Seeking death?

One can only say that his name and personality are somewhat contradictory.

Zhu Lin clearly saw Qiu Si's attribute values ​​as well, and frowned. But she couldn't just watch him freeze to death, so she reluctantly cast a spell shield.

Qiu Si's body, which had been almost frozen stiff, suddenly recovered. His face turned bright red, and sweat began to drip from his forehead. It was as if he had taken 100 ginseng tonic pills, and the effect was incredibly fast.

Jiang Hao was somewhat worried about Qiu Si. His talent and skills were undoubtedly valuable to the team, but his timid nature was a major weakness. In crucial moments, he might easily break free of control and make inappropriate mistakes, potentially plunging everyone into an irrecoverable situation.

What are some effective ways to avoid this situation?

Jiang Hao began to think seriously, trying to find a solution.

"Halt! Ten people for 20 million gold coins! Not a penny less if you want to enter the alien realm!"

A rough voice came from afar, interrupting Jiang Hao's thoughts.

As they got closer, Jiang Hao could see clearly that a group of gnoll soldiers were guarding the front, blocking a ten-man human squad.

"Um... wasn't it 10,000 per person before? How did it get raised so much? Sir, please make an exception. We're from the Mercenary Guild, and we're only here to hunt magical beasts, not to collect treasures."

A middle-aged man stepped forward, speaking with a fawning expression, while secretly slipping something into the hand of the jackal leader.

The gnoll chieftain opened his palm and saw a round, fiery red bead. He tossed the bead at the middle-aged man and said, "What kind of low-level magical beast bead dares to shove it into my hands? If you produced an epic-level magical beast bead, I might give you some face."

The middle-aged man hurriedly bent down to catch the bead, but the bead bounced off his armor and fell back towards the jackal leader. The middle-aged man took a few quick steps, grabbed the bead from the snow, and was about to get up when a large foot kicked him in the face, sending him flying a long way.

A flash of anger crossed the man's face. He quickly scrambled to his feet and approached the general again with a fawning air, this time keeping a slight distance. His companions, their faces contorted with rage, drew their weapons with a clang, while the jackal soldiers opposite them burst into laughter, as if mocking their overestimation of their abilities.

Jiang Hao had already drawn his staff. Yun Xinghe merely glanced at Jiang Hao casually, still watching the two forces on the field as if it were a spectacle.

The gnoll leader completely disregarded the person opposite him, saying, "To tell you the truth, under normal circumstances, if you offered a little more tribute, I might let you pass. But now... the Empire has decreed that anyone entering any of the Empire's foreign territories must pay 2 million gold coins. For every gold coin short, the head of the local garrison will have to be paid!"

The jackal leader chuckled twice, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, like a broken gong, and said, "Do you think I would dare to let you in again?"

The middle-aged man's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

"If you haven't taken enough gold coins, send someone back to get more. If you really can't come up with the money, then you'd better get out of here!"

The gnoll leader waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away mosquitoes.

A young team member behind the middle-aged man said, "What should we do, Captain? We already spent 1 million gold coins to get here via the teleportation array. If we go back, wouldn't we be wasting 2 million gold coins?"

The middle-aged man's face darkened.

The gnoll leader said, "If you really can't produce it, there are ways."

Upon hearing that there was still hope, the middle-aged man immediately said, "Please give me your guidance, sir."

The jackal leader chuckled twice and said, "The Imperial General Ling Shun has sent word that he will be arriving here soon. If you are willing to serve as his suicide squad, you can enter the realm with the army for free."

The team members behind the middle-aged man became excited, but the middle-aged man himself was deathly pale, his body swaying and he almost fell over.

After being supported by a young teammate behind him, the middle-aged man waved his hand weakly and said, "Go, go back, immediately!"

His teammates behind him were all anxious. One of the female teammates said, "Why, Captain? We can get in for free by just being a suicide squad. Why do we have to leave?"

Another team member chimed in, "Yeah, Captain, if we go back now, we'll be out of money. Who knows when we'll be able to save up enough to go back to the other world? I'm not going back!"

The middle-aged man glared at the two disobedient team members. Just as he was about to explain, a series of drumbeats suddenly came from behind him. After the drumming stopped, a muffled horn sounded. Everyone felt as if they were on a battlefield with thousands of troops, wondering what was happening behind them.

The gnoll leader simply looked at the small group and Jiang Hao's group and laughed. If it could be considered a laugh if it merely grinned, revealing its gleaming white teeth and scarlet tongue...

The middle-aged man could no longer hold on; trembling all over, he collapsed to the ground. His two teammates, unaware of what had happened, helped him up by the arms. Then, along with the others on the field, they looked behind them and saw a large patch of light shining brightly amidst the swirling snow, illuminating the sky behind them. As the light faded, the sound of orderly footsteps approached from afar.

The bugle calls continued to sound, mingling with the orderly footsteps, as if a vast army was pushing towards them.

"The Imperial General Ling Shun has arrived and, on the orders of Vanguard General Jing Yu, has reclaimed all jurisdiction over the territory."

A loud shout came from behind, and the gnoll leader and his soldiers immediately ran to the left, leaving a wide clearing outside. Jiang Hao also quickly led his team to the left. Only the ten-man squad remained in the field.

Suddenly, a row of spears appeared in the wind and snow, behind which stood rows of gnoll soldiers clad in black armor.

"Anyone in the arena, retreat immediately, or you will be killed without mercy!"

The team then ran towards Jiang Hao like startled rabbits.

But it was too late. Just as they were about to reach Jiang Hao, a series of large knives suddenly appeared from behind them and were easily placed against their necks.

Two gnoll soldiers in black armor appeared behind one of them. Without a word, they grabbed their arms and twisted them backward, thus subduing them.

The middle-aged man's eyes had lost all their luster; he stared blankly ahead, showing no reaction even though he and his teammates had been captured, like walking corpses.

His nine teammates were already terrified, their legs were weak and their whole bodies were trembling, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"General Jingyu has ordered that all imperial forces within the territory be incorporated into the vanguard army, and all other forces be incorporated into the suicide squad. Anyone who disobeys will be killed on the spot!"