CHAPTER 295: Undercurrents

The inky veil of night shrouded the entire mountain valley. Spring had arrived and the scent of flowers was still intoxicating, even at night.

In the stillness of the night, the low buzzing of insects accompanied the latent danger. Teams of mercenaries were stationed in every corner of the mountain valley's mithril mine. The seemingly quiet space was filled with caution and vigilance.

A group of black-armoured men crept slowly through the dense bushes like shadows in the night, creating an eerie, sinister atmosphere. The dark Grand Magus Edwin hovered above them, leading the way. Three hundred Death Guards followed close behind, silent as ghosts.

Two thousand mercenaries of the Cairo Mercenary Band, led by Laureton, followed behind the three hundred Death Guards. They slowly approached the mithril mine in the mountain valley. Behind the Cairo mercenaries were a dozen or so smaller forces. There were probably more than a thousand experts wearing mercenary outfits of various colours.

Even though the three great powers had gathered to guard the mithril mine, they still needed to leave members behind to guard their base. Therefore, they had only sent about a thousand mercenaries in total. This number was only a third of Laureton's two thousand elite mercenaries, Calamity Church's three hundred Death Guards, and over a thousand experts from a dozen small forces.

A black mass of gas slowly seeped through the air as the Dark Grand Magus Edwin unleashed a dark spell. A faint layer of mist suddenly enveloped the moonlit area outside the mountain valley, as if all the night's moisture had condensed.

The original buzzing sounds of the insects gradually faded away for some unknown reason. The Wind Archmage of the House of Menlo, Arthur, had been resting with his eyes closed and seemed to sense the abnormal movement. He opened his eyes to scan the mountain valley and muttered to himself, "What's going on? Why has the sound of the insects stopped?!"

The voice of the orc warrior Caloric echoed from the tent to Arthur's left, "Hey, Arthur, it's late. Hurry up and get some rest."

"I feel like something's wrong. I'll go outside and have a look." Arthur muttered before leaving his tent. He slowly floated up using his levitation skill and looked out at the area beyond the valley. "Hmm! Why is it all foggy?" Arthur wondered as he floated out of the mountain valley.

There were all kinds of tents scattered around the mountain valley, and some energetic mercenaries patrolling among them. These people immediately welcomed Arthur when they saw him floating in the sky. Some mercenaries from the Rainbow Sickle joked lightly, "This guy can't sleep at night, could it be that he's gone out to have some fun? Hehehe, that makes sense. It sucks to be assigned to a place like this."

""Leave him alone. We only have our shift to worry about." Another mercenary replied promptly.

"Shh!" Edwin, approaching from that side, suddenly let out a small shout. He gestured to the death guards behind him. The shadowy advancing Death Guards quickly crouched down, hiding in the bushes without showing a single sign of life.

Laureton's eyes were sharp as he caught Edwin's action. He immediately waved his hand behind him. A line of people, as long and twisted as a dragon, immediately fell silent, breathing softly. These people were quite far away from Arthur, so their faint breathing wasn't heard.

Arthur flew out of the mountain valley, frowning as he looked into the distance. But he couldn't see anything unusual. He lingered for a while, muttering a few words before returning to the valley.

At that moment, the positions relative to Laureton's group, in order of distance from far to near, were: the Rainbow Sickle mercenary band, the House of Menlo, and the Katar orc tribe. An orc warrior guarding the Katar tribe's territory was suddenly startled by a deafening whistle. After reacting, he discovered an arrow nailed into the large tree beside him. A letter was tied to the still trembling tail of the arrow.

Adam's house of Menlo was next. The two guards here were also jolted awake by an arrow with a letter tied to it. Finally, it was the turn of the Rainbow Sickles. Standing just outside the mithril mine, they also received a letter tied to an arrow that was still swinging.

At that moment, the leaders of the three great powers were jolted awake from their various states. Holding the letters in their hands, they hurriedly summoned their troops and woke up all the mercenaries who were sound asleep. They all rushed to the mithril mine in the mountain valley.

