"What did you say?" Oliver asked blankly. He had just woken up, his brain was buzzing like a beehive, and the pain was bubbling from every bone. But the foggy dizziness disappeared, he shook his head, and Nemo's voice sounded a lot clearer.
"I just said that Miss Savage gave us an offer." Nemo sat beside him, blushing a little, while the grey parrot sat on his head. "She suggested we sneak in Noe and get the Black Badge."
"So you humans call 'kill you if you don't do this' as 'suggestion'?"
"Black Badge?" Oliver turned to look at the female warrior who was maintaining the weapon, "But we don't—"
"I'm not interested in your innocence. I'm pretty sure my conscience is not worth three thousand gold coins, it's just a deal." Ann tightened the cloth on the hunting spear, "Noe's black seal certification starts in three days. Just came back for this. It doesn't matter if you don't agree, I'll take some time to find out."
"But… "
"Do you prefer to exchange your head for gold coins?" The corners of An's mouth were raised, but there was no smile in her amber eyes. "Look, I think this deal is very good. With me here, you can guarantee it will pass. What you have to do is also very simple - form a team and let me name it."
"You should have belonged to a team before." Oliver coughed a few times, his throat still very itchy.
"Yeah, it's a pity that everyone died. I have to find another team to register. That's the rule," Ann said, not looking sad.
"Why us?" Oliver stared at the heavy hunting spear with lingering fears. "… Well, I mean, it sounds good. I'm just curious."
"I don't like to act with other people. I've tried teams of refugees, and they either die too quickly, or they don't last long. "An calmly explained, "You don't look like the kind of rubbish that likes to cause trouble. People at the 'dangerous' level are more or less capable. It should be fine to do some low-level tasks honestly, and I can live in peace for a while. Three thousand gold coins Just bet on intuition."
"I think so." Nemo moved in Oliver's direction and muttered in a low, spineless voice. "An extra day counts as a day."
"I don't have any opinion." Oliver replied in a low voice, "Three thousand gold coins, it's better to promise before she changes her mind."
"What the hell is a black chapter?" Gray parrot squeezed between them, his butt almost hitting Nemo in the face.
"Second-class citizens or cannon fodder." Nemo grabbed the bouncing bird and laid it on the ground. "Choose a word that you can understand."
Although the black chapters are hanging under the mercenary guild, they sound like cannon fodder. There are many small countries on the mainland, wars are raging, and the laws of each country are very different, which directly leads to criminals and refugees running around everywhere.
Once people cross the border, official negotiation becomes mortally troublesome. The current mercenary guild leader, Brock, is a good example - when he was not the guild leader, he secretly raised middle-level demons in the capital of Alban, and his wanted level soared to "thugs" after being discovered. Seeing that something was wrong, Mr. Brock quickly fled to Willard, Alban's enemy. Unexpectedly, in the following days, he became prosperous, climbed up countless relationships, and became a real rich man.
And Alban's perseverance in trying to get people back to death almost extended the battle between the two countries.
So after Blok became the president of the mercenary guild, he set up such a system - refugees and criminals can obtain the black stamp through the test of the mercenary guild, which can be used in place of the identity certificate of the country where they are located. It's just that the things they can do are severely restricted, and they are basically troublesome or dangerous jobs that legal citizens are unwilling to deal with, and the taxes and commissions are staggeringly high.
Black households without identity certificates are basically unable to live normally, so even if the pay for this job is really bad, a considerable number of new black stamps are born every year. In fact, even without Ann's "suggestion", they would have gone down this road sooner or later—unless they were really going to be the villains in exile.
"We agree," Oliver said. "Now what do we need to do?"
Anzhi nodded his chin, whistled, and the white horse ran over lightly. She drew a short sword from the leather bag hanging from the saddle and handed it to Oliver.
"This kid said you were the one who cut the wolf hunter. Make a gesture." She clenched her spear. "If you have any extra moves, I don't mind stringing you up and dragging you to Noe."
Oliver licked his chapped lips: "Actually, I don't know what happened last night."
He was really not impressed.
"Oh, where did you come from so much bullshit!" The Grey Parrot became excited when he saw the opportunity to prove that he was telling the truth. "Just cut it! How about I help you brew your emotions—"
Before Oliver could say a word, the unlucky spider dog was pulled out of thin air again. The spider dog's eight claws kicked angrily, and it was about to bite into his face. Oliver only felt that the roots of his hair stood up, he didn't even think about it, raising his hand was a sword.
