CHAPTER 301: CHAPTER 163: MIDNIGHT RAID

The light of the magic array flickered dimly for a while.

Yun Sheng heard some disturbances.

"They’re here." Yun Sheng did not see anyone from the Phantom Beast Corps, but she noticed several hunter soldiers stealthily approaching the tent on the periphery.

They glanced at Zhou Qingchuan’s tent and made a gesture for silence.

Yun Sheng stared and couldn’t help but laugh silently.

That Zhou Qingchuan was indeed vigilant, having arranged a warning magic array outside his own tent.

That magic array was quite unique, possessing no defensive or offensive capabilities, but it had a special function—it served as an alarm, and would emit a warning sound if anyone approached within a hundred meters of the tent.

"That young man is indeed as cautious as Lord Zhou described," faces of the disguised Beast Corps members showed annoyance.

"Fortunately, the lord had prepared for this," the members of the Beast Corps revealed a smug look.

In unison, they began to chant.

A chant with an ancient and obscure tone, reminiscent of a summoner’s incantation.

Following that, belts appeared around their waists.

Those belts looked no different from ordinary belts at a glance.

But upon closer inspection, one could notice a certain magical beast fluctuation in them.

This fluctuation was imperceptible to ordinary people, but for summoners like Yun Sheng, it felt like a subtle summoner’s magic power fluctuation.

The fluctuation emanated from a gem embedded in the belt.

"Eh?" Yun Sheng was taken aback.

Right after, rustling sounds surrounded them.

A summoning array appeared beside them.

The same type of phantom beast that Yun Sheng had seen before in the forest emerged.

Beasts resembling pangolins appeared, a total of four of them.

Listening to the hunter soldiers mumbling for a while, the demon beasts silently slipped into the campsite with the magic array set up ahead.

Once the phantom beasts appeared, they immediately began to dig at the command of the hunter soldiers.

The ground quickly formed a small mound, and with the strong digging ability of the phantom beasts, an underground passage was created in just a quarter of an hour.

This method not only bypassed the magic array but also ensured that Zhou Qingchuan inside the tent would not be alarmed.

That Zhou Bing was also well-prepared; he clearly knew that Zhou Qingchuan would be cautious and prudent, so he simply recruited this type of demon beast from the Phantom Beast Corps.

"You stay here and alert us if anyone comes. The rest of us will go in," several members from the Phantom Beast Corps left a hunter soldier behind and then quietly approached the carriages through the tunnel.

Zhou Bing only knew that Zhou Qingchuan might have hidden the ledgers in one of the carriages but was not certain which one, so they had to take the risk and search.

The hunter soldier was on the lookout when suddenly he felt a hand on his neck and something cold and hard against it.

"Don’t make a sound, or you’ll be dead in the next second. Answer whatever I ask," a pleasant voice sounded in his ear.

The hunter soldier felt lighter at his feet, and before he knew it, he had been moved aside.

Several tall hunter soldiers surrounded him.

"Young Master, why did you capture him? We could have killed him in one go," Zhou Quan couldn’t grasp Yun Sheng’s intentions.

"No rush, these are just underlings. Tell me, who gave you the belt you’re wearing?" Yun Sheng was nothing if not blunt, yanking off the hunter soldier’s belt.

She had noticed earlier that these hunter soldiers, who were not summoners, could control the Phantom Beasts thanks to the odd belts they wore.

"You are..." The hunter soldier tried to struggle, but at that moment Yun Canglang took hold of his left arm.

A crisp cracking sound followed; the hunter soldier felt a sharp pain in his left arm as the bones in his hand were crushed.

An aura of aggressive fighting spirit radiated from the oppositing hunter soldier.

Impressive, this person had to be at least of Martial Marquis Level.

"Answer my questions, or next it will be your skull that gets crushed," Yun Canglang’s demeanor was that of a fierce veteran of the battlefield.

The hunter soldier didn’t even dare to whimper.

"Yes, it was our Commander who gave them to us," the hunter soldier, trapped by the group, didn’t dare to resist.

It turned out that the Commander of the Phantom Beast Corps was a Scepter Summoner, whose own strength was average, but one of his relatives had connections within the Summoning Court.

Such special belts were said to be developed by the Summoning Court and named Summoning Belts.

Emblazoned with a special Magic Array, with the power of such belts even ordinary martial artists or mages could control a demon beast.

However, a Summoning Belt could only control one demon beast, and the beast couldn’t communicate psychically with its controller.

Their functionality was inferior to that of a Summoned Beast, but far easier to manage than an ordinary battle pet.

"How many of these Summoning Belts do you have in total?" Yun Sheng glanced at the Summoning Belt in his hand.

There was a gemstone on the belt just as the hunter soldier had mentioned, but upon examination, Yun Sheng could not discern any tampering with the gemstone.

"The Commander has ten belts; we brought five with us on this trip, and the other five are still with the Commander," the hunter soldier, feeling uneasy before this group of unknown origin, couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his back.

"Where is your Commander?" Seeing Yun Sheng’s interest in the Summoning Belt, Yun Canglang continued the interrogation.

"I... I don’t know," when asked about the whereabouts of the Phantom Beast Corps, the hunter soldier suddenly changed his story, refusing to divulge their location.

"You either drink a toast or a forfeit," Yun Canglang’s expression turned stern, ready to take action.

"Uncle, let me do this," Yun Sheng stopped Yun Canglang’s hand, smiling as she looked at the hunter soldier.

The hunter soldier was determined not to reveal the location of the Phantom Hunting Corps.

He had a family to think about; if he leaked the Commander’s location, they would undoubtedly face reprisals.

So even if the people before him tormented him, he wouldn’t make a sound.

Seeing that this group had suddenly stopped pressing for answers, the female hunter showed a sudden smile. The members of the Beast Tribe hesitated, not sure of Yun Sheng’s intentions.

In Yun Sheng’s eyes, the Shennong’s Eyes narrowed, and if anyone were to look closely into her eyes at that moment, they would see a golden speck within her pupils, like a bright moon.

The hunter soldier watched Yun Sheng’s eyes, hearing a soft female voice beside his ear.

He felt his consciousness becoming increasingly blurry, as if a dreamlike voice lingered in his ears.

Watching as the member of the Beast Tribe went from defiant to compliant, the hostility in his eyes turning into docility and confusion.

Yun Canglang and the others looked on in surprise.

They had no idea what special method Yun Sheng had utilized.

**Thank you to Yuluo, Only Wish to Die for You, Da Wei, Bei Yu, and Momo for the rewards, and thanks everyone for your continued support**