Chapter 20
Urich and his mercenaries received a grand welcome at Mollando’s estate for their crucial contribution to the victory. Count Mollando changed into his banquet attire with a big smile on his face.
“Did you see that Count Daggleton scurrying away?”
“That’s what you get for being greedy!”
The lieges chattered as they gulped down their drinks.
“A toast for our brave mercenaries!”
“Here here!”
The mercenaries joined them, laughing and chattering away as they devoured all the meat and liquor they could have hoped for. The treatment they were receiving for finally landing a big job was more than satisfactory.
“We would have gotten so much more money if Urich had captured Count Daggleton,” Bachman said with his face flushed with alcohol.
“I saw that too, Urich! I saw that leech Daggleton running his ass off with my very own eyes,” Count Mollando came up to Urich and praised his effort.
“I almost had him. So, is the war over, then?” Urich asked Mollando as he chewed on the hare meat.
“Yes, the war should be over, unless Daggleton try anything funny. The damage was quite significant for both sides. The land that we fought over isn’t worth all this trouble. But, if it’s alright with you, I’d like for you and your mercenaries to stay in our territory for the next while—at least until the danger is gone for sure. Don’t worry about the expenses, I will cover them myself.”
Mollando was hoping that the mercenaries would stick around for extra security, and as a message for Daggleton to stay out of his lands.
“Well, that’s for the rest of our squad to decide. Did you guys hear that? He wants us to station ourselves here until things are completely settled down. Those in favor, tap your glasses.”
“Woah!”
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The mercenaries tapped on their glasses with their fingers. Urich grinned and looked at Mollando.
“Looks like they all agree. Very well, then, we’ll stay for a while. But I do want our payment within the next three days. It’s best we get the transaction over with as soon as possible, right Count?”
Mollando nodded in agreement.
“Of course.”
He intended to cater to Urich’s needs and wants, as he had confirmed their value in battle with his own eyes. Even though they were small in number, their abilities were no laughing matter.
‘This squad is solely composed of skilled warriors. They’re not just a ragtag bunch.’
Not all mercenaries were the same. There were plenty of ‘mercenary squads’ who were just a sorry group of street thugs.
“You seemed like you were pretty unknown for your level of skills and experience. Does your squad have a name?”
“Nope, we don’t have a name. We used to be gladiators and we just made the career change.”
“Gladiators!” Mollando exclaimed. Gladiators were one of the highest-quality forces one could ask for. They were men who fought in arenas for a living. Their value in battles was comparable to that of ex-military forces.
“Of course, no wonder you were able to dominate the heavy infantry with only light armor.” The lieges all commented in admiration. The mercenaries quickly became giddy at the unexpected praise.
“Your earnings must have been quite nice as gladiators, why become mercenaries instead?” Some questioned their career change. Being a gladiator came with a high return. It was not uncommon for skilled gladiators to pocket one to two million cils from just a single tournament. There was no need to ditch that and take a higher-risk job as a mercenary.
“Our gladiator broker died,” Bachman muttered under his breath.
“Well, what does it matter! Don’t worry about that and just enjoy the food and drinks.” Mollando quickly changed the subject and clapped his hands. The hall doors opened and through them entered the scantily dressed women.
“Ah, I’ve missed these soft, silky hands.”
“Come here, ladies.”
The mercenaries released their flirtation techniques as soon as the women came within their sights.
The atmosphere was vibrant. No one, including Count Mollando and Urich’s mercenaries, had a single concern in their heads. Everything was going smoothly.
Then, they heard the name ‘Silver Lion Mercenaries.’
* * *
Count Daggleton’s bedroom was a mess.
“Allian! Oh, Allian! How could you… it should’ve been me…!”
Bang!
The table flipped over and shattered. Daggleton’s frenzy went on for several days. The despair of losing his loved one had taken over his life.
“Ughh.”
Whenever he closed his eyes, the moment of Allian’s death became vivid—the image of his lover being struck by the axe thrown by the hulking warrior. The only thing on Allian’s mind was Daggleton himself, even until the moment he died. He could still feel Allian’s warm breath and sweet kiss.
