Chapter 58: Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps

  As they watched the young magician collect the poisonous liquid from the corpse's body with a bottle, Dathanil and the other three members of the Lister family couldn't help but glance at each other. This disgusting thing, yet this young magician seemed to have collected it like a treasure, carefully storing away a full bottle...

  Looking at that pile of disgusting rotten meat, everyone couldn't help but sigh: this magician is really not someone ordinary people can be.

  The seriously injured curved sword warrior and the blood-spitting guy will leave the forest by riding on Duwei's sled. Duwei had them bring those four snow dogs to pull the sled... Anyway, these were the old magician's things, and Duwei was generous with other people's generosity. Moreover, the road behind would become more and more difficult to walk, and probably wouldn't need a sled anymore.

  However, before the two injured men left, Du Wei hesitated for a moment. After all, both of them were injured, and if they encountered any wild beasts on their way back, neither of them would be able to defend themselves.

  Duvie pondered for a moment, then collected the dragon dung powder that the old magician had scattered on the ground last night, wrapped two packages with sheepskin paper, and sprinkled the rest on the clothes of the two wounded men, ignoring their strange gaze.

  "This way, you won't have to worry about being attacked by monsters on your way back." Du Wei's tone was relaxed: "You're carrying injuries and the smell of blood, I'm worried it will attract monsters."

  "What is this stuff?" Dathanil gazed at the green powder. His expression was just like Duwei's when he asked the old magician last night.

  "This is...?" Du Wei said with a mischievous grin: "These are feces, dragon's feces."

  "Ah..." The three of them suddenly looked relieved, with only a hint of surprise on their faces, but not the slightest bit of discomfort or disgust.

  That curved sword warrior even laughed happily: "Good trick! Haha, in the past when we were in the northwest, we would also sprinkle lion's urine on our tents to prevent wolves from the grasslands. Haha... But dragon dung, a magician is indeed a magician! Such precious stuff, and the magician can get it too... Haha."

  This guy looks like he still thinks there's not enough dragon crap on him, as if he can't wait for Du Wei to throw a few more handfuls on his body.

  The two wounded men were sent away, and Du Wei gathered up the remaining items. The old magician left without warning, leaving behind a package with quite a few magical potions, including even a small piece of magical crystal. Du Wei studied it for a moment and judged that this was probably a material used to set up a magic array. Du Wei smiled and took everything in.

  Dadanier brought Duwei back to their previous camp. The camp was attacked by the rotten corpse monsters and was left in a mess.

  Dadanier picked up two quivers and put them on his back, and also took two knives from the bodies of his two dead companions. Then Dadanier dug a hole and buried his companions.

  There were eight people when they came out, now there are only three left.

  There is also a sled here, but the sled dogs all ran away in last night's raid. One dog was bitten in half by a wight in last night's raid, and after half a night, the remaining corpse had frozen into an ice block.

  The tent was in disarray, Du Wei didn't avoid suspicion and rummaged through some usable things with Dada Nil, finally Du Wei's attention fell on that sled.

  The sled is broken, probably because it was trampled by a zombie last night and the handlebar was kicked off.

  In Dandanier's puzzled gaze, Du Wei pulled out a knife and pried off several wooden boards from the sled's seat board. Then he cut down some ropes from the tent and tied two long rectangular wooden boards to the soles of his boots.

  "What's going on?" Dadaniel asked in confusion.

  "It's for walking on snowy ground, you can try it too, it's very useful." Du Wei smiled.

  Dadanier had a great deal of respect for this little magician who did things unexpectedly, and although he didn't understand it, he followed Duwei's example and tied wooden boards to the soles of his boots.

  And then, on the way of walking, he immediately began to admire this little magician.

  The deeper you go into the forest, the thicker the snow gets! Often when you step down, the snow can even reach your knees! But with the wooden board underfoot, the large wooden board has a large bearing area, which makes it possible for people to walk without sinking deep into the snow.

  Moreover, Du Wei even taught Dada Nil how to use wooden boards under his feet to slide on the snowy ground!

  Skiing was one of Du Wei's favorite sports in his past life.

