Chapter 33: The Charming Beauty

Five years after the birth of the fifth A-rank mercenary corps, there were still those who stubbornly refused to acknowledge the A-rank status of the "Small Mercenary Team." Consequently, for a considerable period thereafter, it was common to see a disclaimer on various mercenary recruitment notices stating: "Mercenary teams established within the past *n* years are not eligible," where *n* was at least as long as the existence of the Small Mercenary Team.

Of course, when Amy and Da Qingshan learned they had become A-rank mercenaries, they didn't realize they would someday enjoy this honor exclusively. But even if they had known, would it have mattered? Considering the thick skin of a leader of an A-rank mercenary corps, what could possibly faze them?

In their excitement at gaining the capital to increase their fees, Amy made his first decision: he raised the price for his lecture, "The Hero Slays the Evil Dragon." Anyone who had not yet paid would now need to fork over 50 gold coins. People are strange creatures—at 20 gold coins, they had bargained and haggled, but upon hearing the price had risen to 50, demand surged. In just a few minutes, the 50 available seats were sold out. Those who had managed to get a ticket complained about the cost, while those who missed out did the same. Yet even the stingiest among them refused to resell their tickets, preferring to hold onto their initial 20-coin purchase rather than make a quick profit.

And so, amid these mixed grumbles, Amy began his first public speech.

Public speaking, especially in front of an audience, is a strange skill, unrelated to either courage or eloquence. Often, those who are glib in private conversations find themselves at a loss for words on stage. Amy, who would later captivate audiences of tens of thousands, had a downright disastrous first attempt in front of just fifty people—maybe, as some suggested, the money had gotten to him.

"Ha, everyone… brothers—no, no, uncles… gentlemen… we, we…" Amy's voice grew more tense, more frantic, until suddenly, he burst into tears. "Boohoo… it was terrible! Five mercenary teams, over twenty people, and only four of us survived. That evil dragon, Yin Feng, was just too strong."

As Amy cried, he began to find his footing. "Waaah… an A-rank mercenary corps, two B-rank corps, one C-rank corps, and then us. In total, there were four A-rank mercenaries, one Grand Mage, and ten other B-rank mercenaries…"

He finished his tale of the harrowing adventure in tears. Back then, Amy's storytelling skills were mediocre, and he lacked the charisma he would later develop, but the experience itself was gripping enough to captivate his audience.

An S-rank mission only appears once a year at most, while an SS-rank mission is rare, occurring only once every decade. The main antagonist of this story was the fearsome evil dragon Yin Feng, known throughout the land for over 1,500 years. The protagonist, White-Robed Feng, was a celebrated warrior on the ranking list of legendary mercenaries. The story's high cost of victory struck a chord with every mercenary in the audience.

When Amy described how the Elven Grand Mage had to resort to a forbidden elven spell, nearly everyone there, much like Amy himself, began to weep. Some of the older mercenaries patted the shoulders of the younger ones, echoing the same sentiment: "In this line of work, a mercenary's life can be exchanged for his brother's. That's the true essence of being a mercenary."

Perhaps because of their profession, the first wave of ticket buyers consisted mainly of bards, always on the lookout for inspiration. This time, their investment was sure to yield high returns.

The story quickly spread across the continents thanks to these bards. Children adored the tale of the hero slaying the evil dragon, young women admired White-Robed Feng's valor, and mercenaries, along with others who lived by the sword, were moved by tales of brothers sacrificing for one another.

* A cup of wine to wet the throat,

* A sword to play a tune,

* A song exchanged for brotherhood.

Thus, the story of the Elven Grand Mage Leslink began to spread far and wide. For many years, anyone could walk into a tavern and hear a bard sing the haunting, tragic tale. In every inn that mercenaries frequented, doors were adorned with leaves that were said to have been taken from the Ice Snow Forest, claimed to be evergreen and unyielding.

In later years, many would find the behavior of the legendary Mercenary King curious. Why would such a great person be so obsessed with accumulating wealth, only to show little regard for it? Of the Dragon God Trio, he was often the poorest.