“A world without you means nothing to me, Allian,” Daggleton wept on his knees. He then looked up at the symbol of Solarism. Hung on the wall was a golden sun.
“Lou, oh, Lou, has Allian returned to your embrace? When will he be reborn and come back to mine? Please tell me, oh, Lou.”
Daggleton’s prayer was practically a wail. A soul purified in the embrace of the god of Sun would one day return to this earth.
“Ah, ahh!”
Daggleton could not contain his grief. He wailed so hard that he could taste the blood in his throat.
“That nameless warrior murdered my Allian.”
Daggleton was filled with just as much rage as he was in despair. He gritted his teeth in vengeance.
“My lord,” a servant called as he knocked on the door.
“Did I not tell you that no one was to disturb my mourning?” Daggleton shouted. But regardless of his scolding, a man kicked his door open.
“My brother, I am here.”
The person standing by the door was a man with a sturdy build. Though he was hardly middle-aged, his hair was silvery-white.
“B-brother Garcio!” Daggleton scrambled to his feet. It was Garcio, his half-brother whom his father had abandoned early on. He was also the leader of the Silver Lion Mercenaries.
“My mercenaries, the ones that you hired for your battle, did not return. What happened?” Garcio asked as he pulled a chair.
“Mollando had hired his own mercenaries. A whole squad of them.”
“Mercenaries? There shouldn’t be any squads here that are skilled enough to go against mine.”
“No, Brother Garcio, they were skilled… very skilled.”
“Enough to best my men?”
Daggleton hesitated for a moment, then nodded to answer Garcio’s question. Garcio let out a deep sigh.
“Looks like you’d better give up on that farmland. It’s not worth all this trouble—all this war. Send one of your men for a peace treaty. I haven’t been home for a long time, and as soon as I get back, all I hear is bad news.
“The war is not over yet, Brother Garcio. I have someone that I must avenge,” Daggleton said with a strong glare.
“Avenge who? Did your boyfriend die of something? You did chase those pretty-looking men ever since you were a child.”
“H-how did you… know?”
“Your late father probably knew, too. He just didn’t say anything because you ended up marrying a woman.”
Daggleton gulped down his wine and sat next to Garcio after settling down.
“Your mercenaries, Brother. If I bring the famous Silver Lion Mercenaries to the battle…”
“It is true that I am the undisputed leader of the Silver Lion Mercenaries. However, the men in my squad are loyal to money, not me. If it were completely up to me, then I would gladly help you avenge your boyfriend in a heartbeat. But if I brought up a personal issue like this to my mercenaries, they would certainly remove me as their leader. If you are truly desperate for your revenge, you’ll have to hire us and pay.”
Garcio was not wrong. Mercenaries were individuals who were motivated by money, not loyalty like knights or lieges. It was not uncommon for mercenaries to refuse a job ordered by their leader if they deemed the pay insufficient for the required effort.
“As you probably know, Brother Garcio, the farmland to which I demanded my rights is not worth hiring the entire Silver Lion Mercenaries.”
“I know. That’s why you only hired twenty for your battle since that was the reasonable amount of spending for the value of the land.”
“Yes, Brother. However, for my revenge, I am willing to spend every last cil that I have to my name to hire your entire squad,” Daggleton said solemnly as he reached for a box behind his table.
Click.
The gold coins in the box shined in the moonlight in darkness.
“You’ve saved up quite a bit,” Garcio showed his satisfaction through his sparkling eyes.
“Help me avenge him, Leader of the Silver Lions.”
Daggleton and Garcio shook hands in their agreement.
“My brother’s enemy is my enemy. I will not take my share. You just have to pay for the rest of my squad.”
A small-time Count’s territory and a nameless mercenary squad. In Garcio’s eyes, they were nothing but a joke.
* * *
“The Silver Lion Mercenaries? Daggleton must have lost his mind!”
Count Mollando angrily retorted to his liege. It had been less than a week since they happily celebrated their victory.
