Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 22 Yamato Squad
Four people on two horses rode along the dry official road, kicking up clouds of dust as they came.

Four grown men were crammed onto two horses. It seemed that this was not a strong team, but a typical makeshift troupe.

According to the original plot, the group that would have surrounded and captured Chen Mo would have been at least a second-tier mercenary group.

After all, this was a bounty from the Zircon family of the Turquoise Kingdom.

When the Swift Owl of Black Crow Castle sent word that one of his direct descendants had been suspected of being murdered by an apprentice and that the suspect might have fled to the Southern Continent, the head of the Zircon family displayed textbook "aristocratic anger"—polite, restrained, and with just the right amount of loss of composure.

With so many children in the family, he couldn't even remember what the one he sent to Black Crow Castle looked like, so there was absolutely no emotional connection.

However, the honor of the zircon family must not be desecrated.

It's unrealistic to send family warriors to the Southern Continent to deal with the situation. The status of a nobleman is useful in one's own country, but once abroad, it might only get you a table at the front during a meal, and that's about it.

Which noble family doesn't have a long and distinguished lineage? Especially this generation of nobles, most of whom are descendants of the Sword-Holding Nobles who emerged from the Hundred Years' War. If you trace their lineage back a little, you might find that they all have blood ties between them!
For this slightly troublesome problem, Zircon has its own way of dealing with it: offering a reward.

Going through the official mercenary guild channels? Too slow! For top-level missions like transnational assassinations, the scrutiny from various countries can drive anyone mad. The procedures are so cumbersome they're almost despairing, taking anywhere from two or three months to a year and a half, and if the other party intentionally delays...

A certain Radiant Templar Knight who defected from the Mist Moon Divine Court and lived a carefree life in the Sky Empire is a living example—but the Sky Empire's Mercenary Guild kept demanding that Mist Moon provide evidence and review the process, dragging out the mission announcement period for forty-seven years, turning the assassination mission into an obituary notice.

Taking everything into consideration, in order to get rid of this "unknown prospective apprentice" more quickly and effectively, Zircon's family went through underground channels.

The old mercenary Luke told Chen Mo so many anecdotes about the mainland and interesting stories from various countries, but he ultimately missed an important point: in addition to the mercenary guilds in official institutions, there are mercenary black markets in every country and region.

When you post a mission to a mercenary guild, you must comply with the laws and regulations of the country you are in. But what if there are many missions that do not comply with these regulations?

Where there is demand, there will be a market; what cannot be kept in the sunlight will naturally retreat into darkness.

Those demands from the shadows, those shady thefts, robberies, assassinations, and massacres, flowed like an underground river, giving birth to the monstrous mercenary black market.

While Chen Mo was still gazing at the sea of ​​clouds from his airship, the Zircon family's magical communication had already reached Whitestone City. The moment his feet touched the soil of the Southern Continent, the team that had accepted the order was already eagerly preparing at the Whitestone outpost.

The zircon family's plan was perfect, but unfortunately, the world always loves to play cruel jokes.

The initial bounty set by the Zircon family patriarch was forty gold coins—a huge sum that would tempt even a medium-sized mercenary group. Using it to buy the little golden retriever—the "posthumous name" of that unfortunate nineteenth in line of succession—was a fitting tribute to his status.

However, the person in charge was the eldest son of the Zircon family. This future head of the family naturally disliked any of his "brothers" who were ranked after him.

So he casually spent thirty coins: "Black Crow said he's just a trainee apprentice who can only summon skeleton spearmen. Ten coins are enough to kill him a hundred times, why waste them?"

The head steward turned to the foreign affairs steward and instructed, "It's been decided from above: a reward of three gold coins. Hurry up, don't let that kid get away."

The foreign affairs steward informed the deacon: "Sixty silver coins, that's quite a lot. This is a task from the Zircon family, so I'm sure some sensible mercenaries will volunteer."

When the final mission was released on the underground black market in Whitestone, all that was left was twenty silver coins, plus a vague "friendship of the Zircon family".

