The woods are covered with low, dense hibiscus, and because there are no large creatures, the woodland is covered with a thick layer of humus and dead leaves, on which leather boots rustle. ~with~dream~small~say~щ~suimеng~lā

Balor and the others held torches and walked in the woods for a moment before they smelled a pungent smell of blood, which grew stronger and stronger as the team went deeper, so that the unique rancid smell of the hibiscus forest could not hide it.

The small oilwood torch shone light, dispelling the darkness that shrouded the woods, and gradually illuminated a broken tree. The broken tree was the thickness of an adult's thigh, the trunk was smooth and covered with crimson blood, the canopy was lying horizontally to the ground, and there were two puddles of blood next to it, as well as some fragments of human tissue, but no body.

Barrol's mind sketched out the battle: a dark sentry leaning against the hibiscus tree, monitoring the surrounding movements, the elite guards swept by, slashed the man and the tree with a sword, and then rushed into the ambush point with lightning speed, quickly clearing the enemy. After the battle, the elite guards clean up the battlefield, search for remnants of enemies, and gather the corpses and belongings of enemies for inspection.

"Hurry up. Balor greeted in a low voice.

This place is not far from Xiangye Town, the identity of the enemy is unknown, and it is not clear whether they have anything to do with the lord of Xiangye Town, so many people died at once, it is better to check as soon as possible and evacuate as soon as possible.

The group quickened their pace, and soon came to an open field deep in the woods, where dozens of corpses were arranged in four rows, flat on the ground, weapons piled on the other side, some elite guards guarding around, and others digging holes with portable shovels.

Barol looked around and saw that the number of elite guards was not right, and he asked, "What about the other brothers?"

"Four brothers were on guard at the edge of the forest. Elite Guardian Badu replied.

Balor nodded in satisfaction, turned around and ordered, "Check the corpse and the items, and move quickly." ”

"Head, don't worry, it won't be delayed for long. The red wolf said as he put on the moleskin gloves, and several other middle-aged people were doing the same thing, the difference was that they looked indifferent, as if they were doing something commonplace, and the thief red wolf had an excited expression of making a fortune.

The corpses were pieced together "completely", their skin was pale and gloomy from severe blood loss, and the expressions on their faces were frozen in the last moments of their lives, some were dazed, some were afraid, some were angry, and some were painful. The firelight flickered, and the erratic shadows seemed to be the resentment and struggle of the dead souls, which seemed terrifying and eerie.

Barrol's subordinates are either his carefully cultivated successors or former fellow spies, none of whom are good people, and this kind of scene can't scare them. In fact, the most ordinary homeless people are disgusted with when they encounter a dead person, and then they will loot all their belongings.

"Sure enough, there is a crossbow...... There are 5 in total, which is a lot of money!"

"The coarse linen burqa is half-new, some of it doesn't fit well, and I don't see anything special about it. The leather boots were of high quality, only two people had boots that didn't fit. Hehe, kind of interesting. ”

"The muscles are strong, the bones are thick, there are old scars from the whipping on the back, and the calluses on the hands are exactly what an elite soldier would have trained to do. ”

Crossbows can be used to plot against probationary knights, and are controlled weapons, and the thieves' guilds and mercenary groups may be able to get their hands on some, but the villains and hooligans in Ribbon Town definitely don't have crossbows and other killing weapons. Well-fitting boots are related to the soldier's mobility, can only be tailor-made, and they are worth a lot of money. Ordinary villains usually pick up some old boots from the grocery store to wear, and they don't pay for them. Elite soldiers have honed their martial arts since childhood, and their movements are slightly deformed, and the instructor will correct his mistakes with a whip and leave a scar on his back, while most mercenaries will not have a reprimanded whip mark.

By all indications, these enemies are not ordinary gangster thugs, nor mercenaries, but elite soldiers who have been systematically trained. But why would the elite soldiers ambush some outsiders? If the mercury was exposed, why didn't they send troops to encircle them? Could it be that the two men who killed the elite guards were probationary knights? But his appearance and skin did not look like a nobleman at all.

