Chapter 100: Flying Mount

“If you want to work together, you ought to show some sincerity. Don’t keep trying to get something for nothing.”

Royong spoke with complete indifference.

“What cooperation? It’s just mutual help. You’re only a small squad yourselves; you haven’t grown into a major force yet, and your overall strength is only average...” Loki curled his lip. “This time you just happened to get lucky and picked up a Splendor Set first. But it was only one piece. How can that compare with those people?”

As he said that, he subtly pointed toward several crowded groups in the distance.

“Yes,” Rakki chimed in from beside him. “It won’t be long before those teams are fully equipped. Their strength will jump by another huge margin, and the gap between us will only grow larger!”

“Ah...” Simon sighed as well, shaking his head helplessly.

“Then at least show people what you can do. Sighing won’t cut it. I don’t cooperate with people who have no ability.” Royong remained unmoved.

“Hey, I’m saying, you—”

Rakki only got halfway through his sentence before he stopped. His gaze had drifted toward the Land of God's Lament, and a trace of fear suddenly appeared on his face.

“Bad news! The Death Dragonflies are charging out. Run!”

“What the hell?! What’s going on?”

“How can they... how did it just...”

The three squad leaders fled in perfect unison, leaving Royong standing there alone, staring blankly.

Buzz!

The Death Dragonfly, over ten feet long, burst out of the Land of God's Lament at astonishing speed and arrived high above Royong’s head.

Then...

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, it slowly descended and came to a steady stop.

And those who had secretly mocked Royong for riding a pig simply stared, eyes wide, as they watched him climb onto the Death Dragonfly’s back.

Its back was lined with stiff bristles that were rough and strong enough to grip.

Royong had also brought out some soft cushions to place beneath him, and under everyone’s gaze he urged the wild boar onward, flying toward the camp.

“Ah! He... he...”

“How did he do that?!”

“He was just talking to us a moment ago, doing nothing at all. How did this happen...”

Loki, Rakki, and Simon looked at one another, all three utterly dumbfounded.

“Who exactly is this guy? Where did he come from?”

At that moment, several people from the larger teams came over to ask.

“If I’m not mistaken, the Death Dragonfly that just landed should be level fifteen, right?”

“That’s a level fifteen mount out of nowhere!”

“What do you mean, mount? The captain of that Gale Squad will probably turn it in to the camp for a reward!”

“Aaaah! The Splendor Set! I want it so badly, what am I supposed to do?!”

While they were still talking, Loki and the other two, who had moments ago been frozen stiff, quietly nodded, returned to their own teams, and began discussing with their members the possibility of cooperating with the Gale Squad.

“Is that even possible?”

“Who are the ones who can cooperate with the Gale Squad? Those are all famous figures!”

“Isn’t it the Mage Guild and the Hero Association?”

“Shh! You don’t know this, but that’s just gossip! Besides those two powers, there’s also individual cooperation. I heard there’s even an Elven Inquisitor and two Elven Deacons!”

“Hey, and there’s more! I heard the Hero Association’s Holy Light Warlock and the Truth Warlock...”

Gog Camp.

The cold-faced guard was dutifully carrying out his post when he suddenly heard an odd sound, as though something were approaching from far away at great speed, heading straight toward the camp.

Then he saw a black speck, illuminated by the blood moon, growing larger and larger in his sight.

“A Death Dragonfly?!”

Whoosh!

He drew his long sword in an instant.

Cold light flashed along the blade.

“Don’t be rash. Take a proper look first,” said the bearded guard nearby, waving a hand and taking a calm sip of wine. “Looks like there’s only one, and...”

“There’s someone sitting on it?”

At last, as the Death Dragonfly drew near the camp and slowed down, the cold-faced guard saw Royong.

“It’s you, Magic Swordsman!”

“It’s me.”

Royong jumped down from the Death Dragonfly and waved in greeting before pointing at the huge creature beside him.

“Dead or alive?”

“That’s truly astonishing. What kind of magic did you learn?” The bearded guard hurried over, circling the Death Dragonfly several times. “This thing doesn’t really matter whether it’s dead or alive. What we mainly need are some materials from its body.”

“How did you make it into a mount?” the cold-faced guard asked as he too stepped forward.

“Well, I was actually hoping to ask that myself. Is there any way to turn it into a proper mount?” Royong said.

“You just need to contract it. Some magic shops sell scrolls like that. Right now, the Mage Guild should have them,” the bearded guard said. “As for this one, are you turning it in for a mission, or do you plan to contract it?”

“I’ll contract it. The mission can wait...” Royong had already been thinking that he should organize another team outing and raise the squad’s overall strength again. That way, when they went out on missions, they would at least have some means of protecting themselves.

