chsdbacks Chapter 91 Organizing the Squadron
Chapter 91 Organizing the Squadron
On the city guard's carriage, Kane looked at the soldiers escorting him and said:
"Excuse me, may I go home first to retrieve some personal belongings?"
The soldier coldly replied, "No."
Kane said nothing more, only watching the street scene rushing past the car window.
The carriage drove towards the Seventh District, escorted by a group of unfamiliar faces.
The person behind the scenes intentionally prevented him from contacting anyone he knew, and may even have planned to send him directly to the military camp to prevent him from escaping en route.
"interesting."
Kane pondered, but was not worried.
The battle took place in the Dark Forest. With his current strength, as long as he wasn't surrounded by a large number of second-tier enemies, he could easily escape thanks to his immortality.
The carriage drove out of the war-torn city and headed west, eventually arriving at a massive military camp.
The tents stretched as far as the eye could see, and the city guards at the camp gate, armed with crossbows and clad in standard heavy armor, were on high alert.
Kane recalled the decision: the city guards mobilized an entire legion, more than 10,000 troops, to deal with a Drow family stronghold of about three or four thousand people.
The military strength was three to one, and it was equipped with ballistae and artillery.
However, the Drow are all soldiers, and the proportion of professionals is far higher than that of humans, so this battle will not be easy.
The soldiers escorting him took him to the quartermaster's office and gave him a city guard uniform.
After he changed his clothes, his Frostbite Scimitar and dagger were returned to him after being inspected by the soldiers.
He was then led to a tent.
Kane shrugged, lifted the curtain, and went inside.
The tent was filled with smoke and filled with fierce-looking adventurers.
Some people wore tattered leather armor, some had their chests bare, and weapons were casually placed at their feet, creating a chaotic scene.
Kane didn't care at all.
He knew very well that he had most likely been assigned to a ragtag group and used as a expendable resource on the battlefield.
Only in this way can he die in battle "justifiably," and it will also make it easier for the people behind the scenes to take him to undergo the Stigmata Ritual later.
As for Ms. Weaver's pursuit of justice against others, it can be simply claimed that there was a procedural error afterward.
"Forget it, let's think about a way to escape in a reasonable way first," Kane thought to himself.
More and more people gathered inside the tent, soon numbering over a hundred.
The crowd spontaneously formed small groups of two or three, while the surrounding city guards merely watched coldly without interfering.
Kane's gaze swept across the crowd and he spotted Russell, whom he had met at the market that day.
The young man, clutching the flawed short sword, was boasting to a few adventurers, spitting as he spoke.
Besides these unfamiliar faces, he also saw a familiar face.
Talia was surrounded by a group of male adventurers, with polite smiles on her face.
Talia saw him too, her eyes lit up, she quickly said "sorry", squeezed through the crowd and walked over quickly, affectionately taking his arm.
Kane understood and did not refuse.
He understood that Talia was using him as a shield.
Sure enough, a gruff voice quickly rang out: "Boy, who are you?"
Kane looked up and saw a bald, burly man nearly 1.9 meters tall standing in front of him, with a full beard and an unfriendly gaze looking down at him.
Talia laughed first, "Sorry, he was my teammate from the beginning."
Kane remained silent.
The bald, burly man sized him up, then suddenly sneered:
"Talia, I invited you to join my party because I respect you as a spellcaster who knows first-circle magic."
I never expected you to find such a frail, pale-faced pretty boy.
Talia's smile remained unchanged, and she was about to speak when Kane suddenly stretched out his hand and offered it to the bald, burly man.
The bald, burly man looked at the hand with its distinct knuckles, grinned menacingly, and suddenly reached out and grabbed it.
He wanted to teach this arrogant brat a lesson about the power of a first-tier warrior!
The surrounding adventurers burst into laughter, waiting to see Kane make a fool of himself.
But the next second, everyone's laughter stopped abruptly.
The bald, burly man's expression changed from playful to serious. Then, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his face turned bright red.
Kane, on the other hand, remained expressionless, without even a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
"Enough! Enough!"
The bald, burly man finally collapsed to his knees, wincing in pain.
"Talia is yours, I give her up! Damn, how can you be so strong?"
Kane released his grip, and the bald, burly man, as if granted a pardon, hastily withdrew his hand, rubbing his nearly crushed knuckles, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Kane.
An uproar erupted inside the tent.
Everyone knows that this bald man is a well-known adventurer outside the city of war, one of the best in the first tier. Who would have thought that he couldn't even withstand Kane's handshake!
Many adventurers were tempted to approach Kane, but when they met his indifferent gaze, many gave up the idea.
Kane ignored the gazes of the crowd, turned to Talia, and said calmly:
"Tell me, what happened?"
Talia breathed a sigh of relief and explained in a low voice:
"The city guards required us to form teams of ten and incorporate us into their combat formation."
Furthermore, for any captured drow prisoners, the captain receives half the bounty, and the remaining team members share the other half.
Kane understood; this arrangement was indeed reasonable.
If they were all apprentice-level adventurers, they would only be cannon fodder on the battlefield.
A professional must lead the team to maximize the effectiveness of the cannon fodder.
Talia frowned and shook her head:
"This is too sudden. Hans clearly told me that the Dead Apostles would not be transferred to the front lines."
As a result of the ruling council's decree, not only us, but even some professional prisoners in jail were released and sent to the army.