The more Barol thought about it, the more confused he became, and a middle-aged man with brown hair and a hooked nose dragged a corpse and came over and said, "Balor, come and see this corpse." ”

Balor took a light with a torch and found nothing special, he frowned and asked, "Saji, is there anything wrong?"

"This man's face is thin, and his bones should be slender, but his arm bones are much thicker and stronger than ordinary people's. Don't you think it's weird?" said Hooknose Saji, handing Barol a severed hand.

Balor took the severed hand, observed the exposed wrist bones, and carefully groped for the corpse's facial bones. As Saji said, the corpse's arm bones and skull were so out of harmony that it wasn't like a person.

"What does that mean?" asked Barrol in a deep voice, staring at his former fellow spies.

"I don't know. Saji exhaled softly, shook his head, and said, "Judging from the arm bones, this person should have a burly figure of .9 meters tall, but he is only .75 meters tall...... After a pause, he asked again: "Do you remember Old Charlie, the corpse collector?"

"Of course I remember, old Charlie's post-mortem training was the most disgusting, and no buddy passed except you. The corners of Barrol's eyes twitched, and the post-mortem training was clearly not a good memory.

"Hehe, after the training, you can run faster than a rabbit, and only I am willing to accompany old Charlie to guard the cemetery. Sagile smacked his lips and said, "Old Charlie has told me a lot of secrets, he once helped the church collect the corpses of the paladins, and he told me that the bones of the paladin's hands and legs are disproportionately thick and strong. ”

"What?!Paladin, you're not mistaken, are you?" Barol whispered, grabbing Saji's collar.

"What's so strange about that. Saji slapped Balor's hand away, straightened his collar, and said, "Elite soldiers are .5 times more powerful than men in the prime of life, and holy warriors are twice as strong as ordinary people, and can carry 700 pounds on their backs. ”

Balor paced back and forth with his hands behind his back and said, "These people can't be holy warriors!"

"Of course. Saji agreed, and said, "However, the paladins have a secret method of training, and others may have similar secret methods......" He nodded at the elite guards on the side, "The warriors trained by the master are much stronger than these guys, I really don't know how they train?"

"Don't ask, don't ask. Balor looked around at all his subordinates and said coldly: "Do a good job, one day, the master will personally summon you." ”

Saji's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile: "We all know the rules, the master spared our lives, and let us follow you to do our old business, we are already very content." ”

"If you show your loyalty, we'll talk about it later!Hurry up and check the leg bones of all the corpses to see how many of them have been trained in arcane techniques?"

Counting the number of Arcane warriors was a way to gauge the size and potential of the hostile forces, and Baror's men understood this, and they took out their daggers and began to dissect each corpse.

It didn't take long for Saji to finish his examination, he raised his head and said, "Of the 39 corpses, the bone strength of 3 people is far beyond that of ordinary people, and only three of them are ordinary people...... This guy is still an acquaintance. As he spoke, he picked up a head and threw it at Balor.

It was a middle-aged man with a meaty face, with a frightened expression on his face, his left eye intact, and his right eye wearing a new blindfold.

Balor looked at it and said with a bow, "It turned out to be the forked snake of Xiangye Town." ”

Forked Snake was originally the gang boss of Ribbon Town, and Barol disguised himself as an outcast, and joined his subordinate Swayne, and encouraged Swayne to challenge Forksnake's position. In the gang fight, Forked Snake was defeated, and his right eye was gouged out by Barol's own hands, and Sveen succeeded in ascending to the throne, but did not kill Forked Snake.

The sheriff's office generally doesn't care about the change of power of the underground forces, but the new leader must submit to the authority of the sheriff's office, and the life or death of the loser can only be decided by the sheriff, which is the survival rule that hyenas must follow.

In fact, the sheriff will re-prop up a gang leader when necessary, and then use the original leader as a scapegoat and leave it to the priest at the disposal. Barol and Monkey had a similar experience, and as a result, they became Victor's men.

