Chapter 242: Forming a Team

“Was that little brat making noise over here? Daring to disturb my sweet dreams? Damn it, has he gotten tired of living?” A rough roar was heard, and soon Skora’s figure appeared before their eyes.
He looked groggy, clearly still asleep when he was awakened by the loud shouting.
“Hey, it’s you! How did you get here, Norby? You shouldn’t have kept it a secret. Come on in, sit down!” But before Rod and the guide could explain, Skora already spotted Knightrod standing aside. After all, he was a real person—how could he not see him?
“I won’t go in, Big Brother Skora. I’ll be leaving first. Come by if you have time, brother. Big Brother Skora really likes my old liquor. I’ll invite you all for drinks next time!” The guide said politely, patting Rod’s shoulder.
Amid Skora’s rude shouts and Rod’s grateful expression, the guide walked away. Rod thought to himself that this guy seemed like a decent person—hard to find such a one these days. Perhaps only in this place, in the world of mercenaries, could one find someone like him.
Following Skora into the tent, Rod immediately smelled a pungent odor of sweat and feet. It made him frown.
Looking around, the simple tent contained rows of beds neatly arranged—25 beds per row, four rows in total, enough to accommodate 100 people. All were gray single beds, very plain. Aside from the beds, there were only a few small tables and chairs piled haphazardly; nothing else!
At that moment, almost everyone in the tent was still asleep, with snoring filling the air, along with teeth-grinding, talking in their sleep, and rustling sounds—like a grand concert in progress. Rod couldn’t help but smile at the scene—it was quite harmonious.
Some people had already woken up. Seeing Skora with Rod, they nodded slightly without saying anything. They recognized Knightrod; no introduction was needed. After all, everyone in the tent had participated in the battle on the city walls the previous night and witnessed everything that happened. How could they not know this young man?

Watching the scenes inside the room, Rod silently mused that this was indeed a place for men—full of all sorts of strange smells. From this, he could tell that most of the people in this tent were likely mercenaries or adventurers, exuding a strong aura of adventure or mercenary life in every aspect. Otherwise, how could an ordinary warrior or member of an organization sleep in such an environment? It was clearly impossible.

“Hehe, we’re all big guys. Everyone participated in last night’s battle, and after a night of fighting, we’re all tired. Don’t mind it! That’s just our personality. You’ll understand eventually!” Under Skora’s lead, the two quickly arrived at his bed. Seeing Knight Rod looking around with a frown and a wry smile, Skora’s face turned red for the first time as he said helplessly, “It’s fine, really. There’s nothing wrong. This environment is quite cozy!”

Hearing Skora’s words, Rod quickly shook his head to deny it. Although he still found it hard to adapt to such an environment, he had to admit that in this short time, he had already grown fond of this lifestyle and these people. There were no scheming or deceit, no disputes over power or money, no grudges or feuds. At this moment, they were just strangers who became friends, comrades on the same ship, willing to shed blood together and trust someone they barely knew. This kind of boldness and openness was what Rod longed for now.

“Hmm, call me Brado from now on. That’s my name!” Taking a deep breath, Rod added, looking at Skora.

“Hmm, Brado. A good name. By the way, how did you end up here? What brings you here?” Skora asked skeptically, looking at Rod. Although he had invited him before, he never thought the man who called himself Brado would actually come looking for him. His appearance did surprise him a bit!

“I had nowhere else to go, so I came to take a look. Hehe, what? Not welcome?” Rod said, half-jokingly and half-seriously. If possible, he would really like to live here.

“Hehe, bro, you can’t be serious, right? If you don’t mind, come over. We still have a few empty spots here. Those guys last night… Hey! Never mind. Treat me as a brother and stay here. You don’t have to worry about General Nagran from the Black Tooth Legion bothering you here—he wouldn’t dare cause trouble here. We’re not his subordinates!” Skora said loudly, patting Rod’s shoulder.

“Hey, bro, your name is Brado, right? Hehe, I’m Lei Ao. Everyone else calls me Curly. You can call me that too in the future. Well, you were really impressive yesterday, hehe. Look at that General Nagran—he didn’t dare say a word. It was satisfying! Come and stay. In the future, we can form our own team to fight together.

I’m a rough guy who doesn’t know much, but it’s obvious you’re far stronger than those officers from the Black Tooth Legion. Those damned guys—if it weren’t for your decision yesterday, who knows what would have happened? Could they really have held off Iron Bar Town? It’s laughable even to think about!” As this was said, a thin man around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old who had been listening from the bed next to them became excited and rushed over to Rod, speaking eagerly.

“Yeah, that’s right. We can form our own team in this tent. Hmph, with Keroth’s Saint-level strength, along with seven Imperial-level fighters, eighty-three Gold-level fighters, and two Silver-level fighters, we definitely have a strong force. If we work together, our impact on the battlefield will definitely be no less than theirs!” Another man became excited after hearing Curly’s suggestion. He jumped off the bed and rushed over to Rod and the others, full of enthusiasm. His eager attitude made Rod want to laugh—he was really impulsive.

However, his words also made Rod gasp in shock. He never expected that none of the ninety-three people in this small tent were weak. Even the weakest of them were Silver-level fighters, while the strongest was a Saint-level warrior, along with seven Imperial-level warriors and over eighty Gold-level fighters! Such numbers were rarely seen anywhere else. If such a team worked together, their power would be terrifying and unimaginable.

Rod naturally realized that this tent might account for a large part of the strength of those reinforcement troops before the battle! It was definitely the strongest among all those reinforcement tents.

As the discussion on this topic unfolded, those who were awake began to slowly gather around. Gradually, those who had been disturbed by the noise also quickly joined in. Soon, everyone in the tent had gathered around Rod and Skora, surrounding them tightly with no gaps.

People started discussing among themselves, naturally focusing on the matter of forming teams. Each person shared their own opinions and ideas, creating a very lively atmosphere. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Rod smiled wryly. These guys were really enthusiastic—capable of gathering so closely even in such hot weather; they truly had high heat tolerance! Yet their chatter also presented him with great temptation.

Almost everyone agreed on forming a team to work together as a fighting force. After all, in dangerous situations, having a strong team as a backing would drastically reduce the risks and chances of injury for any individual member. This was the power and effect of teamwork, and it explained why everyone was so enthusiastic about this topic.

Including the holy-level powerhouse Keroth, everyone agreed with this view and quickly began discussing how to form the team and how to fight in the future. The cheerful atmosphere made Rod feel like an outsider who couldn’t interject. Watching these people talk excitedly and passionately, Rod sighed and sat there, smiling wryly to himself.

Although small teams were strictly prohibited in the army and those caught would face severe punishment, they didn’t belong to the Black Tooth Legion or any military force—they were merely there as reinforcements. So they had no need to worry about forming small teams; perhaps some others had already done so.

It was precisely because of this frequent occurrence of small teams that the combat effectiveness of the reinforcements couldn’t be fully utilized at critical moments, turning them into a disorganized bunch. This also gave the officers of those legions a poor impression of the reinforcements.

Sitting on the bed, listening to their discussions and arguments, and seeing some people gesturing wildly and turning red with excitement, Rod almost fell asleep, as he seemed completely ignored.

Yet, it was in that drowsy state that he heard his own name—yes, his name appearing in the conversation. Immediately, he felt everyone’s gaze fixed on him. Realizing this, his heart skipped a beat; he thought, “Oh no!” and quickly opened his eyes. The atmosphere at that moment became somewhat strange. A sense of impending disaster quickly spread throughout Rod’s entire being.