Chapter 44: The Mercenary Uncle’s Prophecy

“If that's the case, perhaps we could...” The elven berserker’s eyes flickered as he calculated quickly in his mind.

Among this group, though Mira was the captain, the true leader was the elven berserker; it was always he who issued orders. Mira, it seemed, had been sidelined.

Luo Yong, as a hired outsider, had no idea what “three magic crystals” meant as a unit of measure, nor did he care to involve himself in their affairs. Still, having spent too much time in this mine tunnel, and with the air so stifling, he found himself growing impatient.

This elf was taking far too long to count!

“It’s not that complicated. All you need to do is this, this...” Luo Yong, devoid of emotion, outlined his plan:

First, Mira would set up another barrier of thorns, sealing off both ends.

Next, everyone would use a teleportation scroll to return to the camp for some rest.

Meanwhile, Mira would summon a fresh wall of thorns outside.

Finally, before the thorns outside faded, they would use a teleportation scroll for pinpoint return to the mine tunnel and resume fighting.

“The plan is fine, but who among us has spare teleportation scrolls?” The elven berserker asked, his handsome face stern.

As much as he might dislike admitting it, the elven race’s beauty was undeniable.

“I do.” Luo Yong produced two scrolls—one for returning to camp, and another for pinpoint teleportation, which only needed to be set.

“Hand them over,” the berserker demanded, reaching out.

“No,” Luo Yong replied with a faint smile, shaking his head. He insisted the scrolls remain with him. “Otherwise, you might abandon me and run off. Who would I turn to for justice then?”

“Hmph! What do you take us for? How could we do such a thing?” The elven berserker blushed, clearly annoyed.

“Who can say…” Luo Yong shrugged and pocketed the scrolls.

“Don’t underestimate us!” Suddenly, a voice piped up beside him. The young girl shifted her shoulder, causing her dark cannon barrel to swing toward Luo Yong, its muzzle aimed menacingly.

One word out of place, and she’d act.

“I never underestimate anyone, nor do I allow others to underestimate me.” Luo Yong snorted. A tactical scroll appeared silently in his hand, its surface flickering with dangerous light.

Though not yet activated, a terrifying magical energy surged forth, and the already sweltering mine tunnel grew even hotter.

“A tactical scroll?!”

“A large-scale fire spell…”

Such scrolls were usually reserved for swarms of monsters or formidable beasts—trump cards kept in reserve. Normally, they weren’t used lightly. Not only because of their formidable power, but also because, for most, they were simply too expensive.

Not just precious—truly costly…

But these rebellious youths, before leaving their clans, had easy access to such things. They knew well its power.

At such close range, if it were activated, none would escape the mine tunnel alive.

“Truly ruthless—no wonder you’re from another camp!” The elven berserker spoke bitterly.

The young girl, when Luo Yong glanced her way, quietly moved her cannon aside, her face cold and indifferent.

Mira seemed to want to speak, but with things having reached this point, words were useless. Besides, whatever she might say carried little weight with these rebellious youths.

Luo Yong looked at her, shook his head inwardly, thinking he would never captain such a team, nor tolerate endlessly. If one could work together, do the task well; if not, better switch people and places.

No concessions, no compromises.

Everyone has their own temper, after all…

“Mira, just do as the Wind Whisperer says!” The elven berserker’s face was expressionless, standing stiff as a post, his gaze turned elsewhere as though unaffected by such setbacks.

“…”

Mira sighed, thought for a moment, then raised her hands to cast her specialty—plant magic.

“Thorns, converge!”

With her soft command, the tunnel’s ends were filled completely with thorns, sealing them off.

“Go!” Luo Yong activated a teleportation scroll, leaping first into the portal of light.

Mira followed second. Upon returning to camp, she hurried outside and summoned another wall of thorns.

She followed the predetermined steps strictly. In terms of execution, she was capable, but her leadership was lacking—she couldn’t command the scene.

The others emerged from the portal, returned to the camp, exchanged glances, and departed separately.

No one agreed on a return time.

