In the lush forests of the mountains, a large group of people was moving quietly. In the middle of the team were dozens of horse-drawn carriages, covered tightly with tarpaulin, obviously not wanting to reveal their contents. Surrounding the carriages were guards brought by the merchant group, and mercenaries hired by them were sparsely situated around the carriages, subtly protecting the group. These mercenaries, who usually scraped a living in Naga Town, were adept at such escort tasks. Although they hadn't encountered any danger along the way, most of them never took their hands off the weapons at their waists, their vigilant eyes scanning the roadside with a menacing aura. Occasionally, small beasts passing by also seemed to sense this deadly aura and quickly left, as if staying any longer would pose a threat to their lives.
Li Yi, walking leisurely in the middle of the group, hung a long sword at his waist, just like an ordinary mercenary. However, unlike most, his gaze intriguingly fell upon the caravan above. When leaving Naga Town, members of the Iron Lion Mercenary Group and the Tianfeng Mercenary Group had tried to stop and question them, but under the summons of the leader of this Nalan Merchant Group, they had obediently backed down, obviously wary of the Nalan Merchant Group. Just from this, it was clear that the background of the Nalan Merchant Group was close to Li Yi's speculation. If so, would getting involved with the Nalan Merchant Group make it easier for him to achieve his goals? Thinking this, Li Yi's gaze casually fell on a young man in the middle of the merchant group, who was heavily guarded. "Could it be this fortunate? Is this Nalan He?" At that moment, the young man was looking around with a smile, clearly pleased with the scenery. He was sitting on a tall horse and seemed somewhat out of breath, which indicated that the young man might not have cultivated Qi.
Although Li Yi wanted to probe the young man's background, his current identity prevented him from doing anything excessive. Otherwise... Li Yi's gaze, half-smiling, fell on the mercenaries. Although he was somewhat confident he could capture the young man for questioning, he might not be able to deal with these mercenaries on his own.
"This man is the leader of the Nalan Merchant Group. He has appeared in Nalan Town more than once... Don't be fooled by this young master's frail appearance; he's quite formidable when he makes a move..." Noticing Li Yi's gaze, a mercenary beside him explained in a low voice, his tone carrying a mix of barely concealed admiration and envy. Narrowing his eyes, Li Yi chuckled and asked, "Brother, is this young master of the Nalan Merchant Group really that powerful?"
The mercenary licked his lips and said, "Of course. I've participated in this escort mission more than once... Once, I was fortunate enough to see this young master in action. Tsk tsk, such demeanor... He killed a third-tier demon beast with a single slap!" Li Yi involuntarily shuddered at the thought. A third-tier demon beast was equivalent to a human Fighter, and to kill it with one slap, this Nalan young master must be a King, right? This thought made Li Yi chuckle inwardly. He knew that the Nalan family indeed had a King-level powerhouse, but it certainly wasn't this Nalan young master, whose identity was still uncertain.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Li Yi feigned shock and exclaimed, "A third-tier demon beast!? Then, this Nalan young master is a... a King-level powerhouse!?" Li Yi's naive expression made the mercenary smile slightly. He glanced at the Nalan young master from a distance and continued, "Little brother, you're at least a Fighter, aren't you? How can you be so uninformed... Advancing to a King-level powerhouse is not that easy. Let alone other places, even among the powerhouses in the Naga Mountains, the highest is only at the peak of the Warrior level. I've been around here for most of my life and haven't really seen a King-level powerhouse. As for this Nalan young master, I vaguely heard that he seems to be a six or seven crystal Warrior... However, his cultivation method is special; if he doesn't make a move, no one can tell that he has any Qi at all."
"So that's how it is..." Li Yi's expression grew even more astonished, but to the talking mercenary, Li Yi's reaction only inflated his vanity. He couldn't help but continue, "I also heard that this Nalan young master, although not a member of the Yunshui City Nalan family, has a close relationship with them... I even suspect that this Nalan Merchant Group belongs to that Nalan family..."
"Moreover, I recently heard that the patriarch of the Nalan family is about to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. I suspect that what we're protecting this time isn't goods, but rather a birthday gift from this Nalan young master to the old patriarch!" Li Yi nodded slightly. Joining this mercenary group today, he learned more than he had expected, at least he didn't know about the Nalan patriarch's sixtieth birthday before this. Given the Nalan family's dominance in the city, the birthday banquet would surely be full, and the day would not be suitable for what he had planned.
