Chapter 16: Joining the Group
“But is your Black Rose Mercenary Group really just made up of the three of you?” Blinking his eyes, Komer still pretended to be quite impressed.
“A mountain need not be high to be famous if it harbors immortals; a river need not be deep to be magical if it contains dragons. The size of a mercenary group matters little—what truly counts is whether the group has a genuine spirit of teamwork and whether its members possess real skills. This is what determines whether a mercenary group can survive in the world of mercenaries. It is this spirit of cooperation that has allowed our Black Rose Mercenary Group to establish itself in the continent’s mercenary world. So, you don’t need to worry too much about that.” At this point, the girl had no choice but to fabricate nonsense. These two guys clearly didn’t know much about the world. With some flashy words and empty boasts, she might just be able to deceive them—these gifts that had come to her doorstep on their own.
“Oh, after hearing Miss Bukharin’s words, I seem to understand a lot better. I’ve heard of the reputation of the Night Angel Mercenary Group before; it seems quite famous in the north. But I still want to know more about our Night Angel Mercenary Group—such as the number of members, the identities of our comrades, and our group’s base.” A harmless, silly smile appeared on Komer’s face. He seemed completely unaware that there was nothing valuable in her words, and instead, he even seemed pleased by her boasts.
“Uh, our Night Angel Mercenary Group is currently in a period of restructuring. Some of our members became arrogant after completing difficult tasks and started causing trouble everywhere. To enforce discipline, we’ve dismissed quite a number of them. Although it was a painful decision, it will help us gain a higher reputation. So, well, our current number of members is…” The beautiful assassin clearly didn’t expect Komer to insist so much on knowing the number of members. Though she tried her best to explain, there was still one crucial question she had to answer. Large mercenary groups on the continent could have hundreds of members, while smaller ones had anywhere from dozens to a hundred. Ultra-large groups even had over a thousand members. But such ultra-large groups were rare on the continent, with only a few existing, mostly in the southern regions.
“Miss Bukharin, you’re not telling me that our mercenary group consists only of the five of us standing here, are you?” Seeing her visibly uneasy, Komer couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. This beautiful assassin was truly fascinating—trying to tempt him into adjusting her wide belt. Komer guessed she must be from one of the small countries in the northwest corner of the Northern Alliance. Mercenaries didn’t have much room to operate within the Northern Alliance, as those countries were much stronger, so mercenary groups usually preferred to operate in the central and southern parts of the continent. Such obscure, small mercenary groups were actually more like small adventure teams, except they chose different types of missions—adventure teams sought wealth and fame through risks, while mercenary groups took on tasks to gain reputation and profit.
“Of course not! We have two more partners; they’re on the other side searching for that annoying thief. I think we can meet up with them in a while.” Noticing Komer’s surprise, the beautiful girl hurriedly explained, “Uh, don’t misunderstand us. Our mercenary group is actually quite powerful. One of our partners is even a priest. Please trust us. If you join our group, I guarantee we can retrieve our lost items from that annoying thief.”
Komer’s intense gaze swept over the girl, making her feel uneasy and short of breath, as if ants were crawling on her body. She couldn’t understand why this seemingly dull-looking guy had such sharp eyes. Were all those who practiced magic so piercing, even giving off a somewhat lecherous vibe?
After pretending to think for a while, Komer finally nodded firmly. “Alright, Miss Bukharin. Since you’re personally guaranteeing this, I believe you. But don’t deceive us—deceiving a mage comes with a heavy price.”
“Don’t worry. Once you meet us, you’ll realize that although our group is small, we’re extremely powerful. We’ve been operating in the north, but we’ve realized the limitations there. We want to explore the broader central and southern regions, which is why we came to the Magic Capital first to find suitable members to join us. It’s your good fortune that you get this chance to join our Dark Angel Mercenary Group,” the beautiful assassin quickly added.
“It seems we really do need to thank Miss Bukharin for giving us this rare opportunity. Please rest assured, Miss Bukharin, we will surely cherish this chance to hone our skills,” replied Komer seriously. “My name is Reiser, and this is my companion, Lomi. We are both magicians. We hope you can give us your guidance.”
“Hehe, Reiser. My name is Bayezid, Bayezid Solain, from the Khulun Steppes. You can call me Solain, but I prefer it when people call me Bayezid.” The dwarf excitedly shook Komer’s hand and declared cheerfully, “Our mercenary group will finally have magicians now! We won’t have to worry about business anymore.”
Bayezid’s words revealed important information, leaving the young female assassin angry and anxious, fearing that Komer and the others would notice something amiss. Yet Komer seemed moved by his enthusiasm and didn’t detect any flaws in his words at all. “Hello, Bayezid. I hope we can fight side by side in the future.”
The Khulun Steppes are located in the northwest border region of the Northern Alliance. Part of it belongs to the various countries and city-states in the northwest, while another part in the north is under the control of the wolf and ox clans among the orcs in the nearby Mogan Wasteland. This is also the most dangerous region for the Northern Alliance. Humans have built numerous fortresses and strongholds there, and some dwarf tribes live along the western edge of the steppes. It’s likely that this warrior, Bayezid, comes from there.
“My name is Javier, Javier Simpson, from Pinostes. I’m glad to be your partner. I’ll do my utmost to protect you—something I can guarantee to the God of War, Mars.” The young warrior tried his best to appear polite in front of the graceful and enchanting mage Lomi. Although Lomi’s coldness and disinterest were evident, it didn’t dampen the young warrior’s enthusiasm. “I guess Miss Lomi is also visiting Prague for the first time. I heard it’s the capital of magic, with many sights related to magic worth seeing. I wonder if Miss Lomi is interested in taking a tour? I’d be happy to show you around.”
Pinostes is a low-lying area in the west of the Northern Alliance, famous across the continent for its grapes and wine. It has many city-states and is a highly developed economic region in the Northern Alliance.
“Javier, didn’t you just say it was your first time in Prague too? How come you’re guiding Miss Lome now?” The dwarf warrior, whose large mouth was covered by thick beard, was surprised and asked aloud, clearly not understanding his companion’s eagerness to help. “Yesterday you asked me to show you Prague’s Jade Tavern, and you said it was your first time there too, that you weren’t familiar with the area. Now suddenly you can act as a guide?”
“Bayezid, can you shut your stupid mouth? Does everyone think you’re mute just because you don’t talk?” The angry young warrior shouted at his companion. That guy’s words always embarrassed him. Javier didn’t know how he ended up with such a partner. Ever since they teamed up, they hadn’t completed a single task smoothly.
The beautiful assassin looked awkward as her two companions started arguing in front of their new teammate. It really damaged the reputation of the Night Angel Mercenaries. But those two didn’t matter much. Since Komer and the others had agreed to join the mercenaries, they probably wouldn’t back out anytime soon.
“My name is Grace Bukharin. You can call me Bukharin or Grace. I’m acting as the leader of the mercenaries for now. We have two more companions, who should still be in Prague searching for that damned thief. If you two don’t have anything else to do, I think we should join forces to look for them. Once we reunite, we can discuss our next steps. There are many thieves in Prague, but I doubt there are many elf thieves. Besides, that guy will definitely come back to commit crimes. As long as we guard the key areas, I’m sure he’ll show up again.”
The beautiful assassin didn’t waste any time with pleasantries, but she could still sense the intense coldness, even hostility, emanating from the female mage. Maybe it was because of her own attack earlier, but she had already explained everything. Now that they were partners, there shouldn’t be any problems. Why was she still so cold and hostile? Could it be that this female mage was that vindictive?