Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 147 Mercenary Guilds Open, Blade of the Vast Ocean Heads North
The greatest significance of Dongxia to Hanhai lies precisely in these suggestions, which embody the hard work of countless experts.

Strictly speaking, after the loss of Cloud Mist Territory, in a purely physical sense, Vast Ocean Territory was already surrounded by "enemy forces" on all sides.

The orcs from the north come south every year. If they're in a good mood, they come once a year; if they're in a bad mood, they come twice a year; and if they're in a really bad mood, they come anytime!

To the south lies the desert, and across the desert is the Creek Moon Federation. Although not particularly hostile, it is still a nominally enemy nation.

To the west lies the Kingdom of Green Pine, and the last link to Emerald City, Cloud Territory, has been severed.

To the east is the sea, and a little further away there are the legendary sea creatures that are extremely hostile to human senses.

The reason why others don't attack you when you're in such a bad position is mainly because there's simply no point in attacking you before.

Well, Han Hai is like a skinny hedgehog, all skin and bones, prickly and hard to handle. People may not like it, but they can't be bothered with it.

However, the old guys in the Misty Moon Divine Court, who seemed to have good intentions by settling Liushuang and tens of thousands of people in the previously abandoned Dongguanling, were essentially giving the "hedgehog" a soft tail.

At the same time, the Divine Court also unceremoniously employed a series of tactics, combining both force and persuasion.

There is only one goal: to separate Han Hai from the Qi Yue Dynasty's system and make it a vassal of Wu Yue.

The poor performance and careless attitude of the Qiyue Dynasty and the Emerald Duchy have also greatly contributed to this trend.

However, it is not difficult to judge who is better at dealing with the old priest of Wuyue versus the old politician of Dongxia.

After thoroughly studying the plans and suggestions sent from home, the lord summarized it in one sentence: defend against Green Pine in the west, befriend Mistmoon, ally with the Elves in the south, and reject the Orcs in the north;

Why were the powerful orcs considered the territory's number one enemy?

At the internal meeting of the Vast Ocean Territory, the supreme lord made his point very clearly.

"First, the orcs' greed for the wealth and population of human kingdoms is ingrained in their bones, and their repeated profits over the long years have made them accustomed to this plundering pattern."

"No matter how good our relationship with the orcs is, they will still come!"

"Even if the Longtooth Tribe doesn't come, the Black Claw Tribe will. If the Black Claw Tribe doesn't come, the Bone Shattering Tribe will!"

"We are not capable of befriending all the orcs, nor can we guarantee that the orcs we befriend will not turn against us. Even the Misty Moon Divine Court has not been able to do it, so it is even more impossible for us, a mere Vast Ocean, to do so."

"So, since we're destined to clash with the orcs, let's reveal our true colors and turn this bad situation into a good one!"

What's the good thing? It's that it's secured the moral high ground for the human faction.

Chen Mo glanced at the cue cards without showing any emotion and began to tap the blackboard: "Back then, the White Deer Kingdom was at the forefront of the fight against the orcs. Even though the countries were on different sides, they all praised it on the surface. It even attracted passionate young people from all over the world to join the White Deer Resistance Army one after another."

"Therefore, if we confront the orcs, even if the human forces around us are hostile to us, they will at least consider our reputation and will not openly attack us."

"Next, we will focus on this direction and continue to accelerate the development of the territory."

The turbulent year of the Qiyue Dynasty was drawing to a close amidst turmoil and unrest. On this last day, in the southern district of Hanhai Territory, a brand-new building with a distinctive style was bustling with activity and colorful flags were waving.

The long-awaited Han Hai Mercenary Guild has finally opened for business!
The mercenary guild, named "Rock Hall," stands in the core area of ​​the newly planned Hanhai City. It contrasts sharply with the surrounding low earthen and stone buildings, appearing spacious, bright, and magnificent.

The exterior walls extensively use hard, brightly colored brown feldspar mined from deep in the desert, which is used for dry hanging and decorative lines. The surface is carefully polished and gleams with a heavy luster under the thin winter sunlight.

The massive dome inside is supported by hemlock wood transported from the heart of the Seven Stars Merchant Guild, which traveled thousands of miles. The entrance to the hall has two heavy metal-framed doors, inlaid with the crossed sword and shield emblem representing the Mercenary Guild.

The entrance was paved with brand-new, slightly rough red sandstone tiles that stretched all the way to the foot of the temporary ceremonial platform.

It's truly remarkable that such a grand spectacle could be staged in the desert.

