A Mercenary's War

Chapter 80: Baphomet (Ram) and Satan

Translated by: kevin1782

Edited by: Isalee

After hearing the reasons from Grolev and the rest, Gao Yang didn’t refuse anymore.

Confirming Gao Yang to be the leader of this four-men mercenary corporation was very simple, but giving the corp a name? That was a little difficult.

One could never underestimate a merc corp’s name. Although mercenary corps were named pretty randomly, it was the same as promoting a brand; an impressive and pleasant-sounding name was also very important. A mercenary corp that became famous would receive a steady stream of money-making opportunities. Hence, a good name was absolutely necessary.

The four once again fell into silence, after ‘half a day’ of brain racking, Grolev frowned and his face was a bitter gourd. "Put the merc corp’s name on hold. Gao, better give yourself another nickname first. Don’t we still have to register with your name later?"

Gao Yang wasn’t going to use the nickname ‘Little Lamb’ even if he were beaten to death. But giving himself a nickname without any reason felt awkward no matter what. At last, he helplessly said, "Well, if ‘Little Lamb’ can’t be used, then let’s use ‘Ram’. Even if I were a goat, it must be a big, male goat."

It was enough to tell Jin and Tribo once, but Gao Yang had to tell Grolev another time. He didn’t know which word to choose in English, but he made a decision very quickly as he translated his nickname to ‘Ram’, which was simply defined as a male goat, and not a billy goat from the mountains or a female goat.

When he said his newly-made nickname, his heart throbbed once.

The image of a ram, or Baphomet, was always a.s.sociated with evil and chaos in Western myths and religions. Baphomet represented Satan. Satan often appeared in the image of Baphomet[1]. There were also rumors that Satan had three heads: a Man, a Ram, and an Aries. But no matter the sayings, the ram and the devil always had a deep, evil[2] relationship.

Linking the implied meaning behind the ram, Gao Yang blurted out, "Grolev, I remember you said some merc corps use the leader’s nickname as the corp name. If that’s so, how about we call the ourselves the ‘Demon Merc Corp’? Since that ram represented evil anyway."

After Grolev pondered for a moment, his face was full of gloominess. "The name’s taken, and at least two of the more famous corps have used it."

Gao Yang patted his forehead and weakly said, "I only managed to come up with a more relatable name after so much difficulty, yet it’s been taken by others first. Forget it, if ‘Demon’ doesn’t work, how about ‘Devil’, is that alright?"

In Western religion, demons represented chaos and evil, while the Devil represented the regulation and order of evil. Those monsters who ate humans and were mentally r.e.t.a.r.ded often were referred to as demons, but the Devil was full of wisdom; Gao Yang felt that if he couldn’t use the name ‘Demon’ which represented chaos, ‘Devil’ would also do the trick.

"Devil Mercenary Corp? Well, I know at least four corps with that name."

Grolev completely crushed Gao Yang’s thoughts and ideas into pieces. Gao Yang said frenziedly, "Ci-Ao, even this name’s been robbed too? Forget it, I’m completely at my wit’s end."

Grolev cautiously and tactfully said, "Actually, the name ‘Satan’ is more of a taboo in the firmament of Western religion. They can use ‘Demon’ or the ‘Devil’ to name their merc corps, but according to what I know, n.o.body’s willing to use ‘Satan’ to name their merc corps."

Gao Yang patted his thighs and said, "This is it! Satan Merc Corp! We’re all atheists, uh, you guys have no problem, right?"

Grolev smiled and said, "I’ve no faith or religion, so let’s call it ‘Satan Mercenary Corporation’."

After he jubilantly announced the newly-made, fresh-from-the-oven mercenary corp’s name to Jin Fang and Tribo, Gao Yang immediately rushed to the officer in charge of registration and loudly said, "Our mercenary corporation’s name’s Satan. I am responsible for the corporation, and my name’s Ram, let’s just register it this way."

After the officer quickly completed the registration, he gave a numbered tag to Gao Yang and said, "Hold on to this, someone will bring you in. You all have to change into military uniforms first, then you will be sent to the elite squads’ accommodation quarters. You will be under a random officer’s command, but your degree of freedom is really high. Okay, you can go in now."

A soldier escorted and led them to get their uniforms first. The 32nd Brigade’s uniforms were camouflage yellow. The uniforms they got were the same as the 32nd Brigade’s uniforms.

To prevent accidental fratricide, wearing the same uniform was very important. So although the clothes they received were really ugly, they still neatly kept the military uniforms, waiting to change into them when it was time.

After receiving the uniforms, the same soldier led the way. They were brought to a dormitory area. After finding an officer, the leading soldier said some gibberish to the officer and frequently pointed at Jin.

Tribo tugged at Gao Yang’s clothes, grinning, "He’s stating our glorious battle at the gate, hehe."

Gao Yang rolled his eyes and looked at Tribo before saying, "Cut that c.r.a.p, what he’s saying is Jin’s glorious battle result, nope, is Toad’s brilliant combos."

After hearing that soldier’s words, that officer went up to him and said in English, "Hi, you will be under my command in the coming days, but I will only give you your operation goals, not specific commands and directions on what to do. Now, tell me your fortes, I will then deliberate on what your battle missions are ahead."

Gao Yang pondered for a while before saying, "We’re a sniper team. We can also split into two smaller teams, but fighting together will unleash our strongest combat power."

The reason he self-proclaimed themselves to be a sniper team was because Gao Yang currently knew that snipers were the most popular. The wage for this occupation was also one of the highest, and a good sniper team could get even more than the combat a.s.sault team that was responsible for a.s.saulting bases and buildings — although the area a.s.saults were more dangerous.

Sure enough, after the officer heard Gao Yang’s words, he glanced at the rifles behind Gao Yang and Tribo again. His eyes immediately brightened, almost coruscating. He nodded repeatedly. "Very good, I’ll put you guys into the battlefield by yourselves, wages are paid daily. Your mercenary corp gets six thousand four hundred everyday, and it’s your job to split the money. Usually I’ll personally give you the money in the evening. Ammunition and food are collected together. In certain special circ.u.mstances it might get postponed, but that’s very rare. Also, you’re required to apply in advance for any special supplies. Since you are a sniper team you can get a four-man room, but you guys can only rest for one night. We gotta move out tomorrow morning. Okay, now, if you have no more questions, you can go and rest."

Knowing that they didn’t need to fight with unfamiliar mercenaries and that they had the highest degree of freedom, Gao Yang was very satisfied with the benefits they got as a sniper team, especially the fact that they didn’t need to crowd with a bunch of strangers in a room. It was only the four of them. Although he had to bear with Tribo’s smelly legs and Grolev’s bruxism, he still hurried to seize the time to get a good night’s rest.

Translator’s note(s):