In a forest at dusk, dozens of people gathered in a smashed pit. Leading them was a middle-aged man named Slu. He was the captain of a mercenary group and the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Anna. At the moment, he furrowed his brows and coldly gazed at the enormous corpse lying in front of him. It was the strongest monster in this mountain range, the Lord of Storms - the body of Smov. Possessing superior strength, others had put out a reward of five million gold coins for its extermination, but even with such a large bounty, no adventurer dared to accept this mission. Because Smov's strength was just that formidable, perhaps only a few humans with superior strength could have a chance at killing it. Yet, here lay this monster that ruled over the area, lifeless before them. Squinting, he asked the man beside him, "You mean to tell me that this monster was killed by a young boy?" "Lord Slu, you must believe me, it is absolutely true, both of us saw it with our own eyes!" "Yes, yes... Lord Gilbert was also critically injured by that boy's single strike and his fate is still unknown!" Another person quickly agreed. Slu wasn't particularly concerned about his subordinates with superior strength; what he truly cared about was that Smov had suddenly died at the hands of someone whose identity was still unclear. "Do you know who he is?" "No, we don't know! We only remember that he had black hair, the rest... is not very clear..." Because they had to flee in a hurry, they couldn't remember the details of the boy. "Black hair?" Slu frowned. If he could kill Smov, then his strength was likely at the peak of the superior level, or even a half god. Smov's bounty was as high as five million, yet he hadn't chosen to take it back, he was very likely someone who didn't care about that bounty and was extremely rich. No matter how he thought about it, Slu's thoughts pointed to the current hero. Could it be that their kidnapping of Princess Anna had even alarmed the hero in the Altaire Monastic Country? But...that's impossible! The demons are currently launching a massive attack, and the hero is too busy fighting on the front lines to have time to care about the trivial matters of other countries. Thinking of this, Slu rubbed his chin, truly puzzled about the boy's identity. Just then, a young man walked out from the crowd. "Lord Slu! The scouts have noticed that the Imperial Knights have already led an army to this vicinity. There are about twenty of them, and the one leading them is the Knight Order's captain. They will likely arrive at this mountain range in a few hours." "Is that so? They came faster than I imagined..." Slu was somewhat surprised that even the Knight Order's captain was mobilized, it seems that the Emperor was starting to get anxious. "Bagil, leave this group of knights here, how confident are you?" The man's name was Bagil, he was the deputy captain of the mercenary group. Because he often strategized, he was particularly favored by Slu. "Reporting to Lord Slu! Most of the knights have superior or heavenly rank strength, so they aren't much to be feared. However, the captain leading them is a superior level powerhouse, it may be a bit difficult for me to handle, but if you personally take action, the outcome will be different." "Is that so?" Slu naturally couldn't let these knights take Princess Anna back, but he also couldn't reveal his identity. Just thinking about it, the only choice left was to completely annihilate these knights. "Bagil, I have something to take care of, I'll leave first. You arrange for others to intercept the Imperial Knights and if you can't beat them, just delay them!" "Yes, Lord!" Bagil slightly bowed and then continued to ask, "What about the escaped Princess?" "What I'm about to say is next." Slu sneered, "I will personally capture the Princess. After the matter is done, we will meet up with you!" "What about the boy?" someone asked. "Whether he's a hero or not, would I, Slu, fear a mere young man?" He coldly snorted, "Today, the Princess and the others shouldn't even think about leaving. In fact...we'll kill all the Imperial Knights here!" "Yes!" Prompted by Slu's incitement, the members of the mercenary group began to discuss fervently.They are criminal gangs formed by criminals from various regions. Naturally, they are very excited about killing imperial knights.
"Oh, right!"
As if thinking of something, Slu stopped walking and turned to look at the two intermediate-level men.
"You two let Anna, that little girl, escape due to your poor supervision, causing us such trouble. How do you think I should punish you?"
"M-Milord! Please forgive us for our sins. We will definitely make up for it!"
"You don't even know where she is, how can you make up for it?" Slu narrowed his eyes, stretched out his hand, and a black hole suddenly appeared behind the two men.
"Die!"
"No... please!!!!"
The two men kept screaming, with a ferocious expression, and even tears of blood in the corners of their eyes.
Their bodies were continuously twisted and devoured by the black hole. In just a blink of an eye, they disappeared from their original positions, not even leaving behind any trace.
"Worthless!"
Looking at the empty space in front of him, Slu sneered a few times.
Anna is an important pawn that can subvert the entire empire's situation. She cannot be entrusted to others anymore.
He took out a key and licked his lips ferociously.
"Little princess, since you want to play hide-and-seek with me, I'll accompany you till the end!"
