Chapter 429 - 74: Demon Crossbow Mercenary
"Recruiting new mercenaries?" Dongdong asked in a hoarse voice, unable to believe that Yue Jinghua would save her only to target her man.
Seeing the dubious look on Dongdong’s face, Yue Jinghua said with dissatisfaction, "Do you also think, like those shortsighted people, that Second Generation Soldiers have no future, and consider me a foolish captain?"
"No," Dongdong hurriedly shook her head, "Captain Yue, including this time, this is the second time you’ve helped me. I know you’re not like what others say about you; you’re an amazing person."
In the days when Dongdong first met Yue Jinghua, she was living in dire straits. It was still cold, and because Dongdong refused to entertain clients, there wasn’t even enough firewood at home to keep warm. Thanks to the Gold Coins from Yue Jinghua, Dongdong was able to get through the winter with enough firewood and food.
"So what’s holding you back? Do you want to continue supporting that pretty boy?" Yue Jinghua was puzzled; she could see that Dongdong’s life was not going well.
A man, especially a mercenary, who can’t even secure his woman’s livelihood and allows her to be humiliated by others—such a top-grade man, if not for Yue Jinghua currently needing more hands, she would definitely have taught him a lesson, leaving him impotent.
"He’s not like that, he has never asked me to support him," Dongdong said with tears in her eyes, "To be honest with you, he’s not actually my man. I don’t even know his name."
She’s been supporting a man whose name she doesn’t even know for years?
Is there really such a living Lei Feng in this day and age?
Yue Jinghua looked incredulously at Dongdong, who was on the verge of tears.
Under Yue Jinghua’s persuasion, Dongdong brought her back to her own place.
The room was still pitch-black; Dongdong lit a smoky oil lamp, and the room was filled with dim yellow light.
Seeing this, Yue Jinghua took out a few Blue Snow Candles and gestured for Dongdong to light them.
Once the candles were lit, the room immediately brightened up.
Though the room was small and cramped, it was kept very clean and didn’t smell musty at all.
The only decent thing in the room was the wooden bed in the corner.
On the bed, there were a few thin blankets, and on the floor was a mat—where Dongdong slept each night.
There was a tall man lying on the bed, and Yue Jinghua wanted to approach but was stopped by Dongdong, "Captain Yue, don’t come closer. He has injuries, and they are severe. Sometimes they flare up in the middle of the night, and if he jumps up, he could hurt you."
"It doesn’t matter," as soon as Yue Jinghua entered the room, she sensed that the man lying on the bed had a stable breathing and wasn’t as severely wounded as Dongdong had described. On the contrary, the man exuded a strong Dark Energy, sharp and overwhelming, like a sword ready to burst at any moment.
The man seemed to be in a constant state of unconsciousness, but looking at his hands and feet sticking out from the blanket, his muscles weren’t atrophied from staying in bed for long.
This person doesn’t seem to be a waste.
While at Helen Tavern, Yue Jinghua came up with an idea after listening to Helen’s suggestion.
For the Mercenary Branch to start taking on better scored mercenary team tasks, it only needs to find five core members. There’s actually a big loophole in this.
The Branch only stipulates the need for five people, but never mentioned that these five must be fully able-bodied and lively.
So when Dongdong mentioned that her man was also a mercenary, Yue Jinghua immediately took action.
For one, she really couldn’t stand the people from the Benxiang Mercenary Group, and secondly, it was time for the "Second Generation Soldier" Mercenary Group to make an appearance.
Let’s see who dares to call her the "foolish" captain now.
To the people of Canglong Continent, Yue Jinghua’s methods might seem inconceivable, but Yue Jinghua, who hailed from the modern world, was already too familiar with the practice of using grand titles, like honorary consultants and special commentators, to disguise trivial matters.
Therefore, she had long planned to find a lazy mercenary who did nothing but mooch off others; little did she know she would encounter an unknown variable.
The man in the bed seemed unaware that another person had entered the room.
Pain etched across his face, marred by unsightly scars, he muttered indistinctly through cracked lips: "Water."
Upon hearing this, Dongdong quickly fetched some warm water and helped the man drink.
Dongdong watched over the man tenderly and with great care, after helping him drink the water, she took a piece of gauze and gently wiped his skin.
The man, seen by others as unbearably ugly, appeared utterly normal in Dongdong’s eyes, "I picked him up on my way escaping to Five Saints Town."
Dongdong spoke of her origins; she was from a small tribe that lay more than three hundred miles away from the Rui Song Federation. A few years ago, due to famine, she followed her tribespeople and migrated towards the relatively prosperous Five Saints Town.
But on the way, she was captured by a group of nefarious mercenaries, who took the tribe’s unsuspecting young women and sold them to a brothel.
After half a year in the brothel, unable to withstand life there, Dongdong finally escaped the place with the help of a matron, taking advantage of the night.
"I went on without stopping, carrying the dry food and water given by the matron, until I reached Maple Leaf Forest. But how could my strength compare to the well-horsed mercenaries? In that Maple Leaf Forest, I was captured. Despite being caught, I would rather die than return to a life worse than pigs and dogs in the brothel, and so, while the mercenaries were not paying attention, I bolted into the dark Maple Leaf Forest. I thought I was going to die there, but then..." Dongdong’s face flushed slightly as she touched the man’s chest, "I ran into him."
At this point, Dongdong, as if recalling something, abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to Yue Jinghua: "Captain Yue, I know you mean well in trying to help me, but you’ve seen his condition. Except for that one time in the Maple Leaf Forest, he has hardly ever been lucid. He’s not suitable for joining the ’Second Generation Soldier,’ let alone living a normal life."
"How will we know if we don’t try?" Yue Jinghua’s gaze sharpened, and she exclaimed, "If he’s a man, let him stand up and compete with me."
The man on the bed did not move an inch.
"Captain Yue," Dongdong grew discontented, "I’ve already told you, he’s not fit to be a mercenary anymore."
"Clang——" A lingering sword cry resounded within the room.
A thought struck Yue Jinghua; her Great Sword Lianyun had started to hum of its own accord.
The long, clear sound was as refreshing as the beating of a drum at twilight or a bell in the morning.
It was then that something extraordinary happened on the bed. The comatose, ugly man let out a sharp scream.
Hearing the scream, Dongdong’s expression changed drastically, "Captain Yue, hurry and leave this place."
"Clang, clang, clang," a burst of red light sprung forth.
"Color Worm, Forbidden Space."
By the time Dongdong realized what was happening, she was already outside the house.
On the bed, there was no longer any sign of the man. Instead, a Demon Crossbow, as tall as a person, stood proudly, emitting a series of piercing howls.