The White Bear Mercenary Corps was one of the several well-known mercenary corps in Pine Wind City. There were more than fifty professionals under its banner, and with the relevant staff, the entire mercenary corps had more than a hundred people. In the whole world, there were not many mercenary corps that could maintain such a scale, so the White Bear Mercenary Corps was quite famous in the mercenary world.
Duke was a captain of the White Bears Mercenary Group. Today, he was patrolling the Northern Dawn Woods with his team as usual. A few years ago, his mercenary group signed a contract with the mayor of Pine Wind City. For fifty years, all the resources produced in the Northern Dawn Woods belonged to the White Bears Mercenary Group.
On the surface, there was nothing in the Northern Dawn Woods, but the core members of the mercenary group like Duke knew very well that an ancient relic was buried under the Northern Dawn Woods. There were no traps in the ruins, but there were many powerful magical beasts living and wandering inside. These magical beasts were different from the magical beasts commonly seen on the surface. Not only could they see in the dark, but they also had very fast movement speed and amazing hearing and smell.
The White Bears Mercenary Group had sent people to explore the relic many times, but the powerful magical beasts in the relic caused heavy losses for the mercenary group. Fortunately, they found a few abandoned magic devices at the periphery of the relic. Although they couldn't be used anymore, they sold them to the Green Magic Tower for a lot of gold coins, which was more than enough to cover their losses.
If the items in the periphery were already so valuable, if he were to venture deeper and explore the entire remnant, he would definitely be able to find even more valuable ancient artifacts. Therefore, the leadership of the White Bears Mercenary Group had already considered the Northern Dawn Woods a forbidden land and forbade mercenaries from other professions, or explorers. Of course, the aristocrats who liked to come here for excursions were not included in this list. These rich people usually did not investigate things like ruins. They usually came here to hunt and look for some excitement.
The White Bear Mercenary Group was contacting powerful and trustworthy Professionals, as long as the members were gathered. They planned to explore the relic again soon. But before that … They had to protect the relic well and not let outsiders steal it.
During today's routine inspection, they discovered that someone had snuck into the Northern Dawn Woods without them noticing. They didn't see anyone at this moment. But the traces on the ground couldn't be faked.
The person in charge of tracking and detecting clues was a skinny man. Generally speaking, scouts were all skinny. Firstly, they were nimble, and secondly, it was easy for them to hide from the eyes of others if they were petite.
The skinny man's name was Locke. He was a middle-aged man who liked to wear a green hat. According to his experience, the chances of people finding him when he was hiding in the bushes and woods with a green hat on would be very low.
Locke squatted down. He touched the ashes on the ground and walked around. Then he opened his small triangular eyes. He said to Duke, "One campsite, seven tents, and the footprints are from the Six Light Ones. Normal people wouldn't be able to do this, so they are obviously professionals. They went to the forest over here. In addition, according to the remnant aura in this place, Judging from the skeletons, they were very particular about what they ate. That's not the style of mercenaries or adventurers. Personally, I think they're nobles. After all, there are many professionals among the nobles. "
Duke nodded. He looked at the forest and said, "Since they are nobles, let's ignore them. Follow the original plan and continue the patrol. "
After saying that, Duke led his five men away from the meadow and went somewhere else.
Liang Lidong and the others hid in the forest and watched them leave. Then, they came out.
"We set up a trap for nothing." Katerina looked into the distance and smiled. "But that's fine. It saves us trouble. I didn't know what this place was, but after seeing these people, I know that this is most likely the Northern Dawn Woods. I've heard of the White Bear Mercenaries' reputation. The stupid bear on their clothes or leather armor is well-known in the mercenary world. "
Liang Lidong frowned. "So, the White Bear Mercenaries are connected to the Northern Dawn Woods?"
"Yes. Although they hid their intelligence well, they sold a few magic devices not long ago. So, the mercenary group suspects that the White Bear Mercenaries have found special relics in the Northern Dawn Woods. That's why they're so nervous about this place and patrol it now and then."
After a pause, Katerina continued, "There are many smart people in the mercenary world. Other forces have also snuck into the Northern Dawn Woods several times, but they didn't find anything. Therefore, many forces left the matter alone and only paid minimal attention to the White Bear Mercenary Group's actions in the Northern Dawn Woods."
Liang Lidong, however, looked even worse. The entrance to the relics was hard to find. It was hidden in the woods, and one had to dig several meters to find it. In the game, they had used the game system's system to find that place. If others wanted to find the entrance to the ruins without any guidance, they would have to be extremely lucky to find the wrong place.
But now that three hundred years had passed, it didn't seem strange that someone found the entrance by accident.
"Mr. Beta, our mission won't conflict with the White Bear Mercenaries, will it?" Katerina asked Liang Lidong.
Liang Lidong looked at her and asked back, "If I say yes, what do you think?"
"It means that the mission will be much more dangerous, and we'll have to have unnecessary trouble with the White Bear Mercenaries afterward." Katerina said in a businesslike manner, "So, we have to increase the commission. Double the price! The extra gold coins must be divided equally among the members of this mission. "
"Okay, no problem."
Liang Lidong agreed readily. On the surface, it would seem that Katerina raising the commission halfway through the mission seemed rather unkind. But in reality, Liang Lidong knew that Katerina was already giving him a lot of face. This was supposed to be an exploration mission, but it would actually cause a conflict with another faction. This would definitely greatly increase the mission's difficulty. Katerina's act of raising the commission was actually just to shut up her five subordinates and give them an excuse to be dissatisfied.
After all, they had money. Everything would be easier, and even their dissatisfaction would be greatly reduced.
After the matter was settled, they moved on. Because the terrain hadn't changed much, Liang Lidong led them to a small hill with great familiarity.
