The Wizard: Starting as a Corpse Collector Apprentice and Paying for a Monthly Subscription

Two hundred-strong units, escorted by the city's defense forces and veteran mercenaries, moved like a long, winding snake, slowly disappearing into the deep mountains along a pre-surveyed road.

As the group ventured deeper into the area, the surrounding scenery gradually became oppressive.

The slopes on both sides became increasingly steep, as if two huge stone walls were pressing inwards. The dense primeval forest blocked out the sun, cutting the sunlight into mottled fragments that were scattered on the damp, decaying leaf litter.

A faint musty and earthy smell permeated the air.

Tyron mingled in the middle to back of the group, seemingly hurrying along with his head down, but in reality, his sharp eyes were constantly scanning under the shadow of his hat brim.

"There are more and more things that are not right."

Soon, he discovered another extremely incongruous presence.

Among the apprentices at the Sunfire Wizard Tower, the hot-bodied female leader, Tal, dressed in tight red leather armor, was surprisingly also present.

"She is a level 6 apprentice, and she and Sickle are both team leaders."

Tyronn frowned slightly, silently analyzing the situation:

"Logically speaking, senior apprentices of this level are usually in charge of overall coordination and command, and should not be in this kind of 'experience-building' manual labor at all."

What struck Tyrone as even more bizarre was Tal's behavior at that moment.

She didn't stay with her apprentices, but instead mingled among a group of burly mercenaries.

She laughed heartily, chatting quite amiably with several burly mercenaries.

Even when a rough, large hand took the opportunity of laughter to pinch her plump thigh covered by leather armor, she was not angry at all. Instead, she playfully pushed the other person away, her eyes full of provocation.

"Turns out she's a socialite..."

Tyron watched this scene coldly, his vigilance at its highest.

"No, that's not right."

"A level 6 apprentice is already a big shot in the eyes of ordinary people. Even if she is promiscuous by nature, she would not debase herself like this just to please a few low-level mercenaries who do not know magic."

"Unless... she's conveying some kind of message, or trying to appease these pawns who are about to take action."

With this in mind, Tyron remained calm and on high alert.

The next two hours passed by surprisingly smoothly.

There were no monster attacks, and no traps.

This unusual sense of ease gradually relaxed the previously tense team.

The city guards and mercenaries on both sides, who were responsible for maintaining order, began to become lax. Some unbuttoned their collars, some took out pipes, and some even started talking and laughing loudly.

The originally neat marching formation gradually became loose and deformed without anyone noticing.

Rumble—!

Just then, a violent roar suddenly came from the depths of the valley.

The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, and a flock of startled birds took flight from the treetops.

"What happened? Was it an earthquake?"

The apprentices at the bottom turned pale instantly, and Rice was so frightened that he covered his head with his hands and squatted on the ground.

Just as panic was about to spread, the commander of the city defense troops leading the way, a middle-aged strong man, roared loudly from his horse:

"What's the panic! Shut up, all of you!"

"This tremor indicates that our plan is progressing very smoothly!"

He brandished his riding crop, a confident smile on his face:

"The adults up ahead have activated the magic array! That beast is trapped and is doomed!"

Upon hearing this, the previously panicked crowd breathed a sigh of relief and then burst into cheers.

"Great! We've got this in the bag!"

"As expected of formal wizards!"

The city defense commander shouted again:

"However! The three-headed earth dragon's struggle before its death will trigger strong earth elemental magic fluctuations, which may cause danger."

"For safety reasons, everyone, listen to this order!"

"Leave the main road immediately. Let's find a safe place to rest and wait for further instructions from the adults!"

This reason sounded reasonable, and no one objected.

Then, under the captain's guidance, the team left the flat main road and followed a weedy path on the left for about half an hour.

Finally, they arrived at a relatively spacious clearing in the dense forest, surrounded by tall trees.

"Rest and recuperate in place!"

The city defense army commander dismounted and began skillfully assigning tasks.

He assigned several teams of experienced mercenaries and fully armed soldiers to patrol the area around the open space.

Then, he ordered two senior mercenary leaders to be in charge of maintaining order inside the compound.

Everything seemed to be in good order.

But Tyrion's gaze went beyond the crowd, fixed on the tall mercenary who had just been flirting with Tal.

The mercenary casually selected seven mercenaries and summoned five well-equipped city guards, then headed straight for Cathy's carriage.

He exchanged a few words with the two riders in charge of driving the carriage, and then waved his hand dismissively.

The carriage wheels turned, and under everyone's watchful eyes, it slowly disappeared into the depths of the woods along a more secluded forest path on the right.

The tall mercenary left behind four men, who lined up at the intersection where the carriage had disappeared, one man every 20 meters, facing the camp and with his hands on his weapons.

