Turtle Shell Mercenary (Part 2)

As the only door in the room was opened, a group of man came inside. The first to come was the neat elderly, followed by three men.

"Sorry for the long wait." The neat elderly opened the conversation as he sat on a chair. "Here are the three representatives from three mercenary groups. The left one is-"

"I want to pick him" Mingyue cut the neat elderly's sentences and pointed at the one in the right.

"Hey, didn't you say that we will negotiate or something similar to that?" Liao Yun whispered at Mingyue. She was a little sceptical whether the mercenaries were trustable or not. Moreover, the person which was pointed by Mingyue was a little timid if compared with the other two.

Mingyue didn't answer as she nodded her head a little to Liao Yun.

". . . Ah, don't you need to discuss about the mission's requirement before you choose?" The neat elderly showed a flash of unhappiness, but he masked it professionally. No one was able to detect a minute change of the neat elderly's change.

"It's okay. I have chosen well. Big brother over there, can you summon your mercenary mates here? We need to talk about the detail of the mission." Mingyue showed an innocent smile at the timid mercenary, and it surprised him.

Nodding his head akin to a chick pecking on grains on the ground, the timid mercenary left the room.

[Ah. This little brat is making another trouble, isn't it?] Liao Yun remembered that smile very well because she was always tricked by that smile. But even so, she didn't hold any grudge at Mingyue since she always thought of Mingyue as a little girl, even if she never called Mingyue as a little girl anymore.

Mingyue turned her head to the other two mercenaries. "I am sorry for the other big brother, but we don't need you anymore. Care to leave now?"

"YOU!" one of the un-chosen mercenaries couldn't hold his temper, but another un-chosen mercenary immediately stopped him and the neat elderly glared at him.

Shaking his head a little, the neat elderly said, "You should wash your head with cold water"

The angered mercenary trembled in anger, but he was able to stop his temper. Together with the other un-chosen mercenary, they went out of the room.

They didn't have any trace of politeness as they kicked open the door.

The chosen mercenary was confused at first, but he remembered to call his group to the room. So, he went out of the room too, leaving Mingyue and Liao Yun with the neat elderly.

"Did he catch a cold? With a body like that, he is definitely unsuitable to be our escort." Mingyue mumbled, but the people in the room could clear her every word loud and clear. Fortunately, the pair of the un-chosen mercenary had left the conference room already.

The neat elderly turned his head to Mingyue and asked, "How are you so sure?"

Mingyue just shook, and then nodded her head. "That big brother's smile, unlike the other two." Mingyue flashed a crafty smile at the neat elderly, but the neat elderly didn't understand the meaning of that smile.

In the end, the neat elderly left the room and the timid mercenary brought along his group.

…

"This is the only wagon we can procure in this short time. If you can wait for a few days, at least I can get us an old carriage. Of course, a carriage is better than a wagon. What do you think?" The big and muscled woman with many kinds of scar patted the wagon beside her while asking at Mingyue and company.

She was the leader of the group, Hao Bo.

Her body was big and full of muscle since she was the main vanguard of the team. She used a big axe as her main weapon and a crossbow as her secondary.

Based on her explanation, it was normal for a mercenary to have the secondary weapon. It was mainly to cover their weakness and more versatile combat style. The easiest example of a warrior's disadvantage was their attack range because most of them would engage in a close combat. Thus, most of the secondary weapon would be a crossbow or a throwing knife.

And of course, most of Hao Bo's fellow mercenary would bring a crossbow rather than throwing knife.

"Ah, it is okay since the wagon is mainly used for our supplies. I will take this offer. Ah, can you also procure a pair of a donkey for this wagon? And also if you want to get your ride, it is also fine." Mingyue checked every corner of the wagon with a big interest. Her eyes were sparkling as she touched every corner of the wagon.

Even if she was not experienced in this matter, she at least could see the age of the wagon itself. Even if the wagon in front of her was a little dirty and rundown, the main frame of the wagon was still strong enough. It is definitely a bargain for Mingyue.

And also, she couldn't afford to gamble with the old carriage since she didn't know the main frame of a carriage.

But for the people that were looking at the enthusiastic Mingyue, it was no different from a little girl that just received a new toy.

"Really?" Another woman chimed in because she was surprised by the generous Mingyue

She was called Qin Yi, the only spell user and healer in the group. The youngest one in the group, less than twenty years old. Of course, she would mostly use her healing skill rather than her attacking spell. Her personality was bright and easy-going.

She was wearing gears which was made from leather since it was easier for her to move and it didn't have much weight. She had a crossbow on her back and a few knives slipped around her thigh.

Different from the healer outfit that Mingyue saw when she was being healed by a bunch of healers four years ago, Qin Yi's outfit had no any similarity with those healers. If Mingyue had to point it out, Qin Yi's appearance was more mercenary-ish.

