Chapter 23: The Mercenary Corps of the Savage Fangs

  Zhao Xin and Hu Long rushed into the bushes, surrounding Mu Yu Die in the center.

  The Mu language butterfly, which had been hiding in the grass all along, stood up awkwardly, its face flushing red as it glanced at Shi Yan from afar, thinking to itself that it had lost face this time.

  Ke Mu's butterfly immediately realized that her worries were unnecessary, after glancing over, she found that Shi Yan didn't pay attention to her at all, his dark eyes were tightly staring in the direction where Luo Hao rushed out, like a ferocious beast waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

  A big cycle of Zhou Tian circulated rapidly in his body, the numbness and soreness in his body gradually alleviated. Shi Yan's face was calm, quietly recovering his strength while paying attention to Luo Hao over there.

  "Go after it! 'Huoyun Yao Mang' won't last much longer, keep close and don't let it escape!"

  "Release the arrow! Release it quickly!"

  "Hiss! Hsssss!"

  In the nearby woods, loud shouts and cries could be heard, arrows flying swiftly through the air in pursuit of their quarry.

  "Hoo-hoo!"

  A large fire suddenly broke out in the woods, engulfing the entire area in flames. Thick smoke billowed up, swirling around the trees, causing people to cough incessantly.

  "Ka ka ka! Peng peng! Duo duo duo!"

  The sound of ancient tree branches bursting, the whizzing of arrows and the sounds of running and fighting were coming from not far away in the woods, where a fierce battle was unfolding.

  "Someone!" A sudden shout came from the woods, with a tone of malice, "Do you want to steal our spoils?"

  "Don't get me wrong, I just don't want 'Huoyun Yao' to hurt my people, that's why I stopped it from escaping in that direction." Luo Hao's voice suddenly came from the woods, as if he had some kind of dispute with someone.

  "Hmph! Our Gnarltooth Mercenary Corps has been tracking this 'Fire Cloud Wyrm' for half a month, so I hope you don't plan on butting in."

  "I said, I'm not interested in these four-level demon beasts." Luo Hao explained.

  "Lu Shu seems to have had a dispute with someone, let's go take a look." Mu Yu Die furrowed her brow, lying in the grass and looking up, but couldn't see the situation clearly, feeling anxious.

  "Go take a look!" Hu Long hummed, "I've heard of the Savage Tooth Mercenary Group. This mercenary group has a terrible reputation, Uncle Luo shouldn't suffer any losses."

  "Then let's hurry up." Mu Yudie heard him say this and became even more anxious.

  "Good."

  Zhao Xin nodded and said to Hu Long and Diya Lan, "In the past, we still need to surround Miss Mu. Even if a fight breaks out, we must prioritize Miss Mu's safety."

  "Spare me the nonsense, must you spell it out for me?" Diya Lan said impatiently.

  Four people whispered and quietly left from the grass, heading towards Luo Hao's side.

  Shi Yan didn't rush, waited for a while, then slowly stood up.

  Feeling the vitality of the essence in his meridians, he first made some small movements with his hands and feet to ensure that their agility would not be affected too much by fatigue. Only then did he calmly walk towards the direction where Mu Yu Die and the others had gone.

  "Huh!" someone exclaimed in surprise, "Beautiful woman, heh heh, there are actually two beautiful women here. I've been hanging around this place for two months and haven't seen a beauty of this level before."

  "Squad leader, you promised us that our needs would be met here, you can't go back on your word."

  "Shut up, can't you see this famous flower has an owner?"

  ……

  Shi Yan walked over slowly, frowning as he looked around.

  On the ground, a giant python with flame patterns all over its body, seven or eight meters long, with fiery sparks in its tail, and arrows stuck all over its body. Between its two eyes on its head was a bloody hole, from which blood was gushing out "gurglingly".

  Next to the "Fire Cloud Demon Python", eight mercenaries wearing the same type of martial attire surrounded it, each with a tattoo of fangs on their left arm. These mercenaries were all tall and sturdy, with rough appearances, and even the weakest among them had achieved the Innate Realm cultivation.

  The leader of the group had short, brown hair that stood up like steel needles, with a long scar on his left cheek that extended to his neck, making him look extremely ferocious.

  After Shi Yan arrived, he happened to see the people of this mercenary group, one by one rubbing their hands and shining their eyes as they gazed at Mu Yu Die and Di Ya Lan, the lustful meaning in their eyes was obvious.

  Only the team leader did not look at Mu Yudie and Diyalan, but instead stared at Luo Hao with a gloomy face, his right hand hidden in his sleeve, which occasionally flashed a silver light, as if ready to strike at any moment.

  "Go home and look for your mother!" Under the lustful gaze of these mercenaries, Diya Lan couldn't bear it anymore and burst into a loud scolding.

  "Haha, this chick is something! She's my type!" A rough mercenary with a bare chest and thick chest hair burst out laughing, slapping his thigh and shouting: "Captain, I'm taking this chick!"

