Chapter 45: Brothers Reunited
An arrow pierced his knee, and the uncle who had just been spitting and shouting put prophecy to the test, successfully verifying what the astrologer Hera had foretold for him.
It was likely he would never be a mercenary again...
After a lifetime of battle, to end like this, it was cruel. Yet, this was the fate of mercenaries, and perhaps of heroes like Luo Yong.
Luo Yong felt a sudden surge of emotion at that moment.
“Form ranks!”
The mercenary captain bellowed, barking orders swiftly.
Then Luo Yong heard—
“Damn it! There’s a shaman on the other side!”
“Who the hell here knows magic? Hit them back with all you’ve got!”
“Bring out the bravado you use in taverns! And if that’s not enough, bring out the energy you spend on women!”
“...”
Luo Yong thought the mercenary captain was quite amusing, but at this moment, no one could muster a smile.
The situation: a group of around fifty mercenaries had left the camp some distance behind, heading toward the newly constructed teleportation array.
Beside them, a high ground rose up, covered in dense, thriving forest.
From that forest, a band of fallen elves lay in ambush, holding the advantage of terrain and numbers.
All were master archers.
But most importantly, from the woods emerged a demon shaman, who stood atop the high ground and raised his staff.
Luo Yong, disguised as a mercenary, had transformed his Blade of Deception into a long spear. Apart from his youthful appearance, he blended in perfectly.
He had marched with the group for quite some time, unnoticed.
Swish, swish, swish!
A rain of arrows burst from the forest, enveloping all the mercenaries below.
Luo Yong, together with another mercenary, raised a massive shield, blocking this wave of attack.
Immediately after, the demon shaman waved his staff, murmuring incantations.
Flames ignited at the tips of the fallen elves’ arrows.
“Damn it! Is there anyone in this group who can use magic?” the captain roared, his face flushed. “If not, I’ll order everyone to charge up there and fight these bastards tooth and nail! Damn it all!”
“Let’s do it!”
The group echoed his cry, eyes blazing red, almost as if beset with berserker fury.
Ahem.
In truth, they were just fired up.
“I have a magic scroll!”
Luo Yong stepped forward, handing a tactical scroll to the captain.
The captain was a man in his thirties, robust and powerful, with a face marked by steely determination, though a long scar marred his handsome features.
“Well, damn, there really is one! Hey, how come I haven’t seen you before...”
The captain took the scroll from Luo Yong, muttering to himself, then aimed at the high ground and activated the spell circle on the scroll.
“Die!”
With his shout, dazzling light erupted from the scroll.
A small tornado swept from the mercenary ranks toward the high ground.
“Why is it so small?”
The captain was surprised, glancing at Luo Yong, who was equally bewildered.
He thought back—he’d used a thunder scroll before, and it had worked well. This scene shouldn’t be happening...
As both wondered, the tornado suddenly accelerated and grew larger, the air filled with a piercing roar, as if a storm was howling right beside them!
Whoosh!
The fierce wind swept up clouds of dust, and in the blink of an eye, all was drawn into the heart of the tornado.
What started as a pitiful little whirlwind grew massively in an instant, as if it possessed world-shattering power.
Ahem.
At least, for these mercenaries caught unawares, that’s how it seemed.
And later, when boasting in taverns, they would describe it just so.
The wind howled, impossible to imagine the force within the tornado.
Snap, crack!
Trees were uprooted, fallen elves swept skyward, some torn apart mid-flight by invisible forces...
Only the demon shaman remained, struggling on the high ground, his gaze fierce, his grotesque face made even more hideous by the wind.
The staff blazing with fire seemed to still hold some power, ready to unleash at any moment.
“Damn you!”
A furious shout rang out; a mercenary, sitting on the ground, hurled his spear with all his strength.
Whoosh!
No one knew where he found such power, but the spear flew through the air, barely affected by the tornado, tracing a beautiful arc before piercing straight through the demon shaman.
