Chapter 272: Armed Wage Collection

The Makurag people's mercenary corps is called the Blood Oath Mercenary Corps.

According to Tai Lien, a little over a month ago, Baron Barclay approached him, saying that a band of thieves had appeared in his domain, not only destroying his crops and killing several farmers, but also sneaking into the baron's castle to steal valuables.

Baron Barclay had a contingent of knights, including several supernaturals, yet they were helpless against the thieves.

So he turned to the Blood Oath Mercenary Corps; the two sides agreed on a price of eight hundred Gold Shields per month as a fee to protect the baron's castle, while the knights would patrol the domain themselves.

However, Tai Lien led the Makurag people to occupy the castle, and the thefts continued.

Even servants and knights died unnaturally, and the mercenary corps lost two brothers.

Baron Barclay began to doubt the Blood Oath Mercenary Corps' capability, and at that moment the Manfarab Mercenary Corps proactively approached, offering a lower fee to seize the contract and take over the castle's defense.

Moreover, the leader of the Manfarab Mercenary Corps, a half‑human, half‑barbarian hybrid known as Boruqi, told Baron Barclay that the Blood Oath Mercenary Corps need not be paid for the past month.

Tai Lien, of course, refused and voiced his opposition on the spot.

The two mercenary corps clashed; because the Blood Oath Mercenary Corps were few in number and Boruqi was a legendary warrior, the Makurag people were driven out of the castle and received no payment.

Lei En listened and was somewhat surprised.

"The leader of the Manfarab Mercenary Corps is a wild man?"

"Yes, boss." Tai Lien subconsciously touched his chest, where a wound had only recently healed, and, still uneasy, replied, "Boruqi's power is terrifying; his supernatural profession is probably not a warrior. When we fought last time, I saw that he could cast spells."

"A legendary wild man who has mastered spells..."

Lei En hummed thoughtfully a few times, becoming even more curious.

Humans and barbarians look similar in appearance, differing only in size, but in fact they are entirely distinct races, with soul forms that are worlds apart.

Thousands of years ago, humans were cursed by the Lord of Darkness Yukexon with the Blood Soul Curse; regardless of which human branch, wherever they lived in the world or on other planes, no human escaped the curse.

Barbarians, however, were completely unaffected, showing they are not a branch of humanity and share no bloodline.

Nevertheless, there is no reproductive barrier between the two races; they can bear offspring.

The chance of a human and a barbarian producing a mixed child is not low—slightly lower than within the same race, but far higher than the probability of a human and an elf producing a Half-elf.

Because they carry half human blood, they are also born with the Blood Soul Curse; their constitution is better than ordinary humans but far inferior to pure‑blood barbarians.

Among humans they are regarded as outcasts and suffer discrimination, since in most cases they are the product of a human mother who was violated.

Even if they return to barbarian tribes, the harsh environment makes survival difficult.

They are usually driven to desolate outskirts to fend for themselves.

"Wild man" refers to the mixed‑blood outcasts of humans and barbarians; for unknown reasons, wild men are almost all male, with females being extremely rare.

It may take several hundred wild men before a single female appears.

This prevents them from reproducing; their numbers are few, insufficient to form a social group. Due to a rough upbringing and lack of education, adult wild men mostly become bandits or cultists of evil deities, with extreme, cruel personalities and hostility toward other races, especially hatred of humans and barbarians.

A wild man who can cultivate to the legendary realm and command a group of barbarians and trolls is certainly no ordinary figure.

But even a legendary wild man must still cough up those eight hundred Gold Shields!

"Where is Baron Barclay's castle?" Lei En asked, noting that the Blood Oath Mercenary Corps could not waste that month and the two brothers' lives could not be sacrificed in vain.

Tai Lien became excited, "It's just north of Mount Zhubiler; after leaving the city, travel about ninety miles and you'll arrive."

"Let's go."

Lei En did not hesitate, deciding to immediately claim justice.

A herd of towering barbarians marched grandly through the city, clustered around a human who seemed to be their leader, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

The Blood Oath Mercenary Corps enjoys a solid reputation in Zhubiler City; when they meet other supernaturals or mercenaries on the road, they exchange a few greetings.

Tai Lien is seasoned and steady; normally he would stop for a few friendly words.

Today he had no such inclination, and he will not continue a mercenary career on Zhubiler Mountain, so he merely gave a simple nod and kept his pace.

This surprised many, who watched the barbarians' departing silhouettes with thoughtful looks.

Some mercenaries in the know shook their heads and whispered, "The Blood Oath Mercenary Corps is going to fight for dear life against Leader Boruqi." Those who cared followed quietly, and the news spread among the mercenaries of Zhubiler Mountain.

