The city gates stood wide open as a massive merchant caravan slowly filed out of Aemon City.
The banners flown by this caravan were a motley affair — at least five mid-sized trade guilds were represented, along with over a dozen smaller guilds' insignia, not to mention the countless independent merchants and traders mixed in.
Within the procession, it felt like walking through a racial expo of the gods' world — humans, dwarves, deep gnomes, halflings, half-elves, and even more mixed-bloods, leaving Lin Lei thoroughly dazzled.
As for the classes among the mercenaries, there was an even greater variety, but without a unified leader or command structure, the whole thing looked chaotic — very much the vibe of a ragtag mob.
Lin Lei watched a few dwarves riding wild boars howl as they galloped past him, belching up fumes of alcohol, which left him with a thoroughly speechless expression on his face.
"More races than the pirates under my command, and the class mix is even more of a mess…"
These mercenaries gave Lin Lei a solid introduction to the class system of the Continent of
From the most common warriors, rogues, rangers, and assassins, to the slightly more advanced Knights, musketeers, and archers — although there were no mages, Lin Lei even spotted a few low-tier bloodline holders and druids. They all belonged to the larger mercenary outfits, directly contracted by those mid-sized trade guilds.
As for the motley crew Lin Lei had been placed in — that was the handiwork of those small guilds and independent merchants.
In truth, these merchants had no choice. With the trade routes severed, if they didn't set out soon, having the goods they'd purchased rot in their hands would be the lesser problem — the astronomical penalty fees for breach of contract alone could bankrupt them entirely.
In a world ruled by divine beings, contracts witnessed through proper divine channels were protected by the gods themselves. If necessary, temples could even dispatch priests and holy knights to collect debts by force — not even a king dared renege on such obligations. The Church of Waukeen, Goddess of Wealth and Trade, was particularly fond of this line of work, though the fees were predictably steep.
And so, under the very real threat of losing everything, these small merchants had no choice but to grit their teeth and venture onto the road rumored to be plagued by ogre attacks.
Still, they weren't fools. They had collectively posted several large-scale missions, recruited enough mercenaries and manpower, and assembled an enormous caravan. It finally looked like they had at least some capacity for self-defense.
Though Lin Lei seriously doubted how much combat power these low-class professionals could actually muster — they were probably only fit for cannon fodder!
"Members of the Dark Temple, the fate of my sister and myself is in your hands!"
Before setting out, the clients who had hired Lin Lei's group — a pair of sisters who appeared to be minor nobility — personally met with them.
"Haha… don't worry, *hic*… with old Bam here, those damn ogres won't stand a chance — they'll drop like flies!"
The nominal leader of Lin Lei's small team, a ruddy-nosed, perpetually hiccupping dwarf named Bam, thumped his chest in reassurance. He was actually a fairly rare specimen — a dwarf musketeer — though the stock of the pistol on his belt was already riddled with rust. In Lin Lei's estimation, that firearm had long since gone completely beyond repair — "When enemies close in, it'd probably only be useful as a hammer!"
In truth, up until now, Lin Lei still hadn't learned the names of all his nominal "teammates"!
"Other than our ramshackle dwarf musketeer captain Bam, there was also a halfling rogue and a human archer. And then there was me, the warrior — truly a motley crew among motley crews. And we'd only met yesterday through the attendant at the Adventurers' Guild… It was painfully obvious that those two sisters had been swindled by that attendant…"
Lin Lei hadn't expected that even in the
"Sure, it's mostly a scam, but the fact that those sisters managed to hire a level-ten mage for that little commission means they're actually getting a bargain!"
Lin Lei mused to himself.
Meanwhile, the noblewoman inside the carriage let out a sigh. It seemed she had come to terms with the fact that she'd been duped.
"Ladies and gentlemen…" A corner of the carriage's gauze curtain was pulled aside, revealing a pretty face. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, carrying a certain mature charm that ordinary young women lacked. Yet at this moment, her brow was heavy with sorrow, as though she bore some weighty concern.
"In order to ensure our safety on this journey, I've specifically invited another adventurer to join us! She is a high-ranking Knight, and I'm sure she'll get along splendidly with all of you!"
A trace of apology lingered on the young noblewoman's face. But she was the paying client, and Bam — who knew all too well how much weight his so-called "Hall of Darkness" mercenary company actually carried — merely grumbled a few words before agreeing to it.
"A new adventurer joining up? And a high-ranking Knight at that… and she's a woman???"
A sudden, unpleasant premonition settled over Lin Lei.
"Sister Hera, I'm sorry I'm late!"
A black warhorse shot through the city gate like a bolt of lightning, and the knight riding it called out in a youthful, feminine voice.