“Is it truly the Silver Lion Mercenaries? Are you sure?”
“Yes, my lord, I am certain. It turns out Garcio the Silver Lion is Daggleton’s half-brother.
“I had no idea that his father had an illegitimate son like Garcio,” Mollando sighed as he fell into his chair. The illegitimate sons of wealthy nobles were scattered throughout many different occupations. Although they did not have the status of nobles, they were still people who were brought up in wealthy families, receiving quality education. Several were doctors, scholars, or merchants.
Many well-known mercenary squads were led by abandoned sons of military families or nobles who had failed to inherit their family’s lands. Such mercenary squads were often the unofficial army of their noble families.
“Daggleton was keeping one more trick up his sleeve.”
“But, my lord, the Daggleton family is not big or strong enough to have a mercenary squad like the Silver Lions at their disposal. The Silver Lions also have no reason to offer their service to the Daggletons for free, either. Daggleton must have spent a fortune.”
“That’s the problem! Why would he hire such an expensive squad for that tiny piece of farmland? He must be completely out of his mind. He would have to exploit that farmland for decades to make the money back,” Mollando complained and frowned because of a sudden headache. His stomach was starting to hurt, too.
“Our silver lining is that the Silver Lion Mercenaries are relatively small in scale compared to their fame. They have a hundred mercenaries, at most.”
Most of the well-known mercenary squads were much bigger in numbers than the Silver Lions, some even surpassing four, five hundred men. Big squads like these were often contracted to different nobles and had their own garrisons in their territories. Mercenaries who belonged to such squads were as talented, if not more so, than the standing armies.
“It’s not like the Silver Lions can’t afford to have more mercenaries. They purposely keep their numbers low so that they can continue to roam the different territories completing big jobs. A hundred is the perfect number for that. Any more than that would just keep them limited to a single territory. That’s how they got their fame.”
The Silver Lion Mercenaries were not like the typical traditional mercenary squads. As late bloomers, they chose a unique management style. They kept their size small to stay mobile and traveled around the Empire to take up high-profile jobs with big paychecks.
‘They are usually at the job site before the news of the job even reaches the big squads. And they always get things done.’
Even a small-time noble like Mollando was familiar with the Silver Lions’ reputation.
‘Just because they are small doesn’t mean that they are weak. Every man in that squad is armed to the teeth.’ Mollando was both furious and frustrated.
“My lord, I think we should try to negotiate with them. It may be better for you to sell the farmland to them so that you at least have the money left,” one of the lieges laid out realistic advice. It was a fight that they were not going to win.
“Hmm,”
Count Mollando was only a small-time noble. Every acre of his land was precious.
“You must make a decision right now, my lord, whether to fight or to negotiate.”
“Summon the other lieges and the mercenary leader. We will have a discussion.”
Mollando did not want to lose the farmland that he fought to keep. If there was any chance of winning this war, he wanted to fight.
‘If my territory gets any smaller, the title of Count in the Mollando family may be lost in my next generation. I cannot let that happen.’
If Count Mollando were to lose, the impact of the battle would take at least twenty years to recover from. The war expenses and reparations could very well bankrupt the Mollando estate.
‘Daggleton is riding the same risk.’ Mollando clenched his teeth.
‘I am a man, too. I am not going to go down without a fight.’
The lieges entered the room. They had already been briefed about the situation involving the Silver Lion Mercenaries.
“Where are the mercenaries?”
“They should be here any moment.”
“You don’t think they’re packing up after hearing the name ‘Silver Lions,’ do you?” one of the lieges joked. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they really did. It would make the most sense if the twenty-man mercenary squad fled for their lives after hearing the name of the Silver Lion Mercenaries.
Creak—
The conference room door swung open, and the mercenaries entered the room. An entire week’s worth of debauchery was written all over their faces.
“Hey, I heard there’s still some war that needs our hands!” Urich said as he sat in his seat. The main men of the mercenary squad accompanied him.
‘I don’t know much about this place.’
Urich was an outsider in this city, and he knew his limitations.
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