Volume 2 Chapter 8 (1/2)
《Brat’s superb performance》
It was on their thirdsince Haroon and his members joined Rotem Mercenaries’ party They will be able to arrive the viscounty of Parson the very next day, and the contract will be over They’ve encountered a few nuoblins but they weren’t any problem to the party as Haroon has joined them
As the Rote from the injuries of last battle with the orcs, the Gust of Winds had to face these soblins But Haroon had no objections since the Quad wankers neededthe encounters as chance, Haroon made the Quad wankers to practice their teamwork
Haroon was training with the Quad wankers It was very early , and there was someone who visited Haroon It was Doran He and Devron were very interested in the Gust of Winds seeing how they have been sincere to the training and won’t hesitate to take charge in battle
“Haroon, I’ve got some affair to talk with you”
“Why, you’ve got all my ears”
“Then, Ehem”
With his eyes, he signaled Haroon to sit on the box seat of his cart That was the seat his kids sit Haroon could see they were at Devron’s cart Haroon noticed Doran was being cautious for some reason Haroon silently nodded and sat next to him
“May I ask a favor?”
“I a”
Doran always has treated Haroon politely Moreover, he was preparing food for the Gust of Winds, so Haroon wanted to help him if he can
“As planned, ill be arriving the castle of viscount to to quit this party”
“Oh, and why is that?”
He wasn’t able to expect anything at this point Is this how the quest is supposed to be? or did soh he didn’t know about the details, he could see that Doran, also, is related with the VIP as Devron is
“This journey so far was strangely dangerous, unlike the other times The path we took was supposed to be safest coh, we’ve already encountered more monsters than ere supposed to in the whole journey Moreover, if it weren’t you and your ine ould have happened to us in the battle 3 days ago”
Haroon didn’t have anything to say about it as he was just a newbie mercenary
“The members of the Rotem Mercenaries are not united yet Devron’s view on this is that it would be risky to let Rotem Mercenaries escort us, not in this state I think the same”
That’s a news to Haroon Haroon didn’t see any conflict between the Rotem members
“So Devron and I were thinking ofto hire a pathfinder and a small number of mercenaries Let me be honest with you He and I are not merchants and our only concern is to arrive Viscounty of Paros safely We have another 14 years old girl riding on his cart She is Devron’s niece, Briella, and she needs to get to the Viscounty of Paros on an urgent matter”
It was at this moment when Haroon could hear a UI sound and a new quest as opened
[You have received a quest]
Escort Devron party to Viscounty of Paros
Devron and his party couldn’t trust Rotem Mercenaries anyer is iirl, Devron’s relative, to Viscounty of Paros
Reward: +200 Fame, 100 Gold in cash, Briella’s present(?)
Failing the quest decreases your faet new quests
Haroon now sure that the girl she mentioned is the main character of the story quest, but he needed to check things further
“Oh! I had no idea there was another person in the cart What is going on?”
“Oh, nothing She has a poor health and it’s a bit sensitive talk”
Doran hesitated to talk further
“I see And how about these goods?”
“We will get rid of non-necessary things As we are giving up our business, we’ll sell our carts as well”
He had no idea thatin his favor as he could proceed the story quest as well S inside with satisfaction, Haroon accepted the quest
“It’s a deal First, I have to thank you for appreciating our ability It is fortunate that I only agreed to escort the merchants to the viscounty of Parson There won’t be any conflict with Rotem Mercenaries”
[You have accepted the quest]
“Thank you very much If it is you, we are relieved”
Doran s them over the shoulder from his cart The old man nodded
Nothing happened in theIt was a short, 3 day trip with the Roteh to ot t friends, Serinn and Ritrina, and they got friendly enough to talk whisper to whisper
Unlike how Haroon was traveling only with the Quad wankers… Haroon couldn’t think of a good word to describe it What to say, he felt the situation was very kind and warm, so he didn’t bully the Quad wankers anymore
But is it because a good time passes quicker than the other times? Or is it because there is always a calm before the storent news from the scouts
“Boss! BOSS!”
A cloud of dust was created by the footsteps of the scout ere running toward theent voice made everyone stop just in a moment The merchants knew the scout, and he wasn’t a mercenary ould shout He always accomplished his task sincerely and quietly
“Philip, go and see what’s going on””Gotcha, Boss”
“Gotcha, Boss”
The oldest of the quad wankers, and the uild head to the head of the merchants with haste
“I hope it is not soerous”
It was Doran He was hugging his two kids with a nervous look on his face Doran was looking at the top of the hill, which seemed quite steep
“Is it the orcs, again?” asked Devron, walking toward them
“As far as I know, there are noin Dakin hill There are no valleys nearby, and the forest here doesn’t produce edible fruits, which, again, means this place is not appropriate for the monsters to live near……”
Doran replied, tilting his head
“Well, there is one creature that would still live in that place,” Devron suggested
“You mean Humans?”
