Chapter 5: The Twenty-Person Team is Ready
Crouching in a safe place, Leon held the signal lamp borrowed from the school in his hands, continuously channeling his magic power into it to provide the incoming experts with the correct coordinates.
For Leon, this was the most critical part of his mission. Teleportation required coordinates, and the signal must not be interrupted; otherwise, the experts would get lost in the gaps of time and space, missing this opportunity.
He didn't know how much time had passed, and he started to feel that his magic power was running low. Only then did the signal lamp slowly and firmly escape his control and float about three meters in front of him.
Then, three beams of white light flashed, and three people dressed as mages, two women and one man, appeared near the signal lamp.
Upon arrival, the three did not pay attention to Leon but simultaneously extended their right hands and pulled toward the direction of the signal lamp. A white portal appeared in response.
A man in red heavy armor, carrying a huge shield, and an archer wrapped entirely in leaves, emerged from the portal.
As soon as the archer exited the portal, he quickly looked in the direction of the Double-Headed Vulture. He then turned to the man in heavy armor and said, "It's the Double-Headed Vulture Cain, Level 3 (2 stars) Silver Elite, with flying ability and life-sharing traits. One head does pure physical damage, and the other does pure magic damage. Use Plan C."
The man in heavy armor nodded and turned to the three mages, saying, "Then start bringing in the rest."
They had already discussed various response plans on the way. The three mages immediately understood and soon, fifteen more men and women walked out of the portal.
All these players were at Level 2. Besides having jobs they had already taken, they had also confirmed bloodlines that complemented their professions.
What caught Leon's attention the most was another figure standing beside the man in heavy armor. This person looked like a magic user, wearing robes, but held a spear and a shield, appearing like a close-combat fighter.
The pointed ears and golden hair indicated that he had obtained a high elf bloodline in the game, which complemented his profession perfectly. He was known as an Elven Spellbreaker, a nightmare for all magic-based enemies, specifically designed to counter magic-type bosses.
While the Elven Spellbreaker and the man in heavy armor were discussing their plans, the three mages who had brought the others through the portal retreated to one side to recover their magic power.
Standing next to the mages were a Paladin shining with white light, a Priest, and a Druid wearing leather armor.
On the other side, the archer from before was talking with the physical fighters. Among these fighters, two giants were particularly noticeable, carrying chains that identified them as Giant Hunters, a variant of the hunter class. They used throwing weapons and had several skills for stunning and crowd control.
The rest were relatively normal, mostly archers and thieves, with two weapon warriors likely meant to fill in when the main tank couldn't hold the front line.
Once they arrived, they glanced at the scavenger beasts following the Behemoth in the distance and began discussing their strategy.
Of course, this was most of the group, but Leon noticed that one woman had found a sheltered spot nearby and started digging a fire pit to cook.
Finally, the archer who had appeared first walked up to Leon and said directly, "We are the Sunshine Squad, affiliated with the Sky Road Mercenary Group. I am the captain and the field commander, game ID HH-27357764-969, attached to Sun City High School. Your search mission is now complete. Please show your mission slip."
Leon was taken aback. Normally, these missions were only settled after the target creature was killed or captured, but this was the first time he had encountered such a quick settlement.
Seeing Leon's reaction, the archer smiled and explained, "Normally, we wouldn't settle with you in advance. You would just watch the show from the sidelines. Whether we succeed or fail, the school will settle with you in the end. However, this time, things are a bit different. You've seen that the Double-Headed Vulture is mixed in with the beast horde. In the past, we could gather outer members to lure the beast horde away, but now we can only teleport in a twenty-person team. If we split our attention to deal with the beast horde, the subsequent battle would be troublesome.
So, I am settling with you early, hoping you will accept a mission that guarantees death."
The archer glanced at Leon and, seeing no surprise in his eyes, continued, "Our idea is to send someone to infiltrate the beast horde and provoke the Behemoth to attack the beasts behind it actively. Don't be fooled by its current appearance; it is definitely a Level 3 creature.
As long as we can anger the Behemoth, the scavenger beasts behind it will have to fight back. This way, I can lure the Double-Headed Vulture Cain to a safe place.
However, the person who provokes the Behemoth will definitely be killed by it immediately, so this is a mission that guarantees death."
Hearing this, Leon nodded. He knew about these types of missions and the unwritten rules behind them. Usually, if the outer members of a small team wanted to advance, or if a small team wanted to join the main force of a mercenary group, besides their skills, they needed the courage to take on such a death mission.
Right now, none of the Sunshine Squad's outer members had come along. To deal with the Level 3 Double-Headed Vulture, they had to ensure that every member's strength remained intact. So, the only one who could complete this death mission was Leon, who could have just watched the show from the sidelines.
Understanding this, Leon knew that although the archer made it seem like he had a choice, in reality, he had none. Even though he didn't like the idea of dying, sometimes there was no other option in the game. He took out his mission slip and handed it to the archer.
"I'll take this mission, but I have some conditions. I'm not an outer member of your mercenary group, so I won't ask to join. I only want the normal death compensation.
Also, since I'm the one actively attacking the Behemoth, even if I die in battle, as long as the Behemoth dies in this wave of attacks, the experience will automatically be settled to me. I'm not worried about that. I need the items that drop from the Behemoth this time. I'll need you to help me pick them up."
The archer thought for a moment and then said, "Since you're only making the first attack, and you won't be contributing to the rest, even if the level difference is significant, the chances of a big drop are not high."
"Then could I trouble your people to disassemble the Behemoth? I only need its skull," Leon added after some thought.
"That, I can agree to," the archer nodded and signed his ID number on Leon's mission slip.
Then, the archer called out to the crowd, "Lynn, come over here for a moment."
A girl dressed as a maid responded and quickly ran over. The archer pointed to Leon and began explaining the plan to her.
The girl nodded as she listened, taking out various potions from her pocket and mixing them. Meanwhile, the woman who was cooking looked up at Leon.