Chapter 522: The Big Guy Runs Away

Tripleblade and his men swiftly arrived at the docks and boarded the flagship billowing thick black smoke.

Even after the attack had passed, the mercenaries aboard the flagship remained visibly panicked.

The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, personally trained by Zong Ge and subjected to rigorous drills, possessed military discipline that slightly surpassed that of ordinary silver level mercenary corps. But this was a world of the strong. When the mighty fell, the blow to the morale of the lower ranks was devastating.

In one corner of the deck, a crowd had gathered. Some attempted rescue, while others desperately called out the name “Shi Qi.”

Tripleblade stepped forward, using his influence as a leader to part the crowd. There he saw Zong Ge lying motionless.

To outsiders, Zong Ge appeared to have his eyes tightly shut, a wound on his chest of a shallow depth but one that continued to bleed.

But in Tripleblade's vision, a silver level alchemy puppet lay there. The wound itself was shallow, yet it bore the telltale marks of being washed by foreign battle qi.

Judging by the aura within the markings, the battle qi was only silver level.

“But could silver level battle qi truly destroy an alchemy puppet's energy pathways from the inside out, almost instantly?”

A sharp gleam flashed in Tripleblade's eyes.

He crouched down and touched Zong Ge's wound. His extensive combat experience told him the enemy who attacked “Zong Ge” was far from a simple “silver level” opponent.

“Most likely a gold level in disguise. Silver level battle skills couldn't achieve this level of destruction!” Tripleblade understood the materials used in this silver level puppet.

As for why it was disguised this way, Tripleblade understood: a silver level attacking the docks was entirely different from a gold level assault.

The gap in combat power between the two was vast. A gold level was a decisive regional force capable of stabilizing or destabilizing an entire area's order!

Tripleblade stood up and glanced around, not seeing Chi Lai.

Chi Lai had been assigned to the flagship as part of the defensive force.

Tripleblade urgently inquired where Chi Lai had gone.

The mercenaries replied, “Lord Chi Lai led men in pursuit.”

The attackers targeting the flagship were few in number. Their assault was utterly unexpected, catching the mercenaries completely off guard. After leaving several corpses behind, they retreated swiftly. Their primary objective was to draw attention, providing cover for the assassin.

The assassin struck swiftly, killing “Zong Ge” before vanishing into the distance.

Chi Lai was furious. He believed “Deputy Commander Zong Ge” had been ambushed due to carelessness. The assassin had only displayed silver level skill, so Chi Lai chose to pursue.

Even if he couldn't catch them, he wanted to gather as much intelligence and clues as possible.

“Too reckless!” Tripleblade cursed inwardly, though he didn't blame Chi Lai.

Chi Lai wasn't among the survivors and didn't know the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' true predicament. At most, he knew that the magic potion convoy had once been attacked by a gold level fighter.

But even then, another gold level fighter appeared. The fierce clash between the two gold level fighters had severely disrupted Chi Lai, Men Shi, and their group's assessment of the situation.

Tripleblade immediately ordered men to catch up with Chi Lai and stop him from pursuing further.

“Boss, we've completed the preliminary damage assessment. The losses are far less than we anticipated,” a subordinate reported.

By this time, the lingering flames on the flagship had been extinguished, and the thick smoke had dissipated.

“Please, please, don't let the losses be too heavy.”

“If the damage is too great, the funds I can mobilize might not cover the repairs.”

Tripleblade muttered a prayer as he took the report, his eyes instinctively sweeping the flagship's deck.

He noticed the damage to the flagship was minimal, with the forecastle bearing the brunt of the destruction.

“Wait... the forecastle!”

Tripleblade jolted upright, his attention instantly shifting from the battle damage report. Grabbing a nearby mercenary, he demanded urgently: Where had the giant residing in the forecastle gone?

The mercenaries, still shaken, recounted what followed the assassination attempt: After “Zong Ge” collapsed, explosions and billowing smoke erupted. Terrifying screams then echoed from within the forecastle.

Then the giant smashed through the deck, bellowing and savagely attacking everyone around him.

Numerous mercenaries fell victim to the giant's assault.

After Chi Lai pursued the assassin, the giant turned his attention to another group of retreating enemies and gave chase.

Tripleblade: !!!

The former mercenary captain swiftly grasped the truth: "During the sudden attack, the big guy likely witnessed ‘Zong Ge’ falling. His field of vision is comparable to an outsider's. We chose this approach initially because we feared his intelligence wouldn't allow him to perform and disguise himself convincingly, so we simply concealed him entirely."

The big guy saw Zong Ge fall, his fate unknown. This sight, combined with the chaos of the moment, triggered him. He went berserk, unleashing every ounce of strength to violently fight off every threat around him. Just like how he acted on Mystifying Monster Island.

