Close Combat Mage

Following a particularly loud and clear shriek, the final Thorn Mouse finally collapsed by Duo Mei’s blade.

Duo Mei wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a long sigh. Originally…she had planned on finishing this job within a year. However, it had ended up dragging out for another half a year before ending, which far exceeded her expectations. f𝘳𝚎𝐞we𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃e𝘭.co𝘮

It was not that Duo Mei and her sisters were weak; it was simply a result of them underestimating the Thorn Mice’s propagation ability. Eliminating Thorn Mice was definitely not as easy as killing the individuals, but rather destroying the entire ecological chain of Thorn Mice for complete eradication.

Despite having wasted a year and half here, Duo Mei’s group had at least been enjoying the pay from the Greater Trade Routes administration: they could eat Magic Fruits however they pleased…Plus, while these large-scale massacres did not require any profound battle skills, it drilled in practice of the basic skillset. Besides, weren’t ultimate skills just combinations of basic skills?

Duo Mei flicked her blade to shake off the blood before smoothly inserting it back into its scabbard. She loudly called out, “Alright, sisters, gather your things and prepare to head back to the relay station!”

All the girls stowed away their weapons at Duo Mei’s words, their eyes shining in excitement as they gathered where Duo Mei was. At long last, they could finally meet the young master again!

With Duo Mei in the lead, everyone rushed back to the relay station under the Greater Trade Routes administration and found the relay station captain. Duo Mei looked at the old captain’s wrinkled face and urgently asked, “Captain, we’ve already eradicated the Thorn Mice hordes. Now…is the time you should honor your promise to bring us to the young master’s side, isn’t it?”

“That’s…” The captain hesitantly met Duo Mei’s gaze and dryly stated, “I’m very sorry, but your young master is currently already at the third checkpoint. As you know, the third checkpoint is on the vast seas. There is no way we can accurately grasp your young master’s location, so…unless they pass the third checkpoint, we cannot bring you to him.”

Duo Mei’s brows knit together tightly as she angrily shot back, “We don’t care about that. Any troubles or difficulties is the Greater Trade Routes administration’s responsibility. Since we have completed our task, you must follow through your promise. Or do you want to go back on your word?”

“This…” The captain nervously wiped the sweat from his brow as he forcefully smiled and answered, “This isn’t something we anticipated either. Your young master never stopped on land; he leaves immediately after he stocks up on good. There is no chance to get into contact with him, you see…”

Duo Mei took in a deep breath as she faced the troubled captain and said, “Alright, then you tell me: what should we do now? Don’t tell me we have to just continue waiting here?”

The captain continued to anxiously wipe away the sweat collecting on his face as he helplessly replied, “I’m afraid waiting is all you can do. It’s not that we do not wish to help, but that we are truly powerless!”

“Hmph!” Duo Mei coldly snorted in annoyance. “From what you’re saying, if the young master stays in the third checkpoint for a year, we’d have to wait another year; if he stays for another decade, then we’d have to wait a decade too?”

“That is…” The captain’s sweat poured down like rain at Duo Mei’s words, but he could only nod in affirmation.

Duo Mei finally blew up at this. She suddenly slammed the table and shouted, “The only reason we accepted this task of yours was because you would directly escort us to the young master. But now you’re instead telling me that despite having finished the task, you cannot compensate us for it? Is the Greater Trade Routes administration an untrustworthy group?”

Duo Mei icily glared at the captain as she sighed, “Right now, the young master might be undergoing a great trial; I can sense it. He needs our help. Let me ask you: if the young master loses his life to the sea because we did not arrive in time, how will the Greater Trade Routes [administration] take responsibility? What will you compensate us with?”

Under Duo Mei’s pressure, the captain continued to brush away sweat as he miserably answered, “This is something that the Greater Trade Routes administration overlooked. We will try our best to compensate. However, finding your young master immediately is truly impossible. We aren’t gods; there are many things that just cannot be done!”

“Fine then…” Duo Mei nodded and heavily stated, “Since you’re saying it now, how exactly would you repay us?”

“Hm…” The captain contemplated this for a while before firmly replying, “How about this? From now on, your group is exempt from any trial, and can freely go in and out of any checkpoint. What do you think?”

“Oh!” Duo Mei wore an expression of excitement as she cried out in delight, “Does that mean our young master can also pass through the checkpoints with us?”

“No, no, no…” The captain frantically shook his head and firmly stated, “You are two groups. Your young master’s group did not complete this task and cannot split your group’s reward. So this benefit only applies to your group.”

“Tch…” Duo Mei clicked her tongue in disdain as she spat out in contempt, “This compensation is basically nothing. Is it because you know that we will follow the young master that you gave us this semblance of a reward? To us, this is completely useless!”

The captain continued to wipe away his sweat as he added, “Also-also, in order to allow you all to meet up with your young master as soon as possible, we will bring you straight to the end of the third checkpoint. As long as your young master reaches the end, you will see him immediately. This is the best and fastest method we can come up with.”

“Rejected!” Duo Mei resolutely shook her head as she said, “If that was all, then we could have just gone ourselves a year and a half ago. I’m sure that after that long of a period, we would have been able to find the young master ourselves by now? Doesn’t this just put us back to square one? It means we basically completed your task for nothing and wasted this year and half’s time without any gains at all.” ƒr𝙚𝙚𝘸e𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝒐m

The captain couldn’t help but let out a bitter chuckle at Duo Mei’s words. Who knew how many Magic Fruits these brats had eaten in the past year and half? How much money did it total up in worth? Yet Duo Mei made it sound like nothing!

However, the captain still could not refute Duo Mei’s point. Even if the Magic Fruits were worth a large sum of money, if she insisted that this had not been their objective, he could do nothing about it. Moreover, back when Duo Mei had first accepted the task, she had already declared this point so this was not technically a threat.

Duo Mei smirked at the captain’s contemplative expression. “What about this then? Since you guys can’t find the young master, according to the Adventurer’s Guild regulations for breaking a promise, you must compensate us triple for the time we wasted. Since we have already worked for you for a year and half, you must supply Magic Fruits to the 36 of us without charge for the next five years!”

“Ah!” The captain’s jaw dropped in shock as he violently shook his head. “That’s impossible! There’s absolutely no way; it’s completely unprecedented. The higher-ups would never approve this. At most, we would only be able to supply three years’ worth of Magic Fruits. Any more is…”

“Fine! Three years is three years then. Let’s close the deal!” Duo Mei interjected before the captain could finish speaking.

“Ack!” The captain belatedly realized his slip of the mouth. It was much too late to change his words now that he had already spoken them — Duo Mei would never let him!

In his shock, Duo Mei smiled and said, “Alright, that’s done then. From now on…we will not need to complete any trials and can freely pass in and out of checkpoints. In addition…you will also deliver us to the end of the third checkpoint within a week!”

Thump…The captain collapsed into his seat, his mouth opening and closing without a word. In reality, Duo Mei’s suggested condition was the higher-ups’ limit. Any request more extreme than this would not even require a discussion. Even if they lost reputation, they would not hesitate any further. After all, three years’ worth of Magic Fruits was an astronomical number. One could even buy three Hades’ Helmets with that money.

The next morning, Duo Mei and her sisters — all 36 of them — boarded a goblin ship to rush over to the end of the third checkpoint. At the same time, Suo Jia had finally reached the place that was rich with agate: Northern Wilds Island!