Haroon

《Brat’s superb performance》

  It was on their third morning since Haroon and his members joined Rotem Mercenaries’ party. They will be able to arrive the viscounty of Parson the very next day, and the contract will be over. They’ve encountered a few number of orcs and goblins but they weren’t any problem to the party as Haroon has joined them.

 As the Rotem Mercenaries were still recovering from the injuries of last battle with the orcs, the Gust of Winds had to face these small group of orcs or goblins. But Haroon had no objections since the Quad w.a.n.kers needed more experience. Using the encounters as chance, Haroon made the Quad w.a.n.kers to practice their teamwork.

 Haroon was training with the Quad w.a.n.kers. It was very early morning, and there was someone who visited Haroon. It was Doran. He and Devron were very interested in the Gust of Winds seeing how they have been sincere to the training and won’t hesitate to take charge in battle.

 “Haroon, I’ve got some affair to talk with you.”

 “Why, you’ve got all my ears.”

 “Then, Ehem.”

 With his eyes, he signaled Haroon to sit on the box seat of his cart. That was the seat his kids sit. Haroon could see they were at Devron’s cart. Haroon noticed Doran was being cautious for some reason. Haroon silently nodded and sat next to him.

 “May I ask a favor?”

 “I am listening.”

 Doran always has treated Haroon politely. Moreover, he was preparing food for the Gust of Winds, so Haroon wanted to help him if he can.

 “As planned, we will be arriving the castle of viscount tomorrow. But I and Devron are planning to quit this party.”

 “Oh, and why is that?”

 He wasn’t able to expect anything at this point. Is this how the quest is supposed to be? or did something has happened to the V.I.P? Even though he didn’t know about the details, he could see that Doran, also, is related with the V.I.P. as Devron is.

 “This journey so far was strangely dangerous, unlike the other times. The path we took was supposed to be safest compared to other paths. But oddly enough, we’ve already encountered more monsters than we were supposed to in the whole journey. Moreover, if it weren’t you and your members, I can’t imagine what would have happened to us in the battle 3 days ago.”

 Haroon didn’t have anything to say about it as he was just a newbie mercenary.

 “The members of the Rotem Mercenaries are not united yet. Devron’s view on this is that it would be risky to let Rotem Mercenaries escort us, not in this state. I think the same.”

 That’s a news to Haroon. Haroon didn’t see any conflict between the Rotem members.

 “So Devron and I were thinking of moving as a smaller group. We were planning to hire a pathfinder and a small number of mercenaries. Let me be honest with you. He and I are not merchants and our only concern is to arrive Viscounty of Paros safely. We have another 14 years old girl riding on his cart. She is Devron’s niece, Briella, and she needs to get to the Viscounty of Paros on an urgent matter.”

 It was at this moment when Haroon could hear a UI sound and a new quest window was opened.

 [You have received a quest]

Escort Devron party to Viscounty of Paros

Devron and his party couldn’t trust Rotem Mercenaries anymore. And somehow, they fount out some kind of danger is impending on the merchants party. Escort the girl, Devron’s relative, to Viscounty of Paros.

Reward: +200 Fame, 100 Gold in cash, Briella’s present(?)

Failing the quest decreases your fame by 200 and gradually decreases chance to get new quests.

 Haroon now sure that the girl she mentioned is the main character of the story quest, but he needed to check things further.

 “Oh! I had no idea there was another person in the cart. What is going on?”

 “Oh, nothing. She has a poor health and it’s a bit sensitive talk.”

 Doran hesitated to talk further.

 “I see. And how about these goods?”

 “We will get rid of non-necessary things. As we are giving up our business, we’ll sell our carts as well.”

 He had no idea that multiple quests can be overlapped, and the situation was going in his favor as he could proceed the story quest as well. Smiling inside with satisfaction, Haroon accepted the quest.

 “It’s a deal. First, I have to thank you for appreciating our ability. It is fortunate that I only agreed to escort the merchants to the viscounty of Parson. There won’t be any conflict with Rotem Mercenaries.”

