Chapter 120
Rattle.
The Mercenary Guild's entire building was made of aged wood, and there was a piece of paper on its door indicating its purpose as an entryway into the building. A figure dressed in a simple brown robe entered and vanished behind the door.
It was still early in the morning, so there were only a few mercenaries in the building. Naturally, they were here to collect their quest rewards and accept more quests. They saw the figure coming in, but none of them seemed to mind the figure other than a cursory glance.
Joshua’s deep eyes gleamed as he smiled. It seemed that wherever one was in the world, the atmosphere within a Mercenary Guild would always be the same.
The buildings of the Mercenary Guild always had this heavy and gloomy air.
The continent was currently enjoying peace. There was a skirmish between the Swallow Empire and the Thran Principality. However, the Swallow Empire failed in its mission, so it decided to finally abandon its goal to invade Thran.
At last, the Thran Principality was finally independent of the Swallow Empire.
The one mostly responsible for Thran’s independence was the Knight of Red Flame Ulabis, the current ruler of Thran. Considering all those, why was it that the Mercenary Guild still had this gloomy and heavy air?
‘Depending on the quest they received, today’s friend could become tomorrow’s enemy. Moreover, mercenaries were pitiful beings who lived their life on edge, and no one cared even if they died.’
Joshua was intimately familiar with a mercenary’s life because he had spent a significant amount of time as a mercenary before he regressed.
Since the continent was currently in a period of calm, the knights could only devote their time to personal training. However, mercenaries were the complete opposite. They could lose their lives anytime since the quests they could accept included but were not limited to monster taming, delivering valuable artifacts, exploring ruins, and becoming hired men in territorial wars between nobles.
Naturally, they would do all those for the sake of survival.
Knights could also get involved in territorial wars, but the likelihood and the frequency of said wars were vastly different compared to the mercenaries. In addition, knights were only required to participate in a territorial war if it involved their family’s land, while mercenaries often went where money could be found.
Thus, mercenaries could shed blood and die on battlefields where no one even knew their identities. It wasn’t really strange since they were paid to carry out their duties. They wouldn’t go to places to mingle but to earn money.
“I’m here to be a mercenary.”
At Joshua’s words, the gloomy-looking receptionist lifted his head slightly. He was dressed in a robe, and he seemed displeased upon being disturbed as he pointed at a certain location in the building and said, “Go over there. They’re in charge of the mercenary exam.”
“Thanks.”
Joshua made a short bow in the man's direction and proceeded to walk away.
“I’m here for the mercenary exam—” Joshua started.
However, the young female employee interrupted him without even glancing at him. “Fill out the papers there and hand them over to me.”
She was an attractive young lady with her long dark brown hair tied up into a casual ponytail. She looked almost too beautiful for her to be in this kind of environment, but she was obviously incredibly hard to approach because she didn’t even acknowledge Joshua’s presence.
The smile on Joshua’s face turned sour at the stern voice of the female employee as he directed his attention at the papers.
It was a one-page form that required one to fill in their place of birth, given name, past work experience, and the reason they wanted to become a mercenary. It was a no-frills, succinct form that had taken into consideration everything necessary, nothing else.
However, there was an issue with the form. Joshua stared at the form header and said to the female employee, “I’m here for the Silver card, not Bronze.”
At that, the female employee's brows twitched. Still, she replied, “Then, please hand over your Bronze card. I also need proof that you have successfully completed a hundred or more 2-Star Quests—”
“I’m not a mercenary yet, but I know a way to immediately become a Silver-ranked mercenary.”
“Haaa?” The female employee stood up and tilted her head. She blinked at Joshua with an irritated look.
“Ah!”
However, a cry soon escaped from her lips.
She stared at Joshua’s face beneath the hood and was stunned by his countenance, especially by the latter’s navy blue eyes, which seemed as deep as the abyss. Those pair of eyes looked like they could devour everything.
Jenny had been working as a receptionist at the Mercenary Guild’s Haiburi branch for many years now, but she had never seen someone who was more attractive than the young man standing in front of her right now.
“Well, you see…” Jenny stammered and blushed.
The mercenaries in the area started whispering among themselves.
“Did that robed guy just say that he wants to immediately become a Silver-ranked mercenary?”
“I think you’ve become too old to hear properly…”
“Are you serious?”
At the clamor, Jenny was awakened from her stupor. Still, she didn’t dare to look into Joshua’s eyes as she said, “I’m not sure if you know this, but there’s one requirement everyone has to satisfy before they could get a Silver card…”
At that, Joshua retrieved a simple longsword made by a local blacksmith.
He then poured mana into the blade, and a faint humming noise filled the air afterward.
“A-Aura!” exclaimed Jenny.
“Aura? This kid is a B-Class?”
“Unbelievable!”
The mercenaries were all surprised. Haiburi Castle Town was one of the biggest settlements throughout the vast territory of the Avalon Empire, but even the Avalon Empire only had around a million mercenaries.
