Chapter 54: Mercenaries |
This also gave rise to an entirely new profession,
mercenaries.
Those who chose to become mercenaries
were either down-and-out minor nobles or impoverished commoners.
Their goal
was simply to live a better life.
After all, as the times progressed, people in the past had been content as long as they had shelter and enough to eat.
But now, that was no longer enough. Nobles pursued luxury and grandeur, and all of that required money.
Moreover, with the influence of those above, many commoners were no longer satisfied with merely having enough to eat.
that Kada chose to become a mercenary.
Although he was a descendant of Apollo,
his bloodline was far too distant!
So distant that…
his life since childhood had been no different from that of a commoner.
Of course, even if his life was no different from a commoner’s,
he still possessed privileges unique to the bloodline of Apollo.
That was the ability to become a noble or an official!
Or to receive treatment from Recipients of Divine Grace for ordinary injuries and illnesses.
And these…
were things that commoners could never possess for generations!
As for how he became a Recipient of Divine Grace, it was entirely due to the contributions accumulated through generations of his family living frugally.
After he became a Recipient of Divine Grace, his elders also followed him to his territory to live.
Unfortunately, the territory was far too remote and lacked resources, so if he wanted to develop it, he needed a massive amount of supplies.
The conventional way to obtain resources was usually to serve under a great noble, which would allow him to receive a generous supply every year to develop his land.
But he was unwilling to submit to a great noble and lose his freedom.
Thus, he chose to form a mercenary squad, taking on missions in exchange for resources to develop his territory.
“Boss, does this damn place really have merfolk?” A team member, Ye, pushed aside dense bushes and could not help but complain.
Kada’s mercenary squad consisted of five people.
Aside from him, the rest were all commoners.
This was also a common formation for mercenary squads at present.
“Since the duchy approved the mission, then they must exist.”
“Let’s keep searching.”
Kada said in a low voice.
Ye nodded. “Alright, boss.”
At that moment, a faint, ethereal, and beautiful humming drifted along the forest breeze.
The five of them immediately perked up, excitement appearing on their faces as they stealthily moved toward the source of the sound.
……
Luo Yi hummed cheerfully, controlling a water sphere as she floated along a familiar path toward the forest.
Although she had already become a merfolk,
she still loved eating berries.
So every so often, she would come ashore to pick some berries to bring back.
Arriving at a lush patch of berry bushes, she picked the plump, juicy berries and placed them into the woven basket at her waist, muttering softly.
“Pick a little more, just a little more…”
“Hehe, fill up the whole basket—when they come to ask for some later, I can keep more for myself.”
Her attention was entirely on the berries,
completely unaware of the danger approaching.
Suddenly!
A fireball shot out from the side without warning, striking the water sphere around her with precision!
“Chi—!”
The water sphere instantly vaporized. Luo Yi cried out and fell heavily to the ground. Before she could react, a large net fell over her, trapping her firmly.
“Help! Help!”
Startled, Luo Yi cried out in fear.
At that moment, Kada stepped out from behind the bushes where he had been hiding.
When he saw Luo Yi’s stunning face and unique fish tail within the net, a trace of amazement flashed through his eyes—but it was quickly replaced by even stronger greed.
One had to know that the price of a single merfolk now
could be exchanged for enough resources to allow his territory to flourish for twenty years!
In Kada’s eyes,
this was no longer a merfolk at all—
it was a walking mountain of gold!
“Why are you capturing me?!”
Seeing Kada’s golden hair and golden eyes, Luo Yi recognized him as a Recipient of Divine Grace of Leo, and quickly calmed herself.
After all, they were both Recipients of Divine Grace, which made communication easier.
It was not that Luo Yi was not angry, but she had no choice.
As a Recipient of Divine Grace of Pisces,
her combat ability on land was extremely low.
This was because the Divine Grace of Pisces allowed control over water, not the creation of water.
Thus, if there was no water nearby, they could not even use Divine Grace.
However, if they were in lakes, rivers, or the sea, then even several Recipients of Divine Grace of Leo working together might not be able to defeat any one of them.
It could only be said that every gain came with a loss.
Kada was stunned upon hearing her speak and blurted out,
“Merfolk… can actually talk?”
Luo Yi was so angry she nearly fainted.
“Of course merfolk can talk!”
“Because we were originally humans!”
“Originally humans?”
Kada’s heart skipped a beat.
He vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
“Explain yourself clearly!”
Seeing a possible turning point, Luo Yi hurriedly recounted what had happened at the Luo River in brief.
Kada’s expression immediately turned extremely grim.
He understood.
So-called merfolk…
were actually Recipients of Divine Grace of Pisces!
In theory, they held the same status as him.
But even more troubling was this!
The progenitor Apollo had long since passed away,
yet Pisces, Luo Ya, was still alive!
Capturing her Recipients of Divine Grace…
was no different from provoking this Pisces.
The consequences of this were something he simply could not bear!
It might even implicate his family!
Fear and ruthlessness intertwined in Kada’s eyes.
He did not want to die.
Then, those who knew the truth had to die!
He suddenly raised his hand.
Several fireballs shot toward the bushes in the distance, where Ye and the other three team members were waiting to divide the spoils!
“Ah—!”
Piercing screams rang out instantly.
“You…!”
“You killed them!”
Luo Yi trembled as she watched this scene in terror.
Kada’s expression twisted as he said coldly,
“They’re nothing but lowly commoners.”
He was of the noble bloodline of Apollo.
A distinguished Recipient of Divine Grace of Leo!
How could the lives of commoners compare to his own?!
To cover up everything that had happened, to protect himself, sacrificing them was only natural.
Without hesitation,
he struck Luo Yi unconscious with a chop to the neck. After quickly cleaning up the scene, he left quietly with his “mountain of gold.”
As long as he sold her to that grand noble offering the highest price,
whatever turmoil followed would have nothing to do with him.
……
The sky gradually darkened.
“Luo Yi! Luo Yi!”
“Luo Yi! Where are you?”
“Luo Yi, come out! I promise I’ll eat fewer of the berries you pick from now on!”
Luo Xing and Luo Ke arrived here with several tribesmen, calling out anxiously.
But no matter how they searched…
they could not find any trace of Luo Yi.
Until—
“Big brother, look!”
“There are footprints here!”
Luo Ke suddenly shouted, pointing at the chaotic footprints on the ground.