes to create chaos before reappearing to launch a fatal attack.

As soon as the four appeared, one of them eagerly pulled off the hood covering his head, revealing a familiar face with a ferocious smile and greedy eyes.

It was Hahn, a member of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group, who had clashed with Cohen and others at the supply oasis and was severely injured in one blow.

Hahn's face no longer showed any trace of the fear and embarrassment he had shown before; only the exhilaration of his impending revenge remained.

Besides Hahn, the other three also revealed their true identities one after another.

Two of them were dressed in typical desert bandit attire, their leather armor stained with dark bloodstains and traces of sandstorms, their faces bearing scars and exuding a fierce aura.

His eyes were like those of a hungry wolf; he was clearly a ruthless man who had spent years licking blood from the edge of a knife.

The last person's style is completely different from the other three.

He was dressed in a relatively neat dark travel robe, with glasses perched on his nose, and his face looked rather refined.

However, at this moment, his brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt and seriousness flickered deep in his eyes. He was Faust Tack, the strategist of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group.

Unlike his three companions, whose faces practically screamed "greed," Faust's gaze lingered more on the seemingly calm carriage that had just unleashed its astonishing dragon power.

He seemed to be rapidly weighing something, a hint of unease surfacing deep in his eyes.

The driver, Lanris, who was originally slumped on the ground, saw the four people who suddenly appeared, and especially recognized their identities.

He let out a terrified gasp, his face instantly turning from a pale, survivor's pallor to a deathly ashen color, his body trembling violently, and he almost fainted on the spot.

He scrambled to the side of the carriage and said in a voice trembling with tears:
“Master, this…this is the leader of the ‘Ember Fang Brotherhood’ and the ‘Sand Shadow Blade’.”

They...they were the most ruthless and terrifying bandit leaders in the Lahasa Desert.

He then pointed with great alarm to the bespectacled Faust:

"And...and there's that one too, Faust, the strategist of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group."

I've heard that he himself is a Gold-tier transcendent being, and is cunning and ruthless.

"They...the four of them are all big shots at the Gold rank!"

In Lanris's eyes, the appearance of three Gold-level experts to besiege them at once was a hopeless situation with no chance of survival!
Facing four ruthless bandits exuding a chilling murderous aura, the carriage curtain was slowly lifted.

Cohen stepped forward first, showing no fear whatsoever. Instead, he looked at the four people opposite him with great interest, as if they were some interesting sight.

Nephthys followed quietly half a step behind him. Although her face was veiled, her slender figure and the stunning aura she exuded instantly drew everyone's attention.

The moment Nephthys appeared, apart from the strategist Faust, the other three—Hahn and the two bandit leaders—almost simultaneously revealed undisguised amazement and greed in their eyes.

They finally understood why Hahn was so obsessed with her, even willing to disobey orders to take action; such beauty was indeed enough to drive even the most desperate to risk their lives.

Faust's gaze, while filled with amazement, also revealed deep doubt and scrutiny. He was far more clear-headed than his three companions, who were blinded by desire.

How could such a stunningly beautiful and extraordinary woman suddenly appear in the depths of the perilous Lahasa Desert?
Moreover... the more closely he looked, the more he felt that the outline of the eyebrows and eyes hidden under the light veil had a faint sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

This caused alarm bells to ring wildly in his mind.

Cohen's gaze swept lightly over the three ruthless bandits whose eyes were filled with greed, but finally settled on Faust's ever-changing expression, and he asked meaningfully:

"I'm very curious why your Blazing Fire Mercenary Group would so openly collude with these sand bandits, engaging in murder, robbery, and staged crime scenes."

Does the Governor's Office of the "Liuhuo District" know about this?

Did Governor Calvin Freeman himself know about this?

Or was this something he tacitly approved, or even something he orchestrated himself?

Upon hearing this, Faust's expression changed slightly, his heart sank, and a chill instantly shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Something's wrong! Something is wrong!
The "Viscount Ian" in front of them, facing the encirclement and attack of three Gold-rank experts, not only showed no panic or fear, but calmly inquired about their relationship with the Governor's Mansion.

This is definitely not the reaction a noble tourist from a foreign land should have.

Alarm bells rang in Faust's mind instantly; he was almost certain they had bitten off more than they could chew.

The person in front of me is definitely not as simple as the intelligence suggests; he probably has a deeper and more unfathomable background and purpose.

However, realizing this now seems a little too late.

Unlike the meticulous Faust, Hahn and the other two bandit leaders were clearly less thoughtful. They had long since developed an arrogant and disdainful attitude due to their lawlessness in the Lahasa Desert.

Completely blinded by Nephthys's beauty and the treasures on Cohen's body, he failed to notice Faust's drastic change in expression and the deadly implications hidden in Cohen's question.

Especially the leader of the Sand Shadow Blade, who was furious when he saw that Cohen not only did not obediently comply, but also dared to provoke him.

He stepped forward, his gaze greedily sweeping over Nephthys, a cruel smile on his face, and shouted loudly:

"Boy, you dare to be stubborn even when you're about to die? Hand over the beauty beside you obediently, and I, the commander, will give you a complete corpse later, otherwise..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred.

