Apocalypse: Mad Necromancer’s Troops

Chapter 72: The Same Target

The woman hesitated for a moment but finally sat down beside him, somewhat irritated. "What do you want?"

Last time, the Fourth Squad had made an arrest in the tavern.

Wu Heng had come in to gather information, and it was from her that he got some leads.

Although no one knew about it, she still didn’t want to get involved.

Providing information to the patrols or adventurer squads could make her a target of mercenary groups or gangs.

That would make it impossible to continue working at the tavern.

"This is your share from last time." A money pouch was slid into her hand from under the table.

Benny felt the weight of the pouch in her hand, and her eyes widened slightly.

"What… What do you mean?"

"It’s the reward for the information you provided last time. No one knows, so don’t worry," Wu Heng whispered as he leaned in.

Someone had noticed them.

A voice called out, "Benny, what’s going on?"

Benny forced a smile on her otherwise cold face, "It’s nothing, just a friend. I’m having a drink with him."

Seeing that it was someone she knew, no one paid further attention.

But Benny’s hand, hidden under the table, remained tightly clenched around the money pouch.

"What do you really want? Don’t get me into trouble," Benny said, putting away the pouch.

"I won’t cause you any harm," Wu Heng assured her. "Have you noticed anyone with a southern accent and a smoky smell on them? Probably a man."

Benny frowned and shook her head.

"Think carefully," Wu Heng urged.

"You know how chaotic a place like this tavern can be. Other than ordering drinks, there’s not much conversation, and it’s hard to pick up on any specific smells."

A tavern, filled with mixed odors, wasn’t the easiest place to identify someone by scent.

Then Benny continued, "But I did hear about a mercenary group from the southern region. They rented a warehouse in the western district."

Wu Heng’s eyes lit up, "Anything else?"

"That’s all I know."

"Thanks." Wu Heng stood up and headed outside.

Benny tucked away the pouch and moved on to serve the newly arrived customers.

.........

As night fell over the western warehouse district.

Wu Heng, Yuli, and Barson moved swiftly through the intersecting alleys.

"Are you sure it’s here?" Yuli asked.

After dinner, they had followed Benny’s lead and come to this location.

"I’m not sure, but we’ll check it out."

"Alright!"

They spoke in low voices as they quickly navigated the alleyways.

Just as they stepped out of the alley.

Flapping wings filled the air.

Several birds flew toward them, landing on rooftops or circling overhead.

"Those are the rangers’ birds. We’ve been spotted," Yuli whispered.

At the same time, footsteps could be heard from one side.

Wu Heng immediately drew his gun, and Yuli readied herself for battle.

In the moonlight, a familiar figure, Captain Arnell, came into view.

"What are you doing here?" Yuli asked, surprised and frowning.

"Shouldn’t I be asking you what you’re sneaking around here for?" Arnell replied.

"Why should I tell you?"

Arnell glanced at them, "Come on, the Deputy Deacon wants to see you."

The Deputy Deacon?

Wu Heng and Yuli exchanged puzzled looks.

It seemed they had stumbled into something bigger.

They followed Arnell inside a building.

On the first floor, the hall was crowded with members of the other three squads and some guards.

The already narrow room felt even more cramped.

Wu Heng and Yuli followed Arnell up to the second floor.

When they entered, they saw the three squad captains, the guard commander, and the Deputy Deacon Slater, dressed in leather armor with a panther lying at her feet.

The door closed behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Slater asked, her expression serious.

Yuli nudged Wu Heng with her elbow, "You explain!"

"Uh, we received information that someone had kidnapped children in the slums, and our investigation led us here," Wu Heng explained.

The other captains exchanged glances.

The two newest members had come here on their own to investigate a case?

"What have you discovered?" Slater continued.

"The kidnapper sold the children to someone with a southern accent. We suspect it might be that mercenary group that recently arrived, so we came to check it out," Wu Heng answered.

"You came all this way to rescue someone?"

"Investigating, not sure if they have the kids."

"How long have you been investigating?"

"Since this morning."

As the two of them spoke, the nearby captains looked on in surprise.

Though the cases they were pursuing weren’t the same, they had the same target.

The same mercenary group from out of town.

But they had been investigating for a while, using many informants to gather some clues.

These two…

The newest members had tracked them down in just one day?

Slater was about to say something when a voice came from outside, "We’ve found the target, in the fourth building. We estimate there are eight people inside."

"Alright, have everyone prepare."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Slater glanced at Wu Heng and Yuli, "You two don’t need to worry about this. We’ll handle it. Stay here and wait."

"Okay."

It was clear they were going to make the arrest, which was fine with Wu Heng. It saved them the risk.

Slater and the captains left the room.

Wu Heng and Yuli watched from the window as a large group of people quickly gathered from all directions and rushed toward a building in the distance.

Wu Heng thought for a moment and quietly released ‘Xiaoxiao’, who turned invisible and followed the group quickly.

Yuli sat down at the table, yawning, "After all that investigation, we end up running into them."

"It’s probably for the best. Otherwise, we’d have to risk going in ourselves to rescue people. Now we can leave it to them," Wu Heng replied, feeling relieved.

"True!" Yuli nodded, then suddenly slapped the table. "Wait a minute, why didn’t our squad know about this operation?"

"We’re on vacation, aren’t we?"

"We just caught a wanted criminal, and now we’re on vacation? Why weren’t we included?"

"Are you crazy? A vacation is great!"

"This feels like we’re being excluded."

.........

Meanwhile.

The adventurer squads and the guards moved quickly through the night.

As they surrounded the target building, the guards also blocked off all nearby roads.

Bang~!

Arnell kicked open the gate, and the squad members filed in.

From the building opposite, several armed men stepped out.

Their leader, a man of medium build with a gaunt face, stood with his hands behind his back. Despite being surrounded, he showed little fear.

"What do you people from Blackstone Town think you’re doing?"

Slater stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the man as she coldly replied, "The city hall and local guild suspect you of conducting dangerous activities in Blackstone Town. You’ll have to come with us."

The man narrowed his eyes, scanning the faces of everyone present. "We’re just passing through, doing some business. This must be a misunderstanding."

"We hope it’s just a misunderstanding too. This is just a simple questioning," Slater said.

The panther at her feet paced back and forth, its eyes locked on the men like prey.

"Alright, we’ll cooperate," the man said.

Grumble~!

Behind him, two round objects rolled forward, trailing white smoke from their fuses.