Chapter 1193: Chapter 98: The Three-Move Agreement_2
Mulat suddenly realized, "I see. Do the two of you prefer to ride horses or take a carriage? I’ll make arrangements for you."
Xuan Yue said, "Of course, we’ll take a carriage. I can’t stand the bumpiness of riding a horse."
"Alright, then you two will ride with me later. We’ll need to rely on your help for this matter."
Xuan Yue rubbed his fingers together at Mulat, "Chairman Mulat, since you’re hiring us, shouldn’t you give us some advance payment?"
Mulat was taken aback for a moment, then quickly responded, "Yes, yes, how could I forget?" He pulled out a purse and handed it over, "There are five diamond coins inside. When hiring mercenaries, we always pay half up front. We’ll give you the remaining amount when we reach our destination."
Xuan Yue tucked the purse into his chest, "Alright, where’s the carriage? We’ll get on and wait for you."
Just as Mulat was about to answer, a cold voice suddenly interrupted, "Wait." A silver figure flashed by, and Ice Skeleton appeared in front of Ah Dai and Xuan Yue. Ah Dai was startled, the movement technique of Ice Skeleton put him on guard; she was extremely fast, obviously skilled in martial arts. Moreover, the chilling cold emanating from Ice Skeleton seemed to be an exceptionally domineering fighting spirit.
Ice Skeleton gave the two ordinary-looking commoners before her a cold scrutiny, scoffed, and asked, "Are you the members of the Evil Sky Mercenary Group?"
Xuan Yue, quite annoyed by her icy tone, frowned and retorted, "Yes, what’s it to you?"
Mulat hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Let me introduce you. These two are members of the Evil Sky Mercenary Group. This lady here is the deputy leader of the Skeleton Mercenary Group, Ice Skeleton."
Feeling the chill radiating from Ice Skeleton and hearing her name, Ah Dai’s heart gave a jolt, and he subconsciously touched the ice figurine in his pocket.
Upon hearing the word ’ice’ in her name, Xuan Yue glanced at Ah Dai and became even more hostile toward the Ice Skeleton before him, disdainfully saying, "Ice Skeleton, Fire Skeleton, never heard of them."
Ice Skeleton seemed unfazed by Xuan Yue’s comment, coldly stating, "This mission was taken by our Skeleton Mercenary Group. We don’t allow any interference. Leave at once."
Ah Dai frowned, the domineering attitude of the woman in front of him bringing a flicker of anger to him. Although the female warrior before him had a name similar to that of ’ice,’ the murderous intent she radiated was something Ah Dai disliked. He said in a light tone, "We had no intention of taking this mission. It was only at the invitation of Chairman Mulat that we accepted. You don’t seem to be the client here; you have no right to send us away, right?"
Xuan Yue looked at Ah Dai’s calm demeanor, knowing anger was stirring within him, and felt a surge of relief. Clearly, this female warrior was not his ’ice,’ and he could rest easy.
Ice Skeleton, accustomed to her high-horse attitude, rarely faced any defiance even from other leaders in her own Corps. Enraged by Ah Dai’s words, a pale blue light seeped from her silver armor, and the air around them dropped a few degrees colder.
Mulat, startled, quickly interjected, "Come on, we’re all headed the same way. Let’s not fight, just give each other some space."
Ice Skeleton glared at Mulat and, aware of her importance to the Stan Empire Alliance, she grunted and then addressed Ah Dai, "If you want to complete this mission alongside our Skeleton Mercenary Group, you must defeat me first. Otherwise, you don’t qualify."
Xuan Yue interrupted, "Defeat you? What’s that worth? It would already be impressive if you managed to take three moves from my brother."
Ah Dai pulled at Xuan Yue, "Brother, don’t be rash." The fighting spirit that Ice Skeleton had just displayed showed her formidable strength, and although Ah Dai, who had reached the ninth level of True Qi, was confident in his victory, claiming it would happen in just three moves was an exaggeration.
Ice Skeleton laughed, her bell-like laughter carrying far and wide. The members of the Skeleton Mercenary Group’s light cavalry unit all looked her way in unison, their bodies tensing. They were all too familiar with that laughter; Ice Skeleton had only laughed twice before, and both times, the enemies they encountered died under her Extreme Ice Silver Lance. Her frenzied attacks had shaken the heart of every member of the light cavalry unit, compelling them to truly submit to this female leader.
Ice Skeleton’s figure flashed, returning to her white horse’s side. She removed her Extreme Ice Silver Lance and declared coldly, "Anyone who doesn’t want to die, clear out." Her voice was as chilling as if it emanated from Hell of Profound Ice, causing everyone around, be they members of the Skeleton Mercenary Group or merchants, to instinctively withdraw far away.
Ice Skeleton raised her three-foot silver lance and pointed it at Ah Dai, "Come, let me see how you’ll defeat me in three moves. If you can win within three moves, from this moment on, I, Ice Skeleton, will follow your orders. Otherwise, your only outcome will be death." In mercenary circles, conflicts were common for securing a desirable mission. Even if it resulted in fatalities, the local government generally didn’t intervene. The Mercenary Guild would handle everything, providing compensation. Of course, cases resulting in death were rare. After all, mercenaries were in it for the money—who would joke with their own life?
Ah Dai shook his head helplessly, gave Xuan Yue a look, and said, "Brother, wait here for me." With that, he strode towards Ice Skeleton. His white life energy spread out, enveloping his body. If he were to use the Sword of Hades, he could take Ice Skeleton’s life within three moves, but since there was no deep hatred between them, how could he use the world’s most evil technique?