[You have accepted the quest]

 “Thank you very much. If it is you, we are relieved.”

 Doran smiled brightly and gave a signal to Devron who was watching them over the shoulder from his cart. The old man nodded.

 Nothing happened in the morning. It was a short, 3 day trip with the Rotem Mercenaries, but it was long enough to make Gitan and Sepher friends. Sepia also got two new friends, Serinn and Ritrina, and they got friendly enough to talk whisper to whisper.

 Unlike how Haroon was traveling only with the Quad w.a.n.kers…. Haroon couldn’t think of a good word to describe it. What to say, he felt the situation was very kind and warm, so he didn’t bully the Quad w.a.n.kers anymore.

 But is it because a good time pa.s.ses quicker than the other times? Or is it because there is always a calm before the storm? The merchants had to stop because of the urgent news from the scouts.

 “Boss! BOSS!”

 A cloud of dust was created by the footsteps of the scout who were running toward them. No one told the party to stop, but the scout’s urgent voice made everyone stop just in a moment. The merchants knew the scout, and he wasn’t a mercenary who would shout. He always accomplished his task sincerely and quietly.

 “Philip, go and see what’s going on.””Gotcha, Boss.”

 “Gotcha, Boss.”

 The oldest of the quad w.a.n.kers, and the model mercenary of the guild head to the head of the merchants with haste.

 “I hope it is not something bad. Like we thought, this journey is oddly dangerous.”

 It was Doran. He was hugging his two kids with a nervous look on his face. Doran was looking at the top of the hill, which seemed quite steep.

 “Is it the orcs, again?” asked Devron, walking toward them.

 “As far as I know, there are no monsters living in Dakin hill. There are no valleys nearby, and the forest here doesn’t produce edible fruits, which, again, means this place is not appropriate for the monsters to live near…….”

 Doran replied, tilting his head.

 “Well, there is one creature that would still live in that place,” Devron suggested.

 “You mean Humans?”

 “Yes, and if that’s the case, I suspect that they would be the bandits. But what confuses me is that this place is not that far from the Metropolis, thus the bandits won’t dare to stay near here.”

 There was one thing Haroon was curious about.

 “But why would they bother to rob a small group like this party?” Haroon asked.

 “They usually target a small party like this one. They’ve got fewer mercenaries to deal with, and they won’t be risking themselves to get in the trouble as they know this kind of party is not related with big mercenary guilds,” Devron answered him.

 It seemed Doran knew it as well. With a nervous look, Doran nodded to agree with Devron’s explanation.

 It didn’t take long until Haroon’s heart started to pump very violently. Not because of his fighting spirit before the battle. He just wasn’t sure how he should think of dealing with the bandits, as they are human as well. Haroon knew he was just playing a game, but that didn’t justify killing humans as the game itself was very real.

 All the merchants and workers went out of the cart and waited for further direction from Tain. It seemed the leaders were still in the meeting.

 Haroon’s party and Devron’s party could see Phin running toward them. His body was quite small compared to other mercenaries, but he was a very experienced mercenary. With clever, fast mind and agile body, he usually took a role of scouting.

 “Haroon, you need to attend the meeting.”

 “What’s the matter?”

 “You better go and hear from them.”

 Haroon ran to the front part of the party as Phin hurried him. Except for the ones in overwatch, Mercenaries were waiting for him, standing in an arch shape with Tain and Meilan in the middle.

 “Welcome, Haroon. I heard our members had a smoother journey with your help.”

 Tain greeted and welcomed him.

 “You’ve been a great help in a situation like this,” said Meilan.

 She gave Haroon a warm gaze. Was it because she is middle-aged? Her eyes were quite friendly. But why does it look like a shadow was covering her face? Some other mercenaries greeted him with small gestures. Haroon greeted them with his eyes and gave his attention to Tain.

 “Alright, I’ll give you a brief explanation of the situation as Haroon joined us. A group of bandits is in the bush in the forest over the heal. We can’t estimate the numbers. The scouts reported that they saw silver wolves. In the worst case of scenario, it can be one group of the Wolf Bandits.”

