Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 435 - 436: Ghostly Flame Organization (1/2) [16/??]

Faced with a gang of armed robbers, Sebastian remained impassive. He coldly watched the bald man in front of him, as if he were just another trivial nuisance. And as it turned out, his judgment was spot-on. There was no need for them to lift a finger against such riffraff. Or to put it another way... these miscreants were never intended for them in the first place.

"Charge! Protect Big Sister!"

In the next instant, along with a thunderous roar that shook the heavens, several large red figures descended amidst a torrent of fighting spirit. They landed with a ground-shaking impact, throwing dirt and rocks into the air. The terrifying force sent the bandits flying in all directions. Even Sebastian and the surrounding Black Rose Knights had to exert control over their unsettled horses and release magic and aura to disperse the oncoming dust storm.

Usually, the arrival of four powerful level 5 and one at the sixth wouldn’t make this much of a fuss. But these guys weren’t your run-of-the-mill normal cultivator. They were tall, really tall—over ten meters—and built like tanks. Their red and black armor made them even more intimidating.

Compared to these towering figures, everyone else—whether it was the gang of robbers or the elegant carriage—appeared very small.

Observing the sudden appearance of these five iron cans, Sebastian slightly raised his eyebrows and showed an expression that seemed to say, "I knew it."

"So it’s them, after all... Lady Kalina’s subordinates, The Ghostly Flame Group"

---

Over the years, the relationship between the Sadik Empire, the Red Leaf Empire, and Snow Night Empire had been far from friendly. Consequently, Black Rose family had found it extremely difficult to expand its intelligence network within these two empires. Fortunately, the development of Ghostly Flame Group faced no such obstacles.

In short, a large part of the information Duke Xiao had about Red Leaf Empire and the Snow Night Empire came from the Ghostly Flame Group. And it’s safe to say that the Black Rose family has had a fair amount of collaboration with them.

However, Sebastian always remained cautious towards these collaborators. Unlike Black Rose family, members of Ghostly Flame Group were mostly mercenaries recruited by Kalina, along with some local toughs and adventurers she’d managed to win over. The group was a mix of different backgrounds and motivations, so saying they each had their own agenda wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

’All in all, for now, they seemed to be under Lady Kalina’s control. But who knows what they might do in the future? Loyalty is a big question mark here.’

Given these conditions, it was natural for Sebastian not to consider them fully trustworthy; he needed to keep an eye out.

Another reason Sebastian didn’t like these mercenaries was a significant one—compared to the elegant members of Black Rose Knights, the Ghostly Flame Group was far too crude and brutish. There was a clear lack of finesse.

"Ugh..."

Watching the scene unfold, Sebastian couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows. The five members of the Ghostly Flame Group, who’d descended from the sky, wasted no time diving into the crowd of bandits, starting a one-sided slaughter. Regular bandits stood no chance against well-trained mercenaries.

In a flash, the small forest path was covered in blood and guts as fists and massive meteor hammers swung. Screams and body parts filled the air, and a strong smell of blood wafted from afar, causing Sebastian to cover his nose.

"So these are the Giant Tribe warriors of the Third Squad that Lady Kalina mentioned? Truly a group of savage beings," Sebastian muttered disdainfully.

At the same time, he noticed the expressions on the bandits. They seemed not shocked by the appearance of the Ghostly Flame Group, but by the group’s assault on them.

’It seemed that these Ghostly Flame members had intentionally lured the bandits here to rob, only to show up as heroes, all to win over Lady Yumo’s favor’

"Alas, their acting skills leave much to be desired."

Sebastian couldn’t help but express disdain for the Ghostly Flame members’ soulless actions and canned lines. He also glanced at the black-haired girl who’d just stepped out of the carriage. From the look of her furrowed brows, Yumo also seemed unimpressed by this performance.

"What... is going on?"

Yumo was somewhat puzzled.

Although the acting materials she had studied did contain some deliberately inserted loopholes by Sebastian, the overall knowledge she had gained was solid. Naturally, she wouldn’t be fooled by the Ghostly Flame Group’s mediocre acting skills.

So when these five armored giants effortlessly crushed the bandits and half-knelt in front of the carriage to claim credit, Yumo couldn’t help but tilt her head and say,

"What... are you doing?"

"Huh?"

The praise they had expected didn’t come, leaving the five armored giants puzzled.

After glancing at each other, the leader scratched his head and said,

"Ma’am, we... we came to help... to deal with the bandits..."

"Deal with the bandits?"

"Yes, yes! We saw that bandits were attacking your convoy, so we rushed over to help!"

"Rushed from where? The nearby forest?"

"Yes, from the—wait, you knew?"

The armored knight was suddenly speechless, looking puzzled at the young, black-haired girl in front of the carriage.

Yumo just shook her head and said, "Look, you five are hard to miss—you’re huge and you’re in red armor. You can’t exactly blend in, you know?"

As she spoke, her eyes showed a glint of anger. She glanced at the gruesome battlefield nearby and quickly pulled Yuan’er back. Although dealing with dark creatures might make such scenes ordinary, Yuan’er was still a child and originally human. Yumo didn’t want her exposed to this sort of violence.

Therefore, she couldn’t help but feel dissatisfaction toward the Ghostly Flame Group who had appeared before her and used brutal methods to eliminate the bandits.

"Are you the people called by Kalina for support? Didn’t your leader tell you there are children in this convoy? You’re going to scare them!"

"We’re... we’re sorry, Ma’am..."

Faced with Yumo’s sharp gaze, the massive armored knights lowered their heads in shame. The atmosphere briefly fell into an awkward silence.