After rounding the bridge, the remaining journey was less treacherous, but Yun Zhe dared not let his guard down. Putting himself in the other's shoes, if Yun Zhe intended to use force to eliminate such a threat, it would be a fight to the death. At the very least, Yun Zhe would fight to the death, unless he truly lacked the ability to continue.
Therefore, we cannot let our guard down at this time.
Yun Zhe hadn't expected the journey back to be so perilous. This was entirely unexpected, which meant one thing: there must be at least one mole within his ranks. Moreover, this mole must be very familiar with his actions, because both the meeting and the final departure were carried out swiftly around dawn, with very little time wasted in between.
What embarrassed Yun Zhe even more was that he didn't sense any disloyalty from anyone. Everyone's thoughts seemed quite normal. So this person wasn't just anyone he had met today.
This presented a dilemma. How could Yun Zhe possibly find someone who knew his every move and wasn't even by his side? But there was good news: it meant that the content of last night's discussion hadn't been leaked, which was exactly what Yun Zhe was most worried about.
"Sir, could we please take a rest? We've been traveling all night, and everyone is exhausted." The squad leader spurred his horse forward and voiced his thoughts. Yun Zhe snapped out of his reverie and looked back. He realized he had left everyone far behind, while behind him, the other soldiers were tending to the wounded soldier who had fallen from his horse.
"Sir, they are too tired..." the captain said immediately before Yun Zhe could ask.
“Then let’s rest for three hours, no, four hours. You, me, and Xixi will take the first shift. You can arrange for two soldiers to start a fire and cook. After two hours, we’ll rotate again,” Yun Zhe said carefully.
The captain was overjoyed and immediately rode back to arrange for rest. Yun Zhe surveyed the surrounding terrain; the roadsides were quite open, so safety should not be a problem.
Yun Zhe was relieved for a rare moment. The first two hours passed peacefully. Yun Zhe and the squad leader woke up all the soldiers who had been resting, and then Yun Zhe himself lay down under the shade of a tree and closed his eyes to rest.
Not long after lying down, Yun Zhe felt the earth tremble. He jumped up and lay on the ground to listen carefully.
The squad leader looked flustered. "Sir, a large cavalry force is approaching, estimated to be around a hundred men."
Yun Zhe stood up and looked around. The surrounding area was flat and there was no terrain to rely on.
"Everyone hide in the woods, quick!"
"Could it be that the Earl sent someone to pick us up?" a soldier asked innocently.
"Let's hide first, and it's not too late to come out if it's true," Yun Zhe said, but he didn't even believe what he was saying.
The group quickly hid in the woods, with Yun Zhe covering the rear and roughly cleaning up all the traces of their rest.
Soon, a troop of cavalry appeared at the end of the road. There were about a hundred of them, dressed in different clothes, and they looked like mercenaries.
Yun Zhe narrowed his eyes slightly. He recognized this mercenary group. The bare shoulders and fiery red tattoos—it was the Nightfire Mercenary Group.
The person in charge was no longer Ted, the bald man, but another completely unfamiliar face.
"Everyone be careful, it's a mercenary group. Although we don't know their background, let's be cautious." Yun Zhe said as he drew his longsword and warily watched the mercenaries on the road.
The mercenaries roared past, which relieved Yun Zhe and his group. Just as Yun Zhe was about to signal everyone to come out, the mercenaries roared back to their vicinity. This happened several times, but they didn't leave.
Clearly, they were looking for someone, and even the most oblivious soldier now knew who they were looking for.
The situation suddenly turned bad. It was difficult for a dozen men to deal with a hundred or so cavalrymen. No matter how elite your troops were, a numerical disadvantage was a numerical disadvantage that could not be completely reversed.
Seeing the cavalrymen loitering on both sides of the road, Yun Zhe quickly gave the order, "Retreat immediately! Go through the woods! There's a road leading to Donic too, just through this forest. Hurry, hurry!"
Yun Zhe knew that the traces he had dealt with were terrible, and that a careful examination would definitely reveal their whereabouts. At this moment, he could only try his best to keep his distance and get away from the cavalry.
Sure enough, not long after Yun Zhe and his men retreated, the Nightfire mercenaries discovered signs that they had been resting and cooking. The new leader looked at the woods in front of him, then took out a map and began to study it.
"Galan, you lead your men straight through the forest from here. It would be best if we ran into them, but it's okay if we don't. The rest of you, follow me around to the back of this grove of trees. We'll wait for them there! We have to take this deal!"
"Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!" The Nightfire mercenaries roared excitedly, galloping on their horses like the wind towards the other side of the forest.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhe, who was in the woods, walked along, pondering the whole matter.
The opponent had an unusually large number of cards in their hand; the fact that even Nightfire was one of their cards was a huge surprise to Yun Zhe. However, considering that Nightfire had been active in the no-man's-land between elves and humans for many years, it was likely a pawn they had planted long ago.
Upon realizing this, Yun Zhe was suddenly startled. Was Xin De, who had been colluding with Ye Huo, also one of their pawns?
Looking back at Sind's actions in his pursuit of power, he is clearly highly suspicious. It's highly likely that the other party wanted to groom him as Donic's next Earl, but unfortunately, it seems they failed.
This would explain why he was constantly being approached by messengers bringing news of death. Although it's a bit of a stretch, it's logically sound.
So, why did they get involved with those vampires in River Valley Village in the first place? The Mad King's Sword? Could it really be because of that? If so, could it be that this sword is actually one of the keys to solving the mystery?
Thinking of this, Yun Zhe suddenly became happy. Even a small advantage is still an advantage. Although he hadn't figured out the connection yet, having the sword in his own hands was much better than having it in theirs.
Since the Mad King's Sword is relevant, could the Elf King's Sword on his back also be connected? Yun Zhe suddenly thought of the song the poet once sang, and many stories about the ten-year war between elves and humans. Could the truth of this matter resolve the current crisis, or at least provide some relevant clues?
Yun Zhe touched the hilt of his sword and felt a surge of confidence for the first time.
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