He was born into a common family and managed to break free from the constraints of the aristocracy by becoming a warrior, establishing the Astral Mercenary Group.
He recruited many companions from similar humble backgrounds, taking on missions to hunt beasts and improve their living conditions.
However, the Silver Feather Mercenary Group constantly tried to sabotage them, taking advantage of their noble status, with Baron Ivan Rodney being the worst among them.
Yesterday, together with his brothers, they accepted a C-level mission to kill ten Ice Rabbits, a task that seemed straightforward, but unexpected trouble arose along the way.
Ice Rabbits are low-tier magical beasts, typically found around the outskirts of the Beast Forest, posing little threat. Who would have thought that a high-tier magical beast, the Original Sun Leopard, would suddenly appear?
He gritted his teeth and attracted the beast’s attention, narrowly escaping death thanks to the intervention of a certain Demon Lord. Ironically, misfortune had turned into a blessing. He didn’t even know how his brothers were faring now.
Before he could walk into the main hall, he overheard a commotion.
A boastful voice rang out, “That ungrateful barbarian won’t be coming back. If you have any sense, you’d better defect to Silver Feather soon.”
“Commoners are commoners. Even if they got lucky and managed to condense a magic core, it still won’t change the fact that they’ll end up in a monster’s mouth.”
“If you’re wasting time fighting me, you might as well search the Beast Forest; who knows… you might find some bones for yourself, ha ha ha.”
The man dressed in an elaborate robe laughed heartily, his eyes shadowy and hawk-like, dark and piercing.
Opposite him stood three or four people, one of whom, a muscular man, couldn’t restrain himself and stepped forward, grabbing the collar of his robe, his face flushed with anger as he questioned him fiercely.
“Was it you? Are you the one behind this! How could a high-tier beast appear at the forest’s edge unless you summoned it? I want you to pay for the captain’s life!”
The hawk-eyed man remained unmoved, snorting lightly from his nose. Suddenly, a figure dressed in black sprang into action, red light flashing as magical energy gathered in his palm, striking the muscular man and sending him flying.
“Ugh…” The large man was sent flying three yards away, clutching his chest in pain.
“Joseph!” The others were about to rush to help him when they were blocked by the figure in black.
The hawk-eyed man slowly approached, raising his foot as if to step on Joseph’s chest, an act loaded with disdain.
However, just as he was about to stomp down, a sudden burst of magical energy sliced through the air, ripping through his pant leg.
He stumbled back a few steps, nearly losing his balance, hastily hiding behind the man in black, his voice sharp and tense.
“Who! Delaying Silver Feather’s business, do you know how serious the consequences are?!”
“Hah, the nobles really do forget quickly. Baron Ivan, have you already forgotten about me?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ivan’s pupils contracted, and the words escaped his mouth without thinking.
“Ebul, how, how are you still alive?!”
Ebul gritted his teeth, helping Joseph up from the ground and handing him to the other brothers, rising to mock, “What? Regretting that the Original Sun Leopard didn’t finish me off?”
He released the magical aura of a high-tier warrior, a pressure so strong that it made Ivan restless. He had no time to ponder how Ebul had suddenly advanced; he could only feel that his doom was near.
He had been relying on being a mid-tier mage to act so arrogantly, but now, offending a high-tier warrior made everything seem dark.
Ebul unsheathed his sword, leaping forward and directly bypassing the figure in black, the sword glowing as it pointed straight at Baron Ivan, surrounded by swirling magical energy, clearly with the intention of not letting him off easily.
“I-I am a mage! If you kill me, the Magic Association will pursue you!” Ivan stammered, trembling, not believing Ebul would truly go this far.
The sword was dangerously close to him, his throat vulnerable to a single swallow.
Ebul thought to himself, if it weren’t for your ability to draw in followers for the Demon Lord, I would end you now.
He sheathed his sword, pretending to be casual, and said, “I owe you my thanks; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to break through to high-tier.”
Taking Joseph and the others with him, they turned and left the mercenary group’s hall, leaving behind Ivan, who felt like a stray dog.
Ivan glared furiously at the whispering crowd inside the hall, his stare so intense that they would only look away once he relented, filled with resentment as he grasped the man in black, leaving a single command.
“Investigate how that lowly commoner broke through to high-tier!”
“Get me all the details of his experience in the Beast Forest!”
Panting, Ivan straightened up, his legs still trembling. He hurriedly turned and walked towards the Magic Association.
*
Once they returned to the resting area, Ebul recounted his experiences in the Beast Forest, successfully garnering the sympathy of those around him.
“Captain, you aren’t losing your mind from the beasts, are you?”
“Exactly… how could anyone open a shop in the Abyss? That’s impossible!”
But gradually, their voices fell to a murmur, glancing at each other with expressions of disbelief.
The information was too shocking, but if this were only the captain’s delusion, how could his advancement to high-tier be explained? The captain’s strength was the most solid proof.
To further persuade them, Ebul took out a band-aid from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and applied it to the injured Joseph’s arm.
Joseph waved it off dismissively, chuckling, “Captain, it’s not even a serious wound. This little bandage won’t help; my arm is fine.”
But he couldn’t refuse Ebul’s gesture and had to obediently place the band-aid on.
Before he could speak again, he suddenly froze in place, his face filled with disbelief as he touched his chest, “N-No, it doesn’t hurt anymore?”
Ebul nodded, saying, “This is the power of the Demon; it’s miraculous. My serious injury healed in less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.”
The muscular man, tensed, gripped the captain’s collar, wailing in despair, “No, captain! My injury isn’t that bad! We should save such miraculous medicine for critical moments!”
He had completely changed his dismissive attitude, lamenting that for such a minor injury, they had wasted such a remarkable magical remedy, his heart pained as if it were throbbing.
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