"C-Captain, isn't that unfair for just being a few minutes late?"
I tried asking with a smile but only earned a frown from him.
"Make that 20%."
He corrected himself.
Noticing that he wasn't someone to be reasoned with, I just laughed it off as we lined up amongst the other mercenaries. Lucky for him, we're not in need of money; otherwise, I wouldn't have let him off.
The white-haired captain gave a short speech before briefing us about our mission. Well, rather than a motivational speech, his words were more like an attempt to kill our hearts instead. Just listening to his talk made some of the mercenaries wear dark expressions.
Our job this time was to be the cleanup team for the previous battle. It was as simple as going around and taking the essence crystals from the defeated demons. Since only undead-type demons vanish without a trace after subjugation, it's usually a bother to gather essence crystals. Although some demons drop items from time to time, it's only for those above the 6th level.
The battlefield we were going to was where a ton of 5th-level demons died. The attack squad had already confirmed that no demons were left and that it was safe to start retrieval.
The regular members of the battalion quickly boarded their large tamed beasts, like a giant mammoth or a phoenix, and quickly headed for the place of work. The mercenaries, similarly, rode on their own large tamed beasts and followed the others. Only we, the Masked Brigade, were running on foot as we followed from behind, being the slowest and technically the weakest of them all.
It took us about an hour just to catch up with the group ahead. And with that much time lag, we ended up having nothing to do upon reaching the spot. Every essence crystal was already gathered; nothing was left for us to pick.
"Oh, look, here comes the slowpoke!"
One member of a mercenary group from before shouted. The others laughed and pointed fingers at us. Even the white-haired old captain shook his head before muttering, "You won't be getting a share this time."
Well, it was partly our fault for being slow. I simply shrugged my shoulders and was about to celebrate having nothing to do on our first job.
"...?"
However, something caught my eye.
Under the ground, a large mass of energy was swarming as it made its way upward. It was extremely disgusting; the squirming energy looked like worms rolling around themselves. However, this pattern looked extremely familiar, and I almost instantly remembered why. We saw this type of demon not too long ago.
"Everyone! A swarm of demon ground worms is coming! Retreat!"
I shouted as I ran with the other three. Based on the size of the swarm, there should be thousands of them. With the fixed gun, though, I could easily eliminate such a swarm. However, using such a unique weapon would immediately reveal our disguise. In short, I can't show my most powerful card here.
"You just came here and you're running away already? Lame!"
The same guy from before added once more; however, I had no time to play along with his badgering. The space below him was the first location where the demon ground worms burst through. Surprised by the sudden appearance, he couldn't react in time and got his head swallowed in a single gulp.
Save him? Why should I? I already warned them of the incoming threat; it's their fault for not believing.
Soon, the whole battalion was surrounded by the demon ground worms. Of course, that included us too, who weren't able to outrun them. Some of the mercenaries with flying beasts tried to escape through the air but were dragged down before they could even soar.
A massacre quickly started, with us being the ones getting massacred. In less than a minute, almost half of the 24 tamers were eaten. Desperate shouts and screams of despair echoed all over.
For the mercenaries, only three groups out of the previous eight, including us, managed to last long enough. One group is made up of five female tamers with female tamed monsters. They were fighting back in a stable manner, not letting a single strike hit them. I think their having 5th-level power was the bigger reason why they managed to last this long.
The other mercenary team was composed of about a dozen male tamers. They were basically using brute force to create a path to leave the encirclement. They were powerful at the 5th level too, but they lacked the brains to think about their stamina usage.
For us, we used the same strategy as last time. With ember blocking the other three directions, we forced the worms to only pass through one entrance. With Ember's improved skills, there's no fear of getting the barricade destroyed anytime soon.
The ones who entered were quickly handled by Igni. With a swipe of her claws, the hard, rocky skin of the demon ground worms quickly cracked. A few more hits, and they would get sliced into two.
"Ugh, I wish it was undead instead. These blood splashes are so icky~,"
Fang muttered in her created persona.
Of course, we didn't forget to do our roleplay. No matter the situation, we should ensure that we protect our real identity from others. As I have the Administrator Privilege of the Taming System, I can lock the information of the three girls, making it so that they can't be appraised.
Furthermore, with the addition of Igni, we aren't a group of one tamer and two tamed beasts but instead a group of four. Unless the trackers from the Luo had methods to trace us without relying on tracks, then we should be able to stay here for quite a while.
A few minutes later, when only four remained from the battalion, the backup finally arrived. The attack squad made quick work of the remaining demon ground worms and saved us from danger.
In the end, the white-haired captain survived, although he lost an arm. He had a look of despair, which honestly made me pity him a little. Only a little, I say.
"Hey, nice fight."
One of the mercenary groups that survived called me. When I turned around, the woman who seemed to be their leader extended her hands toward me.
"I'm Yulia, the leader of the Lily Knights. May we know which family you're from?"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