Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Antidote Serums were usually more expensive than Blood Serums and medicine, especially those that could cure multiple poisons and diseases. Almost every Hunter Group would choose Antidote Serums over magic Equipment. After all, not every Hunter Group had a Healer!

If a normal Sprout Demon was already enough to be the ingredient of an Antidote Serum, a talented Plant Mage could easily turn the Queen Demon Sprout into something that kept producing the Demon Sprouts.

“The coasts have a high demand for these Antidote Serums. You might have to spend a little money to produce your specialized Antidote Serums, if you find a way to nurture the Sprout Demons,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm, that’s not a bad idea,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

A mature renowned clan had to have a symbolic asset before expanding into multiple domains. Fanxue Mountain currently had a lot of members. The taxes they were collecting from the residents were nowhere enough to feed everyone, nor were their funds sufficient to help them grow. They had to continue to grow their economy.

—

The Mailong Private Military Group cautiously retrieved the valuables. They were a little reluctant to leave the resource-abundant Meadow layer.

The real treasures of Tianshan Mountain lay in the higher mountain Alpine reaches and the Valley of Glaciers, since they were pure and unmarred. The mercenaries were looking forward to the higher layers after earning a fortune in the Meadows.

The vegetation at the Alpine level was obviously thinner. There were only more steep cliffs and rocks around. Due to the huge difference in altitude, it felt like they were venturing deeper into the shadow of a cliff when they were in the Rift Valley.

They finally exited the dim valley and arrived at a well-illuminated canyon.

The canyon did not even seem to be inside a ravine. Massive mountain walls stood on both sides. The undulating peaks could almost reach the sky. Some of the peaks even had obvious snow lines. The purity of the white snow reflected the sunlight, highlighting the meandering outlines of the mountains in the distance.

“Did anything happen to Tommy? It’s already been half a day, but he hasn’t reported back,” Kuma said sternly.

“Was he in some kind of trouble?” Xu Luoqing said.

“He would alert us if he was in trouble.”

“Let’s wait for a while.”

The group decided not to advance recklessly, and was scouting the situation ahead. Heaven knew if they would be surrounded by demon creatures under one of the cliffs.

“I can smell blood,” Ai Jiangtu pointed ahead with an alert face.

The wind was blowing from a greater height. The cold breeze was like a whip soaked in cold water. Ai Jiangtu kept staring ahead into the Rift Valley, which differed greatly from the surrounding terrain.

A figure was jumping around by bouncing off the irregular rocks nimbly. It gradually grew in size from a dot to someone recognizable.

“Tommy!” Xu Luoqing yelled.

“He’s injured!” Ai Jiangtu quickly went forward to receive Tommy.

The third team was scouting the path ahead, and Tommy was its leader. He had brought four members with him to survey the complicated terrain, but he was the only one that made it back. He was now covered in blood.

Ai Jiangtu quickly reached Tommy, who was fleeing for his life in a panic. He purposely looked behind Tommy to see what he was being chased by, but he only sensed some unsettling movements in the distance. The thing that was chasing him had disappeared.

“Demon tigers… it’s the Tianshan Demon Tigers, the others are all dead!” Tommy cried out.

“What happened? Wasn’t your squad able to conceal its presence?” Kuma asked.

“I don’t know how it found us. We were actually quite a distance away from it. However, it was approaching us before we even noticed its existence,” Tommy reported urgently.

“It?” Xu Luoqing emphasized.

“Just one?”

“Yeah, just one,” Tommy nodded.

Even Tommy did not expect a single Tianshan Demon Tiger to wipe out the entire squad. The scouts had basically trespassed into the territory of a king of the mountain. They did not stand a chance!

“We’ve reached the Alps, where the Tianshan Demon Tigers reside at. The place ahead must be the territory of a single Tianshan Demon Tiger.”

“The Tianshan Demon Tigers have strong territorial instincts. They will chase their enemies recklessly. No one knows how to avoid them.”

The contractors of the Mailong Private Military Group were strong, but they were like mere goats to the Tianshan Demon Tiger.

“Let’s set up a camp and rest here. We’ll discuss our next steps tonight,” Kuma ordered.

“Set up the camp here!”

—

The Tianshan Demon Tigers were a powerful species, the predators of the Alpine level. The Mailong Private Military Group could handle the powerful species by fighting with their full strength, but it also meant they were going to lose some of their men.

The Tianshan Demon Tigers were unpredictable. The strength of an adult Tianshan Demon Tiger ranged from the Commander-level to the Ruler-level. It was fine if the Tianshan Demon Tigers they encountered were only at the Commander-level. The Mailong Private Military Group was not afraid to fight Commander-level creatures, but if they were in the Ruler-level…

If they were not well-prepared, the Mailong Private Military Group, including the ninth team of the strongest members of the national team, would be killed instantly by a Ruler-level Tianshan Demon Tiger. As such, they had to be extremely cautious after reaching the Alpine Level. The whole group might be wiped out because of a wrong step!

“Let me scout the path ahead. The third team is only going to feed themselves to the Tianshan Demon Tiger,” Guan Yu said.

“You sure you can handle it?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

“Of course. It won’t be a problem for me.”

Kuma knew the ninth team was extremely reliable. She was relieved when Guan Yu volunteered to scout the path ahead.

“You have my thanks!” Kuma said.

Most of the members on the third team had the Wind and Earth Elements, granting them outstanding speed. If even they had struggled to escape from the Tianshan Demon Tiger’s pursuit, not many people in the Mailong Private Military Group would dare to act alone.

“I’ll ask Night Rakshasa to go with you. She can keep an eye out for you too,” Jiang Yu said.

“Meow?” Night Rakshasa was lying lazily on Jiang Yu’s shoulder. She immediately put on a blank expression.

Night Rakshasa was trying to say, “Why didn’t you go with him instead? What do you mean you’re just going to send your Contracted Beast to scout the path ahead?”

“Well, I’m slow and clumsy, but you’re quick. You and Guan Yu can retreat if there’s any danger,” Jiang Yu explained to the creature in an awkward voice.