Jacob’s eyes flickered violently when he noticed the nine cloaked figures in this vicinity. Furthermore, judging by their attire and the projection map, Jacob knew it wasn’t a coincidence; not to mention, this wasn’t some commercial area, but the depths of a forbidden region.
Considering these facts, something came to Jacob’s mind, ’Could they be the ones who won the bid for that map? Didn’t this mean they are related to the Champion King?’
Jacob was more curious than apprehensive because he didn’t put the Champion King in his eyes, no matter what kind of glorious history he had, because at the end of it all, the latter was still a Legendary King, not a Quasi-Myth.
Furthermore, Jacob was quite curious about why, now of all times, they had decided to look for the Yang Flame. After all, the Champion King had won that map a few decades ago.
Moreover, if these guys were here for the Yang Flame, then he was pretty interested in that map as well because he was only able to reach this place with the help of the Map of the Blazing Constellation. At the same time, they only had that incomplete map made by an adventurer.
Lastly, they seemed to have reached this place without going through that Mirage Array that man just mentioned. This also means that someone among them is familiar with the Ashen Mirage Desert.
On the other hand, the nine travelers were astounded by Jacob’s presence, and because of their superior numbers and ranks, they weren’t afraid of this lone newcomer.
One of the cloaked figures raised a question against the shortest among them, who was also the pathfinder and their guide, holding the map, and the same person who had just spoken.
"Mr. Rat, didn’t you say that without the secret pathway, no one else can escape those ’Mirage Arrays’. Yet, this person seemed to have traveled right through it." His tone was icy, "Furthermore, I’m sure no one would be bored enough to come to this place for ’sightseeing’. I hope for your sake that the ’map’ wasn’t shared."
The short, cloaked figure was indeed mercenary lord Rat. Even he was in disbelief because he knew better than anyone just how terrifying those unpredictable Mirage Arrays were, and even Legendary Kings seemed to have perished after entering them, never coming out again.
Yet, this mysterious individual had done it, and Rat knew this wasn’t an illusion because of his unique bloodline. But this only made this entire situation even more staggering.
’Was he sent by the Arch Priest?!’ Rat instantly suspected the Knight King, but this only made him reel in disbelief, ’No, there’s no such person within the Great Temple of Balance, and even the Knight King won’t dare to enter the Mirage Array. Furthermore, the people of the Temple were supposed to be following me through the special mark of the Knight King and wouldn’t show themselves until the very last moment. So, this person is most likely a third party. But why is he here!? Could he be after the same treasure!?’
Rat sweated just thinking about the possibility of someone who can pass a Mirage Array joining the hunt for this treasure, and a chill ran down his spine. Although he might be double-crossing both sides for his own benefit, he cherished his life more than anything else.
Now that this mysterious person has suddenly joined the fray, this variable was out of Rat’s control, which made him extremely uneasy.
Calming his nerves, he respectfully responds to the man with an aggrieved tone, "Sir, please think before you accuse me. I have signed a strict soul contract before you handed me this map. If I had shared it with others, I would’ve been dead more than a hundred times now. Furthermore, I have no reason to share it with others, as it would be useless unless someone shares my interests. They’ll die without even knowing how, if they dare to cross this desert, not to mention coming so deep into it."
The others remained silent after hearing his reasonable reply, which made more sense. Nonetheless, they were still confused about this situation.
"Hmph, what a load of crap. Didn’t this map also get made by someone like you? Yet you claimed that you are the only one who can come here?!" A gruff voice coldly retorted at this moment, and this person seemed extremely furious.
Rat winced as he couldn’t think of a retort to this statement. Truth be told, even he was confused about the person who had made this map, and he was genuinely shocked by its accuracy. Furthermore, this map was created with a Soul Star Watch, which means it wasn’t discovered in a ruin or buried somewhere; it was recently drafted.
’These bastards are unreasonable! If you’re so confident, why don’t you hire this guy to be your pathfinder then!?’
He wanted to retort, but didn’t dare say those words out loud, since he knew these ’clients’ were far stronger than he was. He can’t even see through his power ranks.
At this moment, a crisp voice cried in alarm, "He’s gone!"
That woman’s voice instantly drew the other’s attention, and they quickly looked in the direction of the mysterious person. Just as the woman claimed, he was gone without any trace.
The strangest part was that he vanished under that woman’s watchful eyes, and they all knew what that meant: that person had the ability to bypass the woman’s unique eye ability.
But before they could react to this situation, an eerie voice suddenly sounded in their ears like a devil’s whisper, "Looking for someone?"
Despite the hellish heat, no one felt it; all they felt were chills crawling down their spines when that voice rang right behind them.
They reacted quickly and quickly scattered in all directions, and surprisingly, Rat was the first one to respond as he was swallowed by the sand under his feet, which was an ability.
Those eight appeared in different directions, surrounding Jacob from all sides as if it wasn’t their first time dealing with such situations.
But Jacob didn’t move and remained in his place without any intention of stopping them or attacking.
"Who are you!?" The one with a gruff voice questioned gravely while emitting a powerful soul sense.
Jacob looked at the owner of this voice and impassively questioned, "You lot were sent here by the Champion King, right?"