The spring is cold, and the night wind is quite cold.

The half-elf Uniken Skylark, the vice-captain of the Night Falcon Squad, skimmed the green grass with light steps, making no louder noise than a burrowing opossum foraging for food. Behind him, about twenty meters or so, followed by five sneaky figures, who had slowed down as much as they could, but in Eunicon's slightly quivering pointed ears, they still made noise like a whole group of heavily armed dwarves.

After passing through a sparse forest on a gentle slope, Unican bent down and made a "hidden" gesture behind him. The target was ahead - at the end of a gentle slope, there were several huts scattered along the rock wall, which looked like delicate toy boxes from a distance, and the windows of one of them reflected a faint but warm light.

"It doesn't look dangerous. Uniken thought silently, but the Ancestor Totem tattoo on the back of his neck was burning, a symbol of danger, and the intensity was unprecedented.

Although Uniken has a childish and cute face that belongs to a young man, it is because of his half-elf blood. In fact, he has spent forty years in the world, and the nickname Skylark is also well-known in the mercenary guild of the city-state of Coventry.

"It's ridiculous, I should have turned down this task. Uniken frowned, an expression that often made the female employer who had too much maternal affection cast a look of pity, "Santa Morata, why did the employer have to find out the source of this batch of alchemical potions that suddenly appeared?"

Employers certainly have reasons to do so. Half a month ago, a batch of high-quality, low-priced alchemy potions suddenly appeared in the Coventry market, the bottles did not have any familiar pharmacist emblems, although the quantity was not enough to shake the animal price, but it was enough to make the two chambers of commerce that jointly monopolized the alchemy potion market worried.

The asking price of the Night Falcon squad was worth two regular mercenary groups, and they wouldn't have been so generous if it weren't for the fact that their employers valued their frighteningly high percentage of mission completion.

There was a faint commotion from behind, as if someone was lowering their voices and complaining about something. Uniken shook his head helplessly, he had wanted to go it alone, and experience had taught him that the success of such missions depended mainly on the level of stealth operations, not numbers.

But the employer's side took the task very seriously and insisted on sending his own men. Uniken threatened to refuse the mission, but in the end he had to take them with him, just to gain the power to give orders.

"Five mid-level molten gold warriors who can be used as cannon fodder, if they are on an assassination or assault mission, the eldest sister must be dancing with joy, right?" Eunikon sighed, made a "quiet" gesture, and then wrapped his gray-green cloak tightly, and quietly got up like a weightless shadow, sneaking towards the lighted hut.

After all, he had accepted the employment of the two major chambers of commerce, and if he was afraid of danger and could not find anything out and went back in ashes, it would not be in line with his principles and would be contrary to the good reputation of the night falcon.

As he got closer to the hut, the ancestral tattoo on the back of Eunikon's neck grew hotter and hotter, and at last he couldn't help but wonder if the flesh around the tattoo had been roasted. He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the unease that had welled up in his heart, carefully sprinting through the shaky rocks, slippery grass, and stumbling roots hidden in the shadows.

The clouds in the sky were not thick, and the light of the red and blue moons spilled down to the earth through the gaps from time to time, and Uniken's eyes widened, and the night vision brought by the elven blood allowed him to roughly see the complex terrain around him. In less than a hundred meters, he spotted at least three natural traps that made it easy for him to slip.

"Stay on the spot. I'm going to explore the way. Uniken used sign language to tell those behind him that their tiptoeing abilities were good, but they couldn't compare to a half-elf anyway if they couldn't use alchemy.

Unsurprisingly, those behind objected, and the most arrogant of all, the gold-molten warriors—damn tall—even ignored the promise, and hurried forward, overtaking his companions, intending to keep up with Unita.

He was overestimating himself and underestimating the Nightfal Squad's larks.

The quiet path of Uniken is an obstacle to this guy's safe passage. The big warrior had walked less than ten paces before he stumbled when he stepped on a moving stone, and after several struggles, he lost his balance until he fell to his knees.

It wasn't too loud, but on a very quiet night, it was enough to go far away or alarm the target.

Unican cursed silently as he glared at the big warrior. The latter seemed to be a little unconvinced, but thinking of the terrible consequences of the failure of the mission, he couldn't help but turn pale and lie on the ground in frustration.

Fortunately, the direction of the hut was still immersed in tranquility, and there was no reaction. Unican held his breath and fell motionless to the ground, only to straighten up again after a few minutes.

"Stay on the spot. I'm going to explore the way. ”

This time, no one dared to disobey the sign language order. Uniken nodded in satisfaction and continued to walk towards the hut like a silent ghost. This time he was more careful, leaving a silver fir leaf at every possible trip or slip to mark the danger spot.

Thanks to these marks, when Unican approached the huts and completed their path, all the others passed safely, and even the most clumsy of the big warriors did not stumble again. Everything went well, which eased Eunicon's tense expression slightly.

