Mist Lord

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"My sword and shield!"

"Woof woof~~~"

To eliminate Xia Yuan, Li Mingyu went all out this time. Chen Wei's side, bearing the most crucial responsibility of containing him, was equipped with one Tier 3 Elf Archer, seven Archers, and six Shield Warriors.

Make sure to use ranged attacks if negotiations fail, keeping Xia Yuan in a constant state of combat and unable to escape.

The result was met with a crushing blow as soon as it landed.

Satir fired an arrow, striking the elven archer in the arm and crippling his ranged abilities. Sword and Shield Number One, shield in hand, led his troops in an attack, forcefully shoving through enemy shield warriors and charging into the enemy ranks.

The black-armored warrior was even more ferocious; with a single sword strike, he annihilated the shield-wielding warrior, and his greatsword was already at Chen Wei's neck.

"Don't move, or you'll die!"

Before the bewildered Chen Wei could figure out what was going on, he was subdued on the spot.

"Boss, it's me, it's me, Chen Wei~~~"

Feeling the chill emanating from the sword's edge, Chen Wei shuddered, his face turning deathly pale. He never expected Xia Yuan to be so ruthless, not caring who it was and going straight for the kill.

"So, you knew I was at Outpost 3, and deliberately chose this location?"

Seeing that the enemy had been subdued, Xia Yuan slowly emerged from the mist.

"No, no, no, it's all a coincidence. I heard that Li Mingyu arranged for Xiao Xiong and his men to deal with you, and I was just thinking about how to tip you off when we happened to run into each other." Chen Wei denied it outright.

Saying it is not the same as admitting to colluding with Xiao Xiong and the others; only then can Xia Yuan's location be accurately pinpointed.

"Still being stubborn? Do you really think your little tricks are foolproof? Without Li Mingyu's support, would Zhao Wu, a mere level 3 lord, have given you so many slave soldiers?"

Xia Yuan's eyes were filled with disappointment, severing the last trace of pity in his heart.

"You...you knew all along?"

Exposed, Chen Wei blushed crimson with shame, his face burning. He then turned frantic, roaring, "I was just trying to survive! What did I do wrong?"

Since we've already lost all dignity, we might as well just give up and do whatever we want.

"You're not wrong, so am I wrong? Do I have to be betrayed twice?"

"You...you knew all along?"

Upon seeing that Xia Yuan even knew about company matters, Chen Wei's face turned ashen, and the breath he had just managed to muster instantly dissipated.

"Out of consideration for Uncle Chen's past relationship, I was already planning to let you go. Even when I came to Yunyang City, I never intended to drag you into this. But you have disappointed me greatly."

Xia Yuan is actually quite sentimental, but Chen Wei has repeatedly challenged his bottom line, making it impossible for him to tolerate this any longer.

"Boss, if I told you that I did this to infiltrate Li Mingyu's inner circle so I could act as your mole in a crucial moment, would you believe me?"

Chen Wei's smile was bleak, but a last glimmer of stubbornness and hope flashed in his eyes.

"I believe you, but it's no longer necessary. I will avenge Li Mingyu myself."

Xia Yuan's expression was cold; after several tough battles, his heart had unknowingly hardened.

The man in black armor understood and knocked Chen Wei unconscious with an elbow strike, then tied him up. It wasn't that he didn't want to kill him, but rather that he planned to extract as much useful information as possible from Chen Wei later.

The immediate priority is to eliminate the goblins at stronghold 3 before the others arrive.

"Master, what should we do with these prisoners of war?"

In a surprise attack, Chen Wei's five archers and four shield warriors were killed on the spot, and the other five were also injured to varying degrees.

Satir was most concerned about the elven archer of her own kind.

"Are you truly willing to submit?"

These slave soldiers were all temporarily given to them by Li Mingyu, so of course they couldn't have signed any slave contracts with Chen Wei. Those who have stayed in slave camps for a long time generally won't rebel or kill their masters, but one can't be too careful about the possibility of something going wrong.

"We are willing!"

The slave soldiers weren't stupid, of course. Their temporary master, Chen Wei, had already been subdued, so what difference did it make who they served?

"With the stars as my witness and the forest as my witness, Elua pledges herself to serve you as my master, and will never betray you!"

Elua even offered the highest elven ceremony of submission. Although she had only just met Satir, she saw something different in her. Clean and tidy, pure and innocent in spirit—you call this a slave?

