Chapter 264

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Chapter 264: Recruitment and Testing

Regarding the mercenaries from the United Kingdom of South Sotua, Lolth had thought about how to deal with them before heading north and encountering Gandhi Alter.

Lolth, who was well-versed in the customs of the continent, understood that the mercenary groups from South Sotua were quite different from the soldiers of the Holy Alliance.

Although the Holy Alliance was made up of various races and different countries’ forces, which were pieced together, they still retained some high-end fighting power and did not put all their elite troops at risk; however, most of the troop formations were regular soldiers, with some elite units included.

Otherwise, Isabella, the Duke’s daughter, and Tina, the Moon Elf Princess, would not appear in the torture tower.

Even in the mercenary nation of South Sotua, the mercenaries recruited by the kingdom and those still acting as mercenaries are two different matters.

In fact, the mercenaries who could be recruited and were willing to be recruited had already gone through a certain selection process.

All the mercenaries who have become legendary strong fighters but have not yet brought their teams to surrender tend to have some issues, one way or another.

It is no exaggeration to say that while the presence of many mercenaries allows the United Kingdom of South Sotua to be the largest nation on the continent, their small-scale combat abilities also stand out on the continent, but this is a double-edged sword.

The large number of mercenaries brings about crime, chaos, and difficulties in maintaining order.

It is unrealistic to expect these mercenaries, who drink heavily, gamble, and are willing to kill anyone for money, to change their mindset simply by living and working in Hillenbrand Town.

Most importantly, they have captured all of the invading mercenaries, totaling one hundred sixty people, which is almost the same number as the local residents of Hillenbrand Town!

Although Lolth anticipated that the scale of Hillenbrand Town might grow when building dormitories for the Superoperators, the collective dormitories have extra rooms, allowing these guys to live in four-person dorms as well.

However… managing so many people will be a significant challenge.

Even if they are not thinking of escaping or causing trouble, living just as they did in the past will create immeasurable negative effects in Hillenbrand Town.

Therefore, Lolth understands that her responsibilities are the same as those of the king of the United Kingdom of South Sotua.

That is to "filter" these mercenaries.

The main way of filtering is also the "exam" that Lolth likes the most, along with some other small methods.

After pushing open the big door, Lolth cleared her throat as she looked at the nearly two hundred mercenaries, all awake with anti-magic shackles, looking downcast, filling the South Sotua ecological chamber, which had already been expanded by spatial magic, to the point of being a bit crowded.

"Hello to everyone from the United Kingdom of South Sotua who has come a long way and wants to kill me."

As Lolth greeted them, the mercenaries sitting on various South Sotua-style furniture like the floor, bed, and sofa raised their heads and looked in Lolth’s direction.

Although some people did not recognize Lolth, they could vaguely guess her identity through her words and her slightly demon-like appearance.

In an instant, Lolth felt the fear, anger, and confusion of one hundred and sixty people.

"It’s that cunning succubus…"

"What happened?"

"Hmph, falling into the hands of you demon folks is my bad luck. You can do whatever you want to me!"

"I don’t want to die! I know a lot of things!"

"Respected lady succubus, I am willing to surrender to the demon race!"

"What? You traitors!"

"Shut up! If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you!"

"Naive fool, do you think the demon race will care about your surrender and soft words?"

"Then do you really think she will give you an easy way out?"

In no time, the whole interrogation room was in chaos, with some begging for mercy, others cursing, and some bickering, as the South Sotua accent filled the air.

"Silence!"

Tina, who stood behind Lolth, stepped forward and said harshly to the rude mercenaries.

However, the effect was not very good.

"Huh? What are you, a traitorous little elf girl, trying to act tough?"

"If you take off the anti-magic shackles, I can tear you apart in one second!"

"A fallen elf dares to make noise here… It’s really laughable. Do you think you’re still a princess?"

"Hey, hey, hey, are you wearing a maid outfit?"

Many of the mercenaries shouted crude and provocative words, making Lolth look at Tina with some worry.

Tina’s face remained calm; she showed no sign of unusual reaction and simply began to gather a spell gently.

"I said—be quiet!"

"Bang!"

A loud explosion echoed in the room as eight thick vines burst from the floor, wrapping around a few of the loudest troublemakers and lifting them into the air.

"Even if all of you were at your best together, you still wouldn’t be my match."

Tina said calmly, her Epic High Level aura fully activated.

She was no longer the naive Elf Princess she once was.

She understood very well that to communicate with these mercenaries, she had to first "intimidate" them.

Even though these people had been wiped out before stepping into Hillenbrand Town, those magic circles were still not clear enough for many simple-minded mercenaries.

Mistress Lolth’s opening remarks indicated that she wanted to play a gentle role, so the "intimidation" had to be handled by Tina herself.

Lolth was slightly surprised by Tina’s actions and the quietness of the room.

"Well done, Tina, you can let them down now."

Saying this, Tina nodded slightly and bowed.

"Yes, Master Lolth."

In front of the mercenaries, Tina could act even more obedient than usual, but she wasn’t pretending; she simply showed about one-third of her suppressed submission and respect.

Seeing the mercenaries finally quiet down, Lolth cleared her throat and began her "selection plan."

"Ahem, although we were interrupted for a moment, let’s continue now…"

"What I want to talk about is your future."

"It may not be what you imagine; I do not plan to kill or torture you, but I also do not trust you at all, so there is no need for you to provoke or beg for mercy…"

"As you know, there are ‘prisoners’ living in Hillenbrand Town, most of whom come from the Holy Alliance, and they have blended in here, becoming part of this place."

"This will also be your final home—there’s no need to refuse quickly, you do not have the right to say no," Lolth said, her tone surprisingly firm, "and not everyone is qualified to join Hillenbrand Town."

Lolth pulled out a stack of blank parchment from her pocket.

"Before that, I will give you a test to see if you are qualified to receive the ‘ticket’ to live here."