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Before night fully fell, Roy arrived. This was a stretch of land in southwestern Kazdel, the designated gathering point.

Although there was still about half a day before the assembly deadline, quite a few mercenaries had already gathered here. Most were Sarkaz, though some, like Roy, came from other countries.

At the center of the area stood a massive object, most of its body concealed beneath a tarp. Judging by the tracks exposed beneath it and several structures that had not yet been covered, only given rudimentary camouflage, it appeared to be something akin to a mobile city. Or rather, it was very likely a landship.

Roy was not particularly surprised by that. After all, if they could build something as enormous as a mobile city, a landship was hardly worth mentioning.

"Name."

"Roy."

"Combat style."

"Close combat."

"Are you willing to act alongside other mercenary groups?"

"I don't mind."

After a brief exchange, the other party finished filling out a document and handed it to Roy. Judging from its contents, it was an identification document that also served somewhat as a letter of introduction.

Their meaning was clear: they had no need for a mercenary who fought alone. If Roy refused their assignment, something unpleasant might happen.

Roy did not particularly care, but reducing trouble was not a bad thing.

"Sarkaz Mercenary Corps, huh?"

Looking over the document, Roy sighed softly before beginning his search across the gathering site.

At last, when his gaze shifted to the rear side of the massive object suspected to be a landship, he spotted the mercenary corps he had been looking for.

Judging by their numbers, this was likely only a squad from the Sarkaz Mercenary Corps. After all, not every mercenary corps could bear the name of an entire race.

Leading them was a male Sarkaz, with a female Sarkaz standing beside him. Presumably, those two were the squad's leaders. As for the person farther away who seemed to be adjusting some sort of explosive, she was likely a member. Roy had no interest in her standing within the mercenary corps.

"I hope my arrival has not interrupted your conversation."

After approaching the pair, Roy displayed the document and spoke.

Upon seeing Roy's document, the male Sarkaz's tense expression eased. Still, Roy did not believe that document alone had made him lower his guard. The proper reaction was more like that of the black-haired female Sarkaz beside him. For mercenaries, an unfamiliar person suddenly visiting their resting place was never a good thing.

The man's hand gripping his sword hilt made that even clearer. If Roy did anything out of line, this mercenary would not hesitate to use the blade in his hand to cut him in half!

This was no joke. For Sarkaz mercenaries, it was everyday life.

"What do you want, stranger?"

"For the coming operation, the employer has ordered me to act alongside you."

"An employer's assignment alone is not enough to let you work with us for the time being."

Almost the moment Roy finished speaking, the female Sarkaz beside the man spoke. Her expression was as cold as frost, but her hostility was laid bare before Roy. This place did not welcome an outsider like him. At the very least, she did not welcome him.

"I don't want to either, but since it is the employer's request, we can only obey, can't we?"

Roy still wore a professional smile. In the past, he would never have pressed his warm face against someone else's cold shoulder, but things were different now.

This landship and whatever was aboard it were worth the enemy committing a great deal of force. Though he considered himself somewhat capable in combat now, that did not mean he could survive a war.

Individual strength on a battlefield was like a stone dropped into a lake. Unless that stone was enough to stir the entire lake, all it could do was raise a faint splash.

So Roy truly needed comrades who could fight alongside him.

"Besides, you can test whether I am qualified to travel with you. I do not mind sparring with someone."

As Roy finished speaking, the two Sarkaz conferred in low voices for a moment. Then the male Sarkaz stepped forward and said,

"I will assign a member of the mercenary corps to fight you. If you can win, I will agree to let you act alongside us for the time being."

He did not mention the cost of failure, but to Roy, there was no need to mention it.

In Kazdel, failure meant death, even if it was only a sparring match.

Sarkaz mercenaries would surely strike to kill in battle. Once an opponent was killed, the most valuable item on their body would become proof of that Sarkaz's victory, while everything else would be treated as spoils.

Roy naturally knew this perfectly well, so he would not ask such a foolish question.

"No problem. I accept."

Just as Roy finished speaking, the girl in the distance who had been organizing explosives happened to finish what she was doing. At the male Sarkaz's slight gesture, she walked over.

She looked Roy over with a malicious gaze that made one deeply uncomfortable. At the same time, she wore a smile—the sort of smile that made people think, Nothing good ever comes when she smiles.

"This is the mercenary the employer assigned to work with us temporarily. W, go test whether he is qualified."

"Aren't you worried I'll kill him?"

Hearing the girl's words, the male Sarkaz paused. Then he and the female Sarkaz mercenary headed deeper into the resting area. Just before they moved out of earshot, he finally answered.

"If he dies, he brought it upon himself. You may handle the spoils as you see fit."

"Understood."

At that moment, the girl looked at Roy with undisguised malice, as though he were a fat sheep waiting for slaughter.

It was clear that she was extremely confident in her own strength.

A firearm hung from her body, while a blade rested at her waist, making it impossible to tell which was her primary weapon. However, judging from the explosives she had been organizing earlier, that gun was clearly her true weapon. After all, no matter how times changed, no one would use Originium explosives as their main weapon in close-quarters combat!