Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Cunning and vicious were the first impressions that the demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain had left on those visiting it for the first time.

“I thought only the demon creatures in the Valley of Glaciers would pose a threat to us. I didn’t expect it to be so dangerous,” Zhao Manyan admitted.

The Bone-Eating Spiders were not even considered a high-level species on Tianshan Mountain, but they knew how to use the environment to hunt their prey. They were able to feast on their enemies even though they were weaker!

It explained why so many powerful Mages had died here. The creatures in the lowest layer of barren ground were already so cunning!

—

The Mailong Private Military Group checked their casualties and settled themselves. They continued on their way after the mudslide had passed.

Mercenaries usually had a stronger mindset. They were used to losing comrades when they were on a mission, and did not have time to mourn the dead. They were reflecting and reevaluating Tianshan Mountain instead. Losing more than ten people in the layer of barren lands meant the group would not have many members left by the time they reached the Valley of Glaciers.

“Walden, go get some clean water from the tenth team so we can treat our wounds,” Ai Jiangtu asked one of the rookies.

“Sure,” Walden nodded.

Walden was a European in his twenties.

He went to the tenth team, which was managing the resources and supplies of the group, like food, water, medicine, devices, and one-use magic equipment.

When Walden arrived, he saw three old mercenaries gathering together to make a deal while smoking.

“I must say, that kid is extremely lucky. I won’t accept it; I bet he won’t survive the next encounter!” Li Yu from the tenth team said.

Li Yu gave the amount he lost on the bet to Xu Luoqing.

Xu Luoqing received the money with a smile. He said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect those on the ninth team to be so strong. The spiders would have dragged Walden and Heeto into the ground if they weren’t around.”

Walden was standing right behind them. He blushed with anger when he heard their discussion.

Not only did these old mercenaries order him around like a slave, they actually bet on whether he was going to survive when he finally had a chance to go on a mission with the group. Did the guy called Li Yu want him dead just so he could win the bet?

“What do you mean? Is my life so insignificant in your eyes?” Walden blurted out angrily.

The mercenaries were surprised when they saw Walden was right behind them.

However, they were not too bothered by it. Xu Luoqing said with a smile, “It’s nothing serious. We were just fooling around.”

“Fooling around? You sound like you can’t wait to see me die!” Walden snapped.

“Walden, stop acting like a brat.”

“I’m a brat? Even though I found out you were betting on my life, you claimed that you’re just fooling around?” Walden cursed.

“It’s nothing serious, we’ve bet on every rookie’s life. A rookie like you is nothing but a burden to the group. You have no uses apart from providing us with some entertainment, so stop making a scene and piss off back to your team,” Li Yu said disdainfully. He had never treated Walden seriously.

Walden trembled in anger after hearing the words.

Xu Luoqing asked, “Walden, why are you here?”

“I’m here to get some clean water,” Walden said.

“Here, take it,” Xu Luoqing said.

“I will tell the Vice Leader about it. You must apologize to me,” Walden said angrily.

“Go tell her then. If you’re the kind to complain to your mother after being bullied at school, you should just stay home and let your mother look after you. You shouldn’t become a mercenary… Right, Xu Luoqing, how much was I going to bet just then? I’m going to bet three times that amount. If he can survive the next encounter, I’ll pay you three times the amount. Do you dare to accept it?” Li Yu yelled.

“Sure, I’ll take it!”

“Three times? Li Yu, you’re seriously playing with fire. Fine, I’ll take it!”

“Walden, you better work harder for the sake of this bet.”

“Can I bet he’s going to die instead?”

“Aren’t you taking it too far? Baby Walden is getting angry.”

The older mercenaries enjoyed making a fuss out of everything. Walden could not bear staying with them any longer. He left furiously with the clean water.

There were a lot of people addicted to gambling in the mercenary group. The losses the mercenary group had just suffered did not stop them from entertaining themselves. Walden heard them mentioning other bets even as he was leaving.

“By the way, the other bet we agreed on; everyone is going to give whoever that f**ks the silver-haired beauty five times the amount we’ve bet. Does it count?”

1

“Of course, it’s more interesting than betting on Walden’s life,” Li Yu agreed.

“But you saw how strong that Lightning Mage was.”

“Yeah, I did. I think we should increase the amount to seven times instead. What do you think?”

“Seven times it is!”

“HAHAHA, not only am I going to have an enjoyable time, I’m going to make a fortune out of it too,” a voice exclaimed.

—

Walden was shaking in anger. Those old mercenaries had no ethics whatsoever.

He returned to the team with the clean water. He looked at Mo Fan and wondered whether he should tell Mo Fan what he had just heard.

Walden shook his head after a brief thought. He should just ignore them. It was not like he could interfere with their bet.

He could not even stop them from betting on his life!

“I’ve got some clean water,” Walden said.

Ai Jiangtu took the water. He asked when he saw the odd look in Walden’s eyes, “Did anything happen?”

“No… nothing,” Walden shook his head.

Walden went to the side. However, Mo Fan approached him out of nowhere.

Everyone could tell that Mo Fan was the silver-haired beauty’s boyfriend. Walden was amazed by how beautiful the woman was when he first saw her. He knew that many in the mercenary group were drooling over her.

“What’s wrong with the guy who’s sick?” Mo Fan asked.

“You mean Parker?” Walden said.

“Mm, it seems like he’s in great pain,” Mo Fan said.

“We initially thought he’s suffering from altitude sickness, so we decided to bring him along. His body might adapt eventually, but we didn’t think it would take him so long to recover,” Walden said.

“Doesn’t the group have medics?” Mo Fan asked.

“We do, but they should be looking after the injured now. Parker is a rookie like me. They won’t care about him unless he’s dying,” Walden sighed.