Chapter 27: A Tripartite Alliance

In the forest.

Barnard's iron hand glowed with silver light, weaving a dense silver net that descended upon Luo Hao.

In the tenfold gravity field, Luo Hao moved swiftly, his broadsword slicing through the air in strange arcs, tearing the silver net into pieces.

Barnard remained calm, maintaining a distance from Luo Hao, continuously weaving new silver nets to envelop him.

The silver nets were unaffected by the tenfold gravity field, floating gracefully within it. The torn nets reformed and entangled around Luo Hao.

From a distance, Luo Hao seemed to be at the center of a shattered spider web. As he swung his broadsword, the nets were torn but did not disappear.

Barnard kept a safe distance, continuously casting more nets, making the area around Luo Hao increasingly dense.

Barnard, with ease, taunted Luo Hao, "Why resist me? We only want the two women. My men have already gone, and if there are no accidents, they should have captured the women. You can't escape my 'Silver Web,' so don't waste your strength."

"If anything happens to them, I swear I will exterminate every member of your Fangtooth Mercenary Group!" Luo Hao, surrounded by the nets, looked fierce and vowed, "I will dedicate my life to hunting down every last member of your group until they are all dead!"

Barnard was taken aback, took a deep breath, and nodded, "It seems I must kill you."

"Leader! Leader!" A cry of alarm came from a distance, "Zoak is dead! He was killed by a single cut on his arm!"

Barnard's face darkened, and he shouted, "Don't hold back! Kill those two quickly! Damn it! They used poison, dismember them and feed them to the beasts when they die! I want them to die without a trace!"

Several mercenaries responded in unison, attacking Zhao Xin and Hu Long in the forest.

Barnard, with determination, fully activated the 'Silver Web,' enveloping Luo Hao's area, ready for a decisive battle.

Suddenly, finger-thick lightning bolts formed another large net, descending from the sky and enveloping Luo Hao.

Luo Hao's face changed drastically. His broadsword, though swung fiercely, could not sever the new electric net.

The finger-thick lightning bolts, about a dozen in number, shimmered with a brilliant light, coiling around like snakes.

Luo Hao, in a panic, swung his broadsword, channeling all his essence, which suddenly glowed white, forming rings around his body.

"Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!"

The lightning bolts coiled around, colliding with the white rings, and electric sparks shot from Luo Hao's body.

The speed at which Luo Hao's essence was drained increased several times!

Under the terrifying power of the lightning, his strength was rapidly consumed, and his face turned pale.

A sharp sword suddenly appeared above Luo Hao, its aura menacing, striking the rings around his body.

"Boom!"

Luo Hao's body shook violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward.

Barnard's 'Silver Web' took the opportunity to entangle Luo Hao, immobilizing him.

"Thud!"

The sharp sword pierced Luo Hao's body, and the masked 'Dark Moon' envoy, with a pale face, finally revealed himself.

Alongside him was Mo Chaoge of the Mo family, emerging from behind an ancient tree, his fingers still glowing with lightning.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"

The Dark Moon envoy's eyes were cold and cruel, and his sword pierced Luo Hao's body three times.

The tenfold gravity field slowly dissipated...

"Uncle Luo!"

Zhao Xin's eyes turned red, and he howled in grief.

Arrows rained down, and Zhao Xin, pierced by the dense arrows, fell to the ground, dead.

On Hu Long's side, arrows also flew, but they seemed inaccurate, failing to kill Hu Long and instead blocking the Fangtooth Mercenary Group members pursuing him.

Hu Long, seeing his chance, his eyes bloodshot, fled through the forest, "Uncle Luo is dead, Zhao Xin is dead. Only Miss Mu can avenge them. I must bring the news to Miss Mu..."

"Chase him!" The Fangtooth Mercenary Group members shouted, but arrows rained down, blocking their path.

The faces of the masked figures emerged from the forest, including some Mo family warriors, all holding crossbows, their expressions grim.

"Why did you help me kill him?" Barnard frowned, looking at the Dark Moon envoy and Mo Chaoge, "I don't know you. What do you want in return for helping me?"

"We didn't help you," the Dark Moon envoy stepped forward, giving him a cold glance, "Luo Hao was our enemy, and we have been hunting him. You just helped us."

Mo Chaoge stood aside, frowning, "Envoy, you said this guy was the strongest warrior protecting that boy. Now that he's dead, do we need to waste more time?"

