The journey back to Luoshen Town was smooth; perhaps the Magical Beasts in the outer perimeter had been intimidated by the powerful Mercenary Group, as they didn't encounter any significant resistance.
The group spent half a day to exit the outer area of the Monster Forest.
However, if one were to think that the Monster Forest was nothing more than this, they would be greatly mistaken. The reason for such an easy journey was not only due to the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's powerful strength but, more importantly, because they had not ventured deep into the Monster Forest.
The Monster Forest is divided into four zones. The first zone is the edge area, which is not very dangerous and is the most populated. Most of the creatures here are just wild animals, possessing no magic and certainly not qualifying as Magical Beasts.
Further in is the outer zone, which is the area where the Iron Blood Mercenary Group previously trained. This area is home to a large number of beginner Magical Beasts. Wild animals have completely disappeared from this zone, and occasionally, intermediate Magical Beasts can be seen. For example, the rather unlucky Forest Snow Wolf is an absolute intermediate Magical Beast, a king-like existence in the outer zone.
Even further in is the central zone, where many intermediate Magical Beasts live, and even powerful Advanced Magical Beasts can be seen. Only powerful Mercenary Groups dare to operate within this range.
The Iron Blood Mercenary Group was hunting in the central zone before they met him, but this time, they gave up on that idea after taking on a burdensome fatty. The most dangerous and mysterious place in the Monster Forest is the core zone, which is perpetually shrouded in a layer of mist, making it impossible to observe from the sky.
“There's an unwritten rule in the Monster Forest: 'No Flying.'
Setting aside how difficult it is to fly in a place full of trees, just consider the many Magical Beasts in the forest. If you want to fly over their heads, you first need to demonstrate extraordinary strength to intimidate them.
Magical Beasts’ aerial attack power is by no means weak; in the air, you're just a living target. No one is foolish enough to do that.
The core zone is home to the super Magical Beasts of Luoshen Continent, and there might even be legendary divine beasts appearing,” Li Da Shu began to educate Xing Luo again.
During his time with the Iron Blood Mercenary Group, Xing Luo gained a lot of knowledge. Things he had never thought of before constantly entered his mind, merging with his past life's memories. Perhaps because the fatty had a lot of flesh, he was like a sponge, continuously absorbing all kinds of knowledge, slowly accumulating it and turning it into valuable wealth, allowing him to avoid many detours.
The golden Sunset, the delicate, crystal-clear skin with a hint of blush, and a wisp of hair blown by the breeze, trailing from her ear to her neck—though still a child, Pandora's incredibly beautiful small face was already showing its promise.
Little Xing Luo was stunned for a moment, but then he glanced away, losing interest: “Just a little kid.” He muttered under his breath, completely unaware of the irony when he said this; how could he call others a child when he himself only looked 14 years old?
The group of seven finally arrived at Luoshen Town before Sunset. Little Xing Luo, who had never left his village since childhood, was instantly captivated by the bustling scene of people rubbing shoulders.
The stalls of small vendors were packed tightly, filling both sides of the street. There were vendors selling magic wands, weapons, and even magical items, though whether they were genuine was unknown.
Following the bustling crowd, the little fatty and his companions arrived in front of a building with a sword and shield carved on its sign.
The sword and shield are the symbols of the Mercenary Guild. The sword symbolizes forging ahead without retreat, while the shield symbolizes protecting the employer with one's life.
Listening to Li Da Shu's explanation, Xing Luo thought with disdain, “Protect with one's life? Why would anyone be so foolish as to use their own life to protect others?” But as he thought of this, his heart inexplicably ached. Yes, Li Da Shu had protected him with his life, using his life and blood to seize that fleeting chance of survival for him.
The scene of being surrounded by the Black-Clothed Leader gradually reappeared. The fatty bit his lip, suppressing the pain that made it hard to breathe, took a deep breath, and put on that mischievous smile again.
The Mercenary Guild is a group of people who are desperate for money and disregard their lives. Many dangerous missions are accompanied by generous rewards. Glory and money have always been the main theme of the Mercenary Guild.
However, not all missions can be published. Missions that are against natural law or morally corrupt are not allowed, nor are assassination or theft.
Li Da Shu did not continue to explain to the fatty, only telling him that if he wanted to make money, he should become a Mercenaries. All these things are written in the Mercenaries Handbook.
The Mercenaries Handbook is a small black magic booklet that contains basic information about the Mercenaries and their Mercenary Group's level, and so on. These records are updated every time a mission is handed over.
The information is synchronized with the Mercenary Guild's headquarters database, and the updating and deletion of this information are accomplished by a vast magical terminal.