On the opening day, the lord personally cut the ribbon, the president of the Cloud Mist Mercenary Guild presided over the ceremony, the priests of the Mist Moon Divine Court offered their congratulations, the army of the Vast Sea attended in full regalia, and even the people of the territory were all clean and tidy, standing in neat rows at the entrance.

It was both to see the lord and to earn work points.

After the speech, the doors of the Mercenary Guild Hall opened, and onlookers rushed in.

They're just watching the show; only a very small number of people are actually qualified to take on missions here.

For example, the group of former mercenary members of Nightblade, such as Mage Downs and Old Bull, and also a lord with a level zero mercenary certificate.

However, after so long and without a single mission, the Xiyue Federation should have already revoked the lord's mercenary certificate.

The planning for the mercenary guild had long been on the agenda of the Han Hai, but the reason it had not yet taken shape was that the Han Hai territory was too remote and the Emerald Duchy did not attach importance to it, so the approval process was delayed again and again until the start of the war.

In theory, the establishment of a mercenary guild in a new city requires the approval of the highest-level mercenary guild in the country, which is in line with the core idea of ​​all countries to comprehensively control mercenary groups and mercenary members.

After the application is approved, the Mercenary Guild will send at least one person in charge, two mission recorders, one level appraiser, and several liaisons responsible for the supply of equipment, potions and other basic equipment to the site. These are all considered to be headquarters special envoys.

With these people, local mercenary guilds could be established.

What kind of missions could the Mercenary Guild of the Emerald Duchy possibly have in the Vast Ocean Territory? Capture sand lizards?

Even if the application process for the Vast Ocean mission is followed strictly according to the rules, if no one comes, it cannot open for business. The Nightblade mercenary group has been working for several months, but they cannot enter the mission system and cannot get any points.

With the outbreak of war, Chen Mo had almost given up his plan to establish a mercenary guild in the Han Hai Territory in the short term.

As a result, the original cloud-shrouded area disappeared.

Mercenary guilds in seven cities of all sizes within Cloud Mist Territory were instantly unemployed, and some of them fled to East Gate Territory with Frostfall.

Given the abundance of relevant leaders and the scarcity of positions, allocating a management team for a mercenary guild to Han Hai would be a simple matter.

The current head of the Vast Ocean Mercenary Guild is none other than Garen Boulder, the former head of the Mercenary Guild in Cloud Mist City. This is an absolutely high-profile position!
However, although the president of the Garen guild had a big smile on his face, his expression was not very good.

The tasks posted by the guild are too bizarre.

As the host for today's event, he also had to work with two mission recorders to answer various questions from the attendees.

Actually, the one who's most frustrated is himself...

These posted missions were so distressing that even a veteran mercenary like him felt anxious.

[Mission Name: Recapture of Bailu Plain]

[Mission Requirements: Recapture the area north of Qishan, the former core plains of the White Deer Kingdom, drive out the entrenched orc tribes, establish an effective defense system, and hold out for at least one year.]

[Task Reward: Calculated based on the importance of the recaptured area and location, with a minimum price of 1000 gold coins per square kilometer.]

All I can say is that there's a lot of money, but who can hold onto it?
Colluding with the orcs to take it together? What if the lord finds out and refuses to give it to us?
The orcs won't let you off the hook just because you didn't get the money...

Look down again.

[Quest Name: Rebuild Razorfen Downs] [Quest Requirements: Build a defensive fortress on the site of the original Razorfen Downs, blocking the main route of the Orcish Horde's eastward advance, and hold it for at least one year.]

An even more outrageous task.

If planting a flag in some remote corner of the White Deer Plains might have a chance, then once Razorfen Downs starts building its walls, it's just a matter of waiting for the orcs to keep charging in.

This task is as difficult as reclaiming Cloud Mist Territory and trampling Green Pine Kingdom.

Yes, no matter how outrageous it is, it still has to be displayed at the very top of the taskbar, pinned to the top!
This is a task personally issued by the lord.

Right now, Ma Baoguo, the lord's personal photographer, is busy taking pictures, which he will later send to Li Zelin, the director of the steel mill's reduction workshop.

Next up—[Clearing Featherfall Canyon].

Next up—[Provides the magical construction technology for the Rainbow Bridge].

Even though he had seen it once before, Garen still felt his temples throbbing.

This isn't a quest board, it's the Lord's wishing well!

Are there no more normal tasks? Yes, there are!

【Acquire the Song of Life】, hmm, this looks much more normal, but Garen Boulder knows in his heart that this quest is tailor-made. In the current progress chart, his own Frost Lord is far ahead.

[Obtain the Magic Society's journal (each issue is a unique quest; please see the detailed list for completed parts)].