“Yes, and if that’s the case, I suspect that they would be the bandits But what confuses me is that this place is not that far from the Metropolis, thus the bandits won’t dare to stay near here”
There was one thing Haroon was curious about
“But ould they bother to rob a sroup like this party?” Haroon asked
“They usually target a sot fewertheet in the trouble as they know this kind of party is not related with big uilds,” Devron answered him
It seemed Doran knew it as well With a nervous look, Doran nodded to agree with Devron’s explanation
It didn’t take long until Haroon’s heart started to pu spirit before the battle He just wasn’t sure how he should think of dealing with the bandits, as they are huaame itself was very real
All the merchants and workers went out of the cart and waited for further direction fro
Haroon’s party and Devron’s party could see Phin running toward them His body was quite small compared to other mercenaries, but he was a very experienced ile body, he usually took a role of scouting
“Haroon, you need to attend the ”
“What’s the matter?”
“You better go and hear from them”
Haroon ran to the front part of the party as Phin hurried hi for hi in an arch shape with Tain and Meilan in the middle
“Welcome, Haroon I heard our members had a smoother journey with your help”
Tain greeted and welcomed him
“You’ve been a great help in a situation like this,” said Meilan
She gave Haroon a wared? Her eyes were quite friendly But why does it look like a shadoas covering her face? Soreeted theave his attention to Tain
“Alright, I’ll give you a brief explanation of the situation as Haroon joined us A group of bandits is in the bush in the forest over the heal We can’t estimate the numbers The scouts reported that they saw silver wolves In the worst case of scenario, it can be one group of the Wolf Bandits”
Lots of the mercenaries went pale when they heard the word ‘Wolf Bandits’
“Why would the Wolf Bandits even bother to attack a sroup like this?”
Somebody questioned, but nobody could answer him That’s the attacker’s concern, not the prey’s
“As you may know already, the Wolf Bandits are one of the cruelest ones that annihilates everything that breathes”
Now it becaiant elephant in the room
“In a situation like this, there are two options that we can take Nu way around and tried to avoid them as much as possible Of course, they would have their own scouts as well There is no chance ould coood terrain to defend ourselves”
Soood plan when they don’t know the number of enemies
“Number te know they are in the aroup of us to attack the as are still in chaos In this case, we have to assuroup of aressive and effective attack
Haroon liked the second option And it seemed the other mercenaries favored it as well As well as Tain did
“I can see frouys support the second option And it is true that we need to take action first as we have so to protect So, here is the plan”
Tain explained his plan, drawing terrain on the ground with a stick
“This is where we are Our sides are steep slopes, and there is a hill up ahead There is grass field over the heal, and ahead of a grass field, there is the forest going uphill once again This forest is where those bastards have ambushed”
Then he paused there, looking at the map he drew He asked Phin
“Was there any ambush nearby?”
“No, there is nothing at all With Roan of the ambush
Phin’s word had some confidence in it
“Good, then, free mercenaries and 3 of Haroon’s members will protect the merchants The others will join the battle Phin, lead the way and will seek where exactly the ambush is”
“Got it,” answered Phin
Phin confidently smiled at the mercenaries
“Panthus, Orth, and Millon, take your bow and follow Phin”
“shi+t, Bows? Not ht, Boss”
Panthus seemed not happy about the role But he followed the orders anyway Moving histhe ax, he took his boo others moved as ith some kind of rods in their back It looked like their bows
“Meilan, obscure their vision as much as possible”
“Got it Fog ic should do the trick”
Meilan gladly agreed to join the battle
“Haroon, assassinate the bandits with your throwing knives They nal that we don’t know Before they get the signal and jump out of the forest, reduce their number as much as possible”
Haroon nodded, but deeply sighed in the inside He would not feel the same if it were the h theyso he wanted to do But he knew this was the best choice given, he had to make the choice
“Got it”
“Great The rest ait for the signal in the grass field When the squad succeeds their attack and the rest of bandits junal Then, prepare to attack now We’ll have to wait for Phin to eliminate the enemy’s scout This plan won’t work if we are spotted”
“Consider it done, boss,” said Phin
His voice wasn’t loud, but it had strong confidence in it, and it moved some people’s mind
“But there is so we need to discuss first, Boss Tain”
“What is it, Philip?”
Philip’s voice was serious enough to stop everyone when they were just about to move
“We haven’t discussed the right of property of the Warrior’s leather we’ve slain a few days ago I’ve joined in the ht, and my Boss has made a final attack Now that he is fully recovered, let’s make sure of this affair”
“Hmm, Well?”
Tain cringed his face and everybody could see it The in first
“Squad leader Jagin, What’s your view on this?”
“Khhet the Warrior, you’ll realize there is no need to discuss hoe should divide the leather We three have fought to our lives to make it almost dead, and he just laid a spoon on it”
Jagin stared at Philip’s face for a ave a canny smile
“He just laid a spoon on it? Do you reallyknives, and you know I fought with you as well Whatever condition the Warrior was in, the thing that took its life was er”
Philip directly faced Jagin’s stare and added ood at his training, but he also had an unyielding spirit to express his own opinion without fearing the opponent
‘Go to hell, Philip,’ Haroon thought
He just felt jealous of hi
“Nonsense! Don’t you knoe got in trouble because his dagger enraged it? And we could have got the Warrior on the chase even if the dagger didn’t get it”
“So you mean you won’t divide any portion of it to us?”
Jagin’s sly sin didn’t care about it all all
“Naturally”
With that word, Haroon and Philip dropped their jaws They didn’t expect hiot intense It seemed alo wrong
“Huh! This dude just doesn’t get the point So you will keep 100 gold worth leather all alone?”