The Card Apprentice

Zara stared at Chen Mu; her eyes were wandering. There was no one in the pub, only the two of them. The waiter was shivering in fear behind the counter, and the pub became the most dangerous place in Huoyun City. They stayed in Huoyun City for more than ten days, sitting quietly every day. No one knew what they wanted to do, but the whole city was praying that the two supervillains would leave as soon as possible, the further, the better.

“What?” Noticing Zara’s expression wasn’t right, Chen Mu softly asked as he felt a little uncertainty.

Zara didn’t reply. After a while, she suddenly spoke, “Let’s get out of here. Mose harbors ill-intentions. If they know you have a Green Mark on your body, you will be in danger.”

Chen Mu looked surprised at the words coming out from Zara’s mouth; it was beyond his expectation.

“There’s no problem with the Green Mark on your body.” Zara said lightly, “After using gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus, it’ll take about two years for the Green Mark to stabilize.”

“I know.” Chen Mu’s answer also surprised Zara. Chen Mu welcomed Zara’s astonished gaze, and he laughed, “I have known it since I came to Hundred Depths. I do routine checks on my body.”

“All the more reason for you to not take risks with me.” Zara’s eyes were fixed on Chen Mu.

Chen Mu shook his head. “It’s not even a risk. What’s more dangerous than Hundred Depths?”

Zara looked at Chen Mu in a daze.

“Mose harbors ill-intentions, and I know he wants to use us as bait. But it is still unknown who the real hunter is.” Chen Mu smiled, showing his snow-white teeth, “Take a guess, what would they do if we suddenly disappeared right now?”

* * *

Fifty kilometers outside Huoyun City.

“Disappear?” Wesley stared wide-eyed and perplexed.

Sol’s face was grave. “Well, they stayed in Huoyun City all this time, but today they suddenly disappeared.”

“What’re we going to do now? Send someone to search? This is not our territory!” Wesley forewarned them.

Sol’s baby face looked harmless, but the sparkle in his eyes produced fear in others. He shook his head. “Let’s wait for a while. Wait for Yuan Di to return, maybe he’ll have some information.”

“That’s all we could do.” Wesley muttered, “It’s alright for them to disappear. They can leave the weapons behind. Humph, he has wasted so much of my energy. I must break his leg and see where he could go in the future.”

Sol couldn’t be bothered with him and sat on the floor.

The Dark Tribe turned up in nearly full strength; they had more than 2,000 fighters, and they brought 1,500 with them, leaving only 500 to guard their territory. The considerable bet was worrisome even for a bold man like Sol. But they couldn’t resist the temptation. Their most crucial agenda wasn’t to annex Mose’s forces, nor to avenge Hazak, but to find the Green Mark! For The Dark Tribe, this was an irresistible temptation. It was all for Sir Hedrat!

Sir Hedrat was their pillar of strength, their spiritual leader, and their God! Anyone could die but Sir Hedrat! No one in The Dark Tribe could imagine what it would be like without him. Thus, when they knew that Zara was still alive, the steady and seasoned Deschamps was tempted, the cunning Sol was tempted, the cynical Wesley who disdained worldly affairs was tempted, and the cold and heartless Yuan Di was also tempted! However, just a step before they reached Huoyun City, the two disappeared.

How could The Dark Tribe not get anxious?

“They’re nowhere to be found.” A voice appeared out of thin air. It was Yuan Di. Even Yuan Di couldn’t find them. The other two were distressed. But before they could think of what to do, Yuan Di threw out another bloodcurdling message, “Ambushes were found in three directions.”

“What?” Sol straightened himself, wearing a gloomy expression.

“Ha-ha! We’ve fallen into his trap. Sol, did you also drink the foot-washing water of Mose, that old fellow!” Looking at Sol’s forlorn face, Wesley laughed heartlessly without a bit of fear.

Wesley’s mockery made Sol’s face darker. His eyes were ready to burst into flames. Sol’s baby face was grim and twisted, and he sneered, “Hey, what a Mose! He has such a big appetite, isn’t he afraid of stuffing himself to death!”

He shot up and shouted in anger, “Everyone, get ready to fight! We need to teach this greedy fellow a good lesson. How dare he set us, The Dark Tribe, up? He’s looking for death!”

Not far from The Dark Tribe, Mose’s face turned livid with rage. “What, they’re gone?”

“Yes! They suddenly disappeared. Our people couldn’t keep up.” Sorren was anxious too.

In their plans, Chen Mu and Zara were needed to lure The Dark Tribe into the ambush zone. In that way, the ambush from three forces could complete the encirclement of The Dark Tribe! Now, however, the two people suddenly disappeared, and the people of The Dark Tribe were a step away from the ambush set up for them; they hadn’t wholly entered the ambush zone.

“Da*n it! I was tricked!” Mose thought.

