The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 51 - Negotiate

After the incident with the bandits, I realized a lot about what was lacking in the village. That I wasn’t enough to protect it on my own…that my family wasn’t the only people I had to protect.

The entire village needed protection. Knowing its history, it needed a change.

So I came up with the idea to introduce a group that specializes in security. Knowing my experience, I was more than qualified to start this operation. All I had to do to start this was to introduce this to the council elders.

Thankfully, they accepted my idea.

As early as they could, they posted the news to the entire village. And already, the people were interested, mainly the men of the village.

Usually, because this project wasn’t funded by any sort of government or authority, I had to make use of my own pocket to motivate the people into joining the company I’m making. It was a private operation, something more akin to a business than anything.

“Hmm, looking at this plan of yours, it seems as though you don’t have any sort of backing. Do you think you can manage this sort operation by yourself?” asked Evelyn as she was looking into my idea from her desk.

“…I have the experience, the capability to train the men into reliable guards for the village. That’s all I’m hoping for.” I said while I was leaning by a window, looking down on the snow covered streets.

“Its a noble cause, buts its not as easy as asking someone to join your group. Although there will be some people who will be willing, not everyone can throw their lives away to join. I’m sure that because this is a village of farmers, a lot of them rely on a more safer job route. Farming is more lucrative than having a job like security.” she said.

“I get that…but I’m sure the people of this village realize the same thing I realize. It’s not safe at all. The dangers that passes by this village isn’t something we can ignore forever. For example, the first major threat that came here was the dragon. If I wasn’t here, the village would have burned down. They don’t have a countermeasure to any of it except for raising their pitchforks up in the air.”

“That’s a valid point. Hmm, I’m sure you already have a source of income to back this kind of company, yes?” she asked.

“As of right now, one source of income that I can fully rely on is Monster Subjugation. That and selling the crafted armors and weapons I make to your family. I’m sire your father will be willing to buy them off my hands.”

“Of course my father is willing to buy your crafted items. But other than that, killing monsters, taking their body parts and selling them, that is mainly what adventurers do to support their livelihood.”

“Yes, but unlike adventurers, I plan to do more than just take one monster down at a time…I plan to take an entire hoard if necessary. Me and my company that is.”

“Well I’m sure that you already have a plan set up for this idea, but you said one source of income, do you have other ideas in mind?” she asked.

“I’m not sure if this is certain yet, but I’m thinking of buying a mountain.”

“What?”

“I’m not really set on the idea yet, so don’t worry about it.”

“W-why do you have to buy a mountain?”

”Look, I don’t even have the money yet to buy one at the moment, so for now…lets just forget what I said.”

“Okay…but if you do plan to buy one, tell me right away. I’m curious as to what you plan to do with it.”

“Sure, I promise.”  I said.

Its been a while since the season of winter came by the village. Soon, it’ll end and things will move on. The defense company will start…and I’ll be more busy than ever. And more to it, my brothers will finally start their education in the city.

Ah… speaking of the city, he should be coming here to my village soon.

As I stared at the window in deep thought, all of a sudden, by the distance, I could see something large that was being dragged by a few carriages.

When I heightened my senses, I realized who it was.

“Huh, he came faster than I imagined.” I said.

“Hmm? What are you talking about?” asked Evelyn as she heard me talk out-loud.

“A friend came to visit. Come on, lets go meet the bastard.” I said.

“A friend?” when Evelyn came by the window, she looked outside and saw that something big was being dragged across the path. Along side it, about a dozen cloaked men were riding in their horses.

“I-Is that what I think it is?!” she said.

“It is.” without hiding my smile, I grabbed Evelyn by the hand and leaped out of the window, aas I landed, I carried her like a princess. From then on, I leaped again all to the way to my home.

It didn’t take long before I stopped in front of my house. There…a large man was waiting beside the large monster he caught with his own bare hands.

With a smile on his face, he looked at me with so much pride, he spoke loudly.

“Sorry it took a while. This bastard was being too stubborn to die. He even broke my sword.” said the man as he showed me a large broken sword that was twice as wide as his large biceps.”

“You actually came at exactly the right time. And to think you followed through with the message I left behind.”

“This monster here is the toughest and one of the most difficult prey I have ever hunted. I’m sure this is enough to be used as material.”

“Well, I only said to bring certain parts…but, since you brought it all, I’ll make use of it without fail.”

As we were having a conversation like normal, Evelyn who was by my side was extremely in awe.

“Y-you’re Oxy the Battleborn!” she said.

Oxy, the Battleborn.