“With Commander Long Fu absent, the other mercenaries saw him attacking his own men and watched the big guy chase the enemy out. They all breathed a sigh of relief. Choosing to stand by and do nothing was perfectly normal.”

“Damn it! The big guy can't be hurt!”

Tripleblade was frantic.

The big guy's potential was too great. Once Tripleblade accepted this reality, in his heart, the big guy became the survivors' treasure.

“Contact Chi Lai immediately. Order him to abandon pursuit and search for our little giant.” Tripleblade swiftly altered his command.

After a moment's thought, he added, "The enemy attacked our flagship and knocked out Shi Qi. But I'm certain their assault won't stop there."

"You all know how wildly popular the dragon rider potion is! Many covet our profits and don't want us to truly grow into a gold level mercenary group!"

“Therefore, they will definitely attack our alchemy workshop.”

“But we've made defensive preparations. We'll make the enemy suffer.”

“Stay calm. I know Lord Shi Qi possesses a remarkable battle skill that allows him to feign death for healing.”

“Carry Lord Shi Qi back to his cabin.”

Tripleblade worked to steady the troops when suddenly—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Immediately, a report came in: “Bad news! Our alchemy workshop is under attack!”

“What's the panic for? Lord Di Bi (Tripleblade) anticipated this long ago.” A mercenary shouted back.

Earlier, the survivors had withheld most intelligence from Chi Lai, Men Shi, and ordinary members to maintain stability. Now, Tripleblade deliberately leaked some information at the opportune moment to achieve the same effect.

With Cang Xu, the dragonman youngster, Zong Ge, and Zi Di all missing, Tripleblade, drawing on his experience managing mercenary groups, barely managed to hold the situation together, slightly stabilizing morale.

Of course, this was only possible because the core foundation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps remained intact.

Had Long Fu, Shi Qi, or others suffered defeat or death, or if silver level pillars like Chi Lai and Men Shi had fallen, the blow to morale would have been devastating.

At that point, no amount of Tripleblade's silver-tongued eloquence or spin could have salvaged the situation.

This was the world of the strong.

Individual strength was the absolute foundation.

Soon, follow-up intelligence arrived.

Three alchemy workshops had come under attack.

The large workshop had fallen, but the magic traps Tripleblade and his men had secretly laid around it inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking foes.

One of the medium-sized workshops also fell, yet again inflicting considerable losses on the enemy.

At the remaining medium-sized workshop within the Mercury Cave, the enemy attempted to use alchemy devices to disrupt the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' command over the alchemy puppets, an effort that failed. Combined with the protection of numerous magic traps, this workshop managed to hold on by the skin of its teeth.

"Our command protocols for the alchemy puppets have been enhanced by Bu Quan. Not only that, but we switch to a different command method every few days to prevent enemies from exploiting this vulnerability."

"Bu Quan's modifications all stem from the War Merchant's database. Several factors have ensured the alchemy puppets remain unchecked by the enemy, stubbornly fulfilling their defensive role."

“Combined with magic traps and the Mercury Cave's naturally fortified terrain, the enemy hasn't succeeded.”

“Still, that defense remains rigid. Its fall is only a matter of time.”

“The most crucial and valuable small alchemy workshop hasn't been attacked yet...”

Tripleblade's expression hardened as he swiftly assessed the situation.

He had assumed any enemy assault would come later, not now.

After all, it would take time for the enemy to uncover that the Mountain Peak Merchant Alliance was secretly transporting goods for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.

But Mei Lin wasn't just a holy warrior of the Dueling God, she was also an exceptional commander. She understood the importance of seizing the initiative. Within days of Qing Hong Yan's successful ambush on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' convoy, she launched this surprise attack after confirming the dragon rider potion sales in the market remained unaffected.

She didn't target the Dragon Lion's new supply routes, she went straight for the heart of the operation, even if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps' branch was located within Snow Bird Harbor.

Tripleblade didn't know Mei Lin was behind this, but as he analyzed the situation now, a chill crept into his heart, making him realize just how formidable she was.

Mei Lin hadn't let the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps lead her by the nose. Instead, she'd played her cards right and launched a surprise attack directly at the docks.

After all, Snow Bird Harbor's mage tower stood right on the docks.

“The enemy chose their timing perfectly.”

"Why didn't I see this coming? The clash between two gold level magic chefs had left Snow Bird Harbor's defenses at their lowest ebb. Even the mage tower at the docks had focused its attention on the Snow Bird Arena before the attack."

“What should I do next?”

Tripleblade faced two choices.

One was the big guy; he had to be escorted back immediately. The other was the small alchemy workshop where Bu Quan was located. Deeply aware of the enemy's tenacity, Tripleblade harbored no illusions, given their modus operandi, how could they possibly overlook the most crucial and valuable small workshop?

“That place is bound to come under attack!”

The big guy or Bu Quan?