Chapter 79: Taking Sides
“Azure Longsword?”
Andrea hadn’t yet processed this when Hermann beside him recalled something, frowning.
“Isn’t that the mercenary group that was hunting the Templar Knight in Stanimaka, but had Von Kesim killed out from under them, and then took his rifle?”
“Oh!” Andrea’s eyes widened in sudden understanding, his expression turning complex.
Having a kill stolen was commonplace among larger mercenary groups. After all, strength dictated everything in this business. If your fist wasn’t big enough, there was nothing you could do.
And the size of one’s fist in any given mission depended on the number of people deployed, which directly related to manpower costs. Therefore, “how to deploy fewer people” to “outmaneuver the competition and complete the mission” was a constant concern for mercenary group headquarters.
The Iron Cross mercenary group headquarters had even hired professional accountants and actuaries from Venice specifically to assess the difficulty of various missions and the corresponding number of personnel needed.
Of course, they could only estimate, not predict.
For example, if a mission was estimated to require around 200 people, but upon arriving at the scene, they found that the “Free Wind” mercenary group had deployed 300 people, then they naturally couldn’t compete for the mission.
Unable to compete, the various expenses incurred by their 200 people during the mission became a complete loss since they didn’t receive the reward.
The major mercenary groups had also considered cooperation. For example, if today I deployed 300 people, and you deployed 300 people, neither of us could decisively overpower the other, and we didn’t want to fight each other and suffer mutual losses, so we might as well cooperate to complete the mission and split the reward equally. This occasionally happened.
Of course, the premise was that neither side revealed any weaknesses.
If one side suffered heavy casualties during the mission, then sorry, the previous agreement had to be changed. Why? Because your fist wasn’t big enough now! Why should I talk about integrity with you if your fist isn’t big enough?
The hunt for the Templar Knight Von Kesim could have been a model of friendly cooperation between the two sides.
At that time, Matthews of Free Wind had brought slightly more mercenaries, but in terms of individual strength, Andrea’s side was superior.
Neither side was confident in defeating the other, so they could have cooperated to kill the target and then split the reward equally.
Unexpectedly, a small mercenary group called Azure Longsword intervened, first defeating Von Kesim in a sniper duel, then shamelessly snatching the kill before anyone could react.
By the time the Iron Cross and Free Wind arrived at the scene, Von Kesim was already dead, and his weapon had been taken by them.
Half of the 1000-pound bounty for the Templar Knight was taken, leaving only the 500-pound head. If there was only one mercenary group, it would be fine, but for two mercenary groups to split this 500 pounds, the cost-effectiveness of this mission was a bit ugly.
Therefore, Andrea and Matthews schemed against each other along the way, setting traps and trying to frame each other, even almost erupting into a full-blown conflict several times, before finally delivering Von Kesim’s head to the nearest Catholic diocese.
Then they each received 250 pounds…
Andrea still felt a pang of pain thinking about it. After all that trouble, he only earned a measly 250 pounds, and he was also reprimanded by headquarters for the death of his sniper, which even affected his year-end performance review.
It was all Azure Longsword’s fault!
Seeing the complex expressions of these two mercenaries, the two Spartan kings were a little surprised. They had only intended to mention this name and then say “The Spartans are already cooperating with Azure Longsword, you Iron Cross mercenary group need not bother.”
Unexpectedly, judging from Andrea’s expression and reaction, it seemed that he had known Azure Longsword for a long time, and their interactions hadn’t been friendly.
So Cleomenes quickly gave a look, and Rudashius immediately understood, hurrying out to find Asker.
…
On the open space near the dormitory, Eleanor, Peggy, and Sidlipha were sparring, while Asker watched from the side.
Around the open space, a crowd of Spartan boy soldiers had gathered. Hood, squeezed among the Spartan boys, stared at Asker through gritted teeth.
He had been inexplicably taken to the boy soldiers’ barracks and then inexplicably trained for a whole day, doing weight-bearing cross-country runs, standing at attention, 100-meter hurdle races, javelin throwing, and other physical training.
Although there were adult Spartan warriors supervising and preventing him from getting hurt, sweating and sore muscles were inevitable.
That bastard Asker, I thought that if I didn’t join the mercenary group officially, he wouldn’t have any reason to train me, but he actually used such an underhanded trick!
This revenge shall not go unavenged!
“Hey, is that the Azure Longsword you’re from?” Several Spartan boys asked Hood.
“They’re so strong! That golden-haired warrior!” Someone said enviously. “Look at her shield technique, she can even block such powerful attacks, her experience is definitely no less than our instructor’s!”
“And that black-haired one, she’s so fast! Faster than the fastest 100-meter runner in Athens! I can barely see her movements!”
Everyone expressed their envy. Children always admired the strong, and even Hood felt a sense of pride, feeling a little smug for a moment.
“Sigh, what’s so great about this, you guys are just making a fuss.” Hood put on a disdainful expression. “See that man standing by the training ground? That’s the leader of our Azure Longsword mercenary group, he’s the real powerhouse. These three on the field together are no match for him.”
“Really?” The Spartan boys’ eyes immediately lit up.
“Hey, Hood, what’s your ranking in terms of combat power in the Azure Longsword mercenary group?” A boy asked curiously.
“Ahem. I’m not an adult yet, it’s different.” Hood said, a little embarrassed.
“That black-haired girl isn’t an adult either, is she?” Another boy said.
“Uh…” Hood hesitated for a moment, then patted his chest and said, “Not to brag, but our captain and I have a good relationship, and he often teaches me some combat techniques. Although I’m not an adult yet, and my physical qualities can’t compare to adults, my combat power can still rank in the top ten in the group.”
“Oh, oh, oh, oh.” The Spartan boys nodded repeatedly, their faces full of admiration.
Just as Hood continued to brag among the boys, the fight on the field had already been decided.
Although the “Golden Finger” used to enhance the Steal ability had been returned to Quintus after the Olympia defense battle, Peggy, with the extensive combat experience gained during that time, could now stably split off one additional phantom.
She swung her short sword horizontally and split off a phantom, attacking Sidlipha from both sides.
Sidlipha naturally knew the power of the Undead Phantom Sword and immediately unleashed a Whirlwind Slash to force the two back.
As she turned her back, Eleanor suddenly charged with her shield, knocking Sidlipha to the ground from behind.
“A wonderful fight!” The Spartan boys clapped and cheered.
However, the next scene left them dumbfounded.
Sidlipha groaned and lay on the ground, refusing to get up.
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