Chapter 52: Nut rcenary (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Aini was a free man. However, if he wanted to leave, he would have to wait for soone from his family to co since he was still tasked with collecting information in this town. This might have been the easiest mission in the family, but soone still needed to be placed here.
Another four days and it would be the end of the month. Saleen and the others made so preparations. The road from Phoenix Duchy to the Qin Empire wasn’t a smooth one, and bandit gangs could appear in the empty fields.
The first thing to do was to choose their horses. Those with money usually prepared three horses, taking turns riding two of them while the last was used to carry goods. A normal rcenary was lucky to have even one horse. Aini had bought eight horses and left them in soone else’s care.
How an adventurer chose his horses was a lesson in itself. First, they couldn’t choose a standard army horse, as those horses were very demanding when it ca to the standards of the grass they ate and any wild grass would cause their stomachs to be upset. They had to choose the short horses that ca from the Wusu River. Even though they couldn’t run fast, they weren’t afraid of heat or cold and could survive on anything. Their stamina was much better than the army horses, which were better at sprinting. If need be, they could be used to pull a cart.
After that, it was ti to pack their luggage. Saleen and the others had long since lost their tent back in the Chaotic Swamp. Saleen had also given his gold bottle to Canghong, and Sika’s water bag had a hole in it. All of these needed to be replaced.
In regards to weapons and armor, Saleen was a mage and did not need any of that. There were no holes in his magic robes. Sika’s armor was of a decent quality, and even after many rounds of fighting there was no damage to it. This was sothing worth a few thousand gold coins.
However, upon seeing the brand on Sika’s armor, Aini made a very obvious pout. Sika’s armor was from the “Forest Weaponry Store”. This weaponry store was from the Williams Family of the Qin Empire. The Williams and Clyde families were competitors, especially in the business of weaponry, and had been so for the past century.
Aini chose a pair of gloves for Saleen and put one on his left hand, covering it to make it less frightening. These magic gloves were a magic prop as well. They were completely white and had been handmade using alchemy. The material was not normal snow silk. A snow silkworm was a Grade 1 magic beast that could be reared and its silk was not expensive. What was expensive about these gloves was the handiwork.
Putting on these gloves did not seem to affect a mage’s magic, but they in fact increased the effects of water based magic. Snow silk was also used to make soft armor that was incredibly tough. When a mage put on these gloves, they could effectively protect their precious hands. So bandits who specialized in using daggers would dye this glove black to replace the leather they used to protect their hands.
Aini even helped Sika change out her leather bag. The bag that had been given to her at the Forest Weaponry Store had no compartnts, and shoving everything inside had made it a ss.
After two days of preparations, a suitable rcenary regint ca knocking at the door. This was an eight mber rcenary regint, and upon receiving the mission at the union, they had co imdiately to Aini’s shop.
Seeing that Aini had not said a word with his brows furrowed, the rcenary leader gave a loud laugh and pointed to his badge. He said to Aini, “We are a Grade 5 rcenary regint. It’s just that we’ve been lazy in recruiting anyone.”
This rcenary had a large body. He looked impressive, and had short black hair and a typical Qin face. He was clad in heavy armor that simultaneously did not appear cumberso. His green cape was filled with holes, but his armor, on the other hand, had been polished until it shone.
“I’m Flanco, the leader of the Nut rcenary.”
Flanco took off his glove and extended his hand, giving Aini a firm handshake.
“Nut rcenary? The one that defeated the Squirrel bandit gang?” Aini’s face changed color. Originally, he had planned to hire more rcenaries to escort him and Saleen back to the Qin Empire. They were carrying too much money with them and needed to hire many rcenaries with good credentials.
The Nut rcenary had a reputation cleaner than restorative water, and their skills were above average too.
The Squirrel bandit gang had been a lower than average bandit gang but had been very infamous. They had not had a lot of people in their gang but had stayed on the wanted list for the past hundred and twenty years. Since the gang had been established, they had taken up many cases that were neither too big nor too small. They had been incredibly cunning and had never failed before.
Legend had it that the Squirrel bandit gang had a high-grade mage with them, and even the existence of a blaspher.
Two years ago, a newly registered rcenary regint took the mission to eliminate the Squirrel bandit gang. It had been the Nut rcenary. At that ti, the entire rcenary world had treated them as a joke, not only from their na since a nut was ant to be eaten by a squirrel, but because this rcenary regint had only eight mbers. They had too few people.
At that ti, when the Nut rcenary accepted the mission, they had needed to pay a deposit of ten thousand gold coins. If the mission was not completed within the ti limit, then the ten thousand gold coins would be forfeited.
Half a year later, the Squirrel bandit gang was completely defeated and the Nut rcenary imdiately jumped to a Grade 5 rcenary regint. They beca a legend that inspired many low-grade rcenaries. As for the na “nut”, it stuck with them and was no longer just a temporary na for so naless rcenary regint.
Saleen had only registered to be a Grade 1 rcenary and had only been given a number. Even if he were to give them a na, it wouldn’t be recognized in the rcenary world. If a Grade 4 rcenary and above wanted to use the na, Saleen’s rcenary regint would have to give it up.
