Chapter 18: Double S-Level Mission

"Sigh..." Amy let out a deep sigh. "Da Qingshan, do you know how painful it is to be without money?" As she spoke, Amy extended her right hand towards Da Qingshan, rubbing her thumb against her index and middle fingers in a gesture universally understood.

"What are you doing?" Da Qingshan asked, puzzled.

"Idiot, give me some money. Why are you saving so much? Planning to get married?" It seems that the disciples of shameless people are also synonymous with shamelessness, boldly asking a friend for money without a shred of embarrassment.

"Oh, alright. Including what I gave you today, I have a total of 8 gold coins here. You can have them all." Da Qingshan reached over to the bedside and pulled out something shiny.

According to research, it was this very gesture that began to spread as the way shameless people asked others for money.

In the early morning, Amy and Da Qingshan both got up early. Da Qingshan took Lü'er for a walk—this was something Chi Hanfeng had repeatedly emphasized before leaving: "Make sure to keep training Lü'er daily so it can grow quickly." Lü'er's morning routine, as arranged by Chi Hanfeng, included jumping from a height of over 40 meters ten times, jumping in place 50 times, flapping its wings 100 times, and running 10 kilometers.

Amy's morning lesson involved practicing communication with magical spirits. Magical spirits are peculiar creatures that enjoy freshness and the rising sun. Most magical spirits are most active in the morning and prefer to retreat into their magical spirit barriers by noon. The neutral spirits Amy studied were even more so. Therefore, the morning is the most precious time for every magician to enhance their communication skills with spirits.

To quickly elevate their mercenary ranks, Amy and Da Qingshan arrived at the Mercenary Guild's entrance early after breakfast, hoping to find new tasks.

Oh, how strange! A large group of people had gathered at the entrance of the Mercenary Guild, all looking up at something. This was unusual. From what Da Qingshan and Amy knew, although most people at the Treehouse Tavern were mercenaries, different mercenaries could only complete tasks of corresponding levels. Most of the time, the Mercenary Guild had only a few people taking on tasks, settling task balances, or collecting the remains of deceased mercenary partners. Such a large crowd gathering was a rare occurrence.

Amy and Da Qingshan pushed through the crowd.

A vermilion notice was posted on the pillar at the entrance of the Mercenary Guild, with the task written in magical ink. The task level was prominently marked: SS.

Wow, a Double S-Level task.

In recent days, Amy had been chatting with fellow mercenaries on the city bus and large sleds, gaining a clearer understanding of the current state of mercenary teams. Currently, mercenary teams are divided into eight levels: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G; mercenary ranks follow the same hierarchy.

E, F, and G levels are considered low-tier mercenaries and organizations. This segment represents the base of the mercenary hierarchy, mostly taking on trivial jobs with meager earnings. For mercenaries in such teams, earning 20 gold coins per year is already difficult, and they have the highest mortality rate among mercenaries.

C and D levels are mid-tier mercenaries and organizations. A mercenary group reaching this level is considered quite respectable. Generally, mercenaries at this level have their own nicknames and can be recognized in their active regions. Mercenary teams at this level often have nicknames, and some small towns are willing to provide free lodging or a fixed base for this scale of mercenary organizations in exchange for some protection in times of crisis.

B level is for high-tier mercenaries or organizations. While there is only one tier for high-tier mercenaries or organizations, this level represents the mercenary world. The number of individuals and teams at this level accounts for more than 50% of the total number of mid-tier and above mercenary teams in the country or neighboring countries. They are well-known, and mercenaries or organizations at this level have the strength to enter the top 100 rankings.

S and A levels are super-tier mercenaries or organizations. Across the four continents, there are only five super-tier mercenary organizations. It's said that these super-tier organizations have national support, dominating all directions.

Interestingly, each of these five super-tier mercenary groups has a very distinctive color in their names, and because they are located in different countries, they also have unique spirit beasts and phantom beast knights—the names of these five mercenary groups are all composed of color and spirit beast names.

A-level Mercenary Group on the Frozen Continent: Silver Snow Wolf Mercenary Group, headquartered in the crucial town of Icy Valley at the border between the North Hami Kingdom and the Hami Kingdom. This mercenary group has over 2,000 snow wolves, which are best suited for combat on the Frozen Continent, including 25 phantom snow wolves.