  "Come on!" Diya Lan drew out the short sword from her waist and took up a fighting stance, "Bring it on, let's see if you've got what it takes!"

  "Haha, I'm coming!" The big man was overjoyed and was about to rush over.

  "Wait!" Barnard called out softly, saying calmly: "Everything can be discussed, don't act rashly."

  "Got it, Captain." A burly man named Tupu grinned and puffed out his chest, winking at Diya Lan: "Hey girls, we'll take off our clothes and have a wrestling match later. That's when you'll see the real strength of a big guy like me!"

  "I'll chop off those few pounds of your flesh." Diya Lan sneered fearlessly.

  Mu Yu's eyebrows slightly furrowed, her pretty face full of disgust, but she didn't say anything more, as if she had already gotten used to it.

  "Who brought you here?" Luo Hao's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that this was not good. He was very familiar with the habits of these mercenaries, who made a living by hunting and killing demonic beasts in this region, and lived on the edge of their knives, never knowing when they would be torn apart by the demonic beasts.

  Under such pressure, people involved in this activity will not talk about moral principles and often commit arson, murder, rape and looting.

  Mu Yu Die and Di Ya Lan were both beauties, and beauties were scarce resources here. The delicate bodies of these beauties were the best stress-relievers, so Luo Hao knew something was off as soon as he saw them come out.

  Shi Yan silently walked over and stood beside Luo Hao, secretly sizing up those mercenary troops with sharp teeth.

  "Take him!" Bernard, the leader of the mercenary group "Fang牙", bellowed, his scar twitching on his face as he gave a ferocious order: "Get the material!" As he spoke, his cold gaze swept over Luo Hao and Shi Yan, and a silver light flashed from his sleeve.

  "Yes!" Tu Mu stopped teasing Diya Lan, waved his hand, and three more mercenaries came forward, holding daggers. The four of them, covered in blood, worked on the "Fire Cloud Python", skillfully skinning it, extracting its tendons, digging out its eyeballs, and carefully plucking out its fangs one by one.

  Barnard and the remaining three mercenaries kept a cold eye on Luo Hao, Shi Yan and his party, ready to strike at any sign of movement.

  Lu Hao's face sank, and the broadsword in his hand also flashed with a faint light. "We have no interest in the 'Fire Cloud Demon Python'. You all can busy yourselves, we will leave now." Lu Hao saw that Barnard was not someone to be trifled with, and didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble, only wanting to quickly bring Mu Yu Die to a safe place.

  Barnard hesitated for a moment when he saw Luo Hao and others really leaving, then suddenly said: "Wait a minute."

  Luo Hao turned around, his face suddenly cold, and hummed: "Everyone, we don't want to have any trouble with you, but don't go too far either."

  "Haha." Barnard smiled and relaxed his face, "Friend, you misunderstood me. I didn't mean anything else, just wanted to make a deal with you."

  "What deal?" Luo Hao was taken aback.

  "With one eye of the 'Fire Cloud Python', three wolf fangs, two meters of python skin, and I'll trade you for those two women." Barnard pointed at Mu Yu Die and Di Ya Lan, smiling: "My brothers have been holding back for a long time, they need to release some pressure. The women here are all valuable, I think this price is reasonable, what do you think?"

  "Damn it!" Hu Long's eyes were about to spit fire.

  Zhao Xin let out a cold hum, and Mu Yu Die also lightly gritted her teeth. Di Ya Lan waved the short sword in her hand and shouted: "Come and try to snatch it if you dare!"

  Only Shi Yan narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

  Lu Hao reached out to stop Diya Lan's restless movements, gently shaking his head at her, and calmly said: "Sorry, they are my partners, not my private property, nothing can be exchanged."

  "Oh, never mind." Barnard nodded and said casually: "We'll meet again someday."

  "We'll meet again." Luo Hao gave him a deep look and said in a low voice: "Let's go!"

  Lu Hao glared at Diya Lan, signaling her not to speak and to leave quickly.

  Zhao Xin and Hu Long were both seething with anger, but under Luo Hao's gaze, they didn't dare to erupt and could only quietly follow Mu Yu Die away. Shi Yan rubbed his nose and didn't express an opinion, also following them as they left.

  ……

  "Captain, are we going to do it the same way this time?" After Luo Hao and his group disappeared into the forest, that Tu Mu sneered with a strange smile, "We know the captain's hobby, and won't compete with the captain for that little girl. However, that spicy woman, Captain should let us have a taste."

  Barnard's eyes grew increasingly cold, and he nodded slightly, "First collect the materials on the demon python's body, and then act according to the old rules."

  "Understood." Tu Mu sneered coldly, "That woman still wants to trample on my dignity, I'll kill her in a moment!"

  "She's a thorny flower, although slightly inferior to you, but also in the innate triple heaven realm. Be careful not to capsize in the ditch." Barnard hummed, "Later, remember to kill the man first, don't just focus on the woman, give me some numbers, and don't let one go!"

  "Yes!"

  ……