"Have you heard? The Task Center issued a large-scale mission, our very first large-scale mission ever!"
"Knew about it for ages. Rumor has it the rewards are super generous, killing an ordinary Demonized Beast gets you at least double the usual points."
"Let's move it, hurry up and take the mission, it'll be a disaster if we're too late."
"What's the rush? It's a large-scale mission, there's no limit on the number of participants. I heard it starts at ten sharp. Instead of hastily accepting the mission, it might be better to buy some essential Equipment. You don't really think this large-scale mission is just giving away points, do you?"
Along the way, he overheard conversations .
Tang Yu was somewhat perplexed; the large-scale mission was clearly just announced this morning. Last night, when he was browsing the forum, there hadn't been any mention of this.
By the time he arrived at the Task Center, the place was already bustling with noise.
It could be said that upon the task's announcement, most registered Mercenaries within the Sanctuary had come.
Inside the Task Center, it was packed like sardines.
The place was even more crowded than a Spring Festival travel rush, especially since these survivors dealt with Demonized Beasts every day and who knew how long it had been since they last bathed.
He felt as though he could smell a pig cage.
It wasn't that he couldn't stand it—it was just that he had little interest in the task to begin with.
"My Lord, shall I..."
Tang Yu gave Eileen a glance and emphatically shook his head.
Clearly, the girl was not as calm as she claimed to be and felt somewhat anxious about the environment.
Being squashed in such a crowd was not just about dealing with burly men... If anyone should jostle, it should be me instead.
In just a short while, he heard numerous startled cries from female survivors, evidently, not a few "salty pig hands" had been laid on them.
Tang Yu couldn't help but wonder if some of the survivors inside weren't there to grab the mission but rather to take full advantage of being a "big salty pig hand"?
Yet, every now and then, cries of surprise from male survivors also made their way through the crowd, which was rather strange.
"Let's go take a look over there."
The Task Center's service points were mainly on the first floor, flanked by transparent glass.
As Tang Yu moved to one side, he still couldn't enter, but he could see the mission details on the central display board.
Highlighted in red text with enlarged font.
[Large Mercenary Mission: Eradicate the Demon Nest]
An Abyssal Rift has opened in Maple Leaf Town, posing a grave threat to the safety of the Lindong Sanctuary. The Lindong authorities will wage a proactive strike to eradicate the Demonized Beasts surrounding the rift. This operation will require the cooperation of numerous Mercenaries.
"So it's because of the Abyssal Rift, no wonder."
The reward points were plentiful, and the authorities had even opened up many previously unavailable exchange items for this mission.
A blatant temptation.
Many fighters were green with envy.
But Tang Yu was not optimistic about their chances.
Though the Military would be the main force in this war and the Mercenaries were to play a supporting role, many seemed to forget that this was a large-scale battle with a multitude of Demonized Beasts that might even include Advanced Demonized Beasts constantly emerging.
For strong teams, this was a great opportunity, but for some fighters, those who weren't even Awakeners, participating in such a battle likely meant being nothing more than cannon fodder.
"Lord, should we sign up?" Eileen asked.
Tang Yu shook his head, "Let's skip this frenzy."
If it had been before, he might have undertaken the mission to earn points for a soul power container, but now it seemed unnecessary.
"However, we should still take a look at this battle. The forces under the Lindong high-level leadership will be participating, it will be a good opportunity to gauge Lin Wei's strength."
At ten on the dot, the mission acceptance window closed.
Outside the gates, a multitude of fighters gathered.
Some wore protective equipment crafted from Demonized Beast hides and held Standard Battle Sabers provided by the Military, others wore tattered clothes and wielded rusty swords and blades.
Fortunately, there were none so desperate that they showed up weaponless, ready to charge into battle bare-chested.
Perhaps the people at the task center couldn't bear to watch anymore, and had those people brushed aside.
Tang Yu didn't stay with these individuals. After leaving the city gates, he found a place with Eileen and Grey Blade and slowly waited.
The steel city gates gradually parted to the sides, revealing the spacious streets inside.
On ordinary days, the gates would only be partially opened to allow two vehicles to pass side by side, but now, they were fully open, and even the streets were off-limits, void of any pedestrians.
Accompanied by low roars, a tidal wave of steel gradually came into view.
Mercenaries outside the city gates had already spread to the sides, each staring dumbfounded at the gateway, unable to avert their gaze.
Tang Yu's emotions were equally hard to calm.
Back when he first came to Lindong, the motorcade of Scarlet Hand was quite impressive, but compared to the steel tidal wave before his eyes, it was like the difference between an ant and an elephant.
Several armored vehicles took the lead, slowly driving out.
Tanks in formation followed closely behind, with dark barrels slightly raised, displaying the power of steel and fire.
There were also various vehicles and equipment that Tang Yu couldn't name...
Dust filled the air as the steel tide rolled in.
Such an army, in the past, could only be seen on television.
Outside the city gates,
Many combat personnel showed excited expressions. With such an armored force present, no matter how fearsome the Demonized Beasts were, it seemed they'd turn to ash in the blaze of gunfire.
Soon, management personnel at all levels were assigning tasks to the mercenaries.
In this operation, the mercenaries' main responsibility was to ensure the safety of the military vehicles and to cooperate with the military in the event of a Demonized Beast attack.
It wasn't difficult in theory.
Firearms have a long range and extensive coverage, and the Demonized Beasts who could break through the firearm defense line to reach the front lines were likely few in number.
They only needed to eliminate any isolated Demonized Beasts within the defensive zone.
In this mission, the points for killing Demonized Beasts were two to three times the usual amount, and many were hoping for more beasts to make it to the front lines so that they could earn additional points on top of the base rewards.
But this was only true for the majority of freelance mercenaries.
Elite squads and members of the Four Great Mercenary Corps had more autonomy.
They could move freely and hunt for Demonized Beasts at will.
Members of the Scarlet Hand were excited; such a mission was akin to racking up points for them.
These people chatted loudly, drawing envious glances from the freelance mercenaries nearby.
Scar, the vice-commander, however, was somewhat restless.
"What! You're saying there's no news?!"
The blonde-haired member making the report was also puzzled; for their Mercenary Corps, investigating a few individuals was not difficult.
Since Tang Yu's arrival in Lindong and what happened thereafter, they had been able to gather many pieces of information.
Even if not in great detail, they knew about the three people—two men and one woman—and had a general idea of their appearances. They even knew about the relationship between Li Xiuming and Tang Yu, but people of the Scarlet Hand didn't care much about such a common person.
The blonde-haired member conveyed the descriptions of the three people to Supervisor Jiang at the task center and then... had not received any effective news since.
"How can there be no news? Could it be that Jiang, after receiving so many Source Crystals from us, dares to give us the runaround?" Scar scoffed coldly.
The blonde-haired member shook his head, "No no, Supervisor Jiang did send word, but the message stated that the three individuals had not registered as mercenaries."
He clenched his teeth, nearly suffocating with frustration.
If they hadn't registered as mercenaries, of course, they wouldn't be able to take on tasks.
But in this day and age, were there Awakeners who hadn't registered as mercenaries? Especially those three people, he had to admit, they did have some strength.
Scar couldn't understand it.
His expression was frosty.
"We can't let those clowns continue prancing around freely. Issue a Scarlet Hand Wanted Order..."
His gaze turned to the distance, eyes flickering with a cold light.