Many scholars of Amy's life analyzed his various money-making ventures and eventually concluded that Amy was a natural maximizer of benefits. He had a knack for reaping greater rewards while doing any one thing. This would be evident in his role as a battlefield commander and during the Divine-Human War. However, the Mercenary King himself modestly credited his teacher, Chi Han Feng, who never acknowledged any such influence.

But an unexpected event occurred that left Amy dumbfounded: after all the strongest warriors were defeated, and all humans had fallen unconscious, a green dragon appeared seemingly out of nowhere and easily took down Yin Feng. It was hard to believe, considering that countless Dragon Knights had tried and failed to defeat Yin Feng. Could a little dragon really accomplish what no one else could?

"Refund! Refund! Refund!" The angry shouts of the audience swept across the entire venue.

"Haha—" Amy shouted loudly, "Don't you all believe it? Green! Come here! Lizard jerky..."

Hearing Amy call for lizard jerky while still soaring through the air, Green thought it was being invited for a treat. With a slight shake of its massive body, it shot through the curtain of the treehouse bar like an arrow and flew into the venue.

"Green, they say you can't beat Yinfeng and that you're an idiot! They want to take the money I set aside for your lizard jerky!" Facing the kind but gullible Green, Amy was filled with righteous indignation.

What?! Green was furious! There's a saying: "A young one can eat the old one poor." At Green's age, which was the peak of growth and development, what could be more important than eating?

Green slightly raised its wings, sweeping its long dragon neck from the left side to the right side of the venue. Its eyes seemed to shoot flames as it exhaled green dragon breath, causing the indoor temperature to plummet. Ding-dong, several cups on the table froze instantly, shattering into pieces.

No one had ever faced a dragon's anger, but everyone knew the consequences of a dragon's wrath. At this moment, Amy was naturally stirring the pot beside them: "Green, what should you do about those who want to take your lizard jerky beef jerky? Do you need to cast a little lightning magic to teach them a lesson? Otherwise, if a kind person is bullied, a dragon can be ridden…" This… sigh… Who has actually bullied and ridden the young lord… Little Green… you're too kind, being used as a pawn and still grateful with tears streaming down your face. What misfortune for the dragon race.

Brilliant magical lightning struck down from the sky in an instant—only a dragon could cast magic so quickly.

A blue magical barrier opened in an instant, and the magical lightning struck the barrier, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"Alright, I believe you," said the only archmage in a red robe among the crowd, who was able to cast a magical barrier in the same instant. He waved his hand, "This dragon is not an ordinary giant dragon but an ancient holy dragon, a higher dragon species. It should have the power, so everyone, stop the noise."

Having witnessed the dragon's magical power and then hearing it was a legendary holy dragon, all the mercenaries stopped talking and obediently left their seats. The mercenaries, along with the bards who made a living by spreading rumors and exaggerating tales, felt the psychological shadow of losing 50 gold coins. While they sang praises of the white-clad A Feng and the evil dragon Yinfeng, the name of a white-clad little mercenary named Amy gradually spread across the continent. Hehe… this was just the beginning...

"Little friend, come with me." The archmage beckoned Amy to the magic guild.

"In fact, I'm also quite curious. A third-tier holy dragon shouldn't have the strength to kill Yinfeng," the archmage startled Amy with his words.

"However, that dragon's head does seem to belong to Yinfeng, so since we can't figure it out, we might as well not think about it." Whew, the old mage's words made Amy breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're a neutral-type mage, right? Did you graduate from a magic school? Who is your teacher?"

"Um, my teacher is an ice mage named Reger."

"Oh, Reger?" The archmage shook his head. "I haven't heard of him. Let's test your magical value and see if you've gained enough from this brutal war. Try to cast a Forest of Ice Spears, A-ranked mercenary."

The archmage smiled as Amy put in all her effort and finally produced several ice spears from her magic diary.

"Young one, at your age, it's already quite impressive to cast this so quickly. However, I don't wish to raise your level yet; I think you should practice a bit more for greater benefit." Disappointment flickered in the archmage's eyes.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Amy lightly touched the ice blade, stood up, and walked out.

"Wait." The archmage suddenly called Amy back.

"Grip the sword tightly and imagine casting lightning."

Amy was surprised, but out of respect for her elder, she immediately complied—before she even finished reciting the spell, a golden lightning bolt shot from the sword's tip, surrounded by joyous red sword spirits.

