Armipotent

The peaceful night quickly turned into a chaotic night as screams and the bell’s rings filled the night. A fire burned one tent and quickly spread out to the other tents. The quiet night turned into a chaotic night as screams filled the air. The dark night lit up by the fire that quickly became uncontrollable.

Tang Shaoyang did not expect to be fighting the second he arrived. He thought it would be another delayed fight just like the previous floor. He was currently standing outside his own tent, assessing the situation while keeping in check through his Chaos Eyes.

Even though he was not in a group, his tent was located in the center of the camp. The enemy was sweeping the outskirts of the camp. The ambush did not try to run over the camp; they tried to surround the camp and corner them against the cliff.

He could go out and fight the ambush, but he chose not to. The reason was simple he did not know how to raise his mercenary rank yet. He let everything unfold on its own with his interference. He was afraid that the System would issue another quest if he wiped the enemy. That would make things complicated for him. He could get a new and easier quest, or he could get a more complicated quest. His decision was to stick with his current quest.

Tang Shaoyang acted like his rank, a white mercenary rank. He let things unfold on their own. The Raven Monarch’s force under General Ravenbarch started to convene at the center of the camp, and he followed the group to assemble as well.

The group was split into two groups, a mercenary group and the soldiers of the Raven Monarch.

“How many people do we lose?” General Ravenbarch asked the beastmen next to him, his right hand.

They realized the ambush did not try to attack them, they tried to confine them here and lure them out, killing the panicked soldiers and mercenaries that tried to escape on their own. That was a smart idea, minimizing the casualties. Who knew the ambush prepared a trap for them.

“We lost one-third of our forces, Sir. More than half of them are mercenaries that panicked and tried to escape from the encirclement.”

General Ravenbarch let out a sigh, revealing a clear disappointment for the mercenaries, “I am expecting experienced mercenaries, not rookies, Alves!”

The person named Alves was a fox beastmen, wearing his official outfit instead of armor even though they were in a battle. Even though they were being surrounded, the man exuded calmness and confidence.

“You are asking all the available mercenaries, not the experienced ones. If you are looking for experienced ones, then they are here. Most of the rookies are dead in the initial ambush,” Alves replied with a smile.

General Ravenbarch scanned the surviving mercenaries, looking like a mess of ragtag militias. However, he knew well how scary this ragtag group was.

“Thirty credits for every five of these ambusher’s heads!”

Alves shook his head, “I would accept your offer if it’s a normal occasion, Sir. However, I don’t think you are giving us a fair price, Sir. Ten credits for each head.”

“Forty credits for five heads. This is me being generous, General Ravenbarch. Can’t go any lower than that,” Alves shook his head.

“Alright, but we need to wipe them fast before more people come for us!” General Ravenbarch agreed.

“You heard them, boys. You got the contract, and this time, The Mercenary Guild will only take a ten percent cut instead of the normal cut!” Alves announced to his people.

Tang Shaoyang did not have any clue what they were discussing. It was not until he received a notification that a screen popped out in front of him.

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[Mercenary Contract]

Objective: Kill five ambushers

Reward: 36 Credits & 5 Rank Points

Contract Type: Repetition Contract

Completion: 0 time

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The credits seemed to be a currency for this floor or maybe The Eptas Monarch. The interesting part was the Rank Points. He had a guess what the Rank Point was for, it was to raise his mercenary rank. If he was right, he made the right decision to wait for the contract instead of wiping out the ambusher.

If he wiped the ambush by himself, he might receive a new quest instead. He might be asked to officially join the Raven Monarch’s force. He might be asked to raise his rank in the Raven Monarch and maybe even more complicating things.

“There’s still something I need to figure out…” He muttered.

Tang Shaoyang did not know how many Rank Points he needed to reach the next rank and so on. He needed to figure it out, but one thing for certain, he could no longer speed-run the floor. It was clear that the tower used this kind of system to slow him down. With such a quest, he might need a few days or maybe weeks to reach Obsidian Rank.

“Are you alone?” A gruff voice interrupted his musing.

He looked up and found a group of three people. The man that looked like the leader, a human. He had a thick beard and eyebrows with brown eyes. He wore leather armor with three spears on his back.

