Chapter 10: Cooperation (Part 2)

Guo Shier said, “Alright, gather your team. Here’s a vial of talisman pills—give one to each injured person. Once they take it, they should come right over. Ezek, go to the other side of the ravine and gather the team. Oh, take Eson with you.”
Ezek flipped his wrist, and the dagger disappeared. He grabbed Eson without caring if he was scared and flew into the air. He said, “Woman, remember… you owe me a cut!” With a whoosh, he vanished.
Yadelan’s face turned pale as she stammered, “I… I…”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Don’t worry about him. He’s tough; a single cut won’t hurt him much.”
Yadelan felt bitter inside. Though proud and stubborn, she wasn’t stupid. Now she understood why Eson always looked gloomy—probably they, like her, had been subdued. She took the talisman pills without asking further and rushed into the camp to give them to the injured.
Soon, she was surprised to see that the injured were recovering quickly. Some with minor injuries recovered within just ten minutes after taking the pills, which amazed her greatly. There were no such miraculous pills in this world. The common treatment method here was that of herbalists, who used various plants to heal wounds.
Guo Shier said, “De Da, let’s go back.” He grabbed De Da and flew into the air, quickly crossing the ravine before landing. De Da screamed in terror upon touching the ground.
Eson had already led his hidden team out of the forest and to the edge of the ravine. Seeing Guo Shier fly across the ravine with De Da, they were all stunned. After a moment, the team erupted in cheers. It was Guo Shier’s turn to be surprised. Only after understanding why they were cheering did he relax.
The robbers cheered for one reason only: with a great master around, they had a shield, greatly increasing their chances of survival.
On the Karabaza Trail, for the robbers, wealth wasn’t the most important thing—what mattered most was learning to survive. If they lost their wealth, they could try to regain it, but if they lost their lives, they would have nothing left.
The biggest gang hideout in Eagle’s Beak Rock had been taken over. Although there was a small accident with Ezek sustaining minor injuries, the whole operation went smoothly. Yadelan didn’t dare run away, because both Guo Shier and Ezek could fly. If they tried to escape along the cliff behind the camp, the consequences would be beyond theircapacity.

Guo Shier saw Ezekiel, who still looked annoyed. His wound had healed quickly after being treated with advanced talismans, but he felt humiliated. He walked up to Guo Shier and said, “That woman… give her to me!”
Eisen, De Da, and the others remained silent, not daring to say a word.
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Give her to you? Do you plan to get stabbed again?”
“You…”
Ezekiel suddenly realized that the fact of having been stabbed was a weakness, a thing that could be used to mock him. He immediately softened and said, “Okay, I don’t want that woman. I’ll give her to you… but I have one condition.”
Guo Shier had no intention of being jealous; he wasn’t interested in Yadelan. He asked, “What’s the condition?”
Ezekiel said, “Don’t tell anyone about the fact that I was stabbed, especially not to Meilimei…”
Guo Shier said seriously, “I won’t tell. Even if you kill me, I won’t say anything…”
Ezekiel nodded in satisfaction and said, “As long as you don’t tell, it’s fine. I won’t interfere with your commands. You’re the captain… Huh? Even if you kill me, you won’t say anything… What do you mean?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I definitely won’t tell. How could I talk about such a thing? Hehe.” Poor Ezekiel was about to be completely dominated by him. In fact, he didn’t plan to reveal this matter either—it was pointless, and doing so would offend Ezekiel. He wasn’t that stupid.
Ezekiel forced a laugh and stared at the other side of the ravine. He still had some respect for Yadelan; her courage was truly extraordinary. When Yadelan walked across the suspension bridge with her men, he couldn’t help but clench his buttocks. Although he could crush Yadelan with one hand, just seeing her made him nervous.
Guo Shier found it amusing. He knew that this stab had left a shadow in Ezekiel’s heart. Especially since he hadn’t allowed Ezekiel to take revenge, it might be difficult for Ezekiel to get over this shadow for the rest of his life.
Yadelan was afraid as soon as she saw Ezekiel. Neither of them wanted to see the other again, but since they were in the same team, it was impossible to avoid each other.
After organizing the team, Guo Shier selected 300 men from Yadelan’s group. Together with the previous 500 men, they formed a team of 800 people. Guo Shier said, “We’ll rest at Yadelan’s camp today.” Since the original camp had been destroyed by Ezekiel, many tents were set up in the camp for temporary shelter for the night.

