"You know exactly what you've done." A mercenary clad in a grey robe stepped out from the crowd, glaring coldly at him. "Otherwise, why would you escape today with a guilty conscience? Have you forgotten the oath you took when you joined the mercenary group? The squad leader and everyone else treated you like a brother, so why did you betray us?"
The young man hesitated, showing a hint of struggle on his face. "Caber, I didn't betray you all."
The mercenary named Caber scrutinized him for a moment, sighed, and shook his head. "Come back with us, and we'll naturally believe you."
The young man firmly shook his head. "No, Caber, please don't ask me. I said before, we can't go to Balrog Forest..." He hesitated again and shook his head. "Please trust me this once, believe me, I won't harm you. Think about the past, how could I possibly betray you all—betray everyone—"
"Enough, Ecco!" The mercenary showed an expression of deep anguish, interrupting the young man. "No matter what, you must come back with us and return to the squad leader. Whatever you have to say, say it back at the camp, the squad leader will surely listen. Ecco, take my advice, the squad leader raised you, and leaving here means abandoning him and your comrades." He pointed to himself and the others. "Look, these are your comrades, what are you really trying to do?"
The young man hesitated but ultimately took a step back. "Stop it, Caber. This time, I know I'm right. I won't go back with you. And I must stop you all from going to that place. I don't know how to explain it to you..."
He looked around, noticing that the other mercenaries were getting closer to him, and couldn't help but plead, "Caber, for the sake of our relationship, let me go. Trust me, I swear you won't regret it."
"Brand?" Romantic couldn't help but ask softly as she watched the scene unfold.
"Lord?" Antitina also turned her head.
The two women, faced with this situation, simultaneously turned to the only person they could rely on at that moment, contemplating whether to leave temporarily. But Brand merely shook his head, staring at the young man with a thoughtful expression.
On the other side, seeing the young man's determination, Caber knew that more persuasion was useless. He stepped back and signaled to his comrades. The mercenaries immediately rushed in from all directions, blocking every possible escape route for the young man named Ecco.
In fact, as soon as the mercenaries made their move, Brand was taken aback. He immediately noticed that these seemingly ordinary mercenaries were not weaklings. Several of them had skills comparable to Reto's, indicating at least Black Iron Middle strength. Although mercenaries with a bit of notoriety usually had such strength, seeing so many powerful mercenaries in a small place like Chablis still surprised Brand.
Not only Brand, but Antitina also noticed this. She initially wanted to say something but fell silent to closely observe the scene unfolding before her.
Although she herself was a frail noble daughter, she was still more knowledgeable than countryside girls like Romantic and Frey.
But what surprised Brand even more was the young man.
Surrounded by seven or eight Black Iron Middle level mercenaries, he calmly lowered his center of gravity and then lunged forward, grabbing the sword from a mercenary's hand with astonishing speed that even Brand almost couldn't catch. With a flick of his hand, he threw the mercenary over his shoulder onto the ground.
Then he leaned to the left, sending another mercenary flying. The direction was precisely towards where Brand, Romantic, and Antitina were standing.
Brand was stunned—this force could not be withstood by an ordinary person; the young man must have at least Silver Level strength. Watching him, who seemed two or three years younger, Brand couldn't help but marvel. In these chaotic times, prodigies seemed to appear one after another. The first young talent he saw in this world was young Philis, who was already exceptionally gifted. Then he met Breson, Essen, Frey, and Viscount Test, all of whom were highly talented.
These kinds of individuals were usually rare in history, yet in such a small area between Buqi and Brags, he encountered several of them. This could indeed be a sign of destined factors in the chaotic era of Vorn.
Of course, while thinking this, he didn't slow down his actions. He caught the mercenary with a power burst and helped him to his feet. Brand almost couldn't handle the strength himself, taking a step back and inwardly remarking on the force behind the blow. This impact might not harm a mercenary with Black Iron Power, but an ordinary passerby might be severely injured or even killed.
Yet he thought if he still had the Azure Light Piercing in hand, the result might have been different.
This young man indeed was reckless, he thought. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel·fiɾe·net
The mercenary, who had been dazed from the collision, finally caught his breath. He turned around and looked at Brand in surprise, not expecting a random passerby to have Black Iron Middle strength. Hesitating for a moment, he realized he should probably thank him.
Brand shook his head, interrupting him. His gaze remained fixed on the small 'battlefield'. (To be continued, to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author and legal reading!)