Mercenary Wars

Chapter 244 Malicious Speculation
"Five people!" Moreno realized the seriousness of the situation. "Are we going to abandon this mission?"

“Of course we can’t give up!” Adrian said without hesitation. As the leader of a makeshift adventure team, he could receive double the rewards, but he also bore all the risks of breach of contract. Others might be willing to give up, but he would never make that decision.

"What should I do?"

Adrian took a deep breath: "Although there are five of them, they are clearly not as strong as us. They have not yet tried to hunt the Hydra, but are still lying in ambush in place."

He hesitated slightly, his gaze sweeping over each of his teammates' faces, before continuing, "Besides, they're unaware of the sentry's presence. We can easily sneak back into the swamp, ambush and eliminate them, and then—"

“No!” Charlie blurted out, interrupting Adrian. “Murdering a Mossatist is a grave crime!”

Adrian frowned, his tone clearly showing his displeasure: "They were clearly lying in ambush on us!"

Charlie declared righteously, "They may indeed have ill intentions, but they haven't done anything wrong, so we can't attack and kill them because of that!"

Adrian had a headache: "Charlie, listen to me, this is the Land of Tides. There are no courts in the Land of Tides, neither the King's court nor the Church's court, there are none here... We have no moral obligations to strangers!"

Charlie remained unmoved: "But the Lord is still here, and the eyes of Mosa are watching everything!"

Moreno asked, his voice tinged with confusion, "Dude, didn't you already retire from the Holy Knights? And you were even forced to retire."

Charlie's expression remained unchanged: "Leaving the Holy Knights is not the same as betraying Mosa."

Moreno was speechless and could only awkwardly purse his lips.

The beliefs of the Mosaic dwarves are clearly polarized.

They either become extremely devout under the influence of converts' fanaticism, proving their piety in various ways, or they merely put on a show, or even only express reverence for St. Muradin, walking on the fringes of Mosaic faith.

Moreno clearly belonged to the latter group, and therefore he could not understand Charles's faith in the Mosa.

Adrian seemed about to say something more, his lips parted slightly, but he ultimately stopped himself, as if realizing that he was unlikely to persuade a paladin—even a retired one.

He also understood that the team couldn't function without Charlie; otherwise, both their combat effectiveness and survivability would be greatly weakened. Charlie was not only the team's only melee damage dealer but also the only member capable of providing healing.

Therefore, the plan to eliminate the five ambushers before hunting down the Hydra was doomed to fail.

Adrian rubbed his forehead, remaining silent for a moment. The drying spell had expired, but he didn't notice, causing his hair to gradually become damp in the mist.

Charlie offered his opinion: "Perhaps we can join forces with those five people? Share some of their profits in exchange for their cooperation or their departure."

“I estimate they’ll ask for at least a thousand gold coins,” Adrian countered, his tone tinged with helplessness. “Are you willing to pay two hundred and fifty gold coins each? And even if they agree, what if another group comes later? Another thousand gold coins?”

Moreno sighed: "If we had traveled faster earlier, perhaps just ten minutes earlier, we wouldn't be facing this problem now."

This made Adrian frown slightly.

Because in fact, he was the one who slowed down the team's journey.

After all, he was a mage, and even a skilled mage could not compare to a hunter, a paladin, or the outcast Gaugano. In the end, he unsurprisingly became the slowest person in the team.

In fact, one of the reasons he wanted to find a teammate within the academy was to avoid this awkward situation.

As it turned out, Gaucano seemed to run even faster than a level 7 hunter, making Adrian's situation even more awkward.

Adrian really wanted to retort to Moreno, something like: "If you had prepared the bait earlier, we would be eating roasted hydra meat by now!"

The words were already on the tip of his tongue; he could even feel the harsh words swirling around on his tongue.

But as an adventurer who had been practicing for two and a half years, he was well aware of the potential consequences of such words—the group breaking up.

