Game of the World Tree

?CROCODILE MERCENARIES

The setting sun painted the sky in a mesmerizing shade of scarlet as evening rapidly approached.

After a day of hunting mobs in the shadow dungeon and underground forests, players started to return back into Chosen City in various ways. Some used teleportation arrays and soon joined the nightly bonfire gatherings happening within the city, while others simply logged out to rest and recover their stamina back on earth.

Of course, there’s also some dedicated hardcore players whom still have persisted to take on more tasks and hunt monsters even at night time, just so in order to further advance into higher levels and earn more contribution points.

Meanwhile, back in the Black Dragon Castle which serves as the primary teleportation hub between Rivendell and Chosen City, Meryer’s lair was just as usual bustling with its usual activity even as evening approached.

However, these activities were confined solely to the grand hall of the castle, as it was the location of the teleportation array, which caused the exterior of the castle to seem abandoned instead.

And as per usual, as soon as evening draws near, Meryer let out one of his customary long roars right before taking flight and disappearing off into the distance, just as he normally does.

According to Little Salty Cat, this was the little black dragon’s routinely behavior right before his mealtime.

Besides this behavior, Meryer also recently developed a habit of enjoying three meals daily after being influenced by the players and each day, it was the players themselves who took upon the task of cooking barbecue meat for him.

Amongst them, it was Little Salty Cat and her two Northeastern skewer buddies who took on such task most frequently.

The pink-haired mage prepped the monster meat ahead of time and managed the fire, while the two Northeastern guys took the lead in cooking the meat instead. In under thirty minutes, they would then serve up these skewered meats for Meryer to enjoy.

In return for preparing the dragon’s meal, the three of them would earn decent amount of EXP as well as Contribution points. Occasionally, they would also collect a few dragon scales that would naturally peeled off from Meryer’s body as he enjoyed his meal contentedly.

Today, the three of them had taken on such cooking task yet again and were grilling some barbecue in front of a bonfire outside the castle.

In fact, in the early days, they used to perform these tasks inside the castle. However, the interior soon became filled with smoke, which greatly annoyed Meryer to no end. As a result, the players were eventually forced to carry out such tasks outside instead.

The two Northeastern guys chatted while cooking, and Little Salty Cat would occasionally used her magic to finely tune the fire to the right temperature, all the while multitasking by browsing the internet and watching variety shows on her in-game system interface.

From time to time, she would also break into fits of laughter as a mountain breeze gently swept through the area, causing the bonfire to sway slightly which carries the tempting aroma of roasted meat all throughout the vicinity.

Typically, the three of them would paint a quite pleasant scenery such as this….

However, Little Salty Cat’s expression suddenly changed. The smile on her face vanished as she swiftly closed the system interface, before standing up alertly.

“What’s wrong, Little Sister?” The two Northeastern guys asked, puzzled, upon seeing Little Salty Cat’s vigilant behavior…

Little Salty Cat, akin to a vigilant rabbit, looked around and said, “One of the precautionary detection spell I set up had been triggered. There might be a monster nearby.”

Their current location was situated on a mountain near the edge of the Dark Mountains and normally when Meryer was around, other monsters would not dare approach the Castle’s surrounding areas due to his presence.

However, the moment Meryer leaves, some monsters would occasionally stumble upon the aroma of the meat they were cooking and would follow the scent along, venturing close to where they were…

Although these monsters strength weren’t typically very high, they still posed a threat to the players nonetheless.

Therefore, whenever Little Salty Cat came to roast meat for the dragon, she would also habitually set up a series of detection spells nearby as a precautionary measure.

After they listened to Little Salty Cat’s words, the two Northeastern guys became vigilant as well.

They immediately put down the meat skewers they were cooking and drew out their swords instead.

A tense silence pervaded the area where they stood, broken only by the gentle swaying of their hair in response to a light breeze. Besides the soft rustling of the wind and the chirping of insects, along with the occasional muted shouts of players from the castle, the trio waited for a couple of minutes but ended up didn’t detecting any monsters approaching them, nor did they notice anything unusual, for that matter.

After awaiting for a few more minutes to be certain, Little Salty Cat finally put down her staff and sighed regretfully.

“…Seems like the one who triggered my spell had already left.”

