Mercenary Wars

Chapter 17 Joining the Grey Eagle Mercenary Group

The next day.

When Gao Jianuo was having breakfast on the first floor of the hotel, Ryan came in from outside, ordered a glass of wine and sat in front of him.

"How about it? It's not bad here."

Gao Jianuo nodded and then asked, "Ryan, I'm considering joining the Grey Eagle Mercenary Group. Do you have any suggestions?"

Ryan wasn't surprised by this. He pondered for a moment, "I don't know your combat abilities, but I suspect... you might not meet the requirements of a long-term mercenary contract."

"Long-term combat contract?"

Ryan pointed to his epaulettes and said, "Sign this contract and you'll be an official member of Grey Eagle. For a thief, you need to reach level two to qualify for a long-term combat contract. Hunters are similar. If I'm not mistaken, you should be able to fight at the level of a level one hunter."

Gao Jianuo didn't know if he could be considered a first-level hunter according to the guild's standards. He thought about it and asked, "What are the benefits of a long-term combat contract? What are the restrictions?"

"According to the basic terms of the contract, the mercenary group will provide soldiers with food and lodging, basic equipment and medical care, training... and a monthly salary of eight silver coins," Ryan said. "Of course, there are additional subsidies during combat, ranging from five to thirty copper coins per day, and the pension for those killed in action is 120 silver coins."

"As for the restraint or obligation," he paused, "it's the soldier's duty—to obey orders."

After listening to Ryan's story, Gao Jianuo fell silent.

It was pretty much what he imagined.

The treatment was decent, but the requirement to obey orders was a bit too discouraging for him.

At this moment, Ryan suddenly changed the subject: "Can you make a healing stone?"

Gao Jianuo nodded.

"Where's the painkiller?"

"Sure."

"Where are the Rage and Swiftness potions?"

“I’ve learned it from books, but I’ve never done it myself.”

Ryan smiled. "In that case, you can choose a non-combat contract and join the mercenary group as a pharmacist. The salary is much higher than that of a soldier, and you don't have to bear any combat obligations."

Gorgano: "What if I want to join the fight?"

Ryan was a little surprised and thought for a moment: "To be honest, I don't think I've ever heard of a pharmacist who took the initiative to join the war... But if you insist on doing this, it shouldn't be impossible."

He couldn't help but ask, "But why do you have such an idea? You don't look like a war fanatic."

Gao Jianuo: "I just feel that a pharmacist who can only quietly make potions will never become a respected person."

Ryan: "You can develop into an alchemist, herbalist, pharmacist, alchemist. Many famous alchemy masters have come this way."

Gao Jianuo had to change his words: "Okay, I admit that I have a little war fanaticism."

"Well, you can't judge a person by his appearance." Ryan shrugged. "But fighting can indeed make people grow quickly. Anyone with ambition will not avoid it."

The two chatted about other things.

Before leaving the inn, Gao Jianuo suddenly remembered: "Oh, right, since the Grey Eagle Mercenary Group has long-term combat contracts, does it also have short-term combat contracts?"

"Of course. In fact, whenever there's a dangerous mission, the mercenary group will come to Crow Street to sign a batch of short-term combat contracts." Ryan lowered his voice. "I heard from the sheriff that the public security in Southshore Town improves every time."

“…” Gao Jianuo didn’t know what to say.

"Come on, I'll take you to the camp."

Although the Grey Eagles are a mercenary group, they have always provided services only to non-hostile forces in Nordaren. In many aspects, they are actually similar to the regular army of the principality and have their own fixed bases.

Led by Ryan, the two came to the Grey Eagle Camp.

The first thing that came into view was a rather large training ground, followed by several buildings surrounding it. From Gao Jianuo's perspective, the layout here was somewhat similar to the high school campuses he had seen in his previous life, with a similar floor space.

The biggest difference is that the people living in the Grey Eagle Camp are a group of Farallo mercenaries, and the sounds of weapons rubbing and colliding with armor can be heard everywhere here.

Walking in the Grey Eagle Camp, Gao Jianuo looked around, and suddenly his eyes focused and looked into the distance.

A flash of fiery red caught his attention.

He looked carefully and found that an extremely tall warrior was wielding a giant sword on the training ground. His movements were smooth and his long hair was flying like a flaming red flame.

This sword dancer, who was definitely over two meters tall, was like a blazing firestorm, attracting great attention.

Unfortunately, they were a bit far away, and there were many onlookers blocking his view. In addition, the other party moved very quickly, so Gao Jianuo couldn't see anything clearly, and was not even sure whether the weapon was a sword.

Gao Jianuo followed Ryan into a room.

The room was dark. A tall, thin man with short hair and black clothes was standing with his back to the two of them, seemingly looking at a map on the wall.

"Captain." Ryan said respectfully.

The man in black didn't speak.

Ryan seemed accustomed to this and continued, "This is my friend Gao Jianuo. He saved me last time. Gao Jianuo is an excellent pharmacist. He hopes to join the Grey Eagle Mercenary Group through a non-combat contract."

The man in black finally reacted. He turned around and looked at Gao Jianuo with his eyes covered by shadows.

Although Gao Jianuo clearly couldn't see his eyes, he still shuddered, as if the other person's gaze had some kind of deep penetrating power.

"Have you ever dealt with the Forget Moss?"

"No." Gao Jianuo answered truthfully. He had only seen herbs of this level in books, and Pastor Green might not have seen the real thing.

"Do you have a pharmacist badge?"

"nor……"

The man in black was silent for a moment: "Sign the contract according to the standards of a first-level pharmacist."

"Yes."

Ryan led Gao Jianuo out of the room.

After leaving the room and seeing the light of day again, Gao Jianuo suddenly realized that there was a little cold sweat on his forehead. He couldn't help but ask, "Is he the leader?"

"No, Night Owl is the deputy commander in charge of intelligence," Ryan added. "He has advanced dark vision. To him, night is no different from noon."

Gao Jianuo: "Do you know his professional level?"

"Should be a level six thief."

The two came to another nearby building.

A slightly plump, bald man exchanged a few words with Ryan, then reluctantly tossed a contract in front of Gao Jianuo: "Here, sign it, Mr. First-Class Pharmacist without a pharmacist badge."

Gao Jianuo read the contract carefully.

The monthly salary is fifteen silver coins, including food and accommodation.

The job is to produce a certain amount of healing stones and painkillers for the mercenary group every month, and there is no obligation to fight.

He hesitated for a moment: "If I want to take the initiative to participate in some battles, what should I do?"

Bald man: "Whatever you want."

Gao Jianuo said nothing more and signed his name immediately, officially joining the Grey Eagle Mercenary Group.

(End of this chapter)