Satir calls Xia Yuan "Master," but she clearly has a lot of influence in the group, showing that she is trusted and relied upon by Xia Yuan. She doesn't seem like a lowly slave at all.

"Then let the blood of goblins prove your loyalty."

The level 2 camp is home to nearly a hundred goblins. Although they are all ordinary goblins, they are not so easy to defeat. Having these slave soldiers in front is certainly the best option.

The key is to act quickly and decisively.

"Yes, sir!"

Whether it was Elua or the other slave soldiers, they all bowed and agreed.

Fighting is their destiny!

Carrying fog lamps, the group traversed the foggy area and soon arrived at the goblin camp. The camps were all similar in style: simple fences, dilapidated arrow towers, and a haphazard circle of tents.

In the middle was a large iron pot, bubbling away, cooking some indescribable food.

"Grac!!!"

Upon hearing the commotion, the goblins immediately let out a shriek, throwing the entire camp into chaos.

"kill!"

Two shield warriors charged ahead.

Despite her injured arm, Elua drew her elven scimitar from her waist, determined to prove its worth.

"My sword and shield!"

The battle had barely begun when Blade & Shield One surged ahead and charged in front of Shield Warrior.

Xia Yuan was speechless.

Satir, on the other hand, remained the calmest, staying close to her master and keeping her eyes fixed on the two archers, ready to snipe them on the spot if they showed any disloyalty.

The weakest among the participants was only at the second tier, so the outcome of this battle was swift and decisive, without any suspense.

[Capture a blackstone altar in the wild. Please choose to capture or destroy it.]

"destroy!"

The black stone altar immediately shattered, dropping four low-grade black crystals.

After a thorough search of the camp and some valuable loot, they indeed found a secret passage in the goblin leader's tent that led directly to the central camp.

"Walk!"

Without hesitation, Xia Yuan led everyone into the secret passage and sealed the entrance.

.........

When Xiao Xiong and his troops arrived at stronghold 3, all they saw was devastation.

"Is this...already gone?"

The look in Zhou Kui and the others' eyes wasn't exactly one of disappointment or anything else. They were just doing their bidding for money; since Xia Yuan had run away, it was none of their business anymore.

"That good-for-nothing Chen Wei couldn't even hold out for that short time."

Xiao Xiong, however, had a gloomy expression. As the leader of this plan, he was largely to blame for how things had turned out this way.

I don't know how I'm going to explain this when I get back.

"Could Chen Wei have deliberately let them win? Aren't they supposed to be colleagues?"

Wu Qianqian seemed to be implying something.

"It's very possible that Chen Wei's body wasn't even found at the scene."

Zhou Kui immediately echoed this sentiment. Although it was good that they didn't have to fight, he still felt a little guilty for taking the benefits without helping at all. He figured he might as well take the opportunity to pin the blame on Chen Wei, so he could have an explanation when he got back.

"impossible."

Xiao Xiong shook his head. "The shield warriors assigned to Chen Wei may look like ordinary soldiers, but they are actually elite assassins carefully trained by Deacon Li. If Chen Wei dares to do anything wrong, he'll be the first to lose his life."

"..."

Wu Qianqian and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

So, could the soldiers around them be assassins planted by the great lord?

Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

They were quite proud of how easily they could replenish their troops, but now it seems they had simply let a wolf into their house.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"So, Chen Wei really was killed by Xia Yuan? Weren't they supposed to have a pretty good relationship? How could he do that?!"

Wu Qianqian was secretly shocked, gaining a new understanding of Xia Yuan's ruthlessness. No wonder he dared to kill Li Aoyu on the spot. Now that she thought about it, making an enemy of Xia Yuan for a little benefit didn't seem like a good idea.

Especially when there was no conflict to begin with, it's not worth it just for a little bit of benefit.

Many people backed out.

Judging from the fact that the camp's spoils were thoroughly looted, Chen Wei and his group not only failed to hold off Xia Yuan, but were also swiftly and decisively eliminated, which allowed them to calmly clean up the battlefield.

Their strength is truly terrifying.

"What's so hard about not being able to kill a traitor?"

Zhao Zihao sneered. Although he had agreed to help, he had absolutely no goodwill towards a traitor like Chen Wei.

If you die, you die.

"Now that Xia Yuan is gone, let's proceed with the plan to clear out the outer strongholds before meeting up with Boss Song Jing. Don't keep him waiting too long."

The mission was not completed, but the sweeping operation had to continue. Since they had come all this way, they couldn't leave empty-handed.