"No," the Dark Moon envoy nodded, "Don't worry. I left 'Dark Moon Incense' on Hu Long. I let my men let him go to lead us to the people we need. We'll follow the 'Dark Moon Incense' and find them."

"Good," Mo Chaoge smiled, "We're not far from our Merchant Alliance. After we're done, would you like to visit our Mo family? We can discuss the details of our cooperation."

"Sure," the Dark Moon envoy nodded.

In just a few days, the Dark Moon envoy and Mo Chaoge had already formed a secret alliance.

"Why did you kill this person?" Barnard waved his hand, and the Fangtooth Mercenary Group members gathered around him.

"For a girl and a skinny boy," Mo Chaoge smiled, "I've heard of the Fangtooth Mercenary Group's reputation. Today, I see it's well-deserved. I am Mo Chaoge of the Mo family of the Merchant Alliance. Does the leader have any interest in doing business with us?"

"What kind of business?" Barnard frowned.

"Of course, a profitable one! If you're interested, we can discuss it in detail, ensuring your satisfaction," Mo Chaoge laughed.

"Let's not talk about that now," Barnard pondered, "If there are no accidents, my men should have captured the people you want. Since you want the girl and the boy, we can't work for free. The fiery-figured female mercenary should belong to our Fangtooth Mercenary Group, right?"

Barnard realized the other party was not to be underestimated. Both the 'Dark Moon' and the Mo family of the Merchant Alliance were powerful. The Dark Moon envoy and Mo Chaoge were both at the Hundred Tribulations realm, not inferior to him, and had formed a secret alliance. After weighing his options, Barnard knew he couldn't match their combined strength and had to back down.

Mo Chaoge didn't respond but looked at the Dark Moon envoy.

The Dark Moon envoy's cold eyes flickered, and he slowly nodded, "No problem."

"Good, let's go get the captives," Barnard sighed in relief, having just witnessed their ruthlessness and not wanting to fight them.

...

Mu Yudie squatted down, carefully bandaging Shi Yan's wound.

Shi Yan, with a serious face, sat silently, focusing on the changes in his shoulder wound and the purification of Tumu's essence in his body, not looking at Mu Yudie.

"This guy can be incredibly lecherous at times, and at other times, he's more upright than a gentleman. He's a strange person..."

Mu Yudie was puzzled. Usually, Shi Yan looked at her with no restraint, but now, despite being so close that they could smell each other, he didn't even glance at her, showing no signs of impropriety, which confused her.

Mu Yudie was unsure about Shi Yan's true nature.

Shi Yan's eyes were slightly narrowed, his mind focused on his body's internal processes.

The cells around his shoulder wound were very active, and he could feel the wound slowly healing under the influence of the 'Undying Martial Soul.'

Tumu's essence was being purified in his body's acupoints, and strange negative emotions were subtly growing...

After using 'Rage,' his limbs were weak and aching, and his strength seemed to have temporarily diminished. This familiar aftereffect made him uncomfortable, but he could do nothing about it.

Not far away, Di Yalan, after resting for a while, regained her composure and began searching Tumu's body.

A minute later, Di Yalan walked to Mu Yudie and Shi Yan, holding a small bag, "This guy had some food, materials from beast bodies, and three 'Star Thunder.' The materials from the beasts are useless to us, but the 'Star Thunder' is very dangerous."

"Star Thunder?" Shi Yan's eyes lit up, staring at the fist-sized green iron lump, and asked curiously, "What's it for?"

"This thing explodes when it vibrates, shooting out sharp fragments like stars in all directions. The fragments are very sharp and powerful, capable of piercing through the essence shields of Human Realm warriors. It's a very dangerous secret treasure. These three are worth at least four to five thousand black crystals!" Di Yalan explained.

"Indeed, very dangerous! Give them to me." Shi Yan reached out, naturally asking Di Yalan for the 'Star Thunder.'

"Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed.

Di Yalan's face changed, and she held her short sword, on guard.

Shi Yan roughly pushed Mu Yudie away, coldly snorted, and stood up, holding a dagger, his eyes coldly focused on the direction of the approaching person.

Hu Long, his chest covered in blood, his eyes red, stumbled over.

Seeing Di Yalan, Hu Long's eyes welled up with tears, and he choked, "Uncle Luo and Zhao Xin are dead! Miss Mu, they died so tragically! You must avenge them!"