Little Pink Starfish

The public security of the Anser Empire was generally quite decent, but trade caravans that traveled frequently across the continent still ran into trouble now and then.

Just like on the Yali Continent, mercenaries also existed on this continent. The abundance of extraordinary beings had led to a relatively mature supernatural market. Even in some unexplored regions, there wasn’t much need for extraordinary individuals to risk their lives exploring them. As a result, there wasn’t even such a title as “adventurer.”

Nevertheless, mercenary guilds in the Anser Empire and the escort agencies of the Xia Dynasty had always done good business.

Someone like Pei Sen, who was carrying so many goods this time, should theoretically have hired dozens of mercenaries to travel with him. But he didn’t… because there was no need. The truly valuable items were already packed in Eagle’s small suitcase and carried with him. The cargo in the convoy wasn’t valuable enough to warrant that kind of protection. Besides, the skeletons were not entirely without combat capabilities.

Save where you can, after all—no need to waste money.

The small town they had just arrived at seemed relatively prosperous, but not far away was a den of bandits. This group of bandits had been based there for quite some time and had always acted with caution. They never touched targets they couldn’t afford to provoke, which was why no one had taken the trouble to wipe them out so far.

This time, they chose to target Pei Sen and Eagle largely because the two of them looked too outstanding. Eagle had an obvious aristocratic aura about him and looked very young—just like the kind of noble young master out for a bit of worldly experience. This kind of “fat sheep” was rare. Based on their past experiences, people like this usually carried valuable goods. Even if something was lost, they wouldn’t make a big deal of it—young nobles cared about face. Some noble sons wouldn’t even admit to losing anything and would cover the loss themselves to protect the family’s reputation.

The Anser Empire’s Emperor Gubis was known for being highly pragmatic. As a result, the empire—from top to bottom—placed great emphasis on practical ability. Young nobles were often required to achieve some merit to climb the family hierarchy.

Although the bandits didn’t understand all these social dynamics, one of them was a fallen noble. This clever guy knew a thing or two about aristocratic customs and had convinced the others to go after this particular caravan.

“This way.” The short bandit made a gesture, and a group of them moved stealthily through the darkness.

They weren’t top-tier among the extraordinary, but they were seasoned in this line of work. Even someone stronger wouldn’t necessarily be more adept at what they did.

“There’s something odd about the aura of those mercenaries,” one of the bandits said cautiously.

The short one in front didn’t care. “The aura may be odd, but it’s not strong, right?”

“True… not too strong.”

They observed for a while and found nothing unusual. Their informant, who was watching Pei Sen and Eagle, reported that the two had entered the tavern and were seated inside. The picky young master hadn’t asked for anything, but he did order a mug of ale for his Xia servant. It looked like they wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

“Move in!”

In the darkness, Perks crouched beside a wall, blinking his round eyes. He had a vague sense of what this group was up to. Those were terrifying dark beings! Even he didn’t dare get too close to them. Were these fools seriously trying to steal something right under the skeletons’ noses?

Hmm… it didn’t seem like stealing. Were they trying to rob?

The short bandit at the front was excitedly rushing forward when suddenly a chilling, terrifying sensation crept up his spine. Even though he hadn’t figured out what it was, he instinctively stopped in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?” asked a bandit following close behind.

The short bandit wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Don’t you think something’s… off about those guys in black cloaks?”

“Jim just said their aura was strange.”

“It’s not just that. Look at their heads—is it just me, or are they all… facing us?”

At those words, a chill ran down the spines of every bandit.

They were still a fair distance from the convoy. With their skill level, it shouldn’t be possible for them to have been discovered.

Besides, if they had been discovered, how could those mercenaries still be standing there motionless—like a row of slim statues?

At the very least, they should’ve assumed a defensive posture or raised an alarm to alert the guards.

But the eerie stillness—they didn’t look like they’d noticed anything at all.

“They did move.” One of the more observant bandits said, “Their hoods… just twitched a bit.”

The youngest among them snapped, “So what if their hoods twitched? That doesn’t mean they’re looking this way! Even if they are, the hoods would block their line of sight. Stop spooking yourself.”

“Yeah, makes sense.”

They crept closer again, this time more cautiously. The youngest bandit was starting to lose patience. “What’s the hold-up!”

“Aike’s right… Their hoods did twitch—and all at the same time. It looked like they were turning their heads inside the hoods. Old Owen—” the short one trailed off, already creeped out by his own words.

The younger man, sounding scornful, said, “Move aside. I’ll take the lead this time.”

The short bandit silently stepped behind him.

“Coward,” muttered the young man, and then expertly moved forward.

They no longer dared speak. They were too close now—any sound could give them away.