After leaving the city without having made a transaction with Oxy about his custom weapon, I left Stella with a message that particularly calls on to his cooperation.

If he wanted to have a weapon made especially for him, he had to provide the needed materials…meaning, he had to hunt a monster that he claims to be his most toughest opponent yet. And thankfully he followed through with the message.

He came with one of the most hardest beast to hunt yet.

The moment Evelyn laid eyes on the enormous corpse being dragged behind the carriages, she froze, her mouth half open in shock.

“T-that’s…the Armed-Hydragon…” she stammered, as if struggling to even say the name.

I nodded, crossing my arms.

“Yeah. Looks bigger up close, doesn’t it?”

The monster was a nightmare made flesh. Thirty meters tall at the shoulder, nearly eighty meters from nose to tail, its monstrous silhouette alone seemed to steal the sunlight. Its scales were a dark, fortress-like black, overlapping with hooked blade-scales that stuck out like jagged spears from every angle. It looked like it had been built for war — no, born for war — with three serpentine hydra-like heads sprouting from the sides of its main draconic skull, all of them ringed with fanged maws and rows of horns like a crown of cruelty.

Its wings weren’t wings at all in the traditional sense. Instead, they were these thick, leather-clad appendages, lined with ridged plates and jagged scutes, more like a battering shield than anything meant for flight. Each movement of those wings could have flattened entire buildings.

The tail was a living siege weapon — ending in a mace the size of a wagon, covered in vicious spikes that could shatter castle walls in a single swing.

Oxy, still smiling proudly, patted the beast’s massive side. “Meanest bastard I’ve ever fought,” he boasted. “Took me a whole day to track it through the mountains, and even then I nearly died trying to get its heads under control. Thankfully, once we captured it, we were already halfway through your village.”

Evelyn swallowed, unable to tear her eyes away. “The…Armed-Hydragon is supposed to be nearly impossible to kill.” she whispered.

“It’s the fusion of a corrupted hydra and a mountain drake — intelligent, territorial, endlessly aggressive. It can coordinate multiple heads at once, and it doesn’t stop fighting until either you or it are dead.”

She paused, voice unsteady as she recited what she knew like a prayer.

“They say its molten breath can melt steel, and its poison spines can rot an entire battalion in minutes. Some scholars claim it was born in a corrupted mana spring, made to survive anything. The fortress-scale plates covering its body can repel arrows, ballista bolts, even siege magic…” I said.

Oxy laughed, loud and booming. “Aye, it damn near broke my ribs with that tail of his. And look—” he held up one of his arms. “It even burned my skin. Rotten piece of work.”

I stepped forward, placing a hand against one of the armored scales. Even lifeless, the beast radiated an aura of death, a lingering malice that clung to its flesh like a curse.

“Good work, Oxy,” I said calmly. “This will give me more than enough to forge what you asked for. In fact…” I ran my eyes across the creature’s entire monstrous length, “I can create two sets of armor here and two sets of weapon…in case your first weapon breaks.”

Evelyn still looked pale, but she managed to find her voice. “If you can break this thing down, the materials alone could fund a military base for years.” she said, awestruck.

“Its scales are stronger than castle walls, its fangs can be reforged into spears, even its bones are worth more than gold to the right buyers. And the venom from its dorsal spines…but its not mine. It’s entirely meant to be used for his request.” I said as I looked at Oxy.

A cold breeze swept through the village square as the monster’s enormous corpse settled with a ground-shaking thud. Around us, villagers were starting to gather, their eyes wide, faces turning pale at the sight of this mountain of a beast.

“Have your people look over the corpse. Lets get inside my home, we’ll talk about what we’ll do with it then.” I said.

Oxy nodded and followed me inside.

As we arrived, Theresa came about and prepared a set of warm tea for the guest to drink.

Once we sat down at the table, we began talking about the details of his request…and the exchange of the payment for the work I will do.

“Listen…I know I haven’t yet shown you my proper works yet, but I have a proposal in terms of the monster you hunted.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” he asked.

“I promise you that I’ll be making two sets of armors and weapons that fits your profile. And once I finish making them, you won’t be only wearing an armor that stands equal to that of a Hydragon, but instead I’ll give you one that stands above it. In the end, you’ll come out wearing the armor not only stronger, but even one that can overcome Liondel.”

“Are you that confident?” he asked as he looked at me straight into my eyes.

“I’m capable of making a Willful Masterwork.” but I didn’t falter to his gaze.

“!?” Oxy was shocked. He looked as if he couldn’t believe my words.