Tyron withdrew his gaze and looked around again.

He noticed that the mercenaries and soldiers responsible for "outer perimeter security" were positioned in a very subtle way.

They weren't facing deep into the forest to guard against the monsters, but rather subtly turned to the side, their peripheral vision constantly fixed on the group of apprentices in the center of the clearing.

"This is not a defensive formation at all."

Tyron thought to himself.

"This is more like an execution ground."

A strong sense of crisis instantly enveloped my entire body.

Staying here means becoming a lamb to the slaughter.

We must get moving!

While the surrounding area was not yet completely closed off, the crowd was still noisy and chaotic due to their rest.

Tyron took a deep breath, lowered his body, and like an inconspicuous gray mouse, used the crowd as cover to quickly sneak towards the direction where Cathy's carriage had disappeared.

He chose the mercenary guarding the outermost corner of the intersection.

The man was idly tapping his boots with the handle of his axe when he saw someone sneaking over. He immediately raised his axe on alert.

But when he saw the person's face clearly, his tense muscles instantly relaxed, and he grinned:

"Hey, isn't this Little Ma?"

This person was none other than Mark, the one who mistook the toilet map for a treasure map.

"Brother Mark, hehe."

Tyron rubbed his hands together, a shy, embarrassed smile on his face, looking exactly like a lovesick young man experiencing his first crush.

"Um... I'd like to ask, where did Miss Hoffmann's carriage go?"

Mark casually slung the axe over his shoulder, pointed to the dense forest behind him, and said nonchalantly:

"She's a noble lady, how could she possibly squeeze into a place to rest with a bunch of smelly old men like us?"

"Boss Luns, along with his brothers from the city defense forces, set up a separate camp for them inside."

After listening, Tyron showed a knowing expression, then took an even more awkward step closer and asked in a low voice:

"Um... Brother Mark, could you please make an exception and let me through?"

"I... I've always really liked Miss Hoffmann."

"Now, in this desolate wilderness, is the perfect opportunity for me to curry favor and demonstrate my loyalty!"

Upon hearing this, Mark was taken aback for a moment, then burst into a suppressed chuckle.

He patted Tyrone's head with his rough, large hand, looking at him as if he were an idiot:

"You little rascal, you're dreaming!"

"Have you read too many of those cheesy novels written by bards? Do you think a poor boy can rise to the top overnight just by saving a noble lady?"

"Wake up! That's impossible in reality. Even a single hair on someone's leg is thicker than your waist."

Tyronn sighed, his face filled with helplessness and longing:

"I know, I know."

"I didn't expect to be able to marry her anyway."

"But what if? Even if I can't marry her, just getting to know her and having her serve as my servant when I go back home would be better than being at the bottom of society!"

This statement seemed to have struck a chord with Mark.

He paused for two seconds, glanced back at the other guards who were smoking and chatting, and said in a low voice:

"Alright."

"Go back and hide for a bit. I'll give you a signal later, then you can sneak over there."

He pointed to the other side:

"Those two guys over there are Boss Lens's confidants. They don't look like they're easy to talk to. Don't let them see them."

Tyronn nodded repeatedly:

"Thank you so much, Brother Mark! Thank you so much!"

He quickly retreated into the shadows of the bushes at the edge of the camp, thinking to himself:

"It seems Mark is unaware of the core plan, or rather, he was just cannon fodder sacrificed."

"If they are really targeting Cathy over there, he will definitely not let me go over there to prevent any unforeseen circumstances."

About five minutes later.

Mark, in the distance, pretended to stretch and coughed loudly.

Tyron seized the opportunity, and like a nimble black cat, he quickly crouched down and rushed over under the cover of the trees.

As he passed Mark, Tyron paused slightly and whispered quickly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Beware of conspiracies, lest you become a scapegoat."

Mark was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

His intuition, honed over years of mercenary service, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

He instinctively gripped the axe handle tighter, his eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty.

Whether this kid is exaggerating or not, it's always good to be cautious.

At this point, Tyronn had already crossed the warning line.

His superhuman physique of 3.5 was on full display at this moment.

He moved swiftly through the dense forest, his toes lightly touching the ground, his body darting among the shadows like a ghost, yet he made very little noise.

Soon, faint sounds of conversation could be heard from ahead.

Tyron immediately held his breath and hid behind a huge ancient tree.

Through the gaps in the bushes, he saw two soldiers in city garrison uniforms leaning against a rock, smoking.

One of the younger voices carried a hint of doubt and unease:

"Brother, why are we cooperating with those cult members?"

"Arresting a noble lady... that's a capital offense!"

The other voice sounded somewhat hoarse and nonchalant:

"What are you afraid of?"

"Your monthly military pay was only 1500 before, but after this job, it'll be 4500 a month!"

