Black Hearted Mage

Caesars rummaged through his storage ring and pulled out a heavy metal arrow. Elon then grabbed it and gathered with several other archers around the fire, carefully examining this unusual arrow.

The arrow was finally taken by Rodman. In the light of the fire, one could see a blue reflection at the position of the three-edged tip of the arrow.

"This is an armor-piercing arrow. The arrowhead is an elongated, three-pointed cone. The tip is made of magic steel, and the shaft is ordinary steel. The tip has obvious signs of quenching. Judging from the length of the arrow, it is specially designed for the magic steel bow!"

"Rodman, where does this arrow come from?" Elon asked anxiously. Although he knew about magic steel arrows, he didn't know much about the quenching process.

"Urine quenching is used, giving the arrowhead a dark blue-black hue. This method is only used by countries in the eastern part of the continent. Due to the lack of magical beasts and wild beasts in the eastern region, grease quenching is rarely used. As long as we find the archer's body, we should be able to find out where he came from!"

"Kaesas, which direction did the archer run after being bitten by the black snake?" At this moment, Evenk suddenly asked.

"He must have fled eastward, but he couldn't get far!"

"Evank, go tomorrow. It's pitch black outside. If there are still fish that have escaped, going out now will be tantamount to seeking death!"

As soon as Caesars finished speaking, Evenk was about to go look for the archer's body, but Elon grabbed him and gave him a stern warning.

The attackers' bodies were dragged back to the fire, their deaths on full display. Four masked assassins, five hurricane warriors, and one heavily armored warrior. The assassins and heavily armored warriors were killed with a single blow, while the hurricane warriors were struck by multiple arrows, their deaths horribly.

Looking at the bodies, Evank felt a wave of fear. If Rodman hadn't discovered them in time, the consequences would have been disastrous. Meanwhile, Elon's face was terribly gloomy. He knew this sneak attack was no simple matter; the enemy had clearly come prepared.

"Rodman, what should we do?" asked the gray-haired Elon.

"Get rid of these bodies first, and then increase vigilance," Rodman said.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Elon said, and began to direct others to deal with the bodies.

Kaisas sat aside, lost in thought. He didn't know who had sent the attackers, but he knew they were most likely following him.

The mercenary team stripped the bodies naked. At the edge of the camp, two soldiers were digging a large pit to bury the bodies before setting off.

The remains of the corpse were piled near the fire, and Rodman examined them carefully. On a piece of badly worn leather armor, he found a faint mark.

"Eron, come and look at this mark!"

Elon is a veteran mercenary with a lot of experience. He has traveled all over the eastern part of Roland Continent and can identify the emblems of many mercenary groups with great accuracy.

"This is a shield-shaped emblem. Although it's badly worn and hard to see, there are only five or six mercenary groups with this emblem, all of which are located in the eastern part of the continent. Of these, the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group is the largest, with over two thousand members. The other groups are smaller, with the largest numbering only two or three hundred. The Saint Laurent Mercenary Group is very powerful, and their mercenaries wouldn't wear leather armor this badly worn!"

"What Elon said is correct. Combined with the arrows that Caesars found, this indicates that these people are all from the eastern part of the continent. There aren't many gold coins in their storage rings. They probably spent it in taverns or on women's bellies. The leather armor is a bit worn, but the material is very good. The heavy armored warrior's magic steel armor is 90% new and can be sold for a very good price!"

"Rodman, can this shield be kept?" asked Lu Luo who was digging a hole.

"You can keep this shield, but it's a heavy shield, probably no less than eighty kilograms. Are you two sure you want to take it?"

"Eighty kilograms? That's too heavy. Let's sell it!"

Brother Luke stopped talking and diligently dug the pit. After counting all the spoils, they found over 300 gold coins, over 20 weapons, several sets of leather armor and armor, some mid-level potions, and a considerable amount of food. For the mercenary team, these items were already a considerable fortune.

At daybreak, Rodman returned, dragging the archer's body. This time, the mercenaries had encountered a pleasant surprise: the archer's leather armor was practically new, with a glossy finish.

"Eron, I've brought your old rival!"

Rodman walked to the charcoal fire and threw the body on the ground. After hearing this, Elon immediately walked over and carefully identified the body with a swollen and blackened face.

"It's really him. I didn't expect to run into him here. What a narrow path for enemies to cross!"

Elon recognized the guy who had once snatched a woman from him, and felt a little emotional.

"Haha, then we're going to make a lot of money this time!"

Rodman laughed. Elon's old rival's equipment was very good and should be worth a lot of gold coins. Helping Elon kill his rival and getting a lot of gold coins at the same time was really killing two birds with one stone.

"But why is this guy here? Is he here to carry out some mission? He should be in the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group?" Elon asked puzzledly.

"Who cares? He's dead anyway, so we don't have to worry about him so much."

Rodman said indifferently, and then began to deal with the other spoils. In his heart, Rodman was speculating, he thought that Elon's rival was on a mission, some kind of mission to explore the Felwood Forest.

The Felwood Forest is very vast, but there are not many high-level magical beasts. There are many poisonous snakes and insects, as well as a large number of herbs.

Rodman remembered the elven texts that described a small cave nestled in a stone mountain in the heart of Felwood. Within this unassuming, damp, cool cave grew the relatively rare Ghost Mushroom. While other high-quality herbs could be found and purchased elsewhere, Ghost Mushrooms, due to their unique habitat, were difficult to harvest and even harder to buy.

"Kaesas, do you know ghost mushrooms?" Rodman asked.