There were many woods on the hill. Hiding in the woods and looking down, they could see a hidden tower in the woods at the foot of the hill. There were four crossbows on the tower, aimed in four directions. Moreover, there were faint figures coming and going on the tower.
"The entrance is near the tower." After observing for a while, Liang Lidong said, "But it's not completely dark yet. Let's wait here for a while. After all, you're all assassins. You should be more at home at night. "
Katerina nodded in agreement. As a member of the assassin's guild, she knew better how her side would perform after nightfall.
At the same time. Duke led his team and patrolled the western periphery of the Northern Dawn Woods. Looking at the setting sun and the woods in the distance that were dyed red by the setting sun, he said, "Let's go back to where we were just now. Locke, you must find traces of those people, understand?"
At this moment, his team all looked at him in surprise.
Duke asked, "Captain, didn't you just say that we don't need to care about those nobles?"
"Nobles?" Duke snorted. "If they're nobles, how can there only be six of them? How could there only be six of them? If they were nobles, why would they hide from us? Those arrogant bastards will probably still want us to follow them. We'll be their temporary subordinates and serve them for free. "
"Captain, if you don't think they're nobles, why don't you deal with them from time to time?"
"They're hiding in the woods. If we rush in rashly, the consequences will be terrible. Haven't you heard of the saying, 'Don't enter a forest when you're in it'? "Duke smiled sinisterly. "Besides, they're pretending to leave, so they can lower their vigilance. They're probably on their way or looking for something. They won't expect us to come back … Stave, go back to the mercenary group and inform the captain to bring some reinforcements. Six professionals are a bit hard to deal with. The rest of you, follow us. Let's see what they're up to. "
Time passed quickly. When the sun completely sank into the horizon, Liang Lidong snapped his fingers and spread out Mist Manipulation. The thick fog silently enveloped everything within a radius of 385 meters, including the small tower at the foot of the mountain, which happened to be at the edge of the fog.
According to the feedback from the fog, there were a total of eight guardians in the tower. Because Mist Manipulation could block the enemy's vision and hearing, the eight guardians weren't very strong. They were currently in a mess. Katerina and the others had long since been prepared for this. They transformed into six black shadows and swiftly moved towards the tower while sticking close to the ground.
Liang Lidong slowly walked down the mountain. When he reached the foot of the mountain, Katerina had already come out of the tower. She gave Liang Lidong a "mission accomplished" gesture. The guardians in the tower had all been knocked out. They wouldn't wake up for a few hours.
Liang Lidong deactivated Mist Manipulation. Relying on his memory, he walked to a spot fifty meters west of the tower and jumped up. Then, he walked to a spot a few meters away from the tower and plunged his hands deep into the grass. Then, he used all his strength to lift up a plank of grass.
Below the plank was a tunnel that led downwards. It was very high, about two meters high. Liang Lidong jumped in first, followed by Katerina and the others.
They passed through a winding circular tunnel. This tunnel wasn't naturally formed, nor was it man-made. Instead, it was a tunnel dug out by a large gravedigger.
The Goddess of Light's Well Water was preserved in the ruins of the Ancestral Kingdom, and the aura of light was very strong. Hence, the magical beasts that lived in the underground ruins were generally much larger than those in other places.
A two-meter tall gravedigger would be considered a king in other places, but in the ruins, it was just an ordinary magical beast. Fortunately, the gravediggers dug randomly. Otherwise, they would have to dig through more than a hundred meters of soil to enter the ruins.
After more than ten minutes, the seven of them followed the tunnel dug out by the gravediggers all the way down. Soon, they reached the exit of the tunnel and entered a flat underground world.
Although Katerina and the others were already prepared for this and knew that they might arrive at an unbelievable ruin, they still couldn't help but gasp in surprise when they saw the scene before them with their own eyes.
Their entrance was on a large stone road that was at least 60 meters wide. Both sides of the road were tall, but they were mottled with age. Above their heads, there was a huge, white, umbrella-like magic barrier that supported and protected the ruins from being covered by the soil above.
This magic barrier produced a weak light source that allowed everyone to barely see what was about ten meters in front of them. The only person who wasn't affected was Liang Lidong. His Cloud Dragon Blue Eyes innate skill was too practical. Now, he felt that choosing this innate skill was the right decision.
Although they couldn't see clearly, the members of the Assassin Guild didn't waver. They were originally a profession that operated in the dark, and this kind of environment made them feel even more familiar with the surroundings. This was also the reason why Liang Lidong sought help from the Assassin Guild instead of the Mercenary Guild.
"Everyone, be careful. If we continue forward, it won't be safe anymore. We will encounter many strange major monsters. They are very agile and strong, but they are afraid of strong light. However, they are afraid of strong light. If it is really dangerous, you can tear these magic scrolls. I have temporarily filled them with enough magic elements. Even ordinary people will be able to use these magic items within three hours. "
Liang Lidong handed over six magic scrolls for the Flash Spell.
At the same time, Duke led his team and quickly found their way here under Locke's pursuit.
Duke looked at the tower and sneered, "I knew these guys were up to no good. They really came for the ruins."
Not long after, Locke ran out of the tower and said anxiously, "Captain, the guardians of the tower have all fainted. Although none of them died, we know that we can't wake them up in time."
When Locke heard this, he walked to the west side of the tower and quickly found the entrance of the ruins. Although Liang Lidong and the others covered the entrance after entering, there were still some traces left behind. Locke's face changed drastically. The wooden board at the entrance was lifted, looking at a series of shallow shallow marks below, his expression became quite ugly: "They actually went in, only three people in our mercenary group know this place, who told them this secret?