The King Of Warriors novel (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6632

"Mr. Chance, this is the demon hound king's territory," Rowan said quietly.

Tension tightened his voice.

His hand closed around his blade hilt without him realizing it.

Jared released his spirit sense across a wide range.

Chaotic force spread like invisible ripples, sliding over the wasteland's surface before sinking into the underground cracks and caves.

One aura after another appeared in his perception.

Golden Immortal Level Five demon hounds.

Far more than the fifty-plus listed in the report.

By his count, there were at least eighty, spread from the outer edge of the territory into the middle region, forming a loose defensive belt.

The Golden Immortal Level Six elites were also more numerous than the report had claimed.

There were at least twenty.

Three among them had exceptionally strong auras and were likely peak Golden Immortal Level Six.

At the deepest point of the wasteland was a single terrifying presence.

It was more savage than all the elite guards combined, like a mass of black fire burning in the dark.

Peak Golden Immortal Level Seven.

The demon hound king.

The intelligence crystal had mentioned more than fifty guards and five elites.

Now it seemed that between yesterday and today, the king had summoned back another batch of guards from the outer regions of its territory.

Rowan also sensed part of it. His face turned pale.

"Mr. Chance, this is... much more than what the Abyssal Exchange said. There are at least eighty or ninety demon hounds. Our group is not enough to do anything."

Jared did not answer.

His black eyes turned farther into the wasteland.

His spirit sense had detected something else.

From the west, southwest, and south, several dozen human cultivator auras were moving in quickly. Their speed was high, and their formations were disciplined. They were clearly seasoned mercenaries or sect elites.

Several auras had already reached Golden Immortal Level Six.

"People from Bermu City," Rowan said after following Jared's gaze. He could not see that far, but he could sense the movement of spiritual power in the air. "They must have come for the bounty."

He counted the groups.

Five teams were approaching the center of the wasteland from different directions.

Each team had fifteen to twenty people. Most were Golden Immortal Level Five or higher, and several leaders carried auras at Golden Immortal Level Six or even Level Seven.

Together, they had at least a hundred people.

Several Golden Immortal Level Six and Level Seven experts were among them.

"The Ironblood Mercenary Company, Cloudflight Pavilion, the Graywolf Gang, the Blazefire Sect, and what looks like a temporary wandering cultivator team."

Rowan pointed them out one by one. A hint of satisfaction slipped into his voice. "They are famous forces in Bermu City, and they are strong. This is good for us. If they handle the guard packs first, we do not have to figure out how to get through dozens of demon hounds ourselves."

Jared remained quiet.

He watched the five teams arrive near the outer edge of the core territory. Each took a favorable position, but none advanced at once.

Everyone was wary of everyone else.

No group wanted another to reach the demon hound king first.

The teams spread out across the wasteland, each occupying high ground or cover about a thousand feet apart, forming a loose ring around the core zone.

Not one team took the first step in.

The demon hound king's den lay roughly a mile away.

Blazefire Sect advanced steadily, neither chasing first place nor falling behind.

The wandering cultivators were the most cautious. They stayed dozens of yards back, preferring to miss the first bite of profit rather than become the first team eaten by the demon hound king.

Jared kept Rowan and the others about a mile and a half behind the five teams.

A safe distance.

His spirit sense covered the entire battlefield. Every cultivator's position, every guard pack's distribution, and every exchange of battle appeared in his mind as a constantly moving map.

"Mr. Chance, are we really going to fight them for it?"

Rowan lowered his voice. His eyes stayed on the flashes of spiritual light in the distance. "Ironblood Mercenary Company and Cloudflight Pavilion both have peak Golden Immortal Level Six experts. Blackwolf is arrogant, but he has real skill. Emberhawk is not weak either.

"The only slightly weaker side is the wandering cultivator team, and even they have a mid-stage Golden Immortal Level Six leader. As for us..."

He glanced at the nine cultivators behind him and swallowed. "Our strongest is me, and I am only mid-stage Golden Immortal Level Five."

"Do not rush," Jared said. His eyes stayed on the distant fighting ground. "Let them go first. When they have worn themselves down, we move."

Rowan paused.

Then his eyes lit.

Let others fight the tiger first, then take the benefit when both sides were exhausted.

Mr. Chance really knew how to calculate.

Rowan asked no more.

He crouched quietly in their hiding place and watched spiritual light of every color flare across the wasteland ahead.

The five teams advanced less than ten miles before each route ran into its first wave of demon hound guards.

Some guards had hidden between broken rocks and bone piles. Others had buried themselves just under the loose soil.

As soon as the human cultivators crossed into their territory, dozens of black holes cracked open in the ground. Demon hounds burst out from below, their claws tearing deep trenches through the fragile surface of the Blackbone Wastes.