She raised her hand and pointed to the three people at the corner of the tent:
"Look over there."
The woman in the black robe was originally just an apprentice-level pharmacist, but she poisoned her entire team, including three professionals.
That thief with the dagger is a ruthless figure in the underworld; he's said to have escaped from the pursuit of a second-tier professional once. And that one…”
Her finger pointed to a half-elf carrying a longbow, and she suddenly stopped speaking.
Just then, the half-elf youth turned around and gave the two of them a friendly smile.
Kane nodded slightly and looked at Talia: "What's wrong?"
"He is our colleague, a Dead Apostle from the second squad of the Night's Watch, named Viran."
Talia lowered her voice slightly.
"He was just an ordinary Tier 1 Ranger, but he spent a full ten years with the Night's Watch."
Kane's expression turned serious.
The Dead Apostles are assigned the most dangerous missions to the Night's Watch. Except for spellcasters like Talia who are so rare that they don't have to participate in missions that are guaranteed to kill them, most Dead Apostles don't live more than three years.
The fact that the other party survived for only ten years as a wandering knight suggests they are no ordinary person.
Talia looked at him, a pleading glint in her eyes:
"Kane, could I join your team? We can just find some other people to make up the numbers."
Kane looked into her eyes, remained silent for a moment, and slowly shook his head.
Talia's face paled, but he said calmly:
"If you're on my team, you might die for some inexplicable reason."
Talia's expression turned serious. She stared at him for a long time before forcing a smile and saying, "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not that bored."
As Kane finished speaking, Talia's smile slowly faded.
She paused for a few seconds, then whispered, "I'm sorry, Kane, I have parents to take care of... I'm so sorry."
"Um."
Kane nodded, watching her turn and walk towards the half-elf Vilan, clearly intending to join his party.
He wasn't surprised.
Their relationship was nothing more than a fleeting affair, and Talia's choice couldn't be more realistic.
Following me means I could die at any moment, so that's for the best.
Next, it's time to choose teammates.
He politely declined the invitations from several adventurers and walked towards the bald, burly man.
Upon seeing Kane approach, the bald man's expression changed drastically: "Is...is there something else?"
Kane said calmly, "I'd like to join your team, what do you say?"
The bald, burly man looked troubled and stammered, "I'm sorry, my team... might... have a problem..."
"What's the problem?" Kane smiled.
The bald, burly man shivered and gritted his teeth, saying:
"The main issue is the division of the prisoners! I'll give you 30%, I'll take 20%, and the remaining eight will split 50/50! Is that acceptable?"
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the eight team members behind him.
Kane scanned the group and, unsurprisingly, found them all to be apprentice-level adventurers, including warriors, wanderers, and hunters.
His strength was even inferior to those underground members he encountered during the Battle of Rathill, and his youthful inexperience was impossible to hide.
And among this group, he even spotted Russell again.
Kane looked at the bald, burly man and slowly said, "I only need 10%."
"What?" The bald, burly man was stunned.
"But I have one condition."
Kane's gaze swept over everyone. "You are still the captain, but during battle, I can disobey your orders."
The bald, burly man was overjoyed: "No problem! Absolutely no problem!"
Kane nodded, found a corner to sit down, and closed his eyes to rest.
In his heart, there was only a faint apology.
The team he selected is unlikely to have a good future.
……
Time flew by and it was noon; the noise gradually subsided.
A city guard officer in light armor led several soldiers into the tent, followed by several messengers.
The officer's light armor was engraved with a gold sword and shield badge.
Kane recognized it; it was the insignia of the ruling council's special guard, exactly the same as the badge of the previous ranger, Bell.
"You bunch of pigs!"
The officer glanced at the chaotic crowd and roared:
"It's just a ten-person team, and it's taken them this long!"
The adventurers inside the tent immediately showed anger and glared at him.
Kane frowned slightly—what he cared about wasn't the insult, but the other party's strength.
"My name is Rufus, and I'm your company commander!"
The officer shouted at the top of his lungs, "Anyone who's not satisfied is welcome to challenge me anytime! Otherwise, shut up!"
Adventurers are inherently unruly, and his words instantly ignited the anger of the crowd.
A short, sinister-looking thief stepped forward; it was the same ruthless character Talia had mentioned earlier, the one who had escaped from a second-tier professional.
He licked the blade of his dagger and sneered, "What's in it for winning the challenge?"
Rufus laughed wildly:
"If you beat me, you can leave the military right now! Not only that, I'll also give you a house in the Fifth District! I guarantee it in the name of the ruling council!"
"Is that true?" The short thief's eyes lit up, and he rushed forward, his dagger aimed straight for Rufus's throat.
This is a typical underground attack tactic!
Everyone inside the tent held their breath, waiting to see what would happen.
But the next second, a flash of sword light appeared.
"Ding!"
With a crisp sound, the dagger in the short thief's hand was knocked away.
Before he could react, a splatter of blood appeared—his entire right arm had been severed by Rufus's sword!
"ah--!"
The thief clutched his severed arm and knelt on the ground, screaming in agony. Blood instantly stained the ground, and his face turned ashen white, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone.
"Let...let me go, I'm too weak to fight anymore..."
He curled up on the ground, pleading desperately.
Rufus looked at him with a cruel smile: "Fine."
A glimmer of hope flashed in the thief's eyes, but the sword light shone again.
puff-
A head rolled to the ground and came to rest right at everyone's feet.