The two guys from the Northeast glanced at each other, then shrugged their shoulders before returning to their seats and continued on to cook.

And thus the picturesque scene of the trio pleasantly cooking on a bonfire returned to normalcy once more…

At first glance, it appeared that everything had returned to normal.

However, deeper within the vicinity, unseen by Little Salty Cat and her two companions, a nimble humanoid figure released a sigh of relief before skillfully making their way down the mountain in silence.

Several kilometers away from the base of Black Dragon Castle, within a dense forest and beyond the ruins of the Caverock Tribe.

A group of human mercenaries dressed in leather armor sat on the ground, eating dry rations and chatted as they rested.

Around them were several wagons loaded full of goods.

This was a human mercenary group.

Mercenaries such as these were quite common in various human kingdoms in Saigües. They typically sold their combat prowess and primarily work for nobles or trade companies and sometimes participate in wars, hunting powerful monsters, or simply escorting caravans to earn some money.

Furthermore, during periods when they did not have any substantial ongoing contracts, mercenaries would also occasionally engage in trading goods themselves as they embarked on long-distance journeys across various human territories. They would organize the sale of various goods they had collected along the way while effectively operating as caravans.

Crocodile Mercenary was one of such group.

They were a medium-sized mercenary group officially registered in the Holy Maniya Empire, comprising over eleven hundred members. They had recently finished a contract in the Kingdom of Eris to the south, after earning a substantial commission, and were presently journeying back north to their headquarters.

The wagons in the group carried various goods they had purchased back in Eris Kingdom, which they are planning to illegally smuggle inside the Empire and eventually sell for some extra profit upon returning home.

Currently, a human warrior with a bushy beard, clad in lightweight mithril armor, was seated on a stone at the center of the mercenary camp. He was focusing intently on a map clutched in his hand, all the while studying it with great care as if it was some priceless artifact.

He was the leader of Crocodile Mercenary group, a formidable warrior who had reached intermediate Silver-rank and possessed expertise in both magic and combat.

He was also widely known especially in his line of work as “Crocodile” the silver-ranked mercenary.

As a prominent intermediate-ranked practitioner who had reached Silver status, he had gained some recognition even in the southwestern borderlands of the Empire. As a result, he successfully established a substantial mercenary company, independently amassing over a thousand members due to his fame and eventually also gaining the favor of a lot nobles situated at the Empire’s Borderlands.

Even the renowned Borderland Count of the Holy Maniya Empire received his company recently and had a pleasant chat with him.

Crocodile looked at the map in his hand, lost in thought.

Standing beside him was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties, dressed as a noble’s steward but appearing rather disheveled at the moment.

If the Black Dragon were present right now, he would then readily identify this particular steward as the leader of those people who had been “employed” by Meryer earlier to oversee the transportation of his acquired livestocks.

In comparison to his dignified and composed demeanor back then, this steward now appeared disheveled and cowardly instead.

At this moment, the steward’s expression showed a look of frustration.

“Master Crocodile, I’ve already told you everything I know. Why won’t you let us leave?” The steward asked with a frown.

Crocodile simply shook his head, “Mr. Anders, what’s the rush? It’s been quite a challenging journey with so many monsters along the way. Besides, our mercenary group is traveling in the same direction as you, so you should appreciate our escort right?”

He then smiled wryly and added, “Then again…if it weren’t for us, you and your subordinates might have already become victims of those monsters. Furthermore, we also haven’t received payment for escorting you yet, you know.”

After hearing Crocodile’s provocation, the steward’s expression grew even more displeased.

“Escort, you say!? Oh please, we’re already near the Empire’s border. Plus, I’m the steward of a borderland count. Why would I even require an escort at this point? By detaining us here, aren’t you afraid of provoking the count’s wrath?”

Crocodile ignored his outburst and simply shook his head gently before he replied, “You can’t be too sure, my good man. That Black Dragon is both evil and cunning…what if it strikes your group yet again?”

After hearing Crocodile’s words, Anders’s face briefly darkened, and he responded with an accusatory tone,

“Master Crocodile, let’s cut all this nonsense…I know what you’re really thinking. That Black Dragon residing near the border…even if it’s not fully grown, must have still amassed quite a vast fortune. Not to mention, not only you but even the Count might be tempted to subjugate it as well.”