 Lots of the mercenaries went pale when they heard the word ‘Wolf Bandits’.

 “Why would the Wolf Bandits even bother to attack a small group like this?”

 Somebody questioned, but n.o.body could answer him. That’s the attacker’s concern, not the prey’s.

 “As you may know already, the Wolf Bandits are one of the cruelest ones that annihilates everything that breathes.”

 Now it became a giant elephant in the room.

 “In a situation like this, there are two options that we can take. Number one, try to conceal our existence and go a long way around and tried to avoid them as much as possible. Of course, they would have their own scouts as well. There is no chance we would completely avoid them. But if they do see us, we may find a good terrain to defend ourselves.”

 Some mercenaries shook their heads. Defending was not a good plan when they don’t know the number of enemies.

 “Number two, we know they are in the ambush, so we can deploy a small group of us to attack the ambushed ones and make a surprise attack when things are still in chaos. In this case, we have to a.s.sume that there is no other group of ambushed enemy, and we need to take sneaky, but aggressive and effective attack.

 Haroon liked the second option. And it seemed the other mercenaries favored it as well. As well as Tain did.

 “I can see from your face that you guys support the second option. And it is true that we need to take action first as we have something to protect. So, here is the plan.”

 Tain explained his plan, drawing terrain on the ground with a stick.

 “This is where we are. Our sides are steep slopes, and there is a hill up ahead. There is gra.s.s field over the heal, and ahead of a gra.s.s field, there is the forest going uphill once again. This forest is where those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have ambushed.”

 Then he paused there, looking at the map he drew. He asked Phin.

 “Was there any ambush nearby?”

 “No, there is nothing at all. With Roam, I have checked both slopes, and there was no sign of the ambush.

 Phin’s word had some confidence in it.

 “Good, then, free mercenaries and 3 of Haroon’s members will protect the merchants. The others will join the battle. Phin, lead the way and will seek where exactly the ambush is.”

 “Got it,” answered Phin.

 Phin confidently smiled at the mercenaries.

 “Panthus, Orth, and Millon, take your bow and follow Phin.”

 “s.h.i.t, Bows? Not my favorite, but alright, Boss.”

 Panthus seemed not happy about the role. But he followed the orders anyway. Moving his muscular arm and dropping the ax, he took his bow. Two others moved as well with some kind of rods in their back. It looked like their bows.

 “Meilan, obscure their vision as much as possible.”

 “Got it. Fog magic should do the trick.”

 Meilan gladly agreed to join the battle.

 “Haroon, a.s.sa.s.sinate the bandits with your throwing knives. They must have some sort of signal that we don’t know. Before they get the signal and jump out of the forest, reduce their number as much as possible.”

 Haroon nodded, but deeply sighed in the inside. He would not feel the same if it were the monsters, but it was humans this time. Although they may be NPCs and bandits, taking someone’s life was not something he wanted to do. But he knew this was the best choice given, he had to make the choice.

 “Got it.”

 “Great. The rest will wait for the signal in the gra.s.s field. When the squad succeeds their attack and the rest of bandits jump out of the forest, attack with all you’ve got at my signal. Then, prepare to attack now. We’ll have to wait for Phin to eliminate the enemy’s scout. This plan won’t work if we are spotted.”

 “Consider it done, boss,” said Phin.

 His voice wasn’t loud, but it had strong confidence in it, and it moved some people’s mind.

 “But there is something we need to discuss first, Boss Tain.”
“What is it, Philip?”

 Philip’s voice was serious enough to stop everyone when they were just about to move.

 “We haven’t discussed the right of property of the Warrior’s leather we’ve slain a few days ago. I’ve joined in the middle of the fight, and my Boss has made a final attack. Now that he is fully recovered, let’s make sure of this affair.”

 “Hmm, Well?”

 Tain cringed his face and everybody could see it. The moment he wanted to avoid eventually came. He asked Jagin first.

 “Squad leader Jagin, What’s your view on this?”

