Chapter 49: The Liaison

  "'Trash missions'?" Vivian slowed the reins slightly, listening intently.

  "Yeah, the ones that have been sitting at the bottom of the mission board for a long time that no one wants to touch. Either the pay is low, or it's time-consuming and laborious, or... it's just plain boring," Ronen smiled. "Like the most common magical beast culling—tracking takes days, fighting can get you injured, and in the end, the valuable materials have to be handed over to the association. The compensation you get is often just enough to cover the cost of equipment and potions."

  "Isn't magical beast culling popular?"

  "Hah!" Ronen scoffed. "Magical beast culling has its own hierarchy!"

  "What you call 'popular' is taking on an occasional job—hunting a silver-maned boar today, fighting a frost-clawed bear tomorrow, chasing a wind-striped tiger the day after. Every time it's a new opponent, a new environment, a new tactic. After the fight, you can get some decent materials to exchange for money, so it's exciting."

  "But for us, it's a different experience. The association often issues 'regional routine culling' missions. For example, if the silver-maned boar population in a certain valley is getting out of control and threatening a village, someone needs to go 'clean them up' regularly—and that's not just killing one or two, but going three times a week, clearing out three to four each time. The same place, the same magical beast, the same process: track, surround, kill, skin, report."

  "The first time you go, you'll study the boar's habits. The third time, you'll have their usual routes memorized. The tenth time, it's torture. And don't forget, they're still magical beasts. Even if you're familiar with them, you can still get hurt!!"

  Vivian couldn't help but chuckle, nodding quickly. "I get it, I get it, go on."

  "Besides beast hunting, there are things like finding lost livestock, cleaning out sewer sludge monsters, driving away poisonous bee swarms from gardens... These don't sound like things mercenaries should be doing, right?"

  Vivian nodded. "Indeed, I don't think I've ever noticed these kinds of commissions on the mission board."

  "Because they're so mundane, they're easy to overlook," Ronen said calmly. "But the Mercenary Association isn't just a middleman for mercenaries; it's also a window for the common people. If the needs of the common people are always ignored, the association's credibility will suffer. That's why the association needs registered warbands like us with seats to ensure that these 'basic missions' are always taken care of."

  He paused, his voice tinged with the weight of experience.

  "Especially during the silver-maned boar breeding season, or when magical beast cubs wander into villages... these missions are numerous and trivial. Relying on lone mercenaries is too inefficient. Warbands usually organize small teams to handle them uniformly, which ensures completion and controls casualties. But because it's a collective effort, the credit and fame are diluted—no matter how much you do, outsiders will only remember that 'the White Tiger's Fang completed another batch of routine missions from the association', not that 'Ronen solved which crisis'."

  Looking at Ronen's mixed expression of excitement and helplessness, Vivian couldn't help but laugh.

  "I see. But in that case... why stay in the warband? Wouldn't it be more freeing to go solo?"

  "That's a different matter," Ronen shook his head, his tone serious. "Going solo sounds freeing, but you have to find your own missions, negotiate your own pay, and bear all the risks. Sometimes you can go a month without a single decent commission, and going hungry is common. If you accidentally take on a mission beyond your abilities, you'll end up losing money instead of making it."

  He counted on his fingers.

  "But in a warband, at least the association gives a basic quota to registered warbands every month—even if there are no high-paying commissions, there are always 'trash missions' to do. The pay is stable, equipment and potions are supplied by the warband, there's a healer if you get injured, and the team has your back if you fail a mission. The safety and completion rate are much higher than going solo."

  "I see."

  "So what if you pass this test? What's so great about this liaison position you mentioned?"

  Ronen's eyes immediately filled with longing. "'Liaison' is actually an industry term, with three parts practicality and seven parts weight. To outsiders, people are more used to other names for this position: 'Core', 'Elite', 'Warband Representative', or simply the title that person has earned for themselves."

  "Like Wolf. Few people would call him 'the liaison of the White Tiger's Fang' to his face. In mission briefings, in tavern rumors, in the polite greetings of association officials, he is 'the Gray Wolf of the White Tiger's Fang'."

  "And the essence of a liaison is that you have freedom while still enjoying the stability provided by the warband!"

  He leaned forward.

  "The reason warbands have liaisons in the first place was because the expenses in big cities were too high, and dozens of people couldn't all squeeze into the city to live. So the main force was scattered outside the city or in surrounding villages, with only one or two people stationed at the association to take missions, pass on information, and maintain relationships."

  "But over time, the position changed—it became the 'face' of the warband in the mercenary world. And the person in this position is often the future of the warband!"

