A snakefolk mercenary swam back to the temporarily occupied hall in disarray, scales damaged, breathing rapid, bringing back heart-stopping news!
They'd encountered a force of unknown scale composed of half-demon warriors, a small number of fishmen, and large numbers of combat Puchis. The opposition reacted swiftly with tight organization—like a regular army!
"Half-demons? Combat Puchis? Regular army?" Ironjaw's vertical pupils contracted to pinpoints from shock. He instinctively wanted to deny this intelligence, but he also knew his subordinates had no reason to lie.
It was just that these three terms seemed impossible to connect together.
As a snakeman who'd participated in landing battles and fought all the way into the United Kingdom's west, Ironjaw naturally knew of the new Puchi master profession.
A snakefolk unit had bloodied themselves at Golden Valley City, their formation completely scattered—this matter had long spread among snakefolk groups.
But as far as Ironjaw knew, there were no Puchi masters in the Empire, right?
So where did these half-demon Puchi masters come from?
And the description "regular army" made Ironjaw's heart palpitate even more.
Not only worry about the opposition's combat power, but more fear of what this implied behind the scenes.
Most likely, this was a secret force under some powerful and covert-operating Empire lord.
They'd hidden or anchored their ships at a distance, deliberately avoiding notice.
And they'd been here for some time already.
After all, when they came, there were no other ships on the sea surface—the opposition clearly wasn't like them, coming down for one trip then leaving.
But even belonging to the same Empire brought Ironjaw no sense of security whatsoever. Instead, the chill in his heart grew deeper.
The opposition acted so covertly, obviously executing some dirty work that absolutely couldn't be known to outsiders.
His newly-established mercenary company had coincidentally stumbled in at such a time...
Silencing witnesses!
Based on his understanding of those noble lords' operating styles, to cover up secrets, eliminating a mistakenly intruding mercenary company wouldn't make them blink an eye.
At least thinking from their position, he'd definitely do the same!
"Boss, what now? The employer still..." A trusted subordinate swam close, lowering his voice to ask, eyes also carrying unease.
"Employer?" Ironjaw squeezed out a hoarse voice through gritted teeth, muscles taut on his fine-scaled face. "In this situation, who cares about employers?! Staying alive is first priority! Stop smashing that reinforced wall—retreat along the original route! Quick!"
"They're coming!" A mercenary guarding the passage shouted, then added tremblingly: "The numbers... countless!"
Ironjaw cursed under his breath, a flash of pain crossing his golden vertical pupils. He suddenly coughed up from deep in his throat a pearl emanating faint blue light—his treasure seized in war.
Now wasn't the time to hesitate. He steeled his heart and used all his arm strength to hurl it toward the pursuing forces' passage!
The treasure pearl struck a mural and shattered with a sound.
Where it shattered, space tore open—an extremely unstable rift bloomed from nothing! Massive suction transmitted from inside the rift as surrounding seawater was madly drawn in, forming a huge vortex that nearly filled the entire passage!
Several Puchis swimming fastest at the very front were directly sucked in, shredded before even falling into the rift.
The half-demon soldiers pursuing behind were blocked by this sudden change, forced to struggle against the suction and repeatedly retreat, momentarily unable to approach at all.
Water flow chaotic, vision blurred—the passage completely blocked.
"Go!" Ironjaw took one last glance at his used-up treasure, then led the charge back the way they came.
Other snakefolk mercenaries followed close behind, leaving only that secret passage wall damaged by a small portion.
They hurriedly swam back. The dungeon's gate was right before them, but Ironjaw suddenly raised his arm in an emergency stop gesture.
Though confused, the surviving snakefolk mercenaries quickly took defensive positions based on terrain.
[Blood Control]
A fine blood net sealed the gate, blooming with petals outlined in blood threads.
A vampire! Indeed Empire people!
Louisa moved faster than the snakefolk. Even taking a detour, she'd arrived at the exit ahead of them.
Behind her, the expeditionary force also successively emerged from other passages, large numbers of Puchis filling blank positions.
Even behind them, after the rift closed, soldiers originally blocked had also caught up.
Truly a regular army!
These Puchi masters moved in order, silent and soundless. Ironjaw saw at a glance—this wasn't just a regular army, but elite among regular armies!
Combined with these numbers, their hundred-person mercenary company probably had zero chance of victory. The best case scenario would be escaping alone relying on his own strength.
But then, he'd have no face to continue mixing among his tribe.
"Friends ahead! Please stop!" Ironjaw's voice worked to maintain composure yet inevitably carried a trace of tension. "We are Ironjaw Mercenary Company, hired to explore here—purely unintentional intrusion!"
He paused slightly, as if weighing words, his tone becoming more cautious, even revealing deliberate humility:
"We didn't know this place already belonged to... your esteemed side. This is completely a misunderstanding! We're willing to immediately withdraw, absolutely won't look back, and absolutely won't reveal a single word to outsiders!" His vertical pupils stared at Louisa who was clearly the leader, trying to capture any reaction on her face. "Can you let us leave? Hereafter if there are any assignments, we'll certainly serve—I, Ironjaw, swear by my scales and credibility!"
"You... seem to have some strength?" Louisa's voice transmitted through the water.
"Some indeed—hall-level strength." Hearing Louisa's leisurely tone, Ironjaw realized this was bad, but still held a thread of hope she'd be wary of his strength.
Who knew Louisa's reaction after hearing wasn't wariness at all.
She seemed very satisfied and nodded, tone still unhurried yet making that thread of hope in Ironjaw's heart rapidly extinguish: "Not bad. My boss doesn't like meaningless casualties. How about this—I'll give you a chance. Defeat me, and I'll no longer block you from leaving."
Ironjaw wasn't clear on Louisa's strength, but could judge from the current situation his group was probably in grave danger.
For her to dare solo challenge after hearing he was hall-level meant she certainly had confidence.
But this might truly be the only hope.
"Your words—do they count?" Ironjaw's voice was hoarse, staring intently at Louisa.
Louisa tilted her head slightly, blood-red eyes flashing with a trace of toying with prey: "Do you have other options?"
Actually, if Little Pig lost, she would indeed keep her word and no longer block them—though by then the one giving orders would be Lin Jun himself.
But Ironjaw wasn't some naive newcomer either.
Knowing this battle was unavoidable, the humble negotiating posture rapidly faded from his face. Ironjaw slowly straightened, his deliberately restrained aura like an unsealed blade, becoming cold and sharp again.
Fine scales slightly opened and closed as muscles tensed. Vertical pupils locked on Louisa with no more humility—only the ferocity belonging to a wilderness predator.
He understood—the only path to survival was defeating and capturing this arrogant vampire in this duel! Only using her as hostage might possibly win a thread of survival for his mercenary company.
Seeing the opposition enter combat state so quickly, Louisa smiled and shook her dark cloak, revealing beneath it the magic crystal armor clinging to her body in an almost revealing manner.
(End of Chapter)
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