Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 695 - 152: The Number One Expert

The Transmission Array laid out by Qian Luo is beyond comparison to those village-level arrays within the Empire.

For example, if the several Transmission Arrays leading to Fandi Port were akin to village roads, Qian Luo’s Transmission Array would be the national highway, in terms of both swiftness and ease of travel, far surpassing Yue Jinghua’s expectations. Combined with the aid of the "Titan," it took them only a day to reach Five Saints Town.

Five Saints Town was as bustling as in days past, filled with mercenaries from across the continent in every corner of the town.

Before departure, Yue Jinghua had already sent a message to Feng Buhui and the others, arranging to meet at Helen Tavern to discuss the rescue operation in Shang Kingdom.

Upon arriving at the tavern, the proprietress, Helen, retained her charm just as before. When she saw Yue Jinghua, Helen was initially stunned, then revealed a coquettish smile and said, "It’s truly said that one should not underestimate the changes in a man over three days; Captain Yue’s cultivation has improved even more."

After exchanging a few polite remarks, they saw a fat man pushing open the double wooden doors of the tavern.

The fat man was nearly as wide as he was tall, with a short and stubby figure, his neck nearly invisible, squished by rolls of fat. With each step, his body jiggled and bounced.

He looked around, his gaze skimming over Yue Jinghua’s face, showing a hint of jealousy, then quickly shifted to the female mercenaries beside Yue Jinghua, his eyes lighting up as if he had found some rare treasure.

Shalman, Qian Luo, and Chi Xi were all attractive women of varying ages—a stark contrast to the fierce and stout female mercenaries the fat man had seen before, a few classes above, indeed.

Shalman’s face was like a peach blossom, Qian Luo had an undeniably loli appeal, and Chi Xi exuded a mature charm, which made the fat man’s head spin in awe.

He secretly spat, slicking his hair back until it shone, then pulled up what he considered a handsome and dashing smile, walking over towards the three women with bows and nods, "Beautiful ladies, you must be visitors from afar. I am the leader of the July Mercenary Team, the largest mercenary team in Five Saints Town. May I have the honor to invite you lovely ladies for a drink? Whether you are here for sightseeing or settling down, I am more than willing to be your guide." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As it turned out, this fat man was Luo Compass, who had been locked up in the dungeons of Shang Kingdom for several days and was bailed out by Qin Dongting just a few months earlier.

After Sha Fei seized power, Shang Kingdom had been thrown into chaos for a while, and the prisoners in the Heavenly Prison were left unattended. Desperate and on the verge of using his belt to end his life several times, the fat man’s despair was inversely proportional to his size. When Qin Dongting arrived, the fat man was tearfully grateful, vowing to share life and death with these brothers from now on.

Having seen Yue Jinghua dressed as a woman in prison, and having only interacted with Yue Jinghua through the cell bars for a few days, he naturally did not recognize Yue Jinghua now dressed as a handsome young man.

Plain in appearance, extremely obese, and almost completely lacking in female companionship, what he resented most was someone like Yue Jinghua, a "pretty boy." Seeing him surrounded by a bevy of beauties made him seethe with envy.

He did not recognize the other women and, seeing their travel-worn state, assumed they were from out of town.

Luo Compass blatantly ignored the "little white face" Yue Jinghua, his eyes flitting over the women’s faces like a green-headed fly.

As soon as he began to speak, he introduced himself as the captain of "July", causing a few chuckles among the women, who had guessed his identity. Only Yue Jinghua smiled without saying anything, and she did not expose him; likewise, the other women also managed to suppress their laughter.

"Thank you, Captain Luo. The few of us are not tourists," Shalman noted the look in Yue Jinghua’s eyes and understood her intent. She spoke gently, "We’ve encountered some difficulties and need to find the best local mercenary group. I wonder if Captain Luo could help us?"

After saying this, Shalman winked at Compass.

Compass was immediately so starstruck that he started nodding furiously, "No need to look any further, our July Mercenary Team is the best mercenary team in town. I myself am the top mercenary of our team."

"Cough cough," Chi Xi spat out the wine in her mouth, while the other people also struggled to contain their laughter almost to the point of stomach cramps.

Indeed, in the absence of the tiger in the mountains, a monkey could claim to be the king.

Earlier, when Yue Jinghua sent a message back, it happened that Feng Buhui and Qin Dongting were both out on missions. The underpowered Compass stayed in Five Saints Town to handle tasks due to his lower strength.

Compass was good at talking and bragging, and he was in charge of receiving clients, which was quite a fitting role for him. However, the title of the lead mercenary of the team was indeed a bit comedic.

"Ladies, if you have any troubles, just tell me. With me, Compass, stepping up, be it Dark Beasts or thieves, they will all be scared witless," Compass thought to himself. The other two fellows in the mercenary team always prevented him from going on missions. This time, taking advantage of their absence, he was determined to show off and impress these stunningly beautiful women.

By now, Yue Jinghua had guessed that Feng Buhui and Qin Dongting must not be in town.

Although they were short-handed, Yue Jinghua wasn’t too concerned. In her view, the difficulty for Shang Kingdom wasn’t about how many reinforcements they got, but rather, it was about getting a clear picture of Fa Xiaoyi’s cards first.

"Big brother, in that case, our siblings will rely on you," Yue Jinghua said with confidence, deciding to play along with Compass and continue role-playing his "high-end, classy" top mercenary character.

Hearing that Yue Jinghua was the brother of the beautiful women, Compass automatically cast himself in the role of "honored brother-in-law," and his demeanor immediately became more respectful.

"Honored brother...I mean, big brother, rest assured, leave the task to me. May I ask what the nature of your mission is?" Compass said, as he casually signaled the bartender to bring more drinks, looking every part the professional in task negotiation.

"It’s a long story. The few of us here, we run a Spirit Grass business in the region of Fengdan County. We need to procure a rare Snow Mist Grass for our shop, hence our wish to hire local mercenaries to accompany us and collect it. However, the Snow Mist Grass grows in a very harsh environment, and the Mist Canyon in the Shang Kingdom is the only nearby place where it can be found. We have asked all the local mercenaries, but as soon as they heard it was Mist Canyon, they all categorically refused," Yue Jinghua explained with a sigh, appearing deeply frustrated.

"Mist...Mist Canyon?" Compass, who up until now had seemed confident, faltered upon hearing that he was to go to Mist Canyon.

"What’s wrong? Even the July Mercenary Team won’t take on this task?" Yue Jinghua asked with an anxious expression, "Could it be that a formidable Dark Beast has been sighted in the area?"

"You don’t know the half of it. Recently in Mist Canyon, there has been... that thing," Compass said, looking around mysteriously before he continued.