Chapter 735: Section 523: Big Guy Runs Away
Sanda and the others quickly rushed to the docks and boarded the flagship, which was emitting thick black smoke.
Even though the attack was over, the mercenaries aboard the flagship were generally in a state of panic.
The mercenaries of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, after being personally trained by Zong Ge and undergoing a lot of training, actually had a slightly higher military quality than the ordinary Silver Level Mercenary Group. But this is a world of strong beings, and once strong beings fall, the morale of the lower and middle ranks takes a considerable hit.
In one corner of the deck, many people were huddled together. Some were attempting to provide aid, while others were hopelessly calling out to "Lion Flag," also known as Minghao.
Sanda walked over and, relying on his influence as a minor boss, parted the crowd and saw "Zong Ge’s" lifeless body.
To outsiders, Zong Ge’s eyes were tightly closed, with a knife wound on his chest. Although not deep, the blood kept flowing.
But in Sanda’s view, it was a Silver Level alchemy puppet lying there, with a shallow wound that was filled with traces of external fighting energy.
Judging from the aura on the traces, the fighting energy was only at the Silver Level.
"But, could Silver Level fighting energy directly destroy the energy pathways of an alchemy puppet from the inside out in an instant?"
A flash of sharpness flickered through Sanda’s eyes.
He squatted down and touched "Zong Ge’s" wound. His rich combat experience told him that the enemy who attacked "Zong Ge" was certainly not just some "Silver Level" figure.
"It’s very likely a Gold Level in disguise; Silver Level combat skills couldn’t achieve this extent!" Sanda was well aware of the materials used for this Silver Level puppet.
As for why one would disguise in such a way, Sanda knew clear: a Silver Level attacking the docks, and a Gold Level attacking, were two entirely different concepts.
The difference in combat power between the two was significant. Gold Level was a regional decisive force, capable of stabilizing and unsettling the order of a region!
Sanda stood up and took a look around, but he didn’t see Chi Lai.
Chi Lai was assigned to the flagship as part of the defense force.
Sanda hastily asked where Chi Lai had gone.
The mercenaries answered him, "Lord Chi Lai has led people in pursuit."
The enemies who struck the flagship weren’t many, and their attack was very sudden, catching the mercenaries off guard. After leaving a few corpses behind, they retreated quickly. Their main goal was to attract attention, providing cover for the assassin.
The assassin struck fast, killing "Zong Ge" swiftly and then fleeing into the distance.
Chi Lai was furious, he believed that "Vice Captain Zong Ge" was attacked due to a moment of negligence. The assassin only exhibited Silver Level prowess, so he chose to chase after him.
Even if he couldn’t catch up, he wanted to gather as much intelligence and clues as possible.
"Too reckless!" Sanda silently cursed, but he didn’t blame Chi Lai.
Because Chi Lai wasn’t among the survivors, he didn’t know the true situation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps; at most, he knew that the convoy escorting the magic potions had been attacked by a Gold Level fighter in the past.
But even then, another Gold Level appeared. The intense battle between the two Gold Levels greatly interfered with the judgment of Chi Lai and Menshi regarding the situation.
Sanda immediately ordered people to catch up with Chi Lai and stop him from continuing the pursuit.
"Boss, a preliminary assessment of the losses has been accounted for, and the damage is much smaller than we imagined," a subordinate came to report.
At this time, the remaining fire on the flagship was extinguished, and the thick smoke had dissipated.
"Please, please, let the losses not be too great."
"If the losses are too great, the funds I can mobilize might not be enough to cover the repair costs."
Sanda prayed as he accepted the report and subconsciously glanced over the deck of the flagship.
He noticed that there was not much damage on the flagship, with the biggest destruction being at the forecastle.
"Wait a minute... the forecastle!"
Sanda suddenly became alert, had no more interest in the content of the damage assessment report, and urgently grabbed a nearby mercenary to ask: Where did the giant living in the forecastle go?
The mercenaries told him, still with fear in their eyes: After the assassination happened, and "Zong Ge" fell to the ground, explosions and smoke rose, and terrifying screams came from inside the forecastle.
Then, the giant broke through the forecastle, roaring and shouting, violently attacking the people around him.
Several mercenaries were attacked by the giant.
After Chi Lai went to pursue the assassin, the giant set his sights on other enemies who were retreating and also chased after them.
Sanda: !!!
The former squad leader of the mercenaries quickly guessed the truth: "The sudden attack, the big guy most likely saw ’Zong Ge’ fall with his own eyes. His vision is not much different from a regular person. We initially chose to do this because we were worried the big guy’s intelligence wouldn’t allow him to act and pretend, so we simply kept him hidden."
"What the big guy saw was ’Zong Ge’ falling, not knowing whether he was alive or dead. This situation, combined with the chaos at the time, triggered him, causing him to go mad with anger, unleashing all his strength and violently resisting against everything dangerous around him. Just like his behavior on Mysterious Monster Island."