 “Khhm. Well, think about how we get the Warrior, you’ll realize there is no need to discuss how we should divide the leather. We three have fought to our lives to make it almost dead, and he just laid a spoon on it.”

 Jagin stared at Philip’s face for a moment, then gave a canny smile.

 “He just laid a spoon on it? Do you really mean it? You guys have saved your lives with his throwing knives, and you know I fought with you as well. Whatever condition the Warrior was in, the thing that took its life was my boss’s dagger.”

 Philip directly faced Jagin’s stare and added momentum to his words. This model-like dude isn’t only good at his training, but he also had an unyielding spirit to express his own opinion without fearing the opponent.

 ‘Go to h.e.l.l, Philip,’ Haroon thought.

 He just felt jealous of him. That’s all. It wasn’t like he hates him or something.

 “Nonsense! Don’t you know we got in trouble because his dagger enraged it? And we could have got the Warrior on the chase even if the dagger didn’t get it.”

 “So you mean you won’t divide any portion of it to us?”

 Jagin’s sly smile and words made Philip angry, but Jagin didn’t care about it all all.

 “Naturally.”

 With that word, Haroon and Philip dropped their jaws. They didn’t expect him to be that flat. Philip’s stare got intense. It seemed almost like he wouldn’t hesitate to draw his sword if things go wrong.

  “Huh! This dude just doesn’t get the point. So you will keep 100 gold worth leather all alone?”

 “What do you mean alone? There is three of us.”

 Haroon held Philip’s shoulder as Philip’s word started to show some blades. Jagin’s words and att.i.tudes were going over the line. Even his guildmates seemed unpleasant of his behavior. But n.o.body was stopping him. Neither Tain and Meilan were going to. This showed who Jagin was in his guild.

Philip knew speaking to Jagin won’t work, so he asked Tain instead.

 “Do you think the same, Boss Tain?”

 “We-well…….”

 Tain couldn’t answer as the question was suddenly drawn to him.

 “I may be a Grade-E mercenary who lacks experience, but I have never seen how the common sense of the Mercenary world is being ignored like this. If even our smallest right is ignored like this, how do you think we would partic.i.p.ate in the quest?”

  “We-Well. That’s not true.”

 Unlike how he talked during the tactical meeting, he was stuttering.

 Although Rotem might be a small mercenary guild, Tain was dreaming of a skillful guild. Jagin was a skillful swordsman who was about to be an Expert, and he usually marked Boss monsters in the battle. Thus, Tain couldn’t oppose Jagin’s word that easily.

 Tain clearly knew it was Jagin who was making an unreasonable demand, and he knew he was merely a member of his guild. However, he couldn’t take Haroon’s side who just joined the party a few days ago. If he did so, greedy and short-thinking Jagin and his two friends will quit the guild.

Tain bit his lower lips. He had to make a decision.

 “To be honest, except the ones who were fighting the Orc Warrior, no one knows how Haroon’s throwing knife contributed killing the Warrior. And I don’t think there would be anyone who could have witnessed as the other mercenaries were fighting with the orcs.”

 Thinking it was very unfair, Haroon shut his eyes. He could feel his face was turning red and his head was getting hot because of anger. But he listed to Tain’s words attentively.

 “It is hard to think Haroon’s dagger could have killed it thinking the distance. Even if we agree that your boss has used a spirit’s power, there is still a problem. The warrior was gravely injured by the three, so we can’t say for sure if it was the dagger it killed it, or if it was the injury that eventually killed it.

 Haroon patiently listened only to hear the nonsense. Tain was acting differently from how he thanked him on the night of the battle. He didn’t expect him to spit two different minds in the same mouth.

 Not only that, Haroon could see how mercenaries were seeing him differently. The mercenaries who got saved by Haroon was avoiding his eyes.

 “B-b-but it was my boss’s dagger which killed the Warrior!”

 Philip was stuttering because of feeling tight. Tain shook his head.

 “Well, I did investigate it myself, but it wasn’t Haroon’s throwing knife that killed the Warrior. He admitted as well.

