Chapter 2476: Chapter 2466: Poisoned Dart

The old man’s gaze suddenly turned as sharp as two blades, and the staff of the Mercenary Guild around him, like startled little rabbits, dared not speak. Only a few close to the old man went to convey his intentions to those below.

Watching the communication talisman in his subordinate’s hand slowly burn, the old man’s expression relaxed. By rights, there shouldn’t be any manipulation in the third stage, but Long Yan was so exceptionally good in the first two stages that the old man was a bit curious. Of course, he was more afraid that Long Yan might be a cultivator who had infiltrated the Mercenary Town.

“Friend or foe, a probe will reveal.”

The old man stared intently at Long Yan below. Now, Long Yan was surrounded by a crowd of mercenaries eager to play the dogleg. It’s known that mercenaries, though considered cultivators, still had an alarmingly high mortality rate. How could a life of licking blood off a knife edge not result in fatalities?

Under such a high mortality rate, the Mercenary Guild has issued another mode of cooperation, namely the Mercenary Group mode. Generally composed of four or five people teaming up, they accomplish difficult tasks together. The profits are distributed according to their own set rules, which the Mercenary Guild does not interfere with.

In the Mercenary Group mode, the work is quicker, safety is greatly enhanced, and at the very least, one can return to report back. Therefore, having a Great God as a teammate is very important, which is why these mercenaries spare no effort to please Long Yan.

In the thoughts of these mercenaries, it was certain that Long Yan would later form his own Mercenary Group, so they hoped that Long Yan would consider them when choosing his team members, to leave a good fate for their future lives.

Long Yan slowly walked into the trial ground. The entire field was cylindrical, surrounded by small iron balls, which looked as if one was placed in a coffin.

However, there was barely enough room for Long Yan to dodge, about three meters around him. Looking at the densely-packed iron balls, Long Yan felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

The method to pass this third stage was brutally simple. Within thirty minutes, iron balls from all around would fly out to attack participants, and if one is hit less than twenty times during this period, they pass.

But seeing how many iron balls there were, Long Yan estimated there might be a hundred or even a thousand. Forget about twenty times, even hitting forty times might not be enough.

“Doesn’t it seem like there are too many for this person’s third step?”

Among the onlookers, a mercenary wondered aloud. He was also an Earth-level mercenary and had participated in this third stage before. He vaguely remembered that Earth-level mercenaries didn’t have so many iron balls, perhaps only half of what was here.

“Begin!”

Before anyone could speak, the receptionist placed a stick of incense into the nearby burner, signifying that the third stage of the trial had begun. Everyone immediately fell silent. Initially, Zhang Si thought he was doomed today, but seeing the number of iron balls, his face slowly regained color.

“Hahaha, truly karma, kid. Even the heavens are helping me. Today, I’m definitely getting your Silver.”

In Zhang Si’s imagination, so many iron balls would be difficult even for a Heavenly Level mercenary, let alone Long Yan. He didn’t expect Long Yan to be this unlucky with so many iron balls.

In fact, the third step was believed to be cheat-proof because the iron balls were randomly generated, with different counts for Earth-level and Heavenly Level. But today, Long Yan seemed unlucky, facing a number high even for Heavenly Level, leaving the receptionist dumbfounded as Long Yan moved dexterously in the field.

Seeing Long Yan’s panic, Zhang Si felt even more triumphant, a smile reappearing on his face. As for passing the test, he believed it was entirely impossible for Long Yan.

“Damn, truly a run of bad luck.”

With a flip, an iron ball flew past under Long Yan. Although it was called an iron ball, it functioned more like a wooden mechanism. When the iron ball hit, the hidden red powder inside would fall on a person, to verify the exact number of times they were hit.

Even though Long Yan had not yet been hit, a cold sweat was dripping down his forehead. Everyone has physical limits, and this intensive attack was not less fierce than the Iron Tree swarm Long Yan had faced before, pushing his body to its limits to dodge the attacks.

“Lu Xian Sword.”

The Lu Xian Sword swelled in the wind, and in an instant, it was surrounded by flickering Sword Light, streams of Sword Qi flowing through the air, slicing into fragments any iron ball daring to approach Long Yan.

“He’s cheating! He used a Weapon.”

Seeing Long Yan wield the Lu Xian Sword, Zhang Si shouted loudly among the crowd, afraid that someone might not know Long Yan had resorted to using a weapon.

“What’s all this fuss about? Where is it stated that you can’t use weapons in the third stage?”

Before the receptionist could speak, a burly man beside them glanced sideways at Zhang Si, coldly saying. His words left Zhang Si shocked. Indeed, the rule only mentioned not being hit by iron balls, not the prohibition of using weapons.

Actually, few people use weapons in the third stage. It’s allowed, but mercenaries generally have long or large weapons that perform best in open fights. In this tight Space, even swinging the Lu Xian Sword was a struggle, let alone those long Weapons.

Once the Lu Xian Sword was unsheathed, Long Yan felt the pressure significantly lessen. The iron balls were sliced apart before coming within a few meters of Long Yan. Seeing Long Yan’s silhouette inside, Zhang Si was infuriated. Continuing like this, both his arm and tongue would be gone.

Dan Qinghu was now useless, still lying in the Ruins like a dead fox. Zhang Si thought secretly, then stealthily pulled a dart shimmering with green light from his bosom.

You must know that Long Yan’s trial ground was open. If Zhang Si launched a surprise attack now, Long Yan, unprepared, might actually get hit. A cold smile curved on Zhang Si’s lips.

If you want my arm and tongue, I’ll take your leg first.

This dart from Zhang Si was crudely made, but the poison within it, Bone Dissolving Juice, was famous throughout the Small Town. Made from a highly toxic herb from the Demon Beast Mountain Range, any Earth-level mercenary touching it wouldn’t survive or end up disabled for life.

“Not good, Zhang Si is up to no good for the Young Hero on stage.”

The mercenary nearby noticed Zhang Si squeezing forward madly, glanced casually, and saw the green dart in Zhang Si’s palm, shouting in alarm.

“Damn it!”