Free Web NovelChapter 279: Chapter 277: Warring States Mercenary Corps
Hearing someone call out to him, Jiang Chen turned, a bit surprised, to find that it was the woman from the group of four.
Somewhat surprised, he asked, "You called me?"
He didn’t know these people at all.
He had been planning to enter the depths of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain alone.
The woman seemed to glance at her three other companions, then nodded.
"Hello, please wait a moment."
Then she turned her head to look at her older brother, Zhan Yang.
In fact, her three other companions were very confused as to why JinLing had stopped Jiang Chen.
Even Zhan Yang was puzzled.
He asked curiously, "Sister, why did you stop him?"
"We don’t know this person."
As he spoke, his brow furrowed slightly.
He was clearly reluctant to travel into Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain with Jiang Chen.
"That’s right, JinLing. The four of us are enough."
"Bringing in an outsider is just too risky."
"Especially inside Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. It’s best we don’t get involved with other Martial Cultivators."
At this point, the short Lu Beifeng and the fat Niu Tuo both stated their positions.
But JinLing spoke up, "Brother, your Five-Heart Array will be much less powerful if we don’t have five people. Since Xiao Bing has already met his end, why not ask this guy to join us?"
"This way, your Five-Heart Array’s power will be much greater."
She stated her purpose.
After all, in order to complete this mission—and more importantly, to upgrade their Warring States Mercenary Corps to a Three-Star Mercenary Corps—JinLing still believed that one more person meant one more measure of strength.
Zhan Yang’s brow furrowed even more deeply.
"We don’t know him."
He glanced in Jiang Chen’s direction.
He was very wary of outsiders.
"We can get to know him. Who knows, he might be able to help."
JinLing insisted, seeming unwilling to give up.
Or perhaps, she was thinking more about her Warring States Mercenary Corps.
Jiang Chen stood there for a moment. Seeing that they were ignoring him, he started to get annoyed.
’What’s the point of stopping me for no reason?’
He turned and began to walk away.
"Wait."
It was JinLing again. This time, she simply left her three companions and strode forward, her fair white calves exposed.
Soon, JinLing was standing before Jiang Chen. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Standing there, although travel-worn, she was still very beautiful, with delicate features.
"Hey, hello. I’m from the Warring States Mercenary Corps. Please, call me JinLing."
JinLing gave Jiang Chen a friendly smile.
It was the kind of smile that could easily make one lower their guard.
Watching a girl like this approach him alone, Jiang Chen checked her cultivation. She was actually at the Warrior Eighth Layer Heaven.
But as he sized her up, he noticed several wounds on her calves.
The wounds looked like they were from the bites of Black Ghost Ants.
"Hello, my name is Jiang Chen."
Jiang Chen was naturally on guard. In a place like this, you had to be wary when encountering an unfamiliar Martial Cultivator.
JinLing was also sizing up Jiang Chen. She saw that he was very young, dressed in a white robe, with a graceful bearing and a kind face.
Perhaps she felt she was a good judge of character; she had a feeling that Jiang Chen was not an evil person.
However, when she saw that Jiang Chen’s cultivation was only at the Warrior Seventh Heaven, she felt it was a bit of a pity.
It seemed she felt Jiang Chen’s cultivation was insufficient.
Still, she asked, "Are you heading into the depths of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain?"
Although she felt Jiang Chen’s cultivation was somewhat lacking, in her opinion, he was barely acceptable.
Jiang Chen nodded. "That’s right. I plan to go to the depths of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."
JinLing immediately smiled. "What a coincidence! We’re also going to the depths of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."
"Look, those are my companions from the Warring States Mercenary Corps. We’re heading to the depths of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain too. I’ve heard there are many Demon Beasts in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, and it’s very dangerous. How about we team up and enter the mountains together?"
She opportunely made her suggestion.
Even though Jiang Chen’s cultivation was a level lower than hers, she still intended to pull him into their group.
If for no other reason, her brother Zhan Yang’s Five-Heart Array would be much more powerful if they gathered five people.
They had lost a person earlier, and with only four, the power of the Five-Heart Array would be greatly diminished.
So she took matters into her own hands and invited Jiang Chen to join.
Jiang Chen thought about it. ’Traveling into Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain would actually be safer if I were alone.’
’But being alone is so boring. I’ve already been in the mountains for several days without anyone to talk to.’
He decided to travel with these people and take the opportunity to catch up on news from the outside world.
He hadn’t left Hanwu City for a long time, so his knowledge of current events was likely worse than theirs.
"Alright. If it’s okay with you, I’m willing to enter the mountains with you."
He agreed to JinLing’s offer decisively.
JinLing seemed surprised by Jiang Chen’s decisiveness.
But she just smiled. "Great! Come with me, I’ll introduce you to my companions."
Jiang Chen followed JinLing over to Zhan Yang and the others.
This was his first time encountering members of a Mercenary Team here.
He had heard of Mercenary Teams before.
On the Bright Moon Continent, there were numerous Mercenary Teams.
Even Hanwu City had Mercenary Teams, but their activities weren’t very frequent.
Only in the capitals of some Kingdoms, or the imperial capital of an Empire, would you find large numbers of active Mercenary Teams.
He was very curious about the Mercenary Team here.
Soon, Jiang Chen was standing before the group from the Warring States Mercenary Corps.
He carefully sized up the members of this Mercenary Team.
With just a glance, he realized that the leader was not, surprisingly, the short man with the highest cultivation, but the rather handsome man at Warrior Ninth Heaven.
’Such a strange combination.’
"Brother, I’ve invited him over."
"His name is Jiang Chen."
It seemed JinLing still held some status within the team.
After introducing Jiang Chen, she immediately began introducing her companions to him.
"This is my brother, his name is Zhan Yang."
"This is Niu Tuo. You can call him by his nickname, Fatty Niu."
"And this last one is Lu Beifeng."
And so, she introduced all three of the remaining members.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly and greeted the three of them in a friendly manner. "Hello."
However, no one responded.
Instead, Niu Tuo and Lu Beifeng imperceptibly moved to Zhan Yang’s side, guarding against Jiang Chen.
This immediately showed Jiang Chen that this Zhan Yang was not only the leader, but his status was also likely anything but simple.
Zhan Yang, however, kept his brow furrowed the entire time.
He looked at Jiang Chen with a hint of disdain.
This made Jiang Chen feel that, apart from JinLing, none of the others were very friendly.
’No, they simply look down on me.’
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Zhan Yang suddenly said to JinLing, "Sister, his cultivation is too low."
"Let him go."
"Even without him, we can still complete the mission."
Zhan Yang was so direct, openly showing his contempt for Jiang Chen.
But JinLing insisted, "Brother, there’s strength in numbers. Even though Jiang Chen’s cultivation isn’t as high as ours, your Five-Heart Array really does need five people to be used."
"Just make do and let him join us."
Perhaps JinLing’s words moved Zhan Yang.
Finally, Zhan Yang thought for a moment before saying, "He can join us, but we can’t offer him much compensation. You tell him that."
"Also, our Mercenary Team isn’t recruiting right now, so don’t even think about pulling him in permanently." freёwebnovel.com
It seemed Zhan Yang was very concerned about Jiang Chen’s cultivation level.
JinLing gave a somewhat awkward smile.
But Jiang Chen waved his hand. "No worries. I don’t need any payment. I’m just heading the same way. I might not be of great help, but I can certainly provide some small assistance."
He wasn’t angry. After all, in the world of Martial Cultivators, strength is what speaks, and his own cultivation was indeed not very high.
Inwardly, however, he was full of confidence in himself.