By this point, the financial appeal had faded, leaving only the aristocratic status of the Zircon family as a guarantee of value.

Then, some interested mercenary groups inquired and found out that the little necromancer apprentice with the skeleton had arrived in a floating spaceship chartered by a young master from the Cloud Mist Territory. So, the "friendship of the Zircon family" might bring "discontent from the Emerald Duchy." Oh well, whoever wants this little bit of money can have it.

In the end, only the isolated and penniless [Mountain Vine] adventurer team was left to take on this mission.

The captain was a veteran bronze-patterned swordsman, and the team included a newly promoted bronze-patterned scout, plus two lackeys who didn't even have any rank. They had been lying in ambush on the earthen slope outside the wasteland, and seeing that the coachman had indeed obediently driven the carriage into the pre-arranged "slaughterhouse," they immediately spurred their skinny horses and charged over menacingly.

At least that's how they feel.

Rushing into the wilderness and seeing the lone carriage, Captain [Mountain Vine] felt much more at ease. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "You little brat from Black Crow! Come out and show your grandpa..." Before he finished speaking, a dark, round thing spun around and flew precisely towards them.

They were met with a defensive grenade.

Don't be fooled by the words "attack" and "defense." In actual combat, the defensive approach is far more ferocious than the offensive approach.

The offensive type emphasizes mobility and is designed to be thrown while charging. It produces over 300 fragments with an effective kill radius of three to four meters.

Defensive grenades are meant to be thrown from trenches or fortifications, used for holding positions. The one Chen Mo has is an enhanced version, containing over 1,600 steel balls. Its effective kill radius is at least double that of offensive grenades, and anyone within 25 meters could be injured.

Using the carriage as cover, Chen Mo threw out the 82-2 and immediately dodged behind the carriage.

boom--!
A dull thud echoed across the wasteland.

The [Mountain Vine] team was somewhat alert; the moment Chen Mo threw out the unidentified object, the riders instinctively pulled on the reins, attempting to turn. Unfortunately, it was too late!
The densely packed steel balls were like a metal storm, scattering wildly in a radial pattern and emitting a chilling shriek.

The bronze-patterned swordsman at the forefront was the first to be hit. He instinctively reached out to block, but it was to no avail. The steel ball easily pierced through the thin leather armor, making a teeth-grinding "pfft pfft" sound.

Before the shock on his face could fully register, the shockwave blasted him off his horse like a sack of potatoes.

The teammate behind him was slightly luckier—the captain in front of him became his human shield, absorbing most of the explosive force. Even so, several steel balls mercilessly pierced his thigh and side. More deadly, one of them cunningly pierced his throat, instantly twisting his piercing scream into a strange and short "ho..." sound, abruptly stopping him.

The two poor warhorses suffered the most physical damage. Their mournful cries were drowned out by the explosion. The two large horses crashed to the ground, their heavy bodies tumbling six or seven meters away under the immense inertia. Countless bloody holes gushed from their bellies and necks, and scalding blood flowed out like a stream, instantly soaking the dry ground red.

Steel balls, shockwaves, flames, and the crushing impact of a fallen warhorse—a single grenade swiftly and cleanly took down all four mercenaries.

Of the four, only the bronze-patterned scout reacted the fastest. The instant the grenade flew, he almost instinctively made a beautiful tuck-in move, narrowly avoiding most of the deadly steel balls.

However, man proposes, God disposes; the fallen, heavy warhorse fell squarely on him, pinning him down and rendering him unable to move.

The henchmen behind him, no longer shielded by the copper pattern, had holes ripped open in their abdomens, and as they were thrown through the air, their intestines mixed with blood flowed out.

He tried in vain to cover it with his hands, but he couldn't lift his arms. His bloodshot eyes were filled with disbelief and confusion.

Didn't they say I haven't entered the ranks yet, but am a prospective apprentice?

Zircon is a scam!

(End of this chapter)