NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: Ashol
The City of Ashol was the safest spot in its region. While thousands of demons and a few dozen demon commanders were pressuring them, the soldiers and mercenaries within the city were powerful enough to defend the city.
The personal army of one of the nobles living in the area, the so called Mirsak's Knights are a force to be reckoned with. They have around Sixty internal energy users with a standing count of three-hundred for their regular soldiers. They were one of the main contributors in the city's defense alongside the one-thousand man strong legion of soldiers that were dispatched by the ruling powers.
Alongside them were a few heroic figures that have made a name for themselves over the years, like the Guild Leader of the most successful organization in the city. Lionel Brang, the so called Fist of Ashol.
The arrival of Klaye and his squad was a welcomed one, seeing as after the fall of the demon invasion monsters have become active once more. In the vacuum left behind by the demons, the monsters took their spot.
A powerful squad with six elite soldiers and Klaye himself who can rival a noble. Their evaluation was a smooth one, internal energy users are treated like first class citizens compared to the common folk. Though their party lacked a spellcaster, the sheer amount of elites puts them at a decent rank among the mercenaries. Evaluated as a B-Class squad they can go on the more dangerous missions presented by the association.
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"Mr. Brang, an elite squad of mercenaries... all internal energy users have just been evaluated at the mercenary's association."
"Good, try to get them on our side. The expansion of our guild should take priority now that the war has ended." Lionel Brang was a large man with an intimidating demeanor.
"Understood sir."
"Those Mirsak Knight bastards have been taking all of our new recruits, this batch will be a fine addition to our guild."
The expansion of Lionel Brang's guild has halted since the war due to how willing the Mirsak knights have been in accepting new recruits. They offer a much higher rate of shares in loot and the housing that they can provide has been a great element in Lionel's loss of profit and manpower.
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"With such an enticing offer one would think that they'd bite... but I can respect that." Lionel thought out loud as the report showed a refusal coming from the party to both Lionel and the Knights' proposal.
The party, a group that dubbed themselves the "Spears of Khan" have presented themselves as sell-swords who work for an already established organization. Meaning that while they are open to joining expeditions they will never fully commit to a local group.
Taking them out of the pool of recruits all together.
"It's a shame, that Klaye fellow seems like a strong contender too."
With Klaye's one month time limit he had to establish a few things. A living space for his party, a decent source of income and an influx of the resource that his master requires.
The first two can come rather easily, they can just rent a loft with how much money they can gain from hunting. Gaining crystals on the other-hand is easier said than done due to how expensive they can be, especially nowadays when the demand for them is high.
The war against demons reminded the general populace of the importance of equipment and being ready for a crisis. Due to this even the common folk are now starting to buy magical trinkets that can aide in their survival. A hot commodity at the moment are enchanted clothing which uses up a lot of magic crystals.
With a limited stay and his whole squad behind him, Klaye had a lot to do during his stay at the city.
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For the city of Ashol, the main threats normally come from the nearby forest or the mountain itself. The mountain is home to tribes of lizardmen while the forest is home to two labyrinths, naturally occurring structures that spawn monsters.
And while the main demon commanders that threatened the city have been destroyed a few of their companions have left eggs within the area. Eggs that can produce full grown demons within days of being left unattended.
The pay for hunting demons is the catch for most but the drop of magic crystals from such creatures is what enticed Klaye and his party. A one-way ticket to helping their creator.
Klaye's party is currently acting as one of the hunting parties tasked with the destruction of a cave filled with demon spawns. Fighting along side them is around 20 or so elite soldiers, with a tight fit in a cave sending out a multitude of regular troops would only send them to their early graves.
Klaye cleaved through newly hatched demons left and right as they advanced deeper into the cave.
At the end of the tunnel a large black figure welcomed the group.
Demon commanders and their emissaries are a potent threat but one that the large hunting squad should be capable of dealing with, but at a simple glance they soldiers knew that they were in for a bad time.
[Your units have encountered an opposing hero unit.]
"It's.... a high-demon!"
"Burn the flare scrolls! Hold this thing back!"
Klaye felt a shiver down his spine. 'Am I feeling fear?' He thought to himself as he barely dodged a flying orb of energy coming from the demon. Klaye has always been a calm but serious individual who faced his foes with a lot of courage.
"Reinforcements will arrive in roughly an hour! Hold it back until I get there." A magical message came from Lionel himself.
"SIR IT IS A HIGH-RANKED DEMON!" Responded a panicking soldier. High-ranked demons are considered as Class-3 or 4 threats that can devastate whole provinces all on their own.
Their bickering was something that Klaye had little to no care for, the fight ahead was what drove him.
'Our chance of winning is low.'
The demon waved its tail and decapitated another soldier.
'But a warrior is meant to die in battle.'
"HAHAHHHAHAHHA" Klaye did not feel fear at that moment.
All he felt as he took his last stand was a mixture of pride and excitement.