Chapter 150: The Pale Moonlight

This group of people hailed from four different squads. One was a youthful team, composed of relatively young members who acted recklessly, driven solely by their fervent enthusiasm, and had boldly ventured into the dungeon. The other three squads were led by descendants of the divine race, inheritors of divine blood. These leaders were acquainted with one another and somewhat familiar but, due to the peculiar relationships among the three captains, they had never drawn too close.

Now, all these individuals had come together with a single-minded determination to follow Luo Yong. Wherever he went, whatever he did, they intended to trail him—at least for a while—to see whether he was trustworthy or not.

So far, it seemed he cared quite a bit for that little follower.

“That golden orb…” Earlier, inside the grand hall of the dungeon, Fiona had used a golden orb. Some sharp-eyed individuals had witnessed the scene just before they were slain by monsters.

“What about the golden orb?” someone nearby immediately asked.

“The golden orb can establish a contract to obtain a magical energy war puppet!”

“What?”

“Are all those magical war puppets made that way?”

“Does he just casually throw such things around?”

“Quick, quick! Let’s catch up, get closer! We’re also part of his team!”

With a rush, the group, initially weak, grew more spirited as they pressed forward. Along the way, each was doing their best to recover, fearful of falling behind and being left behind—a fierce will to survive burning within them.

“Captain, where are we heading next?” Fiona, after her excitement, tucked away the golden orb and approached Luo Yong, whispering softly.

“To find a place to grind monsters,” Luo Yong replied flatly, devoid of emotion.

He had been dragged into a ridiculous situation in the dungeon for no reason, inexplicably fed a wave of ‘dog food,’ had his understanding of this world shattered, and had witnessed a tragic drama unfold...

But he had hardly gained any experience!

His main goal remained unfulfilled.

“What’s the purpose? Grinding monsters endlessly like this—what’s the point? It can’t just be a special hobby, right?” Fiona’s eyes gleamed strangely, as if hoping to hear a different answer.

“To save the world,” Luo Yong said solemnly.

“...” Fiona fell silent for a long moment, doubting her ears, unsure if she had heard correctly, even slowing her steps.

But after a brief shock, she quickly caught up, walking beside Luo Yong, saying, “So the captain is undertaking such a great mission! That’s incredibly cool and heroic! I’ve decided to stay right by your side and complete this noble and arduous task with you!”

“...”

Such flattery left Luo Yong at a loss.

Helplessly, he shook his head, thinking to himself how little kids nowadays seemed to have no idea what they were thinking. He wasn’t sure who was truly the abnormal one here.

Pang Ding hadn’t followed along, and Luo Yong’s warm-man plan was temporarily on hold. Behind him trailed a large group—thirty or forty people—enough to form a small mage squad.

Only, these people were all quite weak, of little real use.

Of course, this was just an illusion Luo Yong had formed based on their poor performance in the dungeon. After all, even someone as fierce as Pang Ding was, in Luo Yong’s eyes, merely a mediocre wingman.

“Fiona, if there were a special secret realm, would you dare to enter?” After walking a considerable distance, Luo Yong suddenly asked.

He didn’t lower his voice deliberately, so everyone behind heard. The words “secret realm” immediately caught their attention, ears perking up as they feared missing any important details.

“That depends on what kind of secret realm it is…” Fiona said with a peculiar expression. Given her background, she naturally knew some legends about secret realms.

While most secret realms were ordinary with nothing special, some were not to be entered lightly.

Because once trapped inside, you might never come out!

“The Skeleton Secret Realm,” Luo Yong glanced back at the faces behind him and said coolly, “Dare to go? I’m heading there to grind monsters.”

“Sk-sk-skull... secret realm...” Fiona showed some reluctance, her expression hard to describe. Although she was already a level 15 hero and had slain many monsters, the thought of skeletons everywhere in the realm...

Ugh!

It was just too much to accept.

“If you don’t want to go, that’s fine,” Luo Yong sighed softly, stopping and turning to those behind him, asking, “Anyone want to come with me?”

“Yes!” everyone responded together, crowding around him.

