Chapter 427 - 72: The Idiot Captain
The so-called treasure map marking the Ancient Heroic Tomb is, in fact, a map of Five Saints Town.
That is to say, the Ancient Heroic Tomb is located within Five Saints Town.
However, exactly where within the town? This is the unanimous question among all the mercenaries who have seen the treasure map.
Over the past few days, people have started searching every corner of the town for anything related to the Ancient Hero.
This includes the inn where the Dragon Slayer Hero temporarily resided as well as other places he visited. Every inch of the town has been turned over, but sadly, no clues about the location of the Heroic Graveyard have been found.
In fact, Compass’s mother’s Mercenary Group had once searched the town according to the treasure map, but never found any leads, so they temporarily shelved the map.
Because the town’s mercenaries have been distracted by the search for the Ancient Heroic Tomb, the Mercenary Branch’s task acceptance and completion rates have dropped to their lowest points.
Last time, Luo Lin personally promised that Second Generation Soldiers could start undertaking team tasks, which also opened a new way for Yue Jinghua to earn Mercenary Points.
After all, compared to the villager tasks received at the tavern, the tasks from the Mercenary Branch, especially the team tasks, offer higher reward points, often worth several other tasks combined.
Just as Yue Jinghua was ready to start taking on new tasks, a new problem arose: her small squad was understaffed.
A qualified small squad that can take on team tasks must have at least five core members (meaning official team members), and Yue Jinghua’s squad currently has only three members. Weiwei, being a non-official combatant, can only count as support personnel, and individuals like Yue Chenyezi, with their Chi Mei Clan identity, Yue Jinghua cannot conveniently have them appear in public.
The personnel issue has become a significant problem that Yue Jinghua needs to resolve immediately.
"If we’re short on people, then let’s just recruit. As long as we offer the right price and Mercenary Points rewards, I believe even the Second Generation Soldiers can recruit suitable members," advised by Boss Helen, Yue Jinghua immediately posted recruitment notices in various places, including Helen Tavern, White Moon Pavilion, the bulletin boards, and both the new and old districts.
She thought she could recruit suitable members within a few days, but after three days, not only had there been no successful recruitment, but there hadn’t been a single inquiry.
"The reputation of Second Generation Soldiers isn’t good, especially after you recently made the treasure map public. Mercenaries out there think that following such a foolish captain has no future," Yue Jinghua, still unable to recruit suitable members despite several salary increases, resorted to drinking alone at the tavern.
Seeing her predicament, Helen consoled her, and only then did Yue Jinghua come to understand.
A foolish captain?!
Suddenly, Yue Jinghua felt as if a few crows had flown over her head.
"Not only that, but you’ve offended the wrong people. Someone has already put the word out: if anyone dares to join Second Generation Soldiers, they can forget about finding a foothold in town," Helen hinted, and Yue Jinghua understood that Helen was likely referring to Li Rui and the Five Saints Mercenary Branch.
Offending the old mercenaries was an irreparable grave mistake.
In Five Saints Town, maybe Li Rui’s people wouldn’t act directly, but since they are mercenaries, they must enter Xuan Beast Ridge to carry out missions. Once they leave Five Saints Town, what might happen in the shadows, well, that remains unknown.
Every year, the number of mercenaries who disappear without a trace due to conflicts amongst them is by no means small in Five Saints Town, and no mercenary with any sense would risk their life to follow a squad that might be stripped of its Mercenary Squad qualification by the end of the year.
Having stayed in a disqualified squad carries a stigma similar to that of having worked in a modern bankrupt company and being forced to lay off staff.
After Helen’s analysis, Yue Jinghua instantly felt that the chances of recruiting mercenaries in the town were slim.
"Right now, there are only two possible approaches. One is to find some equally disreputable mercenaries and tempt them with a hefty reward. They might agree to join you, but such mercenaries are mostly unreliable and might stab you in the back during the mission.
The second possibility is to recruit some uninformed mercenaries from other Mercenary Towns. However, there’s a downside to this; once they arrive at Five Saints Town, they may very well just leave."Helen’s tone was clearly that of someone enjoying the drama.
This made Yue Jinghua even more depressed. She gulped down a pint of beer, was just about to tab her bill and leave when she suddenly noticed a dispute unfolding in a corner of the tavern.
Where there’s alcohol, disputes are inevitable once people’s minds get fogged by it. Thus, the number of arguments in Helen Tavern each day is countless.
As long as it doesn’t result in loss of life or the tavern getting smashed, Helen would typically turn a blind eye and not make too much of a fuss.
Yue Jinghua had seen many such incidents and rarely intervened, but the dispute tonight caught her attention because the person involved was someone she knew – the prostitute was Dongdong.
The first prostitute Yue Jinghua sought out when she first came to Helen Tavern.
The dispute was between a Two-star Mercenary and a prostitute.
Clearly, the mercenary had taken a liking to the prostitute and inquired about the price for spending the night.
Little did he know, the prostitute said she was only helping to promote the sale of drinks in the tavern and did not accompany guests overnight, which simply put, meant she sold drinks, not her body.
In Five Saints Town, the means by which prostitutes earn a living also indeed fall into two categories: those who sell their bodies and those who do not.
Dongdong belonged to the latter category, just as when Yue Jinghua first met her. She provided information, accompanied guests with a few jokes in the tavern, and occasionally tolerated some liberties taken with her, but stubbornly refused to sell her body.
But when the man heard Dongdong refused to entertain customers, he suddenly flew into a rage, insisting she was disrespecting him.
One word led to another, and a quarrel broke out.
Upon seeing this, Dongdong tried to get up and leave, but she was held down by the drunken mercenary, who started to molest her in public.
The mercenary was manhandling Dongdong, already having torn off much of her clothes, and all around them in the tavern, mercenaries were jeering, yet nobody was willing to intervene.
The harassing mercenary cursed while he molested her: "I’m deeming you worthy by spending money on you, and yet you have the nerve to reject me for some worthless guy."
Dongdong, her face covered by her long hair, was initially pleading in a low voice. Hearing the mercenary’s words, her expression hidden behind her hair changed, and she suddenly bit fiercely, sinking her teeth into the mercenary’s hand: "He’s not worthless, he’s a mercenary, and he’s also my man."