 Haroon realized this was why a mercenary came to his tent last night to ask if the dagger he was holding was Haroon’s.

 “Heh, yeah. It doesn’t make sense how grade-D mercenary has that skill. Moreover, a throwing knife with a spirit’s power? I’ve never heard of such a thing in my life.”

 Somebody’s word emphasized the doubts that almost every mercenary had. The tide has turned against Haroon.

 “Do you see what I mean? Killing a warrior with a throwing knife from that distance is impossible unless the knife is alive. However skillful an Elementalist is, do you think it makes sense that they can put a spirit’s power in the dagger? Moreover, the dagger penetrated its side of the head, not the back of it. It just doesn’t make any sense,” Jagin added.

 He was smiling in satisfaction. He has been manipulating others by telling this theory for last three days. Since Tain wasn’t present at the battlefield, Tain’s logical thinking reached that Jagin’s theory was more reasonable.

 Haroon lost his words. He made a hollow smile. They say people’s minds are sly. Haroon learned it hard way.

 ‘Good to know, huh,’ he thought.

 He saw and feel how the majority can make the minority fools. He was once a hero, and now he was just a con. Some mercenaries were giving him a sad look, but the overall mood was already doubting Haroon’s achievement. Their eyes were saying ‘you liar!’ and it made Haroon very angry.

 Haroon looked at Meilan. She will be able to tell. She has witnessed the battlefield from the start to end. But she was avoiding his eyes, fixing her eyes on the ground.

  ‘Should I just show Brat’s presence?’

 That’ll do. Haroon just couldn’t stand being a liar. But he changed his mind when he was about to open his mouth.

 ‘I can’t trust this kind of people as my friends. I’ve decided to accompany with Doran and Devron anyway. I think this is the moment where I can draw a line,’ he thought.

 That relieved his mind. Then he could see how troubled Tain and Meilan were. He could feel the concern they have, the concern of the leader who has to choose between the loyalty and relationship. The tragedy of the leader.

 “Stop! Philip. Let’s just finish it here.”

 “WHY? You even fell unconsciousness as you have used all your power, and NOW you are fully recovered, and why do you have to give up OUR rights? You could just SHOW them your spirit!”

 Haroon stopped Philip in anger by coldly staring at him, then opened his mouth toward Tain.

 “If they ‘would’ believe what they see, I would have. Can’t you see, Philip? They are intending… and determined not to share any portion of it no matter what. What’s the use of the proof, then?”

 Some mercenaries turned away hearing that.

 “Tain, I’ll be with you until we arrive Viscounty of Parson as we agreed to do so. But I simply can’t accompany with this kind of people any more than that. Now I see why people say it is hard to gain trust but it is easy to break. I thought we did enough to be appreciated, but I guess it was too much to make us liars. What a shame.”

 That made mercenaries to feel mixed feelings. They knew they saved lots of lives even they don’t count the killing the Warrior.

  “Haroon, please don’t take it too personally. Everyone has different thoughts. You know it isn’t like we were denying the fact that you and your members played a huge role in this journey, don’t you? I’ll pay you extra later, so calm down, would you?

 Finally, Tain joined the talk and tried to ease the mood.

At first, Tain did want to divide some portion to Haroon’s party, but Jagin squad’s stand was very firm. Their reason was that they couldn’t believe a newbie, grade-D’s G.o.dlike skill that they have never seen nor heard of.

To Tain, who wasn’t at the battlefield, Jagin’s word was quite reasonable. It was hard to believe that a mere grade D mercenary has such a skill. But his sister Meilan was saying Haroon did kill the Warrior. He knew she wouldn’t lie. He was confused.

After a long thought, Tain valued his friendliness higher than the truth. He didn’t have any reason to be a friend of Haroon and his party. It would just create more conflicts. And when they do get to Castle of Parson, they could recruit more mercenaries.

“But I won’t mess up this mission. I’ll show them what I’ve got,” Haroon added.

 ‘And I’ll show you that my words were right, and show Jagin Squad how wrong they’ve behaved,’ Haroon thought.

