豆豆小说阅读

"I was told to hand this to one of you..."

"Wonderful, please wait here while I ask a superior for help on this matter." The Bot said as Ashton handed the badge to it, the next moment the bot immediately scurried away into the overcrowded floor.

A couple of moments later, the roller-bot returned with an Ena-bot, the same one who blatantly supported the Gold water mercenaries yesterday. Ashton wasn\'t pleased to see her there, but he wasn\'t petty enough to hold a grudge against a robot of all things.

\'It isn\'t like a robot would feel remorse for its actions.\'

However, it would seem even robots had expressive emotional intelligence. At least to some extent, as the robot sincerely apologised to Ashton for her past mistake. He was a bit taken aback but accepted her apology and asked her to not waste time on unnecessary things.

The bot nodded and confirmed Ashton\'s mercenary information before asking him to follow her. they took a different elevator and this time descended far below the lower level.

A few minutes later, Ashton walked into a room filled with a variety of people. Well, technically there were only ten people inside the meeting room apart from him and the robot. All of them had some sort of a battle scar on their body.

The moment Ashton entered the room, all eyes were instantly on him. All of them were looking at him as if they were trying to figure him out. It was probably because he had altered his appearance before getting there.

Whether they were working on the same side or not, he knew the rule of the mercenaries too well. Money was the only thing that mattered to them. Some of them would even sell their loved ones if paid the right price.

That being said, there were mercenaries who did not care much about money, but loyalty and other values. Mazton was an example of this type of mercs.

However, Ashton did not want to take a risk by showing his real face to them. He did not trust anyone in the room, as they could sell his information to the Radicals and that would open a can of worms that Ashton is not yet ready to handle by himself.

"Good to have you here," Mazton happily welcomed Ashton, "I almost thought you wouldn\'t show up."

"The opportunity was too good to pass up," Ashton replied with equal enthusiasm.

"You made the right decision. Come, let me introduce you to everyone." Mazton pointed at the mercenaries one at a time and gave a brief description of them and their specialised talents.

Out of the nine of them, two of them were assigned the roles of a tanker. Apart from them, there were two brawlers and two supporters or as they referred to themselves, strategists. Then there were two battlemages and a healer.

As for Ashton, he was the only swordsman in the group. Well, he was only introduced as one, but little did they know he was the most versatile mercenary in the group and could technically fill any role according to the need and demand of the situation.

Also, all of them were ranked 5 or above, making Ashton the least experienced mercenary in the room. As he introduced himself to the group, he couldn\'t help but notice their disappointed faces. It was similar to that of a teenager who was asked to babysit a toddler while hanging out with their friends.

In short, they weren\'t pleased with his lack of experience. Ashton could almost read their thoughts at this point.

\'I bet they are wondering I\'m a product of nepotism, right about now.\'

[Haha, I can\'t wait to see their reaction when they realise who is their daddy.]

\'You\'re not alone.\'

"Alright people, look alive." Mazton interrupted the introductions, "Now that everything is taken care of, we can discuss the job details. But before that, I would once again remind you that you are not just representing yourself during this job, but the association itself."

He continued, "That being said, mistakes will not be tolerated at all. The punishment for failing the job would be severe. Don\'t let it scare you, rather take it as motivation to perform better than you ever have. Yes, Vimur, you have a question?"

Vimur was one of the two tanks and belonged to the warrior race of Azon. Their appearance was similar to that of a minotaur, but instead of having the facial qualities of a bull, they looked more like a rhinoceros.

"Apologies in advance, but Admiral, don\'t you think you\'re being kind of... Hypocritical?" Vimur then pointed at Ashton before continuing, "Considering it is an important mission then why do you want us to babysit the kid? Wouldn\'t it better to have a proper mercenary, someone who knows their shit, take his place instead?"

Everyone agreed with his point of view. It almost seemed they were waiting for someone to say something before forming a clique against Ashton.

"I understand your concerns, but if you knew what I know about him, you wouldn\'t even think of doubting him." Mazton calmly explained, "Although I can vouch for his skills, I guess, you would like to see it yourself?"

The mercenaries looked at each other and nodded. Just like that, the decision was made. Ashton would have to prove his worth to the rest of the team and what easier way to do that was there than by sparring against each other?

"What do you say?" Mazton asked Ashton.

"I have no problems." Ashton nonchalantly replied, "In fact, I would love to see their skills as well. After all, they are superior to me, so they should have at least something that would amaze me."

He knew the mercenaries weren\'t the only ones who wanted to see him in action. Mazton intended to confirm whether he was making the right choice or not. That was the whole reason behind him suggesting a spar in the first place.

The mercenaries unanimously decided that since Vimur was the one who spoke up, he should be the one to go against the kid. Ashton had no problems with it, no matter who his opponent was, they were going to lose. That fact was certain.