387 Working Together

"The heck…" Lin Li jumped in shock. Wasn't the Malfa Family too powerful? They even had a Legendary mage… No wonder they had been in control of the whole Aminya for so many years yet the royal family of Felan had turned a blind eye to it. Unless they really had no choice, who was willing to offend a Legendary mage?

"After joining the Malfa Family, Granger rarely hung out with us, and we only said hello occasionally. I heard Mr Hahn even specially asked him for help this time…"

"Hm…" Lin Li nodded, and did not press further, as he knew that Reggie was probably telling the truth. Why would Granger care about old ties if he was the kind of person who would be willing to give up Black Clouds Town in order to gain recognition? It was a difficult task for any Adventurer in Aminya to join the Malfa Family, especially Granger, who was now being groomed by a Legendary mage—it was good enough that he even said hello to Reggie when they passed by each other in the streets…

"Oh, right. Mr Bandit, how much do you know about the Malfa Family's mission?"

"I know nothing…" Reggie winced as he shook his head. He was afraid that the young mage would not believe him, so he hurriedly explained, "Oh, dignified mage, I'm afraid you misunderstand. Adventurers have low status in Aminya; besides powerful ones like Mage Emendas, the rest of us are merely sacrificial pawns in the eyes of the Malfa Family. They would never tell us the details of such a mission…"

Lin Li thought about it and realized that if these Bandits could get access to classified information and important figures, how would Hahn dare to send them to kill easily? Hahn was merely the butler of the Malfa Family, after all, and was nowhere near the core circle of the Malfa Family. The people he could dispatch were probably only the likes of Reggie…

"Alright, then. Fix the tent and you can leave."

"Huh?" Reggie paused. He thought he heard wrong. How could it be so easy? This young mage was not kidding him, right? Reggie stood there as he stared nervously at Lin Li, not daring to take another step…

After saying that, Lin Li took his map again, and started reading as he rubbed between his brows. They were going into the Scar of Death tomorrow, so how would he have time to care about a few pesky Bandits? But after staring for some time, he looked up again and saw Reggie and his companions were still around, making him frown.

"Why aren't you leaving? Surely you do not intend to stay for breakfast?"

"We are… leaving… we're leaving now…" Reggie finally believed him now, and quickly called his companions to leave the scary tent. However, just as he stepped out, Reggie suddenly recalled something. "Oh, right. Dignified mage, I did hear something about this mission…"

"Tell me about it."

"I heard people say that not only the Malfa Family is here in the Blackstone Mountains. Other forces will be arriving in a couple of days as well."

"Oh?" Lin Li frowned when he heard this. The Malfa Family had a Legendary mage; in terms of combat ability, they could probably rival Roland City and Doland City. They had even spent a few million gold coins to hire close to 200 pretty decent Adventurers. In Lin Li's opinion, this was more than enough to ensure they could pass through the Scar of Death easily. Why would they still work with other forces?

After all, there were pros and cons to working together—it lowered their profits while lowering risks. When it came to a powerful force like the Malfa Family, their every move could influence the whole Breezy Plains, and if they could achieve their goal here alone, they would never work with anyone else.

Could it be that their real objective was not that mutant Crimson Python?

"Yeah, it can't be…" Lin Li found it more strange the more he thought about it. The mutant Crimson Python was only level-20, yet they had already engaged almost 200 pretty decent Adventurers as well as the Malfa Family's mercenary corps and the Legendary mage grooming Granger. Even two mutant Crimson Pythons were no match for all these people, so why would they need to work together with other forces?

But if the Malfa Family was not targeting the mutant Crimson Python, what else could be their goal?

After sending off the Bandits, Lin Li wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and thought for a long time, but failed to think of anything, only falling asleep after he could not withstand the exhaustion when it was close to dawn.

The next morning, the adventurers packed their things and set off for the Scar of Death under Emendas' orders. However, the journey was much more tiring today as the magical beasts of the Blackstone Mountains seemed to have returned from their break—they all appeared today…

The group had taken nearly half a day to travel less than a few dozen kilometers from their campsite. It was a bloodbath throughout the journey; even the commander Emendas had suffered a few light scratches. There had been a group of about 100 Strigid Gryphons attacking them—these magical beasts were about level-10 to level-15, and were a nightmare when they attacked in the forest. Although the adventurers had killed all of the Strigid Gryphons after a tough battle, they had lost almost 30 people, which was by far the most men they had lost after setting off…

The good thing was that not long after the adventurers had left the forest, they met the other team led by Jason. Lin Li saw him from where he was hidden amongst the crowd, and saw the mousy-looking Bandit and the beautiful Priestess by his side. It had only been a little more than a month, but they had become considerably stronger. The Bandit and the Priestess looked to be around level-16, while Jason had reached level-17. Even when he was standing next to Emendas, he did not look any less formidable.

Seems like the fight at Syer Town helped them quite a bit.

After the two teams reunited, they did not leave for the Scar of Death immediately. Instead, they set up a campsite about three kilometers away from it.

After Lin Li finished his lunch in his tent, he was intending to go out for a breath of fresh air, but he saw a group of people entering the campsite hurriedly. Amongst them was a teen in his twenties; he was wearing a long, green robe, and he looked clean. Put together, apart from his somewhat small eyes, he was quite good-looking.

"The heck, why is this guy here?" Lin Li paused after looking from afar. Harvey? Didn't Rina have her sword against his neck in Blackstone Town?

After Harvey entered the campsite, he did not say anything, but hurried towards Emendas' tent. Following behind him were the butler of the Malfa Family, Hahn, as well as four Mages, four Warriors, and Granger, who had allegedly caught the eye of a Legendary mage.

"Ujfalusi, wake the evil spirit."

"Yes!"

Emendas was talking to Jason when Harvey led them in. The two of them were each leading a group, after all, and it made sense for them to be in discussion in this sensitive period just before they entered the Scar of Death.

"Oh, why are you here, Sir Harvey…?" Emendas' heart skipped a beat when he saw Harvey enter looking very grim.

When Harvey entered the tent, he looked unusually grim, and did not even bother greeting Jason before he sat down somewhere, shooting a question right off the bat. "Mage Emendas, I wonder how is that matter going?"

"Well…" Emendas' face fell. "Sir Harvey, I hope you can give me another two days…"

"Another two days?" Harvey's face darkened when he heard that. "Have I been too nice to you, Emendas? Do you no longer pay me any regard? Why are you dilly-dallying over such a small matter? Seems like I need to have a talk with Father…"

"Sir Harvey, you've misunderstood. It's not like that…" Emendas jumped when he heard that. It was not a joke; Harvey was the second young master of the Malfa Family, after all, so if he disrespected him, it was akin to disrespecting the Malfa Family. If their patriarch heard of this, he could forget about staying in Aminya in the future…

"Then what is it like?"

"How can I forget what you said? Actually, I already tried to get rid of Felic the night we entered the Blackstone Mountains, but he was too lucky, and did not even meet a single magical beast in the forest where magical beasts roamed, so he came out unscathed just like that…"

"And after that?"

"After that…" Emendas' face froze. "Sir Harvey, you've seen for yourself when you arrived. We have suffered heavy casualties in these few days. We're down to only over 120 adventurers from over 170. We really cannot afford to deal with Felic now, but don't worry, Sir Harvey. We'll be entering the Scar of Death this evening. I'll have an arsenal of ideas to solve your problem then…"