The defeat of the Forked Snake was unexpected by the magistrate of Fragrant Leaf Town, and since there was no need to let the Forked Snake take the blame, he casually let the Forked Snake live. Swayne just drove the Forked Snake out of Blade Town, and now the Forked Snake is back and dead on the spot.

Saji leaned over and said, "Judging from the wounds, the forked snake was kneeling on the ground at that time, and its head was cut off with a sword from the back of the neck, and the fatal wounds of the other two ordinary dead people were also in the back...... Our people want to catch them alive, so they are killed by their own people in order to destroy them. ”

"It's not my own people, it's a member of the Kamen Brotherhood!"

The thief Red Wolf walked up to Barol and handed him two bronze badges with a mask and blood-dripping dagger on the front and the numbers 79 and 03 on the back.

A little over a year ago, Barol was developing a mercury perimeter in Waterdeep, east of Gambis, and happened to meet his former colleagues, including Saji. At that time, Sage and the others were attached to the thieves' union in Waterdeep, and after a short period of temptation, Barol decisively led people to eliminate the nest of the thieves' union. There, Mercury first encountered the Kamen Brotherhood's mercenary group, and in order to capture alive the mercenary leader with two knives, Mercury also sacrificed a spirit monkey militia.

The Twin Blades mercenary was tortured and refused to reveal his secrets, and finally he was doused with psychedelic potions, which is why he told the story of the Kamen Brotherhood. He also has a bronze badge numbered 47 on his body.

Without waiting for Barol to ask, the red wolf took the initiative to say: "The badge of number 79 was found on that corpse, and the badge of number 03 belonged to the captive. ”

Balor's gaze turned to the seriously injured and unconscious captive, and after a moment of silence, he asked the elite guard Badu, "How is the strength of these two guys compared to the Twin Knife Mercenaries in Waterdeep City?"

Badu replied succinctly, "Almost." ”

“47、79、03...... The Kamen Brotherhood isn't just any gangster organization!" Saji exclaimed, shaking his head.

Without saying a word, Barol walked up to the villain Pete and said, "You're involved in something you shouldn't be involved in!"

Pete also showed his true character at this time, and he said miserably: "Lord Balor, I tell you everything I know, just ask for a good time." Seeing that Balor nodded in acquiescence, he stroked his injured shoulder, stood up and said, "A month ago, the Forked Snake Boss returned to Xiangye Town with these people, and they first killed Boss Swayne, and then forced a few of our brothers to keep an eye on you. The Boss of the Forked Snake said that as soon as you returned, he would kill you all to get rid of the trouble. ”

"Forked snake killed Sveen, what is the attitude of the vigilante?"

"There was no movement at the police station. ”

"Where did the Forked Snake come back to Molly?"

Pete thought for a moment and said, "The Forked Snake Boss has boasted to us before that his cousin Donner is the leader of the Thieves' Guild in Ascending Rock, and I guess he is a man borrowed from Ascending Rock. ”

Barol nodded, gathered a few old fellows together, and said: "The matter is almost clear, Forked Snake went to Ascending Stone City to join his cousin Donner, and Donner must be the small leader of the Thieves' Guild, otherwise Forked Snake would have gone to Ascending Rock City to mingle, so Donner is very likely to join the Kamen Brotherhood." The Kamen Brotherhood is the boss behind the Forked Snake, and their tentacles have extended from the Borui Kingdom to the Ascending Stone City of the Duoduo Kingdom, and Shoba Town is their next target. ”

"Or rather, the Kamen Brotherhood is doing the same thing as us, so we're always going to bump into each other, whether it's Waterdeep or Shoba...... The difference is that we are very careful, but the Kamen Brotherhood is very rough, and they seem to have the tacit approval of the Grand Lord, Marquis Dwemick. ”

"The Kamen Brotherhood is powerful, and their mercenaries are even stronger than the elite soldiers! It stands to reason that the High Lord, Marquis Dwemick, could not have allowed the forces of the Borui to run rampant in his territory. Could it be that the Wemick family wants to use the power of the Brotherhood of Kamen to do something inconvenient?"