Therefore, as the team's primary beneficiary and risk-bearer, he could only choose to remain silent and suppress all his dissatisfaction deep in his heart.

Gaucano then said, "Let's go back to the swamp. Whatever we need to do, we can only do it in the swamp. If we stay here any longer, we won't be able to do anything."

This was an absolutely correct choice, and naturally no one objected.

They immediately got up and returned to the swamp by the same route.

As they approached the swamp, they began to deliberately conceal themselves, moving stealthily among the trees and water plants.

"Where are those five people?" Moreno asked in a low voice.

Adrian pointed in that direction: "You should be able to see them with Eagle Vision."

Moreno immediately used Hawkeye.

Gao Jiano also used his Eagle Eye technique and looked in the direction Adrian pointed. After a careful search, he indeed saw five figures hiding in the bushes.

Five people were crouching among the bushes, seemingly discussing something.

"What are they talking about?"

Adrian: "My sentries can't hear anything, but I can roughly guess that they're discussing whether or not to hunt the Hydra."

"Their average level is probably only level five, and they don't seem to have prepared any methods to deal with the Hydra. For them, recklessly hunting an eighth-level Hydra, even if successful, would most likely result in someone's death. Their best option is to wait for us and the Hydra to fight to the death and be wounded, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop," he added.

This is a malicious speculation.

But in the Land of Tides, a seasoned adventurer must not hesitate to assume the worst of his fellow adventurers.

The four of them found a secluded bush to hide in, and Adrian cast a soundproofing spell before discussing their next move.

However, due to Charlie's resolute stance, the option of ambushing and killing the five people was rejected outright.

The group could only consider other options. Gaucano suggested, "It seems we have no choice but to wait."

"wait?"

Gao Jiano nodded: "According to the divination, the Valley of Judgment will only have two high tides. At most three days later, as time runs out, the other side will inevitably take action, either giving up or risking hunting the Hydra. At that time, we will definitely be able to gain some initiative."

Adrian hesitated, "What if they have more patience than we do?"

Gaucano pondered, "Probably not. Didn't you just say they didn't notice your sentries? So right now we're in the dark and they're in the light, they're definitely more anxious than we are."

Charlie looked at Gaugano and asked, "What if they decide to risk hunting the Hydra and succeed?"

“We’ll kill the Hydra before they succeed,” Gaugano said. “We are stronger than them, we have prepared a way to deal with the Hydra in advance, and we can wait for the most opportune moment. I think we will be the ones who finally manage to kill the Hydra.”

He paused for a moment, then asked, "In this situation, if they attack us and we retaliate, it shouldn't be considered 'murdering Mossadists,' right?"

“No, that aligns with the principles of revenge.” Charlie hesitated. “But…”

Undoubtedly, while this behavior doesn't constitute typical murder, it still carries connotations of immorality and crime. However, it's clear that neither Adrian, nor Gaugano or Moreno, intend to compromise to that extent.

Therefore, Charlie didn't continue, and Adrian interrupted, "What if they neither leave nor take any risks, but instead try to find help?"

Gaucano thought for a moment: "They're looking for help to leave this place, or at least some of them. In the worst-case scenario, we can choose to cooperate with them then, and their demands should be lower than they are now."

"That's the only way," Adrian sighed.

The four of them then waited where they were.

During this time, Adrian couldn't help but say, "Charlie, to be honest, I thought you were a flexible person, at least unlike the active paladins!"

Charlie was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "First of all, this is a bottom line issue. Unless it is in accordance with the principles of war or revenge, we cannot kill Mossians. Only those who abide by principles can receive God's protection and blessings. Secondly... I also hope that one day I can pass the test of the Blood Path."

The so-called "Path of Blood" refers to a mysterious test at Garan Cathedral, said to have been set up by the first Pope, Saint Roden. Only those with perfect morality can reach the end, while anyone with even the slightest moral flaw will die on the way.

