Chapter 300: What a Joke (High Energy—Female Figures Incoming)
North of Auckland lies the Aurich Mountains, a region bordering the land of ice and fire, Shulan. Towering peaks stretch for thousands of miles. In the mid-period of the Third Dynasty, the Empire carved a road through the Caucasus, turning this place into a desolate wilderness. The Aurich Mountains are rich in rare minerals and medicinal herbs, but also teeming with dangerous magical beasts. For centuries, it has been a paradise for mercenary companies.
There are hundreds of mercenary companies in Auckland, and at least half make their living in the Aurich Mountains. The stronger the company, the deeper they can venture—hunting more formidable magical beasts and gathering rarer materials...
The Red Dragon Mercenary Company is undoubtedly one of the best among them...
Ranked third in Auckland, the Red Dragon Mercenary Company boasts a three-hundred-year history, having been led by four legendary commanders. Over the centuries, each leader has cemented the company's current status.
Today, the Red Dragon Mercenary Company stands just below the Apocalypse Mercenary Company and the Templar Knights Mercenary Company in Auckland. With an impressive eighty percent mission completion rate, they are the pride of the city. If not for the previous commander's untimely death two years ago, they might have overtaken the Apocalypse Mercenary Company for second place.
On the Auckland Mercenary Guild's mission board, there's a special section marked with stars—signifying missions of extreme difficulty and hefty rewards.
These high-difficulty, high-reward missions are usually reserved for the three major mercenary companies.
For example: hunting a level thirty magical beast, destroying a nest of vipers, or seizing control of a small city—just a few examples...
Only the three major mercenary companies have the ability to complete such missions.
But today, the mission accepted by the Red Dragon Mercenary Company was, oddly enough, not marked with a star...
Because this mission came from the Watson Family...
One of the two great families of Auckland, equal in power to the Merlin Family—even the Red Dragon Mercenary Company must bow its head before the Watson Family.
This time, the one hiring the Red Dragon Mercenary Company was Stan Watson—the most outstanding talent of the Watson Family's younger generation, a thirty-year-old Archmage. His purpose: to have the Red Dragon Mercenary Company protect him as he ventured into the depths of the Aurich Mountains...
As for why Stan Watson wanted to go so deep into the Aurich Mountains, that was not something the Red Dragon Mercenary Company needed to know...
To be honest, the Red Dragon Mercenary Company was no stranger to the depths of the Aurich Mountains.
They had always gone there to hunt magical beasts or gather resources...
This was their first time taking on a mission to protect a single person. To be cautious, the Red Dragon Mercenary Company dispatched their strongest fifty-member team, led personally by a vice commander, to escort Stan Watson into the depths of the Aurich Mountains.
This fifty-member team represented the peak of the Red Dragon Mercenary Company's fighting strength. Most of the star-marked missions had been handled by this battle-hardened unit. Their journey was almost a walkover, crushing every magical beast attack they encountered—more than a dozen times. For an ordinary mercenary company, that would have meant total annihilation. But under the protection of this elite team, Stan Watson never even had the chance to make a move himself...
From start to finish, this fifty-member team from the Red Dragon Mercenary Company bulldozed their way from the foot of the mountain to the summit...
"Alright, this is the place." After wiping out another wave of magical beasts, the fifty-member team rested at the base of a cliff. A young mage in a white robe stepped forward, holding a yellowed parchment map. After a careful survey of the area, a hint of joy appeared on his face.
"Young Master Stan, please be careful. This is one of the most dangerous areas in the Aurich Mountains. You are now outside the team's protection. If anything happens, our Red Dragon Mercenary Company will have no way to answer for it."
The speaker was a female warrior clad in silver armor, barely in her twenties. Even heavy armor couldn't hide her graceful figure. Her golden hair shone in the sunset like molten gold, her fair face and delicate features marking her as a true beauty.
However...
Anyone familiar with the Red Dragon Mercenary Company knew she was far more than just a pretty face.
Hannah Achilles, First Vice Commander of the Red Dragon Mercenary Company—one of Auckland's three major mercenary companies. At twenty-four, she is a Swordmaster with the bloodline of the War God. Three years ago, she defeated the famous Swordmaster Lawson as a Ninth-Tier Swordmaster, earning her renown.
