Chapter 107 An Unexpected Encounter

Aldric and his four Shadow Soldiers ventured further into the wild.

After taking out the first three Monster Beasts they had spent some time scouting the area. The terrain was becoming increasingly harder to navigate through with the thick vegetation and rough rocks.

Aldric was fine with this.

It was best not to charge headlong into unknown areas.

After a while one of the Shadow Soldiers suddenly spotted movement.

Aldric came to an immediate stop.

A few seconds later a number of figures came into view.

Monster Beasts.

However this time there were four.

They were bigger than before, with thick bodies and long claws. One of them let out a low growl as it noticed the group approaching, whilst another began to circle around the side.

Aldric watched them.

‘Strategising to surround us.’

He raised his hand.

“Make sure you don’t get separated. Take them all on together.”

The Shadow Soldiers sprang into action.

Two of them charged forward to draw the attention of the closest Monster Beasts whilst the other two moved into position to deal with those trying to circle around.

The Monster Beasts charged.

Aldric moved forward to meet the first one. As it swung its claws towards his chest he dodged out of the way and landed a heavy blow to its body.

It stumbled back.

Before it could recover Aldric attacked again, knocking it down.

The other Shadow Soldiers fought against the other Monster Beasts.

One tried to push its way through but was met with two well timed attacks from both sides. Another tried to run but was quickly caught up with and finished off.

The last two put up a bit more of a fight.

However they couldn’t break through the soldiers.

Soon all four Monster Beasts were taken care of.

Aldric looked around.

“Make sure there are no other creatures around.”

The Shadow Soldiers fanned out.

Aldric stayed close to the fallen Monster Beasts as he reviewed what had happened.

This fight had been slightly more complex than the first. The creatures had worked together better and had tried to surround the group, however the Shadow Soldiers had reacted well.

Most importantly none of them had done anything rash.

‘They did alright.’

He then sent a short message to Lucian letting him know they had taken out four more Monster Beasts.

He waited for the Shadow Soldiers to finish scouting.

Unfortunately things were about to get more complicated.

One of the Shadow Soldiers scouting the nearby trees suddenly came to a halt.

He had spotted a number of footprints.

These were obviously not from the Monster Beasts. They were from people wearing boots and some of them were fresh.

The Shadow Soldier studied the footprints before motioning to the others.

Aldric quickly joined him.

He knelt down and looked at the footprints.

‘Other mercenaries.’

The footprints led further into the wild meaning another group had passed through recently.

Whilst this wasn’t too surprising there had been a number of mercenary squads who had taken on military missions in the area. It was likely they were looking for Monster Beasts too.

However Aldric had been warned along the way.

Other mercenary groups may have different goals and there could be issues with rivalry.

He stood up.

“Be on your guard. We may come across another group soon.”

The Shadow Soldiers nodded.

Aldric followed the footprints for a short while to see if the other mercenaries were nearby.

Soon he heard some voices.

He raised his hand and the group slowed down.

Through the gaps in the trees a number of people could be seen.

They were mercenaries wielding weapons and wearing matching gear. They had a blood red symbol on their clothing meaning they were from the same organisation.

Aldric recognised the name as one of them spoke.

BloodFang Mercenary Group.

Another mercenary squad who were operating in the area to complete the military’s extermination missions.

One of the men noticed them approaching.

He looked them over before turning to his team.

“Looks like we’ve got some company.”

A few of the group turned around.

Their eyes scanned over Aldric and the four Shadow Soldiers. One of them frowned as they noticed they didn’t recognise their symbol.

“Which mercenary group are you from?”

Aldric replied quickly.

“Shadow Genesis.”

The man paused.

“Shadow Genesis?”

He looked to his team.

“We’ve never heard of them.”

Another of the mercenaries chuckled.

“Probably one of those new squads trying to make a name for themselves.”

They looked unbothered.

To them Shadow Genesis were just another inexperienced squad who had recently entered the mercenary world. They didn’t seem impressed by the fact they hadn’t heard of them, especially as the military had warned the mercenaries about the dangerous Monster Beasts in the area.

Aldric didn’t let their comments bother him.

“We are here to complete the military’s extermination mission.”

At this a few of the Blood Mercenary Group members changed their expressions.

One stepped forward.

“You’re after the Monster Beasts in this area?”

