Chapter Forty-Seven: The Three Men in Black

  In the blink of an eye, three days have passed. The news that the city master Tuoba Tao and his son Tuoba Hong were seriously injured has spread throughout the city, causing a stir among the people. Speculation about the whereabouts of the three young men who are being hunted down with heavy rewards has become a popular topic of conversation among men and women, old and young. The Tuoba family's vitality was severely damaged in this battle, and some people who had long coveted the position of city master began to take advantage of the situation and attack the Tuoba family's power from all sides. As a result, the border town of Lanyue, which had always been known for its fierce folk customs, gradually became extremely turbulent. Tuoba Tao relied on his accumulated prestige over the years to desperately maintain control, but it was clear that he was somewhat unable to cope.

  The most chaotic place in the city was the previously depressed Mercenary Guild, which had been bustling with activity since the Takahashi family posted a wanted poster in front of the guild three days ago. Countless mercenaries flocked from all directions to receive the mission to hunt down Sang Xiao and others at the guild counter, not for anything else, but because the reward was just too enticing...

  10,000 gold coins! The notice hanging in front of the guild was written in bold, eye-catching red letters: 10,000 gold coins! For mercenaries who lived on the edge of their blades every day, 10,000 gold coins were a staggering figure that they couldn't refuse. More importantly, the targets of this mission were only three underage children!

  Tuoba Tao specially invited the most famous painter in Lan Yue City to paint portraits of Sang Xiao and the other two based on his description. Although they were not very lifelike, they were enough for people who had seen the portraits to know what the three looked like. Each mercenary who received the task would get a free portrait. Although one of the three children had seriously injured Tuoba Tao, a Soul Servant of the Sixth Stage, few people took them seriously. In the eyes of many mercenaries, it was lucky that the three little devils could escape in front of City Lord Tuoba Tao. As long as their own team was careful, they would not repeat Tuoba Tao's mistake of underestimating the enemy.

  As the mercenaries were clamoring to receive their mission, the door of the Mercenary Guild was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang. Everyone turned around in unison, and saw three people dressed in black, wearing black veils, walking towards them in big strides. The three formed a triangular formation, with one tall and two short, their footsteps extremely uniform. The leader, a giant of a man, had a broad back carrying an unsheathed giant sword that shone with a cold light. Although he was wrapped tightly from head to toe in clothing, people could still sense the intense killing aura emanating from his eyes. Some timid mercenaries instinctively dodged to one side, clearing a path for the black-clad giant to approach the front desk.

  The giant let out a cold snort and walked towards the front desk, with the other two closely following. The mercenaries who had been waiting in line for a long time looked at them with disdain, but no one dared to question them. In the world of mercenaries, strength is everything, and experienced mercenaries know not to make any rash moves before understanding their opponent's abilities. Some sharp-eyed mercenaries had already noticed that the three men were wearing clothes made by Tianyi Workshop, the most famous tailor in Langyue City, known for its exquisite and luxurious clothing, which ordinary mercenaries couldn't afford.

  Just as the three were about to reach the front desk, a burly mercenary who had been waiting in line for a task grew indignant. He thought to himself, "I've been waiting in line for half a day, and just when it's almost my turn to receive a task, these three mysterious birds suddenly appear out of nowhere and want to cut in line? What kind of logic is this?" As he thought this, the mercenary quickly moved his feet to block the path of the three people.

  Some experienced mercenaries sighed in their hearts, thinking that this guy was still too young. Slowly, the people didn't come out of the house, how many catties did you have to stand up? Looking at the leading giant's ferocious appearance, it was clear that the young mercenary wouldn't have a good outcome. At this point, everyone stretched their necks, curiously waiting to see the reaction of the black-clothed trio.

  The giant who led the way stopped in front of the mercenary who was blocking the road, looking at him as if he hadn't noticed that he was blocking someone's path, wandering around. The giant frowned and then cupped his fists loudly: "Friend, make way!"

  Who would have thought that the mercenary blocking the way was still whistling carelessly, as if he hadn't heard anything. Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that he was intentionally picking a fight.

  "Get out!!", before the giant could react, one of the two black-clad men behind him suddenly let out a loud shout and then flashed forward like lightning to in front of the mercenary, raising his fist and heavily striking down!

  Bang! The crowd only felt a black shadow flashing before their eyes, and the black-clad man's fist had already heavily struck the mercenary blocking his way on the temple. Immediately after, there was only a dull thud, and the mercenary's head exploded with a loud crash, splashing blood and brain matter all over the people around!

  The man in black slowly withdrew his fist, lightly brushed off the dirt that had splashed onto him, and then looked around menacingly before slowly returning to stand behind the giant.

  Dead silence! The originally bustling mercenary guild was shocked into silence by the black-clad man's lightning-fast strike, with everyone staring in stunned silence at the headless body still standing in place. They couldn't believe that someone who had been alive and kicking just moments before was now beheaded, despite being surrounded by people who had killed before, some of whom were even serial killers. But no one expected the black-clad man to brutally kill a fellow mercenary without warning in front of so many people. In fact, many present thought they could dodge his attack, but what was terrifying was how sudden it was, catching everyone off guard.