Anyone who can pass through the path of blood will be pardoned from all sins and will receive the title of "Holy One." "Holy One" is the highest title bestowed upon the living by the Mosaic Church, also known as "Saint on Earth." While alive, their honor is no less than that of the Pope, and after death, they will certainly be canonized as saints.

Therefore, Mosas occasionally venture onto the Blood Road, hoping to prove their piety and purity. Unfortunately, to date, no one has ever reached the end. A merciful pope would establish a "Path of Piety" before the Blood Road, a lower-level version of the Blood Road. Passing it would grant the title of "Pious One," and while the test was rigorous, there was no death penalty. Those who failed even the Path of Piety would naturally give up and not attempt the Blood Road to their deaths. A ruthless pope, however, would use the Blood Road as an extension of the Inquisition, forcing Mosas accused of crimes to walk it.

"The Path of Blood?" Adrian was taken aback, then said with a hint of sarcasm, "With such a utilitarian purpose, can one really pass the moral judgment of the Path of Blood? I think it's more realistic to take the Path of Piety as the ultimate goal, at least it allows you to regret it."

Charlie: "Who knows, but if there's a clear stain on the behavior, it definitely won't pass."

Adrian shrugged: "If you really make it through the Blood Path, don't forget about us. We also have a stake in your 'Holy One' title."

Charlie didn't speak, but simply gazed into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

Moreno then said, "Are we just going to wait like this?"

Adrian: "What else?"

Moreno: "This is the Land of Tides, shouldn't we go and gather some herbs and ores?"

Adrian dismissed it: "The hydra is a business worth four thousand gold coins. With its corpse, each of us can get one or two thousand gold coins. Herbs and ores are only worth a few coins. Even if we find a piece or two of Forget-Me-Not, it's only worth a hundred gold coins."

Moreno: "A hundred gold coins isn't a small amount—it adds up, and you don't always get to do business with Hydra."

The four of them discussed it briefly.

Finally, Adrian said, "Alright, the three of you can go collect, but only at night, and a maximum of two people can go out at a time."

No one would fight a multi-headed snake at night; neither would the four of them, nor the other five.

After all, the multi-headed snake has advanced dark vision and is better adapted to the cold environment of the night, so challenging it at night is definitely not a wise choice.

Adrian and Charlie were clearly not interested in or good at gathering, so naturally, Moreno and Gaugano went out to gather instead.

This was exactly what Gao Jiano wanted to do. After all, as Moreno said, even a hundred gold coins for just one or two pieces of Forget-Me-Not Moss was no small sum, and no one would complain about having too much money. Besides, he had plant perception, and he had collected far more than just one or two pieces of Forget-Me-Not Moss.

Before setting off, Moreno said, "Hey buddy, how about we make a bet?"

Gaucano asked, "What are we betting on?"

“Let’s see who can find the Forget-Me-Not,” Moreno said confidently. “If I find it, you give me five gold coins; if you find it, I’ll give you five gold coins. How about it, are you in for the bet?”

Gao Jiano smiled slightly: "I'm a professional pharmacist, are you sure you want to take this bet?"

"Finding the Eternal Moss is all about luck, what does it have to do with your profession?" Moreno said dismissively, then patted his chest. "I've been incredibly lucky!"

Gaucano thought for a moment: "You have the blessing of 'luck'?"

Moreno chuckled but didn't answer: "What, you're afraid to bet?"

“Of course not.” Gaucano changed the subject. “In fact, I’ve had some good luck too. In that case, let’s bet as you say.”

The two then split up, one heading west and the other east, to begin searching for and collecting items.

Their figures quickly disappeared into the night, leaving Adrian and Charlie to continue monitoring the five ambushers in the distance.

Once out of sight of the crowd, Gao Jiano immediately activated Blood Rush and cast twelve Swift Breeze spells on himself, causing his speed to surge and disappear in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)