Chapter 162: Dangerous Person (Part 2)

When Weir hurried back to the first target location, he was surprised to find that another group of people had somehow appeared there. Rosti was currently chatting enthusiastically and animatedly with one of them. Seeing Weir return, Rosti immediately patted the man on the shoulder, handed him his wine pouch, and then walked toward Weir with a hearty laugh.

"What's going on? Who are they...?"

Feeling puzzled, Weir wanted to ask Rosti about the identity of those people, but Rosti calmly patted Weir's shoulder, giving him a look that meant: let's talk about it once we're away!

The group was only about thirty meters away from Weir and Rosti, yet this short distance somehow gave Rosti a sense of security. Upon returning to his own territory, he sat down on the ground just like usual, pulled out another water pouch from his pack, took a gulp, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"What is going on?"

Sensing that something was a bit strange about Rosti's demeanor, Weir frowned and instinctively glanced toward the other side. Just at that moment, a man sitting over there happened to turn his head. Their eyes met, and Weir felt as though the fellow's gaze belonged to a cold-blooded viper—devoid of the slightest human emotion, chilling, indifferent, and utterly contemptuous of life. This instinctually made Weir feel extremely uncomfortable.

"The guy looking at you is the leader of that group. I tried to strike up a conversation with him a few times, but every attempt failed. Those fellows told me their leader is a mute. Hmph, but who would believe that?!"

Rosti let out a cold snort, took another gulp of water, and whispered to Weir, "I feigned casual chatter with them, but every single one of them was full of vigilance toward me. Although it didn't show on the surface, I knew it in my heart: these people are... dangerous!"

"Dangerous?"

Weir frowned. Rosti leaned in closer, stretched out his finger, and drew a few dots on the ground. "Look, aren't the positions where each of them sits somewhat similar to the arrangement of these dots?"

"Indeed they are..."

Weir mentally compared the positions of that group with the arrangement of the dots, vaguely feeling that something was amiss, yet unable to put his finger on what exactly felt so peculiar.

"Did you notice anything?"

Rosti glanced at Weir, pointing with his finger one by one. "There are six people in total in that group, but the positions assigned to each of them are different. At first, I found it strange, so I purposely went up to chat with them for a bit, taking the opportunity to sweep a few glances. Hehe, the conclusion I finally reached is quite interesting!"

With a cold smile, Rosti continued to Weir, "Look at these two dots. The two guys standing in these positions are sitting side by side at the very front of the group. The one on the left has a sturdy build. I paid close attention and noticed that this guy has the most scars among all of them, even quite a few on his face. So I suspect he is responsible for breaking through enemy lines. The one on the right is massively built, like an aggressive bull; he's presumably responsible for overall defense—the meat shield, in other words. As for the two dots behind them, one of them is their leader. His aura is steady; when I got close to him, I couldn't sense any soul power from him at all, which shows he excels at concealing his own presence—definitely a terrifyingly powerful individual! The guy standing right behind him has a very delicate constitution, pale skin, and is extremely picky about his food! Heh, a fellow like that is obviously a healing-type soul master at a glance. As for the two men standing beside the leader, the one on the left has short daggers tucked into his waist and legs, and the calluses on his fingers and palms are very thick; he is clearly a master of close-quarters combat. The one on the right, however, is facing the opposite direction of everyone else—he's facing backward, and his arms seem a bit longer than an average person's. His waist also appears somewhat deformed; although he has concealed it very well, I could still tell that his waist is tilted slightly to the left. Therefore, I suspect he is a long-range attack soul master possessing a pseudo-serpent type martial soul!"

Weir looked at the dots on the ground with growing interest and suddenly said to Rosti, "With this kind of formation, they must be a very experienced mercenary squad, right?"

Rosti shook his head and said to Weir, "At first, I thought so too, but during my conversation with them, I inadvertently learned that they seem to be waiting for someone!"

"Ah, waiting for someone!"

Only at this point did a hint of solemnity appear on Rosti's face as he told Weir, "Look, their deployment indeed looks like a mercenary squad on the surface, and their lineup is flawless. But there is still one more person among them. Think about it, Weir—if that person were to return to this team, what role would he play?"

Hearing this, a strange expression finally surfaced on Weir's face, and he finally understood what Rosti was truly worried about... Crowd control, long-range attack, close combat, frontline breaching, healing, tanking—if another person had to be added to these six individuals, the role that person would definitely assume was stealth and assassination!

If a mercenary squad were to add a member responsible for stealth and assassination, then this squad could by no means be as simple as an ordinary mercenary group!

"What do you think we should do?"

Weir frowned and asked Rosti. Rosti's answer was simple: "Leave this place immediately! Stay away from these unknown troubles!"

Reaching a consensus, the two of them immediately packed up to hit the road. However, whether by coincidence or design, just as Weir and Rosti prepared to leave, that group of people also began packing their things, getting ready to set off as well.

"Are you two planning to leave already?"

The speaker was the fellow with short daggers hanging from his body. According to Rosti's estimation, this guy's role in the team was close combat—a dangerous character!

"Yeah, our mission isn't finished yet. Given the deadline, we have to pick up the pace!"

"Oh, is that so?"

The man gave a faint smile. He glanced in the direction Rosti and Weir were planning to head and asked, "Where are you guys headed?"

"The Mottled Stone Forest!" Rosti replied.

He had originally intended to name a more distant place so these fellows would dismiss any lingering vigilance toward the two of them. However, to Rosti's utter astonishment, the moment that guy heard they were going to the Mottled Stone Forest, the smile on his face instantly froze.

"Heh, what a coincidence. You're heading to the Mottled Stone Forest too..."

The man turned his head to look at the leader, and upon receiving a nod of permission, he smiled back at Rosti and said, "As it happens, we have a mission in the Mottled Stone Forest as well. Since we're going the same way, let's travel together. After all, this Magical Beast Forest isn't very safe..."

With that, the man walked right up to Weir's side, stretched out his hand to casually pat Weir's shoulder as if they were old acquaintances, and then looked at Rosti, awaiting his response.