69: The leader of the three major mercenary groups

"Iron Blood Mercenary Group?" Ronan asked in surprise.

So far, he had already come into contact with two of the three great mercenary groups: the Dawn Mercenary Group and the Shadow Mercenary Group.

Could this Iron Blood Mercenary Group be... "The head of the three great mercenary groups of the Mercenary Blood Pact—you haven't heard of it?" Pelly asked, her face full of surprise and doubt.

Good grief, Iron-Blood, Dawn, Shadow... he had run into the Vice Commanders of all three great mercenary groups.

"How is the relationship between your three great mercenary groups?" Ronan asked.

"It's alright, considering we all belong to the Mercenary Blood Pact," Pelly said lazily. "I wouldn't say we're like fire and water, but we're definitely irreconcilable."

"Fire and water? Irreconcilable?" Ronan said in shock. "That's quite an exaggeration."

"Relationships between major powers are always this complicated."

Pelly shrugged and explained, "You might think a certain power is an enemy, but in reality, the two might be cooperating very closely."

"You might think two powers have a decent relationship, but in reality, their leadership is doing everything possible to take each other out."

"It's even possible that two powers appearing to have no connection are actually just two branches of a single major power."

"There's no end to the dirty laundry between these powers..." Pelly sighed helplessly.

"So you couldn't stand the way your own mercenary group operated and chose to resign from your position as Vice Commander?"

Ronan guessed reasonably.

"Not really. I was fired by that dog of a commander for not following orders," Pelly said, her face flushing.

"That's an unexpected turn of events. But anyway, could you get off me first?"

Ronan felt a bit breathless after being pinned down by a living person for so long for no reason.

"Uncle, you look pretty sturdy, but I didn't think you'd be so weak..." Pelly clicked her tongue.

Ronan didn't reply, struggling to push the lingering Pelly aside, finally feeling the burden on his body lighten.

Although his physique changed after transforming, his physical attributes remained fixed.

If Ronan could lift a hundred bricks in his original form,

then no matter what form he took after transforming, he could still only lift a hundred bricks; there was no strength enhancement.

"Uncle, why do I feel like you're disgusted with your own body..."

Pelly not only had night vision but also had particularly sharp senses. "Is this actually your own body?"

"Nonsense, of course it is."

Preposterous. Just because I transformed, does that mean I'm not me anymore?

"What's your plan for being here? What do you intend to do next?"

Ronan quickly changed the subject to discuss their next steps with her.

"There's only one entrance and exit on the third floor, and there's a fairly capable guy guarding it."

"I can't kill him quickly, and that would easily attract others..." Pelly said with a face full of helplessness.

"By then, let alone saving these girls, I might not even be able to escape myself."

"You can barely get out yourself, yet you still want to save these people?" Ronan somewhat admired her ambition.

"Well, now that you're here..." The numbness in the girl's feet had subsided, and she stood up with an excited expression.

"Uncle, let's work together and take down this evil organization that traffics girls and sells organs!"

"Aren't you a Vice Commander?" Ronan looked at her sideways. "Send an army to wipe them out!"

"Are you Mercenaries short on people?"

"Former!"

"Do you understand what 'former' means?"

Pelly said indignantly, "It means what I say no longer carries any weight with them."

"Does no one in Moonless City care about this?"

Ronan didn't believe the city guards of Moonless City couldn't handle this.

"Do you think they would dare to build a dungeon so brazenly here if the city guards weren't their people?"

Pelly wore an "aren't you just too naive" expression.

No way, is Moonless City really this dark... "With just the two of us, we can't save these people." Ronan shook his head.

He used his Spiritual Power to sense carefully; at least a hundred young girls were imprisoned here.

Pelly froze. She had only been thinking about how to escape and fight her way up, overlooking the issue of whether these girls could survive.

"Speaking of which, how did you know to come here to investigate?" Ronan asked curiously; he, after all, had been forced down here.

"My best friend went missing. I kept investigating until I found this place... unfortunately, I haven't found her here either." Pelly appeared somewhat dejected.

"This was also the main reason I was fired by that dog of a commander."

"Previously, I was supposed to be sent to the Count's place... but I trusted my own intelligence sources more."

"Is that Count Barnes who has his own manor outside the city?" Ronan vaguely guessed something. "Did he gather personnel from various factions..."

"That's right. I heard quite a few people died later on." Pelly immediately nodded in confirmation.

"Your friend wouldn't happen to be the Count's daughter, would she?" Ronan guessed boldly.

Morgan, the Administrator of the Adventurers Guild, had once said that the reason Count Barnes had gone to such great lengths was to find his daughter.

"You know Anna?" Pelly asked in surprise.

"I don't know her, but the Count has been trying everything to find her... wait."

At this point, Ronan suddenly had an idea. "How can you be sure your best friend isn't here?"

"I've looked through every single room carefully."

"No, you haven't."

"I have! These cell doors can't hold me; usually I... Oh, right!"

"Exactly. You found clues about your best friend here, and there are many young girls imprisoned here," Ronan said slowly.

"And after infiltrating and assessing the situation, you immediately informed the Count of the news."

Pelly smiled very mischievously. "Uncle Barnes will be very happy to hear this news."

"Alright, then the next mission has changed from 'saving a hundred young girls' to 'saving my unconscious teammates'."

"No, there's no need to save your teammates separately," Pelly said with a confident look.

"Once I call for the Count, everyone here will be saved, and this building will be leveled to the ground."

Ronan shook his head and analyzed,

"First of all, the girls aren't in immediate danger, so they can hold out until you bring the Count."

"But my teammates can't. They won't wake up and could be cut into pieces and sold at any moment."

"Most importantly, I've already discovered a group of ill-intentioned people coming our way."

"Keep your voice down," Ronan quickly whispered, warning her.

At that moment.

The dark passage was gradually illuminated as the voices of a group of people discussing something drew closer.

"Who gave you the authority to lock them up on your own?!" a gruff male voice sounded particularly angry.

Ronan recognized it; it was the voice of the Employer.

"Master, we didn't know the specifics. Usually, don't we wait until after the harvesting before..." the fawning voice explained repeatedly, its tone full of sycophancy.

It was Parker's voice.

"These ones aren't meat sheep. Deal with them quickly to avoid any complications," the Employer's words carried an air of absolute authority.

"No problem, Master. You've just returned from the Academy and must be exhausted from the journey. Why don't we handle it and save you the trouble?"

"Who told you I came from the Academy?" The Employer's footsteps paused.

"Ma-Master... My apologies, I misspoke, I misspoke..."

Parker lay on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, the sound of muffled thuds echoing through the passage.

"It's alright..." the Employer consoled him with great magnanimity, placing a hand on Parker's right shoulder.

"Just be careful next time."

Then, his fingers suddenly exerted force.

Multiple shoulder bones were crushed together, and the entire right shoulder collapsed instantly.