  He paused, as if searching for the most accurate description.

  "First of all, he doesn't have to do the trash missions. His time won't be occupied by those repetitive, boring culling and find-the-cat missions. The warband supports him so he can have his hands and eyes free to do more worthy things."

  Vivian raised an eyebrow slightly. "Like?"

  "Like—" Ronen's tone grew heated, "he can slowly walk around the association hall, look at the mission board, listen to idle chatter, and exchange information with other liaisons. The mission board that ordinary mercenaries see is public and delayed; but through the warband's channels, he can see the 'rare commissions' that haven't been posted yet, or are only circulated internally among registered warbands. This is also one of the rewards the association gives to warbands."

  "For example,討伐 an ancient dragon ruin's guardian beast, escorting the relics of a retired Archmage, exploring a newly discovered elemental secret realm... these missions have astonishing rewards, the prestige bonus is even more considerable, and you can get to know those legendary figures."

  He looked at Vivian, his eyes shining.

  "The liaison can take these missions himself. As long as it doesn't interfere with the warband's main missions, he can even name a few good hands to support him. The warband won't stop him, but will support him—because the success of such a high-value mission enhances the reputation of the entire warband."

  "In other words, a liaison is a noble among mercenaries. He stands on the shoulders of both the warband and the association, seeing farther and reaching higher than a solo mercenary. The missions that ordinary mercenaries fight over on the public board may just be the leftovers from the warband liaisons."

  "With such an advantage, a liaison's fame, money, rare materials, and connections... will accumulate at a much faster rate."

  Ronen said jokingly:

  "To put it bluntly, even if he does nothing, the warband has to support him—because his existence itself is the warband's 'seat' and 'qualification' in the mercenary ecosystem."

  Vivian was silent for a moment, then smiled softly.

  "No wonder you want to pass the assessment so badly," she shook her head, her voice a mix of admiration and teasing. "That's not a 'liaison', I think it should be called a 'privileged person'!"

  Vivian turned her head and said jokingly:

  "I'm getting a little tempted myself. Hey—how about after this mission, I'll retire from the army and join your mercenary group? You can get me a 'liaison' position then?"

  Then her tone changed, with a hint of teasing.

  "Then you're really a bit unlucky. Such an important assessment, and you run into such a strange mission."

  She paused, then patted Ronen's shoulder lightly. "I think, little Ronen, I can't count on you. Your 'liaison' position seems a bit difficult. How about I find a way out for you? Are you interested in joining the army, the Dragon Shield Legion? I have high hopes for you. I'll protect you!"

  Ronen was a little caught off guard by this sudden invitation. He didn't dislike the army, but joining it had never been in his plans. He was slightly stunned, then asked curiously, "Sister Vivian, why did you suddenly think of inviting me?"

  Vivian smiled faintly, a hint of seriousness and expectation in her eyes. "Because I really think you're great." Her tone was light, but her expression became serious. "After this vacation, I'll be promoted to an officer when I return to the barracks. In fact, I got this vacation because of the promotion. And I happen to be short of a smart and capable adjutant. Those guys in the barracks, they're all muscle-brained and dull. I really hope you can come and assist me."

  Ronen looked at the increasingly dense snowflakes in the sky, his heart wavering. Joining the army might be a good way out, but his future was not something he could easily decide on his own. He grew up in the warband, was raised by the warband, and had deep feelings for it.

  Although the warband had no mandatory requirements for him, it was not appropriate to leave with someone else on his first mission.

  But... was he going to stay in the warband for the rest of his life?

  He had never really considered his future. In his past experience, the future did not require him to think about it deliberately, because it was a path that could be seen to the end. His dream of being a hero was just a decoration on the road.

  But Vivian had given him the power of choice for the first time!

  Ronen suddenly saw forks in the road on the path that he could see to the end, forks leading in unknown directions. He stood at the crossroads, looking towards the unknown.

  But now, there was no road ahead!

  Not a single one!!

  ...

  The snow went mad!!

  The once faintly discernible dirt road, the ruts, the distant shadows of the trees, were completely erased in a few short breaths.

  The world collapsed into a roaring, spinning pure white. There was no forward, no backward, no left, no right.

  The four obedient snow dogs almost simultaneously slowed their pace, tense, warily watching the darkness ahead.

  With a bark, the four dogs roared at the darkness ahead.

  But this was clearly a bluff. While barking, the dogs instinctively shrank back!

  "Looks like this is the legendary blizzard!" Vivian let go of the reins and jumped off the vehicle.