  With this simple and crude "snowboard", the two of them had an easier time advancing on their way.

  "By the way, Dathanil, there were five of you running together last night. I saw that the first guy ran away by himself... Is he also from your List family?" Du Wei asked casually as they walked along the road.

  "Hmph, the List family doesn't have such a cowardly good-for-nothing." Dandanier sneered: "That's a leather goods merchant from a village south of the forest, we gave him some money to be our guide, but that idiot led us around in circles for three days in the forest and didn't even find anything. This time when we get back, I'll definitely flay his hide!"

  He paused for a moment, and Dathanil said in a low voice: "We are different from other adventurers. We are the people of the List family and cannot force our way through the border patrol's guard. We can't get the List family into trouble. So, it was also thanks to that guy's relationship that we bribed the patrol officer with money and were allowed to enter the forest. However, now it seems that the guy probably embezzled the money we used to bribe the officer."

  The two of them walked from sunrise to noon. A whole morning's walk in the snowy ground, despite having snowboards made by Duvi, but under the test of cold wind and icy weather, as well as the difficult walking on snowy ground... All this was a severe test for both of their physical strength and willpower!

  Dadanier is a warrior, so his body is naturally much stronger than Duwei's. However, he was injured last night and although the wound healed under the effect of the magic potion, the lost blood couldn't be replenished by magic, so his body inevitably became weaker.

  Dui Wei was also exhausted, his body had improved a lot under the recent old magician's strange strengthening exercises, but after all, how strong can a thirteen-year-old boy's body be? If it weren't for this snowboard, Dui Wei would have given up long ago.

  It would be great if I could learn the wind system's flight technique. Du Wei muttered to himself, but after looking at the biting cold wind here, Du Wei sighed...

  Even with flight magic, using one's own magical strength, flying in such strong cold winds would likely not be possible for long, and magic power would soon be depleted.

  The two continued north, deeper into the forest. Dathanil was clearly more familiar with wilderness survival than Duwei, and in conversation, Duwei learned that Dathanil had once been a mercenary when he was younger, although he had never been to the Ice Forest before. When he was young, he had worked as a bodyguard for smugglers on the northwest grasslands.

  He had gotten used to these days of camping out in the wilderness.

  The Marquise of List did not have hereditary titles, so this nobility did not have its own territory and private army. It was even more impossible to recruit a large number of private warriors and armed forces like other nobles.

  So, the people sent out to the forest this time are all the Marquise's guards. This Dathanil is the deputy captain, and the captain has already died in last night's raid to cover his companions' escape.

  "We didn't bring too many people because in a place as dangerous as this, those with ordinary skills would only be sent to their deaths and become a burden." Dathanil's nose was red from the cold, he stopped his footsteps to rest for a while, actually he wasn't tired at all, but just being considerate of the young magician.

  On the road, Du Wei felt that this Dada Nie Er was a very nice person, very enthusiastic and respectful to himself. After coming to this world, Du Wei, who had no friends at all, quickly developed a good impression of this enthusiastic warrior.

  Dadanier grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth, waiting for the heat in his mouth to melt the snow into water before slowly swallowing it.

  After quenching his thirst, Dathanil looked up at the sun on his head: "Magician...".

  "Call me by my name." Du Wei smiled: "No need to use honorifics, Dada Nil, it's just the two of us here now, we're companions. And I'm not that old either."

  "Alright, Harry." Dandanier smiled refreshingly: "I think it's already past noon. In such a northern place, the sun sets especially early. We'd better hurry up and move forward, then find a place to camp before nightfall. By the way... your dragon dung, is there any left?"

  "There's still plenty." Du Wei smiled.

  "That's good." Dandanier's eyes flashed with a hint of gloom, and he said in a low voice: "Unfortunately, if we had met you one day earlier, you would have had dragon dung in your hand, and we wouldn't have been attacked by the magical beast at midnight, and the captain wouldn't have died."

  "People can't come back to life. My dear Dada Nile." Du Wei comforted: "The dead are gone, the living must inherit their will, as long as we can successfully find the Golden Eyed Snake, then the dead will not have died in vain."