"I always felt something was odd about you, and now I finally see it. You've learned to communicate with your sword, mastering the magic sword technique that few mages can achieve. Keep working hard," the archmage stamped a sword emblem on Amy's magic diary and returned it to her.

"Does this mean I can collect more mercenary fees?" Amy silently wished for her dream to come true.

That day, the three of them—a little girl, a big dragon, and an old mage—spent the first safe night back in the world crammed in a small room together. Amy was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night, counting sheep… sheep… sheep… until one by one, the little white sheep transformed into glittering gold, bouncing and jumping into her wallet…

The next morning, Amy and Da Qingshan arrived early at the mercenary guild, hoping to take on more tasks—perhaps it was vanity at play; both little ones were eager to accept tasks that only A-ranked mercenary groups could take.

The young clerk carefully searched the task scrolls according to Amy and Da Qingshan's requests, quickly finding several.

"Here's one that specifies it must be completed by a B-ranked or higher mercenary team, with a reward of 3,000 gold coins."

"Not bad, not bad. Let me see." Amy rushed over anxiously.

The clerk read each word: "The Northern Federation of the Empire of Amy needs a mercenary group to assist in defense. They require 30 mercenaries to help defend the Ice and Snow Forest Fortress for 30 days."

"30 people, huh?" Amy looked disappointedly at Da Qingshan, "Can it be fewer people? We don't eat that much."

The clerk shook his head: "No, since it's stated to be 30 people, there must be a special reason. We can't decide the employer's wishes."

"Here's another one. The Hamir Empire needs a B-ranked or higher mercenary group to help gather the northern snow wolves. Here… do any of you have Hamir heritage? This task must be completed by someone of Hamir descent."

Da Qingshan glanced at Amy, and they both shook their heads: "Don't you have any tasks with fewer people that pay more?"

"Hard to find… Oh, here's one! A C-ranked or higher mercenary team is needed to find the treasure left by the Creator, the 'Hidden Gloves,' for 6,000 gold coins… However, this task has been posted for over 200 years; I don't know if the employer is still alive." The clerk scratched his head, showing an apologetic look.

Hearing this, Amy and Da Qingshan felt utterly defeated, finally giving up on the mercenary task scrolls before them and deciding to head back and wait.

The boring days stretched on for four days. Each day, the two of them and a dragon sat in the closest seats to the mercenary guild, straining their ears to listen to the sounds of task transfers in the room. Whenever a mercenary completed a task and the sound of jingling gold coins echoed, Amy would start complaining about wasting away.

On the fifth day, Amy held a large cup of herbs soaked in liquor, nearly dozing off from boredom, while Da Qingshan sat across from her, gently polishing his long sword and Amy's sword.

Suddenly, the bar door was pushed open, and several people rushed in, drawing almost everyone's eyes. Instantly, the bar was filled with exclamations of admiration.

"Wow—"

"Not bad."

"Right on time."

"Be quiet—"

…

Da Qingshan was puzzled, busy polishing his sword, and asked, "What's going on, Amy?"

"Oh, a few people came in, two girls and three boys, and they have blood on them." Amy glanced up.

"Why are they making such a fuss?"

"I don't know; those people don't seem to have anything valuable on them." Amy looked up again. During their youth, the Mercenary King and the Holy Dragon Knight belonged to those whose sexual education and development were quite late—this was probably thanks to having 100% male family members, including Green.

Suddenly, a fragrance wafted into Da Qingshan and Amy's noses. A girl dressed in red and another in blue hurried into the mercenary guild, followed by several soldiers from the Empire of Amy.

Their ears perked up again…

Once upon a time, in a renowned magic training academy, students passed down a song:

"Since ancient times, heroes have loved beautiful women; even non-heroes love beautiful women."

Every love story ends similarly—where the prince and princess live happily ever after. However, each love story avoids confronting two unavoidable facts:

Beauty fades quickly; the prime years of a human beauty last at most ten years, while a human prince's charm can often last thirty years.When a prince becomes a king, he often has many beautiful companions or several wives in his harem.

—"Shan Hai Jing: The Alluring Conversations"