Chapter 36 - 16: [Assassin Elliot and the Super Arrogant Twin Knights]

Chapter 36: Chapter 16: [Assassin Elliot and the Super Arrogant Twin Knights]

Inside a studio in a white-walled building opposite the barracks in Luojie City, four people sat around a table. The tabletop was strewn with messy calculation papers and mission briefs, interspersed with scattered supply lists and price sheets. Each piece of paper was covered in charcoal scribbles, checkmarks, and revisions.

A young, silent swordsman and a tall female mage in a robe sat quietly, watching the two men at the table who were locked in a heated argument.

Randall Rysk’s exhausted voice echoed through the room.

"I’ve already sought advice from the Alliance Guards who used to be professional soldiers." He looked quietly at the group around the table. "A bandit-hunting mission requires highly capable armored melee units. For this mission, at least, these two knights must be included."

"Have you calculated the difference between splitting it seven ways versus five? And how will the loot be divided?" sneered a lanky man in black sitting at the table, toying with a massive Skull Gold Coin between his fingers. "This mission is only profitable with fewer than five people. The more people we have, the harder it is to make any decent money per person. We only snatched this big job because we’re short on cash lately. Dragging in extra people like this is just throwing away money. You’ll only make us poorer."

He looked to be in his thirties, dressed in neat black leather with lightweight gear. Aside from a thin layer of chain armor and leather pads on his joints, he wore almost no armor. A wide, dark red scarf was tied around his neck, and two small, poisoned serpentine curved swords and a bundle of throwing darts were tucked into his waist. A peculiar yet lightweight multipurpose tool set—including ropes, grappling hooks, and hand drills—was strapped across his chest.

Although chain armor was light and offered decent defense against sharp blades, its complex crafting process made it quite expensive. This black-clad adventurer was clearly among the more successful tier of his profession.

"Elliot, this is experience drawn from the Alliance Guards. Without frontline units, fighting bandits will likely get us killed," Randall replied.

"Do you just believe whatever they tell you, Riska?" the man named Elliot sneered.

"I believe them because they have experience fighting bandits. I don’t believe you because you’ve never fought bandits head-on. It’s that simple." Randall pressed his hands against the table. "Even though you’re a level-four assassin, your experience fighting humanoid enemies is absolutely inferior to that of the Alliance Guards, who used to be Imperial Soldiers..."

"Oh, is that so? I’ve already killed over twenty bandits. This gold coin is loot from a bandit." Elliot calmly toyed with the Skull Gold Coin between his fingers, flipping it and watching it roll back and forth across the back of his hand. "Bandits, pirates, Northern Raiders—I’ve killed them all. It adds up to over a hundred people. Do I lack experience? You can take my adventurer identification tag right now and check my combat record in the Alliance database. Every mission is documented."

"But..." Randall wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by the assassin Elliot.

"I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with thinking things through carefully, Randall Rysk. I initially agreed to join your team because you’re meticulous and willing to listen to advice—that’s your strength. I appreciate that." Elliot flicked his wrist upward, his eagle-claw-like fingers snatching the Skull Gold Coin.

"I just think you’re being overly cautious, overly panicked—overthinking to the point of losing your direction.

"You take other people’s advice too seriously, so much so that you’re about to forget that they are different from us.

"Yes, of course, the Alliance Guards know exactly how to fight humanoid enemies. That’s because they aren’t adventurers at all; they are retired professional Imperial Soldiers!

"The soldiers have a powerful and wealthy Empire backing them up. They don’t have to spend their own money on their daily lives and weapons. They just stack up gear, ammunition, and numbers, rolling right over the enemy head-on like Heavy Armor Knights—that’s purely a military combat mindset!

"We need armored melee units for a frontal assault? You’d have to be out of your mind to fight bandits head-on! Are you a knight? Are you going to follow some bullshit knightly chivalry and invite the bandit leader to a one-on-one duel like a noble?" Elliot sneered.

"An adventurer’s strategy is to use the environment to flank the enemy. Who told you to face them head-on?

"And what’s this bullshit about Heavy Armor Warriors? Can a Heavy Armor Warrior cross the Kana Plain and trek all the way to the bandit camp? Forget about fighting—just trudging to the bandit camp would grind their kneecaps halfway down!

"If Heavy Armor Warriors are so useful, why did the Ederic Empire downsize its military and develop adventurers? Why not just send all the soldiers to the Barren Land or the Demon King’s Dungeon?

"Get your identity straight, Riska.

"We are not soldiers; we are adventurers. Not only will the Alliance and the Empire not pay you for being an adventurer, but you also have to pay for your own daily expenses and equipment out of pocket! Gear, items, team size—everything requires careful calculation, especially team size, which severely impacts per capita income!

"Why does an Advanced Adventurer’s team usually stabilize at five or six people? Because aside from missions in exceptionally rich, opportunity-filled special areas like the Demon Race Dungeon, most mid-to-high-level missions only yield a profit when split among five or six people. But you? You just had to drag the team up to seven people!"