  Dadanier's spirit was lifted, and he said in a serious tone: "You're right! Harry, you really make sense... Magicians are all knowledgeable and talented people, aren't they? Tell me about yourself, you became a magician at such a young age, it's really admirable! What's your situation like? You must come from a good family, only wealthy families have the opportunity to learn magic."

  Du Wei couldn't help but be speechless.

  He began to regret hiding his identity from this straightforward man. Facing the guy's smile, Du Wei felt a bit embarrassed and hastily changed the subject with a few vague words.

  In the late afternoon, the sun was about to set, and the two finally found a place that was slightly lower in elevation. Camping in such a place can block the wind.

  But when the two of them walked around the woods and came over, they found that this place had been occupied by someone long ago!

  "Warning!!"

  Suddenly, a whistling sound came from the woods, and immediately afterwards, two people in all-white clothing jumped down from the trees. Du Wei took a closer look and saw that they were wearing white fur coats. Then, from behind the woods, about ten fully armed men emerged! Some of them wore fur cloaks, some wore leather armor, and their weapons were also different - some held swords, some held knives, and others held short axes.

  The people behind them were holding bows and arrows, with the arrowheads aimed at Du Wei and Dada Nie.

  It turned out to be two human beings, rather than magical beasts, and these vigilant guys relaxed.

  "Alright, it's just the two of you. Looks like we've met some fellow travelers." A leader-like person walked over, smiling and said: "Oh, it's rare to see two people dare to venture this far into the Ice-Sealed Forest!"

  Dadanier's hand rested on the hilt of his knife, warily eyeing these people. Duwei, however, had a smile all over his face and loudly asked: "Who is the leader here?"

  "It's me." The leader-like person looked at Du Wei with a hint of disdain: "Oh, it's just a kid... Ah, I see. You're looking for a place to camp, right? Sorry, but this spot has already been taken by us two. If you don't mind, we can let you guys camp in the woods next to our campsite. Just be careful not to enter our warning zone."

  "No, no, no..." Du Wei shook his head repeatedly: "We can't set up camp in the woods, we don't want to become the magic beasts' dinner! Let us in, can we join your camp? We're only two people, we won't take up much space... and you're a mercenary group here to hunt magic beasts, right? Maybe we can help each other."

  They looked at each other, suddenly bursting into loud laughter together. The leader-like person glanced at Du Wei with an even more disdainful expression: "Little kid, what can you help us with? Are you going to get up in the middle of the night to pour our chamber pots? Haha... Hurry up and leave! Since we're all fellow adventurers who came to Icebound Forest, I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you don't cause trouble yourselves, that's fine."

  Du Wei took another step forward: "No, I insist on my request."

  The leader's face sank a bit: "Oh, want to stir up trouble? Kid..."

  Dadanier gently pulled Duwei and said in a low voice, "I recognize the emblem of these people, they are from the 'Snow Wolf Mercenary Group'. There are many of them, let's not get into trouble." Dadanier looked at the leader's chest emblem and said in a low voice, "Let's change places."

  Dadanier had an adventurous life when he was young, and he knew some famous mercenary groups on the mainland, and also knew that these guys were not easy to mess with... They were all fugitives!

  Even in adventurous activities, there will be mutual firefights and black-eating-black behavior, which are all common occurrences!

  Fortunately, Du Wei and Dada Nil had nothing on them. Looking at the two lightly dressed men, these guys didn't take it to heart.

  If Du Wei and Dada Nil had heavy harvests on their bodies... I'm afraid these guys would have ulterior motives!

  It's not a smart move to clash with this kind of guy, although the little magician has some skills, but the dozen or so people in front of him are obviously just peripheral guards, and there are at least over a hundred people in their camp.

  It's better for these two people to rely on themselves and avoid trouble.

  "Hey, Dathanil, listen to me." Duwei was afraid that the world would not be chaotic, and he was sure that the old magician was still somewhere around him...

  Du Wei deliberately put on a proud expression, looking at the guy in front of him. The man was wearing a suit of leather armor, and the weapon in his hand looked quite extraordinary, but he should be a small role: "Oh, you are from the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group, right? As for you, you should just be a small captain, can you represent the will of your mercenary group?"