 Tain could feel Haroon’s word were full of blades. He took a deep breath and nodded. Haroon was good at drawing lines between friends and others. It was something that Tain wasn’t good at so he could believe Haroon’s words.

 “It’s a bit sad to lose you, but what can I say?”

 The other mercenaries felt mixed feelings seeing a cold mood created by a mere Warrior’s leather. Especially those wandering mercenaries, who were temporarily hired, saw exactly how they will be treated.

 “Then, to your position!” Tain shouted out loud as if he was trying to ease his mind.

 Like other mercenaries, Haroon and Philip headed back to their cart to check their weapons and gears. Jagin’s squad, except Jagin himself, seemed uneasy of the situation as well. They went back to where their gears were at.

Tain let another deep sigh once again.

 “His throwing knives could be a great help if he would come with us……..”

 With mixed feeling on her face, Meilan patted his shoulder hearing his monologue.

 “Tain, Cheer up. Let’s get some good people and make a guild that you want.”

 “I will. I just hope this matter wouldn’t affect the battle ahead.”

 “It wouldn’t. I don’t think Haroon is that kind of person. Unlike Turan, who has fast thinking, Haroon thinks differently. Of course, if that kind of person gets angry, it would be much more terrifying, but I don’t think he is that much angry yet.”

 “I think the same, Meilan.”

 The two has realized that they lost a good person because they didn’t take a risk. But they thought they made the best choice they could take.

  “Ay, f.u.c.k! What did I do to deserve that sarcasm, you piece of s.h.i.ts? It was us who were risking our f.u.c.king lives!”

 “We-Well, Jagin, you were over the line so…”

 “Bulls.h.i.t! It was US who almost killed it! Do you think it makes f.u.c.king sense that a freaking Warrior would die to a mere G.o.d d.a.m.ned dagger when it easily fought with us, f.u.c.king, whole, three, Experts?

 “You are not wrong, but I don’t think it was just a mere dagger….”

 “SHUT THE f.u.c.k UP!”

 Jagin was making quite a large noise. He is probably doing it to make Haroon hear him, but he didn’t realize not only Haroon was hearing it. Merchants and labor workers frowned their face hearing his swears.

 “That file of s.h.i.t,” a merchant lowly murmured.

 Tain was able to overhear the merchant’s swear. Tain recognized the voice. It was the merchant, one of the ones who doesn’t like facing mercenaries.

 “I can’t believe I hired that piece of s.h.i.t to escort us, and I thought Rotem was different from other mercenaries,” said another merchant who was next to merchant who swore.

 Those words hurt Tain’s heart like a dagger.

Unlike other mercenary guilds, who only cares about money, Tain always did his best to give trust to the merchants. He was unsettled by hearing those words.

‘Did I made a mistake thinking only of my easiness?’ He thought.

 He thought he made a rational and reasonable decision, but he realized that it might not be the case.

“Boss, do you really want to give up that leather like this?”

 “You don’t have to care about those who can’t trust their friends. The real man uses their strength on those who can appreciate it.”

 Philip relieved his anger hearing Haroon’s determined words.

 “Yeah, you are right. I mean, it’s not that worth it. I just wanted them to treat us properly. There is always one or two problems on small guilds when they make biased decisions toward their relationship.”

 Philip, like someone who learned administration, pointed out what exactly the problem was.

 “By the way, Philip, about the bandits hiding for the ambush, who are they?”

 “Freaking b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. In 4 words: Monsters with human clothing.”

 His answer was simple. As if he knew Haroon wasn’t satisfied with his answer, he explained further.

 “I knew you were ignorant about the world, but that’s a bit too much. Listen well, Boss. Not every bandit is same. Some were just farmers who couldn’t pay their tax. Some were minor criminals who ran from their landlords. These kind of bandits are forgivable. But according to what Phin said, those bandits with wolves are probably Wolf Bandits.”

 “Wolf Bandits?”

