Chapter 009: Persistent Shadows

Zheng Wu stammered, unable to form words, and in the end he could only lower his head. As it turned out, Lei Hang’s task today was to visit Shen Qing, the Lord of Luo City. A significant portion of the mercenary guild’s quest to quell the monster tide had been commissioned by the Shen family, so naturally, as their current representative, Shen Qing was to be treated with courtesy. Yet Lei Hang had heard much about Shen Qing’s dubious character and was reluctant to pay respects to such a petty man. Thus, instead of fulfilling his duty, he wandered the guild halls of Luo City, where fate led him to an encounter with Shen Duo.

Seeing Zheng Wu’s discomfort, Lei Hang stepped forward, chest out, and declared, “Father, I did not visit Shen Qing today. If you wish to vent your anger, let it fall upon me—it has nothing to do with them!”

Lei Lie was furious; his face reddened as he pointed at Lei Hang, “You... come with me to the tent!” Without so much as a glance at Shen Duo, he marched away, taking Lei An and Lei Bai with him.

Lei Hang was indignant, but after Lei Lie had left, he turned apologetically to Shen Duo with a smile. “Shen Duo, my father always has a short temper. Let me arrange a tent for you to stay in tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll come find you, and we can go to Keli Town together—how does that sound?”

She understood well enough why Lei Hang’s father treated her with such coldness—it was simply contempt for her lack of power. The fact that she hadn’t been explicitly ordered out of the mercenary camp was already a mercy. Shen Duo nodded, “Brother Lei, go ahead. Don’t worry about me.” She thanked Lei Hang and followed a mercenary to an empty tent.

Lei Hang watched her slender yet upright back as she walked away, feeling that there was something about her that set her apart from ordinary people. Zheng Wu nudged him, calling out “Young Master,” which finally brought him back to his senses and sent him off, frowning, to deal with his father.

Shen Duo was assigned a tent at the eastern edge of the Blazing Flame Mercenary Corps’ camp, an area mostly occupied by female mercenaries. They sat together around a bonfire, laughing and chatting, their voices carrying far. One sharp-eyed mercenary saw Shen Duo sitting alone in front of her tent and warmly invited her to join them.

Unable to resist such friendliness, Shen Duo followed the mercenary and sat by the fire. A whole lamb was roasting over the flames, with one woman sprinkling spices evenly over it, while another poured a generous cup of fruit wine and handed it to Shen Duo. They all greeted her with friendly smiles, and as Shen Duo sipped her wine, she listened as one of them animatedly discussed the mercenary corps’ current mission.

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, “We all know that the edges of the Katela Forest see monster tides every year, but never has it been so fierce as this time, requiring so many mercenary corps to respond together. I’ve asked friends close to the deputy leaders—they say this monster tide will bring forth a divine beast!”

Gasps echoed around them. Even high-level phantom beasts were rare, but a divine beast? That was a being of legend. For some, witnessing a divine beast even once became a lifelong honor.

Shen Duo took a sip of fruit wine and smiled bitterly, shaking her head. For someone like her, unable to absorb spiritual phantom energy, no matter how formidable the monsters, they were of little use.

She noticed that all the female mercenaries wore badges on their left sleeves, the emblem a small, fiery blaze—the insignia of the Blazing Flame Mercenary Corps.

The women lamented for a moment, knowing that even if a divine beast appeared, it would not be theirs. Most of them were only of the rank of novice grand phantasmists, incapable of forming contracts with such high-level beings. If luck favored them, perhaps they could capture a few low-level phantom beasts during the tide—that was more realistic.

The atmosphere grew a little tense, until another mercenary spoke earnestly, “Though we’re among the continent’s top ten mercenary corps, the Blazing Flames still fall far short of the Lava Mercenary Corps, the number one. This mission is ranked A. The captain said that if we succeed, our corps might rise to first-class status, like the Lava Mercenary Corps.”

At once, everyone was fired up, rising to toast and rallying themselves for the coming monster tide. An upgrade in rank meant vastly improved treatment for the mercenaries; no matter which corps they belonged to, they hoped for its prosperity.

Shen Duo joined them, drinking alongside, and though she contributed little to the conversation, she gleaned much useful information from their talk.

It was not until late that their lively discussion ended. Shen Duo returned to her tent, lying on the fleece-covered bedding, hands folded behind her head, gazing at the ceiling. She could still recall with clarity the force from the person who had acted behind Shen Ao Fan that day—a power so intense and oppressive, far beyond anything she could resist with her own skills. Then came Lei Hang’s father’s disdain, and the scornful gazes of others. A powerful desire welled up within Shen Duo—she wanted to become strong, to possess true strength that would make others see her in a new light. No matter how arduous the path, she would not give up.

After mentally reviewing her plans for the next day, Shen Duo finally closed her eyes to rest.

In the deep darkness of sleep, she dreamed of comrades from her previous life, the hardships and fulfillment of their days together in the military camp. In the darkness, her lips curved faintly in a smile.

At dawn, Shen Duo was up early. Before long, Zheng Wu, who had accompanied Lei Hang the previous day, hurried over, his face apologetic. “Shen Duo, the young master won’t be coming today. The monster tide is imminent, and many beasts are roaming unpredictably. The young master is worried for your safety. If you don’t mind, I’ll accompany you to Keli Town.” Zheng Wu certainly couldn’t reveal that Lei Hang was being punished with confinement.

From yesterday’s events, Shen Duo had guessed as much. But since Zheng Wu had gone so far, refusal would seem affected; besides, she truly did need his help.

The two set out early for Keli Town, which lay not far from the Blazing Flame Mercenary Corps’ camp—about a two-hour round trip.

Yesterday, walking with Lei Hang, Zheng Wu had not uttered a single word, and Shen Duo had assumed the middle-aged man was of a cold disposition. Yet today, traveling together, she discovered he was quite talkative, knowledgeable, and experienced. The journey passed quickly as they chatted; aside from encountering a single low-level blue wolf, the road was peaceful.

When they returned to the camp astride their unicorn horses, they saw two figures standing in the center of the mercenary camp from afar. Shen Duo squinted—who else could that tall, round-faced man be but Shen Ao Fan? And beside him, clad in indigo robes, was surely Shen Qing!

Shen Duo dismounted, her expression growing grave. What were father and son doing here?

* * *

Tomorrow, the duels will begin. During the PK period, there will be two updates each day, tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Please continue to support us. Updates have been unstable lately, and yesterday even saw a missed chapter. I apologize to everyone here.