Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 199: The Blue rank Mission (Part-4)

Alaric Von Seraph was perfectly aware that Julian’s retreat this time was nothing more than a move for the long game. For now, however, they truly had no other choice.

Unless they abandoned the Suffocating Forest altogether and chased the Black Vulture Mercenary Group back to their nest, there was no way to settle this matter immediately. But the Suffocating Forest was their objective, and time was something they could not afford to waste.

So for the moment, they could only move forward step by step, deal with the secrets of the forest first, and settle old grudges later.

As everyone’s gaze fell upon the fallen corpses on the ground, the way they looked at Zora and Prince Kael subtly changed.

They all understood one thing clearly.

If not for these two, the Black Vulture Mercenary Group would never have retreated so decisively. This battle would not have ended so quickly, nor so cleanly.

At this moment, no one could deny it any longer.

Zora and Prince Kael were monsters in their own right.

"There’s too much blood here," Raphael said softly, a hint of caution in his voice. "It’ll attract demonic beasts easily. We should leave immediately and find a safer place to rest. What do you all think?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Demonic beasts were extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. Lingering here would only invite unnecessary danger.

Without delay, the group reorganized and continued toward the Suffocating Forest.

*

Meanwhile, far from them, Julian followed Thaddeus and the others in silence. His face was twisted with resentment and unwillingness.

He couldn’t blame Thaddeus’s decision.

In the end, it was simply because he wasn’t strong enough.

If he had been able to kill Prince Kael, today’s outcome would never have turned into such humiliation.

After putting some distance between themselves and Alaric Von Seraph’s group and confirming that no one was pursuing them, Julian finally stopped.

"Vice leader," he said, cupping his fists, "thank you for today. I’ll take my leave."

Seeing that Julian intended to depart, Thaddeus quickly spoke up. "Brother Julian, wait."

Julian turned around, his expression resolute yet tinged with helplessness.

"Vice leader," he said solemnly, "I’ll deal with Alaric Von Seraph myself. I won’t forget this favor. If I succeed, I’ll come to the Black Vulture Mercenary Group. That is... if you still need me by then."

Thaddeus stepped forward and clapped a hand on Julian’s shoulder. "Brother Julian, what are you saying? Since I promised to help you, I won’t go back on my word."

Julian’s eyes lit up. "Really? You’re still willing to help me?"

"Of course," Thaddeus replied calmly. "But listen to me first."

Julian straightened, all hesitation gone. He knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to kill Alaric Von Seraph on his own.

"You’ve seen Alaric Von Seraph’s strength," Thaddeus continued. "If we confront them head-on again, we still won’t be enough. Going back to gather more people will take too long."

Julian nodded. Even though the Black Vulture Mercenary Group’s base wasn’t far, a round trip would take at least a day. By then, Alaric Von Seraph and the others would have long vanished into the depths of the mountains.

"Then what do we do?" Julian frowned deeply. "Does that mean there’s no chance this time?"

A sly glint flashed through Thaddeus’s eyes, and a cold smile curved his lips.

"Hard force won’t work," he said slowly. "So we take another path."

"Our Black Vulture Mercenary Group didn’t rise to where it is today by relying solely on brute strength."

Julian listened as Thaddeus explained his plan, and with every word, the light in his eyes grew brighter.

So that was it.

The Black Vulture Mercenary Group possessed a special liquid, colorless and odorless, something so subtle that even experienced spirit warriors could not detect it.

Once smeared onto a target, it produced a terrifying effect.

It irresistibly attracted demonic beasts.

In the depths of a monster-filled mountain range, such a thing was nothing short of a death sentence.

It was precisely because of this liquid that the Black Vulture Mercenary Group had risen so rapidly in recent years, forcing other mercenary groups to tread carefully around them. Against something that could not be guarded against, caution was the only choice.

Thaddeus had already arranged for his men to secretly apply this liquid to Alaric Von Seraph and the others during the earlier clash.

"So... Alaric Von Seraph and the rest will keep getting attacked by demonic beasts?" Julian asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

This was simply too perfect.

Thaddeus gave a slow, confident nod. "During the day, they’ll be harassed constantly. Their stamina will be drained, their combat strength worn down."

"And at night," he continued, his smile turning colder, "when demonic beasts are most active, and they’re deep in the White Mountains... they’ll be surrounded."

"We only need to wait patiently. When they’re exhausted to the limit, that’s when we strike. By then, victory will be ours." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Julian nodded repeatedly, admiration written all over his face. "Vice leader, you’re truly brilliant!"

Thaddeus waved his hand, his expression darkening. "Clever or not, one thing matters most. The brothers of the Black Vulture Mercenary Group must not die in vain."

Hearing this, the hatred in Julian’s eyes deepened.

Once, his hatred had been reserved for Alaric Von Seraph and Sylvandria alone.

Now, Zora had been added to that list.

If not for her, his earlier plans would have already succeeded. This woman had ruined everything.

*

Meanwhile, Zora’s group continued advancing steadily toward the Suffocating Forest, following the route marked on the map.

The forest lay near the heart of the White Mountain Range. Though they had not yet reached the center, the danger was already rising sharply.

After killing another demonic beast, Marcus deftly extracted the demon crystal and tossed it toward Shihtzu, perched near Zora.

In just this short journey, everyone had already realized one thing.

This contracted beast of Zora’s, named Shihtzu, loved demon crystals.

No one knew how such a young demonic beast could consume demon crystals so casually, but since Zora herself raised no objections, the others naturally kept their thoughts to themselves.

At this point, everyone finally understood why Zora bought demon crystals so frequently.

With this little fellow around, they were being eaten at an astonishing rate.

Marcus, who remained deeply grateful for Zora’s earlier life-saving help, handed over every demon crystal he obtained without hesitation.

Shihtzu caught it eagerly, eyes sparkling.

For it, the White Mountains were paradise.

Everywhere it looked, there were demon crystals.

"The deeper we go, the stranger this place feels," Reesa murmured, glancing around uneasily. "The frequency of demonic beasts is way too high."

Hearing Reesa’s words, Zora and the others frowned almost in unison.

It wasn’t without reason.

The frequency of demonic beast attacks today was far too abnormal.

Yesterday, they had only encountered a handful of beasts throughout the entire day. Yet today, in barely an hour after resuming their journey, the number of demonic beasts they faced had already exceeded yesterday’s total.

True, as one ventured deeper into the White Mountains, encounters with demonic beasts naturally increased.

But this... was excessive.

They had come here before. Never had the situation been anywhere near this intense.

"Something’s wrong," Zora murmured, her brows knitting together. "This sudden surge doesn’t make sense." Her dark eyes flickered with a contemplative gleam.

Where there was an anomaly, there was usually a hidden cause. And her instincts were quietly warning her that the truth was far from simple.

Just then, White suddenly spoke up. "Master, when you were fighting the Black Vulture Mercenary Group earlier, I noticed something strange."

Zora turned to him at once. "What did you notice?"

"They kept trying to touch your clothes during the fight."

White’s tone was uncertain, but serious. Because it couldn’t intervene, it had observed everything closely from the sidelines.

"I noticed it too!" Black nodded emphatically.

"Clothes?" Zora raised an eyebrow.