Chapter 104: The Military's Request

Lucian sat comfortably in his chair, scrolling through the missions available on the Mercenary Guild’s official website.

After registering Shadow Genesis successfully, it was time for them to take on their first mission.

“Let’s see what they’ve got!”

The mission board contained a wide variety of assignments. Some involved gathering resources from the wilderness, while others required mercenaries to escort merchants or eliminate dangerous creatures. There were even missions requesting assistance with investigations in remote areas.

However. most of them offered mediocre rewards.

Lucian continued scrolling, his eyes moving quickly across the mission descriptions. He wasn’t particularly interested in wasting time on trivial assignments. Since Shadow Genesis was still a newly registered squad, he needed a mission that would allow him to evaluate their combat capabilities without attracting unnecessary attention.

Then, one mission particularly caught his attention.

“Hmm?”

Lucian paused scrolling and leaned closer to the screen.

This mission wasn’t like the other ones. This mission was issued by the military.

Mission: Kill Threatening Monster Beasts

Issuer: Earth Federation Military

Location: Outside Silverwood City.

Task: Find and kill Monster Beasts who have strayed outside of their normal area.

Difficulty Level: Minimum Master Master Late Stage.

Reward: Large amount of money. Extra depending on outcome.

Lucian read through the description carefully.

According to the military’s report, several Monster Beasts had recently begun moving away from their usual hunting grounds. Their movements were becoming increasingly unpredictable, and some had already been spotted near areas where humans frequently traveled.

If the situation continued to deteriorate, the beasts could eventually threaten Silverwood City and the nearby settlements.

The military had therefore decided to eliminate the threat before it grew any worse. However, with multiple areas requiring attention, it had opened the mission to registered mercenary squads as well.

Lucian tapped his fingers on the armrest.

“So they need extra people.”

That wasn’t particularly surprising. The wilderness beyond human settlements was vast, and Monster Beasts occupied most of these areas. Since many settlements were located close to their territories, humans constantly lived under the threat of Monster Beast attacks. Even with the military protecting all the cities, it couldn’t possibly deal with every problems.

That was where Mercenaries came.

They accepted dangerous assignments in exchange for rewards, allowing the military and other organizations to distribute their manpower more efficiently.

Lucian looked back at the mission.

The reward was much better than most beginner missions and the task was simple.

Find Monster Beasts.

Kill them.

Come back.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that simple. Monster Beasts vary in strength and can be unpredictable. But Lucian wasn’t sending regular mercenaries.

He had an army of Shadow Soldiers.

“This should be suitable for a first mission.”

Lucian wanted to see how good his Shadow Soldiers were in battle. Even though they were extremely powerful, he wanted to know how efficient they were.

He wanted to know how efficient they would be at killing their targets, how they would react to unexpected situations and if they could complete a mission on their own.

This mission would help him find out.

Beside, there was no need for him go personally whenever Shadow Genesis accepted an assignment.

Lucian clicked on the button to accept the mission.

[Accepted Mission]

[Shadow Genesis Mercenary Squad]

[Waiting to Deploy]

Lucian nodded.

“Alright let’s get started.”

Lucian closed the mission details and connected to Aldric.

—

A moment later Aldric appeared in front of Lucian.

He stood tall and waited patiently for his masters orders.

“Master, you called me here?”

Lucian nodded and pointed to the screen.

“I’ve accepted our first mission. Here are the details.”

Aldric walked over and looked at the screen. He read through the details.

“Our task is to kill Monster Beasts who have strayed outside of their normal area. We will be heading outside of Silverwood City.”

“That’s right.”

Lucian leaned back in his chair.

“I want you to lead the mission. Choose an appropriate amount of Shadow Soldiers and get ready to leave.”

“Understood.”

Aldric agreed.

However, Lucian raised his hand.

“Just don’t take any unnecessary risks because you’re strong.”

Aldric looked back at him.

Lucian’s expression turned slightly serious.

“We don’t know how strong or how many Monster Beasts there are. We just know generally what’s going on from the military report. Be cautious when you arrive and keep the squad organised.”

“Understood Master.”

“If there is anything outside of the mission details, analyse the situation. There is no point fighting if you don’t need to. Don’t forget to collect the mission evidence for the guild.”

Aldric nodded, remembering all the details.

A/N: Whenever a Shadow Soldier dies, they can only be resurrected after seven days. After Lucian breaks through to the Martial Master realm, all Shadow Soldiers will have an IQ comparable to that of an average human.

Lucian knew this wasn’t just a simple mission to kill some monsters. It was their first official mission as a mercenary squad.

It would show how much he could trust them in future missions.

“I will complete the mission and return with the results.” Aldric said firmly.

Lucian nodded in approval.

“Good. I’ll leave it to you.”

Aldric turned and went to collect the chosen Shadow Soldiers.

Lucian watched as he left with a small smile.

“Let’s see how they perform.”

Lucian had complete confidence in his Shadow Soldiers but wanted to know how they would do in a real battle. He wanted to know how disciplined they were.

Mercenaries aren’t just strong. They also need to be disciplined, coordinated and able to adapt to unexpected situations.

If Aldric can complete this mission then it will be a good start for Shadow Genesis.

—

A short while later, Aldric had gathered the chosen Shadow Soldiers.

“We have a simple mission. We will head outside of Silverwood City and find and kill the Monster Beasts mentioned in the military report. Be alert during the mission and don’t break formation unless necessary. If you see anything unusual, tell me.”

The Shadow Soldiers nodded.

Aldric looked over the mission details again to make sure everyone knew what they were doing.

No need to make a speech.

They knew what they had to do.

Once everything was ready, Aldric led the squad towards the city gates.

Shadow Genesis had accepted their first mission.

Their first mission was about to start.

Lucian sat in Silverwood City, watching the screen with mild anticipation.

He wasn’t going to interfere unless needed.

He wanted to see how they did on their own.

“Don’t let me down Aldric.”

Lucian focused on the other tasks.