After leaving the city, Lei En led his men back onto the airship.

The Extreme Warriors left on the airship were thrilled to see their comrades, erupting into a passionate, vigorous embrace, and the airship became lively.

Lei En looked at the thirty‑one Extreme Warriors cramped in the cargo hold and shouted, "Alright, time to get down to business."

"Yes, boss!"

The Extreme Warriors promptly replied loudly, looking at Lei En and awaiting his orders.

"Ao Tuo, you and the four brothers stay behind to guard the airship."

Lei En pointed out Ao Tuo and the four Extreme Warriors; though a bit downcast, they understood the airship's supplies were vital and could not be left unattended, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Everyone else, put on armor."

"Newly joined brothers, you haven't trained with the Lambo's Gun yet, so use your own weapons for now; don't rush, everyone will have a chance later."

Lei En issued the order, and the Extreme Warriors sprang into action.

They opened row after row of large wooden crates in the cargo hold, took out armor, and quickly donned it.

The one‑piece forged armor was thick and heavy; massive, rounded shoulder plates bore gold trim, the chest bore the Augustus family crest with a crossed staff and war hammer, and the whole set weighed over four hundred pounds, heavier than six months ago, with faint runes shimmering on its surface.

After Lei En mastered rune knowledge, he infused mithril into the armor for enchantment.

The enchantment provided a single effect—'protective energy damage'—which reduced the potency of some spells, and combined with each person's 'Elemental Armor' necklace, the two stacked to give the Extreme Warriors a fairly notable spell resistance.

The material cost for a set of enchanted armor exceeded three hundred Gold Shields.

That doesn't even include Lei En's manufacturing labor; his exclusive activated metal technique and rare alloy smelting make selling a set for two thousand Gold Shields no problem.

Tai Lien and the others had never worn such fine armor; after eagerly putting it on, a surge of security welled up.

The heavy armor did not hinder their movement at all.

At that moment, they saw Xikalius and eight seasoned Extreme Warriors sling ammunition boxes onto their backs, pull out the ammo belts, connect them to the Lambo's Gun, and wrap them in black cloth to hang on the side.

This fully armed appearance made the newly joined Extreme Warriors enviously stare.

Especially Tai Lien, who had experienced machine‑gun fire, stared intently at the Lambo's Gun as if he could not look away for even a second.

Lei En saw him like that, so he took a Lambo's Spear out of the box and laughed, "Tai Lien, equip it too, be careful not to misfire."

"Thanks, boss!" Tai Lien exclaimed, overjoyed.

He learned quickly; in a few tries he slung the ammo box on his back, flipped the machine gun in his hands for inspection, and Xikalius walked over to tell him a few shooting pointers.

Tai Lien nodded repeatedly, memorizing everything in one go.

Seeing the Extreme Warriors all ready, Lei En took a staff out of his ring.

The pale‑violet staff was simple in shape, about 1.8 m long, its shaft uneven and etched with fine runes; its tip resembled a wrench's jaws, set with a deep‑blue sapphire the size of a pigeon egg; below that a purple ribbon was tied, two ribbons of unequal length fluttered without wind, radiating Arcane light.

This was the epic‑grade staff Lei En had obtained half a year ago.

It was Master Luin's weapon in life, called the Arcane Flood Staff, forged especially for Arcane practitioners; it came with three "Arcane Affinity" effects—high‑grade affinities that speed Arcane casting by 30% and amplify Arcane power, and it was enchanted with three Arcane spells!

They were the fourth‑ring Exile Technique, the fifth‑ring Teleportation Gate, and the sixth‑ring Stasis Field.

These three spells were non‑offensive, yet extremely useful.

Lei En waved the staff, Arcane energy surged in the air, and after a few breaths a tall, dark Teleportation Gate appeared inside the cargo hold, its interior seeming to lead into the void.

The Teleportation Gate is a fifth‑ring spell.

It differs by only one character from the fifth‑ring Teleportation Technique, yet its effect is vastly different.

The Teleportation Technique randomly sends a target to any location within one hundred li; only after the seventh ring does it become a Fixed‑point Teleportation Technique, with a longer range.

The fifth‑ring Teleportation Gate's range is only fifty li, casting takes longer, and it creates a passage between two places that multiple people can traverse.

The Void Flood Staff's Teleportation Gate casts in under five seconds.

If used properly, it not only allows a swift escape from battle but can also summon allies to fight, making it more useful than typical offensive Arcane spells.

"Go in."

The fifth‑ring Teleportation Gate can last up to two minutes.

