Mercenary Wars

Chapter 155 The City Breaker

[Experience: 5070/6000]

After the battle, Gao Jiano first checked his stats—he was still a thousand experience points short of leveling up.

In fact, if he had been focused on getting kills, he could have easily accumulated that thousand experience points.

However, capturing the watchtower must be done quickly, especially when the Hymn of Grace of Yemen is played. He cannot prioritize getting kills, otherwise, if his teammates' senses are sealed after the hymn is finished, the whole team might be wiped out.

The raiders began clearing the battlefield, disposing of the corpses, and collecting and counting the spoils of war.

For Gaucano, the most important trophy was a level 5 storage ring, which came from the pastor Yemen who sang hymns.

However, after receiving the ring, he did not immediately open it to examine it.

After all, it's easy to guess with a little thought that it likely contains a lot of contraband.

At the very least, a Yemeni pastor's storage ring would definitely contain several Yemeni church scriptures, and if anyone notices such a thing, he would have no choice but to hand it over.

If it's just a religious text, it doesn't matter; he has no interest in reading it anyway, so he can just hand it over to the church. But what if it's a magic book? Does that mean he has to hand it over to the church in exchange for fifty copper coins and a written reward?
Let's find a secluded place to open it and take a look.

In addition to the Yemen priest's level 5 storage ring, Gao Jiano also obtained a storage ring from each of the two Yemen warriors, one level 2 and the other level 2.

The priest is level six, and his storage ring is level five.

The two warriors were level five, but their storage rings were only level two.

This demonstrates the prestige of the priesthood profession.

In addition to these private spoils obtained through killing enemies, there are also some public spoils.

For example, crystal cores, energy crystals, guardian stones... these are all resources used to maintain the operation of sentry magic, and most of them are stored in the mage's storage ring.

These spoils of war, being essential war materials, were theoretically not to be privately possessed or divided and must be handed over. However, in practice, due to the difficulty of tracing them, no one would honestly hand them all over.

No one will investigate strictly, as long as you don't go too far. For example, a watchtower should have at least one or two Guardian Stones, otherwise it's just not right and the behavior is too ugly.

Therefore, the raiders kept two of the Guardian Stones, waiting to hand them over.

The remaining portion was naturally divided up quietly by the dozen or so people who stormed the watchtower. Those who needed the Guardian Stone bought it at below-market prices, while the others split the profits.

Gaucano bought a Guardian Stone at a low price—this thing has many uses in alchemy, and since he wanted to become an alchemist, he would have to buy one sooner or later.

The same applies to crystal cores and energy crystals; a small portion is handed over, and the rest is divided equally.

The gains were substantial; Gaucano's cash reserves actually increased rather than decreased, and he made another windfall from the war.

Although the battle was over, the raiders did not relax.

After a quick cleanup of the battlefield, they immediately went into defensive mode, cautiously watching for any possible Yemeni reinforcements.

After all, no fortress would stand idly by and watch the enemy take away its outposts; for a fortress, the outposts are like eyes.

Once the outpost's defensive fortifications are activated, the fortress will immediately receive a distress call and will certainly send reinforcements.

Fortunately, the Mosaic side had already made preparations to provide support.

So the raiders were on alert for only a short time before the Second Knights of Nordanron, led by General Peter, arrived. Several hundred knights on magical warhorses set up camp at the outpost.

The knights will be responsible for transforming the outpost, which belonged to Yemen, into one belonging to Mosa. The defensive duties of the outpost will, of course, also be transferred to them from the raiding battalion.

The raiders then returned directly to Levin Fortress to collect their reward.

Anyone who makes a significant contribution to the capture of infidel cities, fortresses, and outposts will receive the honorary title of "Citybreaker".

To some extent, honorary titles can be seen as a form of aristocratic status. In particular, those high-ranking titles personally conferred by the Pope often come with substantial practical benefits and numerous privileges, signifying a lofty position.

However, unlike true noble status, titles are usually not hereditary.

The logic is simple: a king's son can inherit his father's throne, but the son of a "dragon slayer" obviously cannot become a "dragon slayer" through inheritance.