"That's why, you understand?"

The young soldier still had some concerns:

"But... what if they blame us later, or try to silence us?"

A hoarse voice chuckled and exhaled a smoke ring:

"Silence them? You're overthinking it."

"This time it's not our own doing, it's the city lord's order."

"The city lord isn't collaborating with the cult; he's using them!"

"Use those gluttonous church lunatics to eliminate the influence of those disobedient wizard towers and the Papacy!"

He lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of smugness about his right to know:

"Even if this kind of thing comes to light, it can't be brought to the public eye."

"In recent years, the Wizarding Alliance, which belongs to the Imperial Family, and the Border Knights, which belong to the Holy See, have increasingly disregarded our city defense forces and have overstepped their bounds."

"The city lord will naturally teach them a lesson and let them know who's in charge here."

"This time, we wiped out the apprentices of the other three wizard towers, as well as the elite of the Border Knights. After the incident, the Church of Gluttony will be the one to take the blame."

"And the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower, with the city lord's secret support, has been promoted to a provincial-level wizard tower."

"With their support, our city defense forces will be able to completely control this area."

"As for this noble lady? I heard she has a special bloodline and is on a special list."

The young soldier listened in stunned silence, his face filled with admiration.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"But...brother, where did you get all this inside information?"

His hoarse voice carried a hint of smugness.

"What do you think I did by giving my two younger sisters to the captain to play with in turn?"

"..."

The young soldier gasped, and could only manage a dry, forced sentence:

"Ruthless... Brother, you're ruthless."

Tyron, hiding behind the tree, heard everything clearly.

Combining the fragmented information gathered over the past two days, a huge conspiracy quickly took shape in his mind.

"The Wizarding Alliance and the Church represent the central government's centralized power at the local level."

"The city lord behind the city defense army represents a local faction."

"A classic power struggle between the central and local governments."

A cold glint flashed in Tyron's eyes.

"But it must be said, these politicians have truly dirty hearts and truly black hands."

"In order to purge dissidents, they actually colluded with cults, intending to sacrifice so many elite fighters and innocent apprentices..."

"It seems this earthworm was just a decoy!"

The conversation between the two city defense soldiers abruptly stopped.

Tyron hid in the shadow of the ancient tree, his eyes cold as ice.

Now that they've confirmed the other party's identity as an enemy, there's only one outcome left for them: corpses.

Without hesitation, Tyron quickly looked around to confirm that there was no one else in the area besides the two sentries who were releasing water.

Tyron took out two bone swords covered in blood-red patterns.

Mental strength is instantly reduced by 3 points.

Simultaneously activate the control array and enchant the two flying swords.

At that moment, the two soldiers were standing side by side, releasing the pressure in their bladders by looking at a wretched bush, chatting about where to go play with pretty girls after they got a raise.

Right now.

There was no warning, not even a hint of murderous intent.

call out!

Only a very faint tearing sound could be heard in the air, like a paper cutter slicing through thin paper.

Two pale streaks of light drew two eerie arcs in the air, precisely slicing into the sides of the two people's necks.

puff!

The enchanted bone sword was terrifyingly sharp, instantly severing the trachea and carotid artery before emerging from the other side with a cloud of blood mist.

The two soldiers froze abruptly.

They didn't even realize what was happening; they only felt a chill on their necks, followed by an uncontrollable feeling of suffocation.

It wanted to shout, but could only let out a weak "hehe" sound.

Two seconds later, the two bodies collapsed to the ground like slumped mud, with only the rapidly expanding pool of blood beneath them proving the loss of life.

After dealing with the sentry, Tyron accelerated forward with his feet, his 3.5 physique making him like a black panther hunting in the forest, moving forward silently.

After advancing only fifty meters, they heard fierce fighting and screams coming from the clearing in the dense forest ahead.

Tyrion crouched down and peered through the bushes.

The sight before him made his eyes narrow.

This is a massacre.

The two well-equipped Hoffman family knights who were responsible for escorting Cathy were now lying in pools of blood, their blades piercing through the gaps in their armor.

It was clearly a betrayal by someone he knew.

The remaining two attendants and a groom were being attacked by a tall mercenary named Lens, who was accompanied by three soldiers.

"ah!!"

With a piercing scream, the loyal old groom was stabbed through the stomach by Lens's sword.

Blood gushed out, but he did not fall. Instead, he clung tightly to Lens's leg, and with his last breath, he roared:

"Miss!! Run!!"

"Go find the main force!! Run!!"

This desperate scream finally roused Cathy, who had been terrified out of her wits.

This pampered, introverted, and timid noblewoman was now as pale as a sheet, tears streaming down her face.

She trembled all over, stumbled and pushed open the car door, and ran wildly into the depths of the woods while crying.