 “Yes. They say even babies stop crying hearing that name. They are most cruel, and fearful ones. They live with wolves, and attacks merchants or small village. Unlike the other bandits, they leave nothing behind. Like gra.s.shopper swarm.

 “You mean they do take peoples lives?”

 “What else could it mean? People claim that hey saw those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds eating human flesh. Some claims that they feed the wolves with human flesh. They are probably right. My father once told me he saw children’s bones scattered around in the town after the wolf bandits’ raid.”

 “And they still walk in one piece?”

 Haroon lost his words. Humans, eating another human?

 “It is not like their one base. There is a lot of them. Unlike those ones who became bandits to survive, these are a group of criminals who fled from the law force of the Empires. They are wild and strong.”

 “But what are the n.o.bles doing? Well, what about the Empires?”

 A n.o.ble may not have enough arms, but an Empire would have a great army. He couldn’t understand why the Empires would allow their acts.

 “It’s quite a long story. They began appearing more than 300 years ago. However, their forces were weak even a few decades ago. The Knights of Empire and the n.o.bles cooperated to wipe them out. Some even became so-called heroes. This motivated other knights to actively partic.i.p.ate the raid. But then…….”

 “Then what?”

 “You know how the Emperor has been in poor health for 10 years. Because that dim light isn’t going off, the fight for the power has been getting intense between the imperial families. They are busy enough making changes in the parties’ political alignments with n.o.bles. Soon after, they decided not to risk their troops to wipe ‘mere’ bandits. You know, they do take quite damage attacking wild, inhuman bandits with wolves.”

 “Hmm…”

 Haroon felt some kind of the whirlwind of change is blowing in the world of Beyond. He knew it by instinct. The story quest he got must be related as well.

 “They gave up to be humans. Don’t let your mind disturb you,” Philip added.

 Haroon nodded. He regretted spending his mind on moral on them as he learned the enemies are just cruel b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. They were not humans anymore. They were monsters.

 Haroon and Philip arrived where their members were at. Haroon explained to the members what the plan was.

 “I’ll go with you, Boss,” said Philip.

 Even they were about to be in need of murdering someone, they seemed not shocked by what they had to do. Philip even seemed excited by the situation. Then Haroon realized the Quad w.a.n.kers were not just new mercenaries who just had their first combat not too long ago. They have been seeing and hearing about the mercenaries’ life from their childhood.

 But Haroon had to exclude Gitan and Serinn. They were just too coward. They had no reason to volunteer for a b.l.o.o.d.y battle anyway. He didn’t even consider bringing Ritrina with him. With her rage, the party would have to give up the whole plan.

 So Haroon agreed. Philip was the most skilled and experienced on in the party.

 After a.s.signing the quad w.a.n.kers their position, Haroon checked his throwing weapons. The only reason Haroon was selected as the attacking squad was his skill with these so he couldn’t care less about it. While he was busy checking his weapons, Doran came to him.

 “Haroon, they say it is very likely to be the wolf bandits. Is that right?”

 “That’s what they say so.”

 “Then, here.”

 There were worry and concern in his face. He was handing a few small gla.s.s bottles.

 “…What are these?”

 “Mana potions and healing potions. Two each. Their quality may be low, but it should be enough for the battle. Don’t hesitate to kill them. Those cruel ones should not exist. Not on this earth. But don’t overtax like a few days ago.”

 Without a word, Haroon looked at Doran’s face and hands, alternatively.

 “We do believe in you and your members, but I’m giving you these as you can’t suffer like a few days ago. Feel free, and take these. If it still bothers you, then pay me later.”

 Doran smiled. Haroon could feel Doran’s cordiality. It was a pure heart coming from the worry. Haroon already had some potions in his inventory that Gitan and Philip gave him, but nothing is wrong to have more of it.

 “Thank you very much for caring.”

 Doran went back to his cart, and Haroon could see Devron and two kids were looking at him with worry and warm cheers.

TL’s note:

 The next part is the battle with bandits, and the afterward. To me, this was the best point to break the chapter into parts. This is only one-third of this chapter. With such a busy schedule, I had to break these into two parts.