After sending out three warning messages using his fast hang gliding techniques, Han Shuo returned silently to his hiding place near the mithril mine in the mountain valley. All the explosives had been planted beforehand. Quietly and coldly, Han Shuo watched every change in the valley through his three Yin Demons, waiting for a tragic battle to break out.

There were over a thousand Alliance mercenaries stationed at the Mithril Mine. Once Laureton destroyed this army, it would be difficult for the three powers to save the day, even if they joined forces. The last time the three powers had conspired against Laureton in the mountain valley, they had earned his undying hatred. This time, he would show them no mercy. It would be their turn to take brutal revenge once Laureton had slaughtered the experts guarding the mithril mine.

Since the other three leaders had a strong position in the Valley of Sunshine, none of them were stupid. They understood this truth, of course, and would rather believe the letters in their hands than not. . The three sent out experts to contact each other and mobilised most of the remaining forces at the bases to rush to the mithril mine at full speed.

Time passed quietly in the mithril mine. The original vigilance of the mercenary guards slowly faded. One by one, they began to yawn as their mental state reached its lowest point.

Edwin was hiding outside the mountain valley with Laureton beside him. He was watching the valley with a dark expression on his face. Suddenly he glanced at Laureton and said, "We can make our move now.

His eyes flashed with killing intent and his bald head seemed to radiate a cold light, Laureton nodded and said in a low tone, "Our brothers died in this mountain valley last time. This time I intend to make them pay a dozen, a hundred times over. Chief Hagen, are your men ready?"

"Rest assured, Chief Laureton. We have long been ready for a share of this mithril mine." Knowing that their power was no match for any of the four great powers, the ten small forces had quickly formed an alliance. Hagen of the Raging Flame mercenaries was the spokesman for this alliance.

"Very good! Not only this mithril mine, but even the territories of these three powers are yours to divide among yourselves as long as you help me defeat them. The Cairo mercenaries will still only occupy the Valley of Sunshine. I hope you won't disappoint me! Laureton spoke so readily, laughing coldly in his heart.

"Rest assured. We know what to do!" Hagen let out a cunning chuckle, expressing that he fully understood what Laureton meant.

"All right, no need for nonsense. Just be careful. I will use the fog around the mountain valley to get in. Don't make any noise once you're inside. It's best if they die in their sleep!" Edwin blurted out impatiently, not hiding the arrogance on his face.

The Church of Calamity was notoriously difficult to deal with on the Profound Continent. Apart from the Church of Light, very few powers could compete with them on equal terms. Even Laureton wasn't much in Edwin's eyes. Of course, a chief of a small band of mercenaries wouldn't be in his eyes. That was why Edwin didn't show them the sincerity and courtesy he had shown Han Shuo.

Of course, the small forces didn't dare to provoke Edwin when they found out his identity. The sinister atmosphere of the three hundred death guards alone was enough to terrify them and make their hearts beat faster. They had long heard that the Church of Calamity was brutal and ruthless, treating life like weeds. They all turned into yes-men in response to Edwin's words when they saw his impatient expression.

Edwin felt a little smug when he saw the fear in these people. Extremely comfortable as he bathed in the feeling of superiority, Edwin hummed softly with arrogance before swinging his arm to command a tall, slender Death Guard at the front, "Forward, kill them all.

!"

The Death Guard were a group of people who worshipped the Evil God. They were the most extreme of fanatics, offering all their beliefs and spirits to the Evil God. They carried the will of the Evil God and terrifying power with them as they slaughtered the enemies of the Church of Calamity all over the Profound Continent. They were a band of inhuman executioners. Having been granted certain powers after being sacrificed to the Evil God, the Death Guards easily possessed the ability to control the life and death of others.

The grey pupils of this Death Guard filled with a fanatical excitement, like Laureton going berserk three times after hearing Edwin's commands. His teeth clenched, the Death Guard made a horrible sound as if he were chewing on animal bones. His actions were agile as he led the three hundred Death Guards who rushed into the mountain valley under the cloak of mist.

Florida, Adam Menlo and Katar also led the three great forces, hurrying into the mountain valley. With a fire burning in their hearts, the three of them kept shouting orders to push their men forward, afraid that they wouldn't arrive in time.