Lux looked at his mission objectives in his Soul Book before glancing back at the two people that were currently looking at him with a challenging glance.
Clearly, Watson and Sherlock found this whole situation quite amusing, so they decided to have a talk with Lux to know what he wanted to talk about.
When they received the letter that was sent by General Fahad through a Fast Rider, the two Great Generals almost didn't believe their eyes.
The same person who allowed them to win the previous war had now established a Mercenary Group and joined the Ammarian Kingdom's side.
The two Great Generals decided to treat this matter seriously, so they sent their own Fast Rider, carrying a letter and the wooden box, back to General Fahad with their reply to Lux's letter.
After reading the two Great General's coded messages, General Fahad went to look for Diablo, who had become their temporary guests in the camp, and told him that the two Great Generals wished to have a chat with his Master, Lux.
"I sent the details of the contract, as well as the rewards that they have promised me," Lux said as he looked at his two acquaintances with a calm expression. "What I want to know is how you both feel about me fighting against the two of you. Right now, we stand on different sides. Although I consider both of you as friends, business is business, and there is nothing I can do about it."
"Ohh? Business is it?" Sherlock arched an eyebrow.
The Gnome looked at Lux with half-lidded eyes, as if trying to discern the Half-Elf's true intention.
Watson, on the other hand, only shrugged and waited for Sherlock's decision. Between the two of them, Watson—who was a two-meter-tall human—served as the brawns, while the Gnome was the brains.
Together, they had managed to defend against the Ammarian Kingdom's invasion and launch a counterattack, allowing them to conquer some of the Ammarian Kingdom's lands.
They were not afraid to face anyone, but knowing that Lux was on the opposite side of the field didn't sit well with them.
The fact that he could use the skill, Corpse Explosion, was enough to make the Two Great Generals feel a little wary in their hearts.
Silence descended inside the tent as both sides waited for Sherlock to make a decision.
Lux checked his quest to see if there were any changes in it, but to his dismay, it remained the same.
—---------
< War of the Lions >
Mission Rating: S
< Mission Objectives >
– Kill the Two Yelan Army Great Generals, Watson, and Sherlock.
– Destroy the Yelan Main Headquarters and capture their flag
< Rewards >
– Each member will receive 150,000 Gold Coins
– Each member will receive one random Mythical Equipment
< Bonus Rewards >
– Bonus rewards can be obtained depending on your performance on the battlefield. Great rewards await those who managed to excel in this military campaign.
—---------
Ten minutes later, Sherlock sighed before closing his eyes.
Suddenly, his shoulders started to shake which lasted for a few seconds before he roared in laughter.
"I see. So this is what you're after, Little Lux," Sherlock said after he finished laughing. "Business, is it? Very well. Let's conduct business. Let's see… according to your contract, you and each member of your mercenary group will receive 150,000 Gold Coins as well as Mythical Equipment… What do you think of this, Watson?"
"Utter garbage," Watson replied in a heartbeat. "Our heads are only worth 150,000 Gold Coins and a measly Mythical Weapon? It seems that either the Ammarian Kingdom's war funds are so pitifully low at the moment, or their Great General, Rafael, is treating Lux and his Mercenary Group like ordinary swords for hire."
Sherlock nodded his head in agreement.
"Tell you what, Lux, how about the two of us make a deal?" Sherlock said. "For every General you and your Mercenary Group kill, I will give you 1 Million Gold Coins and one Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice.
"If you manage to kill Great General Rafael, I will give your Mercenary Group an Additional 1 Million Gold Each, and two Pseudo-Legendary Equipment of your choice. How does that sound?"
Before Lux could answer, he heard a notification sound inside his head, and rows of text appeared in front of him.
—--------
< Ding! >
< Sherlock had given you an offer to change your allegiance in the War of Lions >
< Will you accept his conditions? >
< Yes / No >
< Important Notice! >
– Once you have chosen to accept this Quest, the Ammarian Kingdom will immediately become hostile with your Mercenary Group.
– If you accept this Quest, you will no longer have the chance to switch sides between the two Kingdoms.
– The Ammarian Kingdom will always be hostile to you, and treat you and your group as Public Enemy Number One.
– You will also receive a Penalty for breaking the contract.
< Penalty >
– You and your Mercenary Group will lose 2,000 Stat Points immediately, which will be evenly taken out of your current stats.
– You and your Mercenary Group will each lose 1,000,000 Gold Coins for breaking your contract.
—--------
'Sh*t…' Lux cursed internally after seeing the information in front of him.
Originally, he thought that Sherlock's offer was simply too good to be true.
And he was right. His joy immediately disappeared after seeing the penalty that would come if they broke their contract with the Ammarian Kingdom.
Right now, Lux was in a dilemma. For him, he didn't mind losing a million gold coins, because he had the Draconium Ore.
However, a million gold coins was simply too big of an amount for ordinary teenagers like them. Cai and Keane certainly didn't have this amount of money.
Einar, Val, Xander, Henrietta, and Enlil (the Elven Prince), might be able to shoulder this amount, but, even then, they would be very irritated about it.
Lux knew that he could pacify them by giving them one or two Draconium Crystal, which they could auction for money.
The problem was the Xynnar War Pact, Skystead Alliance, the Six Kingdom Faction, and the Storm Dragons.
Lux didn't believe that they all had the money to pay for the penalty. But, that wasn't his biggest concern.
It was the stats.
2,000 Free Stat Points was a very big deal.
After hunting all of those Monsters for their quest, Big Game Hunters, Lux had finally been able to increase his stats and break through to the Initiate Rank.
If he accepted this quest, his Rank would drop back to Grade A Apostle, making his earlier progress disappear.
Of course, his skills that he gained after upgrading his profession to Lord of the Dead would remain. However, the loss of stats would definitely be very painful, not only for him, but for his guild members as well.
Watson and Sherlock noticed that Lux's face had suddenly become pale and they thought that their offer wasn't big enough.
However, they had no intention of raising the rewards they had just offered because they also had a budget in their military spending.
The only reason they offered such high rewards was due to Lux's previous performance against the Ammarian Kingdom.
"I can't give you an answer right now because I need to talk to my members first." Lux decided to put the quest on hold until he had a proper talk with the others. "Tomorrow, the Ammarian Camp may not launch any attacks because their morale is quite low. I will use that opportunity to take your offer into consideration."
Sherlock nodded. "Very well. We will wait for your decision for two days. If you didn't give us a reply within that time frame, we will assume that you've decided to side with the Ammarian Kingdom. At that time, we really will be enemies."
Watson crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the Half-Elf with a steely gaze.
"Lux, I don't want to meet you on the battlefield because we have fought together," Watson stated. "But, I have to consider the lives of our people, so if you choose to stand against us, I will show you no mercy the next time we meet each other."
Lux sighed in his heart because this decision was simply too great for him to decide alone.
After saying his parting words to Watson, Sherlock, and General Fahad, the Half-Elf teleported back to his tent, where Lazarus was waiting for him.
The Great SKull Flame told his Master that some of the Guards under the Vice-General's command had peeked inside his tent a couple of times to see if he was there or not.
This information made the Half-Elf feel a little anxious because he now knew that the second highest commander of the Ammarian Camp had finally set his eyes on him.