And his Gale Squad could take the opportunity to show its face and earn a little fame.

That would also make it easier to recruit more members later on.

“To contract it, you’ll have to go to the Mage Guild. Both the contract scroll and the registration have to be handled there,” said the cold-faced guard.

“Understood.”

Royong nodded, leaped back onto the Death Dragonfly’s back, and then took out a shield to hold in front of himself.

“Blocking the wind?” The bearded guard laughed. Before a magical beast is contracted, it won’t obey human commands; even though Royong had subdued it, there was still some resistance.

Once a contract is made, however, a flying beast like this will actively raise a layer of protection to shield its contractor, so that when the journey is over, the rider’s face won’t be blown crooked by the wind.

Royong had an item in hand that allowed him to control an uncontracted beast to a certain degree, and he could also use the item itself to erect a barrier.

In truth, the item in his possession could transform at will, growing larger or smaller, flying high or low, attacking or defending—far more convenient than a contracted beast.

Still, his teammates didn’t have this item, and before he finished this round of benefits, he needed to test it himself first, so he wouldn’t end up crashing and embarrassing himself later.

“Yes, I was afraid the wind would twist my face out of shape.”

Royong chuckled twice, then with a buzzing of wings, rode the Death Dragonfly out of the camp and headed for the Mage Guild.

Along the way, he deliberately controlled its speed and altitude, and under the gaze of many onlookers, he made a spectacular entrance at the Mage Guild.

The Elven beauty was not there, so Royong completed the registration himself first, then spent some coin on contract scrolls. Amid the chatter and envious looks of the surrounding crowd, he buzzed away once more.

What had taken several days to cover on foot, Royong completed in a matter of moments, and he was soon back at the camp.

This time, because the contract had been completed, the Death Dragonfly would no longer be attacked by the camp’s magical barrier. Carrying Royong, it flew straight inside.

“What do you think he learned to do that?” the cold-faced guard asked at the camp entrance.

“Who knows!” The bearded guard shrugged and took another pleased swig of wine. “If this mission they’ve been assigned turns out well, we’ll get a share of the glory too. There’ll be some benefits for us as well.”

Of course, the benefits he meant were extra benefits.

“True enough.” The cold-faced guard nodded and withdrew his lingering gaze.

“How long has it even been? He was only level three when he first arrived, and now he’s already...”

“People do grow, after all.”

The two of them chatted idly, and time passed soundlessly between their seemingly ordinary words.

Inside the camp, Royong didn’t even need to go looking for anyone. Once the squad members heard the commotion, they gathered around him on their own.

“Captain... what is this?”

“How did you do that?”

“So amazing! I knew I hadn’t misjudged you! Does the elven race allow concubinage? I don’t mind being the lesser one...”

“Get lost! Go home and throw away your white gloves!”

“Awooo!”

A giant wolf seemed to sense a threat from the Death Dragonfly.

“What do you mean? I’m a wilderness hunter. This is obviously prepared for me!” The wilderness hunter stepped forward brazenly and reached out to touch the Death Dragonfly, while waving her hand in a very generous manner. “Forget it, I don’t want the set anymore. I just want this mount!”

“You wish!”

Everyone immediately protested in unison.

“Royong, this—”

“All right, these are the contract scrolls. One each.” Royong directly handed a stack of scrolls to Wendy and let her distribute them.

“I already have a contract scroll. Can I exchange it for something else?” the wilderness hunter asked online.

“Stand to the side! If you don’t want it, someone else does!” The barbarian priest shoved her aside and snatched away her share as well.

“Captain, she stole my stuff!” the wilderness hunter said.

“...”

“In a moment, head straight for the Land of God's Lament and wait for me there,” Royong said. Once he finished, he mounted up and buzzed away.

“Wow! So cool!”

“Hurry, hurry, hurry, I can’t wait!”

The group scrambled to open the portal and appeared on the outskirts of the Land of God's Lament.

“Wendy! You came too!”

As soon as the beautiful female members appeared, they drew everyone’s attention. Not to mention anything else, just looking at this row of lovely girls—

Hm?

It seemed a strange, plump fellow had gotten mixed in among them.

But that didn’t matter. Everyone automatically ignored him.

Loki and Rakki knew Wendy as well, so they came over together.

“Where’s your captain? He sent you?” Simon also came over from the other side, while his gaze swept over the barbarian priest in the crowd and then landed on Lillian.

“Pervert!”

The barbarian priest rolled her eyes and avoided his gaze, stepping behind Alia.

Alia: “...”

For some reason, she suddenly felt as though she had been hurt.

“The captain is on his way here by air!”