Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
In the main seat sat another magician of around his sixties who also wore a white robe seemed to be anxious as well. He turned toward the man beside him and said, “Master Juventus, could you…”
The man responsible for receiving the caravan from the Cold Shadow City was the Juventus, Vice President of the Mercenary Association, who wasn’t quite sure how to proceed with the situation. The people of Cold Shadow City truly caused mass outrage and besides, his powers were limited as well. He might have the authority to set rules for mercenaries, but he couldn’t command them to do anything. After all, the Mercenary Association only had a few rules; all of which the mercenaries knew by heart, and none of them were being violated. The crowd was simply expressing their dislike for the visitors, it was pointless for him to try and stop them. Even worse, he might foul his own reputation if he did so.
The old magician humphed coldly as he saw Juventus’ reluctance, and instead took out a magic scroll from his space ring and rolled it out.
With a fluctuation of magic, a row of black dots appeared high in the sky. They became larger and larger as they approached the ground and eventually hovered over the arena like a layer of dark clouds. The old magician smiled proudly at the sight. It was the Gargoyle Force of Cold Shadow City, the city’s pride! During their final battle against the Koman City, this force served an especially pivotal role.
Many cities had their own version of a quick response force, such as the Silver Pegasus Corps of the Wild Willow City and Zaganide’s vampires. The Gargoyle Force served a similar purpose. However, each one had their own strength. For example, the Silver Pegasus Corps were equipped with pegasus, a variant of snowtreaders. They were known for their extreme speeds that allowed them to conduct lightning fast strikes. Combined with the help of elven archers, they were truly formidable during their offense. However, their defenses were quite weak, if their target had adequate force, they would often suffer heavy casualties.
Zaganide’s vampires had their strengths too, namely their ability to fly for several miles without resting and immediately join the battle upon arrival. They were much more resilient and versatile compared to the Silver Pegasus Corps as well. Resilience describes their raw strength, as they could fight to the last man against any kind of force, be it regiments of swordsman, knights, or even magicians, tenacity describes their sheer stamina, as they could fight for a whole day immediately after miles of flight. Vampire had their natural born physique to thank for that, if the Silver Pegasus Corps try to emulate that strategy, they would die from exhaustion long before the battle ended.
When it came to individual power, the gargoyles were the weakest. However, the Gargoyle Force also had their own undeniable strength, which was the fact that they weren’t living beings. In other words, the Cold Shadow City could have magicians create them, which naturally made attrition warfare their prime strategy. During battles, the sky would be covered in groups of gargoyles and waves of iron war puppets, even if they were all eliminated, another wave would be sent in before their enemies had the time to breathe. Of course, Cold Shadow City needed adequate amounts of magical materials, which was one of the reasons why they put up such an intimidating appearance in the Isolated Cliff City! Now that they finally conquered the exit of the Frozen Highlands, their leader planned to launch an even bigger war!
Neither Silver Pegasus Corps or the vampires were capable of such a feat. They would need several years, or even decades, to recover from their casualties. Wild Willow City happened to be in that awkward state, as they were still recovering from a heavy casualty the Silver Pegasus Corps suffered a decade ago.
As he saw the swarms of gargoyles, Juventus’ expression darkened slightly, “Hogan, what’s the meaning of this?!”
“Nothing,” Hogan replied flatly, “we simply have to protect ourselves, since you couldn’t offer us protection.”
Juventus was instantly infuriated, but he still tried to control his anger as he said coldly, “It seems I’m not needed here anymore.” And once he finished, immediately left his seat.
Hogan didn’t stop him, as he thought he could handle the situation. However, after Juventus took two steps, he turned around again and said in a mocking tone, “Before I leave, let me say two things. One, you are really dumb! And two, you are somehow even dumber than I expected you to be!”
“You…” Hogan was angered too, and replied coldly, “Master Juventus, I hope you remember what you said today!”
“Are you sure you are in a position to question my memory right now?!” Juventus bursted out laughting.
Hogan turned his gaze toward the arena and only then realized that there had been a subtle shift among the crowds. The mercenaries were previously sitting in orderly rows, but were now in complete chaos. However, it wasn’t true chaos, as they gathered into groups ranging from a few men to a dozen, forming into independent teams. It was truly an orderly chaos. Most surprisingly was the fact that none of them appeared to be panicked. On the contrary, everyone seemed to be pumped up and ready for a fight.
The representatives of the Cold Shadow City truly messed up their strategy. No mercenary liked being pushed around; if you didn’t offend them, nothing would happen. Had Hogan’s subordinates simply pushed the slaves onto the stage and let the mercenaries pick, the crowd wouldn’t be so stingy to spend some money on buying a slave soldier for their team or a maid for themselves. They might even treat the slave soldiers as cannon fodder, or as a friend. They might treat the maid as a mistress or their wife. It was entirely dependent on the person. However, the point was, it had to be their own decision. Of course, it would be a different story if the cannon fodder appeared especially loyal and brave, or if the maid did her job with care; no matter what, the mercenaries preferred the freedom to make their own decisions.