"I know a little bit. Ghost mushrooms can be used to refine several potions. The most valuable one is the invisibility potion. However, the invisibility lasts too short, so this potion is not very practical."

"If you give archers invisibility potions, they can shoot targets from a distance in just a few breaths!"

Caesar understood that the invisibility potion was not very useful in close combat, but it was very helpful for archers who could attack from a distance.

"Rodman, are you saying they're going to pick ghost mushrooms?"

"This is just my guess. These people didn't bring any special tools for collecting herbs. The Saint Laurent Mercenaries should have come to Felwood Forest. They don't allow mercenaries to act alone!"

"Yes, I know this too. The rules of the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group are very strict. This mercenary group is affiliated with the Saint Laurent Church. It is very powerful and most of its members are from the church!" The veteran mercenary - Elon spoke up. He knew the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group very well.

"Eron, it's impossible that the entire Saint Laurent Mercenary Group has come to Felwood. I estimate that they have a team of a hundred people. As far as I know, they are preparing to go west of Blackrock Mountain. I heard that they are going to collect rare herbs!" Rodman added.

Since it was Caesar who killed the archer, he was also the one who searched for the storage ring.

After Caesars found a ring from the archer, he couldn't wait to insert his spiritual power into it. When he saw the item inside the ring, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "This guy is really a big fat sheep!"

Inside the ring were two exquisitely crafted alloy bows, one longbow and the other shortbow. In addition, there was a set of matte black leather armor, which surprised Caesars because it looked no different from the leather armor worn by assassins.

There were also two bags full of gold coins, a magic steel longsword, four magic steel short knives, and over three hundred magic steel arrows. Besides these weapons and equipment, there were also some spare clothes, food, a few spare bowstrings, and several bottles of dark rum.

Looking at the pile of good stuff in front of him, Evank said excitedly: "Wow, there are so many good things!"

Rodman reminded him, "I'll take a hundred arrows first and keep them for emergencies. Elon, estimate the value of these things and divide them up. Daybreak is about to break, and we have to set off quickly. We have to leave this place as soon as possible, otherwise there will be more trouble!"

Rodman urged everyone to set off quickly, and Elon nodded in agreement, then waved his hand to let the warriors throw the archer's body into the pit. Then, they began to fill the soil back with shovels to cover up the blood and traces.

A quarter of an hour later, after the spoils were distributed, the mercenary team set out again, heading southeast, as that was the heart of the forest.

Caesars held fifty gold coins in his hand, his share of the spoils. While not much, it was still a considerable fortune for him. However, he didn't care too much about the money, instead focusing on how to improve his own strength.

As the mercenary team continued to go deeper into the forest, the surrounding environment became more and more gloomy. The trees here were taller and thicker than before, and there were almost no gaps between the treetops, making people feel as if they were in a closed world.

The air was thick with a musty smell that made it feel suffocating. On the ground grew brightly colored mushrooms, some opening like umbrellas, others blooming like flower balls.

Most mushrooms are odorless, but a few have a pungent smell, like a rotting corpse, making you want to cover your nose. More importantly, most mushrooms here are highly poisonous, and the brighter the color, the more toxic it is. This is common knowledge in Felwood.

Fortunately, the mercenaries had no intention of eating mushrooms, and they continued their journey safely until noon. Finally, they passed through the dense forest and entered an open area that looked a bit like grassland. The sun shone on the ground, revealing vast expanses of wildflowers and grasses, along with a few low shrubs.

"Let's take a break first. The Boulder Mountain is ahead. It's the center of Felwood Forest!" Rodman said.

Everyone found a place to sit down and rest. Some drank water, some ate dry food to replenish their energy, and some checked whether their equipment was intact.

Caesars pulled a book from his parcel. It was a travelogue he always carried with him, containing a wealth of information on local customs and geography. He flipped open the book, found the section on Felwood, and began to read carefully.

According to the description in the travelogue, Felwood Forest is not round or square, but rather has a peculiar shape - a long strip. This long strip of forest is longer from east to west and relatively narrow from north to south.

The Great Stone Mountain, located in the middle of Felwood, stretches across the land like a winding dragon. In reality, this Great Stone Mountain is not a true mountain range, but a single, enormous, long rock.

The Great Stone Mountain runs across the east and west. Although it is not high, with the highest point only two or three hundred meters, its length is astonishing, reaching six or seven hundred miles, like a natural barrier, dividing the Felwood Forest into two.

The width of Felwood Forest from north to south is about three hundred miles, and the length from east to west is more than one thousand miles, like a vast green ocean.

Boulder Mountain is not just a mountain, but a unique entity. It is composed of a single huge stone and has stood firm through the ages.

Caesars closed the book and turned to Rodman, saying, "Rodman, according to the travelogue, the cave in Boulder Mountain is not far ahead!"

"Okay, you guys go east along the Boulder Mountain, and I'll go check out the cave!" Rodman nodded, indicating he understood. He needed to find that dark cave as soon as possible and destroy the ghost mushroom inside.

"Rodman, you'd better be careful. The people in the Saint Laurent Mercenary Group are all tough guys!" Elon said with some concern.

"Don't worry about me. Just speed up and I'll be waiting for you in front of Wind Whispering Canyon!"

After a short rest, Elon began to lead the team out, and this time Caesar sat on little Emily's horse. She was the smallest, and the horse could bear the weight of two people.

Because the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was getting higher in the afternoon, the mercenary team could only cling to the boulder mountain and move forward under its shadow. They needed to go around the boulder mountain and continue south until they encountered the high mountains to the south.

After reaching the mountains, walk for about an hour or two and you will find a very dry forest, which is the location of the Wind Whispering Canyon.