“Captain! We swear to follow you to the death! Don’t say secret realms—bring us to hellfire or boiling oil, we’ll face it without even a frown!” one hero shamelessly declared.

It felt like he had said this many times before, probably deceived countless people with such words.

Of course, Luo Yong didn’t believe him.

“Is that really how you all feel?” Luo Yong asked.

“Yes!” they answered in unison.

“Alright then,” Luo Yong nodded. “Form a temporary group, hurry up and think of a name, then register at the Mercenary Guild. First, elect a temporary captain...”

“Sire! You should just be our captain directly! No one else can bear such a heavy responsibility!”

“Yeah, we don’t accept anyone else!”

“Exactly, we only accept you!”

“We obey you! You be our captain!”

The group began to shout loudly. To an outsider, it might look like a brawl was about to break out.

“Forget it,” Luo Yong turned and walked away without paying them any mind.

“Hey? Captain, where are you going?” the group chased after him, bewildered by the sudden change.

“The captain said so!” Fiona suddenly jumped out, standing behind Luo Yong to block the crowd.

“Said what?” they demanded.

“Yeah, why didn’t we hear anything?”

“Little girl, why are you stopping us?”

“I…” Fiona took a deep breath to steady herself, then shouted, “The captain already said what to do, but if you don’t listen, then don’t follow us anymore! The captain doesn’t need doubters! If you want to follow, you must obey him. If not, leave early!”

“...”

The group exchanged glances, unsure what to do and beginning to doubt their earlier decision to follow this resolute mercenary.

“Let’s start with something simple. First, come up with a group name. We’re far from the Mercenary Guild anyway; we can follow a bit longer…”

One hero suggested.

“Hmm, alright... I think since we’ve all been through hell and crawled back, why not call ourselves the Hellfire Squad? Sounds fierce!”

“I think Magma Squad sounds better…”

“How about Godslayer Squad? Even the divine descendants died!”

“Or maybe Blade Mountain Squad or Boiling Oil Squad?”

“Up and down? Not so great!”

The group bickered, each voicing their own opinion, growing more excited and abandoning haste, almost ready to fight over it.

“...I wonder who said they’d follow to the death just now!” Fiona muttered emotionlessly, watching them, then looked back to see Luo Yong walking far ahead and hurried to catch up.

“Wait for me, Captain! Don’t walk so fast!”

...

At the Stonehenge.

Emma, a true spellcaster who had been guarding here for a long time and feeling somewhat lost in life, suddenly spotted a large group approaching ahead.

Roughly forty or fifty people.

“We are… the Dawnlight Squad. Our name represents rebirth and hope!” A young man at the front hurried forward as they neared Stonehenge, producing proof issued by the Mercenary Guild. “We request passage to enter the secret realm.”

“Dawnlight Squad? Never heard of them before,” Emma the spellcaster said curiously, scrutinizing the group.

“We just formed and registered with the Mercenary Guild,” the young man explained.

“Any suspicious individuals among you?” Emma asked, flipping through the Book of Truth.

“Impossible!” the young man shouted, pounding his chest. “We all met during dungeon expeditions, sharing life and death! You can’t even imagine what we’ve been through! We’re brothers! No suspicious people here!”

Growing more agitated, he spat a bit in Emma’s face...

“Ahem… fine, I’ll take your word for it,” Emma stepped aside, glaring at him, then waved to the mercenaries behind her. “Move aside! Let’s go!”

“Moving out!” the young man shouted, waving his hand as the group surged forward, entering the Stonehenge.

Luo Yong mingled within the crowd, opened the secret realm gate, and led them inside.

Fiona, cloaked and bundled tightly, walked beside Luo Yong. As they passed Emma, she stole a glance but was unnoticed and slipped into the secret realm with the group.

Crackling sounds immediately filled the air—terrifying noises like countless bones scraping against each other.

Very eerie...

Fiona grabbed Luo Yong’s arm, trembling slightly.

“This is the Skeleton Secret Realm!” someone in the crowd exclaimed as the gate sealed behind them, cutting them off from the outside world.

Crack, crack...

Under the pale moonlight, on the pitch-black earth, the soil churned as countless skeletal monsters crawled out, their eyes glowing an eerie green.