19 - Breakdown of negotiations

"Tanks?"

Merlin shrugged

"Think of them as self-propelled metal carriages equipped with siege weapons"

The sellsword looked them over again before he nodded, then he seemingly remembered what he had come for

"I am the leader of the escort of the Edwardo merchant company's convoy, my name is Henry, we're heading from Jera to the capital… The thing is we were attacked by a large group of bandits yesterday just after leaving the city of Jera and therefore we wanted to recruit new mercenaries at the next city, but I'll extend my offer to you as well, so how about it?"

Merlin thought for a few moments before he asked

"What are your terms?"

Henry looked a little excited as he quickly explained the terms, after hearing them Merlin glanced at Jane that nodded, so did Geo, then he accepted and shook hands with Henry, as Henry walked back towards the convoy camp Geo asked Merlin

"I am not complaining, those terms are very good, but… Why should we be convoy escorts?"

Merlin nodded and stated his reasons

"We need all the friends we can get at this point… Plus I need someone to introduce us at the capital and vouch for our identity"

Geo nodded and clapped Merlin on the shoulder

"As long as you've thought it through... I'll head go to sleep"

Merlin nodded, then he also went to bed, and so did Jane…

The next morning a figure approached the tanks, it was Henry once more, he looked at the tanks for a few moments before he walked up and knocked on the side of one of them and was surprised when he found out it really was metal, for a few moments he wondered how much one of them weighed and then exactly how they were able to move, but then his train of thought was interrupted when the hatch opened up and Merlin stuck his head out and spoke to him

"Good morning"

"Oh, good morning… I didn't get your name yesterday?"

"My name is Merlin, Merlin Walker"

"Okay, Mr. Walker, would you mind joining us for a morning strategy meeting?"

Merlin nodded and spoke

"I'll wash my face first, then I'll be over"

Henry nodded and walked back towards the camp, then Merlin jumped out and landed on the ground before Jane poked her head out and complained

"We really need some blankets and pillows for the inside of the tanks"

Merlin nodded and agreed

"Yeah that would be nice"

Then he walked over and knocked his hand against the other King tiger a few times before he sensed movement from within, soon Geo popped his head out of the hatch and spoke

"I'll be right there"

Merlin nodded, then he began to stretch finishing with cracking his knuckles before he and Jane walked over to the water spring in the middle of the two camps and washed their faces, then Geo also arrived and complained

"It feels like I've slept on an anvil"

Merlin sighed before he spoke

"Yeah, Yeah I get it, we'll buy some blankets as soon as we can…"

Geo showed a smile, so did Jane, then Merlin sighed again before he asked Geo

"So what's the worst thing I can do when we meet with these adventures"

Geo showed a smile

"Well showing weakness is up there"

Jane nodded

"Yeah that's up there, you know on the scale of what not to do… That along with calling them for sellswords, appear confident, show them a little of your strength, oh but don't kill anyone, they're usually pretty tight-knit groups"

Merlin nodded, then he reached up and folded the collar on his jacket, then he nodded and spoke

"Then let's go and make our impression… That and make sure we're going to be paid"

Then he turned and walked in the direction of the convoy camp, Geo looked at Jane and nodded before the two of them followed on his left and right side, as they walked Merlin's left eye seemed to lose focus as he took over scope control of Sharpshooter

'Load a magazine of armor piercing... Give me full gun control'

As the group of 3 approached some of the adventures looked them over while others simply scoffed at them before they went back to their breakfast, as they entered the camp a person walked out in front of them and stood in Merlin's way, it was a rough-looking person with a greatsword on his back, he stood and stared down Merlin before he scoffed and spoke

"Look at this kid, walking like he owns the place"

Merlin scoffed before he copied the guy's tone and spoke

"Look at this muscle brain, standing in the middle of the road like he owns the place"

The smile on the adventure's face gradually stiffed before he narrowed his eyes slightly, then he reached to draw his greatsword, though as soon as he reached out towards the sword Merlin closed in, seeing the scrawny kid approach him the adventure showed a smile and stopped reaching for his sword, instead he reached out and tried to grab Merlin by the neck, though the moment he did that Merlin collapsed his stance and dodged his hands as he slid past the adventure he suddenly returned his poster and then he swiped the adventure's leg, just as the adventure was about to hit the ground face-first Merlin grabbed the scoff of his clothes and held him there with one hand, greatsword and all before he asked

"Anything else?"

The adventure hurriedly shook his head, then Merlin lifted him upright again and patted him on the shoulder as he spoke

"The next time you block my way I won't break your fall"

The adventure showed a smile and patted Merlin on the shoulder approvingly before he spoke

"This kid got some spine!"

Merlin showed a slight smile before he withdrew his hand walked onwards towards where Henry stood along with a middle-aged man in clothes that obviously were a grade over what everyone else was wearing, he might look different from the merchant Merlin met in Jera, but they smelled the same to him

'A merchant… Why do I have a bad feeling about him already..? Designate target 1'

Henry called out to Merlin with a smile

"Good morning Merlin, sorry about Josh, he's always like that"

Merlin showed a smile and asked as he gestured to the merchant

"This is?"

Before Henry could say anything the merchant introduced himself

"My name is Erik, I am the capital department head of the Edwardo merchant company, I am pleased to meet you, Merlin Walker"

Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly before he spoke

"Alright, let's just make this process shorter, observe…"

Merlin pointed to a tree that stood on the edge of a small forest, then he called out

"M4A2, Let one rip!"

A loud roar was heard followed by a sizable explosion that completely shattered the tree trunk of the tree, there was only an eerie silence as the three fell to the ground, then Merlin spoke

"The M4A2 has a fire lag of about 3 seconds, which means that it fires around 20 shots a minute, I currently have two M4A2's that's 40 shots a minute, each able to take down a group small group of bandits"

Erik's eyes sparkled before he quickly spoke, or rather commanded

"Sell one of these M4A2's to me, I'll give you a good price"

Merlin shook his head before he refused

"They are not for sale, besides I control all of the tanks in my convoy, I am their creator, I am their commander, I am their god, I and only I command them"

Erik's face flushed red before he spoke loudly

"I am the head of the Edwardo merchant company, we are backed by Lord Edwardo, the 3rd prince of the Engir kingdom! You will sell me those tanks or I will---"

Merlin sighed, then he roared

"Silence!"

The tank commander's jacket seemed to react to his anger and instantly a wave of cold energy spread outwards, as it passed through the Merchant and adventures they all felt a deep cold in their core as if the repairs scythe were resting ever so gently on the shoulders, the blade ready to reap their souls by the command of the wheel of reincarnation, then Merlin shouted

"Do you even know what a tank is!? Do you know how to drive one? Can your country frag oil into diesel? Can you precision build the shells? Can you train a crew out from a non-existent fucking manual..? IF I SOLD YOU A TANK IT WOULD BREAK DOWN WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK FROM LACK OF MAINTENANCE YOU DUMB FUCK, Sure I'll sell you a tank THEN I'LL FUCKING COOK ITS AMMO WITH A LONG 88!"

Merlin's tank commander's jacket oozed coldness at this point, so much so that frost was forming on his eyebrows as he took a step closer to Erik and spoke

"I am here giving you an opportunity to be protected by a force that could destroy this country, and you greedy, dumb-as snort merchant thank me by trying to threaten me into selling you one of my tanks!?"

Erik's face was flushed with shame and anger as he yelled back

"You will regret crossing Lord Edwardo!"

Merlin showed a cold smile before he turned and walked back towards the tanks