The two people behind him were also human, one woman and a man. The woman wore a long red robe, holding an exquisite staff in her right hand. The man wore heavy plate armor with a shield and a sword.

“We lost two of our friends during the ambush, and we need a complete team if we want to make it out of the encirclement. Especially us humans. Those savage beasts from The Dominion will target us, the humans in this fight,” The bearded man, who might be the leader of the team explained.

Tang Shaoyang liked to move alone, free from burden, and could do anything he wanted. However, he decided to take it slow, and joining a team might not be a bad idea.

“I am alone. I don’t have a team, and I am White Rank. Do you still want me to join your team?” He could lie, and they would accept him without being suspicious of him. However, he decided to stick with the background that the tower gave him.

Through Detection skills, he found out that all three were Demi-God Ranks. He had checked the others, most of them were Legend and Demi-God Rank, and of course, there were a lot of Primordial Ranks on the mercenary sides. The Raven Monarch’s soldiers were weaker on average as there were a lot of Myth and Primordial Ranks as well.

“You are a rookie?” The man with a gruff voice questioned Tang Shaoyang with a frown. He was unwilling to take Tang Shaoyang, it was clear from her face.

“What’s your rank?” Before Tang Shaoyang could answer, the female mercenary asked Tang Shaoyang’s rank.

“I am Demi-God Rank, and my main class is Elemental Archer!” Tang Shaoyang lied without batting an eye. He lied about his rank and certainly his class. He did not even know if a class like Elemental Archer existed. However, that would be his new identity on this floor, an archer.

“Yes, we want you in the team!” The female mercenary accepted Tang Shaoyang into the team. She offered her hand for a handshake, and Tang Shaoyang reached her hand.

[Aella invited you to join The Grandcliff Mercenary Team! (Accept) (Decline)]

Tang Shaoyang accepted the invite, “My name is Tang Shaoyang. You can call me Tang or Shaoyang. Doesn’t really matter.”

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[Grandcliff Mercenary Team]

1. Aelka (Gold Rank) [Team Leader]

2. Aella (Yellow Rank)

3. Rokic (Yellow Rank)

4. Tang Shaoyang (White Rank)

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“You are really White Rank even though you are Demi-God Rank,” Aella was surprised, “My name is Aella. He is Aelka, our leader and also my brother. He is Rokic, a reliable tanker.”

Rokic reached his hand, but Aelka’s eyes were unfocused, looking like he was checking something on the screen.

“Don’t mind him, he’s checking your official information in the Mercenary Guild’s database. Only the team leader has access to it, and he is just making sure you are not lying to us,” Aella explained, “Don’t worry though, I trust you.”

Aelka certainly found the information about Tang Shaoyang, and he snapped at Tang Shaoyang, his eyes widened in shock, “You are lying…” His voice trailed off.

Aella and Rokic were surprised and curious about what Tang Shaoyang lied about for their team leader to react in such a way. They had confirmed that his name was real and his rank was also real White Rank.

“You are not Demi-God Rank, but you are God Rank!” Aelka said in a low voice, “Why did you lie to us?”

Tang Shaoyang was also surprised that the Mercenary Guild had his information, not expecting such information to be recorded, not that it bothered him since it was public knowledge that he was a God Rank.

“Will you believe me if I say I am a God Rank, but I am White Rank? And I would like for you guys to keep my rank secret. I can’t tell you yet why, but maybe I will tell you one day,” Tang Shaoyang had a good excuse, an acceptable excuse.

Aella and Rokic easily accepted his excuse. They would not believe it if Tang Shaoyang told them he was a God Rank, and they would not accept him in the team. It made sense why Tang Shaoyang lied to them.

Aelka fell into silence, considering Tang Shaoyang’s words. He could tell there was more to why Tang Shaoyang lied to them, but the fact that Tang Shaoyang was a God Rank made it hard for him to turn Tang Shaoyang away. With a God Rank in the team, their chance to come out alive from this place was higher, much higher, above fifty percent for sure.

He thought about the pros and cons of accepting Tang Shaoyang, and he made a decision, “Welcome to the Grandcliff Team.”

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