However, it was just an ordinary sword.
The spider dog grabbed his right arm. He opened his mouth to bite again. Oliver was a little flustered, he was very sure that his arm would never have a second growth. So he hurriedly made a swipe with his left arm, and the spider dog was swept to the ground, gasping for breath.
Ann didn't say a word, just stood by and watched with interest.
How did the sword swing last night? Oliver desperately recalled what he felt at the time, gritted his teeth and stabbed the spider dog again.
As a result, he nearly stabbed himself to death.
Before this sword was stabbed, countless ice thorns stretched wildly along the front of the sword. The spider dog was blasted directly into the soil, and the icicle did not stop because of it. It exploded the moment it touched the ground, blasting out a huge ferocious and clear ice flower—the sharp petals composed of ice thorns pointed in all directions, the shortest. It is also over a meter long.
These icy things have no self-awareness at all, thanks to Oliver not stabbing directly at the ground - a sharp icicle was pointed right in his face, almost poking him in the eye. Oliver took a few steps back, almost tripping over the weeds behind him, and Nemo rushed up to hold him with a quick hand.
The dagger was shattered into several pieces the moment the icicle burst, and at this moment only the hilt of the sword remained frozen in the ice without embarrassment. Small ice chips drifted in the air, and the sultry summer air dropped a few degrees.
"Although the styles are a bit different, the wolf hunt is basically finished like this." The grey parrot explained to Ann Savage enthusiastically, "Look, I'm an honest demon, I was just here for sightseeing!"
"Three thousand gold coins..." An stared at the pile of huge ice thorns, his face very ugly. "It's cheap."
Nemo was holding Oliver from behind, and the other's short light brown hair buried his face when he first made contact. His nose was sore from the bump, and he didn't know if he was bleeding. Fortunately, the medicine Ann gave worked well—Oliver woke up and his fever subsided, and he no longer looked like a human-shaped charcoal. He quickly stood up before Nemo couldn't take it anymore and coughed twice.
"Thank you." He turned around, and instead of being surprised, he frowned slightly.
Nemo rubbed his nose, trying to hide his shocked, stiff expression. "Oliver, you-"
"I changed my mind." As a result, halfway through his sentence, he was cut off by a low female voice.
Nemo turned his head sharply, so much so that he nearly twisted his neck. At the moment he hoped with all his heart that the words were not what he meant.
"Don't be nervous." The female soldier's expression was serious, and the tone that was a little lighthearted just now disappeared. "I'm not going to kill you - it looks like I've missed my best chance."
Nemo found his arm being pulled by Oliver and being pulled behind him. The other party's unintentional or unintentional action made him a little inexplicably angry. He snapped Oliver's hand open and insisted on standing in front.
Ann sighed, "You two sit down, we have to have a good talk."
Nemo and Oliver looked at the hunting spear in the female warrior's hand at the same time, without moving a single step.
Ann didn't say anything, thrust the spear into the mud, and sat down first. "That brown-haired boy, Oliver Ramon, isn't it? You're a bit of a jerk, but the movements are too rusty. I'm really curious—even a blind man wouldn't miss out on this talent, what on earth did the person who taught you think? Alban would let such a talent go, if he knew about it, the bishop of your area would probably have his hair pulled out."
"I gave up very early." Oliver thought for a moment, still standing up straight. "Because I... don't like it very much. My father also said that it's no big deal. If you don't want to learn, you won't learn it, that's all."
"It's no big deal? I've been in this business for almost twenty years. To be honest, I haven't seen a few of them at this level." An raised his voice, "It's okay to raise a demon boy. Abyss magic is like wild mushrooms. It's hard to tell the difference, I can't judge, but you are a pure human, right?"
For a moment, Nemo felt like he was being classified as a parrot hybrid.
"Yes." Oliver answered firmly, "Is there a problem?"
"It seems that the two of you have absolutely no concept of the world outside Lubiao Town." Ann said, her face not very good-looking. "Have you been living a good life all the time? I'm really curious, if your teacher is someone who has seen the world, it's impossible for you to be so leisurely—"
"His father... the teacher's character is fine." Nemo interrupted the female warrior's words, and the inexplicable displeasure in his heart became more and more obvious, as real as the melting ice on the skin. "You're right, I'm the one who implicated this guy, who could have lived to old age leisurely. I don't think it's anyone's 'educational error'."
