158: Chapter 159 Should I sign up too?

Silence. A longer silence.

The City Lord of Liefeng spoke in a low voice, "So... we can't beat them?"

"It's not a question of whether we can beat them or not," the City Lord of Heyang said in a calm voice. "It's a question of whether or not we want to court death."

The group fell into another round of silence.

Finally, it was the City Lord of Heyang who spoke first.

"Everyone, there's no need to be so heavy-hearted. For an opponent you can't beat, there are generally two ways to handle it. The first way: hide. The second way—"

He paused for a moment.

"Make friends."

"Make friends?" The City Lord of Qinghe sounded as if he had heard something absurd. "They robbed us of our resources, and you're telling me to make friends?"

"Robbed?" the City Lord of Heyang asked in return. "Those mineral veins and medicinal fields, are they yours? Where is the deed? Or did your city walls enclose them?"

The City Lord of Qinghe was choked for words.

Why did these words sound exactly like what the Hua City Mercenaries said...

The City Lord of Heyang continued, "Instead of going head-to-head with a city that we are destined to lose against, it's better to change our approach—we expand in the opposite direction, staying away from the Flower City sphere of influence. At the same time, we try to make contact with Flower City."

"Make contact for what?"

"Friendship as the short-term goal, alliance as the long-term goal. And use trade as the entry point." The City Lord of Heyang's line of thought was very clear.

Everyone stopped talking again, seemingly considering the feasibility of this.

The City Lord who had chased the Rock-Horned Deer for three days was the first to relent.

"...It's not impossible to try."

The City Lord of Liefeng snorted, neither saying it would work nor that it wouldn't.

The City Lord of Qinghe was still unhappy. "What if they look down on us?"

The City Lord of Heyang laughed.

"Just try it first. What if it works?"

...Flower City was unaware of this late-night discussion.

Flower City was focused on something else at this moment.

That was... the leaderboard in the Mercenary Guild hall had been updated.

Lei Lie had someone nail two large wooden boards onto the most conspicuous wall in the hall.

The one on the left was the individual leaderboard—settled weekly, ranking based on a combination of three factors: the number of Demonic Beasts hunted, the quantity of resources gathered, and the number of tasks completed.

The one on the right was the squad leaderboard—also settled weekly, ranking based on the comprehensive contribution of teams.

Above the rankings, a line of text was carved: "Turn in supplies to exchange for points; points can be used to exchange for needed items at the Granary."

On the first day these two boards were put up, the hall exploded.

"What rank am I? Let me see—thirty-seventh?! On what grounds?!"

"You're only thirty-seventh? I'm one hundred and eighth!"

"Hehe, I'm eleventh."

"Don't get cocky! I'll definitely surpass you next week!"

"Surpass me? You should surpass the twenty-six people ahead of you first!"

...The squad leaderboard was even livelier.

A squad leader saw his team ranked third and slammed the table on the spot—"Third? Who's first?"

Someone pointed to the name at the top of the list.

The captain looked at it for a moment, was silent for a breath, and then gritted his teeth and said,

"Next week, we must take them down!"

The team members next to him looked at each other.

"Captain, they've killed over a hundred more Demonic Beasts than us—"

"Then kill two hundred more!"

...What was even more exciting than the leaderboard was the news of Breakthroughs.

On the eighth day, the first Mercenary to achieve a Breakthrough to Bronze Rank appeared.

When the news reached the Mercenary Guild, the hall went quiet for a moment, and then erupted into a cheer louder than any before.

It wasn't because that person was so powerful.

It was because—if he could achieve a Breakthrough, then so could I.

Over the next two days, the number of people achieving a Breakthrough began to skyrocket.

It wasn't one or two; they were popping up by the tens, dozens, and hundreds.

After ten days of high-intensity combat, coupled with the day-after-day nourishment of spirit rice and Demonic Beast meat, the foundation of the Hua City Mercenaries had long since accumulated to a critical point.

All that was missing was that final nudge—that breath in battle, that instantaneous realization of life and death, that moment of opportunity for the spiritual power to surge through the Meridians.

Every day, there were new people achieving a Breakthrough at the Mercenary Guild.

Some achieved a Breakthrough during battle—a slash down, spiritual power surging, and that strike was heavier than any before.

Some achieved a Breakthrough while resting after a battle—sitting next to a Demonic Beast carcass, gnawing on a spirit rice bun, and while eating, the aura on their body suddenly changed.

The people nearby were all startled.

Some achieved a Breakthrough while sleeping—the fluctuation of spiritual power in the middle of the night woke up their roommate, who groggily cursed, "What are you doing?" The answer was an irrepressible laugh.

Every person who achieved a Breakthrough would be surrounded upon returning to the Mercenary Guild.

"What's it feel like?"

"How did you break through?"

"Are there any tricks?"

The people who achieved a Breakthrough couldn't name any tricks; they just laughed, grinning from ear to ear.

A young man who had just achieved a Breakthrough stood in the Mercenary Guild hall, and after answering questions from seven or eight people, he suddenly froze.

Someone asked him what was wrong.

He shook his head, his voice trembling slightly.

"A month ago... I was still wearing a metal collar, with a red light glowing on it."

The surroundings went quiet.

"At that time, I thought I was a goner."

He looked down at his hands—clutching a Crimson series blade, with blood splashed from fighting Demonic Beasts today still on the back of his hand.

"And yet... it's only been a month... and I'm already Bronze Rank."

His eyes were red, but the corners of his mouth were turned up.

"A month ago I couldn't even get a meal, but now, I'm a Bronze Rank Professional!"

"I! Am a Bronze Rank Professional!!"

The hall went quiet.

Someone simply patted his shoulder silently.

...The wave of Breakthroughs didn't just affect the Mercenaries.

Those in the city who weren't Mercenaries—the farmers, the laborers, the builders—also saw these changes.

Before, they felt that being a Mercenary was too dangerous and it was better to stay safe in the city.

They chose stability because they had experienced displacement, and having finally obtained a stable life, they didn't want to take risks.

But now, it was different.

Those who became Mercenaries were the same as them before, all Black Iron Rank.

And yet, how long had it been?

They had achieved a Breakthrough!

From Black Iron One-Star... all the way up!

Reaching... Bronze Rank!

Eating the same spirit rice, practicing the same Cultivation Technique, starting from the same point—but they went out and fought for half a month, and they were a whole major rank stronger than you!

This gap wasn't just something they heard about; it was something they saw with their own eyes.

When the man from the neighbor's house returned after achieving a Breakthrough to Bronze Rank, his aura was completely different.

He walked with a gust of wind, his spiritual power fluctuations were visible to the naked eye, and even his voice was a few shades deeper than before.

His wife looked at him from the doorway, her eyes looking as if she were seeing a new person.

So, among the onlookers, some started to feel an itch in their hearts.

"How about... I sign up too?"

"You? Didn't you say you never wanted to fight again in your life?"

"That's different! Fighting is fighting, but being a Mercenary is... is..."

He thought for a long time and found a word.

"It's going out to gain skills!"