Chapter 029: Return to the Mercenary Corps

Lei Lie and Lei An both felt a strong urge to spit blood in frustration. Now that they had the antidote, there was no time to lose—they had to hurry back to the mercenary corps immediately. Lei Lie was a man who knew his limits. The magical beast that Shen Duo commanded was far superior to his own Berserk Demon Bear; even if he joined forces with his Sky Enchanter abilities, the best they could hope for was a draw.

The group quickly agreed to return to the Flame Mercenary Corps at once, and Shen Duo, concerned about Lei Hang, decided to accompany them. Shen Duo exchanged a glance with Yu Sha, who was clearly displeased—if not for the contract binding Shen Duo as his master, Yu Sha would never have let these lowly humans go.

Yu Sha let out two sharp snorts, then spread his massive white wings and gracefully flew to Shen Duo’s side. The Ironwing Silver Wolf, lying on the ground, howled mournfully as Yu Sha prepared to leave, its eyes brimming with reluctant sorrow.

Shen Duo turned back in puzzlement to look at the Ironwing Silver Wolf and asked Yu Sha in her mind what was wrong with it. Yu Sha was gloomy as well—the Ironwing Silver Wolf had guarded him for nearly a century; they were not just friends but brothers bound by life and death. The pain of parting from family was inevitable.

A thought stirred in Shen Duo’s heart. At that moment, a faint ripple passed through the holy radiance energy within her. An idea took root, and she immediately asked Yu Sha in her mind, “Yu Sha, can I use the holy radiance energy to form a magical beast contract with it?”

Yu Sha’s eyes lit up at her words, and he responded in her mind with barely concealed excitement, “Little Duo, you’re willing to contract with it? The holy radiance energy is the greatest treasure of the Holy Radiance Continent. The first magical beast to contract with it receives the greatest benefit. Those who follow also receive its blessing, gaining some power, but only a little. A contracted beast shares a telepathic bond with its master, which means another will know your secret about the holy radiance energy.” Yu Sha made no attempt to hide his own motives in contracting with the holy radiance energy. Shen Duo considered his words coldly, then nodded in agreement.

Yu Sha’s bright, tigerish eyes fixed on Shen Duo, knowing that her willingness to contract with the Ironwing Silver Wolf was, for the most part, because of him. He silently guided her on how to use the holy radiance energy to form the contract. A flash of silver light appeared, and Shen Duo felt a faint thread of connection with the Ironwing Silver Wolf. Soon, a deep, magnetic voice echoed in her mind:

“Ironwing Silver Wolf Benyi greets my master.”

Shen Duo’s lips twitched—she was not used to the wolf addressing her so formally. “Benyi, just call me Shen Duo from now on. We’ll be the closest of partners; there’s no need for such courtesy.”

“Benyi, you can also call her Little Duo,” Yu Sha’s cheerful voice interjected.

Benyi glanced at Shen Duo, his narrow wolf eyes narrowing further, and the voice that sounded in her mind seemed to carry a hint of a smile. “Little Duo, I’ll be counting on your care from now on.”

Shen Duo pursed her lips, feeling vexed. Why was it that, despite her cold exterior, she was always being teased by these two magical beasts? The look Benyi had just given her reminded her of how he had kicked her into the cave earlier—could this Ironwing Silver Wolf actually have a dark streak to his nature?

Although Shen Duo was deep in telepathic conversation with her two beasts and had just contracted with the Ironwing Silver Wolf, it had only taken a brief moment.

Lei Lie glanced back at Shen Duo, and upon seeing Yu Sha’s enormous white wings, curved his lips in a smile and gave up the idea of bringing her back to the mercenary camp. At Lei Lie’s command, Lei An and the two other Sky Enchanters soared into the air, quickly retreating from the Cartela Forest with their magical beasts.

Sky Enchanters could fly naturally, though their speed was only slightly slower than the spirit eagles. However, as aerial mounts, the spirit eagles were far more enduring than the enchanters themselves, who had to expend their spiritual energy to keep flying and thus would tire over time.

Yu Sha clearly noticed Lei Lie’s teasing. He deliberately refrained from taking Shen Duo with him into the air, wanting to see what she would do. Just as Yu Sha was about to let Shen Duo climb onto his back, the Ironwing Silver Wolf let out a resounding howl, stretched out his enormous iron wings, and crouched in front of Shen Duo and Yu Sha. After having formed a contract with the holy radiance energy, the wolf’s injuries had already healed completely.

Though Yu Sha was striking and majestic in appearance, compared to a fully grown sacred beast like the Ironwing Silver Wolf, his size was laughable. When fully unfurled, the Ironwing Silver Wolf’s wings were nearly ten times the size of Yu Sha’s.

Yu Sha’s tiger mouth twitched twice, and, feeling dejected, he folded away his wings and reverted to the form of a small white tiger, the red flames around him fading as he became indistinguishable from an ordinary little white tiger.

Then Shen Duo heard Benyi’s magnetic voice in her mind: “Little Duo, Young Lord Yu Sha, come onto my back.”

Without waiting for Yu Sha’s consent, Shen Duo scooped him up and leapt onto Benyi’s broad wolf back. Yu Sha struggled for a moment, but once he discovered the warmth and softness of Shen Duo’s embrace, he relaxed, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

Shen Duo could only smile wryly, looking down at the small white tiger in her arms. For all his terrifying power and mysterious nature, Yu Sha’s childishness made her heart ache for him.

Cartela Forest was still cloaked in silver, the biting wind whipping across Shen Duo’s cheeks and tossing her black hair high, yet she stood unflinching on the Ironwing Silver Wolf’s back, her spine straight as she gazed out over the vast white forest. At that moment, her heart felt open and unburdened. She recalled the words of an old man from another world, who had described what it meant to be a swordsman. When she returned to the mercenary camp this time, she would no longer be a useless nobody!

As they neared the edge of Cartela Forest, Shen Duo signaled for the Ironwing Silver Wolf to descend. She had no desire to make a dramatic entrance into the Flame Mercenary Corps camp—revealing her strength too soon would only bring danger and jealousy, something the former Shen Duo had experienced all too well; she had no intention of repeating those mistakes.

Hugging Yu Sha, Shen Duo jumped down from Benyi’s back. The Ironwing Silver Wolf immediately shifted into the form of an ordinary white wolf, and the trio made their way back to the mercenary camp on foot.

Both Benyi and Yu Sha concealed their auras, so to the mercenaries, they seemed like nothing more than two ordinary low-level magical beasts, though some of the higher-ranked, more sensitive beasts could still sense the faint pressure emanating from Benyi.

Lei Lie, Lei An, and their group had arrived ahead of them and were in the midst of applying the Ironwing Silver Wolf’s saliva to Lei Hang’s wounds.

None of the mercenaries had expected Shen Duo to return alive. Their eyes widened in surprise, and some even came up enthusiastically to clap her on the shoulder, congratulating her on her narrow escape from danger.