A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 181 Private Mercenaries

"Bro, what exactly is this onboarding process?"

The skeleton soldiers of Cangzhou felt their scalps tingle as they looked at the contract, which was more than a dozen pages thick.

Could this be a contract of servitude?

"Of course we're hiring mercenaries. Why don't you check the pay before you speak?"

Upon hearing this, the skeleton soldiers from Cangzhou immediately flipped to the last page to check the rewards.

"Holy crap, a mid-tier gun!"

"What?"

"Then what else is there to say? Just give it to them."

All three were musketeers, so they naturally understood the value of mid-tier weapons.

"Aren't you going to read the treaty before signing?"

Jiang Shuzhou didn't care; after all, having a couple more subordinates was a good thing.

Upon hearing this, the three of them also began to read the treaty.

They could accept most of it, but the part about keeping it secret and not being allowed to be broadcast live was a bit upsetting, since they were streamers, even though they were now financially independent and didn't need to broadcast anymore.

But this will make them feel uncomfortable to some extent.

"Can we discuss this among ourselves first?"

"The genius boy, Old Sharen, asked."

"certainly."

Jiang Shuzhou then turned his back, but he was still able to keenly capture the conversation between the three.

"What should we do, Brother Guo? Should we go or not?"

"Of course we'll do it, why wouldn't we?"

The Cangzhou Assault Skeleton Soldier took a deep breath and then spoke.

"I have information that this game has at most a year or so left, and something big is bound to happen then."

"As far as I know, it should be the arrival of a game..."

"Our family heard a bit about it too, but it seems they're going to build a teleportation portal. Earth doesn't have any supernatural beings, so where would they build something like that?"

"Who cares? Since this game is not simple, we'll just stop the live stream. Besides, it's not like we're always forbidden from streaming; it's just that we need to keep it a secret."

Unlike the other two scions from wealthy families who hadn't suffered much hardship, he had no objection to being subservient to others.

It's just a job anyway; it'll be the same no matter where you go.

The three quickly reached an agreement.

"Boss, when do we start?"

"That's easy to say. Once you sign, you can start working."

Jiang Shuzhou doesn't support idlers.

The three quickly signed the papers and then awaited Jiang Shuzhou's orders.

"As for your live stream, I don't care as long as you don't leak any secrets. It's also stated in the terms and conditions. Your job now is to act as supervisors."

Jiang Shuzhou casually handed each of the three a whip, intending to send them away.

He still has a lot to do.

"Boss, you still don't know our names?"

"My name is Link, his name is Ors, and his name is Okahard."

The skeleton soldiers of Cangzhou pointed to the fact that there was no fake medicine and introduced the genius boy, Lao Sharen, to Jiang Shuzhou.

"Alright, I got it. Go get to work if you're not busy. By the way, you'll be getting a lot of work from now on."

"Remember to read the contract more carefully next time."

The group was taken aback, and some were still confused.

"Look, look here! Weren't we mercenaries employed by the Mage Alliance military? How did we become private mercenaries?"

Pointing to the contract, he said there were no counterfeit drugs, his face filled with disbelief.

The three of them then realized that they had signed the wrong document all along.

But there was nothing they could do; the contract was already signed, and the payment would be made tomorrow, so they had no choice but to be slaves for a while.

"Alright, alright, stop looking so dejected. You bunch of strangers, you've gotten a good deal and you're still acting all smug. This is such a great thing, why are you all looking so downcast?"

The soldiers, who had been so serious just moments before, became friendly after they signed the contract.

"Hey bro, where is this?"

"This is Lord Navis's army. Didn't you come here to become a mercenary? Although the lord doesn't usually take people, you've already passed the test, haven't you?"

"Huh? I thought this was the Mage Alliance recruitment office?"

The soldiers fell silent. Who would enlist in the army, especially in the far north? Would a normal person come here to sign up?

"I thought we'd be assigned based on proximity, and I happened to see some orcs fighting to the north, so I thought I'd practice and came here."

"How did you get here?"

"Aren't train tickets free for professionals?"

"..."

"Forget it, I'll go supervise the construction."

The soldier was completely speechless. Would a normal person come to a place where the temperature is below minus twenty degrees Celsius to look for work?

He led the three to a bustling construction site and then left.

"What are they building here?"

Looking down at the bustling scene below, with bare-chested orcs, half-orcs, and beastmen, the group was quite puzzled.

Fortunately, there was a magic lock here, which kept the temperature constant at eighteen degrees Celsius; otherwise, these people would probably have frozen to death long ago.

"Why bother with all that?"

"You! Go to work!"

The Cangzhou Assault Skeleton Army seamlessly transitions into a medieval slave owner, whipping anyone who slacks off.

However, the whipping did not leave any scars.

They are holding the whip of truth in their hands. Hopefully, they will speak the truth more often, otherwise they will suffer greatly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Shuzhou sorted out his thoughts. He planned to recruit some fellow villagers in his own name to do reconnaissance and other similar tasks, since the players were really too useful.

Who wouldn't want a one-time suicide soldier who's willing to risk their life for money?

While you can still get freebies, hurry up and use up as many resurrection abilities as possible, lest the game system stops giving resurrection abilities one day, which would be a real problem.

That's why Jiang Shuzhou took in these three people; after all, they were all big streamers with influence, so it would be good for them to promote the show for free.

Of course, Jiang Shuzhou could also pay for it himself, but that would be too deliberate and would easily be detected by the authorities.

Now, when Jiang Shuzhou posts videos using his official account, he rarely includes his own image, for fear of being targeted.

It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that it's troublesome. Besides, there are so many people in China, one more or one less won't make a difference.

If Jiang Shuzhou won't do it, plenty of others will.

This is good for everyone.

Jiang Shuzhou thought to himself as he drew the blueprints.

He was designing and building a large camp, primarily for imprisoning orc prisoners, dealing with stubborn orcs, and conducting rituals.

The house must be big. According to Jiang Shuzhou's experience, a small house with three bunk beds is enough for twelve people.

If you calculate it this way, it seems there's still a lot of room left for doing other things.

Jiang Shuzhou scribbled and drew, and soon a new drawing was completed.

He casually tossed it to the architect standing nearby.

"Give these blueprints to the construction team and tell them to finish building it within a week."

"Sir, we don't have enough manpower!"

"It's no big deal. The war officially starts tomorrow. We'll just take some prisoners."

"By the way, sir, what about those protesters who are being held captive here to work?"

"Let them do it for now. If they're so capable, they can protest at the construction site. They'll be the first users!"

The architect was speechless; he dared not say anything.

He left quietly and handed the blueprints to the construction team manager.

"This is the fifth edition!"