The Lich of Glory Knight Spirit: Moving towards Krimasha!

"You're saying they're your missing team members?" Andrew was stunned.

Christina silently nodded.

"All five of them?"

Christina continued nodding quietly, biting her lip, her face filled with melancholy.

Andrew craned his neck to glance through the crack in the door at the five people whispering in the next room. He then looked up toward Bi'an the Sixth's office and noticed the curtains were drawn.

"This can't be a coincidence, can it? Was this deliberately arranged or something?"

Hesitating, Andrew took a deep breath and finally pushed the door open to step inside.

The five mercenaries stopped talking at once and turned to look at Andrew.

"Let me help with introductions," Hannah stood up and said with a smile, "This here is Kevin, leader of the White Vulture Mercenary Group."

The one who stood was a human healer clad in a white robe resembling those worn by priests. He held a staff in his hand, his hair shaped like a bowl cut. He looked to be just over twenty, with a youthful, almost naive appearance.

Extending his hand across the long table toward Andrew, Kevin smiled and said, "Nice to meet you. You must be Duru, leader of the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group? We've heard so much about you. You've been making quite the waves among adventurers lately. We've never seen a mercenary group rise so quickly."

Andrew stood and extended his hand for a handshake. "I am Duru. But you're mistaken. The leader is Miss Christina here, not me."

Hearing this, Kevin froze for a moment. His gaze slowly drifted toward Christina. The other mercenaries also turned to look at Christina, their faces filled with disbelief.

Christina kept her head slightly bowed, sitting silently. Her hands—unconsciously—clenched at the folds of her skirt.

"A pleasure," Kevin smiled at Andrew, sitting back down, though his eyes occasionally darted in Christina's direction.

The atmosphere in the room had taken a strange turn.

Hannah, who originally was unfamiliar with the relationships involved, also seemed to notice, her tone shifting slightly. "This is Miss Christina. I assume Linlopes's mercenaries must be familiar with her name? She is now the leader of the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group..."

Apparently unable to hold back anymore, Hannah asked directly, "Do you all know each other?"

The five members of the White Vulture Mercenary Group burst into laughter at the question. Turning his head slightly, Kevin responded, "Not only do we know each other, we used to serve under her as mercenaries."

"Is that so? What a coincidence," Hannah said awkwardly, forcing a smile. Then, as if realizing something, she quickly shuffled through her materials, clapped them shut, and put on a bright smile. "Since you already know each other, I won't introduce you any further."

"No," Andrew said flatly, raising his hand and pointing at four of the people across from him. "I don't know their names yet."

"Uh... alright, let's continue with introductions," Hannah said, wiping the sweat from her brow before continuing. "This is Carol, a member of the White Vulture Mercenary Group."

The one who stood was the elf archer, a female elf. She had the distinguishing pale golden hair characteristic of Wood Elves, an elegant face, and a lean, athletic build. She wore a green archer's outfit and a tall hat adorned with a white vulture feather. A bow was slung over her shoulder, with a quiver hanging at her waist.

Carol removed her hat and smiled, saying, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Carol." She promptly sat back down.

"Hello," Andrew nodded to her.

"This is Giant Hammer Hansen."

The one who stood next was a burly dwarf warrior, short in stature with thick limbs, a heavy beard, clad in bulky armor, wielding a massive hammer—a textbook image of a dwarf warrior.

He simply nodded at Andrew, said nothing, and sat back down.

"This is Tina."

This time, a human thief stood. A woman with long red hair, dressed in patched and inconspicuous clothing. A curved dagger was strapped to her waist.

She also nodded to Andrew, said nothing, and sat back down.

"And this is Brian."

The last person to stand was an elf mage. He was also a Wood Elf and bore a striking resemblance to the elf archer Carol sitting next to him—except he was male. Clad in a blue mage's robe, he held a magic wand embedded with a purple gemstone.

Elves from Lorin Pess were common across the continent, but there were only one hundred and sixty elf mercenaries in total. For a mercenary group to have two Wood Elves, it must be a relatively powerful team in Lorin Pess.

Brian nodded silently at Andrew before sitting back down.

Christina remained seated, her head bowed slightly, silent as ever.

"Alright, now that introductions are done, shall we begin our meeting?" Hannah asked, cautiously looking at both sides.

"Alright, let's begin," Andrew replied softly.

"Let's begin," Kevin echoed gently.

"Okay, let's get started," Hannah said with a smile, flipping through the materials in her hands.

