Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 176 (Part 1)

The Day of the Mission Departure Had Arrived.

The weather was gloomy, especially today. The rain that had fallen overnight had stopped for a while, but the ground was muddy.

“Of all days, it had to be today we’re leaving.”

“Is something wrong? Brother Larry, I actually like it—it’s cool.”

“I don’t like it. It’s damp and gross.”

Rodin and Karis brought the carriage out in front of the inn. Soon, Larry and Bianca got into the carriage.

“Brother Larry, it’s in front of the city gate, right?”

“Yeah. There’s a wide plaza-like place there. We’ll be meeting there.”

“What about sister Jena?”

“She’ll be there when we arrive.”

Jena, who had been left behind as a guard for Queen Regina, had not yet returned. They were to meet at the plaza in front of the city gate in the morning.

“Let’s go.”

“Big Brother, I’ll drive the carriage.”

“You’re an iron-rank mercenary. Once you get there, you’ll be doing all the odd jobs.”

“Ah! Right.”

The number of mercenaries hired for this mission was exactly 21.

There was Rodin, a platinum-rank mercenary. There was one gold-rank and one silver-rank mercenary as well. There were five bronze-rank mercenaries, and the rest were all iron-rank mercenaries.

Larry, Bianca, Karis, and Jena belonged to the group of thirteen iron-rank mercenaries—the lowest rank among the hired mercenaries.

“Let’s go. Karis, depart.”

“Yes, young master.”

It was still early morning, with the surroundings not yet fully bright.

The carriage rolled along a wide road. The speed was slow—barely faster than walking.

To an outsider, it would seem frustratingly slow, enough to make them fume, but for Rodin’s group, this pace was routine.

Despite the slow movement, they arrived on time. Mercenaries who had arrived early were standing in small groups, chatting idly.

“Heave-ho!”

Larry got off first to signal their arrival. At that, the mercenaries who had arrived earlier glanced over at the carriage.

“Isn’t that the platinum-rank?”

“This is my first time seeing a platinum-rank.”

“I heard he’s an archmage.”

“An archmage who’s a platinum-rank… That’s a first for the mercenary world, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t the first. It had happened before—nearly 600 years ago, an archmage had emerged among mercenaries.

That meant Rodin was the first mercenary archmage in 600 years.

Hearing the murmurs around him, Rodin also stepped down from the carriage. By then, it had grown quite a bit brighter outside.

“Looks like it’ll rain again.”

“Big Brother Rodin, more rain?”

“Yeah. It’ll pour once more this morning.”

Spirit mages contracted with water spirits were usually pretty accurate in predicting when it would rain or stop. As Undine, the low-level water spirit, had grown into the mid-level spirit, Rodin’s predictions had become even more precise.

“I don’t hate rain… but what if something happens?”

“This morning we’ll only be traveling on well-maintained roads. It should be fine.”

Shortly after, a lavishly decorated four-horse carriage arrived. It carried Queen Regina and Prince Arian. A maid attending to the two was also aboard.

“I have returned. Young master.”

“Good work.”

With the arrival of Queen Regina’s carriage, Jena’s duty came to an end. Having returned via the coachman’s seat, Jena exchanged glances with Karis in greeting.

“Pleased to meet you, Mage Rodin.”

“Yes. It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”

A brief greeting was exchanged with Queen Regina. From behind her, a small child poked his head out.

“Greet him, Prince. This is the mage who will be protecting us on our journey home.”

“Hello. I am Arian Hessward Luvain. I look forward to your care.”

“Yes. I will ensure your safety, Your Highness.”

After greeting Rodin, the client began meeting with the other mercenaries one by one. A particularly long conversation was held with a mercenary named Scott.

Scott, a fifth-grade swordsman and a gold-rank mercenary, was originally from the Kingdom of Luvain. Until a few years ago, he had mainly worked within Luvain.

The reason Scott had left the Kingdom of Luvain was due to the civil war.

There were frequent battles everywhere, and the sacrifices among mercenaries were great. He had seen a lot of ugly things.

Tired of seeing such sights, he had left Luvain and crossed over into the Kingdom of Maven.

“Shouldn’t you take charge, Brother?”

“We should definitely establish a clear command structure.”

Rodin had already been considering that he needed to appoint someone as the leader. The presence of a platinum-rank mercenary could cause confusion in the chain of command.

Of course, if Rodin stepped forward and actively led the mercenaries, there would be no issue—since leadership would be clear.

However, Rodin wasn’t the type to meddle that much. He also wasn’t someone who liked standing at the forefront.

“Gold-rank mercenary Scott.”

“An honor to meet a platinum-rank mercenary. What is it?”

Scott’s demeanor wasn’t arrogant, but it wasn’t subservient either. Confident in his own skills, he nevertheless showed proper respect for a platinum-rank mercenary.

“Unless we’re in a combat situation, I’d like you to lead the escort. Will that be possible?”

“I was just about to ask you the same. It’s not that I disrespect you, Mage, but… you probably lack experience.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

The key combat forces of this escort were the platinum-rank, gold-rank, and silver-rank mercenaries. The five bronze-rank mercenaries were significantly weaker than the top three, and the thirteen iron-rank mercenaries were, in truth, not much more than errand runners.

“Poby!”

“What?”

“You’re the rear guard.”

“Got it.”

Gold-rank mercenary Scott and silver-rank mercenary Poby had served as escorts for the same merchant guild for the past three years. What was initially a one-year long-term contract had been extended, allowing them to build a strong camaraderie.

The time they spent together had made them well-acquainted with each other. That familiarity allowed them to speak comfortably.

“How many bronze-ranks should I assign you?”

“Just give me three.”

“Alright.”

If the core of combat was the platinum-, gold-, and silver-rank mercenaries, the core of the grunt work was the thirteen iron-rank mercenaries. Without them, a lot of time would be wasted during the journey, especially while camping.

Bronze-rank mercenaries acted as the bridge between the top three and the iron-rank mercenaries. If they didn’t quickly relay orders and bring up suggestions as needed, the whole mission could become disjointed and messy.

“Mage Rodin, we’ll depart now.”

“There’s no need to report to me. Command freely.”

With those words, Rodin climbed back into the carriage. It was his way of saying not to concern themselves with him and just handle things as they saw fit.

“All units, move out.”

“Move out!”

A rather long procession began to move. The city gates had been wide open since early morning. Those coming and going through the gates had already stepped aside to make room.

Through that cleared space, the carriages and wagons under mercenary escort passed through.

*

Hyung_Otaku2

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