Overwhelming Firepower

The large mercenary who spoke had a scar running across his cheek and a grin that made it clear he enjoyed causing problems.

There were a few others who looked on with interest, while, of course, others didn’t care about such things and continued eating and drinking since it was a rather normal occurrence with mercenaries.

There were even those who started betting on what would happen as they smiled while watching the show.

Ryan looked around the tavern, then smiled even wider. ”Oh, like I heard this place is quite interesting.” He said as he glanced back at the large mercenary that was now standing before them like a mountain in scale armor.

”Interesting, huh? How about you leave now before it gets really interesting.” The large man cracked his knuckles.

Ryan looked at the man’s hands, then at his scarred face, then at the tables filled with mercenaries.

After a few seconds, Ryan nodded seriously. ”I understand.”

Nina blinked, surprised that Ryan was actually being reasonable for once.

Then Ryan continued. ”So the food here is so good that you are trying to scare away customers to have more for yourself.”

The large mercenary stared at him. When the other mercenaries heard those words, they started laughing.

”Hahaha! That’s right!”

”Is that how you got so big?!”

”So you wanted to hog all the food, is that why you want to chase away the brats?”

Hearing the mockery of his fellow mercenaries, the large man’s veins looked like they were going to pop.

”Since you didn’t take my warning seriously, I need to teach you brats an important lesson in respect.”

The large man gave a signal, and several other mercenaries who seemed to be part of his group stood up.

Despite knowing that Alexander and the others came from the Royal Academy, meaning they could be nobles, they were not afraid; in fact, they became even more excited.

To Mercenaries, reputation is very important; in fact, it might be the most important, second only to money.

Mercenaries with a bit of fame get better offers and treatment. So rumors, even bad ones, could get them more jobs.

Also, even if they offend some nobles in this country, they were confident enough to escape to another; it’s not like they needed to stay in Norvaegard to get jobs.

It’s not like they haven’t faced death before; to them, Lady Velmira’s embrace is always close.

Alexander saw the mercenaries stand and sighed inwardly. He had only wanted to eat. ”Everyone, let’s all calm down. We just came here to eat. We didn’t mean to disrespect anyone.”

The large mercenary answered by swinging his fist. Alexander’s eyes widened slightly, but his body moved before his thoughts could finish.

After spending the entire day dodging rubber bullets from Lucen, a fist moving through the air felt strangely slow.

He stepped aside. The mercenary’s fist passed beside his face and slammed into the doorframe behind him.

”You’d better pay for that!” The owner of the tavern shouted. As if that was a signal, the other companions of the large mercenary started attacking.

One of the mercenaries lunged toward Ryan first. Ryan looked at the incoming fist, blinked once, then casually leaned back. The fist passed in front of his nose. Ryan’s eyes widened slightly, the fist that came with him with a hint of aura was moving slower than he expected.

The others were also dodging the attacks from all sides with relative ease. It was at that moment that the mercenaries attacking Alexander’s group felt as if they didn’t do something, their reputation would be ruined.

So they started using their aura mantles and even cast a few minor spells. The moment aura flared around their bodies, the tavern became louder.

Those who had been watching casually finally became more interested. A normal brawl was common. A brawl involving aura users and Royal Academy students was much better entertainment.

A small wind spell shot toward Mina, who dodged it and charged at the one who used the spell and attacked with a punch.

The mercenary mage had not expected the nervous-looking girl to rush toward him. Because of that, Mina’s fist landed cleanly against his stomach.

The others were also easily dealing with one or two mercenaries. Even though their aura mantles and mana circles were equal, their skills were not.

The mercenaries may have more battle experience than the greenhorn students, but the gap in talent was obvious.

***

It didn’t take long for Alexander’s group to subdue the large man and his mates. Once that was done, the tavern cheered.

”Nice fight!”

”I won the bet! Drinks are on me!”

”Hahaha, as expected of Royal Academy students. Hey, boss, feed these kids the best grub you have!”

The mercenaries who had just watched the fight did not look offended. If anything, they looked even more pleased.

To them, a good fight before dinner was not a problem. It was seasoning.

The tavern owner stepped out from behind the counter. She was a large woman with thick arms, sharp eyes, and an apron that looked as if it had survived more battles than most rookie mercenaries.

Her gaze swept across the broken doorframe, cracked tables, spilled drinks, and unconscious men on the floor. Then she looked at Alexander’s group.

”We’re sorry,” Alexander quickly apologized.

”This should pay for the damages.” Cael tossed a bag filled with gold coins at the tavern owner, who caught it. The tavern owner only took five gold coins and returned the rest to Cael.

”This covers the damages and the meal.”

After that, the group sat at the table, and while waiting, a few mercenaries talked to them. Ryan, as usual, was happily conversing with them. Nina tried to remind Ryan that he was the son of nobles and should act with some manners.

The mercenaries would tell stories of their adventures, of their battles, which excited Alexander and even Mina.

Cael was trying his best to have a proper conversation with a few of the mercenaries present.

Catherine, hearing the sound of laughter and the smell of good food, made her heart feel a bit warm. Today was truly a good day for her.

When the food finally arrived, the entire table went silent for a moment. Ryan was practically drooling when he smelled the meat on the table.

Mina, who was very hungry, could not wait to eat the food in front of her. Alexander also found that the smell of the meat was quite different from that of others.

Catherine could already guess the ingredients using her senses and was quite surprised. ”This has some Raigo herbs mixed in.”

The tavern owner looked at Catherine with slight surprise. ”You can tell that just from the smell?”

”Yes, it’s quite surprising to see Raigo herbs here in Norvaegard.”

”As you know, this place is a gathering of mercenaries from all over; they sometimes pay using these kinds of things. Well then, eat up while it’s hot.”

Hearing what the tavern owner said, they no longer hesitated and started eating. The meat was juicy, and the spices used made it even more delicious. The group bonded and had a satisfying meal that night.