These look nice, but these kinds of special resources are not something ordinary mercenaries can access, and obtaining them is extremely difficult. Let's skip them.

Skipping over these "high-tech" areas, we finally arrived at the familiar territory of the mercenaries.

Gathering unique desert herbs and minerals, escorting caravans across the desert, scouting border troop movements, collecting intelligence on orc tribe migrations, and procuring specific supplies (accompanied by a frighteningly long list)...

The rewards did seem much more generous than those of other guilds, but Garen knew in his heart that the cost and risks of crossing the Death Sand Sea alone were enough to deter 99% of mercenary groups from venturing into this godforsaken place.

Suddenly, a quest logger rushed over, registered what appeared to be a newly received quest into the Magic Cloud Stone, and then invited Garen Boulder to come and review it.

Hmm, it's still part of a series of missions...

[Task 1: Collect the remains of Earl Liuyun]

[Mission Two: Slay the traitor, Rukawa, the third son of the Rukawa family]

[Task 3: Publicly beat up Liu Feng, the second son of the Liu family]

[Task 4: Recover the property belonging to Liushuang that was seized by Jade]

Guild Master Garen's eyelids twitched a few times, but he tried his best to maintain his composure and subtly checked the person who issued the mission.

Sure enough, it was their own young lord, who was known for his clear-cut likes and dislikes and his orderly punishments.

Garen quietly moved the task priority forward and continued to entertain the various guests who were marveling at his abilities.

The hall was bustling with noise; the novel architecture, the strange missions, and the presence of lords and high-ranking officials all contributed to a lively atmosphere.

In the eyes of those with a keen eye—such as the Priest of Mistmoon, spies mingling in the crowd, or seasoned mercenary leaders—the significance of this quest-issuing marble had long surpassed the quest itself.

This is an expression of a stance; the various bizarre missions, which cannot be seen elsewhere, clearly illustrate the main political views of the Vast Ocean Territory.

Humans are friendly, and they fight against the orcs.

Only punish traitors, not the green pines.

This is the core reason why Chen Mo insisted on revealing the Mercenary Guild at the right time. Even if no one completes a single mission, he still wanted to showcase his unique territorial niche in this way.

Subsequently, the lord demonstrated his determination to intervene in northern affairs through concrete actions.

The lord's chief guard captain, Liu Zaiyue, paid the full deposit and established the "Blade of the Vast Ocean" mercenary group on the spot. He immediately accepted the mission of "Reclaiming the White Deer Plains," a mission that Garen thought no one would ever touch in his life.

Of course, it was a secret reception; apart from Garen, no one else knew about it.

Furthermore, since this task is an open task that can be accepted repeatedly, no one will know that someone else has already started working on it.

Having obtained the quest scroll, the Blade of the Vast Ocean immediately set off in a grand procession.

The composition of the team was quite ingenious, consisting of more than twenty orc slave warriors carefully selected from the slaves of the territory, forty goblins, two ogres, and three centaur squads, along with a small number of humans and sand people.

This group looks more like a mixed raiding tribe dominated by orcs that roams the northern wastelands.

This can minimize the risk of provoking a violent reaction from the orcs.

Carrying a tattered flag with a ferocious beast head pattern, they deliberately avoided trade routes and small settlements, heading north until they finally crossed the Qishan Pass.

Of course, Lao Niu's trip was not for the so-called land occupation rights and gold coins; he was mainly carrying out two important tasks entrusted to him by the lord.

Conduct in-depth intelligence gathering in the North to prepare for the next war.

At the same time, establish HanHai's own trading system.

The dwarf merchant guild has completely cut off the slave trade with the Vast Ocean Territory. At the same time, it is tightening its control over all kinds of materials, especially possible war supplies, and gradually reducing the Vast Ocean Territory's reserves.

With the new Cloud Mist Territory experiencing a significant increase in population and urgently needing supplies, this move effectively puts the Vast Ocean Territory in its grip on its Achilles' heel.

Of course, they didn't know that from the very beginning, Han Hai Ling was determined to be independent and self-reliant.

The long procession set foot on the land of Bailu, where the howling north wind whistled low across the wasteland.

An unknown storm is approaching.

　The map is being manufactured quickly and should be available in the next couple of days.

　　Recommend a friend's book.

　　"The Martial Saint Begins with Iron Crotch Kung Fu," a new book by an old writer, is of high quality, based on a completed book of nearly three million words.

　　It's currently making a push for the Three Rivers, and the follow-up data tomorrow, Monday, is quite important. If you like this type of story, you can add it to your follow-up list.

(End of this chapter)