Chapter 354 - 11: The Bizarre Task (2)_2

Words : 1242 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Chapter 354: Chapter 11: The Bizarre Task (2)_2 Kevin turned his face to the dwarf beside him and said, "Hansen, you go." "Why me? I’m not going." Dwarf Hansen crossed his arms and turned his face away. Kevin had to look to the thief on the other side: "Tina, you go. You don’t need to do anything, the guards will help you move it." "I don’t want to go either." Thief Tina decisively rolled her eyes at him. "I’ll go with my brother." Elf Archer Carol spoke up. And so Kevin, the leader, barely managed to step down from the scene. "What about you?" Hannah looked at Andrew. "We have fewer people, so let’s go both together." Andrew spread his hands. "Mm!" Christina nodded heavily. Their harmonious demeanor was in stark contrast to the other side; one wonders if Kevin would be jealous? So, each side sent two people to collect the money. Since the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group only had two people, it was a complete deployment. The entire process took about two hours. After delivering their respective five thousand deposit to the adventurer hall, both sides sat back in their original compartments. Hannah distributed two copies of an agreement to each of them. One was a confidentiality agreement, stipulating that neither side could disclose the task’s content to any non-participant, otherwise, even if the task was completed, no bounty could be obtained. Meanwhile, their deposit would be fully forfeited. The other was an agreement to accept the task, detailing the approximate task, some stipulations about the bounty, and a disclaimer for any casualties in the Mercenary Group. This was considered routine; nearly all important tasks had such agreements signed. Both sides signed silently. Immediately after, they were given more detailed information. From the information, they learned that the employer was a family of three, Mr. Paber, his wife, and their daughter. Besides hiring the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group and the White Vulture Mercenary Group, they also had a full twenty accompanying guards of their own. Their task was to escort Mr. Paber’s family to Valencia, about three hundred kilometers from Linlopes, within a month, and ensure their safety during the process. "Is this all the information?" Andrew asked after reading the information: "I mean, is there no information about the adversary? They’re paying so much money; surely someone is targeting them. The journey from here to Valencia is not particularly safe, but at least it doesn’t require them to spend so much money to protect themselves." Kevin said, "From here to Valencia is just three hundred kilometers, and the road isn’t difficult to travel. For a month, isn’t that too much time? Do they plan to walk ten kilometers a day? They better not be without horses. If not, I can send them a few horses; it won’t cost much compared to the commission." Hannah shook her head: "Other information is temporarily unavailable. The key is, I don’t know either. You’ll have to discover it yourselves. The address is here; depart at five in the morning tomorrow. Good luck to you." Andrew and Kevin both silently widened their eyes, looking at Hannah. If the reward for this task dropped below a thousand gold coins, undoubtedly, no mercenary group above level five in Linlopes would want to take it. Because the information was really too vague, everyone could sense some kind of unknown risk. However, if it’s two thousand gold coins, that’s different. Its bounty justifies its level of secrecy. In the mercenary trade, nothing is impossible, as long as you can pay the price. If no one takes your task, then there’s only one reason, you’re not paying enough. To be honest, a two-thousand-gold-coin guarantee isn’t a lot for Andrew. He used to be the Chief Mage of the Mage Alliance, and two thousand gold coins were nothing to him. Now, though he’s fallen into mercenary work, didn’t he earn over five thousand gold coins in the past month? Of course, that was through crazily stacking missions, some even half coaxing, half deceiving. They couldn’t possibly keep doing tasks this way forever. Ultimately, they must elevate their Mercenary Group’s level by completing high-level tasks to grow and thrive. ... The meeting ended quickly. After bidding Hannah farewell, Andrew and Christina left the adventurer guild and went home. As soon as they entered, Andrew mysteriously asked, "Are you hungry?" "Not hungry, why?" Christina replied. "Then let’s not cook. We’ll head out for the task now." "Now? Isn’t the departure time five in the morning?" "That’s the normal task time, and this task is clearly not normal. Pack up, and let’s get ready to go now." Christina widened her eyes, looking at Andrew with a puzzled expression. After hesitating, she finally nodded heavily. ... As a cunning Blood Elf, Andrew had a keen sense of danger. At the very least, he wouldn’t wait until it was upon him to react. After a simple pack-up, he and Christina each slung a backpack over their shoulders, took some rations, and set out into the night. The address was in a very remote location on the outskirts of Linlopes. Quickly, they arrived at their destination. At a glance, Andrew was dumbfounded. It was a sizable manor. A two-story building that already appeared somewhat old and lacked maintenance. Surrounding it were fields, but they had been abandoned. There was a pond and woods. However, none of these were the issue, as there were many similar manors nearby. The key was... there were about a dozen cavalry in light armor guarding in front of the building! "Could these be the ’twenty accompanying guards of the employer’?" Andrew muttered to himself from the distant grass. "What’s wrong?" Christina asked beside him. "Look at their stirrups; I’m very familiar with this kind of stirrup, it’s for heavy armored cavalry. Although they’ve removed their armor, they haven’t replaced some other things. And their swords, don’t you feel a small section of the color in the middle looks different from the rest? That’s where the emblem should have been, but it’s been removed, indicating they’re all Knights." Andrew whispered: "So many Knights suggest our employer has a title, a lord, at least an Earl. Because a Baron can’t afford so many Knights. But Lumbak’s lords, unlike those in the south, don’t keep Knights. This further indicates the lord isn’t from Lumbak." Even though it was quite a distance and night, Andrew still used his excellent elven vision to gain a clear view of the other side. "A foreign lord?" Christina asked. "Yes." Andrew’s lips curled into a slight smile, whispering: "I guess it’s a lord from the Gustav Empire, because this is the only place bordering Gustav. They must have crossed the mountains to get here. And clearly, this is a lord fleeing with his entire family. Why one month? Because they’re transporting many things, moving slowly. Like gold coins brought from the Gustav Empire. Hehehe, now, everything makes sense." Andrew grew more excited as he spoke and continued speculating: "A fleeing lord of the Gustav Empire, already within enemy borders, with twenty elite Knights beside him, and still needs to hire mercenaries to ensure his safety. Who could pose a threat to him? Let me think. Domestic political enemies? That’s impossible. Already here, domestic opponents can’t threaten him anymore. If it’s foreign... the White Bone Holy Light Court?" At this point, Andrew’s expression suddenly went stiff.

Chapter 354 - 11: The Bizarre Task (2)_2

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