As darkness fell, torches were lit along the streets to provide illumination, and the Patin Stone in the night market emitted a soft glow. People chatted and laughed, and the streets were filled with the aroma of food, as if the chaos of moments before had never happened. Silver coins and night fires were all fleeting moments; only the warm, inviting atmosphere of the night market remained the eternal theme.

But these things couldn't soothe Yun Zhe's heart. He furtively followed them out of the hotel, only to witness a scene that hurt him even more.

I should have known better than to come out...

Yun Zhe walked along, looking lost and dejected, with boastful voices occasionally reaching his ears.

"I robbed a full ten! Damn, if that big guy hadn't crawled on the ground and held those others down, I could have robbed another ten."

"Wow, Jess is really amazing! He's treating us tonight! He's treating us!"

Yun Zhe sniffed, thinking to himself, "If you're treating me, shouldn't you pour me a drink?"

"Mommy, Mommy, look! I snatched two silver coins! Two!" A little boy held up a silver coin in each hand, showing off to his mother. His mother's clothes were disheveled, clearly the result of a struggle. Seeing her son's hands, she excitedly grabbed both silver coins.

"My good son, he is truly my good son."

"Mom, I want to eat that sweet bread!"

"Good son, we won't eat that today. It's bad for your teeth. Be good and listen to your mother. Grandma has cooked your favorite oatmeal porridge at home. Come on, let's go home and eat together."

The child protested loudly and tried desperately to get closer to the shop, but his mother picked him up and carried him home.

Yun Zhe glanced coldly at the woman's retreating figure. "Two silver coins, huh? She can't even spend a copper coin to buy her son a sweet bread as a reward? Tsk tsk tsk, she's so stingy."

The further Yun Zhe walked, the more these voices, some boastful and some dejected, grew. Finally, Yun Zhe's voice filled with murderous intent; he seemed to want to tear them all apart and snatch back all the silver coins.

"But every wrong has its perpetrator, and the culprit is that woman named Ellie. I will tear you to pieces. Oh, that's too cruel, a thousand cuts, it's too bloody..." Yun Zhe was furious, but he couldn't think of any more practical ways to take revenge.

"At least a thousand silver coins, plus two hundred for emotional distress, consider it compensation, hehe, hehe, hehehe." Yun Zhe thought to himself as he walked into the night market.

"Damn it! I have so much stuff to buy this time."

Three carriages sped along the road, and as darkness fell, the carriages moved faster and faster.

Finally, the first two carriages stopped, and a burly figure jumped off. A longsword gleamed, and he stood directly in the middle of the road.

Ellie stopped the carriage and jumped down. She held out her hands to indicate that she had no weapons.

"Who are you?"

“I am Alice’s bodyguard, the eldest daughter of the Pass family. My name is Ellie.”

The Paz family? The knight was taken aback. Was the Paz family friend or foe? Considering what had happened in Jialai City, he guessed that this person was probably not on his side.

A head popped out from the carriage behind; it was the youngest girl. "What evidence do you have?"

Ellie scratched her head, then turned around abruptly. She heard the sound of horses' hooves. The sound was peculiar, much quieter than normal. Humans couldn't hear it, but it was crystal clear to vampires.

"Run! They're coming!" Ellie shouted at them without explanation.

Immediately afterwards, a person jumped down from another carriage, lay on the ground and listened carefully for a few seconds. Suddenly, he said in a dry voice, "It's too late. It seems to be coming from both directions."

"Tiger" is Ted's nickname in the mercenary group, a testament to his strength and a praise for his achievements.

Ted looked at the twenty Nightfire mercenaries behind him, who were marching in threes and threes in an arc towards their target. Opposite him was his elder brother, who had taken a longer route, leading a group of thirty-odd riders, presumably in a similar formation.

The Nightfire's rise to prominence in the no-man's-land is largely due to their historical legacy. Few know that they were originally founded by a cavalry unit that mutinied due to dissatisfaction with their pay. At the time, neither side involved in a cavalry mutiny wanted to talk about it. Therefore, this long-buried history exists only in the memories of a few. However, over the decades, the spirit and tactics of the cavalry have been passed down, creating the largest and only pure cavalry mercenary group in the Western Continent.

Swift as the wind, aggressive as fire, and with their improved off-horse combat skills over the years, the entire force's fighting strength has risen to a new level. And Ted has been the most outstanding among them all these years.

Ted pulled a parchment scroll from his pocket. It was a one-time spell that granted night vision to those around the caster, including people and animals. Ted gripped the scroll tightly and, following his elder brother's instructions, silently recited the incantation. A beam of green light shot out from his body, sweeping across all the surrounding cavalry and warhorses. The scroll in his hand instantly went limp. Ted threw the scroll away; his pupils were now filled with green light, and he could see his surroundings as clearly as in daylight.

The same green light also shone around him, twinkling like a pack of wolves.

The wolves, too, have found their prey.

Three carriages were scattered haphazardly in the middle of the road. However, there were only carriages, but no horses to pull them.

Ted gestured for one of his men to go and check. The three men dismounted, drew their long swords, and approached the carriages in a triangular formation. They checked each carriage one by one. The leader jumped down from the last carriage and shook his head at Ted.

Ted's first reaction was to regret using the scroll a little too soon. Then, somewhat bewildered, he looked around and ordered a thorough search.

He was only good at fighting; his ability to adapt to changing circumstances was still lacking.

The sound of horses' hooves rang out, and several rows of glowing green lights appeared in the darkness, clearly indicating that the eldest brother and his men, who had taken a longer route, had also arrived.

"Tiger, there are footprints here!"

Ted breathed a sigh of relief, dismounted, and walked over to the brother who had discovered the footprints, examining them closely.

The footprints clearly belonged to a woman, who scurried hastily into the nearby bushes, where a fallen headscarf could be seen not far away.

Ted bared his white teeth, pulled the giant axe from his back, and leaped over, only to find nothing there; the footprints had vanished into thin air.

Ted was furious at his failed attempt and lashed out at the bushes with his giant axe, venting his anger.

"They can't go far. Three people per team, search the mountain!" Nightfire's leader shouted.

The group scattered in a flurry, forming groups of three, some on horseback and others on foot, to begin searching the area.

Where could they hide? Ted scratched his bald head and looked around.