"Bang bang bang..."

The salutes overhead continued, but three more figures appeared on the streets of Ashfurnace City.

"Joey, where are we going?"

The bearded man followed behind Joey, who was wearing an old helmet, and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"You can patrol the streets, or treat it as a stroll if you prefer!"

Joey walked in front, speaking without turning his head.

As for why he wore this helmet, it was mainly to avoid being recognized. After all, in the eyes of those unknown enemies, he was already dead, and he didn't want to be targeted by that undead female thief again; that feeling was too unpleasant.

As for why he didn't bring Digger, Joey's consideration was that although Digger served as a radar, the undead female thief now thought he was dead and wouldn't usually come looking for him again. Another consideration was that Digger was really uncontrollable. If he discovered something strange and ran away, it would be troublesome. After all, with a major battle imminent, it wasn't convenient to search for him everywhere.

"A walk? Isn't today a bad day for a walk?"

Sergeant Medes, walking at the very back of the three, asked somewhat uncertainly.

"What's wrong with this? It's still work, isn't it? Look at this peaceful scene. For now, we're not involved. But if something really happens, I didn't say we wouldn't go, right?"

Joey deliberately raised his voice so that the other two could hear him clearly amidst the sound of the cannon salute.

After hearing this, the bearded man turned to look at Medes. Medes shrugged, looked at the bearded man, and thought that what Joey said made a lot of sense.

The three figures strolled through the city streets as if taking a leisurely walk, occasionally grabbing a snack. Of course, Joey paid for everything, showing his generosity as the team leader.

...

Is everything ready?

Inside a small, deserted house in the city, people were crammed together.

To be precise, there were not only people, but also undead and orcs. Although it was unknown how they had managed to sneak into the city, the room certainly looked very crowded.

"My lord, everything is ready, and we await your command!"

A human answered from inside the room, and the person opposite him was Knight Hawkins, who had infiltrated Ashfury City earlier.

"very good!"

He nodded, then looked at a hooded figure next to the orc in the room. He got up from his seat, slowly walked towards him, and then extended his right hand, stopping in front of the figure's chest.

"I hope our collaboration will be a success!"

Hawkins said with a smile, trying to make his tone sound polite.

"It's not a hope, it's a must to succeed, otherwise the chieftain will disregard the alliance he previously made with your prince!"

The person in front of Hawkins did not reach out to him. He held a peach wood staff in his left hand with a purple crystal at the top. Instead, he raised his withered right hand and pulled off his hood, revealing a pair of eerie green pupils staring directly into Hawkins' eyes.

His face was pale, the skin on his face was pressed tightly against his skull, and the sparse white hair on his head hung down casually. He didn't pay any attention to it, but his long, thin ears revealed his elven identity.

But this elf doesn't look like a mage; he looks more like a warlock.

"Yes, it must succeed! I take back what I just said!"

Seeing that the warlock had no intention of shaking hands, Hawkins could only awkwardly withdraw his own hand and say humbly.

Hawkins was not one to easily back down, but he had to treat this elven sorcerer kindly, as today's operation largely depended on his help.

"Very good! Go and make the arrangements!"

After the elven warlock finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the door. Even though the room was already very crowded, the crowd immediately and consciously made way for the door.

Hawkins watched the elven sorcerer leave before returning to his seat.

"Let's proceed according to the original plan!"

Hawkins waved his hand gently, and the humans left the house.

The tribespeople didn't seem to move; they remained standing there.

"you……"

Hawkins hesitated, though he was nominally the commander-in-chief of the operation. He found dealing with this group of tribes quite troublesome.

"We'll take care of ourselves!"

A slender figure emerged from the dark corner of the room.

"Your name is Lan, right? The female undead?"

"Yes, Commander!"

Lan's tone was calm, but her eyes still held a chill.

"Are you sure that the person you went out to assassinate alone last time is dead?"

Hawkins was actually quite uncomfortable with the fact that this female ghost had defied his orders and gone out to assassinate Joey when the situation was unfavorable and she was about to cause a scene.

"He's dead. I've checked him!"

Lan said with great certainty.

"That's good. At least it shows that you gained something from making such a big fuss last time!"

Hawkins' tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

"These orcs aren't available to participate in this operation right away, so you're in a better position. Go into the city and see how things go!"

Hawkins assigned Lan a task.

"good!"

Lan's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for Hawkins to hear clearly.

Hawkins was satisfied; at least the female undead gave him some face and didn't contradict him.

Lan's figure disappeared into the darkness once more, and the door, after being opened, was closed again.

"You all can stay here for now. The teleportation array outside the city should be ready soon. Once things get lively here, you can go out!"

Hawkins looked at the remaining orcs in the room with a strange expression. Although he was currently an ally of these orcs, he still looked down on these green-skinned monsters from another world.

"Once Prince Barton's task is completed, we'll settle accounts with you guys sooner or later. Hopefully, Maragon can kill a few more orcs today, so that we'll have one less opponent when we break ties with them in the future!"

Hawkins looked at the orcs with a strange smile on his face.