A-level Mercenary Group on the Aimi Nuo'er Continent: Dark Green Earth Dragon Mercenary Group, headquartered in the key town of Scambre at the border between the Aimi Empire and the Holy Church. The Earth Dragon Mercenary Group is undoubtedly the most powerful among the mercenary groups across continents, possessing over 1,500 extremely powerful earth dragons, including more than 30 phantom earth dragons, and also having other phantom beast knights like the sand lizard.

A-level Mercenary Group on the Aimi Nuo'er Continent: Blood-Sweating Iron Cavalry Mercenary Group, headquartered in the heart of the Flower Plain of the Holy Church: Wulu. It is the largest among the major mercenary groups, having 3 light-equipped thousand-strong cavalry units, 3 heavy-equipped thousand-strong cavalry units, and a considerable number of earth dragon knights.

A-level Mercenary Group on the Lanfa Sisi Continent: Black Crocodile Mercenary Group, the smallest in number among the major mercenary groups, with only about 1,000 members, but their mounts are black marsh crocodiles, highly aggressive in swamp areas.

Of course, the most legendary and the only S-level mercenary organization is the Golden Dragon Cavalry. It is said to consist of only three individuals: two dragon knights and a dragon knight grand magician. This mercenary organization has a long history, nearly as long as the combined history of the four A-level mercenary groups. According to some elderly elves, this mercenary group was established during the founding of the Aimi Empire and is said to have been founded by descendants of an ancient imperial family that lost its nation but still possesses divine lineage, allowing each member to communicate with golden dragons. Over the past 500 years, this organization has shown great interest in exploratory missions, seemingly searching for some ancient artifacts, and their strength ensures the successful completion of every challenging task they undertake. The three dragon knights of this generation have only been in the mercenary business for 35 years but have already earned the title of A-level mercenaries.

SS

Amy suddenly realized that no current mercenary could take on this task. The leaders of the four A-level mercenary groups were S-level mercenaries, but their organizations were not S-level. And the only S-level mercenary organization, the Golden Dragon Mercenaries, currently had no S-level mercenaries. So, isn't there anyone who can take on this task? Why is there such a large crowd?

Task: Eradicate the Underground Monster

Level: SS

Location: Ice and Snow Forest

Hami Kingdom Reward: 10,000 gold coins

North Hami Kingdom Reward: 3,000 gold coins and a chance to sign a contract with the Ice Superior Spirit, Ireland

Task Overview:

Frequent monster attacks have occurred near the eastern side of the Ice and Snow Forest, not only injuring people but also causing great distress to the Hami people due to the monster's penchant for eating snow wolf brains. Over the past year, at least 300 snow wolves have been killed. The Hami Empire and the North Hami Empire dispatched troops to eliminate the monster, but the cunning beast is well-versed in tactics and never attacks groups of ten or more, targeting lone warriors instead.

Task Completion Requirement: Kill or capture the monster

Mercenary Guild Annotation:

Fellow comrades, we regret to inform you that 15 mercenary organizations have been dispatched previously, all without success, and their outcomes were extremely tragic—even the elite phantom beast squad of the Silver Snow Wolf Mercenary Group failed.

According to the Mercenary Guild's task rating system, this task has gradually escalated from a BB-level task to an SS-level task.

However, we find ourselves in an awkward position, as there are currently no mercenary organizations suitable for this task. Therefore, we are opening this task as an open-class task, allowing any mercenary group or individual to take it on. Regardless of who completes it, the Mercenary Guild will add an additional reward of 5,000 gold coins to the original task rewards.

"Wow," Amy exclaimed, patting Da Qingshan on the shoulder with excitement, "10,000 gold coins, that's a lot of money! Let's take this task!" She rushed into the guild house, shouting at the old clerk.

"Sigh, another one heading to their doom," the old clerk sighed, shaking his head. "You're the 13th today. 13 is an unlucky number. Do you want to make a will?"

"Don't worry, old man, I'm a swordsman and a magician, and he's a dragon knight! What task can't we complete?" Amy thumped her chest confidently.

"Alright, since this task has no restrictions, I wish you the best of luck."

That afternoon, Amy and Da Qingshan set off. Due to the high risk of the task, Da Qingshan was worried about Lü'er's safety and prepared plenty of dried lizard meat, locking it in a small room.

The Ice and Snow Forest was very close to the Treehouse Tavern; it took only two days on foot. The height of summer on the Frozen Continent was ideal for travel. As they walked, Amy sighed at the beautiful scenery, "In such wonderful weather, I should be riding a tall horse, playing the role of the white knight, completing a mission to protect a noblewoman."