The campsite was indeed very lively. The moment Lin Li stepped out of his tent, he saw a big crowd of Adventurers engaged in some sort of discussion.

"Brother Johnathan, what are they doing?"

"I heard that someone attacked these unlucky fellas last night. Fortunately, they did not lose their lives. They had been hypnotized, sleeping here the entire night. No one knows who was the cruel bastard, and even Bishop Avate failed to wake them up…"

"Oh, I see…" Lin Li rubbed his nose awkwardly. He was too embarrassed to tell Johnathan that he was the cruel bastard Johnathan was talking about…

Yet, at the same time, Lin Li was shocked himself. Although he had summoned the phantom of the Lord of Nightmares a few times, last night was his first time letting it deal with humans. He did not expect it to be so powerful. A casual act of hypnotizing could actually let five level-14 Warriors fall into such a deep slumber that even a Bishop-level Priest had no ability to wake them up! Lin Li felt that what Connoris had said had to be true—Legendary figures would probably be as vulnerable before the real Lord of Nightmares!

While the two men conversed, there was another ruckus among that group of people again. There was a young man in his 20s who walked towards the five sleeping Adventurers. Strangely, when the man walked over, the other Adventurers automatically cleared a path for him. Their gazes were also filled with respect as they looked at that man.

"Brother Johnathan, who's that?" asked Lin Li curiously.

"What? Brother Felic, you don't know him?" Johnathan rolled his eyes as though Lin Li was a caveman.

"I don't…"

"He's Emendas, the most powerful Adventurer in Aminya. I heard that he is a level-17 Archmage now."

"So talented?" Lin Li gasped in shock. A level-17 Archmage was a rare talent for the Supreme Council. What was more, this Emendas was not even 30 years old! Lin Li could not believe that such an accomplished man would work for any organization.

Just when the two men were chatting, Emendas walked into the crowd. He bent his back to check the breathing of the five unlucky fellas, and cast a Detection Spell.

"How is it, Mage Emendas? Is there any problem with them?" That was Hahn, who was in charge of human resources. This middle-aged man seemed unusually nervous when he looked at Emendas.

Please don't blow up the matter…

That was what Hahn was the most afraid of. If that matter blew up, Sir Hutton would find out about them very quickly. What would become of Hahn while Sir Harvey got reprimanded? He was just an insignificant housekeeper!

"It is not very serious. If I'm not wrong, they should've been hypnotized by some sort of force…" Emendas explained as he picked up his magic staff. The crystal on the staff emitted a blinding ray of light.

Under that glow of light, the messy breathing of the Adventurers gradually became calmer.

"The force was not very strong. It seems like the person that attacked them did not really want to harm them. He only used a force to trap them in a nightmare…" Emendas said and smiled gently.

Emendas' voice was extremely gentle. Apart from the anxious Hahn, Lin Li was the only one who could hear his words with the Whisperwind Spell he'd cast right before that. The Whisperwind Spell was a very interesting technique for any user—it let you listen to anything, especially in a spacious place.

Hahn did not react to Emendas' assurance, for he had absolutely no idea about such a complicated matter. Instead, it was Lin Li who was pleasantly surprised with Emendas' ability to use the Detection Spell to accurately deduce the matter. He must be someone impressive…

"Alright, Mr. Hahn, I shall trouble you to find some men to carry these Adventurers into my tent."

"Sure," Hahn replied as he wiped cold sweat off his forehead. He was secretly glad for Emendas' presence. Otherwise, the matter would really be aggravated.

Hahn found a few men very quickly, and they carried the unlucky fellas into the tent swiftly.

"Oh, yes. Brother Johnathan, when are we setting off?" Lin Li asked after the Whisperwind Spell lost its effect. The spell required wind energy to work, but how would there be any wind inside that darn tent?

"We are setting off in the afternoon. Mr. Hahn instructed that Adventurers would move in groups. One team would be led by Mr. Jason, while the other by Mage Emendas. We would be setting off from Blackstone Town in the afternoon, and aim to reach the Blackstone Mountains before the sky darkens."

"Who is leading our team?"

"We should be led by Mage Emendas…"

"Very good…" Lin Li nodded, and did not continue asking.

At the same time, the five Adventurers were already awake. They were pallid, and seemed unusually weak. Their energy had been drained away by torture of the nightmare. They really wanted to take a good rest if they could.

Unfortunately, they did not dare to rest…

That was because apart from Hahn and Emendas, there was an angsty young man together in the same tent.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened?" Harvey's tone was very calm, and there was even a smile on his face. Yet, there was obvious fury in his eyes. The repressed rage gave the Adventurers shivers down their spines.

"I am dying to know who was so powerful to hypnotize four level-14 Warriors…"

"We…" one of the Adventurer said as he swallowed his saliva nervously. "We don't know, either…"

"You don't know?" Harvey raised his voice by a few octaves, and his eyes nearly shot out flames.

"Are you saying that you morons don't even know who was the person who hypnotized you?"

"We… We only felt that there was a gust of wind. And then… we lost our consciousness…"

"Scumbags!"

"Sir Harvey…" Emendas who had been keeping quiet spoke up suddenly. "I personally feel that it is not their fault this time."

"Oh?" Harvey's attitude toned down a little after he saw that it was Emendas speaking. After all, he was the most powerful Adventurer in Aminya whom even his father, the patriarch of the Malfa Family, respected. "What makes you say that?" asked Harvey.

"According to what I know, it was indeed a powerful figure who hypnotized them. From the magical waves on their bodies, it seems that it was someone around level-16. It is only reasonable that these Adventurers who are only level-14 didn't realize they were being hypnotized…"

"Alright, since Mage Emendas has spoken, I will let these underlings off… Scram!"

"Thank you, Sir Harvey, thank you, Mage Emendas…"

The unlucky dudes scurried off hastily.

"Oh, Mage Emendas, I heard that one of the teams that is going to the Blackstone Mountains is personally led by you?"

"Yeah, that was what Sir Hutton arranged."

"That's great. Mage Emendas, do you mind doing me a small favor?"

"As long as it is within my ability, Sir Harvey, you can tell me any time."

"There's a few people here whom I do not wish to see again," Harvey said as he handed Emendas three slips with personal particulars. The uppermost form belonged to somebody by the name of 'Felic'.

"My pleasure." Emendas scanned the forms, and remembered their particulars quickly. To him, getting rid of two level-10 Magic Shooters and a level-10 Warrior was as easy as killing three ants with his finger. Furthermore, since he was in charge of leading a team in such a dangerous place like the Blackstone Mountains, where all kinds of magical beasts roamed, it would be exceptionally easy for him to let these people get into an accident…

Emendas was not interested in Harvey's motive in getting rid of them. Although he had no respect for this foppish good-for-nothing, he was the second young master of the Malfa Family, after all. If Emendas wanted to thrive in Aminya City, he had to show Harvey some deference.

When Emendas exited the tent, the Adventurers in the campsite were already busy with their preparations for the mission. They had their weapons ready, and were listening to Hahn's sharp-pitched voice. He was standing in the middle of the campsite, and giving many different orders.

All of the Adventurers had been split into two groups. Lin Li and his team, as well as Johnathan, were all allocated under Emendas.

"The mission's exact objective will be revealed by Mr. Jason and Mage Emendas when you reach the Blackstone Mountains. What you need to do is just to heed their orders strictly. Every one will be getting 10,000 gold coins after the mission, and promising Adventurers will have the chance to join the Malfa's mercenary corps. I hope everyone will treasure this opportunity!"