Now, as a Swordmaster, Hannah Achilles stands as First Vice Commander of the Red Dragon Mercenary Company, second only to Commander Leo Reddragon.
If not for the special status of the client this time, Hannah Achilles would never have appeared for a mission of this level.
"Alright, Commander Hannah, your mission ends here..." The young mage in white waved his hand. "As for keeping myself safe, I don't need your reminders. The Red Dragon Mercenary Company's job was only to make sure I didn't waste my mana too early. The rest is none of your concern..."
"Young Master Stan..." Hannah Achilles opened her mouth to speak, but in the end just shook her head and said nothing.
"That's enough, Commander Hannah. Take your people and leave. You'd best remember who I am: Auckland's only Eighth-Tier Archmage under thirty-five. Only a Sword Saint is qualified to worry about my safety..."
"You..." That line really stung. Even as a mercenary, Hannah Achilles couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
However...
Before Hannah Achilles could finish her sentence, a voice suddenly came from the bushes.
"Stan Watson?"
"Who are you!" Before Stan Watson could reply, all fifty elite mercenaries had already drawn their weapons. Hannah Achilles, as commander, instantly ignited her battle aura to the maximum, her golden hair and heavy armor shrouded in a misty blue haze.
Hannah Achilles was a disciple of Talos Stormblade, the legendary Sword Saint.
Talos Stormblade fought hundreds of battles in his life, almost never tasting defeat, thanks to his famous Skyforce Battle Aura. Though Talos had many disciples, only three or four truly mastered the Skyforce Aura—Hannah Achilles was one of them.
At that moment, though only a voice came from the bushes, Hannah Achilles immediately unleashed her strongest Skyforce Aura. She sensed a trace of danger from that voice...
She couldn't quite explain why…
She just felt that the owner of that voice possessed a terrifying magical power. Even before he emerged from the bushes, it was enough to send a chill down the spine of a battle-hardened mercenary like Hannah Achilles.
"Come out! Stop sneaking around!" With her Skyforce Aura blazing, Hannah Achilles gripped her sword and glared warily at the bushes, letting out a cold snort.
Heh… At Hannah Achilles's cold snort, a young mage in his twenties slowly stepped from the bushes—thin, pale, scholarly in appearance, walking lightly as if afraid to crush an ant beneath his feet.
The young mage held a staff topped with a large gemstone. Hannah Achilles looked closely and realized it was an elemental amber!
This discovery made Hannah Achilles's heart skip a beat.
Elemental amber the size of a fist is rare even in Auckland, usually reserved for prodigies like Stan Watson who are nurtured with the full resources of their family.
Yet now, a young mage appeared with such a staff.
"Alright, don't move. State your purpose immediately, or the Red Dragon Mercenary Company will treat you as an intruder!" The sight of the elemental gemstone made Hannah Achilles even more wary.
"How can I explain my purpose if I don't come closer…" The young mage seemed not to hear, walking unhurriedly toward Stan Watson. "I really don't mean any harm…"
"Oh?" Hannah Achilles gripped her sword tighter, not relaxing for a moment.
"It doesn't matter if you mean harm or not. Now that you're here, don't think you can leave…" But before Hannah Achilles could order an attack, Stan Watson let out a cold snort.
At the same time, Stan Watson began chanting a rapid spell…
An Eighth-Tier Archmage's attack was indeed extraordinary. As the spell was uttered, flames erupted all around, forming chains that instantly blocked every escape route for the young mage—this was the Flame Prison.
"I really don't mean any harm…" The young mage seemed oblivious, standing in the center of the Flame Prison, touching his nose and raising his staff. "The only one I want to kill is Stan Watson—the rest of you have nothing to do with this…"
"Heh, what a joke!" Stan Watson was so furious he laughed.
As the most outstanding talent of the Watson Family's younger generation, Stan Watson had never met his match. Not among his peers, not even among the family's veteran titled archmages—none would dare openly declare they could kill him.
Let alone now, when the one making such a claim was just a young mage in his twenties…