Chapter 437
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Chapter 437: A Thousand Miles Away
Under the sea surface, a dragon boat was sailing quietly.
Inside the dragon boat, a group of people hadn’t seen the sunlight for almost a month and were eager to go out for some fresh air.
These people were mercenaries.
"Big sister, we’re about fifteen minutes away from our destination."
"Hmm." The one-eyed middle-aged woman made a sound of agreement, then slammed her glass on the bar.
The living facilities inside the dragon boat were enough for about a hundred people to use for three whole months. But there were no entertainment facilities on the boat, almost nothing, except alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling, there was no other way to have fun.
Tanis almost forgot that she was here to be a bodyguard.
But in these twenty-something days, she had only met the bodyguard a few times.
Tanis’s mercenary group was considered somewhat famous in the industry, and this was the result of her careful management for over ten years.
She wasn’t originally a mercenary, she was a legitimate person from a small country, or rather a tribe, not very civilized.
She lived in a group of islands, which used to have remnants of ancient elves. Some refugees settled here and established a country, also conducting archaeological research and inheriting some ancient elf technologies.
It was not strange for small tribes on these islands in Europa to encounter disaster. When a duchy sent an archaeological team to this mist-covered island, in less than half a year, her country was easily wiped out. It could be considered peaceful surrender, but in any case, their people were forced to leave their original land.
Tanis and some other people became homeless. She thought she would be treated as a laborer in the future, so she found a strange duchy and chose to start anew by herself. But she found out that she was only good at archery in hunting and some ancient elf magic she obtained from archaeology. Besides that, she only had the ancestral animal taming technique, being able to tame some animals and summon tree guardians and such.
These skills couldn’t feed her. She considered joining the army, but most armies were dominated by men. After barely passing the selection, on the third day after joining, someone tried to climb into her bed and she killed them by slitting their throat. After that, she became a deserter.
After a long time of confusion and uncertainty, she became an assassin. But the company quickly went bankrupt because the boss had offended the Holy Domain of the Allied Nations. She then realized that Europa was not suitable for her business, so she gathered a group of followers and went to the Non-Blood Continent.
The Non-Blood Continent is separate from the East and West, and there is constant war. The mystery here has also faded, and the whole continent is lifeless.
Tanis established a mercenary group here. At its peak, there were 170 members. But soon, the group reached its maximum capacity and faced heavy financial burden. As new recruits continued to join, Tanis, the leader of the mercenary group, was forced to leave.
After learning from the lesson, Tanis regrouped the core members and formed a team of more than twenty people. They were all elites, and the old members brought in new ones to ensure loyalty to the mercenary group. The group was named "American Lion," which was Tanis’s pet and also a late comrade. She was already 35 years old and had earned enough money to retire.
This time, a longstanding customer from the Dragon Clan offered a commission to the American Lion to escort a princess from the Demon Kingdom back to her country. To be honest, it was very dangerous.
Many mercenary groups participated in the civil war within the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, but the casualty rate was extremely high.
They might have to face the army of Lord Qiongqi, and a mercenary group of more than twenty people was not enough to withstand this risk.
After careful consideration, she still agreed because this assignment was not only given to her, but also to other mercenary groups.
The Dragon Clan was generous. Even if members of the mercenary group died, they would still receive a commission and additional compensation for injuries. Even if the last person didn’t return, the money would still be sent to their family’s account. The Dragon Clan’s reputation had been praised for years, and they were indeed trustworthy in this regard, more reliable than Dooxx.
Tanis lived for more than thirty years, and she didn’t think about dying early. She just wanted to go back to her hometown and end her difficult life. If she died on this battlefield, it would be her fate as a warrior. After all, she was a homeless person, a demon wandering on the battlefield.
Time is running out.
She placed down the half-drunk whiskey, poured a piece of ice and swallowed it. Eating the ice, she walked to a door and knocked on it.
The door was opened by a panda.
Tanis looked at the panda with a slightly gentle gaze. She likes animals, of course she also likes this cute panda.
If she didn’t have this panda as a companion these days, she would definitely not be able to stand that silent and reserved person.
She lifted her eyes and saw an elegant lady sitting quietly in front of a desk, writing something.
Every time they met, she always had countless books to read and endless words to write.
At first, she was not used to the quiet Chao Lu, thinking that she was difficult to serve. But as time went by, she realized that this princess unexpectedly could endure loneliness and hardship. It has been many days already, even though they arrived at the South Sea Dragon Palace, she didn’t go down to see it. She just glanced at the prosperous scenery of the South Sea Dragon Palace from the deck and then asked her to bring some newspapers back to the room.
Tanis is a fish caught in the net of compulsory education for nine years. She doesn’t have a high level of education, just enough to get by. She doesn’t really understand what’s so interesting about books.
She has looked at Chao Lu more than once.
