I Can Contract Beauties-Chapter 248: Ashen Ember

Miguel, Darius and Bran stopped on their tracks upon seeing the silhouette in the distance.

Darius summoned his grimoire while Bran took out a dagger and prepared themselves for battle.

Miguel, on the other hand, merely raised his hand and told them to hold still.

"He’s one of your guys," he stated.

With his Divine Sense always active, the figure of the person ahead was as clear as day to him.

In this place filled with smog, it could be said that Miguel had an absolute advantage.

Not long after Miguel said that, the silhouette in the distance approached them.

"It’s me, Jarek," the silhouette said.

Jarek was sleek and athletic, with short blond hair and sharp, angular features. He was holding a double-edged sword, a clear indication of his profession.

Among the Ironclad Mercenaries, Jarek was said to be the one that has the best senses, allowing him to move around in smog-like places like this with little to no difficulties. In terms of strength, he was an Advance Warrior rank martial artist. Not too bad.

Jarek led the three of them toward a certain corner in the Ashen Ember.

Miguel observed that almost all of the Ironclad members were present there, except for three of them, at least.

"What’s the situation?" Darius asked one of them.

"They’ve taken the bait. From the information relayed to us, the Crimson guys are on the way here. Though, I doubt if they will all come here in full force. Even if the information is believable, they are still a cautious bunch, no matter how arrogant they may seem," Jarek answered.

Darius nodded his head, understanding his worries.

"Well, the bait has been cast, leave your traces behind and let’s get out of here," he said with a wave of his hand.

With a radiant smile, he turned toward Miguel and said, "Well, Captain Sid, we’ve prepared the stage for you. It’s time that we depart here, lest we interrupt your fight, right?"

The Ironclad Mercenaries began to trash the whole area, leaving ’traces’ as if they were in a fierce battle. As they did so, they began to depart one by one, leaving the range of Miguel’s Divine Sense one after the other.

After the last bits of details were added to the mix, Darius bowed toward him politely and said before disappearing.

"The stage is yours, captain!"

...

Sitting atop a massive, jagged rock, his gaze fixed on the desolate landscape before him.

The moon hung high in the sky, its pale light struggling to pierce through the thick, suffocating smog that clung to the land like a shroud. What little light reached the ground was muted, casting a faint, ghostly glow over the ruins of the Ashen Ember.

All around him, charred trees stood bare, their bark blackened and cracked, with not a single leaf clinging to their scorched branches. They dotted the horizon, their twisted forms a grim reminder of a life that once thrived but was now long dead.

Beneath Miguel’s feet, the earth was parched and cracked, the deep fissures filled with ash, as though the land itself had been forsaken and left to suffer a drought that would never end.

Occasional embers sparked around, as if the place wanted to rekindle life, but to no avail.

The air was still, unnervingly so. Not a single breeze stirred the suffocating ash, the silence pressed on the surroundings, it was heavy and oppressive.

No wonder no mortal dared to trespass this area.

The oppressive atmosphere and the thick smog alone would be enough to become the nightmare of any normal person that dared to trespass this place.

And from what he has heard, this was not the only horror that pervades this place.

Closing his eyes, Miguel used his Divine Sense to its full extent and observed the areas around him acutely, waiting for his prey to appear.

All preparation has already been done. The only thing left was to execute it.

An hour later, his Divine Sense finally picked up some intruders. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

...

"Can he truly do it?"

Darius smiled upon hearing those words.

"Who knows. It’s not that we know the extent of his abilities anyway. From the way he carried himself, though, I don’t think he’s a reckless individual. Just..."

"Just very arrogant?" Garrif continued his words with his rough voice.

Darius nodded his head and chuckled. "Anyway, we don’t have to risk our lives for a chance to get rid of our enemy, it’s a fair deal, isn’t it? Even if this is the enemy’s ploy, we are already far from his location and we are quite spread out in the area. I don’t think they’ll be able to entrap us with such a setup."

The others nodded their heads, agreeing with his words. They would not willingly risk their life for a complete stranger. They had also made their own preparations in case something went awry.

"Let’s just observe the situation first. If we see that he was indeed just bluffing, and would not be able to contend with the Crimson, then, we’ll just leave him behind. If he’s proven to be of use, and could kill some of the Crimson, then we can help."

In the end, all of them decided that they would help and stay depending on the situation.

"Cassian, where is he now?" Darius turned to look at one of the Ironclad Mercenary members.

That man named Cassian shook his head, "He disappeared shortly after we left. However, I can vaguely tell that he is still there. Just not noticeable by normal means."

"Alright. Continue to monitor him as well as our surroundings. Be alert!"

The others nodded their heads in affirmation.

Sometime later, Cassian finally spoke with a grim tone, "They’re here! This is bad, I think there’s too many of them."

Hearing that, Darius scowled and gritted his teeth. "Damn it! Did they bring their full force here? It’s just a beast worth 2000 Gold Coins, how is it possible that they mobilize their whole gang for it?"

Cassian’s face paled as he realized something, "No, I don’t think they’re here for that beast!"

"They’re here to eliminate us!"