Chapter 4: Iron-Blooded Mercenary Group

  When morning comes, the city starts its daily hustle and bustle again, with people swarming in the streets and vendors' calls ringing incessantly in one's ears.

  On the largest street in the city of Taishi, there is a vast area where people passing by always look at it with deep reverence. On the high signboard, three blood-red characters seem to be written with a knife, each stroke exuding a chill. The words read: Mercenary Guild.

  The entrance of the mercenary guild was crowded with groups of mercenaries, all waiting in line for task assignments. At the counter in the hall, a woman was announcing one task after another and the rewards for completing them.

  "Escort merchant caravan, reward 500 gold coins."

  "Seeking the Millennium Blood Lingzhi, reward 2,000 gold coins."

  "Track down the 4th tier demonic beast, Devouring Tiger. Reward: 3,500 gold coins."

  “········”

  One by one, the messages came out of her mouth and were clearly transmitted to everyone's ears. Those men who faced the monster with no fear at all would always have a deep affection and awe in their eyes when they glanced at the woman.

  The woman lazily stretched her waist, revealing a stunning curve. The men in the room let out a hiss of admiration, but only dared to take a fleeting glance, as if looking too long would make them lose something.

  On the girl's chest, which was about to burst out, there was a sign with a single word: War. No wonder so many iron-blooded men were so afraid of her. You see, in the entire City of Sun, there are many mercenary groups, but there are only four mercenary guilds: the War Sky Mercenary Guild, the Wind and Thunder Mercenary Guild, the Violent Snow Mercenary Guild, and the Day and Night Mercenary Guild. No matter how many people your mercenary group has or where you come from, as long as you arrive in City of Sun, you must register with one of these four guilds; otherwise, you will be considered a rebel and will be hunted down by all the mercenaries in the city. The fact that they can restrain so many desperate fugitives already shows how powerful the forces behind these four mercenary groups are.

  It turns out that this woman is actually a member of the War Sky Mercenary Association, and it can be seen that her strength must not be bad. It's said that there was once an ignorant mercenary captain who ridiculed her, only to find that the next day, more than a dozen people from the entire mercenary group were found dead in the wilderness outside the city, and everyone inferred that it was done by the War Sky Mercenary Association. From then on, the reputation of the War Sky Mercenary Association firmly suppressed the other three major mercenary associations.

  "Hah, Iron Mountain, it's been a few days since we last met, and your team is short-handed again! Haha, I think you should just merge your team with ours. With the way things are going for you, who knows when you'll be left standing alone!" A robust man of over six feet tall, carrying an enormous wolf-toothed club, jeered at a lean but muscular man beside him.

  "Xiao Shi, don't be too arrogant. If you're so capable, let's have a one-on-one fight. What's the point of relying on having more people?" The lean man suddenly stood up, exuding a fierce and sharp aura, revealing himself to be a powerful warrior.

  "I'm afraid you won't be able to take it, so just fight, if you lose, get out of this mercenary group." As he finished speaking, a fierce aura burst forth, no weaker than that of the lean man. The situation was becoming increasingly tense, with swords drawn and bows at the ready, on the verge of clashing.

  "Hmph, want to fight? Go outside and fight, are you full and have nothing better to do all day? Or are the two of you just trying to exercise your muscles? Do you want me to personally accompany you for a few rounds?" The voice was soft, but the chill emanating from it shot out.

  "Hey, misunderstanding, misunderstanding, Ye Qing, we were just joking around, haha, don't mind it." Xiao Shi said with a flattering tone, then turned his head to glance at Tie Shan, and whispered: "It's best if you don't let me meet you two in the mountains, humph." After that, he turned around and stepped out of the gate.

  Ye Qing raised her head and took a glance before lowering it again to organize those tasks one by one.

  "Miss Ye Qing, thank you so much just now. I, Tie, am deeply grateful." Iron Mountain walked forward and bowed his fist to Ye Qing.

  "There's nothing, just can't stand some people being arrogant. Your Iron Blood Mercenary Team is also an old team, I'm quite curious, your team originally had ten people, and each one was a good hand, but now, how did it become only five people?" Ye Qing raised his head and asked casually.

  Tie Shan's face flashed a hint of fear, and he slowly said: "That was last month's thing. We occasionally encountered a three-stage magic beast cub in the mountain range. You also know that a three-stage beast core is worth a lot of money, so at the time, the brothers didn't think much about it and killed the cub to take the beast core. Unexpectedly, on the way back, we encountered two adult three-stage magic beasts surrounding us. They attacked us frantically, and several brothers were torn apart without even reacting. The deputy captain sacrificed himself to cover for us, so you also saw that only a few people are left, and our strength is much weaker than before." After finishing speaking, Tie Shan sighed, "It's just pitiful for those dead brothers."