Luo Yong frowned; he had intentionally left the gathering time vague—not insisting they wait until the thorns nearly vanished before returning to battle. Yet he hadn’t expected these rebellious youths to be so principled—not even bothering to ask.

They were certain Mira would handle everything, all acting as hands-off managers. Since words held no weight, they simply ignored everything.

Rebellious indeed, and youthfully so.

Luo Yong nodded to Mira and left. Without anyone noticing, he disguised himself—changing his cloak’s color, his ornaments, even his gait.

He was guarding against the possibility that these disgruntled youths might play dirty, striking when his guard was down.

Besides, why leave such opportunities for others to exploit?

This was something Luo Yong made a note of.

He wandered the camp for a while, but found no sign of the elusive astrologer. Luo Yong joined a group of mercenaries and left the camp, heading toward the mine.

This mine was not in the same direction as the one he had visited with Mira and the others.

As he walked, Luo Yong felt he’d been misled by those people. Time wasted, and now he’d offended a group of rebellious youths.

For what, exactly…?

“Hera… Is that astrologer still at the mine?” After some distance, Luo Yong asked the mercenary next to him.

“No idea. Her predictions aren’t accurate anyway.”

An older, world-weary mercenary sighed, “Young man, you must walk your own path, step by step. There are no shortcuts to success…”

“I meant to ask about…”

“Don’t ask, just don’t. It’s outrageously expensive—and there’s no discount. Just one question and several gold coins vanish!” The mercenary shook his head, still indignant. “I’ve been a mercenary for years, but I’ve never seen anyone make money so easily. Acting mysterious, waving their hands, chanting incomprehensible spells, and the money rolls in—worse than any magic shop…”

“Magic shops are definitely a rip-off!” Luo Yong agreed, clearly having been burned before.

“Actually, I wanted to ask…”

“Don’t ask, don’t ask. That witch isn’t easy to deal with…” The mercenary didn’t even let him finish, waving his hand solemnly. “She also told me I’d face bloody misfortune soon, warned me to be careful… Hmph, should I believe her?”

“I know that routine too well—wherever you go, whichever camp, there’s always these charlatans, muttering nonsense, never speaking plainly. Always with ‘bloody disaster,’ ‘avoiding calamity by spending money’… Trying to trick me? Not so easy!”

“…” Luo Yong simply stopped speaking, took advantage of a moment when the other wasn’t looking, and sped up his pace, slipping aside.

Good grief—once this middle-aged uncle started talking, his spittle could drown a man.

Along the way, Luo Yong asked several others, all saying Astrologer Hera had left the mine, but none knew where she’d gone exactly.

“Could she really have gone to another camp?”

Having lived in this world for so long, Luo Yong understood much. Small camps like this rarely had fixed teleportation arrays. They were difficult to build and easy to destroy. Any day, a camp might disappear, and a new one rise elsewhere.

Only cities—large human settlements—had permanent teleportation arrays, and they didn’t need to worry about damage.

Ordinary heroes, moving from one camp to another, mostly had to walk. Or spend money, gather enough people, and take a carriage—faster and safer than walking.

With enough money, of course, there was another way: teleportation scrolls.

For instance, Luo Yong could buy the right scroll and open a portal to another camp.

But not every place was accessible; after a certain distance, one still needed a fixed teleportation array.

“Indeed, time is money.”

Luo Yong muttered, pulling out his map and studying its markings, pondering his next move.

If he spent some scrolls, he could quickly reach the legendary hero’s location.

On one hand, there was the unreliable astrologer, currently untraceable.

On the other, the legendary hero, far away—the map alone made it seem distant—who had a memorable “level bottleneck” experience.

“Try a bit harder!” Luo Yong sighed, deciding to stay in this camp a while longer. If patience ran out and he still couldn’t find her, he’d stop waiting.

He would push straight through to the legendary hero.

The so-called Bolengai…

“Enemy attack!”

“Ah! I’m wounded… Blood—bloody misfortune…”

As the group walked, they were suddenly caught in a rain of arrows.

Yet the mercenaries did not panic. Though some looked older, all were battle-hardened, experienced, quick to react; in an instant, they organized their defense and launched a swift counterattack.