“Yes.”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“And how many have you taken out?”

Aldric looked at him.

“That’s to do with our mission. I don’t see why I should tell you.”

The man’s expression darkened.

“What?”

Aldric stayed calm.

“We have taken on an official mission from the military. Unless there is a reason why we need to work with you then what we have achieved has nothing to do with you.”

The atmosphere around them tensed for a moment.

One of the Blood Mercenary Group members scoffed.

“This guy is arrogant. He doesn’t even know who we are and he thinks he’s important.”

Another crossed his arms.

“You should know how things work around here. This isn’t somewhere for newbies to be showing off.”

Aldric’s eyes stayed calm.

“We are not here to show off. We are here to complete our mission.”

This only seemed to annoy them.

The man in front took another step forward.

“Just so you know, don’t get in our way. We have experienced members and don’t need some unknown squad getting in our way.”

Aldric looked at the man before looking back at the rest of the Blood Mercenary Group.

They clearly didn’t take Shadow Genesis seriously.

Whilst this wasn’t an issue Aldric didn’t care about proving himself to strangers.

However they seemed to have an issue with seeing another mercenary group as equals.

This could cause issues if their goals overlapped.

Back in Silverwood City Lucian received Aldric’s latest report.

Whilst he had been expecting to hear about the Monster Beasts the extra information caught his attention.

‘BloodFang Mercenary Group?’

He leaned back in his chair.

He recognised the name from the information he had access too from the Mercenary Guild. They were an established group, unlike Shadow Genesis who had only recently completed their registration.

They would have more experience working in the wild and it wasn’t surprising they were taking part in the military’s missions.

What did concern him was how they reacted to coming across Aldric’s team.

He read over the report again.

‘They already think they’re better than Shadow Genesis.’

He wasn’t too worried.

They were a new squad so obviously wouldn’t have a reputation. There was no reason to expect strangers to respect them.

However he wanted Aldric to stay out of any unnecessary.

The mission was to test the Shadow Soldiers fighting skills in real situations and complete the military’s mission. Getting into an argument would achieve neither.

He sent a short message.

Try to avoid any unnecessary arguments. Complete your mission but don’t risk the safety of the squad.

He went back to his work.

He trusted Aldric to handle the situation.

Aldric received the message and read it carefully.

His expression didn’t change.

“We should continue with our mission.”

However the Blood Mercenary Group were still blocking their path.

The man in front frowned as he noticed Aldric was about to leave.

“Wait, we’re not done talking.”

Aldric stopped and turned to face him.

“What else do you want?”

The mercenary pointed to the deeper part of the wild.

“If you’re after Monster Beasts in this area then you should know. We have been working in this area for a while and we don’t like strangers getting in our way.”

Aldric’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“We have an official mission from the military. We aren’t here to get in anyone’s way.”

“Make sure you don’t.”

He spoke as if giving an order.

Aldric stayed silent for a moment.

He didn’t want to cause any issues but he wasn’t going to let another mercenary group tell him to abandon an official mission.

“We will complete our mission as instructed by the military. As long as we aren’t getting in each other’s way then there shouldn’t be any issues.”

The BloodFang Mercenary Group members looked between each other.

They clearly weren’t happy with the answer.

One muttered to himself whilst another glared at Aldric.

Aldric ignored them.

“Let’s go.”

The four Shadow Soldiers followed him further into the wild.

The Blood Mercenary Group watched silently.

One of them spat on the ground.

“Arrogant bastards. Let’s see how long they last out here.”

Another chuckled coldly.

“They’ll learn soon.”

Aldric heard this but didn’t turn around.

He had a mission to complete and didn’t want to waste time arguing with people who had nothing to do with it.

However he couldn’t ignore the fact this could cause issues in the future.

Whilst the Monster Beasts were dangerous they were predictable so could be studied and countered.

Other mercenaries however could be unpredictable.

Their goals could change suddenly, especially if their pride or rewards were at stake.

Aldric looked ahead.

‘We need to complete our mission without getting into any unnecessary arguments.’

With this in mind he led Shadow Genesis further into the area.

The Monster Beasts were still waiting to be found and the mission needed to be completed.

However he now knew they weren’t the only threat in the wild.

And the rivalry between Shadow Genesis and the Blood Mercenary Group had only just begun.