Ann turned her awl-like gaze to him, her nose twitching quickly. But when she spoke again, her voice remained calm. "Your teacher is your father? Interesting. Now that I'm interested, tell me what you guys did last night," she said. "I'm familiar with that look—like two holes being trampled on. The groundhog was confused and panicked to death."
It's a pity that Ann Savage's nearly 20 years of experience did not help her much after putting together the somewhat stumbling narratives of the two.
"I can probably figure out what happened to your father." An rubbed his lower lip, "If it wasn't him who summoned the deadwood jellyfish, he must have forcibly transferred the summoning ritual to himself. I have seen this kind of lifeless. Totally thankless approach.”
"How do you say?" Oliver had already sat down honestly in the process of telling, and only Nemo was standing stubbornly.
"High-level demons, the first thing they do after being summoned is to attack the summoner." An said, "Simply put, creatures with a little brain are not willing to do white jobs - they need to confirm the strength of their future masters and summon them. Being too weak means that they probably won't get much benefit. If the summoner is killed, the demon can then go on a free free tour, eat enough, play enough, and walk back to the abyss."
She glanced at Oliver. "A powerful person can't do such a thing as summoning a deadwood jellyfish. If I guess correctly, the summoner has already been eaten to the point of scum. Your father should force the devil before he is completely free. The summoning ritual has been moved... presumably to protect the town."
"But he..."
"Then here's where I can't figure it out," Ann said, giving Oliver no time to ask questions. "This is the point - according to the records, the only humans who can perform the forced transfer ritual are demon warlocks. Is there anything unusual about your father?"
"I swear no, my father has absolutely no alienation."
"Then there is only one possibility left," Ann said. "A higher-level demon who has obtained a human body can also do this."
"Impossible!" Before Oliver could respond, someone screamed for him. The grey parrot swaggered over, confidently. "I've seen that man, he can't be a superior demon! If so, I can definitely detect-"
"You?" An raised her beautiful eyebrows, "How do you detect it, class suppression?"
"Fart." Grey parrot shot back contemptuously, "Rely on the breath of the same level! If we don't want those low-level garbage to find out, there is a way - but the same level can't hide it."
Ann took a deep look at it, then pushed it away firmly and slowly with her hand. The grey parrot was so angry that it exploded, very unlike a parrot, it plunged into the bush next to it.
"Where did we come from?" she sternly said. "Oh yes, Oliver, has your father ever used magic in front of you?"
"I have used it, but only once." Oliver said, "It's a very common illusion, I don't think it can be used as a reference."
Oliver doesn't seem to be shaken by Ann's claim, which Nemo suspects he didn't even intend to believe in the first place. But he could totally understand it—Old Ramon might just hurt the mosquitoes that passed through Roadmark Town with his own hands, and the raw meat in the inn was all ready-made from the butcher. Their shock share of these two days has already been overdrawn, and no additional blow is needed.
"Okay." Ann clearly noticed the unhappiness of the two, she raised her hands and made a gesture of admitting defeat. "Then skip the question. After the ritual is transferred, the demon will also transfer its target, which is probably why your father wants you to kill him."
Oliver raised his head sharply.
"Assuming you're telling the truth, he was really dying when you met, so the transfer ceremony can only buy the army a little time. If he was taking the demon out of town at the time, it's probably what he planned." She sighed, "But if the summoner is killed by a third party in this confrontation, it is considered a simple summon failure - according to the law, the demon will be immediately sent back to the abyss."
"I can't think of any other reason than to protect the town." Ann shrugged, "I apologize for what I just said. If you didn't lie, Mr. Ramon is not a rude man. But I don't judge this kind of behavior, at least I will never let my relatives suffer like this for someone who is irrelevant... um."
"One thing I can be sure of, boy. Knowing the rules of summoning demons and being able to transfer the ritual by hand, your father is definitely not a small person. If you have the heart, you can try to find—"
"Thank you very much for your explanation." Oliver said, stood up a little swaying, and gave the female warrior a non-standard salute. "thank you very much."
"But no, I don't want to know his past. Enough is enough."
,Wonderful!
(m.. = )