Titles are generally bestowed by the church, and Prince Eric, as an eighth-level paladin, is undoubtedly the most qualified person in the entire Levin Fortress to represent the church.

Therefore, His Highness personally announced the rewards for the raiding battalion and awarded the title of "Citybreaker" and corresponding badges to all the raiders who stormed the watchtower.

There are nineteen badges in total. Fallen raiders like Jarel each received one, but clearly, this honor can only be taken to their graves. The badges will become their burial goods, while the title "Breaker" will be inscribed on their epitaphs for posterity to admire.

When Gaucano received the Citybreaker badge from Prince Eric, the prince routinely said, "Thank you for your contribution to the Church."

“It is my honor, Your Highness,” Gao Jiano replied politely.

Prince Eric passed by him and continued to award badges to the other conquerors.

Gao Jiano's gaze suddenly sharpened, lingering on the prince's blue cloak for a moment, a thoughtful expression flashing across his face.

He had seen the prince's blue cloak when he was in Southsea Town, but he hadn't paid much attention to it then because he was a bit far away.

Upon closer inspection, Gaucano suddenly noticed that the cloak seemed a bit special—its shadow on the ground was deeper than the shadows of other objects.

The difference wasn't obvious, but Gaucano's perception was sharp enough that he noticed it.

Why is this? Is it because of the special material?

Gao Jiano had no idea; he was tempted to reach out and touch it, but of course he didn't dare.

After distributing the City Breaker badges, Prince Eric returned to the crowd and said, "As a privilege of City Breakers, you will no longer be required to undertake siege missions. So now you can make a choice: whether to follow me to attack the fortress of Dibutor, or to stay at Levin Fortress or the outpost to take on defensive duties?"

"Your Highness, I am willing to follow you to punish the injustice and unbelief of the Dibto people!"

"It is our eternal duty to exterminate the heretics, Your Highness. Lead us to raze Labzat Fortress to the ground!" the fanatical believer declared.

"To fight alongside you is the greatest honor of my life!" Some soldiers were clearly eager to advance.

“Your Highness, I wish to remain at Levin Fortress,” some soldiers said.

With the Mosaic side holding a significant advantage and initiative, remaining in the fortress was tantamount to ceasing all fighting, which undoubtedly cost them an opportunity to advance and might even invite some private contempt.

But this was the privilege of those who breached the city walls, so Prince Eric respected their choices. Most people stated their options.

Only Gao Jiano remained, his face still showing a thoughtful expression.

“And you?” Prince Eric asked, looking at him.

“Your Highness, in fact, I am also a pharmacist.” Gao Jiano concluded his consideration. “So if possible, I would like to contribute to the upcoming siege as an army pharmacist.”

The crusade against heretics is a religious obligation. In theory, when the Church initiates conscription, every Mossatist must obey the arrangement—whatever the arrangement, his entry into the raiding camp is a manifestation of this arrangement.

However, now that the title of "Citybreaker" has given him the right to choose freely, he certainly doesn't want to participate in the siege.

After all, everyone knows that attacking a city is the most dangerous and almost impossible to achieve by trickery. Even if one's side has a great advantage, the possibility of being killed in action is still higher than in most military operations.

But Gaucano wanted to gain experience. He was still a thousand experience points away from leveling up. This amount of experience was hard to accumulate in peacetime, but he should be able to get enough during a major battle.

If it were a city like Prestoburg, Gaugano might have directly participated in the siege.

However, as a military fortress located on the border of paganism, Labuzat Fortress was far more formidable than small towns like Prestoburg, making it a truly tough nut to crack.

Putting everything else aside, the sheer aura of faith alone is enough to inspire awe.

In fact, Prestor Castle also has a magical facility with a faith aura, but it is small, similar to a border outpost, and since both sides in the Battle of Prestor were Mosaicists, the aura was not activated.

In this war of the heretics, the large Yemeni aura of the Labzat fortress will undoubtedly be activated.

Under the aura of the great faith of Yamen, Yamen followers will be significantly strengthened, while Mosa followers will be significantly weakened accordingly. With this ebb and flow, the two sides can have a strength difference of at least one level.

