Chapter 540 - Stop and Prepare for Battle
“Ding!”
The bull-slaying blade struck the wooden board right in front of Evan’s crotch, pinning part of his trousers and magician robes to the seat. The hilt of the blade was quivering gently, and the cold lightly glimmering from its sharp edge made all of the men present unconsciously close their legs.
Evan’s face was deathly pale, and it was as if an arctic breeze were blowing past his crotch. In that instant, he felt as if he were going to have to bid farewell to his manhood. The sharp edge of the blade was less than an inch away from his crown jewels, making his heart skip a beat.
It was only an ordinary-looking blade, but it somehow seemed to be indescribably sharp. Evan looked at the quivering hilt and felt as if his heart were quivering along with it. He immediately sprang back to try and get away from that terrifying blade.
“Rip!”
A loud tearing sound erupted, and the bull-slaying blade easily tore his pants down the middle, leaving a huge gash right in front of his crotch.
Evan’s expression changed abruptly as he clamped his legs together with a blush on his face. He was like an embarrassed monkey, and all of his haughtiness had disappeared.
The mercenaries all wore peculiar expressions upon seeing that. They wanted to laugh, but had to suppress the urge to do so, and some of them were already having to pinch their own legs.
Looks like he’s not just some simple chef, after all. Sivir looked at Mag with a surprised expression before turning away as a smile appeared on her face. Mag’s flick had completely changed the trajectory of the bull-slaying blade mid-flight, and even though she didn’t know whether it’d gone exactly as he intended, it still taught Evan a lesson.
Eva looked at Evan, and a blush also appeared on her face. She hurriedly stood up and rummaged through her bags as she said, “Don’t worry, Master Evan, I brought a dress along with me. I’ll give it to you right now.”
“Stabbed by the blade he was trying to steal, he ended up with a hole in his pants, and now he has to wear a flower dress. How embarrassing.” Amy sang an impromptu tune to herself with a joyful smile on her face.
“Hahaha!”
The mercenaries who were trying to suppress their laughter were finally unable to hold on any longer. This little girl was very adorable, but her tongue was very sharp.
“I’m not wearing that!” Evan’s blush deepened as he threw aside the floral dress that Eva was offering to him.
“But…” Eva looked on as her floral dress was swept away with the wind before snagging onto the tree branch. Tears were already beginning to swim in her eyes. That was her favorite dress.
“Shut up!” Evan cried in a blind fury. He had never been humiliated like this before, much less in front of the woman he desired. He wanted to dig a hole and bury himself there forever.
Eva looked at Evan before silently making her way back to her seat. Tears flowed down her face and fell onto the ground. She looked at Mag and Amy through the corners of her eyes with a resentful expression. It was all their fault that Master Evan would treat her like this.
“Make sure to hold the blade properly next time. Otherwise, you might not always get so lucky.” Mag pulled the bull-slaying blade from the wooden board as he looked at Evan with a calm expression.
He wasn’t some divine deity willing to forgive everyone and everything. If someone insisted on trying his patience, then he didn’t mind teaching them a lesson. The blade had landed just in front of his crotch on this occasion. Next time, he might not be so accurate.
“You won’t even have a dress to wear next time,” Amy chimed in with a serious expression.
“Hmph!” Evan was trembling with rage, but he could only sit down in silence. He was the one who had tried to grab Mag’s blade, so even if the blade had actually struck him, it would still have been his own fault. He had already thoroughly embarrassed himself, and if he carried on any further, Sivir’s impression of him would only continue to worsen. He looked at the deep blade indentation on the wooden board, and unconsciously scooted off to the side a little.
Furthermore, he was feeling a lot more wary after that flick of Mag. Even though his spatial magic was only at the 1st-tier caliber, he could still alter the trajectory of projectiles during flight. However, he was completely unable to do anything to that oncoming blade.
The mercenaries were also looking at Mag with new eyes. They had initially thought that Mag was just a strange chef, but they discovered now that his straightforward and decisive personality was like that of a true knight. This observation struck them with the urge to befriend him.
“Hello, my name is Dennis. I’m responsible for leading the charge and acting as the meat shield in the Rose Mercenary Squad,” the minotaur demon introduced himself with a smile.
“I’m Skol; I’m responsible for charging upfront,” the burly orc sitting beside Dennis said with a bashful smile.
“I’m Scott; I’m usually responsible for cover during retreat and evacuation,” the human knight said with a smile.
“I’m Sam. I lay all of our traps,” a middle-aged man introduced himself as well.
“I’m Sydney; you can also call me Monkey. I drive the carriage and do the scouting for the squad.” The thin young man driving the carriage turned to Mag with a smile, revealing two rows of pristine white teeth.
“I’m Sivir, the leader of the Rose Mercenary Squad,” Sivir said.
Evan turned his face away as the veins on his forehead bulged with fury. Meanwhile, Eva had her head buried between her legs, clearly not intending to introduce herself.
“I’m Mag, the owner of Mamy Restaurant. This is my daughter, Amy.” Mag responded in kind. The fact that these mercenaries were introducing themselves to him indicated that they were accepting him as one of their own. Even though he wasn’t particularly fond of that elf, he had a good impression of all these other mercenaries.
“So you’re a restaurant owner as well as a chef? That means your food must be really good, right? Can we expect you to cook a delicious lunch for us later today?” Sydney turned to Mag with an expectant gaze.
The other mercenaries’ eyes all lit up upon hearing that.
“Sure. If you want, you can leave lunch to me, but I’m going to need your help to source some ingredients.” Mag nodded in response. He would cook them lunch in exchange for their transportation services. It was a good and fair deal.
“Don’t you worry about that; we’re all veteran hunters here!” Monkey smiled, and all of the other mercenaries chuckled as well.
The carriage quickly sped onward. Unicorns were 12nd-tier magic beasts with gentle character, and had stamina and speed far superior to those of normal horses. Even on such a steep and bumpy path, they were able to maintain a decent speed.
Mag chatted with the mercenaries along the way. Amy interjected from time to time, drawing laughter from everyone aside from the Evan and Eva, who were still sulking in a corner.
“Stop and prepare for battle.”
Sivir suddenly issued a command as the carriage came to an abrupt halt.