At Lei En's command, the Extreme Warriors entered the gate without hesitation, he entered last, and emerged in a remote, deserted forest.

He cast again to activate the Teleportation Gate.

During casting, he chose the direction and distance; in the half‑second before completion, the rough terrain of the target location formed in his mind like a simple 3‑D map, though it showed no creature activity or detailed scenery.

In that half‑second, most casters can't examine it closely and must place the gate roughly.

But that was enough for Lei En.

He calmly identified the outline of a castle, which should be Baron Barclay's castle.

Lei En opened the Teleportation Gate about two li from the castle.

Stepping out, the surrounding area was a vast, flat wheat field; several farmers were working the soil, but they were startled, their faces pale, dropping their tools and fleeing.

"Help!"

"Quick, go inform the baron…"

The farmers panicked, sprinting away while shouting.

Lei En ignored them, turned toward the nearby castle built on a winding riverside; it was modest, far less grand than his own Azure High Fortress in Mo Du, and looked rather simple.

The nobles of Huo Ha Wen Principality fared far better than those of the Empire; the Storm Queen had not struck them, so most nobles held fiefs, and almost all the principality's land had been granted out, numbering hundreds of noble families, barons included.

A baron's domain, of course, could not compare with an Empire earl's castle.

Lei En pointed at the castle.

The Extreme Warriors ran along the road, the ground thundering "bang bang bang" like thousands of cavalry charging.

The commotion instantly alarmed the castle.

The castle's main gate shut quickly; a group of armored guards climbed the walls, accompanied by a batch of towering barbarians, their torsos exposed, muscles rock‑solid, waists wrapped in pelts, wielding crude axes or spiked clubs, looking fiercely brutish.

Soon, the Extreme Warriors surged to the castle's base and halted a hundred meters away.

Lei En's gaze swept over the wall's top.

At that moment, a dozen trolls appeared beside the barbarians.

They stood nearly two meters tall, habitually hunched; upright they would match the barbarians in height, though less bulky, their brown skin weathered by years of sun and wind, each hand bearing only three thick fingers, each foot only two stout toes.

The most striking feature was a pair of massive fangs jutting from the corners of their mouths, curved upward.

Their ears resembled those of elves—sharp and long—with a faint elven look, yet their faces were snarling, featuring a massive hooked beak‑shaped nose, hair tangled like weeds and crudely braided, and deep eye sockets housing tiny eyes.

Most trolls wore leather armor, wielded sharp axes, and carried hardwood longbows; their Soul Eyes indicated they were quite strong, reaching Mid‑stage transcendent level.

Three of the trolls caught Lei En's attention.

Their souls contained multiple Arcane Elements—Bloodthirst Technique, Earth Shaking Strike, Purification Technique, Summon Ghost Wolf, Nature Affinity, Healing Technique, Lightning Chain, Flame Hand, Wind Shear Technique, and so on—and they each held oddly shaped staffs; clearly they were the trolls' spellcasters, the shaman priests.

Within the troll tribe, shaman priests hold a very high status, second only to the chieftain.

Lei En gave Tai Lien a slight nod.

Tai Lien immediately understood, removed his helmet to reveal his face, and shouted loudly, "Baron Barclay! Step forward and speak!"

His voice echoed through the castle; the guards on the walls, the barbarians and trolls, who had been on high alert, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Tai Lien.

"I wondered who it was!"

A burly barbarian, massive as a tiger's back and a bear's waist, pointed at him mockingly, "Tai Lien, you still won't give up, so you've come back looking for death?"

Lei En narrowed his eyes; this barbarian possessed High‑level transcendent power, similar to Tai Lien's earlier, bearing a massive spiked club on his shoulder, his attitude extremely arrogant.

These barbarians came from a tribe on the Saen Plateau called the Dorak people.

The Dorak's territory lay not far from the Makurag people; the sides did not border but often clashed. They worshiped the "Black Emperor" Ban Ke, were brutally murderous, accustomed to conquering foes with fear and violence, and were among the strongest barbarian tribes on the Saen Plateau.

"Ge Duni," Tai Lien called out the name, saying gravely, "I'm here not to do with your Manfarab Mercenary Corps; let Baron Barclay speak with me."

The barbarian was about to mock again when an authoritative voice rang out:

"Tai Lien, you still dare to return?"

Lei En glanced at the speaker, his pupils involuntarily narrowing.

I intended to update after midnight, but yesterday I didn't post, leaving everyone waiting too long, which I feel sorry about. The previous single chapter about the current turmoil was deleted, but I'll mention it again: I support the protest and hope tomorrow's negotiation meeting yields a good result.

(This chapter ends)