Ni Qianjun originally intended to enter the city to meet Yue Jinghua, but as the deputy commander, he had too many affairs to attend to after entering the city, so he gave Yue Jinghua a ring as a pledge, asking her to come to the camp on time to meet him.
Mercenary Groups use the sky as their cover and the ground as their bed; when they travel, they are equipped with campaign tents.
Take, for example, the Reversed Fire Mercenary Group, which ranks sixth on the mercenary list; their members are well-trained and only go to Polo City to buy daily necessities, never residing in the city.
Yue Jinghua secured her luggage and rode out, covering a half-mile journey, when she saw two different-colored Mercenary Banners fluttering atop the hills ahead.
The two Mercenary Banners to the east and west: the one on the east was rectangular with a golden background and red characters, boasting a lifelike flame leaping on the fabric.
The flag on the west was triangular, with blue and white graphics, featuring an Ice Blade Sword and Shield woven onto it.
Yue Jinghua spurred her horse forward, and as she approached the hills, she encountered two sword-bearing mercenaries with Blue Helmets.
"Halt, this area requires the permission of the King of Shang and is the stationed grounds of Reversed Fire and Blue Crystal Mercenary Groups. All unrelated people, within a mile's radius, must detour," seeing Yue Jinghua with an ugly face, burdened with a nondescript baggage and an ordinary horse, the two guarding mercenaries looked at her with disdain.
Yue Jinghua had learned earlier from the "Continent History" that mercenaries are the second-largest profession on the continent, next to armies, for individuals who practice Dark Power.
Based on the number of mercenaries, the Continent Mercenary Corps are divided into Mercenary Groups, Mercenary Teams, Mercenary Groups, and United Mercenary Camps. A Mercenary Group is a duo of mercenaries. A Mercenary Team refers to a group of mercenaries with fewer than ten members. As for Mercenary Groups, they are classified into hundred-member groups, thousand-member groups, and Super Mercenary Groups, with numbers ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands.
The United Mercenary Camp is a temporary cooperative relationship formed between mercenary groups for some special mercenary tasks.
The most significant difference between mercenaries and armies is that armies are supported by state institutions, whereas mercenaries are supported by the civilian populace. Whether it's merchant-sponsored explorations or private escort, mercenaries can be seen everywhere.
Mercenary tasks, according to their difficulty, can be categorized into Stone, Shell, Pearl, Jade, Diamond, and Unrivaled six major grades. Each grade further divides the respective tasks into three categories based on difficulty: easy, normal, and hard, which are then marked as Blue, Yellow, and Red.
Stone grade tasks are mostly completed by novice mercenaries, while Shell and Pearl grade tasks are undertaken by skilled mercenaries. Tasks of Jade or even Diamond grade often require the deployment of a Mercenary Group.
As for Unrivaled Tasks, they are rare occurrences, only appearing once every decade or so.
The Reversed Fire and Blue Crystal are currently the sixth and seventh-ranked large-scale Mercenary Groups on the continent, with historically good relationships. For this Blue Diamond Level mercenary task, a small elite force from both groups was mobilized.
"I am an escort alchemist with the Reversed Fire Mercenary Group; Deputy Commander Ni Qianjun has asked for me, this is his token," Yue Jinghua took out the ring given to her by Ni Qianjun.
"Berserk Lion King," the two Blue Crystal Mercenary Group members recognized the ring in Yue Jinghua's hand, their expressions changed dramatically, and their attitude towards Yue Jinghua shifted from initial scorn to anxious respect.
The ring in Yue Jinghua's hand was not just any ordinary ring. It was an award given by the Mercenary Guild to the victor of the once-every-five-year Mercenary Newcomer King Competition. Only the final winner of the individual contest could receive such a ring. Rumor has it that the ring was forged from the rare Dark Pill of a Sixth-stage Melted Rock Mad Lion, capable of accelerating the rapid condensation of Dark Power throughout the bearer's body, a High-level Spiritual Treasure.
Five years ago, Ni Qianjun was a little mercenary just starting out, joining Reversed Fire through his brother's influence. At that time, many in the Reversed Fire Mercenary Group disapproved of him, so he defeated six first-rate mercenary rookies in that edition of the Mercenary Newcomer King Competition, becoming the Young Mercenary King of that year.
This ring had since become Ni Qianjun's personal treasure, rarely seen away from him. Recognizing the "Berserk Lion King," the two members of the Blue Crystal Mercenary Group dared not neglect her any further and hurriedly let her pass.
Just as Yue Jinghua was about to proceed, with a sharp neigh, her horse blew out a few heavy breaths through its nostrils, appearing somewhat restless.
"How dare you two, who allowed you to let unrelated individuals in without authorization," a sharp rebuke fell, and a snow-white Fifth Rank Ice River Tooth Tiger leaped down from the higher hills.
The Ice River Tooth Tiger's body was clad with thick white scales, from its mouth protruded blade-like fangs, and chilling glinting claws were affixed to its limbs.