It seemed that if Li Yi were to take action, he would have to consider doing so after the birthday banquet. By that time, the grand celebration would be over, and the Nalan family might let their guard down a bit... Just then, the marching team suddenly came to a halt, and the already tense atmosphere among the mercenaries tightened further. From afar, Li Yi saw the young Nalan master signal with a few hand gestures. Immediately, several guards split off from his side, subtly protecting a particular carriage behind him, while the rest of the guards dispersed in different directions. It appeared that the contents of that carriage were the most important. Li Yi chuckled to himself but refrained from doing anything unnecessary, instead drawing his long sword like the others and casually asking, "What's the situation?"
A mercenary beside Li Yi snorted, "Little brother, I see it's your first time in the Naga Mountains... This situation is actually nothing out of the ordinary; we've just encountered the most common type of demon beast in the Naga Mountains."
"What is it?" Li Yi frowned.
"Naga Wolves," the mercenary replied nonchalantly, as if it was a common occurrence. However, Li Yi narrowed his eyes slightly. Although he had heard of demon beasts since coming to this world, he had never seen any impressive ones. It seemed today might be quite an eye-opener...
From within the dense jungle, faint howls of wolves echoed, followed by numerous red lights shining in the dark forest. The sheer number of them made the mercenary beside Li Yi gasp, cursing, "Damn it, I didn't expect so many this time. These Naga Wolves have the keenest noses and love to devour people alive. Seems like our numbers are a bit too large this time! Little brother, be careful. The bodies of these Naga Wolves are harder than iron. The only way to deal with them is to use Qi to shatter their internal organs!"
As the howling grew louder, a rustling sound approached, and suddenly countless black shadows leaped out from the jungle. Li Yi felt a tingling sensation on his scalp at the sight. These Naga Wolves looked similar to ordinary wolves, except their fur was blood-red, and their fangs and claws were extremely long. But what was truly terrifying was their number - seemingly in the thousands. Even a normal pack of wolves this size would be frightening, let alone these Naga Wolves, which Li Yi suspected to be second-tier demon beasts, equivalent to human Fighters. The onslaught of nearly a thousand Fighters would be hard for anyone to ignore.
While Li Yi was lost in thought, the mercenaries had already collided fiercely with the pack of Naga Wolves. Various colors of Qi flashed, and blood sprayed everywhere. Even the mercenary who had been explaining things to Li Yi was gritting his teeth, slamming two Naga Wolves to the ground. Meanwhile, one of the Naga Wolves pounced towards Li Yi. He chuckled coldly inside but showed a hint of panic on his face, chopping the wolf's head with his long sword.
"Clang!" Sparks flew from the sword. Li Yi hadn't used Qi this time, but his arm strength alone was enough to overpower a normal Fighter. However, the Naga Wolf was only flipped over and, after shaking its head a bit, pounced at Li Yi again. This sight took Li Yi by surprise. He narrowed his eyes and changed his sword technique to a stab, piercing the wolf's mouth in an almost impossible moment. Though the Naga Wolf's fur was tough, its mouth couldn't grow fur. Satisfied with his strike, Li Yi didn't want to show off too much in front of the mercenaries. For him, staying low-key was the perfect cover.
The mercenary beside him was slightly surprised at Li Yi's technique, but it wasn't uncommon to deal with Naga Wolves this way. Most mercenaries who fought head-on like him were brutes who hadn't practiced any sophisticated fighting techniques. Under Li Yi's deliberate disguise, he only killed three Naga Wolves in this battle and even sustained minor injuries, a paltry achievement compared to others who killed over a dozen.
Fortunately, the Nalan Merchant Group didn't care about these details. Following mercenary protocol, they let the mercenaries handle their own spoils before continuing on their way. Ordinary mercenaries, lacking advanced items like Storage Rings, only searched for demon cores within the beasts. The cumbersome task of carrying away fur and other materials was generally not undertaken.
Li Yi followed suit, discarding the Naga Wolves he had killed. When he found no demon cores, he could only sigh in disappointment. The mercenary beside him chuckled, holding two demon cores and said, "Little brother, that's how it is with these beasts. Sometimes you kill a few and get several cores, other times you kill a bunch and get none. It's all about personal luck... But don't be downhearted. We'll encounter countless more beasts along the way..."
After saying this, the mercenary didn't offer a core to Li Yi but instead smiled and tucked them away. For mercenaries who lived on the edge of the blade, these were their lifelines. Li Yi's face showed a hint of deliberate envy, and as the mercenary's vanity swelled, he naturally harbored no doubts about this newcomer, Li Yi.