"Balor, do you have time to think about this now, we have ruined the good things of the Dwemick family, and it will be too late if we don't run away!"

An old spy glanced at the unconscious captive and whispered, "With him, are you still afraid that you won't be able to find the answer?" Just like the No. 47 mercenary in Deep Water City, a few bottles of psychedelic potion are poured down, and anything can be asked!"

"That's right...... Hurry up and bury the body, let's get out of here. Barol said as he walked over to the captive.

At that moment, a sharp cold wind quickly hit the side of his neck.

Although Barol has not yet reached the realm of moving with his heart, his sharpness and flexibility have surpassed ordinary people. At the moment of life and death, his hard work finally paid off. I saw him bend his knees, kick his legs vigorously, and the whole person jumped forward like a vigorous mountain ape. However, the cold killing machine was like a maggot attached to the bone, and he smelled death.

Death did not come as expected.

A fierce gust of wind rose out of thin air, blowing the cloak and making a hunting sound. Balor looked back and saw that the elite guard Badu had stabbed a black short sword in time, and the assailant's figure was blurred, and the pitch-black cloak fluttering high was like a huge black wing, slashing towards Badu.

Fighting in a cloak? Playing handsome is looking for death!

The spirit monkey militia Badu was expressionless, raised his hand and stabbed out with a sword, the sword light instantly submerged into the black cloak, and with a "bang", the pieces of cloth flew in all directions, and a ghostly figure stuck to the ground, swooping down on the captives a few meters away.

Barrol's face changed drastically, and he roared angrily, "Stop him!"

Too late!

A cloud of blood erupted from the captive's neck, and the attacker swept by, shooting lightning towards the perimeter of the woods. At this moment, a tower-like figure blocked the way of the attackers, it was the barberry militia Rusa.

Facing the tall and burly Rusa, the attacker did not flinch, he kicked and stomped, and the ** fallen leaves on the ground burst forward like scattered flowers of the heavenly maiden, and a black sword light came first, cutting straight at Rusa's neck.

The black sword was shadowless, as fast as lightning, Rusa couldn't see clearly, and he didn't need to see clearly, the muscles surged like water, the bones crackled and exploded, the power was transmitted layer by layer, the heavy mace rubbed the air, let out a terrifying cry, rolled up the dead leaves in the sky, and smashed straight into the head of the attacker.

It's a counterattack that ends all the time?!

————————————

Shadow Warrior Ziggy didn't expect things to turn out like this.

After Forksnake regained control of the underground forces in Ribbon Town, Ziggy was about to lead the team away, but Forksnake begged him to get rid of Swayne's newly recruited group of outcast thugs before leaving.

Of course, this is a trivial matter, but the death of more than two dozen people in Xiangye Town at once will damage the reputation of the security office, so Zige arranged this ambush in the wild.

Ziggy is a shadow warrior who specializes in assassination, and he hates head-to-head duels, and two Blood Guards and 35 elite mercenaries are too easy to deal with a group of outcast villains, and he doesn't need to intervene at all. Before the battle began, Ziggy practiced his stealth skills by hiding under a bush of thorns in a chaleating cloak, and in doing so, he witnessed a merciless slaughter and escaped.

The enemy attacked without any disguise, and the sound of their footsteps was particularly harsh in the silence of the forest, but they were sensitive and astonishingly fast, and were able to find each opponent with precision in the dark, while the mercenaries carefully cultivated by the Brotherhood had no time to react, unable to organize an effective defense, and were broken one by one.

The Assassin's keen instincts told Ziggy that the strength, speed, and skill of these enemies were beyond the limits of mortals, and that he might be able to deal with two, but definitely not so many, and the defeat of the two Blood Guards confirmed this.

