How was that possible? Han Yua and the rest of the group looked at the strange man in disbelief.
"What a strange man!" Han Yue knitted his brows and whispered to himself. To him, the strange man was probably an alchemist, since wide ranged attacks were an ability unique to alchemists. However, no alchemist could attack without leaving any traces of how it was done, much less in front of a group of combat experts. That seemed to be what mentalists could do. In terms of unexpectedness and concealed attacks, mentalists were the best of the lot. However, it was hard to imagine a mentalist killing so many fangwolves single-handedly. Could he be a combat expert? His kick earlier was quite strong, but not enough to convince people that he was a combat expert.
Just who was this man? All of them were troubled by the same question.
Ye Chong ignored the curious stares from the group. They would not be able to see his pouring movements on the glider. Beside, before he jumped down from the glider, he had opened up a few leaf bags from his waist, which contained knockout agents, thus surrounding him with a dense, colorless and scentless cloud of knockout agents. These knockout agents had some ingredients that helped them spread faster in the air, thus their effects had spread out surprisingly quickly.
Only someone who had a smoke pearl like Ye Chong could make this plan work. It was no wonder that Han Yue and company were baffled.
The sky was clear, and there was no wind at all. The knockout agent did not spread out as quickly as he had wished, covering only a 30-meter radius around Ye Chong. Within this radius, none of the fangwolves could stay conscious.
At the center of this large hoard of fangwolves was a 30-meter radius clearing, where fangwolves lay on the ground. Standing at the center was a strange looking man, carrying two boxes. The fangwolves beyond the perimeter were unsettled, but none of them stepped closer to the man.
Strange, very strange indeed! Despite Han Yua and his company’s rich travelling experience, they had never seen anything like it.
Ye Chong relaxed as he saw the knockout agents kicking into effect. While he had a few other tricks up his sleeves, it was better to use the simplest method. The Black Forest was full of treasures, but he would never enter it again without a mech. This meant that whatever resources he brought from that place would deplete as he used them. Some things, like the redsand dehydrator, were things that he did not know how to replicate yet. He did not want to use them all up until he could replicate them.
Ye Chong prepared to leave. He studied his surroundings for a moment. There was a wide river not too far away. Perhaps it would be a good idea to walk along the river.
Seeing the strange man about to leave, Han Yue and group finally reacted.
"Han Family’s Han Yue begged for your assistance!" Han Yue shouted at Ye Chong’s back. His throat was already dry from his earlier exertions, so his voice sounded cracked and hoarse.
The Han Family? Ye Chong stopped in his tracks. Huang Baiyi once told him that one of the two tribes on Dankwood planet that had starships was the Han Family.
Seeing the strange man halting, Han Yue felt relieved and spoke even more humbly, "If you can please lend your assistance, the Han Family will definitely repay you generously!" He spoke this with determination, evincing a sense of trustworthiness. He stole a quick glance at his comrades at the outer edge, fighting a losing fight, and grew even more desperate, but dared not show it in his eyes. To him, Ye Chong was one of those otherworldly respectable elites. He knew that these kind of people were often solitary, and so he treaded with care.
"Repay me generously?" Ye Chong understood that part. He turned back to Han Yue and asked, "With what?" He asked this easily. Bargaining was something that Mu/Shang had taught him repeatedly. He remembered it well, and had basically adopted it for himself. The way he saw it, he was not related to these people, and was thus not obliged to save them. If it was a bargain, however … He could accept that.
A few people around Han Jie looked at Ye Chong with anger and despise. They were furious that this strange man had seen it fit to negotiate terms, given their dire situation. Every second mattered, and any one of them could die at any time. They despised him because they had thought he was some otherworldly gentleman, but he had acted sordidly.
Han Yue thought differently. He was secretly pleased to see the man interested in his proposal. He was afraid that the man would be unmoved by these worldly pleasures. Since this was not the case, then there was hope yet. He was confident of his family’s power. There was nothing the Han Family cannot do on Dankwood planet. His priority right now was to escort the Old Mistress back to their home.
"What would you like to have?" Han Yue asked carefully.
Ye Chong cocked his head to the side and thought about it.
No matter what they thought of this strange man, they all knew that he was the key to their escaping this place alive. Everyone but the warriors still battling against the fangwolves at the perimeter was watching the strange man closely.
