Chapter 492 – Do you hear a dog barking somewhere? (4)

Cale looked toward Jopis.
She looked at Bud and the aura surrounding him before moving her hand.

'Mm!'

Cale's eyes sparkled as he saw where her hand was moving.

Shamans and Illusionists.
They all had a medium.
Tiger shaman Gashan used his staff as a medium when chanting incantations. Then, what would Jopis's medium be?

Shhh-

Her hair that had been twisted up was released.
At the same time, the hairpin that was now between her fingers started to shoot out a purple light.

Swoooosh-

The rope binding Bud released once that purple light shot out.

"My medium is a secret."

That was all Jopis said before elegantly twisting her hair up again.
Cale looked at the wooden hairpin in her hair for a moment before turning back toward Bud.

"Bud."

Glenn had gotten rid of the dogs at some point and was approaching Bud.
The puppies were quietly sitting in a corner of the room looking around as if they realized the atmosphere.

"Glenn, please explain it to Cale."

Bud motioned toward Cale who was looking at him with his chin before crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Before that, we need to first-"
"Glenn."

Bud called out to the anxious Glenn and continued in a low voice.

"Explain to Cale. I have to think for a bit."

Seeing him like that made Glenn turn to look toward Cale who added on.

"Short and snappy."
"Yes, I understand."

Glenn looked toward Jopis who put her index finger up against her lips.

"I am very good at knowing what I should mention and should not mention to others."

Glenn immediately started to speak after hearing her saying she would keep a secret.

"We decided that regular scouts would not be able to investigate properly because the Eastern continent's northern region has rough terrains and cold weather."

They were also going there to investigate Arm's secret base and the Gate to the Demon World that was even more mysterious.

"That was why we sent all 1,001 members of the Ranger Brigade."

They were very important people for the Mercenaries Guild.

"This is a brigade that consists of specialists who are able to quickly adjust to any terrain and weather. Their fighting prowess is also beyond normal 1,000 men units and similar to the level of a 1,000 man Knights Brigade."

Choi Han interjected into the conversation.

"Is it possible for people that strong to all go missing at once?"

He looked shocked.

"Are you sure it is not an issue with communication?"
"There's no way."

The person who sternly responded to Choi Han and shook his head was Mercenary King Bud Illis.
He still had his eyes closed.

"10 minutes."

Cale looked toward Bud.

"The 1,000 men Ranger Brigade is divided into 10 teams of 100 people. Those 100 person teams are then divided into squads of 10 people as well."

In essence, there were 100 squads of 10 people.

"And each of those 10 person squads has one mage who has a video communication device."

Ron Molan's gaze headed toward Bud.
Although mages were not that rare, it was amazing that they could have a mage who could handle a video communication device in each squad.
This was especially because they were an organization and not a nation.

"Furthermore, every squad in the Ranger Brigade must protect the video communication device at all costs and prevent it from being destroyed. We also provide magic stones just in case a situation occurs where the mage is lacking in mana."

Glenn who had been quiet started to speak.

"They use those video communication devices to report in every 10 minutes."

From each group of ten… A total of 100 squads would report in every 10 minutes.
A team dedicated to communicating with the Ranger Brigade existed to receive these reports.

"Then is it possible they ran out of magic stones?"

Choi Han asked Glenn who immediately shook his head without any hesitation.

"There's no way they will run out of magic stones. This is because we provide a minimum of two times the necessary magic stones for the duration of the mission."

Their rule was that if the mission was expected to take 10 days, then they would provide at least 20 days worth of magic stones.
Ron started to speak.

"They are truly your core group of people."

Such a brigade would have required a lot of time, money, and effort to train.

"Of course. They are the people I put the most attention on to develop once I became the leader."

Bud who would usually say something with a proud expression did not even have the semblance of a smile on his face.
This was the same for Glenn as well.

"Five minutes ago. We did not receive even a single report at that point."

The reports that came in every 10 minutes.
It had been five minutes since the time to report in.

"Did the people on this side try to contact the Ranger Brigade?"

Glenn nodded his head at Ron's question.

"They tried but could not get through to any of them."

All contact ended at once.
This was definitely an urgent situation.
Furthermore, there was a different reason this wasn't even more urgent than normal, which Glenn explained.

"The 1,001 member Ranger Brigade were divided into 11 groups of 100 people as they were investigating the mountain from all directions."
"That means that something must have happened to the scattered 100 people teams all at once."

Ron let out a groan.

The northern mountain range was quite wide.
Furthermore, there were many different paths to Arm's secret base. But the scattered Mercenaries Guild's members all stopped communicating at once?
Especially when these teams were extremely strong?

Cale started to speak at that moment.

"11 teams of 100 people? Is one person a 100 person team on their own? I thought you said there were 1,001 of them."

10 squads of 10 people created a 100 person team. Ten of those 100 person teams would be a 1,000 person brigade.
There was 1 person left after that calculation, which meant that one person served the role of a 100 person team on their own.

Glenn immediately started to speak to answer Cale's question.

"That is the problem. One person out of the 1,001 people. That person is someone who should never stop communicating with us. But that person is unreachable as well."
"Who is that person?"

Cale looked toward Bud. Bud opened his eyes and started to speak.

"A Rat."

Cale thought about the Mixed-blood Dwarf Rat Mueller.
The Rat tribe was known for their dexterity, tiny bodies, and agility.

"That punk remains as far back as possible for the worst possible situation. He is the best at running away. But even he stopped contacting us."

