Mercenary Wars

Chapter 262 Orcs
(Slight revisions to the previous chapter)
“Level 8 Giant Horned Deer, Level 7 Clefthoof Bull, Level 7 Hammered Elephant, Level 8 Earthmane Camel… I have a total of forty-seven pieces of relevant information here.” As Gideon spoke, he took out a heavy leather folder from under the table. When he opened it, he revealed densely packed parchment pages, each containing detailed information about the magical beasts in fine handwriting.

"Thirty-six of them are shared intelligence, which you can find out from any broker. The consultation fee is ten silver coins per piece—that's the price for all brokers."

"There are also eleven pieces of my exclusive intelligence, which you can only get from me. The consultation fee is one gold coin per piece."

"According to the Adventurer's Code, all of this information is prohibited from being shared outside of the adventure party."

After saying all that, Gideon paused briefly, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then continued, "If you want all forty-seven pieces of information, the consultation fee will be a total of fourteen gold coins and sixty silver coins. Just give me fourteen gold coins."

A bit expensive…

However, Gaucano also knew that this was the case, and the whereabouts of high-level magical beasts were always high-value intelligence.

After all, putting everything else aside, a level 7 monster core alone can sell for at least 200 gold coins.

He paid fourteen gold coins.

Gideon skillfully put away the gold coins, then pulled out a stack of parchment from the folder, carefully examined it, and then handed him the information recording the whereabouts of the monsters.

Gao Jiano picked it up and took a look.

Unsurprisingly, most of these magical beasts inhabit the Tidal Lands or certain dangerous, sparsely populated areas. Only a handful live near human settlements, but even they usually roam a vast area and are unpredictable.

Only in this way could they have survived to this day; otherwise, greedy and powerful intelligent beings would have skinned and dismembered them long ago.

Gao Jiano browsed through the information.

He noticed that each piece of intelligence was followed by a number.

"This is?"

Gideon explained, "This is the number of people who have bought intelligence from me. The larger the number, the more people have bought intelligence, and the greater the competition you may face."

He chuckled and added, “You can also choose to buy out the intelligence at a high price. After the buyout, I won’t sell this intelligence again. However, usually, intelligence that is likely to be bought out will never appear on the market in the first place.”

Gao Jiano understood.

He also discovered that the numbers noted after the shared intelligence were much larger than those for exclusive intelligence.

The difference between the two is approximately tenfold.

That's probably the difference between ten times the price.

After a while.

Gideon pointed to the intelligence report: "As you can see, most of these magical beasts inhabit the Tidal Lands, and no one knows when they'll have a chance to find them. So, if you need more exclusive information, I can introduce you to other brokers."

"The more intelligence you have, the higher your success rate in finding your prey," he added.

“Okay.” Gao Jiano nodded.

Gideon stood up, straightened his clothes, and then led him to find other adventure brokers.

As they walked, Gideon suddenly whispered, "By the way, don't tell any other agents about the discount I gave you."

“I understand.” Gao Jiano nodded.

Regardless of the industry, everyone is extremely wary of competitors lowering their prices.

There must be a price agreement among these adventure brokers to limit their competition.

If he were cunning enough, he could easily report Gideon's price-cutting behavior and receive a reward.

But he obviously won't do that.

In the ecosystem of the Adventurers' Guild and indeed all human groups, there are many unspoken understandings that are similar in nature.

Through Gideon's introduction, Gaogano purchased more intelligence from other adventure brokers, bringing his total intelligence holdings to over one hundred pieces.

“That’s about it,” Gideon said. “In my experience, if you keep a close eye on the recent movements of the Tidelands based on this intelligence, it won’t be long before you find an opportunity to hunt.”

"By the way, do you need teammates?"

"No."

For the next period of time, Gaugano would pay attention to the news about the Tidelands in the Fitzroy Prophet's Bulletin every day, based on the intelligence he collected from the Adventurers' Guild.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Gideon had predicted.

Just two weeks later, the Fitzroy Prophet's Express foretold the imminent opening of a related tidal land.

Gaogano took leave in advance and set off immediately when the first high tide in the Tidal Land was about to end.

Whether you ask for leave or not makes little difference.

However, as a loyal reader of the "Ax Magic Academy Survival Handbook" and the academy's rules, Gao Jiano knew that skipping class theoretically carried some risks, especially for a relatively long period of time.

So he got a leave slip from the exploration club, asked for six days off, and then set off.

The target tidal land is located in the Kiso Mountains.

To be precise, it is the "Northern Kiso Mountains".

This vast mountain range is divided by Mount Sumeru; south of Mount Sumeru is the "South Kiso Mountains," and north of it is the "North Kiso Mountains."

Gaucano first traveled to the Marquisate of Mecklen through a portal.

Geographically speaking, teleporting to the holy city of Mosaroya might be a more convenient option.

However, teleporting to Mosaroya required prior application and a waiting period, so Gaucano had to settle for the slightly more distant Margrave of Mecklenburg.

The ruler of the Marquisate of Mecklen is naturally a marquis.

This is actually quite rare.

Although marquises are generally considered to be a title lower than dukes, there are actually fewer marquises than dukes.

The reason is that the title of marquis has a strong military connotation and is generally only granted to border countries.

For example, the Marquisate of Mekren was a country located in the northernmost part of the Mosaic Kingdoms. It frequently dealt with orcs and faced immense military pressure, which is why it existed as a marquisate.

The social atmosphere of this country was also very different from any country Gaucano had ever seen before.

In short, the local people are known for their fierce and unruly nature.

After exiting the portal, Gao Jiano hadn't walked far when he saw two groups of people fighting in the street. Instead of stopping them, several people who appeared to be security guards cheered them on.

