Li Xi spent the day filling his spatial ring. For food, he had Rations Pills, which could sustain him for three months without other sustenance, so he replenished a large supply of fresh water.
This was his first time going on a long-distance mission, so he had to be cautious. Fearing he might run out of wooden staffs, he also bought a large bundle of them and stored them in his spatial ring.
Additionally, he carried a backpack filled with dried meat, half a bottle of Holy Water, and some medicinal powder, giving off the impression of being poor and having to carry everything himself.
The time finally came to depart. Li Xi arrived early at 'Monko's Magic Hut' and was surprised to find a mercenary team there besides himself.
The mercenary team consisted of ten people: five warriors wielding greatswords and shields, three archers with longbows, and two assassins in leather armor. With a mage, they would form a standard mercenary group.
The leading warrior rode a warhorse with scales on its legs, and a shining 'D' insignia adorned its chest.
Li Xi recognized these scaled warhorses as a hybrid of magical beasts and ordinary warhorses. They possessed the tameness of warhorses and the strength of magical beasts, capable of carrying a thousand pounds. They were highly favored by many warriors, though their price was steep, ranging from one hundred to five hundred gold coins. Most ordinary people couldn't afford one in a lifetime. The other mercenaries rode high-quality horses, though not this particular hybrid breed.
Li Xi observed that this was a D-ranked mercenary group, and the aura emanating from their leader far surpassed that of Delabante and the demonized Frank. Without a doubt, this was a Rank Four warrior. Rank Three warriors were called advanced warriors, while Rank Four could be referred to as Earth Warriors, Earth Knights, or Earth Warriors.
Rank Three Delabante could temporarily boost his combat power by fifty percent using battle qi. A Rank Four Earth Warrior, however, could infuse battle qi into their weapons, increasing their lethality, and could achieve short bursts of flight. This represented a qualitative leap compared to Rank Three advanced warriors.
When Li Xi, a young boy with a small backpack and an E-ranked mercenary badge, arrived, he immediately drew their curious attention.
"Hello, young sir. Are you also here for Master Monko's mission?" the leader of the mercenary group asked.
He was clad in gray heavy armor, mounted on his warhorse, and held a single-handed greatsword that was a meter and a half long, exuding an imposing presence.
Li Xi had thought Monko had only sought him out, but he hadn't expected anyone else. This suggested the mission wouldn't be easy.
"Yes, I am here for Master Monko's mission. E-ranked mercenary Li Xi."
Because Li Xi's cultivation of ninjutsu was different from the mainstream cultivation methods on the continent, they couldn't discern his true strength. From their perception, Li Xi's strength was barely at the level of an intermediate warrior, which was less than any individual in their mercenary group.
The leading mercenary didn't look down on Li Xi for his apparent low strength. Instead, he dismounted. "I am Xinis, leader of the E-ranked Black Tiger Mercenary Group. These are my team members."
A mercenary's rank differed from a mercenary group's rank, and they were leveled up separately. This explained why D-ranked mercenary Xinis was the leader of an E-ranked mercenary group.
"Brother Li Xi, why haven't I seen you before?" Xinis asked curiously after they exchanged greetings.
He had been active in the mercenary guild for seven or eight years and, while he couldn't claim to know every mercenary, he knew almost all of them. Yet, he had no impression of an E-ranked Li Xi.
Li Xi scratched his head sheepishly. "I just became a mercenary. I'm still a rookie. If I didn't owe Master Monko a favor, I wouldn't have received his special consideration and the chance to undertake this D-ranked mission."
"Brother Li Xi, you are too modest. The fact that you could rise to E-rank so quickly shows your extraordinary strength. You will undoubtedly become a high-level mercenary sooner or later."
While Li Xi and Xinis were exchanging compliments, Lisa inside the shop was briefing Monko about Li Xi.
"He was previously a blacksmith's apprentice in the city. Ten days ago, he registered as a mercenary. He was lucky to survive the mission at the manor of the great merchant Belos by hiding until the end and then completed a few minor tasks, which is how he reached E-rank. His strength should be below the level of an advanced warrior."
Monko listened to Lisa's report, his brow furrowed. "Should be below the level of an advanced warrior? What do you mean 'should be'?"
Lisa lowered her head and admitted, "Teacher, there is very little intelligence on him. The missions he took were all simple ones, and no one has seen him truly fight. In my estimation, his strength shouldn't be high. His survival until now was purely due to luck."
In reality, the reason they couldn't find detailed information on Li Xi was that Ais had concealed it. The most significant display of Li Xi's strength was during the sewer mission, but other than Ais, no one knew about it.
This led to Lisa's inaccurate assessment of Li Xi's strength.
"Even if he's hiding his strength, it shouldn't be by much. If there's no other suitable candidate after all this time, then so be it."
"You stay home and pretend nothing happened. I'll signal you after I retrieve the items, and then we'll leave together."
Lisa trembled with excitement. "Yes, teacher."
Monko pushed open the shop door and, seeing Xinis and Li Xi, smiled. "I will trouble you two for the upcoming mission."
Xinis quickly responded, "Not at all. It is our honor to be of assistance to Master Monko."
Monko adopted a deferential posture and boarded a pre-prepared carriage. The group set off towards the outskirts of the city.
Logically speaking, a Rank Four Earth Warrior wouldn't need to be so polite, even somewhat subservient, to an intermediate mage, or a Rank Two mage.