A cold glint flashed in Cohen's eyes as he stood beside the carriage, and he made a handshake in the direction of the clamoring leader of the Sand Shadow Blade.

In the next instant, this notorious bandit leader, whose strength reached the seventh rank, was as if an invisible giant hand had gripped his throat.

All the shouts and snarling stopped abruptly, their faces filled with extreme terror and disbelief, as if they had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.

Before anyone could even react to what had happened—

"Bang!!!"

A muffled, chilling explosion suddenly rang out.

Before everyone's eyes, the leader of the Sand Shadow Blade suddenly exploded from the inside out, turning into a cloud of blood mist mixed with broken bones and internal organs, which dripped onto the scorched yellow sand.

A seventh-tier gold-level expert vanished without even uttering a proper scream.

A deathly silence instantly enveloped the entire venue.

Whether it was Hahn and Captain Jinya who were about to follow the clamor, Faust whose alarm bells were ringing in his heart, or the driver Lanris who was already scared out of his wits.

They were all completely stunned by this sudden and terrifying scene, frozen in place as if petrified.

Faust, in particular, nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets.

At such a great distance, without any warning signs of casting a spell, and without even feeling any intense energy fluctuations, a mere grasp was enough to instantly turn a seventh-tier expert into a bloody mist.
A terrifying thought that sent shivers down his spine arose in his mind.

Could the opponent be a legendary rank?

"Retreat!!! Retreat now!!! Split up and escape!!!"

Faust, almost driven by the instinct for survival, let out a twisted shriek from deep in his throat.

He could no longer care about anything else; his inner magic erupted wildly, and he turned to flee in one direction for his life.

Hahn and the leader of the Ashfang Guild finally recovered from their extreme shock and fear. With a strange cry, like startled rabbits, they each chose a direction and tried their best to escape the sand that had instantly turned into a living hell.

At that moment, they had only one thought in their minds:
Run! Run for your life! Get as far away from this devil in human skin as possible!
However, Faust, Hahn, and the leader of the Ash Fangs had just unleashed their full power and fled in three different directions like startled birds, not even having had time to cover a hundred meters.

A sudden change occurred!

The sand surrounding the three of them suddenly exploded, and thick, azure-blue ice cages radiating extreme cold instantly burst forth from the sand.

With lightning speed, they precisely bound the three of them, imprisoning them in place.

Enhanced Rune: Frozen Foundation!
This sudden icy cage was not only incredibly sturdy, but also flowed with powerful magical runes, constantly emitting terrifying chill capable of freezing the soul.

Even Faust, the strongest among them and already at the eighth level, struggled with all his might but could not budge the cage an inch.

The greed, ferocity, and fear on their faces vanished completely at this moment, replaced by a deathly despair and terror.

Cohen walked expressionlessly across the warm sand, like a cold-blooded grim reaper, step by step, toward the three imprisoned people.

His gaze first fell on Hahn, who was closest to him and was now trembling with fear, tears streaming down his face.

Cohen spoke calmly:
“I ask, you answer.

The first question is: how many bandit groups like the 'Ember Fang Brotherhood' and 'Sand Shadow Blade' have your Blazing Fire Mercenary Group secretly controlled, supported, or colluded with within the Lahasa Desert? Which ones specifically?

Furthermore, within the entire "Blazing Fire Zone," how many other mercenary groups like yours, Blazing Fire, openly display the name of a mercenary group but secretly engage in banditry, and may even be under the command of the same faction, are there? What are their names?

Having witnessed his commander being instantly killed and reduced to a bloody mist, Hahn, who was already terrified, dared not hide anything or hesitate at all.

Like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, he incoherently revealed everything he knew, whether it was core secrets or hearsay, as if afraid that if he hesitated even for a second, he would follow in the footsteps of that regimental commander.

After listening, Cohen's face remained expressionless, and he immediately asked the second question:
"Who is your superior?"

Who is behind and controlling your Blazing Fire Mercenary Group? Who allowed you to plunder merchants and cultivate a bandit gang here?

Hahn paused for a moment, his face showing a mixture of confusion and fear.

He really didn't know the answer to that question. With his qualifications and rank, he had no access to the core secrets of that level.

Seeing the murderous intent flash in Cohen's eyes, he hurriedly stammered an explanation:
"I don't know, I really don't know!"

All I know is that someone from Yongyan would come regularly to collect money and relay instructions.

But I, a nobody, have no right to know who they are or what their identities are.

Hahn was so anxious he was almost in tears.

Cohen looked at his genuine fear and bewilderment, but his eyes revealed no extra emotion. He then raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply.

"Snapped!"

With that soft sound, Hahn, who was imprisoned in place by the ice, suddenly widened his eyes to their limit, watching as a ghostly blue flame suddenly burst forth from his feet.

An indescribable, extreme pain instantly swept over Hahn's entire body.

Hahn let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the flames spread rapidly, devouring his legs, waist, and chest in the blink of an eye...

"If you don't know, you have no value in continuing to exist..."

As Cohen finished speaking, Hahn had already turned into a pile of ashes.

A key member of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group, notorious even in the Lahasa Desert, was annihilated, leaving no trace whatsoever.

(End of this chapter)