Therefore, if information is changed at one Mercenary Guild, all magical terminals will be updated accordingly.
For example, if you hand over a mission in Luoshen Town, the information on all the team's books will be updated. The magical terminal that controls these information updates is a miraculous combination of magic and machinery.
A large amount of information is processed through it every day. Of course, energy is also required to maintain the operation of this magical machinery, so for every mission, the Mercenary Guild charges a certain handling fee.
Li Da Shu, the leader of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group, left this giant building after handing over the mission to the Mercenary Guild.
When handing over the mission, keen-eyed little Xing Luo discovered that the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's level had reached A-rank, which was already an impressive level. It should be known that the general Mercenary Group's level is only C-rank or below. The Iron Blood Mercenary Group's emblem was a shield, ancient and simple, without much embellishment. He already understood the strength of this Mercenary Group, so he didn't seem overly surprised.
As soon as Pandora left the Mercenary Guild, she clamored for a bath. It seemed that no matter how strong a woman was, she loved cleanliness, even though she could only be considered a girl.
This suggestion was quickly passed unanimously; everyone also wanted to rest well.
Little Xing Luo, upon hearing about the bath, appeared even more excited than the little mage, with a captivating gleam in his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.
With Pandora present, this suggestion was quickly put into action.
The name of this inn was Sunset, and businesses with this name could be seen throughout Loshen Country.
The environment and service quality here were excellent, though the prices were a bit high. However, there was a certain discount for powerful individuals.
For example, A-rank Mercenaries enjoyed a discount of up to 30% off, which was a convenience brought by their strength.
Upon presenting the Mercenaries Handbook, the innkeeper's attitude became noticeably more enthusiastic, and he eagerly led them to their respective rooms.
It had been a long time since an A-rank or higher Mercenary Group had visited this small town. The archer, the little priest, and our little mage were assigned to one room. The room on the left was for the little fatty and Hei. Clearly, the little fatty had no intention of leaving them, and the Iron Blood Mercenary Group was also uneasy about such a young child leaving alone, so they didn't say much. The room on the right was for William and Wayne.
After the room doors closed, pleasant laughter soon came from the middle room. “Sister is so big, when can I be this big?” Pandora’s clear, tender voice followed.
However, the subsequent answer was clearly deliberately lowered, and Xing Luo did not hear it clearly.
Soon, the sound of rushing water came from that side; it seemed they were already impatiently starting their baths.
Meanwhile, Xing Luo also rushed into the bathroom, turned the water sound to maximum, pulled out his dagger, and busied himself on the wooden wall.
“Who!?” Then, a sea of fire appeared before Xing Luo’s eyes, and he immediately fainted.
When Xing Luo woke up, his whole body ached, but fortunately, there was no serious injury. Clearly, Pandora, who had attacked just now, had held back, but the burning sensation still crawled like a fire snake across his reddened skin, making him incredibly uncomfortable.
Pandora looked at the awakened fatty with a furious expression, her scorching eyes as if they wanted to tear him apart. Little Xing Luo instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Seeing that he was still a child and after he pleaded profusely, Pandora barely refrained from beating him to death on the spot. However, everyone else's gaze toward him had gained a hint of disdain. Xing Luo, being thick-skinned, didn't care about these minor things, but the burning sensation made him faint again.
Early the next morning, Xing Luo opened his eyes and found that the Iron Blood Mercenary Group had already left. He felt a bit disappointed. Thinking that he would no longer see Candice, this disappointment deepened considerably. He vigorously shook his head, pushing these emotions out of his mind.
Walking onto the street alone, Xing Luo did not forget his purpose for coming out. He had to reach Luoshen City and enter Luo Shen Academy. He could not give up, nor could he flee back to Falling God Village like a stray dog. In this life, he wanted to change his ordinary destiny.
He wanted to avenge Li Da Shu and become stronger. Only the strong could control their own destiny. His small, chubby hand clenched tightly, as if to firmly grasp destiny in his palm.
Walking on this street, he didn't know how he would survive next. He had nothing valuable on him, and there were less than two months until the Luo Shen Academy's enrollment period.
He had heard Pandora say before that one could reach Luoshen City directly from Luoshen Town via a teleportation array. Teleportation arrays were a technology left behind after the War of Ancient Gods. After generations of research by mages, they had only barely recovered one-tenth of the ancient teleportation magic technology.
The teleportation array was expensive; it would cost about 10 gold coins to reach Luoshen City. So, for the next two months, the little fatty would have to work hard for these 10 gold coins.