  "Hmph, you guys are lucky, encountering three third-tier magical beasts at once is rare. Others would be lucky to encounter one, and you even got a juvenile." Ye Qing replied.

  "Ye Qing, don't think ill of me, I'd rather not have that third-tier beast core." Tie Shan said with a bitter smile.

  "Alright, I think you should also recruit some new members. With too few people, it will affect your authority to receive tasks." Ye Qing furrowed her brow and made a suggestion.

  "Sister, can I take on that mountain-seeking mission?" A slightly childish voice came over, and Jiang Huan didn't know when he had arrived at the mercenary meeting.

  "Little brother, this isn't a place to play, sister will take you out to play." Ye Qing was chatting with Tie Shan when she heard the voice, turned her head and saw a small boy with a delicate face standing behind her, smiling as he spoke.

  "Hey, I'm not young anymore, look at me." He said, showing off his arm and waving it back and forth in front of Ye Qing.

  "Whoosh, you're still young, listen up and go home to play." Yeqing smiled happily.

  "Sister, you look really good when you smile, I'm telling the truth. I urgently need money." Jiang Hao said seriously.

  "Oh?" Ye Qing carefully sized up Jiang Hao again, and indeed felt a fierce aura emanating from him.

  "What's your name?"

  Jiang Hao.

  "Are you from the Jiang family?" As soon as he heard this name, Ye Qing's first thought was of the Jiang family.

  "Yes, I am from the Jiang family."

  "I didn't expect that, you have the strength of a five-star warrior at such a young age, the Jiang family's background is indeed not simple." Ye Qing stroked Jiang Hao's head and smiled.

  Jiang Hao's heart skipped a beat; this sister had taken one glance and already knew his true strength. It seemed she was at least a strong Martial Master.

  "Little brother, are you willing to join our Iron Blood Mercenary Group? We can complete tasks together and split the reward equally. What do you say?" At this time, Tie Shan also came over, knowing that Jiang Huan was a five-star warrior at a young age, and couldn't help but have the intention of recruiting him.

  Jiang Hao turned his head and took a glance at Tie Shan. The first impression he gave people was that of being honest, so Jiang Hao casually replied: "Alright, but you guys have to take care of me, okay?"

  "No problem," Tieshan readily agreed, then turned around to wave at Ye Qing and also helped Jiang Huan obtain a mercenary badge.

  Tie Shan brought Jiang Hao to the location of the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps and introduced him, saying: "This is our corps' new member Jiang Hao, I hope everyone will take care of him."

  "Oh, what a cute little brother." A young woman ran over and was about to pinch Jiang Huan's face. Jiang Huan moved his foot and dodged away.

  "Swallow, stop messing around. Jiang Hao, this one is called Swallow, an Eight-Star Warrior." After finishing speaking, he turned around again and pointed at a big man, "This one is Iron Bull, also an Eight-Star Warrior."

  "This is Kong Lin, a two-star warrior." A short man nodded towards Jiang Heng.

  "As for me, I am the commander of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group, a five-star warrior."

  Jiang Hao was taken aback, not expecting that there would be two Martial Masters in this group. "Oh, right, and there's another one who had something urgent come up and couldn't make it, you'll see him tomorrow." Tieshan added.

  "Don't look down on Jiang Hao, he's already a five-star warrior." Indeed, everyone looked at him with strange eyes, as if he were a monster. But when they found out he was from the Jiang family, they let it go. As the number one family in Sun City, the Jiang family naturally had its own unique way of cultivating their children.

  Jiang Hao thought to himself, I didn't rely on the resources of the Jiang family, all my strength was cultivated through my own hard work.

  "Alright, everyone can go back and rest now. I've already taken on the task. Let's gather at the east gate tomorrow morning."

  "What do I need to bring tomorrow?" Jiang Hao asked weakly.

  "Hmm, just bring your weapon and dry rations, that's all!" Tieshan patted Jiang Huan on the back, saying "Don't be late tomorrow."

  Nowadays, Jiang Hao spends every night in cultivation. Once he reaches the strength of a five-star warrior, he can recover his physical strength through cultivation and no longer needs to sleep. However, tomorrow's expedition to the mountain range is uncertain whether it will be smooth or not. Jiang Hao thought for a while, calmed down his excited mood, and continued to cultivate.

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