…

"Why did you arrange for Miss Christina to complete the task alongside her former mercenaries?" the secretary asked softly in Bi'an the Sixth's office.

After thinking for a moment, Bi'an the Sixth replied, "It's a test."

"A test?"

"Yes, a test." Taking a puff from his cigar, Bi'an the Sixth spoke cheerfully. "I have the utmost confidence in Christina's abilities. She's a dragon, after all. Even without using magic, she's an extremely powerful asset. That's something not only I believe—the entire populace of Lorin Pess would agree. That Blood Elf, Duru… Hmm, technically that probably isn't his real name, but since he calls himself that, we'll stick to it. As for Duru, I'm certain he's an extraordinary figure as well. His magic power should be quite formidable—not something standard Blood Elves possess."

"How do you know this?"

"A guess. We can't know everything. Once we ascertain what we can, all that's left is speculation. I strongly believe in his strength. But the problem with the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group has never been their abilities. It's their reliability. If this were the old Christina, I'd immediately choose not to engage with them, given their abysmal control issues. An exceptional mercenary group needs not only strength but also discipline. Now, with the addition of this Blood Elf named Duru, I want to assess their reliability. I heard those mercenaries were deserters who left Christina. Hahaha, putting them together should yield quite a show. Based on the outcomes of this mission, we'll decide our next strategy." Saying this, Bi'an the Sixth took another deep puff of his cigar.

"I see," the secretary smiled and nodded.

…

In the next room, the air was still stifling.

Andrew sat facing the five mercenaries, while Christina remained seated with her head lowered.

Finally, Hannah finished her explanation, closed her materials, and summarized, "So, this mission is essentially an escort task. You need to escort a family to Valencia over the course of a month. The route is provided. Your responsibility is to ensure the safety of the escort party. Upon completion, both sides will receive a reward of two thousand gold coins each. Additionally, whichever side receives a higher evaluation will gain an extra five thousand gold coins. However, if anything goes wrong, you'll earn nothing. Moreover, each side must pay a deposit of five thousand gold coins. If the mission fails, you'll forfeit the entire deposit."

"Two thousand plus two thousand, plus five thousand—a total of nine thousand gold coins," Andrew calculated, then asked, "If I'm not mistaken, a ticket from here to Valencia costs just five silver coins. Can you at least tell us about this family… Who are we escorting?"

"The information wasn't disclosed; that typically means it's classified."

"And who might pose a threat to this family? A bounty of nine thousand gold coins to guarantee safety along a route sounds like there's a dragon planning to ambush us."

"That question is also classified." Hannah smiled and added, "Besides, isn't there a dragon in your team? If an evil dragon does ambush the road, I'd say you're perfectly equipped."

Andrew silently turned back to look at Christina for a moment before saying no more.

Compared to Andrew's hesitation, the five mercenaries on the other side seemed even more uneasy. Clearly, this mission involved peculiarities. The most glaringly obvious issue lay in the high reward. High rewards typically meant either a high level of difficulty or high risks. This mission didn't seem particularly difficult, so the risk must be substantial.

Anyone in the mercenary field could infer this.

However, the bounty was indeed attractive. Though the deposit was steep, it was standard practice for most missions, barring urgent escort orders. In Lorin Pess, missions offering rewards above a thousand gold coins were exceptionally rare. Missions exceeding two thousand—possibly escalating to seven thousand gold coins—were even rarer. Even then, such tasks were unlikely to be assigned to fifth-level mercenary groups.

Clearly, this was a lucrative business.

After weighing his thoughts for a while, Kevin finally spoke, "We're willing to accept the mission, but can we request a different team to work with?"

"This pairing was arranged after careful evaluation. You can only choose to accept or decline. Unless the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group chooses to withdraw, we won't assign you new partners. Alternatively, you can opt out, and we'll find new partners for the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group." Hannah looked at both groups as she spoke, adding with a smile, "Does anyone wish to withdraw?"

Both sides fell into a tense stalemate, silently staring at one another. Or rather, Andrew stared at the five mercenaries opposite him, as Christina had yet to say a word. She just sat quietly to the side, her head hanging low, her hands tightly gripping her skirt, like a little girl who'd done something wrong.

After shifting his gaze between Christina and the opposing side for a while, Andrew eventually broke into a smile and spoke softly, "We'll take it. Will you back out?"

"No, we'll take it too," Kevin replied with a soft smile.