The Blood Guardian struck with all his might, slashing an enemy with a backhand the moment his body was dissected, and the other Blood Guard was surrounded by several enemies, and despite his bloodthirsty outburst, his limbs and back were crushed by a strong enemy.

The base strength of the Blood Guardian is twice that of ordinary people, and the strength of the bloodthirsty state is doubled, which is equivalent to the combined force of four adult men, and there is a huge increase in perception and speed. The biggest difference between the Shadow Warrior and the Blood Guardian is the harnessing of strength through skill, and there is no difference between the physical fitness and bloodlust effect of the two.

For some reason, Ziggy almost instinctively analyzes the enemy and divides it into two categories.

There are two enemies in the first category, their physique is extremely tough, and the crossbow can't shoot through their chest muscles at close range, and their brute strength is amazing, the strength of four elite soldiers is equal to the combined force of four elite soldiers, and they can easily suppress the bloodthirsty power of the Blood Guard.

The second group of enemies has a total of 7 people, and their strength is not comparable to that of bloodthirsty, but they are also three times that of ordinary people. Their senses are so acute that even the gaze of their gaze can alert them, and their skill, speed, and balance are unbelievably high, even severing swift crossbows with their short swords in the dark.

This is actually a kind of anticipation, hand-eye coordination technique, Ziggy can also do it by asking himself, but it is limited to that. In terms of skill and speed, the two sides are evenly matched.

However, Bloodthirsty Power is a burst secret technique, with a time limit and a period of weakness, and these enemies are fierce warriors of strength and agility, and there is no problem with burst fatigue.

Ziegy lurked beneath his color-changing cloak, his pores closed, his breathing as thin as a gossamer, motionless, waiting for his enemies to leave. However, when the leader of the enemy talks about Blood Guard 47 and psychedelic potions, he has no choice but to take the risk.

Feint bosses are designed to lure agile warriors into supporting them and move them out of their original positions, thus creating an opportunity to strike, and the chameleon cloak is precious, but it is no match for the bloodthirsty secret. The power-type ferocious warrior is too slow to kill with one hit, which is the only breakthrough.

The experience of the Assassins prompted Ziggy to make the most accurate judgment and to implement it immediately.

Everything went well, and the sense of accomplishment and excitement of the last resort filled Ziggy with strength and confidence, and he was about to cut off the head of the fierce warrior and vent the depression in his chest.

Surrounded by strong enemies, a sword and a sword, he walked away, and disappeared. This is the legend of the Assassins......! Damn, won't you fucking hide?

Fight to the death is a test of strength, skill, speed, and will. For opponents with similar strength, the will has become the key to determining the outcome of life and death!

In the face of the sword, Rusa's expression did not fluctuate in the slightest, in Ziggy's eyes it was an indestructible determination, indifference to everything in the world, he had no doubt that even if he cut off Rusa's head, it would not change his mind, and his mace would smash himself to pieces.

Any creature has the instinct to avoid death and survive, in the life and death standoff, the weak will show weakness and hesitation, even a blink of an eye, the same will become your life and death.

At this moment, Zieg's heart was shaken by fear, and just as he tried to escape, a mysterious force manipulated his body, making him turn into a seasoned assassin, and the long sword was sharpened into a thorn, and penetrated Rutha's chest with subtle precision, and the slight tremor stirred the strong heart to pieces, and the body turned sideways, avoiding the ferocious brain-crushing hammer, and the left arm was grazed by the mace, shattering bones and tearing muscles. Ziggy sliced off his left arm like rags with his backhand, his muscles squirming, pinching the blood vessels, and he disappeared into the darkness of the dense forest in an instant.

"Stop chasing!

Hearing Balor's order, the Spirit Monkey militia stopped their pursuit. Balor knelt down in front of Rusa with an ugly face, picked up his head, and whispered, "I'm sorry, Rusa...... I can only bury you and Graca here. ”

"Head, look at this cloth, it'...... It will change color! That Assassin is using it to evade our search. The red wolf walked over with a cloak fragment and said.

