Bounty Mercenary Group

With no mercenaries obstructing her path, Violet commanded the skeleton monster to advance into the dense forest. It led the way, clearing a path for her.

Within the woodland trail, it was stiflingly hot and humid, and insects fluttered about, eager to attach themselves to one's body and feed on their blood unabashedly.

Moreover, weeds and dried branches protruded all around, scraping against clothes, arms, or cheeks; traversing here was nothing less than a nightmare.

Hence, when not careful, these dreadful insects could quickly bite into the skin, causing welts.

If one wished to roam through these woods scantily clad, only one fate awaited them, not only would numerous leaves scratch their skin, but insects would also bite them relentlessly.

The real wilderness doesn't harbor scantily clad alluring blood elves; all it holds are magical beasts that follow the law of the jungle and omnipresent plants and insects.

Therefore, in online novels, the idea of scantily-clad female mercenaries hunting magical beasts in the forest is essentially naive.

In this world, there is no combating magic with combat aura or battle skills; all mercenaries could only exercise their bodies, work out their arms and simply slog away.

Lin Xiaozheng, who loved documentaries, realized this early; this was noticeable from the small town itself. Its climate shaped its jungle; the hot and humid weather transformed the forest into something akin to the Amazon Primeval Forest.

Regardless, to prevent plants or branches from tearing her skin, she wore a purple robe, fully wrapped.

She hustled along the deserted trail knowing that others might already be ahead. Equally, Violet quickened her pace.

Following this small mountain path, she soon discovered signs of recent activity in several spots, indicated by the localized damage inflicted on plants.

The extent of the destroyed vegetation suggested that at least a large group of people had passed through here.

At least three people would have to be walking side by side to leave such spacious trails, and upon careful examination of the ground, one would notice chopped marks caused by vicious axe strikes on sturdy tree roots that emerged from the ground.

Weeds growing from the ground were neatly knocked down to one side.

It was as if a colossal object was being tugged into the mountain and hence numerous bushes were toppled over along the way.

Bronze Shield could be considered as drawing a massive circle centred on Black Crow Castle in order to ensure safety during the conquest, and they came fully prepared to conquer the castle.

Violet mused to herself. The reason for her speculation was the mark on the ground of something enormous being dragged.

Undoubtedly, if one can completely clear out Black Crow Castle and use it as a stronghold for development and expansion, it will bring more than mere wealth.

That's why Violet picked Black Crow Castle; she was, in fact, a guild leader in the world of Swords and Magic back in contemporary society.

In the world of Swords and Magic, whether a person is the strongest is sometimes insignificant.

What truly matters are the land and the population. If one wants to better control the territory, a castle is indispensable.

In Medieval Europe, the reason castles were constructed everywhere was to better control the vast territory.

This is true in Britain, or any country in any age of cold weaponry.

Although mages are powerful, they can only serve as strategic deterrent weapons. After all, the fear of their terrifying power, which could easily obliterate a city or even a nation, is too intimidating.

The recently subdued group of mercenaries is just the beginning. Many more battles will ensue in the future, and it would be unwise to continually kill enemies and annex their land like Roman expansion, facing its drawbacks.

How could Violet make such a mistake?

But that's a topic for later. The most important task at hand is to save time.

If the members of Bronze Shield indeed succeed in exterminating the terrible monsters in the castle, their prestige in the area would rapidly elevate, and even their Corps Leader would gain considerable honour.

The value of Black Crow Castle may not be that tremendous; any affluent trader in the Empire could afford to build a castle.

But the value of a castle is not measured by the stones used to build it!

The true purpose of a castle is its military value!

Imagine, owning a castle would make one comparable to an empire's administrator, even surpassing many nobles who don't have their own castles.

Wealth and power beckon Bronze Shield's Chief, pity he got unlucky and bumped into Violet.

As she moved closer to Black Crow Castle along the path, she could spot increasing traces of human activity.

Broken branches, marks on the ground where objects were dragged along, which flattened the bushes and weeds.

Despite careful camouflage, human activity could not be concealed; Bronze Shield seemed to have mobilized their entire family.

When the scent of burning was detectable in the air, Violet commanded the skeleton monster to halt its steps and went ahead by herself.

The noise produced by the skeleton monster was far too loud, effortlessly revealing its position in the forest.

So, when Violet couldn't discern which direction the smell of burning was coming from, she wisely chose to stay put.

Now, it was Kars' turn to act.

He was the sole member of Violet Mercenary Corps Group and a qualified ranger. It was he who informed Violet that he had detected the smell of something burning.

Then, he followed the scent, searched along the way and found a noticeable campsite.

It was an encampment established by Bronze Shield halfway up a hill. They considered it their base camp for exploring the castle and could serve as the first line of defense if the hired thugs on the outer perimeter failed.

Ranger Kars skillfully disabled the traps set up by the members of Bronze Shield.

These traps were designed to ensure that the night watchmen were not taken by surprise by nocturnal beasts, but they could also be used to fend off humans when the need arose.

After disabling the traps, Kars plucked a few branches from the trees nearby and held them in his hand as camouflage as he wormed his way into the bushes.

Violet watched the whole process without saying a word.

She twitched the corners of her mouth, swearing never to do such a thing in her life.