What should have been a tavern brawl ending in fists and bruises ultimately became a bloodbath.
Fighting between mercenaries was commonplace, yet drawing blood remained extremely rare—without deep grudges, nobody wanted blood feuds. Moreover, in perilous wilderness, mutual assistance between mercenary companies was almost unwritten law.
"You wait for us! This isn't over!" Wildfox members carried unconscious Solich while hurling threats before storming from the tavern.
Naturally, things wouldn't end there.
Having their mercenary publicly robbed and severely injured in a tavern, how could The Wildfox Company swallow such humiliation? That very night, two deputy leaders—"Ravenwolf" Iruda and "Flamewolf" Esaias—led over two hundred furious mercenaries to blockade The Bloodthorn Guild headquarters, roaring demands for compensation and justice.
Bloodthorn knew they were at fault yet couldn't surrender anyone—once they bowed, their reputation throughout the mercenary world would be finished. Cristy raged especially violently since the incident stemmed from his lost sword, leading his men to charge out for direct confrontation.
Large-scale warfare hung by a thread.
Yet both company leaders—cunning Vareo and Kerkell—mysteriously remained absent. Both forces faced off shouting curses in flickering torchlight, swords drawn and tensions peaked, yet none dared strike first.
This disturbance finally alarmed the city garrison.
Military intervention prevented bloodshed. Garrison commander, eighth-tier Warmarshal Kontor personally mediated.
Most crucially—the enchanted longsword that sparked the dispute had vanished during the chaos. Without this key evidence, Bloodthorn's claims could no longer be verified. Iron-clad facts remained: Salik attempted robbing Wildfox mercenaries' weapons, triggering brawls, while Bloodthorn members severely wounded Solich in the melee.
Guilty Bloodthorn leader Kerkell was forced to compromise, compensating Wildfox four hundred gold coins to settle matters.
No battle erupted, yet grudges crystallized. Both companies nursed grievances, leading to constant minor frictions between their mercenaries afterward.
Since events seemingly originated from Cristy's lost sword, both sides suspected The Azure Rose Company of instigation. Yet Azure Rose remained completely uninvolved throughout, clean enough to avoid any blame.
They'd never imagine the entire affair resulted from Tony and Arthur's private schemes. After successful provocation, before they could extract further benefits from subsequent chaos, Kaines and Randell severely forbade them. Arthur remained a child after all—his self-perceived clever plots would immediately expose themselves upon attempting expanded gains.
This incident made Kaines and Randell realize they'd still underestimated this youth—he constantly delivered unexpected "surprises."
This accidental tavern storm plunged Valorhaven's three great B-rank mercenary companies back into delicate balance—mutually hostile yet unable to dominate others.
The instigator Arthur now raced through dense oak forests with agile form, nimbly leaping tangled roots and low undergrowth.
He wore roughly tanned earth-yellow leather armor with frayed edges—obviously crafted by novice hands. A blue band bound his shoulder-length black hair. Over half a year's harsh training had substantially bulked his frame, shedding initial scrawny appearance for genuine adolescent build.
While running, he drew the dark iron bow from his back—nocking, drawing, releasing in fluid motion.
Ahead of the arrow's shrieking flight, a massive black-backed boar lowered its head, frantically ramming a tall oak. Each headshake left deep gouges from steel-spear-like tusks in the hard trunk.
Black-backed Boar—first-tier magical beast. Low intelligence yet extremely volatile temperament. Thick hide served as natural iron armor, resistant to ordinary blades. Adults weighed half a ton at calf-size, requiring two or three same-tier human warriors to handle when enraged. Yet precisely because everything was valuable—hide, meat, tusks all worth good money—it became hunters' and low-level mercenaries' most coveted yet dangerous quarry.
The arrow's breaking-air sound startled the beast. It whipped around as the shaft struck deep into its rough neck fur! Tremendous impact staggered it sideways to the ground.
The boar shook its massive head, roaring while rising. That arrow clattered down with its movement—the seemingly fierce strike caused only surface wounds. Blood-red eyes instantly locked onto the distant human youth, releasing pained, furious bellows while pawing earth and charging head-down!
Arthur maintained speed while continuing forward, bowstring humming again!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three arrows followed nearly end-to-end in deadly lines, shooting straight at the charging magical beast!
"Celestial Barrage!" From high oak branches came a suppressed exclamation. "That iron-fisted Iraya actually taught his signature technique to this kid?"
"Hmph, didn't you also teach your life-saving Shadowstride? Otherwise how could he run so smoothly through these woods?" Another voice mocked.
"That was gambling debt payment! I'm the most trustworthy mercenary in our company. Just didn't expect... this kid learns so fast!"
Hidden in trees were Tony and Angus. This was Arthur's first solo trial, practicing Randell's "only blood makes true mercenaries" philosophy. Yet they couldn't rest easy, secretly following as guards.
"Letting him face a first-tier magical beast alone—isn't that too risky?" Angus's tone carried worry.
Tony wiped his nose, grinning: "Watch closely, Old An—this kid's a monster. Just half a year! Combat Aura already manifests externally, becoming a first-tier warrior! How long did your bone-tempering and first Combat Aura cultivation take? Three years? Five?"
While they whispered, Arthur below had already discarded his iron bow, drawing a foot-long straight hunting blade to charge directly at the enraged boar!
Those three arrows had nearly bitten into preceding wounds! The final shaft sank half a foot deep into the boar's rear neck, violently swaying with its mad charge as thick blood sprayed everywhere.
Arthur had thoroughly enraged this magical beast. The boar shrieked while thrusting tusks toward his abdomen, vowing to disembowel this puny human!
Just as tusks neared flesh, Arthur's body spun in an impossibly flexible arc, barely avoiding lethal impact.
Facing the beast again turning and snorting white vapor, Arthur hefted his cold-gleaming hunting blade, mouth corners curving in a frigid arc.