"Lafinia!" Hera's face broke into a gentle smile from within the carriage, one so lovely it left old Bam and the others momentarily spellbound.
The Knight quickly reined up in front of the carriage, and its rider swung down from the saddle, revealing a face Lin Lei knew all too well.
"Sister Hera!" Lafinia first took Hera's hand with warm enthusiasm, then turned her attention to the mercenaries standing nearby.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Lafinia, and I'll be adventuring with you from now on — oh…"
Halfway through her introduction, Lafinia froze in astonishment, her eyes slowly widening. "You're that Lei! You scoundrel — you actually tricked me!!!"
The girl's youthful voice, paired with her appearance, made it all too easy to read into the situation. Bam the dwarf shot Lin Lei a look of genuine admiration, while the human archer looked rather jealous.
"I told you perfectly clearly — you're just hopeless with directions!" Lin Lei rubbed his nose and rolled his eyes, too lazy to waste any more breath on this hopelessly directionless girl.
"Who are you calling hopeless with directions???" Lafinia immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, every hair on end.
"You know each other? Even better! Come, Lafinia, tell me about what happened yesterday..." Hera stepped in to mediate the tension — it was clear she had a good sense for these things.
"It's just that..."
Lin Lei studied Hera's hands. They were rather rough, with calluses along the edges of the palms — very much like the hands of the maids back at his estate. Her clothes were plainly simple as well, the hems faded slightly white from washing.
It was evident that her family hadn't been well off before, yet she had hired Lin Lei and the others under the title of nobility.
"The illegitimate daughter of a minor noble? Or some other, more troublesome identity? She's trying to win over Lafinia because she sees the girl's non-trivial background? Quite the schemer..."
Lin Lei watched Lafinia climb straight into the carriage, with bursts of laughter drifting out from time to time, and quietly shook his head.
He held no particular prejudice against this Hera. Whatever means one used to survive were fair game, so long as she didn't target him — in which case he couldn't be bothered to expose her.
"Tsk tsk! Lin, look at this warhorse — it's taller than both of us put together! I bet you this horse is worth at least two hundred gold crowns!"
The old dwarf Bam had been demoted in spirit to the role of stable hand, tending to Lafinia's warhorse. A dwarf leading an enormous steed was quite the sight, but he himself seemed entirely unaware of the absurdity. Instead, he kept running both hands over the black horse's coat, muttering all the while: "What a shame... what a shame... Look at what that fine horse has been put through! This coat, these scuffs — those horse traders will hammer the price down mercilessly..."
"Oh come on, she's a noble lady riding out without a groom. The fact that the horse isn't starved is already a miracle..."
Lin Lei laughed and clapped Bam on the shoulder, which earned him a nod of agreement.
"Mm! Mm!" Bam nodded vigorously. "It's not old Bam bragging — my father's father served as the city lord's own groom. Even warhorses with celestial steed blood, he could fatten up until they gleamed..."
"That choice of words is the first problem..." Lin Lei shook his head inwardly in speechless resignation. Dwarves were boastful to begin with, and drinking dwarves were another matter entirely.
Just then, a gold coin came flying out through the carriage window, striking Bam square on the head.
"Tend this horse well, and it's yours!"
The golden gleam immediately dazzled Bam's eyes, making him forget all about anger: "No problem at all! Old Bam will take excellent care of this treasure for you, my honored lady!"
"Naive." That was Lin Lei's verdict on Lafinia.
There had already been plenty of eyes watching her warhorse. The moment she casually tossed out a gold coin, those gazes instantly filled with greed and malice.
Even the halfling rogue and the archer on Lin Lei's own team wore uncomfortable expressions.
They were mercenaries thrown together on short notice — what sort of trust could there be between them? On a dangerous road, any of them could turn into bandits and highwaymen at a moment's notice!
"Even if Lavinia was a tenth-rank Knight, she probably wouldn't escape an ambush..."
Lin Lei could more or less foresee the fate that awaited those three noble maidens.
"Ogres would make the perfect cover — as long as they were clean about it, they could easily pin everything on those creatures afterward. Who could go confront the ogres to verify the story?"
Lin Lei glanced around. The merchant caravan had mostly gathered by now, but the representatives of several mid-sized trading guilds still showed no intention of setting out, as if waiting for some important figure.
"Could they have jointly hired some high-ranked professional?"
Just as doubt was gnawing at Lin Lei's mind, an elite squad slowly emerged from within Aimon City.
At its head was a middle-aged man clad in gleaming bright-plate armor, his face etched with steadfast resolve. Beneath thick, heavy brows gleamed a pair of sharp, penetrating eyes.
Behind him, a pale banner bearing the image of a hawk billowed in the wind.