Chapter 1227 Hank's Plot

Even though they were mentally prepared, many people still felt a chill run down their spines when these scenes came into view at such close range.

Only a minority of humans are capable of fighting against soul beasts.

Especially for the members of these chambers of commerce, doing business may be a piece of cake for them, but they are completely clueless about combat.

Fortunately, there were seven Soul Hunter squads protecting them, which allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief.

The entire caravan couldn't help but quicken its pace, as if eager to leave as soon as possible.

Many people were terrified along the way, seemingly afraid of encountering those crazed soul beasts.

To everyone's relief, the entire official road was completely quiet, and there was no trace of any soul beasts in sight.

“Strange, this seems a little different from the information we received before.”

"Although the city defense army has begun to clear out the beast tide near the city, this place is already some distance from Qingyuan City, so it is impossible for them to clear it out as well."

Yuting rode a red steed, exuding a heroic spirit.

However, at this moment, her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and she had a vague premonition of something bad.

This sense of danger came from her experience of countless battles in various Soul Beast Forests.

This feeling told her that such a quiet environment was not simple, and danger could come at any time.

Whether by coincidence or intentional on Yuting's part, their Soul Hunting Team was protecting the area near Tang Lan's carriage.

Then Yuting steed her horse toward Tang Lan and the other person's carriage.

After asking around, Yu Ting learned that Tang Lan and the other person's soul power level had both reached level 78, which was two levels higher than hers.

This also explains why Yuting couldn't see through the two people's cultivation levels at all.

Have you noticed anything amiss?

Yu Ting knocked on the window of the carriage next to Tang Lan, her voice serious and cautious.

Tang Lan lifted the curtain, nodded, and replied:

"It seems too quiet around here, completely different from the information we received earlier."

"That's right, that's what I'm suspicious of!"

"Also, have you noticed that there are suddenly more crows in the sky? This is not a good sign."

"I hope my hunch is wrong!"

Yu Ting looked up at the flock of crows circling in the sky and said in a deep voice.

Then Yuting flicked her whip and spurred her horse forward at a brisk pace.

She needed to go and explain the situation ahead to the others in detail, which was something she had to do as part of the escort team.

Soon, thanks to the efforts of Yuting and others, the caravan finally sent out a group of outposts to break away from the caravan and quickly explore the area ahead.

If they discover anything amiss or encounter danger, they will send out signal flares to warn the caravans behind them.

Time flies, and soon it was getting dark.

The last rays of dusk bathed the earth, and to everyone's relief, they hadn't encountered any danger that day; everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

"It's getting late, let's set up camp here!"

"If we continue, we'll really be entering the dense forest, and it will be difficult to handle any dangers we encounter."

A burly middle-aged man looked at the map in his hand while surveying the official road that was gradually leading deeper into the dense forest ahead.

"Alright, let's set up camp here. Everyone, get ready to start a fire and cook. We'll rest for the night and set off tomorrow."

Hank, the branch president of the Radiant Flame Merchant Guild, nodded, then raised his hand to signal the caravan to stop.

Then a group of servants hired by the chamber of commerce began to quickly set up tents, start fires, and cook.

The seven Soul Hunter squads formed a spiderweb-like formation and explored the relatively well-lit groves on both sides of the official road in an orderly manner.

This is one of the few places in the vicinity where there is a relatively spacious open space along the official road, making it extremely suitable for camping and resting.

The sound of flowing water could still be faintly heard from behind the woods not far away, indicating that getting water was extremely convenient.

The real target for searching is the nearby forest; there must be no soul beast lurking there.

After three hours of searching, the reports from each team were almost identical.

Although they had found the droppings and traces of soul beasts, they had not been able to find even a single soul beast.

"Perhaps these soul beasts had already participated in the attack on the city before, and may have been eliminated long ago."

"What we really need to be wary of this time is the rebel army."

"If you encounter them, it is an extremely difficult choice whether to fight to the death to protect the goods or to hand over the goods to save your life."

On another horse beside Hank sat a man with a goatee. His eyes were small, but his voice was slightly shrill, giving him an impression of being narrow-minded and extremely sinister.

"Hmph, this batch of Black Soul Star iron ore is the main material for making seventh- and even eighth-order soul tools!"

"If all of these materials are produced together, they will be enough to arm a force and increase its strength by 30% overnight. Even my Radiant Flame Merchant Guild cannot afford to lose such a batch of materials."

"The Grand Master's order to me was simple: even if it meant death, I had to successfully deliver the goods to the city."

Hank snorted coldly, but his attitude was extremely firm.

"In that case, many people will probably die in this operation!"

"No wonder you're so foolish as to give these Soul Hunting teams such high commissions; most of them probably won't even have the chance to spend the money."

"With their intelligence, they'll probably find out about our whereabouts soon. Let's hope they find out later, so we can keep our distance from them."

The man with the goatee sighed, then fell silent.

This is Sikong Chen, Hank's close confidant and strategist.

However, this time Hank seemed to have bypassed Sikong Chen and organized this caravan operation against all odds.

On the other side,

As darkness fell, Tang Lan and her companion disembarked from the carriage.

"Tang Yun, Tang Qiu'er, come and eat with us!"

"We caught a wild boar, and we're looking forward to roasting it tonight!"

As Tang Lan and her companion stepped off the carriage, Yu Ting, who was gathered around a bonfire not far away, stood up and waved enthusiastically at them.

The caravan did distribute a considerable amount of food and rations, but most of it consisted of dried meat and flatbread.

Although it was very convenient for fast-moving caravans to eat, it naturally couldn't compare to the freshness and deliciousness of freshly prepared ingredients.

Unless absolutely necessary, Yu Ting and the other Soul Hunters would never stoop to eating such a thing.

"Since it's Captain Yuting who invited us, then we'll gladly accept!"

Tang Lan and the other woman walked to the campfire and bowed to Yu Ting and another female soul master.