"The Dragon-man squad leader isn’t here, and the other mercenaries, seeing him attack their own people and then seeing the big guy chasing after the enemy, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It’s very normal for them to turn a blind eye."
"Damn, the big guy can’t be in trouble!"
Sanda was terribly anxious.
The big guy’s talent was too good, and once Sanda accepted this reality, the big guy became the darling of the survivors.
"Contact Chi Lai immediately, have him abandon the pursuit of the enemy and instead search for our little giant," Sanda changed his order without delay.
He thought for a moment, then said, "The enemy attacked our flagship and knocked out Lord Lion Flag. But I’m certain that their offensive isn’t limited to just that."
"You all know how hot the sale of Dragon Power Riding Potions is! Many are envious of our profits and don’t want us to truly grow and become a Golden Level Mercenary Group!"
"So, they will definitely attack our Alchemy Workshops."
"But we’ve already made some defense preparations, we will definitely make the enemy taste pain."
"Don’t panic, I know that Lord Lion Flag possesses a peculiar Combat Skill that allows him to enter a state of feigned death to heal."
"Carry Lord Lion Flag back to his cabin."
Sanda strived to stabilize spirits, and just then, a series of booming explosions could be heard.
Immediately, reports came in, "It’s bad, our Alchemy Workshops have been attacked by the enemy."
"What’s all the panic about? Earth Dagger (Sanda) had already foreseen this," a mercenary shouted at once.
Before this, information was mostly withheld from Chi Lai, Menshi, and the common members by the survivors, to calm their spirits. Now, Sanda was voluntarily leaking some information at the right time, also to stabilize morale.
With the successive departures of Cang Xu, the Dragon-man youth, Zong Ge, and Zi Di, Sanda, who had experience managing a Mercenary Group, barely managed to maintain the situation and somewhat stabilize morale.
Of course, Sanda could only do this because the foundation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was not shaken.
If Long Fu, Lion Flag, and others were defeated or killed, and key Silver Level members like Chi Lai and Menshi were casualties, the blow to morale would be devastating.
At that point, even if Sanda was eloquent and good at glossing over the situation, he couldn’t achieve stability.
This was a world of the strong.
Individual strength was the basis of everything.
Soon, additional reports arrived.
A total of three Alchemy Workshops were under attack.
One large workshop had fallen, but the Magic Traps Sanda and others had secretly installed around it had caused heavy losses to the attacking enemy.
One of the medium-sized workshops had also been lost but likewise inflicted significant losses on the enemy.
The remaining medium-sized workshop inside Mercury Cave, where the enemy tried to use alchemy tools to disrupt the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group’s control of the Alchemy Puppets, was not successful. In addition, the extensive protection of Magic Traps allowed this workshop to barely hold its ground.
"Our command method for the Alchemy Puppets has been improved by Bu Quan. Not only that, but every few days, the command method is changed to another system, out of fear of being targeted by the enemy."
"Bu Quan’s renovation plans all come from the War Merchant’s database. Several volunteers caused the Alchemy Puppets not to be restrained by the enemy, stubbornly exerting their defensive role."
"Furthermore, with the Magic Traps and the easily defended but hard-to-attack terrain of Mercury Cave, that kept the enemy at bay."
"However, the defense there is ultimately rigid; collapse is only a matter of time."
"The most important and valuable small Alchemy Workshop has not been attacked yet..."
Sanda’s expression was grim as he swiftly analyzed the situation in his mind.
He had originally thought that even if the enemy were to attack, it wouldn’t be now but later on.
After all, it would take some time for the enemy to investigate and find out that Peak Commerce was secretly shipping goods to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
But Mei Lin was not only a Holy Fighter of the God of Duels, she was also an outstanding general. She very much understood the importance of seizing the opportunity, so just a few days after the successful attack on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ caravan by Qinghong’s eyes, she noticed that the market sales of Dragon Power Riding Potions were unaffected and immediately launched this surprise attack.
She didn’t search for the new supply channels of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group but struck directly at the heart.
Even though the sub-branch of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group was in Snowbird Port.
Sanda did not know that Mei Lin was commanding, but analyzing the situation now, he couldn’t help feeling a chill, sensing Mei Lin’s difficulty to deal with.
Mei Lin was not led by the nose by the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, but rather, boldly and confidently, launched a surprise attack at the dock.
One must know, the Mage Tower of Snowbird Port was at the port!
"The enemy chose a very good time."
"Why didn’t I think of it before? The duel between two Gold level Magic Chefs caused Snowbird Port’s defenses to dip to a low. Even the Mage Tower at the dock, right before the attack, had its main attention on the Snowbird Duel Arena."
"What should I do next?"
Sanda faced two choices.
One was the big guy; he must be immediately brought back. The other was the small Alchemy Workshop where Bu Quan was. Feeling the enemy to be difficult, Sanda had no illusions—the enemy, behaving in such a manner, how could they possibly ignore the most important and valuable small workshop?
"It will definitely be attacked!"
Is it the big guy or Bu Quan that should be chosen?
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