  Du Wei said with a smile, "This guy is just a small team leader in charge of the surrounding guard. He frowned and said, 'Little kid, what do you want to do? If you want to suffer a bit, I don't mind exercising.'"

  As he spoke, he raised his long sword in hand, a strange smile on his face, and strode towards Du Wei with large steps.

  But he only took a few steps before freezing in place!

  Du Wei was still standing there, a smile still on his face, but he had raised his right hand, palm up, and in it was a softly burning fireball!

  The people of the Mercenary Corps are all seasoned veterans who have traveled far and wide! They saw this young kid with a smile on his face, and with a flick of his wrist, a fireball appeared in the palm of his hand!

  "Is this how the Snow Wolf Mercenaries treat a mage?" Du Wei smiled, his smile tinged with disdain. "Alright, I'll remember that."

  Duvie finished speaking, pulled Dada Nile: "Let's go, my friend. It seems that these people have become so powerful that they don't need a magician anymore. In this godforsaken place, they don't even understand the principle of mutual help."

  Magician! This kid is a magician!

  Including the captain, everyone was stunned, looking at Du Wei's eyes no longer with disdain, but with a hint of reverence!

  "Get out of my way, you fools!" A loud shout came from the woods, followed by a tall and burly man striding out.

  This man wore a rhinoceros skin armor, in this icy and snowy place, but he was bare-armed, revealing his muscular arms. Behind him was a snow-white cloak, with a yellowish beard on his face, looking very majestic. He didn't hold any weapons in his hand, but when he walked out, those vigilant people retreated: "Captain!"

  The team captain took a few steps forward, but the group leader just stared at him and said: "You've disgraced us, my brother, back off."

  After finishing, the captain ignored his subordinates and walked to Du Wei's front, with a smile on his face, saying loudly: "Magician sir, my subordinates are somewhat impolite! I apologize for their rudeness!"

  Du Wei smiled: "Who are you?"

  "This is the leader of our Snow Wolf Mercenary Group, Commander Bayinrich!" A mercenary beside him replied loudly, his voice filled with pride.

  Dadanier's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, and he said in a low voice: "This guy has a nickname called 'Son of Storm', is an outstanding figure in the mercenary circle in the northern mainland, known as one of the three mercenaries in the north. I've heard his name."

  Bayerinrichi burst out laughing and said, "What Storm Son, it's just a nickname given by others. Alright, now that I've introduced myself, Mr. Magician, may I know your name?"

  "Haribo." Du Wei smiled and replied, "I don't wear a wizard's robe, nor do I have an emblem, but this is the custom in this ghostly place, I believe you can understand." Looking into the eyes of the captain, Du Wei said slowly, "My companion and I mean no harm, we have our own business to attend to in the Ice Forest. I believe that in a place like this, if your mercenary group were to gain a magician's assistance... even if only for a short period of time, it would be beneficial to both parties, wouldn't it?"

  "The Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps absolutely welcomes the arrival of mages at any time!" Bainrich burst out laughing: "I've been worried, every time I come to this noble place, those annoying magical beasts are such a nuisance. If we can get help from mages, business will be much easier!"

  As he spoke, Birenrich looked at Du Wei and waited for his response.

  "I'd be happy to offer some help." Du Wei's response delighted Bainingrich: "Captain, you also saw that my companion and I are only two people in this godforsaken place. Having a few more companions is always a good thing, isn't it?"

  "Come on, Your Excellency the Magician, our camp is just ahead. I have two bottles of fine wine in my tent!" Bainreich laughed and led the way enthusiastically.

  Dadanier furrowed his brow, but Duwei pulled him to one side and said in a low voice, "Dadanier, don't say anything! You and I are both here for the first time in the Icebound Forest! This place, neither of us is familiar with it! But these guys, they're all old hands who come here often! They know the terrain and environment like the back of their hand! It's much better than the two of us wandering around aimlessly in this vast forest!"

  Friends with tickets, please help me out, thank you everyone.