Of course, he had no time to watch a street brawl. The destination, the Land of Tides, was quite far from the Marquisate of Mecklen and located within the Kiso Mountains; he needed to hurry to arrive before the next high tide.

So after leaving Mecklen, Gaogano immediately grasped the Blood Crystal, activated Blood Rush, and with the help of fourteen swift breezes, sped off towards the southeast.

In this state, his speed is quite astonishing.

According to Gaucano's own estimation, he was probably moving faster than a high-speed train at that moment.

Along the way, mountains and rivers rushed past beneath his feet, and towering ancient trees surged backward like green waves. Occasionally, when he encountered deep valleys and gorges, he would leap across them, leaving a faint blood-red trail in the air. After traversing mountains and ridges, he arrived at his destination just a few hours later.

Compared to most of the tidal lands Gaucano had seen before, this one seemed rather deserted, with few people waiting outside and probably even fewer already inside.

After all, this place is located in the Kiso Mountains, and it is a relatively inland area. Although it is not the most dangerous core area, it is enough to deter most low-level adventurers, onlookers, and those who cannot arrive in time.

After resting for a while, Gao Jiano took out the intelligence he had obtained from the Adventurers' Guild and read it carefully.

According to intelligence, there is a Clefthoof Bull of at least level seven in this tidal land.

The Clefthoof Bull is almost certainly an earth-type magical beast.

If the Clefthoof Bull can be found and killed as soon as possible, the Wind Prince's oracle can be fulfilled.

As long as the Wind Prince's oracle is fulfilled, Gaucano can continue to use Thunder Fury, gaining an extra trump card to save his life in critical moments.

Besides intelligence, he also had a map of this tidal region.

However, the map is rather simple.

It is not possible to directly pinpoint the location of the Clefthoof cattle.

Once inside, he would need to search the area.

Fortunately, Gaucano possesses the vision of a demon, not only with excellent eyesight but also the ability to directly perceive the target's level, making his search efficiency far superior to that of ordinary people.

Once you find the Clefthoof, killing it shouldn't be a big problem.

The biggest problem may still be the competition from other adventurers.

Gaucano looked around.

There weren't many adventurers around him, only five or six, but they were all of high level.

Theoretically, those waiting for the second high tide should be those named from level four to eight. However, according to Gao Jiano's observation, only one of these people was level six, while the rest were level seven and eight. Moreover, each of them had a cold expression and looked like they were not to be trifled with.

Gaucano believed that some of them must have come for the clefthoof cattle.

He pondered for a moment, then quietly found a secluded spot and entered a demonic state.

Once he enters his demonic state, his spellcasting level immediately reaches level ten, allowing him to cast sixth-circle spells.

He then smeared some blood on his face, chanted an incantation, and used a blood disguise that upgraded him to the sixth ring.

The blood disguise of the sixth ring is so convincing that even an eighth-level spellcaster would have almost no chance of detecting it.

After changing his clothes, Gao Jiano looked like a completely different person.

In this way, even if he enters a demonic state in front of others, he doesn't have to worry about the news leaking out.

Not long after.

The tides are rising in the tidal zone.

The moment the tide came in, Gaugano immediately rushed at full speed toward the snake-cutting line, heading straight for the area where the clefthoof was most likely to appear.

He didn't stop even when he encountered plants that resembled forget-me-nots along the way.

After all, a level 7 Clefthoof Ox is much more valuable than an Everlasting Moss.

Moreover, there's a chance to harvest the Forgotten Moss again after it's gone. If the Clefthoof Bull is stolen, it's not easy to find another level 7 or 8 earth-type magical beast.

At full speed, fueled by a blood-burning sprint, Gaucano quickly ventured deep into the Tidal Lands, scanning his surroundings as his beholder eyes scrutinized every suspicious ripple.

Just then, a rather dense ring of ripples at the edge of his field of vision caught Gaucano's attention.

When he focuses his attention, he can immediately determine the level of the target.

Level seven!

This delighted Gaucano, who thought he had discovered the Clefthoof.

But as the distance between them shortened, he soon realized something was wrong.

It's not a clefthoof.

Earth-type magical beasts are known for their large size, and the Clefthoof Bull is considered one of the larger earth-type magical beasts.

However, the level 7 creature at the edge of the field of vision was clearly not very large and could not possibly be a Clefthoof.

Upon further observation, Gao Jiano gradually discerned the other party's identity.

Orcs.

In the distance, amidst the forests, a green-skinned humanoid creature darted swiftly. He was a massive figure, perhaps two meters tall, his green skin resembling that of a troll or goblin, but his robust and muscular physique revealed his true race. He wore rough animal hide armor, carried a huge black battle axe on his back, and his exposed arms were covered in scars and magical markings. His fangs protruded from his jaw, gleaming white in the sunlight.

At this moment, the green-skinned orc was moving swiftly through the forest at a speed not much slower than Gaucano's, sometimes leaping more than ten meters in a single bound.

Gaucano originally had no intention of having anything to do with this orc.

But he soon realized that this was probably unlikely.

The orcs also appear to be searching for the Clefthoof Bull.

In this way, conflict between the two sides is inevitable.

The good news is that, thanks to the Eye Demon's far-sightedness, although Gaucano has spotted the orcs, the orcs have not spotted him.

The orcs are in the open, he is in the shadows; the initiative is in his hands.

Moreover, he doesn't need to adhere to any doctrines or "humanitarianism" when dealing with orcs, who are enemies of humanity. He can use whatever is most efficient: demonization, ambush, murder, and robbery.

After a moment's thought, Gaucano decided to follow the orcs at a distance, waiting to find the Clefthoof before making his move.

(End of this chapter)