The members of the Misty Mercenary Group exchanged knowing glances. Then, with practiced synchronization, they summoned their respective magical pets.
In an instant, beasts whose names even the disciples of the Tilarie family couldn't recall appeared—and not just one or two, but dozens!
The Tilarie family disciples were stunned again. As beast tamers by trade, the magical creatures they controlled simply could not compare to these summoned beasts. Without even needing a contest, the very aura of kingship emanating from these beasts was enough to tell the tale!
Looking over at the members of the Tornado Mercenary Group, they too were shaken by the sight of these creatures. They hadn't expected the Misty Mercenary Group to surpass them in everything, even down to their magical beasts. Was fate truly intent on destroying them?
A feeling of despair began to spread among them, but the arrow was already nocked; there was no turning back. To survive, they had only one choice: fight to the death!
At a signal from Adonis, the magical beasts and insects before them seemed to receive an unspoken command, surging forward like lightning towards the ranks of the Misty Mercenary Group, their momentum fierce and terrifying!
The speed of these magical beasts was already formidable, but the pets of the Misty Mercenary Group were tens of times faster. Their forms vanished in mere blinks of light, followed immediately by a series of muffled thuds.
Turning toward the source of the sound, they saw with shock that the Misty Mercenary Group’s beasts had completely subdued the beasts and insects of the Tornado Mercenary Group. The battle had ended almost as soon as it began, the speed so shocking it was almost incomprehensible to ordinary observers!
The few Tilarie family disciples stood slack-jawed, as if their jaws had physically unhinged.
The members of the Tornado Mercenary Group were wide-eyed, too. Though they knew there was a gap in power from the start, they never imagined it would be this vast! Their beasts and insects hadn't lasted even a single second. It wasn't that their own creatures were weak; it was that the opponents' beasts were simply monstrous!
How could such a mercenary group exist? They were clearly this powerful, so why were they completely unknown? What was the reason for this?
Adonis felt tears welling up; if they had received even the slightest piece of intelligence about the Misty Mercenary Group beforehand, they never would have charged forward so recklessly to their doom!
This wasn't some small, underpowered mercenary unit. This was clearly a terrifying band composed of monsters and demons. Heavens above, how could they have provoked such an entity!
Adonis’s already pale face turned even whiter, his very soul being steadily consumed by terror!
It had always been they who extinguished other mercenary groups; now, retribution had arrived. They had finally encountered a mercenary group incomparably stronger than themselves!
"Please, please wait a moment. There—there might be some misunderstanding between us!" Adonis could only resort to playing the victim now, hoping to elicit sympathy and mercy.
"A misunderstanding?" Zhong Shenxiu, who had been observing coolly, let out a sharp laugh before asking, "This kind of 'misunderstanding' probably isn't the first time for you, is it?"
Adonis carefully considered the implication behind Zhong Shenxiu’s words but offered no reply. After a brief pause, Zhong Shenxiu continued, "I imagine the reason those mercenary groups, those soldiers, and the people of the Tilarie family have vanished... it’s all due to these 'misunderstandings' of yours, isn't it?"
Sweat began to bead on Adonis's forehead. They had always covered their tracks cleanly; how could this youth seem to know everything?
"You—you! Are all of our clan members... are they all because of you?"
Upon hearing Zhong Shenxiu’s accusation, the Tilarie family disciples immediately bristled with indignation, their expressions betraying a desperate urge to tear the members of the Tornado Mercenary Group to shreds. It was no wonder they were agitated; their own kin and friends were among those who had disappeared!
"Th-this wasn't us!" Adonis shamelessly denied it. Yet, no amount of sophistry could help him now. Given that they had intended to kill Zhong Shenxiu and his companions the moment they arrived, any explanation rang hollow!
Zhong Shenxiu let out another cold snort and asked, "Have you said everything you intend to say?"
Adonis flinched. He understood the implication perfectly: it was time for them to be dispatched.
"Cover me!" After a brief, tense silence, Adonis suddenly roared, retreating several paces backward.
Simultaneously, the bone staff in his hand pulsed with an eerie light, and in the next instant, thousands upon thousands of skeletal warriors materialized before the Tornado Mercenary Group—victims they themselves had slain!
This was Adonis's ultimate trump card, one he would never use unless absolutely cornered.
Seeing these skeletal warriors, Zhong Shenxiu didn't react immediately, but Stanley and Faraday, standing beside him, both started to chuckle. In the very next moment, they summoned their respective skeleton wolves.
