Chapter 27: Gale Tiger
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When Amon arrived at the agreed meeting point with Yan Jin and Lei Yin, Bi Da'er was already waiting again.
A large group of people had gathered around him, dressed in various ways, vaguely divided into three circles.
"Amon, you're here."
"I'm here."
Bi Da'er enthusiastically introduced Amon to the mercenaries, "This is Amon, my friend, and also the other employer for this commission."
"Hello, I am Vega, the vice-captain of the Northern Mercenary Group, a level thirty-seven Battle Soul Master."
To Bi Da'er's left, a strong man wearing chain armor and a horned helmet introduced himself.
"Vice-captain?" Lei Yin asked, puzzled.
"Their captain is busy with other matters, otherwise we would be more confident in this operation. He is a Soul Elder."
Bi Da'er seemed slightly regretful.
Vega pointed to a man next to him who was not much taller than Yan Jin, "This is my brother, Tapa."
"Leiqi."
"Keman."
The leaders of the two three-man squads from the Jackal Mercenary Group announced their names respectively.
"Kadelong."
"Levi."
"Benini."
These were three Soul Elder-level lone mercenaries.
Finally, Norbert nodded to Amon and said, "My name is Norbert, and I am also the guide."
Amon smiled and said, "To be able to return alive after seeing a five-thousand-year-old Eyeless Snake, it seems your strength is very strong."
Generally speaking, Soul Masters cannot hunt Soul Beasts that meet their Soul Ring limit alone.
A five-thousand-year Soul Ring is the absorption limit for a Soul Elder, so the strength of a five-thousand-year-old Eyeless Snake can be considered slightly greater than a peak Soul Elder.
The Eyeless Snake has a strong sense of perception and is fierce by nature, with a particularly high desire to attack humans.
Norbert shook his head, "I just have unique skills in terms of survival."
"Children?" Vega looked at Yan Jin and Lei Yin, frowning. "Young Master Bi Da'er, excuse my frankness, we are not going on a picnic. That Eyeless Snake is very dangerous. We don't even have absolute certainty about our own safety, so it is impossible to take care of two children."
"We are not here to play, we are also assistants in this hunt."
Boom… accompanied by the sound of burning, billowing smoke rose, and the lava-covered right hand of Yan Jin brought a strong sense of crisis to Vega, making his hair stand on end.
Yan Jin retracted her Martial Soul, using the most direct method to shut up those who questioned her.
The mercenaries looked at Lei Yin in unison, who smiled faintly.
Electricity twisted like silver snakes, followed by the faint sound of thunder.
Vega nodded and said nothing more.
He had no malice; on the contrary, it was with an attitude of responsibility to everyone that he pointed out the impropriety.
After discovering that it was not Amon's arrogance, treating the hunting of Soul Beasts as a child's play, he naturally had no reason to dissuade them.
Ironheart City is not far from the Ironheart Mountains, and this city was gradually formed because of the Soul Beast trade.
In less than an hour, they arrived at the foot of the mountain.
There were no campsites like those outside the Xilin Mountains, because Ironheart City had already assumed that function.
Norbert and Levi led the way at the front of the team, Kadelong and Benini guarded the rear, and the rest surrounded Bi Da'er and Amon in the middle.
Everyone remained vigilant, but not overly tense.
A Soul Master under Vega revealed his Martial Soul, a Soul Beast that looked similar to a skunk.
His first Soul Ring lit up, and a weak Soul Power fluctuation enveloped the entire team.
Along the way, snakes and insects retreated, making the team's progress much smoother.
Vega softly reminded, "This can only drive away ordinary snakes and insects, and can also make ordinary beasts avoid us, but it has no effect on Soul Beasts, so don't relax your vigilance."
Norbert relied on his rich experience to find traces left by the Gale Wind Tiger.
"Scent Serpent, possess!" He used his Martial Soul.
Fine scales appeared on his skin, and his eyes turned into vertical pupils.
Norbert constantly twitched his tongue, which had turned into a snake's tongue, using the traces he found to track the target.
Amon also personally felt the professionalism of these mercenaries. Each had their own division of labor and complementary abilities, which made hunting much easier.
Before, in Frostleaf City, the people Ma Wen sent to help him used almost the stupidest method, trying their luck in an area, staying in the mountains for a long time before blindly finding a dead mouse and leading him to find the E'Shou Beast.
As they walked, Norbert slowed down.
Ahead was an open space, with a large rock in the center. On the rock, a cyan and white tiger was lying down, grooming its fur with its tongue from time to time.
"Gale Wind Tiger, look at the markings on its tail, the age is about one thousand five hundred years, just right for you, Young Master," Vega observed for a moment and said to Bi Da'er.
"Very good, that's it then," Bi Da'er nodded, satisfied.
The Gale Wind Tiger seemed to have smelled the dangerous aura and began to become alert.
It stood up and scanned its surroundings with its yellow eyes.
"This beast seems to have noticed us, hurry up, use an encirclement formation, don't let it run away, and remember to hold back a little, let Young Master Bi Da'er deliver the final blow," Vega said softly.
Then, with a gesture from him, the mercenaries rushed out. Tapa's Martial Soul was a kind of bird, and he quickly flew to the other side to prevent the Gale Wind Tiger from escaping.
A 1500 year old Soul Beast could not cause any trouble under the siege of several Soul Elders and was quickly beaten to the point of being on its last breath.
Bi Da'er, in the Martial Soul possession state, cut the Gale Wind Tiger's throat with a dagger.
A purple Soul Ring appeared.
Bi Da'er said with some excitement, "Protect me while I absorb it."
The mercenaries formed a circle, guarding the surroundings to prevent any Soul Beasts from disturbing them.
In fact, this was the goal that had to be accomplished on this trip, because Bi Da'er was the one paying, as for Amon's Eyeless Snake, they did not have much hope and were just trying it out.
Killing a Soul Beast comparable to a peak Soul Elder was not an easy task.
In the jungle, it was too difficult to catch up with a fleeing Soul Beast.
At least a higher-level Soul Master was needed to firmly restrain it and prevent it from escaping smoothly.
Relying on the advantage of numbers, they were sure to defeat the five-thousand-year-old Eyeless Snake in a head-on battle, but it was only defeat.
After a while, the surging Soul Power around Bi Da'er gradually calmed down, and he successfully advanced to Soul Elder.
"Haha… finally succeeded," he laughed, his body still surging with Soul Power that he had not fully mastered, and said to Amon, "Next, let's go find the Eyeless Snake. That thing is not easy to deal with. You should have made some preparations yourself, right?"
Amon pinched his monocle and said with a light smile, "As long as we can find it… it can't escape."
Suddenly, a scream came.
A Soul Master responsible for guarding was taken away by a white figure that flashed through the jungle.