Mose was upset, but there was no time to hesitate. He was always a decisive man. It was a critical moment, and there was no turning back for him; he had to continue his plan to attack!

Mose had always hoped to avoid a direct battle with The Dark Tribe; their combat power, especially those commanders, was immeasurable. Unfortunately, his elaborate ambush was only half completed. He focused all his attention on The Dark Tribe but neglected the two who he used as bait. It was only then that he discovered he had underestimated the two people.

These two people didn’t only have brawn; they had brains too! Suddenly, those indifferent and calm eyes appeared in his mind; the man beside Zara had left him with a profound impression. Out of an abundance of caution, Mose mobilized almost all the troops he could. Unexpectedly, that decision will save his life.

The Dark Tribe’s strong combat power was their edge, while Mose’s advantage was his preemptive strikes and his larger troop; altogether both sides were about even.

What a precise calculation! Mose was bitter but awe-inspiring; such a twist was definitely not something a simple flexster could plot. At that moment, Mose had several questions in mind. What should I do next if the two took such a brilliant step? Would he really leave like this?

Both sides knew that this was the battle of life and death! The defeated had death awaiting them.

From the beginning, the battle approached its climax without suspense. The battle situation was disastrous; the war was unprecedented!

The average strength of The Dark Tribe was indeed superior, and bravery engraved within them; they were all fearless soldiers. They always had two or three people dive into the opponent’s defense, disregarding life and death, to disrupt the opponent’s formation! On the whole battlefield, three commanders stood out!

Wesley held a dark red rose in his hand. The rose receptacle was like a viper’s opening its mouth biting the corolla, and the stem was covered with dense spikes. With a gentle shake, the rose petals of the Viper Rose slightly detached, they flew like dark red butterflies, light and agile. The rose petals surrounded Wesley with their unparalleled beauty. Wesley’s peculiar and spooky smile could be spotted among the fluttering dark red elves. His figure and shadow were indistinct.

Each petal was a lethal weapon. It could easily penetrate the protective barrier of a flexster and harvest their life. Wherever Wesley went, those around would be killed, and the straight stems of Viper Rose easily blocked any flexster who managed to reach in front of him. Stem receptacles without petals retracted like a viper closing its mouth, forming a triangular tip.

The solidity of the flower stem was astonishing strong, like a sharp sword. Wesley’s swordsmanship was superb, swift, and precise. He had it easy when facing his opponent’s powerful and heavy attacks; often with a gentle push, he deflected his opponent’s attacks to other directions. Moreover, the dense spikes on the flower stalks threatened to burst and hurt people at any moment; it was impossible to guard against!

Sol looked even weirder! He was carrying a piece of wood on his back—a piece of wood that seemed almost rotten!

On this piece of wood, there were mushrooms of different colors. He calmly headed towards the opposing team, alone. Even the people from his tribe standing around him had fearful expressions, and didn’t dare to approach!

Thump, thump!

As soon as anyone got close to Sol, they would suddenly fall to the ground and never stand up again. A moment later, their whole body would turn black and blue; it was intimidating and eerie.

“Poison! Be careful!”

“Archers! Fire!” A commander ordered with a gruff voice. For such an opponent, the best way to attack was to shoot and eliminate the opponent from afar.

Schhwaff, schhwaff, schhwaff!

An overwhelming amount of arrows shot towards Sol like a dark cloud. The Dark Tribe who was around him couldn’t care about anything else, and instantly scattered away! There was no way to avoid such an intense blow!

The calm and indifferent baby face wasn’t half as sweet and lovable as usual. His expression was profoundly haunting and cold. Instead of looking up, he picked a square gray-white mushroom from the rotten wood on his back and gently threw it out. At the same time, there was a flicker in his eyes! In mid-air, the gray mushroom exploded, forming a gray curtain; covering and protecting Sol. Then the most bizarre scene appeared!

Those powerful arrows froze when they hit the thin gray-white curtain—as if their power had been sucked out. The arrows were adhering lightly to the gray-white curtain. They did not seem like arrows that could pierce through iron, rather a feather that was soft and feeble!

Sol didn’t lift his eyelids within this layer of the grayish curtain. He headed straight to the opponent’s camp without hesitation.

Mose looked at the two commanders with a pale face. So far, his side’s casualties were higher. The two commanders were invincible, and no one could stop them. Under the leadership of the two commanders, The Dark Tribe stood imposingly. On the contrary, Mose’s troop had low morale, and his flexsters were fearful; he could see where this was going.

But where was the last commander? It was mentioned in the report that there were three commanders!

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill appeared behind his neck! The chill came so suddenly; he didn’t notice it at all, let alone the heaps of guards around him! The chill wasn’t overwhelming, only a stream, but it was enough to make his blood run cold. Mose’s heart missed a beat and stopped beating. He couldn’t even move an inch of a finger; it scared the wits out of him.

Is this the end for him? He thought as he stared wide-eyed in despair!