Chapter Fifty-Nine: Mercenaries

“A group of mercenaries?” Xiao Ye narrowed his eyes and muttered in a low voice.

It was still morning where Red Dragon was. He answered Xiao Ye’s call and asked, “King Xiao, what orders do you have for me so early?”

Xiao Ye repeated to Red Dragon all the distinctive details about the mercenaries that Xue Gui had told him, instructing him to investigate their identities.

Red Dragon worked fast. Within tens of minutes, he gave Xiao Ye an answer.

“As expected, King Xiao, the ones you’re looking for should be an organization founded by a mercenary named Lin Feng. Their base is overseas, just like ours. Do you need me to take action?” Red Dragon asked.

“Not for now. Just stand by,” Xiao Ye nodded and hung up the phone.

This time, he didn’t intend to involve anyone else. He wanted to retrieve the herbs by himself.

After giving Xue Gui some instructions, Xiao Ye set out alone for the enemy base.

Meanwhile, in a secret base somewhere in the Jiangnan District, several men dressed as mercenaries had formed a circle, carefully handling something. The grayish herb at their side was the very Sea Wolf Grass that Xue Gui had mentioned.

“I don’t get it—why does the organization want this stuff? It looks worthless, hardly even marketable,” one mercenary scoffed.

“That’s because you’re ignorant. It’s usually things like this that are valuable. Otherwise, why would that old man come to collect it this morning?” another mercenary replied.

While the two argued about the herb, a third mercenary stepped forward. “Enough. We only need to bring this herb back to headquarters. The rest isn’t our concern.”

This man’s expression was calm and his mind conservative—focused solely on completing the mission.

His words quieted the other two considerably. It seemed these three were the leaders of the base.

Just as they were about to place the herb in a box, a deafening crash erupted at the base’s entrance, followed by someone shouting, “Intruder! We have an intruder!”

“At this hour? Who would dare break in now? Grab your weapons! I want to see which bastard has such nerve!” the mercenary leader barked.

The intruder was none other than Xiao Ye. After receiving the base’s location from Red Dragon, he had come here without delay.

The mercenaries quickly armed themselves and engaged Xiao Ye. Several exchanges of gunfire left them tense, but Xiao Ye offered no response.

It was then that the mercenaries realized the intruder seemed to be alone. They reported this to their leader.

“Listen to my orders—capture him alive,” the mercenary leader commanded.

With this order, the mercenaries closed in for hand-to-hand combat, only to discover in horror that Xiao Ye’s strength and speed were beyond their ability to match. The mercenary ranks quickly collapsed.

There were about thirty men garrisoned in the base, each with blood on his hands. Though ruthless and brutal, they still couldn’t stand against Xiao Ye.

If they were demons, then Xiao Ye was the king who ruled over all demons.

Seeing how ferocious Xiao Ye’s onslaught was, the mercenary leader issued new orders: “Everyone, fall back! Avoid engaging him directly. Our only goal is to protect the herb and deliver it to headquarters.”

Over thirty men were forced into a dead corner of the base by the assault of a single person, unable to retreat further.

By the time the mercenary leader was able to face Xiao Ye directly, there were barely any men left who could fight. All had been knocked to the ground, writhing in pain.

“What is it you want?” Sweat dripped from the leader’s nose and splashed onto the floor.

Xiao Ye pointed at the box behind him. “I came today for that herb.”

“Impressive courage, barging into our base alone for a mere herb. We’ll see if you have the strength to take it.” The veins on the leader’s neck bulged. Never before had he been driven to such desperation.

To avoid being crushed as before, he and the remaining mercenaries attacked together, hoping to capture Xiao Ye alive.

But no matter their numbers, they couldn’t stop him. The leader himself lasted only three moves under Xiao Ye’s hands before being soundly defeated.

The man tried a fierce offensive to subdue Xiao Ye, but as he exerted all his strength, he saw only a blur before a punch sent him flying, blood spurting from his mouth as he crashed to the ground.

In the final second before he lost consciousness, he saw Xiao Ye open the box, inspect the herb, nod in satisfaction—and then the world went dark.

He was left with only one question: Who was this man, and where had he come from?

The thirty-man mercenary base had been destroyed by Xiao Ye alone.

He carefully checked the herb several times to ensure it was unharmed, then turned and left.

Not long after Xiao Ye departed, one of the fallen mercenaries struggled shakily to his feet, enduring the pain as he reported the incident to headquarters.

“Boss, we failed to protect what you asked for. It was snatched by a mysterious force,” the mercenary gasped, sweat pouring down his face, his vision dim with agony.

The boss he referred to was the Lin Feng that Red Dragon had mentioned.

“What? What the hell is wrong with you people? You can’t even guard a weed? Useless trash!” Lin Feng leaped from his chair, shouting furiously into the phone, “How many were there?”

“Just one man.”

“What?” Lin Feng could hardly believe his ears. He asked again, only to receive the same answer. The intruder was a lone male.

Lin Feng unleashed a torrent of curses at the mercenary, his anger burning. When he finally caught his breath, he ordered, “Find out everything about this man, now! I will not tolerate this kind of failure!”

After hanging up, Lin Feng sent people to the branch base to tend to the wounded and search for Xiao Ye’s whereabouts.

Half an hour later, he learned that, before the intruder had entered the base, another mercenary group had inquired about him—specifically, Red Dragon’s team.

“After all these years as a hunter, I never expected to be outmaneuvered by a fellow professional. Pass down my order: surround that mercenary base at once. I want them all annihilated,” Lin Feng growled.

Xiao Ye took a taxi to Xue Gui’s lodgings and slowly produced the herb from behind his back.

“Yes, King Xiao, this is the very Resurrection Herb,” Xue Gui exclaimed with excitement upon seeing it in the box.

To him, such a herb was like a precious child, something he treasured deeply. Seeing it safe, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is only the first ingredient. Let’s hope things speed up from here,” Xiao Ye said to Xue Gui, offering a few words of reassurance as he watched him.