When it came to playing with skeletons, Adonis had definitely chosen the wrong opponents!
The skeleton wolves unleashed several rapid-fire magical blasts, directly striking Adonis's Skeletons can use magic too? Adonis’s eyes were clogged with sheer bewilderment. Just then, the skeleton wolves dissolved into streaks of white light and charged toward the skeletal warriors.
In a flash, the sound of shattering bone erupted incessantly. In barely a few dozen seconds, all thousands of skeletal warriors were reduced to piles of broken fragments!
Adonis was now even more deeply alarmed. The attack speed of these few skeleton wolves far exceeded the known limits of skeletal beings. His own skeleton warriors were mere cannon fodder compared to these few wolves!
Heavens! Was this some waking nightmare? Why did the Misty Mercenary Group possess every skill they had, and yet theirs were all monstrously upgraded versions?
If this was how they met their end, Adonis knew he would never rest in peace!
Why couldn't they possess even one single skill that surpassed what this Misty Mercenary Group had?
Weren't they always considered the strongest mercenary group? Why were they being treated this way?
Why, after they had established themselves, did a group like the Misty Mercenary Group have to be created? What was the reason for all this??
Adonis was slipping into madness. This was the greatest blow he had ever suffered, and it would certainly be his last!
Just as he was thinking of somehow reassembling the shattered skeletons, something utterly unexpected occurred.
He watched in horror as plumes of black gas erupted from the few skeleton wolves, spreading out like a dark shroud over the bones littering the ground. And then, a transformation began. The broken skeletons reformed into skeletal warriors, somehow even more formidable than before!
Skeletons summoning skeletons? Adonis's eyeballs nearly popped out. He had never dared to imagine such a thing, let alone witness it firsthand!
"Leader... what do we do now?" Following the deathly silence, one of the remaining members suddenly turned to ask Adonis.
But the figure standing there was no longer their leader, Adonis. It was a skeletal warrior. And beside this skeletal warrior stood one of the skeleton wolves, silent and watchful!
Their leader had vanished at some point, now a member of the undead ranks!
Their journey to death had finally begun.
The sun began its slow descent. Though the sunset glow was beautiful, very few people had the heart to appreciate the scenery.
Within the Tilarie family estate, Patriarch Bennet was wrestling with the current crisis. Golden Harvest City was now completely gripped by panic, a situation that the military's strength could no longer control.
Large numbers of residents were fleeing Golden Harvest City every hour. If this continued, even without the insectoid attacks, Golden Harvest City would become a ghost town!
Thinking of this, Bennet ground his teeth in hatred for the Tornado Mercenary Group. If it weren't for their deliberate sabotage, Golden Harvest City wouldn't be in such a disastrous state!
"These brutes! For their own profit, they disregard the lives of so many people! Why hasn't anyone come to eliminate them? Where are those emissaries of justice?" Bennet grew angrier the more he thought, yet felt utterly helpless.
The composition of the Tornado Mercenary Group was simply too formidable. They boasted members of every profession, and nearly all of them were elite combatants. Who could stand against such a force?
"Sigh," Bennet let out another heavy breath. The current issue was no longer the Tornado Mercenary Group; it was figuring out how to deal with the threat of the insectoids!
Just then, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed from outside, followed by the voice of a clansman filled with excitement.
"Report—" The voice was drawn out, laced with agitation.
Bennet’s body trembled. Had the situation worsened again? "Enter and speak!"
As Bennet gave the command, several people rushed in breathlessly, their faces unable to conceal their excitement. On closer inspection, they were the disciples who had guided Zhong Shenxiu and his group.
They had returned!
"Speak. Is there some new development?" Bennet braced himself, expecting more bad news.
"Reporting to the Patriarch, those insectoids have all been annihilated, and the access points in the garden have vanished!" one disciple managed to say in one breath.
"You—what did you say?" Bennet's eyes snapped wide open.
The disciple repeated his words, but to Bennet's ears, it still sounded utterly unbelievable!
"Patriarch, we saw everything with our own eyes; there is no falsehood in this! All of this is thanks to that 'Misty Mercenary Group'; they are simply too powerful!" another disciple added, his body still trembling as he recalled the day's events.
After a long silence, Bennet suddenly roared, "Tell me in detail exactly what happened! I want details!!"