Brand could indeed rely on this item to control that monster, but watching the girl named Qian lose herself little by little, completely turning into another creature, the young man thought he couldn't be that cold-hearted.

He took the stone shuttle and, with a light force, snapped it into two pieces with a 'crack' sound—

"Lord?" Hu Que was taken aback.

Brand shook his head at him, signaling not to ask too many questions. He simply answered, "Without the sheath, the Divine Blood will fall into a state of hibernation for a short time. You go and tell the Gray Wolf Mercenaries that if that girl wakes up, let her come to talk to me alone."

Hu Que pondered the meaning of this statement, nodded, and was about to leave, but Brand called him back: "Wait."

"What?"

"Char said earlier that you live on territories constructed with land cards?"

The Mercenary Captain nodded.

Brand searched through his land cards. At the edge of the forest formed by the Holy Tree Secret Land, a pitch-black swamp appeared— and between the swamp and the forest was a small town. Brand, viewing from above like a giant, could guess that the small town was probably the materialization of the Rochelle's Market card.

Returning from the spiritual world, he asked, "Can you build anything there?"

"Of course," Hu Que replied, "But the core still lies in the land cards, and all resource cards are attached to the land cards, used to develop the wealth and resources present in the land cards. Summoned creatures can also exploit the resources of the land cards, though not right now. Overall, as a Travel Mage, your grip on your power is still... immature..." He chose a tactful way to point out Brand's shortcomings: "Of course, it also has to do with your deck not being mature enough. In fact, the subspace of a Travel Mage forms a world of its own. Mr. Shire wanted me to remind you of this. This is why Travel Mages are so keen on collecting more cards because mature cards accelerate the formation of this world, and in turn, a mature world enables the Travel Mage to gain stronger power. This is the basic, they are complementary."

"I see." Brand mumbled to himself.

"Any other instructions, Lord?" Hu Que asked, looking at him.

"Of course," Brand nodded: "Tell the others to get ready to move out; this is just one victory, and our battle is far from over—"

"As you wish."

...

When Conrad met with the Lizardman bandit leader Yohkel the next day at noon, although the Paper Card Mercenary Group Leader had already sensed something was wrong early in the morning, Yohkel did not have such vigilance. It had ventured too far, and it wasn't until the morning that the Dragon Hunter Cavalry sent out by Conrad caught up with the bandit leader.

On the other hand, the Dragon Hunter Cavalry sent towards the Black Fire Sect had yet to show up.

Conrad anticipated that things might become problematic, even beyond his expectations. He continuously dispatched Dragon Hunter Cavalry towards Yohkel to maintain contact while hastily returning. He feared that Brand and his group had taken advantage of their victory over the Dark Priest, breaking through the few Lizardmen bandits guarding the Balrog Ruins overnight and heading far north, escaping their controlled area.

If that were the case, this operation would be a waste, and they would have lost soldiers and suffered setbacks. But he never dreamed that Brand was planning to completely take over all the power of the Shepherd Tree Men here.

So when he and Yohkel returned the way they came and saw the quiet Silver Elf ruins, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They saw many Lizardmen still patrolling the ruins, which meant the opposition was a step late, and the war had not yet reached here—

Or rather, luckily, they responded in time.

"Donald, this plan— is it yours?" The Lizardman bandit leader heaved a sigh and turned back, its elongated face seeming to magnify in front of the Hired Army's face. The Lizardman stared coldly at Conrad with its emerald rhombic pupils: "Many people— I lost a lot of men, compensation— double."

Conrad let out a cold snort, couldn't be bothered with this guy. Yohkel, known for his cold-blooded nature, would never truly care how many of his men he lost, just taking the opportunity to extort him. But Conrad had no time to argue; he felt something was off. The Dark Priest seemed doomed, but according to the news, none of their three paths should have encountered any issues.

Unless that white-haired guy deceived him?

Impossible, he trusted his methods. The young man didn't lie. Besides, the subsequent reconnaissance by the Lizardman scouts also corroborated this. Conrad shook his head, trying to cast away the uncertainty in his mind—

But he didn't know that not far from the ruins, someone was also watching.

...

Amidst the remnants of the once majestic and grand Silver Elf buildings, the Lubis Mercenaries, the Gray Wolf Mercenaries, and the Silver Elf's former Imperial Guard Heavy Cavalry were quietly hiding behind, in the shadows.

They were waiting for an opportunity.

Or rather, an order.

Everyone looked to the back, where Brand was explaining his final plan to his subordinates. His goal was simple— a preemptive strike, one-hit kill.

...

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