  The giant in black clothes swayed, and then kicked the headless corpse that still maintained its standing posture to one side with one foot. He walked up to the front desk with his head held high, and in a loud, hoarse voice said to the extremely seductive female receptionist, "I want to take on the pursuit and kill mission posted outside the door. Hurry up! This is our mercenary group's emblem!" As he spoke, he handed over an iron shield-shaped plaque.

  That sexy female receptionist had already been scared out of her wits by the scene earlier. She wasn't one who hadn't seen killings before, in fact, this union entrance often saw mercenary infighting, but the image just now was simply too bloody. Even with a bigger temper than most women, she couldn't help but be frightened silly, and as she watched these three killing gods walk up to her, she completely lost her ability to think, and didn't even hear what the black-robed giant was saying, let alone take over the emblem registration.

  The giant saw the receptionist staring at him with her whole body trembling, and impatiently waved the iron plate in front of her eyes. The receptionist finally came back to her senses, hastily took over the team emblem, and didn't even bother to check its authenticity before recording it down and handing it back. She also attached a portrait of the mission target, mechanically saying: "You take this, this is the portrait of the mission target. This is an assassination mission with no time limit. As long as you can kill any one of the three people in the portrait and bring their head here to collect the reward, each person's head is worth 3,000 gold coins. If you bring all three at the same time, it will be 10,000 gold coins. At the same time, you can also use our mission completion certificate to receive additional rewards from the lord of Tuo City!" This sentence was spoken extremely fluently, clearly having been repeated countless times.

  The tall man in black nodded, took the portrait and glanced at it briefly before putting it into his bosom. He then turned around and walked towards the gate without saying another word. This time, no one dared to come out and stop them again, and the three of them left the gate freely.

  As the three of them left, the people in the Mercenary Guild Hall felt a collective sigh of relief, and the previously oppressive atmosphere instantly dissipated. Some of the more timid mercenaries had been scared to the point of being drenched in sweat by the scene just now, and at this moment, they were chilled to the bone by the cold wind, shivering with fear.

  And without mentioning how the people in the guild disposed of the body and continued to receive tasks, let's just say that the three black-clad men left the guild and headed east all the way to the gate of Lanyue City. This Lanyue City was originally a commercial hub, with countless merchants coming and going for transactions, and it was possible to enter and exit the city gate at will. Who knew that three days ago, all the city gates suddenly became heavily guarded, not only prohibiting passage at night, but also deploying large troops of elite soldiers to guard them, and strictly inspecting everyone who came and went? This caused trouble for those merchants who came and went to sell goods. At this moment, although it was almost dusk, there were still long lines in front of the gate of Lanyue City waiting for inspection and clearance. One after another, cargo trucks stretched out like a long snake, and anxious merchants occasionally looked forward, but the queue seemed endless, moving forward only slightly after a long time.

  Several heavily armed soldiers were holding pictures and carefully checking them one by one. Anyone who was slightly suspicious was taken aside for further questioning. The three men in black looked at each other, then obediently stood at the back of the line.

  As the sky darkened, the busy soldiers also gradually became somewhat lax, and their inspections were no longer as meticulous and strict. Even so, it took these three black-clad men half a while to move to the city gate. The soldier on duty waved the portrait in his hand and shouted impatiently: "You three, yes, you, hurry up and lift your face veils for the military officer, don't delay the military officer from going home to play with his wife, haha!" The other soldiers loudly echoed him, crudely making jokes.

  "I say, Wang Laosi, with your bear-like appearance, you're still playing with wives? Your wife is probably still stuck in some mother-in-law's leg pit, not knowing what to do! Shouldn't you go back and find the sow that gave birth to you?" Haha!"

  "It's just that, you're an old bachelor with a wife, and yet you're still thinking about getting rid of her quickly so you can go to the brothel to find your lover? Haha", the soldiers burst into laughter, but the one called Wang Lao Si didn't seem to mind at all, apparently he was already used to it.

  "Hey, are you deaf or what? I told you to take off your mask and you didn't hear me?", Wang Lao Si turned around after finishing his joke, but found that the three men in black hadn't made any move, he couldn't help feeling embarrassed in front of his brothers, and scolded them angrily.

  The leading giant heard the words and quietly reached for the hilt of his sword on his shoulder with his left hand. The black-clad man who had been following him and hadn't spoken a word hastily grabbed his arm, stepped forward, pulled out a portrait and an iron plate from his pocket, and handed them to Wang Lao Si, saying in a low voice: "General, please calm down, we three brothers only because the enemy is too strong, are afraid of being recognized and leading to pursuit and killing, so dare not lift our masks. Look, this is our team emblem, and there is a portrait from the Mercenary Guild, we are mercenaries who have accepted the pursuit mission, General, can you please...". As he spoke, he pulled out a bulging small purse from his waist, blocked the view of the people behind him with his body, and quietly handed the purse to Wang Lao Si's hand.

  "This... our military rules are strict, this is probably... hmm?" Teacher Wang casually covered the opening of his money bag with his sleeve and peeked inside. In an instant, a dazzling golden light flashed before his eyes...