He was first in the Mercenaries Guild when it came to running away.
That meant that he was the Eastern continent's number one when it came to running away. However, even he stopped contacting them.

"This should be enough explanation, right?"

Bud looked toward Cale and asked while Glenn responded to that. Glenn looked anxious and was about to tell Bud that they needed to do something.
However, Bud was a bit faster at saying something to Cale.

"Looks like you'll need to help me."
"Why are you asking such an obvious question?"

Cale answered back without any hesitation.

"What do you need?"
"Information."

Cale understood what information the Mercenary King wanted even without any details.

"You need information on what happened to the Ranger Brigade. Is that all?"
"Yes. Mercenaries frequently get hurt and will eventually die while completing a job. But I can't brush this aside as if nothing happened."

Cale stood up and responded after hear Bud's statement.

"Of course not."

He obviously had to take action.
Choi Han approached him with a stiff expression after hearing Cale's response. They needed to go toward the restricted Gate to the Demon World and the White Star's territory around it in order to get the information the Mercenary King needed.
This was a dangerous task, and the Mercenary King knew this was the case as well.

"It would be great if you go with me."

That was all the Mercenary King wanted.
However, Cale shook his head.

"No. There's no need for you to go. We don't have much time. We have a lot of things to do."
"…The Molden Kingdom issue is important, but the Mercenaries Guild issue comes first for me."
"I know."

Pat.

Cale patted Bud's shoulder as he continued.

"You push the Molden Kingdom issue aside for now and go create a team to rescue the Ranger Brigade."
"What?"

Bud's eyes opened wide.

"It will take you a while to gather people for that team. If you tried to gather information as well, it might delay us in saving the Ranger Brigade."

Both Cale and Bud…
Nobody was saying that the Ranger Brigade was dead.
Bud listened to Cale before asking a question.

"But what I need most right now is information…?"
"Ah, didn't I tell you that I'll get that for you?"

Bud was at a loss for words.
The entire Ranger Brigade had disappeared while going to gather information.

"…The situation will be a lot different than when we suddenly barged in last time."

The White Star was probably waiting for Cale. If he wasn't there, he probably gathered a significant number of people to ruthlessly rip off the necks of any invading enemies.
The chances of them being attacked at a much different level than their sneak attack last time were high.
Bud explained this to Cale who was calm.

"I know."
"But you are saying I don't need to go?"
"Yeah."

At that moment…

"Cale-nim."

Choi Han approached him.

"It's dangerous for you to go alone."

The White Star was probably extremely angry after their last meeting. But they were planning on going to the northern secret base where the White Star was most likely located in such a situation?
Furthermore, they were going near the Gate to the Demon World that could actually be connected to the Demon World?
There was no way he could send Cale alone.

"Who said I was going?"

Choi Han flinched as Cale looked toward the Mercenary King and continued to speak.

"There are some people who have nothing to do during this Molden Kingdom issue anyway. I was thinking that there were a lot of them but nothing for them to do, so we'll ask them for their help. It's not like they are unrelated to the Molden issue anyway."
"Ah."

Choi Han gasped in understanding while Bud asked with a stiff expression.

"…Who are they?"
"The Elves."

Everybody other than Choi Han flinched after hearing Cale's response.

"And the Elementals contracted to the Elves. Let's put them to work."

Put who to work?
As everyone's eyes opened wide… Cale pulled the golden top's whip out of his inner pocket and grabbed it with his hand.
He then looked toward the shocked group and continued to speak as if he understood what they were thinking.

"Ah. Don't worry. It's not a task where the Elves can get injured."

Inside the quiet room…
A gentle breeze that tickled like the spring breeze blew past the group.

'Chaos, destruction! Do not worry! I will take the Wind Elementals and thoroughly investigate what is going on! Chaos, destruction, investigation!'
'Sigh. This guy gets weirder every day. Anyway, Cale. Don't worry.'

Another Wind Elemental gently responded.

'We will just take the Wind Elementals contracted to the Elves and go investigate the situation.'

There was no reason for the Elves to go past the northern mountain range to the secret base. That was why there should be no reason for them to get hurt.
The Wind Elementals just needed to ride the wind past the mountain and investigate while looking for the Ranger Brigade.

'Chaos, destruction! Of course, we will avoid the Lion King that has eaten the Darkness Elemental!'

Lion King Dorph who has eaten a Darkness Elemental had a high chance of recognizing that there were Elementals nearby. That was why they just needed to stay away from that bastard and his subordinates.

It was difficult for Elementals to show themselves or launch a materialized attack without a contractor, but it was possible for them to roam around the world…
As long as they don't get caught.

'We should do something too since it is to protect the World Tree!'
'That's right! Chaos, destruction, protection! We will protect our home! We will rip the White Star's head off! Chaos, destruction, despair!'
'Sigh. That damn chaos, destruction business. Anyway, we will look into the Ranger Brigade's safety first.'

'Smart punks.'

Cale listened to the three Wind Elementals that followed him around coming up with a plan before smiling with satisfaction. Listening to their planning made him think that they had grown a lot as well.
However, that smile quickly disappeared.

This was a matter of life and death for the 1,001 Ranger Brigade members.
He needed to move quickly more than anybody else.

"I'm heading to the Elf Village."

He needed to go get the Western continent's Elves, then drag in the Eastern continent's Elves to cause a ruckus in the Eastern continent's northern region.
Of course, he was planning on grabbing the Dark Elves while he was there as well.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]