People are born from their mothers, and demons are born from their demon mothers.
She truly is the princess of the Demon Kingdom, her aura, cute face, and slim figure are really different.
No matter how you look at it, she and female warriors like her are not in the same category. She can strangle a fully-grown black bear with her bare hands, but compared to Chao Lu’s detailed and soft arms, her muscular and scarred arm doesn’t look like that of a woman at all.
"What’s the matter?" the princess of the Demon Kingdom raised her face, looking unfazed.
"We’re almost there, get ready," Tanis said calmly. "Once we’re ashore, there’s no time to waste."
"Got it," Chao Lu nodded to show she understood.
Tanis left.
Chao Lu finished reading and writing. In the past twenty days, she could only understand the situation inside the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom through limited information. She analyzed and confirmed every word and sentence, and could only say that the situation was getting worse and pessimistic.
She read many books and came up with many ideas, searching for any possible ways to save the small country of Bai Ze. Only through constant analysis could she stay calm and composed, but the more she did, the more despair she felt.
Deep down, she actually hoped that this journey could slow down, just a little bit.
She was somewhat afraid to set foot on her homeland, because she didn’t know what else she could do.
Before returning to her homeland, the only thing she wanted was to not die in a foreign land, or become a traitor to her own country.
When she finally returned to her homeland, she also realized that she had to do something to alleviate her awkward situation, instead of becoming a burden in the Bai Ze Kingdom and waiting for death. But…she didn’t find anything, feeling lost and melancholic.
The dragon ship stopped.
She walked out of the house, her personal mood making her not even properly greet this group of mercenaries, who were supposed to be responsible for her safety and even risk their lives. It was just a simple exchange of interests.
Even when she tried to force a smile now, it still failed.
She couldn’t smile.
No one noticed her mood and facial expressions changing. For the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, the Lion Mercenary Corps was also an unfamiliar battlefield.
Tanis stood on the deck, gazing at the faint light outside the dragon boat. The cold wind of January blew in. The port of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom was covered in white frost.
More than twenty days had passed, and the weather had completely entered winter, becoming even colder. With three-quarters of the land in the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom located north of the equator, it was inevitable that there would be frost and snow in winter. This was not very friendly to some non-blood humans with dark skin. However, some people curiously observed this frosty scenery, as if they were seeing snow covering a city for the first time in the south.
Be ready, everyone." Tanis raised her hand, and a hawk that was over half a person tall landed on her shoulder. Her height was close to two meters. This hawk matched her height perfectly, and it could synchronize its vision with the Druid’s spell known as the "Eagle Eyes.
Gathering intelligence is essential for mercenaries in battle. Understanding the enemy’s tactical deployment is like winning half the battle.
The entire Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom was buried in millions of lives, so it was not excessive to take high precautions.
"The harbor is safe." Tanis confirmed that there were no armies directly observed by the hawk’s eye in the surroundings.
The harbor they disembarked from currently belonged to a remote part of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. The main public port was on the other side. Choosing to disembark here was for the convenience of avoiding inspections. Otherwise, there might be checkpoints set up by other feudal lords at the other port, and then they wouldn’t be able to leave.
During this period, only dragon clan’s merchant ships could pass through the Gray Tide, so there won’t be many defenses set up at the port… When doing business, the dragon clan needs to be cautious about whether there are a large amount of weapons in the cargo. As for people who sneak in, it’s actually a small issue.
She was about to speak when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a flash of red light.
Blood splattered from the crowd as a mercenary, who was still drinking vodka, had his mouth pierced by a bullet that went through a bottle and exited through the back of his head.
Just arrived at the port and instantly lost one person.
"Get down!" Tanis shouted. "Find cover!"
She was unsure why they were suddenly faced with a fierce attack upon arriving at the port, but she couldn’t afford to think too much about it.
The position of the mercenary group had been exposed. It could either be a traitor among them or their every move had been anticipated. Either way, it was deadly. It meant they had willingly jumped into the enemy’s encirclement! They had to break free, or else they would die. Everyone would die, but attempting to break free meant more casualties.
Tanis pondered left and right, then clenched his teeth. "Back to the dragon ship! The route ahead is blocked! Let’s go to a different port!"
The dragon ship is the dragon clan’s industry. The other side dares not easily charge in, or else they will face the fury of the Four Seas Group.
The mercenaries left the cabin in an orderly manner, one person sacrificed, and the others were all injured.
"Damn it!" Tanis cursed, "What’s going on!"
"Boss, I found this…" a mercenary walked over holding a piece of paper, "It was tied to an arrow."
Tanis glanced at it, his face turned pale, it was a surrender letter, saying that there would be no difference even if they went to the next port.
"Can I see?" Chao Lu asked.
Tanis handed over the letter, and clenched his fist tightly, "In the next port, they will rush in and kill us all."
In silence, Chao Lu said, "You… hand me over."