As the captain of a mercenary squad who had just taken on the task of protecting Miss Shela of the Mischael family, Jack was feeling some regrets—truly, very regrets.
Having accepted the task from the young family head of the Mischael family, Jack had originally thought that his mercenary squad only needed to follow behind the promising young Apprentices and go north to kill some skinless creatures of different kind, after which they could make a fortune—with the Apprentices’ Spell Formations, those of them without Spell Talent could easily kill those creatures.
But what he hadn’t anticipated was that these Apprentices... were too young.
They were practically just a bunch of kids.
Especially that little fellow named Malin, who was the smallest of all the children.
Clearly the child most in need of care, yet he was carrying a big square pack on his back and also a gun that was huge for him.
Is this kid really alright? Jack had his doubts.
However, along the way, none of the children had said they were tired, but Jack was still worried—stubbornness didn’t represent everything. If a child got scared and ran away, it’d be better if they were dead than alive; with mountains and forests everywhere, how would they find them.
Moreover, apart from himself, most of the other children also had no combat experience—although they were dressed appropriately, looking like they meant to fight creatures of a different kind rather than being food for them, their age really couldn’t withstand scrutiny.
They were all just kids.
The squad’s Elf Archer came over at that moment. This golden-haired, golden-eyed High Elf was a wanderer, who joined the squad forty years ago and worked with Jack’s father until today, accompanying Jack, and was the most formidable Archer in the team: "Jack, I’ve said before, if it were a simple task, why would that young gentleman spend one thousand gold to find us?"
"But no matter what, one thousand is really not bad. Our little Tina has also reached the age to become an Apprentice, and the Mage Tower isn’t a place for the virtuous." Another clad in thick leather armor, a Dwarf, came over: "Kid, if you ask me, don’t underestimate these children too much. No matter how young they might be, you can’t judge the children of Nobles by their age, and I’ve seen the gun that little fellow is carrying on his back among my people."
"Your people? Who?" This time even the Human Healer and Wood Elf ranger in the back were drawn in.
They looked toward the boy at the front. The Human Healer frowned: "He’s too young; I even feel that making him carry such a big bag is a bit too much."
"You really are a saint, Old Cold Iron. Tell us, who’s your Dwarf?" The Wood Elf glanced at the team’s Healer and then eagerly questioned their Dwarf companion.
"Steelblue, my old friend. Recently, he has been working with someone who is said to be a half-blood Frost Giant and has obtained quite a few equipment designs. Now it’s said he’s advancing towards becoming a master." As the Dwarf spoke, he noticed that the Halfling scout at the very front of the team had raised his hand: "Hey, we’ve got work to do, Lord Cain! Please come to the front!"
He was calling out to the traveling Paladin walking in the middle of the team.
The Halfling Three-Toes carefully surveyed the environment within the forest. When his team took on this protection task, Three-Toes had prepared to play the nanny, but reality told him—the preparation was not enough, little Dwarf.
Where was this an Apprentice squad? Essentially, it was a children’s squad.
In the team, apart from that half-grown lad who had a bit of a Knight’s skills, the rest of the kids were... all just kids.
Three-Toes suppressed the urge to curse, blaming it on the lure of money; everyone had agreed to this mission, and when push came to shove, it was no use blaming these youngsters.
However, fortunately among the little fellas, there were two who were not bad—first off was the Werewolf girl, who despite looking very thin, was to everyone’s surprise quite adept, meticulously guarding her friends.
The other was the little Cat Girl by his side.
With a crossbow, her walking may not look very standard, but her steps were stable, and her gaze was lively. Though it was unclear what she could see, she was truly deserving of her Cat-kin bloodline ancestry.
Given time, she would definitely become an expert at scouting.
As for her brother... the fact that the kid could still walk while carrying so much was truly remarkable.
However, in the event of an escape, would he still be able to run?
Thinking of this, Tri-Toes suddenly noticed the little Cat Girl walking to his left stop in her tracks. She knelt on one knee and her ears shook as they picked up sounds. Then she turned her head to Tri-Toes, "Up ahead, there’s danger."
"Danger?" Tri-Toes frowned, first glancing at their surroundings - they were on a gentle downslope, the wind blowing from east to west, and they were facing due north, meaning they might not necessarily catch any scents that lay ahead - but considering that this was a different kind, their sense of smell was probably far more acute than Tri-Toes’.
Then he too began to smell it - a very faint scent of blood.
So without hesitation, Tri-Toes raised his left hand, "Something’s up!"
An announcement came from friends behind, and a Paladin approached - a wandering Paladin who had joined the group voluntarily, from the Church of Justice, "Is there a problem, Mr. Tri-Toes?"
"There’s a scent of blood. She detected it first," Tri-Toes said, pointing at the little Cat - he certainly didn’t want to take any credit in front of a Paladin. One detection of a lie could turn the kind-hearted Paladin into the harshest Judge Mister, hundreds if not thousands of unlucky fellows got into trouble over such matters every year, and Tri-Toes, having seen plenty, naturally didn’t want a good thing to turn bad, nor a bad thing to a disaster.
The Paladin sensed around them and then drew his Longsword, "The earth is trembling! Prepare for battle!"
Before Tri-Toes knew it, the kneeling Cat Girl had quickly run to her companion’s side. She and the little lamb stood together; the latter drew a Revolver from her waist, the brilliance of a Spell Formation ignited in her hands. Although he could not feel the formation’s fluctuations, he saw its brilliance flash upon the Paladin, and then Tri-Toes felt his own body become more agile.
Before Tri-Toes could react, the girl with elven blood raised her arms and two figures made of earth stood beside her. They didn’t look sturdy, but Tri-Toes was sure if his squad faced these mud figures, they could bash everyone into the ground with one punch each.
The mud figures strode to the front of the formation, standing with the Paladin. One even casually uprooted a small tree to use as a weapon.
The little Toby girl pulled out a flask from the pouch around her waist, poured out the water, which in her hands turned into one ice-crafted spear after another, neatly arrayed in formation.
The Werewolf drew his sword, stabbed it into the earth, and set up the light cannon his big companion had been carrying on his back with another boy.
The boy’s companion went over to their employer, a little weasel now perched on her shoulder – presumably a Magic Pet.
Lastly, the smallest boy took something out of his bag - a hammerhead so large compared to him. He assembled it with the separate handle, and then lifted it with one hand as though it were no heavier than a small animal cub.
He strode toward the frontline, and with each step, the brilliance of the Spell Formation shimmered around him. No wonder the little lamb hadn’t blessed him from start to finish; this child was even mightier than her, even going so far as to bless others!
My God! And I thought these kids were a burden?!
Any one of these children was more valuable than their entire squad!
No wonder that gentleman said if all the children were kept safe, he was willing to add another thousand gold.
This truly is a simple task.
Yet, there remains one problem – the question of who protects whom...
At this thought, Tri-Toes awkwardly gave his spot to the little boy - he’d be better off taking his ferocious hawk to the right flank to scout for everyone.
If there were enough monsters, maybe he could take a few shots at the stragglers.
After all, bullets were reimbursable, not shooting was wasting.