Chapter 9: First Day on the Post

The next morning.

After seeing off Dixiya and the Blaze Light Hunting Beasts, under Kantisi's guidance, Luo De headed to his post.

This was still, after the previous discussion about the guards, Luo De's first close contact with the A Ru Cun guardian.

Unlike the fiery-passionate Dixiya.

Although Kantisi's tone of voice wasn't stiff and could even be described as gentle, the feeling she gave Luo De was one of icy aloofness that radiated from head to toe.

This strong contrast made Luo De, who was used to dealing with loud-mouthed mercenaries, quite uncomfortable.

"The work of the A Ru Cun guards consists of two parts: protecting the village from bandit raids, and clearing out monsters and beasts hidden within when a sandstorm arrives."

Kantisi introduced the duties of the A Ru Cun guards again as she walked.

After finishing the formal introduction, she added with a warning tone to Luo De: "Normally guard duty is quite leisurely, but leisure doesn't mean you can let your guard down; if any accident occurs due to your negligence, even if you're Dixiya's friend, the deserved punishment cannot be waived."

"Okay, I understand."

Luo De nodded, showing no objection.

This was a reasonable request, nothing more to say.

We've arrived at the location.

Luo De's assigned post is the suspension bridge in the northern part of A Ru Cun.

Unlike the flat plains.

A Ru Cun is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and its connection to the rainforest region is limited to the eastern path that has a Seven Statues standing; all other areas rely on suspension bridges to link with the outside world.

Such an arrangement seems extremely dangerous at first glance, giving the impression of placing oneself in a perilous predicament.

Luo De initially thought so.

However, after carefully observing A Ru Cun's terrain, his view changed.

A Ru Cun is a remarkably unique desert village.

It lacks no water.

In the arid, rain-scarce environment of the desert region, this almost counts as an invincible asset.

Having no water shortage means that even if A Ru Cun were completely cut off from the outside world, as long as sunlight remains they can be self-sufficient and won't be trapped to death in an isolated mountain.

It is precisely because of this water-abundant environment.

Although A Ru Cun is itself an isolated mountain, they still built an extremely wide moat at its base.

Exactly.

In this severely water-deficient desert, A Ru Cun's defenses actually include a wide moat.

Whenever he thought of this, Luo De couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

A Ru Cun's wealth far surpasses what he imagined, being astonishingly greater.

Because of the existence of this moat.

Attempting to attack A Ru Cun, situated halfway up the mountain, from below or underground would become extremely difficult.

If the idea of attacking from below is abandoned, then at this point A Ru Cun's only connection to the outside world consists of those five suspension bridges.

Luo De merely did a brief simulation.

He thus concluded: "Unless flying people or monsters launch an attack directly from the wilderness, otherwise, as long as the suspension bridges are cut off in an emergency, A Ru Cun can directly become a self-sufficient stronghold."

With this conclusion as a premise,

Now looking at his assigned post again, a faint sense of pressure welled up.

The suspension bridge can be said to be the most crucial part of A Ru Cun's defense system.

Those who can stand guard here are all the strongest and most robust warriors.

After sending Luo De to his post, Kantisi gave a few instructions to the leading warrior of the guard team, then quickly left.

"Luo De, is that your name?"

"My name is Atiya, a mercenary hired long-term by A Ru Cun to come here and help them guard the village."

The person speaking with Luo De was a medium-built youth with a physique of solid muscle.

Mercenaries came to help guard the village.

Although they were hired, they were also somewhat out of the ordinary.

After all, betraying trust and forgetting righteousness is basically routine in the Gilded Travel Group.

Being able to earn Kantisi's trust and entrust them with such an important post shows that the relationship between Atiya's mercenary group and A Ru Cun is extraordinary; it may not surpass the Blaze Light Hunting Beasts, but it should be roughly comparable.

"Luo De."

Luo De smiled, and following desert custom, while greeting him he also presented his meeting gift.

This was taught to him by Dixiya.

Giving a gift does not represent bribery or currying favor.

It is simply a pure expression of goodwill toward the other party.

The gift need not be anything valuable.

Luo De prepared nothing more than a small can of red tea that is very common throughout the Sumeru Region.

The tea leaves are coarse, and they taste very bitter when drunk.

At the same time, the price is also very cheap.

But this is sufficient.

The Atiya Mercenary Group numbered fifty-three people; after receiving Luo De's gift of red tea, the formerly strangers instantly became like best friends, each stepping forward to exchange names with Luo De, and some even went so far as to offer the tribal custom of cheek-to-cheek greeting.

It must be said.

The desert customs taught to Luo De by Dixiya are still very useful.

For just a mere 180 Mora, although it was only their first meeting, the Atiya Mercenary Group all greeted him with smiling faces.

Compared to the rainforest area that requires social savvy.

The desert is a place that requires even more social savvy.

After all, the rainforest area's stumbling block may not necessarily take your life, but in the desert area, if someone wants to trap you, that really could be deadly.

"A Ru Cun is indeed a pure land, but that doesn't mean everyone here is a good person."

This is the advice Dixiya left before departing.

Luo De listened to this advice very seriously.

The job of guarding is not a fixed post that never moves.

Including Luo De, the guards at the northern suspension bridge now total fifty-four people.

Aside from the two people in charge of meals.

The remaining fifty-two work in three shifts, with fixed eight-hour guard duty, changing posts every three days.

During rest time, they can go home or stay in the collective dormitory by the suspension bridge.

There is also no compulsion regarding meals.

If they want to eat, two meals are provided free every day, with meal costs covered by A Ru Cun, meat supply sufficient, and every meal includes meat.

This is also why many people vie for this guard position.

The salary is secondary; just the two meat meals a day are enough to make people fight over it.

It's a pity.

This guarding job is very dangerous, has requirements for strength, and is not something you can just join if you want.

Originally Luo De thought that even if he brought a gift, as a stranger suddenly arriving at the Ateya Mercenary Corps, he would definitely still face some exclusion or one-on-one challenges to establish dominance.

He had made preparations in advance, so that if he ever lost control and hurt someone, it wouldn't stir up grudges and cause trouble.

However, perhaps that can of red tea had an effect, and nobody ever brought up this matter at all.

Luo De smoothly integrated into the Ateya Mercenary Corps; when idle, everyone would eat and drink together, occasionally spar, which was genuine sparring—stopping at the point of contact—not the kind of bullying to establish dominance.

And Luo De, who possessed Vision and could turn the stuffy collective dorm into a cool air-conditioned room, quickly became a hot commodity in the Ateya Mercenary Corps.

It's not that I'm being lazy and slow; it's that my dad was using my computer to play Dou Dizhu, before returning it to me (⊙o⊙)…

(End of chapter)