After a long moment, Ye Chong said, "Money. Map." Ye Chong was zuanless, so money was a no-brainer. He also desperately needed a map, or he might lose his way and enter the Black Forest again. That would be horrible.
As for finding Rui Bing and the rest, he could only do that discreetly and not rely on the Han Family.
Han Yue exhaled deeply and answered, "Of course, we will definitely fulfill your requests. However, please get us out of this place." He was afraid that the strange man would make some weird requests. That would spell trouble for him. To the Han Family, money was only a digit. He remembered that the Lord had once said, any problem that could be solved with money was no problem at all. The map, on the other hand, was even easier. The Han Family had one of the most complete maps of Dankwood planet. This was not exactly classified material, so it would be alright to make a copy of it for the strange man.
"Alright!" Since the man had agreed to his requests, Ye Chong was more than happy to fulfill his part. He took the two open leave pouches from his waist and held them in his hands. He then circled around the group’s perimeter, and the fangwolves around them were immediately knocked out.
All of them heaved a sigh of relief. The combatants who had fought for too long sat down heavily, gasping for breath. Ye Chong controlled the amount of knockout agents used carefully, and the group was not affected.
"So he’s an alchemist," Han Yue thought to himself in relief. Once he knew the man’s skillset, he could better fight against him. Not that Han Yue planned to go back on his words, but it was a precaution. It was better to be careful against unfamiliar people.
"You’re very skilled!" Han Yue was not flattering Ye Chong. Instead, he was genuinely impressed. The man had easily dealt with the fangwolves around them. He was confident of leaving this place alive now. The alchemists under Han Yue were also looking at Ye Chong with deep admiration. They did not recognize the knockout agents that Ye Chong used. The man was a mystery to them. Besides, Ye Chong had used just the right amount of knockout agents, sparing them all. They were much impressed by this man’s capabilities.
"Can you see which school he’s from?" Han Yue stole a glance at the strange man as he asked softly to Bibia. Bibia was from the Suyu school, and the strongest alchemist that Han Yue had brought with him this time. On Dankwood planet, the Suyu school was not as famous as the Qian system, but it was still quite respectable, with a long history of its own. Disciples from famous schools, like Bibiya, were often very knowledgeable.
Bibiya himself was a short and skinny man. He had a pair of bright eyes, and they were now shining with confusion. He shook his head and said, "I don’t know. He must have used a few different kinds of strong knockout agents. They must be nearly as strong as the Qian system’s Illusion. His scattering methods are complicated and obscure."
In fact, Bibia had overestimated Ye Chong. Ye Chong’s knockout agents were strong, but they were still weaker than the Qian system’s Illusion. It was only because Bibia had never seen Illusion in action that he made this wrong assumption.
Han Yue asked, "Could he be from the Qian system?" There were three alchemy schools that were famous for their knockout agents - the Qian system, Hanming school and Jiu Family. Qian system’s Illusion, Hanming school’s Ice and Jiu Family’s Blissful Drunkenness were the three most famous knockout agents. Of these three schools, only the Qian system was on Dankwood planet. That was why Han Yue suspected it.
Bibia shook his head again. "No. His knockout agents are strong and aggressive. Qian system’s knockout agents are gentler and longer lasting. These two are very different." After a few seconds, Bibia laughed wryly. "He’s used more than a dozen scattering methods, and I don’t know any of them."
The other alchemists showed shock, admiration and even envy at Ye Chong’s performance, just like Bibia.
Ye Chong’s eyes swept across the unconscious fangwolves around him. He secured his leaf pouches once more. If he just walked into Han Yue’s group like he was, they would all fall unconscious.
Everyone looked to Ye Chong with respect. Ye Chong’s demonstration was enough to win their admiration.
The guards that were securing the perimeter quickly dashed towards the Old Mistress and surrounded her. They watched Ye Chong carefully.
"Don’t be so ungracious," the Old Mistress admonished her guards, before smiling gently at Ye Chong. "Young sir, please don’t be offended, they have overreacted." At her age, she had earned the right to call Ye Chong "young sir".
Ye Chong nodded, ignoring the guards. He did not want further trouble. He could see that these guards were strong, and he had no intention of making things complicated.
Right now, he was thinking about how to help these people escape from all the fangwolves around them. If it was just him, his knockout agents would be sufficient. With the entire group, however, they were far from enough.
He must figure out some other way.