Published: March 11, 2025
Chapter 62: The Mysterious Village
Now, on the continent, many notable families have taken notice of Zhao Hai and his group. In places like Black Mountain Pass, it is only natural that the Magedel Family isn’t the only family to set up an intelligence point there. In fact, many large families across the continent have established intelligence points in that area. Some of these points are mere storefronts, while others are entire mercenary groups.
The reason these families set up intelligence points at Black Mountain Pass isn’t to investigate military affairs; such a place hardly has any military matters occurring. The main purpose of establishing intelligence points there is simple: talent!
The nobility in the Ark Continent has often been around for over a thousand years, and they are well aware of how valuable talent is to them. For a noble, having a powerful warrior is a significant aid. Thus, in places like Black Mountain Pass, where adventurers and mercenaries congregate, families will send intelligence personnel to scout for potential warriors to bring back to their families and strengthen their ranks.
Because of this, when Zhao Hai and his companions appeared at Black Mountain Pass, many prominent families received the news and have been keeping an eye on them.
However, those watching Zhao Hai and his group clearly underestimated them. They did not expect Zhao Hai and his companions to not stay in the city but instead to reside outside of it. Moreover, they usually retreat to their space to rest at night, making it impossible for those who wanted to track them to discover their whereabouts, which seemed quite eerie.
Yet, the unusual behavior of Zhao Hai and his companions only reinforced the belief that he was a dark mage. The individuals following Zhao Hai weren’t trying to recruit him; rather, they feared that Zhao Hai and his group could pose a threat to their families.
Ordinary nobles might recruit some dark mages, but they usually know their backgrounds well. No one wants to recruit a rogue dark mage, so nobody approached Zhao Hai and his group.
Unaware of being followed, Zhao Hai and the others continued at their own pace. Currently, their speed wasn’t very fast due to the large number of travelers on the road; they certainly couldn’t afford to move too quickly to avoid accidents.
Traveling from Black Mountain Pass to Casa City would take about seven days on horseback, and their current pace was comparable to that of a horse. It would take them roughly seven days to reach Casa City.
Now, they had been traveling for three days. In this time, they passed through two small towns and countless villages, indicating that the Versailles Principality was still quite prosperous.
On the morning of the fourth day, as usual, Zhao Hai and the others emerged from their space and resumed their journey. Fortunately, it wasn’t yet the rainy season, so although the road was unpaved, it was very smooth and the trip felt quite comfortable.
However, as Zhao Hai walked along the road today, he felt something was strange, as if something was missing. Confused, he looked around, unsure of what exactly was absent.
Just as Zhao Hai was lost in thought, Meg spoke up, “Young master, it’s so strange. We’ve been walking for over two hours now, yet we haven’t encountered a single person. At this time every day, there are usually many people around.”
Upon hearing Meg’s words, Zhao Hai finally recognized that something was amiss. They had been walking for over two hours since morning without seeing a single individual. No wonder he felt it was odd; it was the absence of people that he sensed.
Feeling that something was wrong, Zhao Hai immediately said in a deep voice, “Stop.” The creature immediately halted, and Zhao Hai stood up, leaning against its ribs as he turned to Grandpa Galen, asking, “Grandpa Galen, is something wrong? Why haven’t we encountered anyone after walking for so long?”
Galen nodded, “I noticed this long ago. But young master, don’t worry. Let’s keep moving forward. I want to see what’s going on. If it gets too dangerous, you can always retreat into the space, and no one will be able to find you.”