As a precaution, Benjamin created a water veil to protect all the mages, and at the same time, blocking the five people out.
"Who are you?" looking at the five people, he asked and frowned.
Among the five, there were both men and women, wearing sophisticated armor made from leather, every one of them were armed. Some had knives, some had swords, some even had a crossbow. From the looks of things, they were mercenaries that came into the valley.
Even though there weren’t many magical creatures in the Valley of the Abyss, but there were still some special plants and magical creatures that could be used as ingredients. And so, there were some people who will ignore rumors and come here to complete their tasks.
Only, looking at these people...
After being blocked by Benjamin’s water veil, the mercenaries looked a little dumbfounded, the panic on their faces did not disappear, instead they became more out of control and they yelled at Benjamin and the group, "Quickly, run! That monster, you can’t win against it!"
The mages looked at each other.
But fortunately, the confusion didn’t last long. Very quickly, the "monster" the mercenaries were talking about appeared in front of the mages.
It was a long, gigantic creature, brown in color, looking exactly like a python, but it had a pair of claws like a dragon. From their observations, it was crawling as it moved its small hands, it looked happy.
Benjamin couldn’t help but shake his head.
Is this a magical creature?
It somehow doesn’t look right.
He didn’t feel any of the mercenaries’ panic. A freak snake with claws, was there any need to be so scared? These mercenaries must be really bad.
There wasn’t any need for Benjamin to say anything before the other mages went into action, conjuring magic. In a moment, twenty plus balls of fire appeared, hitting the freak snake’s body. In a blink of an eye, the majestic snake was turned into ash.
Benjamin looked at the freak snake’s carcass, and then at the mercenaries, and asked impatiently, "Are you guys really mercenaries?"
The mercenaries looked at how easily the freak snake was destroyed, disbelief spread all across their faces. After a moment, they turned their heads towards Benjamin and the rest, with respect in their eyes.
The one with the crossbow stepped forwards, and said carefully, "Thank you, are you all mages?"
Benjamin nodded his head.
The mercenaries exchanged a look, and bowed to the mages, as though they were expressing their gratitude.
"Good day, we are from the Coral mercenary team from the city of Rayleigh, and we are grateful for your help." The one with the crossbow said sheepishly, "The thing is, today the Valley of the Abyss is weirder than usual, and we were planning on leaving, can you guys take us along?"
Hearing this, Benjamin raised his eyebrows.
The city of Rayleigh, if he was correct, the Mercenary Association headquarters was there, it was the most prosperous city aside from the capital, and the mages were also very active there.
As he thought about it, he observed the mercenaries, feeling as though there was nothing wrong with them. And so, he nodded, and dismissed the water veil.
When they saw this, the mercenaries immediately thanked them.
The mages in the group didn’t care either way, all they wanted was to leave this place, it was just a few more extra people. And the mercenaries were natives to the land, speaking to them on the road could give them information that was useful.
And so, unwittingly saving the young mercenaries was like the intermission to Benjamin and the team’s journey. After the intermission, they continued on forward, and the mercenaries took out binoculars, and observed their surroundings as they moved forward, making them look like sentinels.
After giving it some thought, Benjamin opened his mouth and said, "That’s right, you mentioned just now that the Valley of the Abyss was a little strange. What did you mean by that?"
The guy with the crossbow respectfully looked toward Benjamin as he answered, "Not long after we entered here, we noticed a lot of weird animals. There was a three headed chicken, a six limbed rabbit, and that snake just now, with thick skin... we don’t know why, but they are definitely not magical creatures, but we had never heard of these kinds of animals here."
Hearing this, Benjamin nodded his head.
The Valley of the Abyss was a weird place, but, according to ancient legend, the weird areas was a little different from before.
Something is wrong somewhere...
The System suddenly spoke and without wasting time it said, "Three headed chicken, six legged rabbit, if we were to put the chicken and the rabbit in the cage, there will be a total of four heads and seven legs, ask..."
"Shut up." Benjamin lost patience and interrupted it.
Maybe it understood the situation, the rest of the journey, Benjamin had to see things with his own eyes. A wolf that looked like a large head doll, mosquitoes as big as a fist, horned tortoises... the normal animals in the valley, was like they had been exposed to radiation, one by one they were changing their shape, becoming very odd.
Luckily, the attacking power of these animals were not strong, and they were even weaker in terms of magic. And so, they did not meet any obstructions while on the road.
Benjamin was curious about what was happening, but, instinct was telling him to mind his own business. Even if there was some weird radiation here, they will err on the safe side, not wanting to stay here too long.
"That’s right, are there any mage groups in Ferelden?" As noon came about, the group stopped to rest and eat. Benjamin clapped the back of the mercenary with the crossbow and said, "We are from Icor and we want to know more about the situation here."
The other guy gave it some thought and said, "I... am not too sure what can be considered a mages’ group, like there are quite a number of mage mercenary groups that have registered with the Mercenary Association, more than a few hundred people. But if you mean the Mages Guild before the Imperial Empire split, after the Guild Master left, now there is no more Mages Guild.
Hearing this, Benjamin thought for a while before asking again, "So you are saying, the mages within Ferelden essentially do their own thing, and there are no big groups of mages?"
The mercenary with the crossbow on his back shook his head and said, "I don’t have much contact with mages, so I am not too sure. But, I think I have heard of a Mages Freemasonry, it is even famous in Carretas, that could be what you are talking about."
Mages Freemasonry?
Why did it sound like a democratic party?
Benjamin wasn’t too worried. The mages in Ferelden must have more freedom, just like the Freemasonry, it sounds more open compared to the Mages Guild. Moreover, Benjamin wanted to access more magical resources, he must definitely meet with this group.
Hopefully he could be able to speak well with them, and not be like the Mages Guild, not having too much political agendas.
After speaking with the mercenary some more, and understanding more about the land, slowly, as shown on the map, they reached the edge of the Valley of the Abyss.
The surrounding trees were not as dense, and the atmosphere not as gloomy, even though there were a few mutated animals running around, but Benjamin felt very relieved.
They should be able to leave this place soon. The rumors of people disappearing would never happen to them.
However, in the afternoon when they reached the exit of the Valley, things began to change.
Countless soldiers wearing foreign military wear, they didn’t even know where they came from, surrounded them completely.
At a glance, it looked as though the group had about a thousand people. The one leading was wearing gorgeous armor, riding a horse, her longsword pointed at Benjamin and his people, exuding a daunting, bloodthirsty aura.
"Who are you? What did you have to do with the wanted mages who snuck past the border yesterday?"