Balor took the cloak fragment and watched it gradually turn into the color of a red mole skin glove in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh, "What is this?

"It's a color-changing dye. Not witchcraft. Spirit Monkey Militiaman Badu said from the side.

Balor's heart moved, pulled Badu, walked to a corner, and asked in a soft voice, "Lord Victor also has a color-changing dye?"

"Yes. Badu nodded.

Discoloration dye... The secret method that makes ordinary people violent... Could it be that the boss behind the Kamen Brotherhood is of the same origin as Lord Victor, and they are both the heirs of the Wimbledon family?

Thinking of this, Barol slapped himself hard and asked, "Can you still catch that assassin?

"Yes. He couldn't run far. ”

"So confident?"

Badu said blandly: "He is seriously wounded, and he uses bloodlust, and he will soon fall into a state of weakness. ”

"Bloodthirsty, how can humans be bloodthirsty, why didn't you tell me when we captured Mercenary 47 in Waterdeep?" asked Balor, dumbfounded.

Badu showed a thoughtful expression and said slowly: "Humans do not have the ability to be bloodthirsty, but when they fight, their eyes are red, their muscles are bulging, their strength and speed are multiplied, they are insensitive to pain, and they show bloodthirsty characteristics. As for what I didn't tell you in Waterdeep, it's because you didn't ask me. ”

"......" Balor was stunned for a while, then shook his head helplessly, "Okay...... We missed an opportunity to torture and only hope that this fish would not slip through the net. It's so dark, how do you find it?"

Badu said, "We still have a hidden power, do you want to activate it now?"

Barol suddenly remembered what Victor had told him: When mercury is in danger, run into the wilderness, and a hidden force will meet them.

"It's time. Barol muttered to himself, a cold light flashing in his eyes, and ordered, "Contact them!"

Badu took a special whistle from his pocket, held it in his mouth, and blew out a silent sound wave.

A terrible wolf howl was heard in the distance, followed by another direction, and the wolf howls came and went, gradually gathering towards the woods

Badu listened attentively, and said solemnly: "My lord, please take the mercury backbone to avoid it, and we will deal with the rest of the matter." ”

————————————

Two days later, in a makeshift camp in the mountains, Balor was smiling, holding a fragment of a chameleon-changing cloak in one hand and a silver badge with a mask, a blood-dripping dagger, and the number 5 in the other. Sagi walked up to him and teased:

"Barol, what are you smiling at?"

"Boiling Blood Elixir, Blood Guard, Shadow Warrior, Kamen Brotherhood,...... Mercury has a rival, don't you think it's funny?"

"What's there to be happy about?" Saji's eyes widened, and he and Balor met each other for a moment, and the two couldn't help but laugh. Stopping the laughter, Saji asked again, "What are you going to do with that guy?"

"Haven't you become an idiot? ”

"I'm talking about Pete, do you really believe him, aren't you afraid that he will betray mercury?"

In the camp, the villain Pete is bandaged in his left hand and busy chopping wood with his right hand, preparing to make a fire. Balor retracted his gaze and said lightly: "A rotten life, who is it not sold to? In terms of loyalty, what is the difference between you and him?"

"How can that be the same? I'm dead set on mercury!" said Saji, patting his chest.

A smile of admiration appeared on Barol's old face, and he said, "The master once told me that the most powerful thing about mercury is not force, but the ability to absorb members and cultivate talents. Someday, you'll understand...... I promise you won't regret joining us!" he said in his heart, "Because mercury is just the tip of the iceberg for Lord Victor. ”

"Now, what are we supposed to do?"

"Pete is a local, and he can bring people into the thieves' guild in Ascending Rock City, so we'll secretly fight the Kamen Brotherhood. After a pause, Barol turned to Saji and said, "I'll leave the matter of the infiltrated thieves' union to you, is there a problem?"

"What could be the problem?" said Saji with a shrug of his shoulders, "What about you?"

"Of course I'm going back to see my master!"