“So I understand your concerns about letting me go back on my own. If the Count sends a team to hunt the Black Dragon, then you won’t have a chance at all…”

“But… it’s an enormous dragon! Even if it’s not a fully adult one, it still possesses the power of at least a Silver-Rank. Your mercenary group, despite having a thousand members, is no match for it!”

“Moreover, that Black Dragon is extremely cunning. It didn’t lead us to its lair, so searching aimlessly for it will be really difficult…”

Just as the steward finished speaking, Crocodile simply shook his head and said, “You don’t need to worry about that. Even though our mercenary group may be lacking in other areas, we still excel at scouting. Lately, we see that Black Dragon flying the sky quite often. So, it shouldn’t be too difficult for us if we really want to find its lair. As for dealing with the Black Dragon ourselves, you don’t have to be concerned with that either.”

While the two were conversing, an excited voice suddenly rang out in the distance, “Captain! Captain!”

Crocodile furrowed his brow and looked in the direction of the voice. A nimble figure then darted out a moment later, revealing a human scout carrying a bow and a curved blade upon his back.

He quickly maneuvered past the resting mercenaries and went directly straight to Crocodile, wiping sweat from his forehead, and said excitedly, “Captain! I’ve finally found the Black Dragon’s lair!”

“Oh? Finally found it eh?” Crocodile’s eyes gleamed with a hint of joy. He then wordlessly signaled to his subordinates, as two mercenaries promptly escorted the frustrated steward away.

Then, after ensuring that the old steward was out of earshot, Crocodile finally turned his attention back to the scout and asked, “So where exactly is it?”

“It’s in a castle on the mountain up ahead!” the scout excitedly replied.

Crocodile simply nodded in approval.

“Very good! Have you seen any elves?”

“Yes, I have!” the scout responded.

Afterward, the scout wore a peculiar expression and added,

“Those elves… they’ve lit a campfire outside the castle and are cooking some meat.”

“Elves cooking meat!?”

Crocodile was taken aback. Then, he pondered for a moment and showed a look of realization.

“It’s highly likely that these elves are being coerced by the Black Dragon to prepare meals for it instead of eating those meats themselves… Do you have any other information?”

The scout thought for a moment and continued, “Those elves are quite vigilant. They’ve set up numerous detection spells around their location. I nearly got caught when I accidentally triggered one.”

Crocodile wasn’t surprised by this.

“Well, they are elves… I would be more surprised if they weren’t this cautious. Anything else? Does that Black Dragon have any other companions?”

“Hmm….I don’t think so. There are only some elves, but…there seem to be quite a few inside the castle as well. I can faintly hear their voices, and it sounds like there might be dozens of them.”

“So, there’s so many elves eh? “

Crocodile’s eyes lit up even more with his greedy eyes practically salivating at the news.

“Anders, that bastard! He didn’t mention this to me at all! Hmph! Dozens of elves… this is a treasure on par with a young Black Dragon’s! Excellent, now keep monitoring that castle, and record that Black Dragon’s behavior, then we’ll plan our next move based on the Intel you’ve gathered!”

“But Captain…” The scout hesitated and gulped. He stood silent for a couple of seconds before finally mustering his courage and asked, “T-That Black Dragon’s aura is really terrifying… it must be at least a Silver Rank. Can we…really d-defeat it?”

Crocodile’s expression darkened as he lightly smacked the scout’s head.

“Idiot! When did I ever say that our group are going to slay the dragon? What I mean is, pay close attention to the Black Dragon’s behavior, you fool. We’ll just sneak into the castle while it’s away and try to seize some treasures, and perhaps even capture some elves if we’re lucky!”

“Anyway, let’s hold off on any other discussions for now. Just do your task and monitor that dragon and those elves. Remember, we can make a lot of money if we can capture a few female elves! As for the Black Dragon…haha, we’ll just leave that problem to the Borderland Count! Once we’ve successfully infiltrated its Lair, then we can release Anders and his group later on!”

Nihilaine Notes: I quit my day job so I have more time to focus more on this story, so yay more consistent daily releases for now until i find a new job. Anyways, I was also planning on resuming retranslating earlier chapters and adding some some fanarts I’ve made so look forward to that too, cheers. (*°▽°*)

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