71 Chapter 71. Killing Cloud Mercenary Group

Morning came and Wenella left early in the morning for the Capital.

"It's about time," Leo spoke as he walked out his room and walked down to the bottom floor of the inn. And he saw Richard waiting there in the same table that they were sitting on the night before.

"Hey," Richard said as he waved hello to him.

"Don't you have work to do?" Leo asked as he joined Richard on the table.

"Not really. I'm the village elder so I just go around overseeing how the village is going," Richard answered with a light laugh. But suddenly his tone got serious as he leaned forward on the table and look at Leo with unfriendly eyes, "What is your intention?"

"Huh?" Confusion appeared on Leo's face as he looked at Richard with an extremely lost look.

"Garrick has spent his whole life here and you are just a passerby, for what reason are you taking him to waste his life on the battlefield?" Richard asked suspiciously.

"Oh, so that was what you mean..." Leo smiled as he relaxed his body and replied, "I was also a villager from the southern borders. I know how Garrick is feeling and I couldn't help but want to help him," Leo replied.

"I understand that you want to help him but what assurance do you have that he will survive and come back alive? I don't even care if he doesn't place in the rankings, I just want him back," Richard immediately questioned.

"I see. Well, I can guarantee that he will survive and come back. Even more, I can guarantee that he will get a spot in the top thousand rankings," Leo replied with an assuring smile.

"Hmph. I'm impressed with your courage but his wife is one of my nieces. I don't want her to suffer. I can tell that you are very strong but I still have my doubts," Richard spoke in a seldom tone.

"I can totally understand. Good for you, we are going to the nearby city to go and sign up as mercenaries and then we will come back and stay here for two days," Leo informed Richard of his plan.

Creak!

The doors at the entrance of the inn slowly creaked open as Garrick walked in. He waved at them and joined in the conversation.

He was wearing his casual attire and the only difference was that he had an extremely heavy axe with a rusted silver blade and a firm sturdy wooden handle strapped on his back.

"So what's the plan, brother?" Garrick eagerly as he sat down on the chair.

"I didn't know you were an axe user," Leo commented as his brought out a long stylish black cloak and gave it to Garrick, "Take this and wear it. If we form a mercenary group, then we need a uniform of some sort."

Garrick's face suddenly froze for a few seconds as he gazed at the cloak. The cloak was made of extremely tough silk that was extremely light and breathable, ordinary people would definitely not be able to afford such specially embroidered clothes.

But wanting to reject Leo's kind gesture, Garrick happily took it as he commented, "Haha! Thanks! My ancestors all specialized in the axe."

"Interesting... Anyways, here is the plan," Leo immediately filled Garrick on the information on how he was planning it to go.

"I see, how interesting. Can we leave now?" Garrick asked excitedly as he could not hide his energy at all. Ever since a kid, he always had a passive interest towards fights and battles so the thought of fighting and slaying the heads of enemies seemed to really ignite his battle spirit.

"Haha! Sure," Leo replied as he gave Richard a confident nod and got up.

"Well then. I will wait for you guys to return before giving you the map then," Richard spoke as he got up and walked them to the village entrance.

Leo and Garrick quickly made their way to the city and nothing particular happened during the trip there.

They spent their day learning and getting to know more about each other. And somehow, Leo's fondness of him only grew and got stronger.

During the journey, Leo was extremely curious about the axe that was hanging on Garrick's back. And eventually not being able to hold back his curiosity, he asked during a short break that they took, "Hey Garrick, why do you keep that axe with you? I know that even though your a villager you must have enough money to buy a brand new one right? This one is all rusty and old."

"Haha. I was expecting you to ask that," Garrick laughed as he took out the axe and began stroking the blade and handle with care and passion, "This is a family heirloom which was given to me by my grandfather. He told me to never replace this and never sell it."

Hearing that it was a family heirloom, Leo got even more curious about the axe as he observed it with his heavenly eyes.

Temporary shock appeared on his face as he saw that the rusty layer on the surface of the axe was the only evidence of old age of the axe and there was no sign of corrosion or oldness. The body that was made of wood was still firm and its branches all seemed to still be strong while it blade was still thick and sharp, strong enough to cut even hardened steel.

"Garrick, how long have you been training with the axe?" Leo asked curiously.

"Oh. I wasn't expecting that," Garrick suddenly paused as he began to immerse himself in deep thinking for a few seconds before answering, "probably about twenty years now. My grandfather taught me about how to use an axe or as he called it 'The Way Of The Axe'"

"I see," Leo replied.

"Did he teach you any arts that used axes?"

"Haha. No, he didn't teach me any arts. Instead, he told me a quote, 'Demons Run, Angels Flee. Night is eternal and will drown out the Sun in it's rise and setting.' Along with that he also said that we were descended from a great clan and one day someone would restore our clan again. He would decipher the message and meaning behind this and teach us," Garrick replied with a sad disappointed but somewhat hopeful expression.

"Interesting... The quote must mean something, there something magical about it. I believe your grandfather," Leo suddenly spoke.

"Really?" Garrick asked with a tone of ridicule.

"Yes. That axe is not normal, you truly must keep safe," Leo commented nonchalantly before getting up again as they made their way to the city.

On their way there, they decided that mercenary group would be led by the both of them and they both agreed to name it, 'Killing Cloud Mercenary.'

Eventually, they made it to the city and faced no problem with signing up.

"Ok, you guys are all set!" the attendant spoke as she handed the official license of the mercenary.

"Haha, we finally did it!" Garrick laughed as he was filled with uncontainable energy.

"Haha indeed. From today, we are now brothers that share life and death together," Leo spoke with an extremely serious tone as he placed his arm In front if him in a diagonal direction.

Seeing this, Garrick nodded seriously as he also did the same and they shared a really cool handshake.

'If only there were people like Garrick back on Earth,' Leo thought with a tone of nostalgia.

And just like that, an important event in history occured.

That day marked the beginning of a legend.

The legend of the Killing Cloud Mercenaries.

A name that would shake the whole Crystal empire so fiercely that its mere mention would cause the people to suddenly speak with caution.