The shaman could hold out no longer, swept up and vanished.
The mighty tornado raged across the high ground and forest, again and again.
After a few breaths, the wind subsided, its magic spent, the spell dissipated, and a rain of blood and flesh showered the earth.
Broken bows, scattered arrows.
And half a staff, buried in the mud, all that remained of the demon shaman.
Who could have imagined that a carefully planned ambush would be reversed by a powerful magic scroll?
Only then did the mercenaries guarding the teleportation array notice something was wrong and sent people to investigate.
In truth, even if they’d sent reinforcements, they would have been ambushed and suffered heavy losses.
But things hadn’t gone that way.
“Damn...”
The captain tucked the spent scroll into his coat, still savoring the thrill.
He looked at the high ground, sighed deeply, and said, “If I were twenty years younger...no, even ten...I’d retrain as a mage! What a shame...”
He paused, seeming to remember something, and turned to Luo Yong.
“Today we owe you. If not for you, who knows how many would have died!”
He patted Luo Yong’s shoulder, spoke a few words to the mercenary who came to inquire, and ordered everyone to rest.
“We must report this to the camp and warn everyone. This is war!”
“Get the wounded back. And you—”
He paused, then turned to Luo Yong, his gaze complex.
“Brother, did you hear what I said? I have no more chances, but you’re still young. If you’re interested in magic, find a way to retrain...”
“As captain, I shouldn’t be saying this, but...I have no choices left, and you do...”
“Go with them, escort the wounded back, explain everything, and then—”
“Captain! We’re heading out!”
A mercenary escorting the wounded called out, waving as they prepared to leave.
“Wait!”
The captain led Luo Yong over quickly.
“He’s going with you.”
“But captain...this new guy, I haven’t seen him before...” a mercenary said, eyeing Luo Yong with suspicion.
“Hey, I know him! He was walking with me just now! Hiss...”
Before anyone else could speak, the uncle with the arrow in his knee grinned at Luo Yong, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
His pain-strained smile was ghastly, but to Luo Yong, strangely familiar.
“I’ve got a teleportation scroll here—can get us straight back to camp.”
Luo Yong dug into his coat, found a teleportation scroll, and handed it to the captain.
“Good! Use it, get the message back, take the wounded safely. Go, now!”
No sooner had he spoken than the captain opened the scroll and activated the portal, shoving Luo Yong through, almost impatiently—as if afraid he’d regret it if he waited.
The other mercenaries, with their wounded, followed through the gate, returning to camp.
One rushed off to contact the Mercenary Guild, others took the wounded for treatment.
Luo Yong stood there, watching the peaceful camp, the busy figures, the shimmering portal.
“Captain!”
Just before the portal faded, Luo Yong dashed back, hurried to the scar-faced captain, stuffed a few tactical scrolls into his hands, then rushed back through the portal.
As the portal vanished, the scar-faced captain looked at the scrolls, a faint smile on his face.
Farewell, young brother!
As for Luo Yong, he stood in the camp, taking a long moment to shake off the emotion that had seized him.
For a moment, he’d wanted to throw caution aside and join the mercenary ranks, become one of them...
But he had restrained himself.
“Farewell, big brother mercenary...and uncle mercenary...”
Luo Yong glanced in a certain direction, intending to say his goodbyes.
But, as fate would have it, he caught sight of the uncle mercenary, who hadn’t rushed to treat his wounded leg, but was pestering a woman in a cloak.
He could faintly hear the uncle’s booming, rambling voice.
“Great astrologer...please, you must help me...your predictions are so accurate!”
“Uh, about the price...could you make it cheaper? Please, show mercy to the mercenary before you!”
Luo Yong: “...”
Well, all his earlier emotions vanished at once.
Wait!
Just as Luo Yong was about to leave, he stopped abruptly, looking toward the uncle mercenary.
What had he just said...?
Astrologer!?