Chapter 265: Departure
Jian Chen tilted his head in deep thought, “Brother Qing Yun, you say to participate in the Gathering of the Mercenaries, one must be under the age of fifty. Then for those participating, how strong do you think they will be?”
Thinking about the question, Qing Yun replied, “According to the past few Gathering of the Mercenaries, a good amount of the top ten were all Earth Saint Masters. After all, to make a breakthrough into the Earth Saint Master realm is very difficult and perilous. To be able to reach the Earth Saint Master realm before the age of fifty is already an outstanding achievement.”
“Then there won’t be any Heaven Saint Master experts participating, correct?” Jian Chen asked. With the help of the azure and violet Sword Spirit, Earth Saint Master experts were merely a small threat to him. In his heart, Jian Chen wasn’t afraid of losing against any Earth Saint Master, the only problem to him would be a Heaven Saint Master.”
“Of course not!” Qing Yun shook his head, “Heaven Saint Masters are considered experts among experts that such a level is extremely difficult to cultivate to. How would it be possible for anyone under the age of fifty to reach such a realm? A genius that could reach such a level by then would be a once in a thousand year miracle. Even more so, even if they reach such a level before they are fifty years old, it doesn’t mean they are able to participate. With the Gathering of the Mercenaries happening in such a short amount of time, it doesn’t mean they would be at that level by then.”
Jian Chen nodded his head in understanding, what Qing Yun said was correct. Not every single talented mercenary would be able to participate. One had to be under the age of fifty by the time the Gathering of the Mercenaries happened. Even if a man hit the Heaven Saint Master realm before the age of fifty it didn’t mean that he would make it in time for the Gathering of the Mercenaries. If they were born too late, then they would miss out on their chance. Even up to now, there had never been a person who had reached the realm of the Heaven Saint Master by the age of 34.
Afterward, Qing Yun had explained a few more things relating to the Gathering of the Mercenaries and answered some questions. Although he had only talked about the rewards of the top ten mercenaries, Jian Chen had been instantly interested.
The three Tianhua Sect men left, leaving Jian Chen and the seven Great Saint Masters behind. He had asked the seven about the Gathering of the Mercenaries, but their knowledge about it had been very limited. They had indeed been able to explain a few things, but they had no valuable information on the prizes themselves, thus they were in the same boat as Qing Yun.
“Captain, while the Gathering of the Mercenaries is indeed a bi-centurial event, the chances of dying are extremely high. I’ve heard the rate of survival is only ten percent.” Charcas tried to explain.
“I’ve also heard that plenty of Earth Saint Master experts attend the event, their strength would be truly too strong.” Duo Kang added on.
“Captain, if you truly wish to enter the Gathering of the Mercenaries, you must think about this thoroughly. Indeed, the prizes are extremely rich, but the odds of dying are extremely high as well. Practically every single talented mercenary in the Tian Yuan Continent will attend. Mercenaries born with talent or in a good clan; those who have reached the Earth Saint Master realm; those with an unordinary skill or even battle skill; their strengths will be undoubtedly strong.” Mo Tian spoke out seriously. To him, the Gathering of the Mercenaries wasn’t anything special. This was something for those a part of the mercenary world would strive for, but not him.
“Of course I know the competition there will be fierce. If you do know however, where Mercenary City is, please tell me.” Jian Chen answered them all calmly. After Qing Yun had informed him about the Gathering of the Mercenaries, Jian Chen had made up his mind. He absolutely had to go to this event. The allure of a Heaven Tier Battle Skill was far too tempting.
Three days later, Jian Chen made his plans and left Wake City. He had given a task for the Flame Mercenaries to temporarily hunt and kill magical beasts for the money reward. For the sake of increasing their mercenary rank, they had to go all out.
Before leaving, he left the Flame Mercenaries a thousand purple coins and all the Class 2 Monster Cores he didn’t need for the Flame Mercenaries to be able to use for their daily life. Right now in this stage of development, a large amount of money was needed to advance.
Because of the seven Great Saint Master’s leadership skills, Jian Chen had allowed them to take temporary command with a relieved heart.
Jian Chen sat upon a Class 2 Magical Beast as he continued down the path. It had already been a day and he had traveled a thousand miles before finally coming to rest for the night at the Second Class Lanfeng City.
Entering the city, Jian Chen quickly found himself an inn to rest in. Then, he walked over to the dining section and sat down to begin eating.
By now the sky was already getting dark and it was past the regular dinner time. Thus, the restaurant was not filled with many people. There was still twenty or so tables with only a few waitresses hurriedly running about.
Suddenly, a heavily armored soldier leading a steel chariot came to a stop outside of the restaurant. Immediately, the armored soldier walked into the restaurant with a fierce step to his feet. Right on the middle of his chestplate was a single insignia that was unexpectedly the coat of arms of the Blue Wind Kingdom.
“Waiter, bring out some food and prepare some tables for us!” The armored man cried out loud in the restaurant. The other men with him then swept around the inside of the restaurant and looked at everyone else.
“Right away! Gentleman, if you would please come and sit. We will immediately bring out our best food and wine, please wait one moment!” The waiter took a single look at the insignia on the soldier’s chest before immediately becoming cordial as he ran to receive the guests.
The rest of the armored men didn’t say a word and instead walked toward a table to sit at. Even more men came streaming in afterward; there was a total of a hundred men. As they filled up the restaurant, not a single one of them spoke a single word, indicating their discipline.
Before these men had entered, the restaurant had a good amount of idle chatter going on, but the instant they had come in, the entire restaurant went quiet almost as if there was a strange feeling in the room now.
Jian Chen looked at everyone slowly. The moment he saw the insignia on their chest plates, he could already guess their identities. The only ones that could wear the coat of arms of the Blue Wind Kingdom were the Blue Wind Kingdom army. Even then, only the elite troops of the army were to be able to wear it; the lower ranking soldiers did not have the right to do so.