Just as he was about to speak, Evelyn came and added confidence to my sentence.

“It’s true. Thill has the genius of a blacksmith that makes him capable of creating Willful armors.” she said as she gave a confident smile.

“And how can I believe you on this?” he asked.

“Do you know of the rumors about a dragon that was killed in this village?” asked Evelyn.

“Yes…I’ve heard of those rumors from Stella.” said Oxy.

“I’m the one who was able to slay the dragon…but truth be told, that wasn’t a true dragon but a lesser dragon instead. Even still, I slayed the beast.”

“Really? You killed a dragon when you’ve yet to even reached the 5^th stage of your core?”

“I was one of the witnesses to that event. And in my honor as an Amber, I promise that Thill was capable of slaying the dragon on his own.” said Evelyn.

“In the name and honor of the Amber? Are you the daughter of Reginald Amber? One of the most richest merchant families of this kingdom?”

“Yes…I am.” she said. A bit taken aback.

“Hmm, then I’ll take your word.”

“Does that mean that you will trust us?” asked Evelyn as she furrows her brow.

“Yes…It may not seem like it, but I respect your father.” said Oxy.

“Thank you!”

“Hmm, but a Willful Masterwork, how many days will it take to complete my request?” he asked.

“At most, to complete the two sets of armors, I’ll need two months at most.”

“Just two months? I’ve heard from the rumors that Willful masterworks takes years to be finished. Are you making fun of me for saying such absurd words?”

“Its true that it may seem absurd, but trust in my abilities. Two months…after that, you can judge for yourself whether or not to believe me then.”

“Hmm…it’s a gander, but sure…so, what do you want in exchange for your work? Seeing as how you promise me that it’s a masterpiece unlike anything else, what kind of priceless request can I give in return?” he asked.

“I only ask for two things.” I said.

“And what is it?” he asked.

“First is about my brothers and the safety around them. Once they will go to the city to start their education. I want to ask that you watch over my brothers and keep them safe…silently.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by this?” he asked.

“I’m sure you have connections with people who provide protection in the shadows. I just want my brothers protected In city in the spare time that you can give them.”

“Hmm, the city isn’t really safe despite how it may seem on the outside. As of right now, kidnappings have been on the rise lately…I can see why you would be worried.”

“Will you accept?” I asked.

“…Sure, I’ll do it. I’ll make a few calls, but it’ll be done.”

“I only want them to be protected in the years that they’ll study in the city…I hope you can keep your promise.”

“And the next request? What is it that you need?” he asked.

“It may seem bold, but the entire corpse of the Hydragon won’t be used. In fact, it’s too much really…even half of it can suffice as materials for your armor.”

“So you lied to me?”

“Yes. But I want to tell you that I need the rest of its body to be sold to the amber family. Its materials can be exchange for gold…and I need that gold to be used for the village.”

“Hmm, very well then. Although you lied to me, I’m not really upset. Instead, I’m very excited for the next two months. In truth I don’t really care for the corpse or the gold. I already have enough as it is…I just want a strong weapon and armor to make me strong enough to overcome Liondel, that smug bastard.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure, but make sure to deliver on your promise.” he said.

“I will.”

We shook our hands in the deal that we made…and after that, Oxy handed the corpse down to me.

He left the village soon after because he had a prior request to fulfill for the guild…and with that, everything was settled.

“So you made this kind of transaction with Sir Oxy, the Battleborn. I can’t believe it.” said Evelyn.

“Don’t be too surprised, I already know that Oxy would agree to my request. Knowing him, he’ll make sure to fulfill the request all for the sake of being stronger. That’s all he wants in the end.”

“Hmm, you sound like you’ve known him for a long time.”

“Its just the impression I got from him when we first met.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah…anyway, thanks for supporting me back there.”

“Hehe, Its no problem at all. I’m actually glad that I could help you again…” as she spoke, she leaned her head to my shoulder.

“I’m glad as well. A lot of things will start to happen in the village. You with the start of your agriculture project and me with the defense company…We’ll be a lot more busy to see each other.”

“…I know, but we can also make time for each other. We don’t have to be so busy with our lives that we get to forget to spend a little time together…right?”

“Of course…I’ll be sure to always lend you a hand whenever I can.” I said as I reached out my hand around her, pulling her even closer than usual.

“You know, we still have that one little appointment we both have with each other tonight…so, how about I go home and prepare?” she said.

“Hmm, okay…I’ll come by tonight. Just make sure to have your window unlock.”

“Hnn, I can’t wait.” she said as she smiled at me while we were cuddling.