Night had arrived, and they had stopped to camp for the night.

While the drivers took care of the horses, the passengers began setting up their tents outside.

A while later, everyone was sitting together encircling the fire as the meat was getting cooked over it.

Sitting near the heat source in this lightly chilly night brought them great delight.

This time, the person sitting next to Yi Chen was the leader of the mercenary group.

He was 47 years old, and his hair had already turned all white. It was clear that he had led quite a stressful life.

When the meat was cooked, he helped pass them out to others before finally handing one piece to Yi Chen.

"Here, eat well," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," Yi Chen nodded at this gesture and accepted the meat.

As the food started filling everyone's appetite, conversations started building up, and a few minutes later, almost everyone was talking with people around them.

At first, Yi Chen was a bit surprised to find how talkative everyone was here, but he was soon reminded of the fact that they had no other choice.

'With no smartphones around, this is the only way they can relax their minds,' he thought to himself as he took another bite of the juicy meat in his hand.

However, he couldn't help but feel the mercenary leader's gaze directed towards him for quite a few seconds.

He finally turned towards him and asked, "Is there a matter?"

"Ah, forgive my rudeness." The man raised his eyes in surprise and said, "You just reminded me of my son when he was young, haha"

"Your son?" Yi Chen asked curiously.

"Yes, he's currently an official in Liu City," the man said with a hint of pride.

'Old man, are you sure you didn't just initiate this conversation to brag about your son…'

Yi Chen thought to himself, but externally he made a surprised expression and said, "That's great. He must be very hardworking."

"Haha, he really is," the man's chest seemed to have swelled up a little as he continued, "Luckily, I identified his talent for studying earlier on and dedicated myself to this field to support his education.

Thanks to that, he has finally become an official. Seeing the seed of my hardship finally bearing fruit is quite satisfying."

"That's great news." Yi Chen nodded from the side as the man continued on. He didn't mind, as there was nothing else for him to do right now.

"Indeed, it is. Did you know he just bought a house in Liu City? A house! Just a few days ago, that brat sent me a letter saying to stop this risky work and live with him…hah! It feels good to have a son,"

"Oh, so this is going to be your last time as a mercenary?" Yi Chen asked curiously.

"Yes, that's how it is. The six others in my group are also like that. We are at the age that our body can suddenly fail us, so it's better to stop when we can, don't you agree?" The man asked.

"Indeed, it's best to relax after working so hard," Yi Chen nodded.

From there, the topics they discussed switched to his life as a mercenary, some dangerous situations he encountered and the like.

Since the majority of the talking was being done by the other party, Yi Chen was only enjoying the stories as a listener while, of course, nibbling on the juicy meat.

After an hour or so, it was time to rest for everyone, so Yi Chen took his leave and entered his tent.

Sitting cross-legged, he rested his sword on his lap like usual and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Outside, two mercenaries on night watch were patrolling the perimeter and would swap their positions after a few hours with one of their sleeping colleagues.

The deafening sound of night insects was the only thing that could be heard as the two men yawned from time to time while patrolling.

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

'This…'

Sensing this change, both of them were alerted and the very next moment their doubts were confirmed.

Hoof! Hoof!

The sounds of horses running entered their ears, and from far away they could see some fire torches. Seeing this, they immediately rushed back to inform others.

Bandits! Bandits!

The next moment, the whole camp was in an uproar.

When Yi Chen heard the shouts, his eyes opened instantly, and his heart raced anxiously.

Grabbing the hilt of his sword tightly, he pushed himself off the ground and rushed outside the tent to help in whatever way he could.

The moment he got out of the tent, he saw one of the mercenaries on duty running towards the camp while alerting everyone.

He was about to go and ask him how many bandits were there when suddenly his eyes widened.

"Behind yo-!"

Yi Chen tried to alert the man, but before he could finish his words, the horse rider, who was just a few feet away from the man, swung his sword.

The next moment, a decapitated head flew up in the air as a fountain of blood sprinkled everywhere.

THUD!

The head slammed on the muddy ground, rolled a few times before finally stopping just a few steps away from Yi Chen.

Looking at the man's bloodied head, the facial muscles of which were still twitching, a chill ran down Yi Chen's spine, and his whole body froze in that spot.

Sounds of blood-curdling cries echoed in the camp as the bandits finally got off their horses and started attacking the mercenaries and all others who fought back.

At first, it seemed that the mercenaries had the upper hand because of their skills, but they were soon outnumbered.

Just six of them were in no way enough to take care of these twenty or so bandits, and the situation started to take a turn for the worse.

Slash!

They lost another man.

Seeing that the situation was turning in their favour, the leader of the bandits directed his men to catch hold of everyone else.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen was still standing there at his spot with his gaze still directed towards the bloodied head.

A thought that this could have been his head rose in his mind that very second.

Fear. The type he had never experienced until now overwhelmed his being the next moment, and his breath started increasing.

A thought of escaping immediately entered his mind, but before he could entertain it any further, he was stirred awake by a cry.

"Brother Chen! Help us!" A desperate voice filled with horror came from his right.

When Yi Chen turned his head, he saw the man with whom he had talked this afternoon being grabbed by the neck and threatened by a bandit.

At the side, another bandit was dragging his struggling wife by her hair towards the bushes.

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