“A’Gu.”
The camp leader called out toward the hall entrance.
“Here.”
A
plain-looking young man
stepped inside.
The leader’s
expression was grim
as he asked,
“How did the task I gave you go?”
“Leader, I never saw Bloodbeard’s men.”
A’Gu clenched his teeth in frustration.
“I waited all day at the designated hill, but they never showed up.”
“Impossible! I personally made the deal with Bloodbeard!”
The leader
abruptly stood up
, his gaze sharp as a knife.
His
killing intent surged
as he stared A’Gu down.
“You’re telling me you really didn’t see them at the hill?”
“Leader, I wouldn’t dare lie to you.”
A’Gu
forced himself to stand firm
and not back away.
“Hmph! Maybe something delayed them.”
The leader
narrowed his eyes
at A’Gu before
calming down
and giving new orders.
**”Go to the hill again tomorrow. Tell them the plan has changed—
the attack will happen the day after tomorrow.
”
“Understood.”
A’Gu nodded respectfully.
“You may go.”
“Yes.”
A’Gu bowed and left the hall.
“Bang!”
The leader suddenly
flipped the table
, letting out a
beast-like roar of rage
.
“Those damn traitors think they can slip out of my grasp?”
His
hoarse voice
dripped with malice.
“They want to run off to Moonlake Tribe? Fine. They can all just die.”
Ever since the
underground well dried up
, some of his
hunters had been talking about defecting to Moonlake Tribe
.
The three men who had eaten with him earlier?
They were all hunting squad captains.
During dinner, they had been
testing his reaction
feeling out his stance
.
Loyal dogs that had once
obeyed without question
were now
thinking of running away
.
“I had planned to bring them into Bloodbeard’s ranks.”
The leader leaned back in his chair, lips
curling into a mocking smile
.
“But it seems some of them are no longer worth keeping around.”
This
so-called search for water
?
Just an excuse.
The
real plan
—which he had
arranged with Bloodbeard
—was simple:
The bandits would attack the outer camp
, killing
a number of residents
.
The leader would pretend to be forced into submission
, leading his hunting squad to
“join” Bloodbeard’s gang
.
With
dozens of trained hunters
, he would
gain authority within the bandit crew
.
Bloodbeard would
expand his forces and get women
, while the camp leader
secured power as one of Bloodbeard’s top men
.
Mu Liang’s cold black eyes flashed with murderous intent.
It took
everything
in him to
hold back the urge to slice this man’s throat right now.
The
irony
was almost laughable—
Bloodbeard wasn’t invading this camp by chance.
He had been
invited.
Mu Liang had originally
planned to warn the camp
about the incoming raid.
But now?
After hearing this
disgusting scheme
?
The
fate awaiting the weak—especially women and children—under the hands of ruthless bandits was too horrible to imagine.
And if Mino
had never met those four bandit scouts
…
If she had
chosen to stay in the camp instead of leaving with him…
Mu Liang
shook his head
, brushing away unnecessary thoughts.
His mind
flashed back to Mino’s dirt-streaked but bright smile
.
Then, he looked at the
scheming, muttering camp leader
in front of him.
His decision was
made
.
This scum was already dead.
Moving like a shadow
, Mu Liang
silently stepped forward
, his
footsteps ghost-like and soundless
.
He
stayed close to the walls
, avoiding the flickering firelight to
keep his shadow from being seen
.
Finally, he
stood directly behind the camp leader
.
“Damn traitors… Why can’t they just be obedient dogs?”
The leader
leaned back in his chair
, fuming with anger.
Mu Liang
glanced at the cloth draped over the chair’s armrest
, picked it up, and twisted it into a rope-like strip.
“Those captains… Their daughters aren’t bad either. Maybe I should—”
“Mmph!!”
Before he could finish,
Mu Liang’s cloth gag wrapped around his mouth
, cutting off his words.
“Mmph! Mmm!!”
Panic-stricken, the leader
struggled
to rise, but Mu Liang had already
wrapped his arm around his throat, locking him in place
.
“Welcome to hell.”
Mu Liang’s voice was
calm, emotionless
.
The leader’s
eyes widened in terror
, his hands clawing desperately at the
iron grip
around his neck.
He was a Strengthened Human.
And yet, no matter how hard he fought,
he couldn’t even budge Mu Liang’s arm.
“Goodbye.”
“Crack!”
Mu Liang
tightened his hold
And
snapped the leader’s neck
with ease.
The man’s
body went limp
, his
lifeless head slumping against the chair’s armrest
.
Even in death, his
eyes remained wide open
, staring blankly at the hall’s entrance.
“Was it worth it?”
Mu Liang
shook out the cloth
, tossing it
casually over the leader’s head
.
With that done
, he
calmly began looting the hall
, picking up
several iron dining knives
from the floor.
He wasn’t picky—
if it was metal, it was worth taking
.
It didn’t matter if someone else had used it.
He could
melt it down and reforge it later
.
“Not bad. Plenty of good stuff here.”
Mu Liang
unhooked several long knives and swords from the walls
, wrapped them in cloth, and
secured them to his back
.
After
thoroughly searching the hall
, he moved on to the leader’s personal quarters.
“Tsk. This bastard really lived in luxury.”
Mu Liang raised an eyebrow.
This room was
even more lavish
A
thick fur-covered bed
, three
mounted wolf heads on the walls
, and a
beautifully crafted long knife
resting on the bedside table.
Mu Liang
shrugged
, slinging the
ornate knife onto his back
before opening the nightstand’s drawer.
Inside was
a wooden box
.
Lifting the lid, he saw
seven Beast Cores
of varying sizes.
“Jackpot.”
Mu Liang’s lips curled into a
satisfied smile
as he scooped up the Beast Cores.
The moment they touched his palm—
“Ding! Energy source detected. Convert into Evolution Points?”
“Convert.”
Finding Beast Cores had been
one of his main reasons for coming here
.
“Ding! Conversion successful. Gained 340 Evolution Points.”
Mu Liang
shook his head, amused.
“Wealth comes from unexpected fortune.”
With his previous
80 Evolution Points
, his total now sat at
420
.
That was
enough to evolve three tamed beasts to Level 3
.
The night was still young, but for Mu Liang—
The
real game was just beginning.