As a person with no faith, Gaucano is exempt from being weakened, but in any case, the enemy will still be strengthened, at least by half a level, and it is normal for those with fanatical faith to be strengthened by a whole level, so they are still not easy to deal with.

So he made this compromise request to the prince: to go to war as a pharmacist, hoping to gain experience as much as possible, and if that wasn't possible, to diligently prepare medicines and treat the wounded.

Prince Eric asked suspiciously, "You're an apothecary, why were you assigned to the raiding battalion?"

“I’m only a level 2 apothecary, mainly because I haven’t taken the level 3 apothecary exam yet,” Gao Jiano explained. “In comparison, I’ve killed quite a few trolls in Stonetalon Valley, which makes many people, including Mayor Wilson, think I’m a hunter or mercenary who is good at fighting.”

Prince Eric nodded knowingly: "Alright, from now on, you will be the army's apothecary."

He then casually asked, "What's your name, pharmacist?"

"Gaucano".

“Oh.” Prince Eric’s brow twitched slightly, seemingly a little surprised. “Your holy name also has this?”

Gaucano: "No, it's just a common name."

Prince Eric said, “My chaplain has the holy name ‘Gaucano’, which is quite a blessing… so I suggest you pray to Saint Gaucano more often. You should know that saints always tend to give their holy names to people with the same common name.”

"Thank you for your suggestion, I will certainly keep it in mind!" Gao Jiano replied politely, but inwardly he was not convinced.

If Saint Gaucano could truly offer any powerful blessing, he would have chosen it long ago. The reason he hasn't yet been given the saintly name "Gaucano" is simple: either he's too weak, or it carries a fatalistic side effect.

Given Prince Eric's assessment that he was "quite formidable," the holy name "Gaucano" given to his whipping servant is likely cursed, suggesting he might suffer a terrible death in the future.

As one of the closest and most trusted servants of every nobleman's son, the whip boy might even be more important than a family member.

After all, for noble families like royalty, killing a father or son is commonplace and has happened frequently throughout history. However, it is extremely rare for nobles to turn against their servants; on the contrary, there are quite a few cases of homosexuality.

I wonder what Prince Eric will think when the whipper dies because of the name "Gaucano".

After awarding honors to those who breached the city walls, Prince Eric immediately led his army toward the Labzat fortress.

A conservative and steady commander might eliminate two outposts before launching a major offensive.

But Prince Eric is a young man.

Young people are bound to be impetuous, and given that Mosa's side did indeed have a clear advantage, after eliminating a sentry post, he directly led tens of thousands of troops westward.

Led by Prince Eric, tens of thousands of Mosaic followers marched across the Siren Valley and the Levin River.

“The Levin River.” Prince Eric crossed the bridge, gazing at the surging waters below, and casually asked, “This is a tributary of the Nikon River, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said a man who looked like a mage behind him.

Prince Eric then asked, "So does this count as 'crossing the Nikon River'?"

The monk said, “Perhaps, but it was the Dibhu people who first crossed the Nikon River. They broke the Nikon Pact first, and we were just giving them legitimate retaliation. Besides, they are heretics and are already burdened with sin.”

Prince Eric nodded, then turned and continued westward.

But at that moment, accompanied by an extremely subtle fluctuation, a figure dressed entirely in black suddenly appeared out of thin air behind him!

assassin!

Anyone who dares to assassinate the prince must be quite skilled.

In fact, the man in black moved extremely quickly and made no sound at all.

After appearing out of thin air, he held a pitch-black dagger with no reflection and stabbed it viciously into Prince Eric's nape. Until this point, most people were still unaware of his presence.

Everything is in the blink of an eye.

Just as the assassin's dagger was about to touch the prince, the shadow beneath him suddenly swayed, appearing as if it were naturally swaying due to the movement of his cloak.

Immediately, a gaunt man, also dressed entirely in black, emerged from Prince Eric's shadow. Silent and swifter than the assassin, he thrust his short sword forward with a sudden, sharp motion.

"Chong-"

Sparks flew as the assassin's dagger was instantly knocked away.

The vast majority of people then realized what had happened and exclaimed in surprise.

"There are assassins!"

(End of this chapter)