Guo Shier called Yadelan, Eson, and De Da into the tent to decide on their next move and how to attack their opponents. This time, he had no intention of expanding their group any further; their next step would be to carry out actual robberies. Everyone sat down, with Aizek sitting behind Guo Shier, his head lowered as he avoided looking at anyone. Guo Shier said, “Alright, let’s discuss our next action. First… I need intelligence. I want to find out which large-scale bands of robbers and outlaws exist, as well as their numbers and exact locations of their camps.” Eson smiled bitterly and said, “I only operate on the edges of the Karabaza Trail; I’ve never gone deep inside. I’ve only heard about many things… So, I can’t provide any useful information.” De Da didn’t even dare to speak up—he was far inferior to Eson. Eson’s group at least dared to operate near Eagle’s Beak Rock, but De Da didn’t even have that qualification. He also didn’t understand why Guo Shier always included him, as there were many leaders among the other bands he had absorbed who were far stronger than him. Guo Shier turned his gaze toward Yadelan. Yadelan knew she couldn’t avoid it. In fact, she also wanted to venture deep into the Karabaza Trail, but she was aware of her group’s strength—they could dominate in Eagle’s Beak Rock, but further in, they wouldn’t be much of a threat. After a long pause, she said, “I’ve done some research and gathered a little information, but… after all, I’ve never been there in person, so I’m not sure if it’s correct or not.” Guo Shier said, “It’s okay. Just share whatever you know. I just need to identify our first target.” Yadelan said, “I recently heard news that a group has entered, with around three thousand members… and they’ve already destroyed several other groups. They’re extremely strong. I suspect… it’s an army. But their location is on the other end of the Karabaza Trail.” Guo Shier asked, “Can we reach them?” Yadelan replied, “From where we are now, it’s impossible. The environment deep in the Karabaza Trail is too dangerous for large groups. There, only groups of a hundred or so people can operate, and everyone must be highly skilled—minimum level three Barbarian Masters, with many even at level four.” Guo Shier fell silent for a moment. He realized that the robbers deep in the Karabaza Trail were all highly skilled. They were likely adept at guerrilla warfare—striking quickly and fleeing. With their strength and the harsh terrain, they could rob most caravans. It was clear these people must be very wealthy.

Eisen said, “I heard that there are bandits deep in the Karabaza Path, including experts at the castle level and duchy level.”
Ezek suddenly interjected, “Experts at the castle level… duchy level? And they still choose to be bandits?”
Yadlan said, “Experts at the castle level are also level-five Barbarian Spirit experts. Although they can build castles, not all who reach this level can do so. They must first attach themselves to a duchy and obtain the approval of its duke. Otherwise, if any castle-level expert agrees to join, what if they’re an undercover agent sent by an enemy? The duchy couldn’t afford that…”
Guo Shier nodded. “I see. Only someone trustworthy can build a castle. As for establishing a duchy, one needs their own followers… Heh, I get it now.”
This was different from the Spell Continent, where ancient families and large sects had huge bases across many continents, giving them enough strength to absorb new members. Here, with numerous duchies, a single mistake could lead to national destruction, so they dared not recklessly recruit unknown experts.
Ezek shook his head and said, “Strange place.”
Guo Shier asked, “Yadlan, which faction poses the greatest threat to you? Is there such a faction?”
Yadlan replied, “Yes… There indeed is a faction—our arch-rivals. But they haven’t shown up recently.”
Guo Shier asked, “Do you know where their camp is?”
Yadlan nodded. “I do.”
Guo Shier smiled. “Then good. Let’s take on that faction… Hehe.”
Ezek said, “You’re not planning to annex that faction again, are you? How boring.” He was extremely dissatisfied with Guo Shier’s reluctance to kill indiscriminately.
Guo Shier said, “This time is different. This time it’s about robbery…” He hadn’t robbed the first eight factions; he had only annexed them and gathered their members. Now with 800 people, he felt it was enough, so he changed his strategy and started robbing.
Ezek said, “That’s better. Otherwise, people would get bored to death.”
Guo Shier thought, “Bored to death—perfect for a beast. This guy is nothing but a human beast, so obsessed with killing. I still need to keep a tighter grip on him.” He added, “This time I plan to rob them of their wealth. Anyone who resists will be killed.” He didn’t even ask who their leader was, how strong they were, or how many they had.

Yadelan felt a chill in her heart. She realized she was lucky—Guo Shier and the others never intended to kill from the start. Otherwise, with their mere few hundred men, they wouldn’t even be enough to scratch Aizex’s toe. She said, “Their camp is… two days’ journey from here.”
…
Wusao Ridge, located halfway along the Karabaza Trail, was a steep mountain covered in dense forests and crisscrossing ravines. There were many wild beasts, as well as various poisonous snakes and reptiles. The terrain was so rugged that ordinary people couldn’t even walk there. A group of powerful bandits, numbering around seventy, gathered here. Among them was one castle-level expert, while the rest were mostly level three and four Barbarian Spirit experts.
Guo Shier stood in the woods below Wusao Ridge. Looking up, he said, “Wusao Ridge… Their camp is on the mountain?”
Yadelan nodded. “Yes, their camp is on the mountain.”
Guo Shier smiled. “Good. Let’s get ready to rob them. Aizex, go!” He rubbed his hands together eagerly. Ever since he learned how to rob and extort on the Spell Continent, he had become very skilled at it—robbery was his fastest way to wealth.
Aizex muttered, “Why me again?”
Book 42: The Foreigners