Owen quietly crept up behind one of the “mercenary” guards. At that moment, he clearly saw the hood in front of him shift slightly, as if the other party had noticed something. Acting quickly, he grabbed the hood and slashed his dagger at the figure’s neck!

This was a classic thief maneuver. Only by pulling back the hood could he ensure the dagger landed cleanly across the neck. In the past, there had been incidents where the hood was puffed up too high and the target’s neck too short, resulting in the dagger slicing the mouth instead, giving the opponent time to retaliate.

Though low-level thieves were also extraordinary beings, they still weren’t powerful enough to casually decapitate another. But the neck remained a vital point regardless.

Owen was not only experienced, but also viciously decisive.

However, what he saw the moment the hood came off nearly made him scream in terror!

He should’ve seen the back of the head—or at most a slightly turned face.

What greeted him instead was a pale, bloodless face staring directly at him!

On closer inspection, it wasn’t a real face at all—it was a disturbingly eerie mask. The eyes were curved in a perpetual grin, and the mouth drooped in a grotesque smile.

The mask was stark white and almost glowed in the dark, but that wasn’t the most terrifying part.

What was truly horrifying was—how could a human head possibly turn 180 degrees and face directly behind itself?

Even so, Owen was an experienced veteran. Though scared out of his wits, he still slashed his dagger toward the neck of the masked figure!

But he froze—there was no sensation of slicing through flesh. Instead, it felt like hitting bone. A loud clang echoed in the dark.

A round skull flew into the air, and the mask fell to the ground. Jim, standing at a distance, let out a shriek—he saw it was a skull. Not only that, there were two flickering red flames glowing in its eye sockets.

And the skeleton whose head had been knocked off didn’t collapse. It wobbled on its feet, seemingly confused about where its head had gone.

Fundamentally, the skeleton soldiers summoned by necromancers were not living beings. Decapitating them didn’t kill them.

Not only that—all the other cloaked “people” around them stood up, raised their heads, and revealed identical eerie, comical masks. The clacking of their joints in the silent darkness made everyone’s skin crawl.

With permission from their summoner, the skeletons threw off their cloaks, revealing skeletal bodies. The ghostly fire in their eyes burned brighter than ever.

“Ahhhh—!”

Screams rang out. The bandits were instantly overwhelmed by fear and fled in a panic.

Pei Sen was still seated in the tavern. They’d picked a quiet corner, and with Eagle’s natural aura of nobility, he gave off an arrogant air from head to toe. To the average person, he looked like the very picture of an aloof nobleman. Other than a red-haired barmaid who kept batting her eyes at Eagle, no one came over to bother them.

“This low-quality ale really isn’t worth drinking.” Eagle refused to touch the stuff and even suggested Pei Sen not try it either.

Pei Sen didn’t mind. His body was generated from game data and had high resistances. Even if the ale was poisoned, it wouldn’t affect him. Besides, this tavern was somewhat reputable in the area. It seemed decent enough, so he decided to give it a try.

The red-haired barmaid placed a mug of ale on the table and threw a flirty glance at Eagle.

To be fair, she wasn’t exceptionally beautiful. The freckles around her nose were quite noticeable, but her demeanor was charming and bright. In this small town, she was likely considered one of the top beauties.

But she’d picked the wrong person. Eagle completely ignored her flirtation and even turned his head away with a hint of distaste.

It was very reminiscent of the demeanor of the Church’s Son of Light from player forum posts.

Though back then the holy son had an untouchable, ascetic aura. Eagle certainly wasn’t a holy son… but it looked like this had always been his personality, unrelated to any former identity.

Seeing this, the barmaid gave a light huff and walked away.

Eagle then used a snow-white silk handkerchief to pick up the ale mug, clearly considering it unclean. He took out a clean glass from his storage ring, poured the ale into it, and placed the original mug—now resting on the silk—before Pei Sen.

Apparently, he also thought the table wasn’t clean enough. Only then did he gesture for Pei Sen to drink.

Though he didn’t want Pei Sen drinking that stuff, since Pei Sen wanted to try, Eagle reluctantly accepted it. Once Pei Sen finished, Eagle had no intention of keeping the silk or the cup. They’d be thrown out. He had brought plenty of such disposable items.

Pei Sen: “…”

He suddenly realized that he and Eagle might need to work through a few—uh, lifestyle habit differences.

Just then, the bandit who’d been watching them at the door slipped away, and a black cat darted through the shadows to sit by Pei Sen’s feet.

Pei Sen and Eagle exchanged glances—they knew the situation outside had already been dealt with.

“That was way too weak,” Eagle said disdainfully.

Pei Sen just smiled without responding.

Honestly, just imagining that scene… was terrifying enough.

At its core, this wasn’t a matter of whether they were weak or not.