Xinis's behavior was solely due to Monko's unique status. As for Monko's identity, he was Cado City's sole puppeteer.
The puppets Li Xi had seen in the wealthy district were all creations of Monko.
Although Monko was only an intermediate mage, his crafted puppets could reach Rank Four. More importantly, no one knew how many puppets he possessed.
When Li Xi discovered this, his first thought was that Monko was like the Sand Scorpion of another world.
One person could form an army, one person could destroy a city. Of course, Rank Four puppets wouldn't be capable of that, but their value far exceeded his personal power.
The importance of puppets, which could serve as combat companions, was obvious to everyone. They were life-saving tools. Monko's puppets were always paid for in advance before he began crafting them. According to the information Li Xi gathered, Monko was currently working on orders placed two years ago, indicating the booming nature of his business.
This was why the Rank Four Xinis was so eager to serve the Rank Two Monko. If he could appease Monko well enough to get a combat puppet at a bargain price, Xinis would be ecstatic.
Xinis's Black Tiger Mercenary Group each had a warhorse, so their speed was not lacking. Monko, meanwhile, was in a carriage. Thus, only Li Xi was walking on foot. While in the city, everyone's pace wasn't fast, but once they left the city, Li Xi couldn't keep up.
Seeing this, the group was speechless. They were going on a long-distance mission, and he hadn't even acquired a mount. He truly was a rookie.
Li Xi sheepishly said, "My family is poor, and I haven't done many missions, so I don't have money for a mount. I apologize for delaying everyone."
Xinis chuckled and said it was fine, but his subordinates looked displeased. In group missions, they feared being held back. Eight out of ten failed missions were due to inadequate teammates, or "pig teammates." Therefore, mercenary groups disliked undertaking missions with outsiders.
"I don't seem to be of much use. Perhaps I should return and withdraw from the mission?" Li Xi, unable to keep pace, wanted to quit.
Upon hearing Li Xi's intention to leave, the members of the Black Tiger Mercenary Group were rather pleased. Li Xi was completely superfluous to this mission, his strength inferior to that of their ordinary mercenaries. They couldn't understand why Master Monko was bringing him along.
"It was my oversight. Brother Li Xi, please ride with me in the carriage."
Hearing Li Xi was about to leave, Monko's voice immediately called out from inside the carriage, stopping Li Xi. The mission was crucially dependent on Li Xi; if he left, the mission would be rendered impossible.
"How could I impose? Then I'll sit outside and drive the carriage."
Li Xi directly sat on the carriage shafts, leisurely munching on the dried meat he had prepared in his backpack.
He was now absolutely certain that he was invaluable to Monko's affairs, to the extent that he was irreplaceable. Therefore, before he could play his role, Monko would absolutely not allow anything to happen to him.
Given this, Li Xi would be a fool not to leverage his advantage.
Sitting in the carriage, Li Xi gazed at the surrounding scenery. This was his first time traveling far from home. As the city walls of Cado City disappeared from view, a primitive landscape greeted him.
An endless forest stretched out, bisected by a winding path. This was the outskirts of the Forget-Worry Forest, and the path led to Abi City.
Upon entering the Forget-Worry Forest, the assassins from the Black Tiger Mercenary Group detached from the main group, patrolling the surroundings and calling for reinforcements if they encountered any troublesome situations.
The entire mercenary group's coordinated movements were swift and seamless, giving Li Xi no sense of trouble. Even when wild beasts ventured in front of the caravan, they were immediately shot down by the archers.
Xinis also made two appearances, driving away two Rank Two magical beasts. Throughout the day, the Black Tiger Mercenary Group perfectly showcased their team's prowess: efficient, swift, meticulous, and trustworthy.
Meanwhile, Li Xi showed no inclination to intervene. Every time Xinis and his team resolved a problem, he would sit in the carriage and clap, exclaiming, "You are all so amazing! Unlike me, who knows nothing and only lags behind."
Initially, Xinis and his men would politely respond to Li Xi. However, after a full day of him acting this way, even the good-tempered Xinis grew annoyed. He couldn't even bother with perfunctory actions anymore. They were all mercenaries, so why should he sit in the carriage and enjoy himself? It was as if he wasn't on a mission, but on a picnic.
As dusk approached, Xinis approached the carriage. "Master Monko, we cannot proceed further. We need to make camp here and delve deeper into the Forget-Worry Forest tomorrow morning. We can no longer travel by carriage."
Monko replied, "I understand. I will follow your arrangements, Xinis. I trust the reputation of your Black Tiger Mercenary Group."
"Wonderful, wonderful! I've never spent a night in the wilderness before," Li Xi exclaimed.
Li Xi, beside them, seemed like a child excited about camping. Xinis simply responded by turning his back to him.
After Xinis gave the order to make camp, the members of the Black Tiger Mercenary Group quickly retrieved tents, pots, and pans from their spatial rings. Some started fires, while others began cooking. Li Xi, with only a forlorn backpack and nothing else, simply sat on the ground, his mouth watering at the aroma wafting from the cooking pots.
Seeing Li Xi's state, one of the mercenaries finally couldn't help but grumble, "Leader, you see him? He's completely a rookie. Why did Master Monko bring him along?"
Xinis also couldn't figure it out, but as mercenaries, the basic rule was not to ask questions that weren't their concern. He glared at his subordinate. "This is not something we should be concerned about. We just need to do our jobs. Once the food is ready, send him a portion. I suspect he has finished all the rations he prepared."