Chen Wen continued to sleep.

He was now hiding in an abandoned cave. Judging by the traces inside, it seemed to be a bear's winter den.

But the bear had disappeared, and it was unclear whether it had found a new hibernation spot or died before hibernating.

During the day, Chen Wen rested with the Golden Eagle and the Snowy Owl.

While the lynx kept watch.

At night, Chen Wen and the two birds of prey began to move.

They flew through the night sky, continuously advancing in the direction Chen Wen had determined during the day.

Meanwhile, at the camp.

With the mercenaries' departure, they managed to contact the outside world and relay all the information.

Reestablishing contact with the crew of the show, who had been out of touch for days, was a relief.

Belmont felt a weight lifted from his shoulders.

But the news from the crew weighed heavily on Belmont's heart.

The gold was gone!

Five boxes of gold, along with the most important map, all gone!

Belmont sat in his room, filled with despair.

All efforts in vain!

He couldn't accept it!

After confirming that the crew was safe and well-supplied,

Belmont immediately ordered the rescue team to search for the mercenaries!

Find them at any cost!

Belmont thought he could negotiate with these mercenaries.

He didn't believe the story about a winged bear stealing the map; he thought it was a tale fabricated by the mercenaries themselves.

Most likely, the deputy leader wanted to take the map, using this lie as cover.

At the same time, he had roughly deduced the mercenaries' retreat route and planned to send a team to ambush them at the town.

...

At night, as it grew completely dark,

the mercenaries set up camp in an open area near the river.

Having operated in the Yukon for so long, they knew how to keep warm at night.

Making fire and setting up camp were second nature.

While setting up camp, the white leader was in contact with people from the town, planning to have them bring sled dogs and sleds.

The heavy snow had severely slowed their progress.

At the same time,

Chen Wen began flying towards the town.

Without needing to land, Chen Wen moved very quickly.

He estimated his speed; at full flight, he could reach the second town in about ten nights.

Of course, to ensure the timing matched.

Chen Wen decided to take more breaks along the way.

Not to arrive too quickly.

Therefore, after flying high for about an hour, Chen Wen started to lower his altitude.

Planning to find a place to rest.

But as he descended, Chen Wen suddenly noticed a bright spot on the ground.

"Someone's here?"

Chen Wen thought in surprise, unable to resist moving closer.

But after seeing the familiar clothes and tents, Chen Wen couldn't help but gasp.

What a coincidence!

It's the mercenaries!

What are they doing here?

Could it be they're looking for me?

Thinking this, Chen Wen immediately became alert.

He quickly ascended, avoiding the mercenaries' line of sight.

Chen Wen was planning to bypass the area and find another place to rest when he noticed some commotion in the tent.

It seemed like there was an argument going on.

Chen Wen was taken aback, quickly landing nearby.

He planned to eavesdrop on what the mercenaries were up to.

...

In the camp.

The white leader and the mercenary representative were in conflict.

According to the representative, he believed they should split the gold here to boost morale.

But the white leader was unwilling to split the gold.

The reason being that once the gold was distributed, he feared that the team would fall apart and he would lose his authority.

The only reason he could control his loyal followers and have the captains' followers be loyal to him was because he held the gold.

He agreed to only distribute a portion of the gold.

This made the mercenary representative suspicious that the new leader wanted to keep the gold for himself.

He stared into the leader's eyes and said, "Captain, it's because I trust you that I led everyone to support you as the new captain, but you can't distrust us, right?"

The leader did not back down: "I trust you, but in distributing the gold, including me, we all must wait to divide it until we reach the town!"

The representative gritted his teeth and said, "But without the gold, the brothers are not motivated to walk such a long distance! And we've lost many brothers; now everyone is a bit down, and we need rewards to boost our spirits!"

The leader shook his head: "That's your problem. If it weren't for you indiscriminately opening fire, we wouldn't have lost so many brothers!"

Damn!

The representative slammed his hand on the table, and the camp fell silent.

He looked at the new leader and asked word by word: "Fine, we won't split the gold for now, but what about the map? Who has the map? Don't tell me some bear with wings snatched it!"

The leader was silent for a moment and then said, "Although you don't believe it, that is the fact. At the very least, you can't dispute what those two sentinels said, can you?"

"It seems we can't talk anymore?"

The representative's words carried a hint of threat.

The leader sighed: "I can let you search me. We cannot afford to lose any more brothers; otherwise, we won't be able to get out of this snowy plain."

...

Having heard the conversation, Chen Wen frowned.

After grabbing the map last night, it seemed the mercenaries had internal conflict?

And many had died?

Judging by the size of the camp, Chen Wen roughly estimated there were only about a dozen people.

And the black leader seemed to be absent; otherwise, he would surely be part of such a high-level conversation.

Could it be that guy is dead?

Thinking of this, Chen Wen couldn't help but shiver.

He hadn't gone for the kill, yet the mercenaries ended up killing their leader?

Impressive!

Chen Wen thought, looking again at the camp's luggage and supplies.

The five iron boxes marked by the wear of time must be the gold the group took!

Chen Wen hesitated and planned to continue eavesdropping, hoping to gain more substantial benefits.

However, Chen Wen didn't expect.

Behind him, the black wolf king and the pack had been tracking the mercenaries all along.

At this moment, the black wolf king caught Chen Wen's scent, became excited, and sped up.

...

The representative listened to the leader's words and remained silent for a long time.

He knew clearly that now was not the time for internal strife.

But without the gold in hand and having not seen the map,

it left him feeling as though he had gained nothing.

Moreover, the men's morale was indeed low; after two rounds of infighting, they lacked trust and were marching in such a cold area.

If they didn't give out some money and show the benefits,

he feared something might happen.

After thinking for a while, he expressed his concerns.

The leader, seeing his genuine concern for the entire team, compromised: "We'll distribute it, but only one box; the rest must be divided once we reach the town!"

"Fine! It must be divided by tomorrow morning!"

The representative gritted his teeth and agreed to the plan.

But hidden in the shadows, Chen Wen was a bit restless.

If the gold were divided, the mercenaries would likely regain their morale with such a hefty reward.

They were not short on food, and with lifted spirits, their combat strength would recover.

Those five boxes of gold would be completely out of his reach.

Chen Wen hesitated and planned to make a move at night, using the shadow of night to stealthily steal some gold.

A map of a mineral vein compared to gold was too abstract.

Having something tangible at hand put Chen Wen's mind at ease.

Just as Chen Wen made up his mind to make a move later at night,

the lynx tugged at Chen Wen's sleeve with a puzzled expression: "Human, I think I smell a familiar scent."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.