In the end, all that could be said about Cold Shadow City’s failed attempt at intimidation was that it did the exact opposite!
“Master Raphael, what’s your opinion on this?” Dwightsteel asked in a soft voice.
“I… despise them!” Han Jin said slowly. He just had to say that. Sunier was squeezing his hand, as if she thought he was the bad guy and was trying to crush his hands. Han Jin originally wanted to say he hated them, which was true, but he quickly realized that a mere ‘hate’ wouldn’t satisfy Sunier.
Dwightsteel exchanged a look with Winston, who looked towards Gibran after a moment of silence, “I say we should serve as an example for our brothers. What do you think, Gibran?”
“You mean… we should strike first?”
“At least teach them a lesson!”
“I have no problem with that,” Gibran smiled venomously. He was in a similar situation as Han Jin, since Julia was standing right next to him. Even if such an attack would cause problems, he still wouldn’t hesitate to slit a few throats!
As they reached a consensus, Han Jin and the rest slowly walked down the aisle. All the mercenaries were paying close attention to them since the start, and became even more excited as they saw that Han Jin and his group were about to step up.
Had Dwightsteel, Winston, Gibran, and Han Jin appeared separately, the commotion they caused wouldn’t be as big as it did. However, no matter if they admitted or not, they were the most powerful leaders among the mercenaries; the pride of Isolated Cliff City! And when all four of them decided to step up, it pointed the crowd toward a direction as clear as a weathervane pointing out the wind direction.
In reality, the dynamic of the Isolated Cliff City was completely turned upside down by Han Jin. Before, everyone minded their own business and didn’t strive to maintain good relationships with each other. People of the city were satisfied as long as there weren’t any conflicts, and even if one did arise, they would try their best to resolve it. The mercenaries formed countless independent interest groups, and never shared a common goal. Han Jin changed it completely when he and Yalina killed many conspiring mercenaries and became famous. Besides, people also thought he was a dragon slayer, and no one in their right mind dared to look down on him. With Dwightsteel and Winston in the lead, many other powerful mercenary groups attempted to establish a friendship with him, and even the Mercenary Association showed their respect. Although that wasn’t much of a goal, it was at least a common goal. It didn’t matter what the goal was, what did was that it united them together.
Hogan’s expression sunk as he saw the group approaching. He wanted to ask Juventus something, but the man was ignoring him since their last exchange. In fact, Juventus had walked up to greet the group already. He nodded toward Dwightsteel; an old acquaintance he knew such that he didn’t have to be ceremonious. Han Jin, on the other hand, was a different story. “Master Raphael! What have you been doing lately? Haven’t seen you in a long time,” Juventus smiled.
“I had some new ideas I needed to think about. Had to be holed up in my room for the past few days.” Han Jin smiled in return.
Finally, Hogan also steeled himself and walked up to greet them. As a magician born and raised in the Cold Shadow City, he was used to a different set of traditions. He wasn’t knowledgeable about the outside world, and neither did he bother to learn. Now that a group of powerful professionals were staring down on him, his heart had turned half way cold already.
Though tenth-grade professionals weren’t powerful enough to rule over the world, they should never be taken lightly. After all, the famous Bloody Knight Geralt who served Dismark was only at the pinnacle of tenth-grade as well. Even if he ignored Dwightsteel and Winston, the Red Vanguards alone had Gibran, a tenth-grade thief, Cain, a ninth-grade magician, and Julia and Edwina, both tenth-grade rangers. They didn’t even have to make a move; merely standing there silently was enough to make Hogan nervous.
Since everyone seemed to be ignoring Hogan, Han Jin walked up. Truth be told, Sunier’s fanatic gaze forced him to be the one to step up. She looked on he stepped up, he could immediately save the slaves from Hell… If he didn’t do it, he would disappoint Sunier. Besides, he pitied the slaves too.
Han Jin sighed after glancing at the dead body of the tall man, then yelled at the crowd, “This man right here is a true warrior! He chose death over slaughtering defenseless women! Could a few brothers come up and carry him down; he deserves a grand funeral!”
“I will!”
“Happy to help, Master Raphael!”
Before he even finished, a few mercenaries jumped up onto the platform.
“Hold it!” The judge was clearly not happy about the move and stopped the mercenaries, “he was our slave when he lived, and even if he died, his body belongs to us! What do you think you are doing?”
“Can I ask how they became your slaves?” Han Jin asked flatly.
“They were warriors from the Koman City. We defeated them, of course they naturally became our slave!” At the mention of the defeat at the Koman City, the judge’s expression became extremely arrogant as he glanced at Han Jin.
“That simple? Got it,” Han Jin smiled, “by that logic, you would be my slave if I defeat you, correct?”