"Two, stay here, on alert. Others, keep up with me. Uniken gave a continuous sign language command, "Remain silent, no matter what time it is." ”

Behind him came the sound of Suoso, causing Uniken to frown again. "I'm such a complete fool. He grumbled inwardly, "Carrying out this terrible mission with a bunch of idiots, all the usual cleverness has been fooled away by a big bag of green steel coins." ”

Instead of stopping, Suosuo's voice became more and more pronounced, until it reached a point where it was impossible to ignore. Before carrying out his mission, Uniken had warned everyone with the strictest attitude that they should not make a sound in any situation, and even if they had to be warned if they found a situation, they should only touch or throw stones.

"Stupid like this, can we still carry out the mission together?"

The lark was full of anger and turned around, and its gray-green cloak fluttered up, but it didn't make a sound. The situation behind him made his eyes widen in astonishment, and then with a movement of his right hand, the short blade hidden in the bracer bounced out, pointing menacingly forward.

"Who are you, and why are you attacking my companion?" Unity's voice was as clear and melodious as a stream in the woods, a disguise for the lark's identity beyond his appearance, which had once made many vicious desert thieves lose their vigilance.

But the middle-aged man who appeared silently behind Uniken Skylark and effortlessly subdued the five mid-level molten gold warriors was unmoved. He wore the thick coat that adventurers usually wear, and his hands were empty, but he had a gunpowder spear tucked at his waist on his right side, and a noble dueling sword tied to his left.

"The courage is commendable, it is commendable, and it is even more decisive when it comes to biting back. The middle-aged man said in a calm and powerful voice, "I will allow you to leave here safely, of course, only alone." ”

"If I leave alone, I will be ashamed of myself. Uniken replied quietly, "You're a guard? What is this place? Aren't travelers allowed to pass by?"

The traveler can pass by as he pleases, of course, provided that he carries the tools he uses to climb the cliff on his back and is determined to go to the top of the mountain to blow a cold breeze. There was a hint of sarcasm in the middle-aged man's tone, "Don't take everyone else for a fool, do you really think that I didn't recognize your identity?

Unity's heart tightened slightly, and the left hand hidden behind him remained motionless, his fingertips had already touched the pocket hand crossbow with the good paralyzing crossbow arrow, and with the help of the special ability of the elven bloodline, he was confident that he could hit a hundred shots at a distance of twenty meters.

But when he saw the other man raise a hand, translucent ripples slowly spreading from his palm, Unican swallowed with difficulty, and felt that his actions were simply ridiculous. He lowered his right arm, withdrew his bracer blade, and removed his left hand from the handle of the Pocket Hand crossbow.

"I admit defeat, Your Excellency, and there is no shame in bowing to a mentor. He took a step back and spread out his hands to signal that he had disarmed, "I'll leave now, although my reputation will be damaged by the failure of the mission, it is better than losing my life." ”

"Very good, I'm glad to see that you're not a fool...... the middle-aged man nodded, then paused eerily, as if listening to someone's orders. "As you wish," he said to the air, "I'll bring the spies here to you." ”

Uniken felt the totem tattoo on the back of his neck burn again. The source of the potion was at his fingertips, but he no longer had the slightest curiosity. In any case, the need for a mentor-level molten gold warrior to keep a secret is anything but ordinary, and the cost of prying into it is not trivial.

"I had to escape. "Uniken made up his mind. This isn't the first time he's faced a mentor-level opponent in his decades of adventure, and the first few times he has managed to escape with his extraordinary agility, nimble head – or even his deceptive appearance.

Like a light breeze, the Uniken Skylark turned and fled, its gray-green cloak fluttering behind him. He was swift and agile, and in the blink of an eye he jumped onto the roof of the hut, followed by a figure rising into the sky, his cloak spread like the wings of a bird.

The middle-aged man's reaction is not slow, but it is clearly not as fast as Uniken's. After chasing two or three steps, the middle-aged man stopped, took a deep breath, raised his hands, and spread his fingers, not towards the figure flying farther and farther into the night sky, but towards the place where Unican had just disappeared.

"Metal traction. The middle-aged man whispered, his ten fingers suddenly closed.

A scream came from the shadows on one side of the hut, and Uniken Skylark rolled out in disarray, his left hand clenching his right wrist, and the whole person rolled and struggled on the ground, still unable to break free from the invisible traction.

"Damn, it's my wrist blade...... Alchemy skills for specific alchemy items?"

The middle-aged man cast a cold gaze condescendingly, "As a smart person, you should be more cautious." ”

"You said you would allow me to leave safely. Uniken's cautious accusation that every mentor is proud and rarely retracts their commitments, which gives Uniken a firm grip on the last straw. "You are a noble teacher, you are not a person who goes back on his word. ”

"I did say that, but now he wants to see you. The middle-aged man replied calmly, opening his fingers as the force that held Unican away from him. "Come with me, don't do anything stupid, I guarantee your life. ”