168: Chapter 169 Give me the sign!

"Accepting everything without refusal?"

Hearing this statement, a sudden thought popped into his mind.

"Minister Lei." He turned around, his tone flat, but his words were clear and direct, "I wonder if your Guild accepts caravan escort missions?"

Lei Lie glanced at him.

"Escorting caravans is one of the Mercenary Guild's most basic services."

"Good." City Lord Qin Fang nodded. "Then I will post a request right now. I need an escort team to transport my goods back to Heyang. Payment is negotiable."

Lei Lie didn't ask further, just tilted his chin at the person behind him.

"Post it."

The mission tag was quickly written up and hung on the mission board in the hall.

City Lord Qin Fang had originally assumed that such an impromptu, out-of-city mission would take at least a while before anyone accepted it.

After all, it was escorting goods for an unfamiliar City Lord, the journey wasn't short, and the payment hadn't been set. No matter how bold these Hua City Mercenaries were, they should at least weigh the risks first.

As it turned out, he had overthought it.

The tag had just been hung up.

"Me!"

"I'm going too!"

"Let me do it! I saw this request first!"

"You didn't see it first, my hand was already on it!"

With a "swish," two hands grabbed the mission tag almost simultaneously, neither willing to let go.

Three or four more hands immediately reached over from the side.

Then five or six.

"Let go!"

"You let go!"

"Stop shoving, dammit!"

"Who's shoving you? Give me the tag!"

The commotion in the Mercenary Guild hall increased significantly in the blink of an eye.

Several Mercenaries who had just been bragging and joking around were now all surging toward the mission wall.

Some, relying on their height, reached directly forward.

Some squeezed in hard from the sides.

There were also a few who clearly came as a team; without needing a single extra glance between them, they tacitly pushed forward one after another.

"Minister Lei! Let me take this mission! Our squad just made the top thirty last week. Once we leave the city, we'll bulldoze our way through; we guarantee the goods will be delivered!"

"What's the top thirty? We were twelfth last week!"

"You're actually bragging about being twelfth? We—"

A vein on Lei Lie's temple twitched slightly.

The next moment.

"Bang!"

He slammed a hand onto the table.

It wasn't too heavy, but it sounded like a block of iron suddenly smashing into the hall.

"What are you arguing about?"

The Mercenary Guild hall went quiet for an instant.

Just an instant.

Because everyone's eyes were still glued to that mission tag; the noise had lessened, but their movements to grab it hadn't slowed down at all.

City Lord Qin Fang stood to the side, completely stunned by what he was seeing.

He truly hadn't expected that a simple caravan escort mission would become this lively.

In Heyang, if one wanted to hire a Bronze Rank Professional, every single time required sending gifts first, testing the waters, and then slowly negotiating.

If the price was too low, it wouldn't work; if the Face wasn't sufficient, it wouldn't work either. Even if someone were truly willing to take the job, they would never show this kind of "afraid of being one step too slow and missing out" attitude.

But these Hua City Mercenaries before him acted as if they had seen a piece of fatty meat.

No, it was as if they had seen a piece of fatty meat with absolutely no bones.

City Lord Qin Fang's heart stirred, and he quickly raised his hand.

"Everyone—everyone! Listen to me for a moment!"

His voice wasn't loud, but the hall actually quieted down slowly.

Many people turned to look at him, their eyes filled with bright curiosity. Perhaps because his accent and attire were different from the people of Flower City, and he had been walking around the city with Lei Lie earlier, many people recognized him.

City Lord Qin Fang cleared his throat, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed.

"I might... not be able to give everyone a very satisfactory price. Heyang is a small city with meager resources, and everyone's strength—"

As he said this, his gaze couldn't help but sweep over the people in front of him.

All of them were Bronze Rank.

In some squads, there were even three or four Bronze Rank members.

Such combat power in Heyang would already be a trump card capable of holding down half the city.

But here in Flower City, they were just Mercenaries fighting over an escort mission tag until they nearly started an argument.

"—everyone's strength can be considered top-tier in our Heyang. I'm afraid the payment I offer won't be worthy of everyone."

He said this very sincerely.

However, the Mercenary in front who was holding onto the tag without letting go just waved his hand, looking indifferent.

"It's just one trip, it's just an escort, not like we're going to risk our lives."

Someone next to him immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, it's something new."

"I'm going too to see what the outer cities look like."

"We can discuss the payment later; it won't stop us from taking the mission."

"Me too!"

City Lord Qin Fang's mouth opened, then slowly closed.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

In Heyang, Bronze Rank Professionals had to be pampered.

In Flower City, these people acted as if they were fighting over an easy job to go out and take a stroll.

In the end, Lei Lie stepped in to make the final decision.

"The Thunder Tiger Mobile Squad."

"You take it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the few people gathered at the very front grinned.

The mission tag was handed to a young captain in his early twenties. The man grinned, hung the tag on his waist, and turned to cup his hands toward City Lord Qin Fang.

"City Lord Qin, what are we escorting? Can we leave now?"

That expression was even more anxious than City Lord Qin Fang, the client himself.

City Lord Qin Fang looked at this overly young Face and couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Before we leave, I still need to make a trip to the Trade Department."

The young captain let out an "oh," and almost without a moment's pause, signaled to the core members behind him.

"Go call the others."

"Follow the standard for out-of-city escorts."

"Bring the reserve team too."

"Yes!"

Several people responded and scattered.

City Lord Qin Fang didn't pay much attention at first, assuming they were just making preparations for the escort.

But when he had walked a distance out with Lei Lie and looked back, his footsteps couldn't help but pause slightly.

Around the Mercenary Guild, things were already starting to move one after another.

First, a dozen or so people.

Then a few dozen.

Not long after, a hundred or so people quickly converged from different directions.

Some carried swords on their backs, some held bows, some carried long-handled weapons, and others wore uniform light armor.

As they took their positions, their Aura suddenly emerged.

City Lord Qin Fang's heart jolted slightly; only then did he truly realize.

The few people who had been standing at the very front fighting for the tag were not the entire squad at all.

Those were just the leading core members.

When they truly mobilized, there was an entire hundred-person escort team behind them.

The foundation of Flower City was even deeper than he had imagined before entering the city!

And it wasn't just a little bit deeper.

Before they had even reached the Trade Department, City Lord Qin Fang ran into Minister Wang Fugui.

Minister Wang Fugui, whether by coincidence or on purpose, happened to stroll out of an alley, holding a teacup, his pace leisurely as if he were taking a walk in his own courtyard.

But he spotted the Flower City escort team following behind City Lord Qin Fang at a glance.

"Oh?" Minister Wang Fugui's eyes narrowed. "City Lord Qin Fang, this is..."

City Lord Qin Fang smiled and didn't hide it.

"Minister Wang, to be honest—I don't want to make an extra trip."

"Oh?"

"Flower City has what I need. I want to purchase a batch now and have these Mercenaries escort them directly back to Heyang."

Upon hearing this, Minister Wang Fugui immediately laughed.

"Good."

"That's much more convenient."