Only with a na could a rcenary regint be considered a true one.
This was an unspoken rule of the rcenary world, and hence the ones who really earned money were always the high-grade rcenaries. The lower their grade, the poorer the rcenaries were, and so even ended up as bandit gangs.
Aini’s shop could not host that many people, hence they returned to the inn that the Nut rcenary were staying at before both sides sat down to talk about the general terms of employnt. Even though the Nut rcenary had accepted the mission, without Aini’s approval, other people could still take up this mission.
“It will just be the four of us. Send us to Karen prefecture. It’s a five-star mission with food and lodging provided and a commission of five hundred gold coins.”
“Karen Prefecture is too far. With only a commission of five hundred gold coins, not many rcenaries will accept it, am I right?” Flanco was a little unhappy. The road to Karen Prefecture was long, and even with horses, it would take them three months to get there. That amounted to around a hundred plus gold coins per month. They might as well fight so magic beasts in the Chaotic Swamp and sell their magic nuclei.
Moreover, failing a five-star mission ca with a hefty punishnt, and Flanco would still need to pay a large deposit. If they had been low-grade rcenaries, a five hundred gold coin mission would have caused a stir, but the Nut rcenary did not care about this ager money.
“I’ll give you another piece of phlogopite once we reach Karen Prefecture,” Aini said confidently.
Flanco was enticed and asked cautiously, “How big is it?’
Phlogopite had little aning to a mage, but for a swordsman, it was a fantastic material for creating weapons. This item by itself was rare, and if it landed in the hands of a mage, there was a high chance that it would be casually used up. It was rare for a swordsman to possess it.
“This big.” Aini gestured with his hands and said, “It can add an entire magic pattern onto a heavy sword.”
Flanco thought for a while. Llooking at his teammates, he asked cautiously, “Could I have two? I don’t want the five hundred gold coins anymore, and I can still give you another five hundred gold coins for it.”
Aini took a glance at Saleen who nodded his head. The phlogopite had been suggested by him. For this, rcenaries would put in their utmost effort and even if soone else offered a higher price, they would not betray their employer. However, Aini didn’t have any phlogopite on hand and needed to ask Saleen for his opinion.
“Alright. We will leave at the start of the month. I will take care of your expenses for the next two days.”
Flanco laughed and said, “That won’t be necessary. Have you all packed your luggage? Do you need our help?” Seeing his forthrightness, Aini laughed, “We have prepared already. We have eight horses too. All of them are Hetao short horses.”
Saleen kept quiet throughout their discussion, his eyes on a person from the Nut rcenary. He was dressed in a white robe and was the mage that he had crossed paths with before coming to the inn.
There was nothing unusual about a mage in a Grade 5 rcenary regint. What was unusual was that the mage was only Grade 2. Saleen thought that this was too much of a coincidence…
The mage was watching Saleen as well. He found it strange that when Flanco had asked about the phlogopite, Aini had needed to consider Saleen’s opinion. Could this Grade 1 mage be the person that they would actually be protecting?
After looking at each other for too long, the atmosphere had taken an awkward turn. Luckily, the mage didn’t have an eccentric temper and took the initiative to talk to Saleen. “We et again. Hello, I’m Walnut.”
“Saleen,” Saleen replied. He had a general judgent already. This was a commoner who had co from a poor background. Since mages did not have nicknas, Walnut was his real na. This mage might even not have had a surna. From such a poor background, he had managed to rise to a Grade 2 mage. He must have been a genius.
Flanco said, “Let’s introduce one another when the team sets off. Mr. Aini, could we leave for a day? We need to make a trip to the forest.”
Aini nodded in agreent. “Sure. Let’s et at the start of the month.”
Saleen kept his paranoia to himself. That mage could not have been here for him. Since they had escaped from the Chaotic Swamp, no one here could have known of him beforehand. Also, what had happened within the Chaotic Swamp could not have leaked out. He was worrying too much. If Aini had wanted to find soone else to sche against him, he wouldn’t have found soone that Saleen had already seen.
Beside the inn was a restaurant, and the two establishnts were joined together. The day before they set off, everyone gathered for a al to get to know each other.
Getting a private room, the twelve of them sat around a large table. This arrangent was only possible in a restaurant ant for rcenaries.
However, the rcenaries in the Qin Empire seed much quieter than the ones in Sikeqinya. Even though the people of the Nut rcenary were still wearing their soft armor and held their weapons in hand, ready to fight, they weren’t as rowdy and everyone spoke in hushed tones.
Saleen happened to be sitting beside that mage, and the two made eye contact and laughed. Saleen now realized that he was being oversensitive. There were many mages in the Qin Empire, and eting a few was nothing out of the ordinary.
“I’m Saleen.”
“I rember. You’re from the Qin Empire?”
“Nope, I’m from Sikeqinya.”
“Ha, you have a pretty pure accent.” Walnut laughed and Saleen followed suit. The past few days, he had been correcting his accent with the help of Aini. For a mage, learning a language was a very important skill. If a mantra’s pronunciation was wrong, it would be twice as hard to learn new magic.
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