Chapter 536: Chapter 534: Other Forces
As the group walked in the Mist Array for a while, the scene before them suddenly became clear.
The mist dissipated, revealing a rubble-strewn area and a cluster of collapsed buildings.
"Ah, I’m about to die of exhaustion!"
Just out of the Illusion Array, Fox dropped to the ground, her body limp and unwilling to get up.
Scholar and Viper also found a stone to sit down on, their faces showing signs of extreme fatigue.
Only Little Wolf and Gu Qinyue were still persevering, though their faces also looked extremely gaunt.
Qin Hao glanced at everyone’s faces, then looked up at the quietly rising moon, his mood somewhat heavy.
Everyone had traveled all day, and exhaustion didn’t surprise him.
But the problem was that the timing was off.
Night had fallen, making the entire ruin appear silent and oppressive, with a mysterious aura seeming to drift in the air.
Qin Hao bent down, squatted on the ground, and touched the surface.
A very vague footprint appeared before his eyes, and he frowned.
Someone had been here! And judging by the looks, quite a few!
"We arrived a step too late!"
Qin Hao stood up, looking seriously at everyone.
Little Wolf’s expression changed, surprised, "That’s impossible, Commander Sun said the Ancient Martial Family and other forces hadn’t set out yet. We must be the first ones here..."
Scholar’s expression changed several times, then calmly said, "We were all fooled by General Sun! I told you the matter of the Gu Poison couldn’t be that simple. Indeed, this mission is tougher than imagined!"
Qin Hao felt a bit heavy-hearted, secretly cursing Sun Aihua, the old fox.
He had thought they could get ahead and obtain the Gu Poison, but now it seemed he had been overly optimistic.
There were multiple forces ahead of them, and if they wanted to acquire the Gu Poison smoothly, it would surely involve a great battle.
The task is long and arduous!
Qin Hao sighed inwardly, his ears twitching as he heard movement coming from the Illusion Array.
"Someone’s intruding, staying here is dangerous. Pull yourselves together, let’s find a place to settle first!"
Upon hearing Qin Hao’s words, everyone instinctively turned to look behind them.
But with the mist shrouding everything, their vision was completely blocked, unable to see the situation clearly.
However, remembering Qin Hao’s previous miraculous performance, nobody doubted his words.
The group revitalized, carrying their weary bodies, and followed Qin Hao into the depths of the ruins.
Late at night, Qin Hao and others took a rest under a house half-collapsed.
At this time, the moon hung high, making the entire ruin appear silent and empty, with strange noises occasionally sounding in the distance.
The squad members were panting and resting on the ground, while Qin Hao solemnly gazed northward.
There, faint sounds were intermittently transmitted, turning into the roar of Inner Strength in his ears.
"There’s fighting over there."
Qin Hao arrived at the serious conclusion, looked back at his weary teammates, and shook his head helplessly.
This group is weaker than imagined, damn Sun Aihua!
This was why he initially didn’t want to act with strangers.
Too easily held back!
Helpless, Qin Hao could only sit and worry until, after another hour, his teammates regained some strength, and he couldn’t help but stand up, "There are many forces ahead of us, if we don’t hurry, there’s no point in this task."
Knowing the importance of the mission, aside from Viper, the rest climbed up with resolute expressions, saying in unison, "We’ll follow the captain’s lead!"
Qin Hao nodded with satisfaction, waving his hand, "Let’s continue!"
...
A large tree grew quietly in the ruins, its shadows swaying, with rustling sounds constantly emerging from the grass.
Soon, a group of five emerged from the ruins, arriving under the tree.
Leading the group was a bearded foreigner, large in stature, over two meters tall, muscles bulging throughout, with a strapped knife hanging from his waist, clearly a formidable figure.
"Oh, Captain Smith, how much longer must we walk to find that so-called Ancestral Temple?"
Among the group, a curly-haired black man complained in English.
"Black Spider, this is why I didn’t want you to join the hunting squad. The genetic makeup of you blacks is just too inferior!"
The speaker was a short white man; one of his eyes had rotted, revealing shriveled flesh. His other good eye bore a fierce look.
Furious, Black Spider jumped up off the ground, swinging his fist as he charged at the short white man, "Madman Jack, let me see if your strength is really as legendary!"
"Fight if we must, I’ve long disliked you, you black devil!"
Seeing the two were about to scuffle.
"Stop!"
Captain Smith darted to the middle of the two, drawing his dagger with a clang.
Instantly, the two, who had been on the verge of fighting, eased.
"We haven’t even gotten the Gu Poison and you’re already internal bickering; Captain, the helpers you called are nothing but swine!"
The one speaking wore an afro, a leather jacket, styled like a punk youth.
"Shut up, Poison Ghost, you junkie rocker aren’t qualified to talk to me!"
Jack yelled, raising his fist threateningly.
Smith felt on the verge of insanity; had it not been for the fact that the Gu Poison was worth over 20 billion USD, he wouldn’t have taken such a risk with this group.
This temporary mercenary squad was named Thunderbolt, their main goal was to seize the Gu Poison and sell it to terror organizations.
Once the Gu Poison was acquired, they’d all be killed, Smith thought gloomily, shouting with a grim face, "You guys out there seriously don’t want money? Listen up, various forces have already reached the Ancestral Temple’s perimeter. They’re probably setting up ambushes for us. Keep squabbling, and you won’t live to see tomorrow morning!"
Just as he finished speaking, an eerie voice suddenly echoed above.
"Ah, Smith, you actually guessed your own fate..."
"Who is there!"
Members of Thunder Squad were shocked, instinctively scattering.
Almost at the sound’s arrival, a figure sprang from the branches, a whole arm piercing through Black Spider’s chest.
Slash!
Black Spider’s eyes widened in disbelief, his black face still harboring an unwilling expression.
"Blood Noble, it’s actually you!"
Seeing the face of the man who killed Black Spider, Smith said, full of shock.
"Oh, do you think only you Americans can obtain the treasure worth twenty billion?"
Blood Noble was a pale-faced youth, dressed in a black trench coat, his teeth were incredibly sharp, resembling a vampire.
"Twenty billion! Smith, for such a colossal sum, you’re merely offering me a salary of twenty million?"
Jack shouted, his neck flushed with anger.
"Fool, you believe him? Everyone knows that Europe’s Blood Noble loves scheming." Smith, looking extremely somber, unperturbed by the exposure, shouted grimly, "Blood Noble has other helpers hiding around. Now that Black Spider is dead, focus, or none of you will survive!"