On top of that, the number of mercenaries who could wield Aura was less than a tenth of the entire mercenary population. And to think that someone who could wield Aura would appear a the Mercenary Guild…
“My God…” Jenny was now looking at Joshua through rose-tinted glasses. She couldn’t really be blamed because Joshua was simply too handsome to be considered human. In addition, his abilities were not to sneeze at either.
Jenny had never dealt with anyone else aside from the rowdy mercenaries her whole life, so Joshua appeared even more charming in her eyes.
“Excuse me, the test…” Joshua said to the dumbfounded Jenny.
Everything suddenly became awkward.
Fortunately, a voice shattered the ice and said, “An esteemed guest has arrived. I think I will have to handle this differently.”
Joshua turned around, and his eyes widened.
“You’re…”
***
Darkness…
‘I can’t see…’
One wouldn’t be able to see even their own foot because it was so dark.
All of a sudden, a strange voice echoed. The voice sounded harsh, like scraping iron, and it seemed to be coming from all directions. It was also impossible to make out the gender of the speaker.
“His Majesty has started making serious moves. His goal is to start a world war by forcing the nations to make a move. His Majesty is currently concentrating on dealing with Duke Agnus, so there is currently no need for us to take any action.”
The surroundings were quiet, so the voice could be heard clearly.
The voice seemed to be talking to someone as it asked, “Soon, you will have to play your role. It’s a very important role. Also, he's your father. Are you sure you can do it properly?”
At that, a voice responded from the left side of the first speaker. The voice sounded like it belonged to a young man.
“I only have one father.”
“...” Silence momentarily filled the dark room.
Eventually, a strange voice echoed from the right side of the room, and it said, “In the meantime, there is no need for us to be concerned about Duke Agnus. His Majesty himself has started the movement. Surely, you are aware of it, right?”
In response, a young man’s voice echoed from the right side of the room as well.
“Yes, the preparations are complete.”
“Well, tell me, then,” said the strange voice.
The young man’s voice on the right side of the room replied, “As you are aware, Babel von Agnus—no Babel ben Britten is His Majesty’s child. He will succeed Duke Agnus and completely devour the Agnus household.”
“...”
“The power balance is only there due to Aden von Agnus' existence, so if he vanished, it would be a cakewalk for His Majesty to devour the entire Agnus household. The existence of Babel allows His Majesty to devour the Agnus household officially.”
At that, another voice rang out. This time, the voice sounded creepy. “What are your plans?”
Despite the creepy voice, the young man’s voice calmly replied, “In the meantime, we should let His Majesty do his thing. When the time comes, we just have to step in to help. His Majesty would definitely be drunk with his victory by then, and he would definitely entrust the entire Agnus Duchy to Babel. When that happens, I will personally cut the heads of Babel and eradicate the Agnus Duchy.”
“Yes. In that situation, you would be the most appropriate candidate. Our presence must not be divulged to the rest of the world for the time being.”
“Yes, you are definitely the most appropriate individual to do such a thing. After all, it is still not time for the world to know about our existence.”
“I will be careful.”
“You should be…”
With that, the voices disappeared from the room.
A dim glow started to illuminate the wall of the pitch-black room, and it eventually formed a gigantic six-pointed star made out of two overlapping equilateral triangles. The six-pointed star emitted a creepy crimson light, but the eeriness didn’t stop there.
The dim crimson glow revealed the pale faces of two men trapped within the deafening silence of the room. However, if one looked closely at the two men, one would be able to recognize them as one of the people with the noblest blood throughout the continent.
After all, both of them belonged to two of the three strongest nations of the Igrant continent.
“If you ever need assistance at the Imperial Palace, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will embrace you with open arms if you—” the golden-eyed blond-haired young man started.
However, the young man on the right boisterously laughed, interrupting him.
“I will not be ensnared by your pretty words. I have abandoned my country, but I still have pride in my accomplishments.”
“I didn’t tell you to be my subordinate. I just want us to be friends.”
“Friends?” The young man revealed a deep smile. “You sound like you’re ready to talk about all the nice things in this world, even though your father could leave this world anytime soon.”
“He’s a madman obsessed with wars and murder. He has never been my father.”
The young man was stunned by the blond-haired young man’s response.
“You’re a fantastic person in a lot of ways. Also very detailed. An impressionable young man who hasn't even had blood splashed on his face yet.”
The young man shook his head, turned around, and started walking away.
“Draxia bel Grace.”
However, a voice forced him to come to a halt.
Indeed, Draxia bel Grace was his name. He was a member of the Swallow Empire’s imperial family, and he was also widely acclaimed as the War God.
He was also Joshua’s most formidable foe before the latter’s regression.
“My doors will always be open for you.”
“...”
Draxia stood still for a while before eventually departing, leaving only a few words in his wake.
“I’m looking forward to your next move, Kaiser ben Britten.”
This was the first conversation between the two people who had driven Joshua to his death.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