Hao Bo hit Qin Yi's head and scolded her.

"Don't be greedy!"

"Ah, don't worry. As long as our budget was enough, you also can grab a few things that you think you need." Mingyue didn't turn her head as she gave an approval.

Hao Bo wore a disbelief expression since the one who talked was a little girl. Even if the little girl was one of the clients, it was kind of impossible for a little girl to make a decision, wasn't it?

[Maybe my short stature made me un-trustable for them? Do I really look like a little kid?] Mingyue wondered.

"Ah, it is okay. She is the one who made the decision after all." Fu Tao shrugged his shoulder.

After contemplating it a little, Hao Bo nodded without any reservation. "Sigh. Okay, we will take this chance. One horse is enough. Moreover, having too many horses are not good since we will become bandit's target."

"Okay. I will let you decide." Mingyue nodded while asking for Liao Yun, Liang Chun and Mo Hua's help to move their luggage to the wagon.

Liang Chun was a woman with similar stature with Hao Bo. Her weapon was a two-handed sword with a crossbow as her secondary weapon. She was the second vanguard together with Hao Bo. The pair of them was the main attacker for the team.

Mo Hua was the only man in the group. He had a timid personality and not much of a talker. His main weapon was a big shield with a mace. And he was the representatives that Mingyue met at the conference room in the Mercenary Guild earlier.

The four of them was known as Turtle Shell Mercenary, and their old base was the Grade 2 Mercenary City, Silver Dust City. Liao Yun and Fu Tao believed that it was only Mingyue's little luck, but Mingyue thought the otherwise.

[I want to see what kind of game you want to play.] Mingyue tapped her chin and smirked evilly inside her mind as she remembered those people that harboured hostility at Mingyue and company.

"Ah, we have finished everything. We can move anytime." Mingyue waved her hand at Fu Tao and Hao Bo which were walking with a new horse with them. The horse was a little smaller than the one used by Fu Tao and Liao Yun.

"GIRLS! ASSEMBLE!" Hao Bo was the leader of the four people group, The Turtle Shell Mercenary. She was an experienced mercenary and spent more than half of her life as a 1-star mercenary. Even though she stayed as only a 1-star mercenary, their group was not losing to the average 2-star mercenary. Of course, that was what she said.

As usual, Mingyue would mount Xiao Wu and never let anyone else borrow Xiao Wu. Not even once.

Fu Tao took the rein of the wagon together with Qin Yi and Mo Hua. The three horses were taken by Liao Yun, Hao Bo, and Liang Chun since mobility was very important for them.

Of course, the Turtle Shell Mercenary's luggage was put in the wagon together with Mingyue and company's luggage.

…

"So, where is our destination?" Mingyue asked Hao Bo after they left the Grey Brick Town.

"Since you want to reach the nearest Grade 1 Mercenary City, we will have to go to the Breeze Sand Viscountdom."

"Err. . What is that?" Mingyue was confused since she was not well informed about the peerage in the Earth Kingdom."

"Hahaha, it is not weird if you do not know about it. Let me make it simple for you."

"In the Earth Kingdom, the land is divided between the nobility. And our nearest destination is the area which is governed by a Viscount. Called Viscountdom."

"There are the differences between the peerage of nobility, include their land, citizen, and also wealth. There are five ranks of nobilities. In descending orders, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron."

"So, the governor of our destination is a Viscount, people remember him as Viscount Hammer." Hao Bo finished her short explanation.

"Then how about the other place? Is there any Grade 1 Mercenary City that is not governed by those nobilities?"

"No. Any Mercenary City is akin to a cash cow. As long as you are in the Earth Kingdom, every Mercenary City is under control of those nobilities. Well, this kind of place is one of the few places without any nobility's rule." Hao Bo answered.

"Of course, who wants to waste their strength for a mere wasteland and barren land like the northern area of the Earth Kingdom?" Liang Chun's tone was full of disdain when she talked about nobilities.

[Looks like, the citizen also don't like the nobility too.] Mingyue scratched her chin while she noted everything related with nobility.

"If we want to go to the nearest Grade 1 Mercenary City, we will have to go through three villages." Hao Bo tried to return the flow of conversation.

"Villages?"

"Similar to a settlement. Think of it as a stopping place. The village is small, but it is enough for us to sleep for one night. And you can trade some of the useless supplies with food there.

"Hoo?"

"Of course, we didn't have to go through the village. We can skip them."

Shaking her head, Mingyue blinked her eyes. "Why skip them? We have to go there for sight-seeing."

Looking at Liao Yun and Fu Tao's shrugged shoulder, Hao Bo was kind of surprised.

[What kind of person that will let a little girl making a decision on a whim? And they didn't even try to stop this little girl?] Even though Hao Bo was a little baffled, she knew when to close her mouth.

Her job was an escort, a bodyguard. Nothing more, nothing less.

…