Just as old Pablo had said, the Royal Faction's infiltration into mercenary groups was an all-too-common occurrence in this world.

For instance, the Golden Sparrow Mercenary Group of Brittania was originally the "Courage Mercenary Group" of the Welsh. After they grew in size and fame, several high-ranking members were wedded to the Royal Family, which effectively claimed the group for its own.

Similarly, the Steel Cross Mercenary Group of the Holy Solomon Empire was, in fact, controlled by the Hansa Alliance, which was indirectly under the control of the Duke of Saxony. The Duke's family was a matrilineal branch of the Giant Dragon family, meaning that the Steel Cross Mercenary Group ultimately had to obey the will of the Emperor.

The Bull Mercenary Group faced a similar challenge. In their earlier years of decline, they accepted funding from the Aragon Royal Family, and the price was to parachute in Prince Ferdinand, the current King's son, to serve as the deputy squad leader with real authority.

Of course, if Ferdinand did not interfere in the business management and simply acted in good faith as a director, then there would be no impact on the Mercenary Group.

The problem was that the Aragon Royal Family indeed coveted the Extraordinary Power possessed by the Bull Mercenaries, and so, over the years, Ferdinand had been covertly cultivating his own faction—the Royal Faction—in an attempt to completely swallow the group. This naturally led to conflict with the mercenary faction led by Great Captain Deslar.

Externally, they faced the assault of Undead Spirits, putting the nation at risk; internally, there was a struggle for power and scheme upon scheme. This could probably describe the current state of the war in Iberia. One can only say that these nobles are indeed unreliable.

Aske, with these thoughts in mind, arrived at the target shooting range. He casually picked up a test firearm, aimed at the distant humanoid targets, and pulled the trigger.

Tap tap tap, tap tap tap, he shot in brisk three-round bursts, hitting the targets without a single miss. The Bull Mercenary examiners on-site stepped forward to check; whether the targets were stationary or moving, every single one had bullet holes directly in the forehead, neck, and left chest, as if measured with a ruler for precision.

What a shame. The examiner looked at Aske somewhat regretfully; even if he waived the close-combat assessment part earlier, with such a masterful display of Spear Technique, he probably could have been specially recruited into the group by the Great Captain.

But this newcomer had just arrived and had injured Madman Barro. The Royal Faction, of course, would not let it go so easily... His days ahead were likely to be difficult.

Aske seemed not to notice the examiner's regret, or perhaps he did notice but didn't care, and simply took his results and Level before leaving.

Meanwhile, just 10 minutes earlier, in the office of Captain Roger Deslar, Recruitment Officer old Pablo had already reported the situation to the Great Captain.

After listening to the Recruitment Officer's description, Deslar fell into deep thought.

Without a doubt, the other party's physical condition and combat experience were both far superior to Madman Barro's, which was why he was able to take Barro out in a mere encounter.

As for the fact that he hadn't revealed his Level to everyone from the start, old Pedro described it offhandedly as "probably some kind of perverse enjoyment in watching everyone's astonished expressions."

But Deslar silently rejected this notion in his mind.

No, it wasn't intentional concealment or deception; it simply didn't matter to him.

Indeed, whether you know his strength or not, he doesn't care—he doesn't care what you think of him, just like a lion doesn't care whether a hyena by the roadside bares its teeth or backs away. This is the typical attitude of a top dog who has long been in a high position.

And this Aske must be a strong individual... Although Deslar had never heard his name before.

"His Mercenary Group," Deslar pondered for a moment and then asked, "what's it called?"

"It seems to be called 'Pale Sword,'" said Recruitment Officer old Pedro as he quickly recalled the registration details, "I'll fetch his application details for you."

"No need," Deslar waved his hand. "He should have already passed the shooting test, bring him directly to my office. I want to meet this person."

When Aske returned from the shooting test, he saw that the Recruitment Officer, Old Pedro, was already waiting for him in the same spot.

"It's all done." Aske tossed the shooting score and certification onto the table.

"Very good," Old Pedro said with a smile. "According to the rules, I can issue you an authorization as a cooperating partner of the Bull Mercenary Group. With this authorization, you can undertake subcontracted missions from us and receive rewards... But before that, there is a piece of good news waiting for you."

"What good news?"

"Great Captain Deslar has heard of your battle achievements," Old Pedro said. "He wants to meet you."

Before Aske could reply, a stranger's voice rang out from behind:

"Hold on a moment, Mr. Aske. His Highness Deputy Captain Ferdinand has invited you to meet in his reception room."

"Turasso!" Old Pedro stood up angrily. "The Great Captain has already spoken! Since Madman Barro is fine, you can't continue to hassle him..."

"No no no, we are not hassling him," the newcomer said with a certain frivolous smile, denying Old Pedro's claim. "His Highness is very disappointed with Madman Barro's performance in the arena and is also very interested in the warrior who was able to defeat him."

"Mr. Aske, if your strength truly meets our requirements, His Highness is willing to offer you the position that Madman Barro had. Money, titles, Extraordinary Items, whether they are available in the Bull Mercenary Group or not, we can provide them to you."

"Turasso, after all, you are members of the Bull Mercenary Group. Now you openly break the rules to recruit new people?" Old Pedro said coldly, then turned to continue persuading Aske, "Lord Aske, don't forget who instigated Madman Barro to overly rough up the newcomers during the close combat assessment? These nobles, even if they pander to you with benefits, will not truly regard you with respect!"

"I must deny Old Pedro's claim here," Turasso said with a smile. "For nobles, the most fundamental quality is the eager pursuit of talent. This is precisely why we tolerated your injuring Madman Barro, after all, you were in an official assessment duel, not in a malicious private fight."

"If you are willing to pledge allegiance to His Highness Ferdinand, small misunderstandings will naturally be water under the bridge. Does this not demonstrate our magnanimity and generosity? Conversely, if you had injured Old Pedro, the Great Captain would have pursued it relentlessly, because the capacity of a Mercenary Group Captain is absolutely incomparable to that of a noble member of the Royal Family."

"Therefore, I believe you will coolly use your reason to make a choice, instead of acting on impulse, which might lead you to regret your decision."

Seeing how the other party deftly brushed off the entire issue with Madman Barro in just a few simple sentences, Old Pedro was nearly bursting with anger.

However, he understood that in the end, it was up to the newcomer to decide, so he didn't continue to entangle with the other party, and simply said coldly:

"If you choose to side with our Captain, we may not be able to offer you a title of symbolic significance, but you will gain the trust and friendship of our Bull Mercenary Group— something the nobles will never give you. All they can offer you is temporary benefit, caution, and calculation."

"I think I understand," Aske nodded, seemingly in thought.

After a moment, under the watchful eyes of Old Pedro and Turasso, he suddenly asked:

"In your Bull Mercenary Group, who currently calls the shots, the Great Captain or that Prince?"

"Of course, the Great Captain is in charge!" Old Pedro responded hurriedly.

"Good, I will go with you to meet the Great Captain first," Aske decided.

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