The Following Day.
Legolas was seated in his new mansion as he met Ruben, Hariv and Zipon again in his office after yesterday's brutal massacre of enemies.
Due to the group of enemies being pirates, no law held them accountable for defending their own lives and thus, the first commission as hired bodyguards was a clean success.
Legolas gazed at the three Qebika clients who had come to visit in his main office.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Ragnarsson.
Your warriors have indeed helped us greatly. Now, we will be able to go back to our previous lives without worries." spoke Ruben, his voice revealing a satisfied and confident feeling.
The next moment, all 3 of them took out a small box filled with elven space rings and handed them to Legolas.
"Half in Itikar and half in SS Rank mana cores and ores as per our agreement." spoke Zipon.
Legolas nodded and Scorpion, who stood behind him took the boxes.
"Well, we did only what were supposed to do in the first place. It was a pleasure doing business with you." responded the elf guild leader dressed in a black and blue longcoat.
"However I don't think this whole thing is over.
There is still a mole in your organization." he iterated in a stern voice.
"But now they can't do anything to us, can they?
I mean the pirate group targeting us is already finished. So there won't be any harm from now." said Hariv in a curious tone.
Step!
Step!
Just then the man of the hour who saved the day walked in.
"I wouldn't say that, esteemed sirs.
Those pirates were extremely well-geared and equipped. Their leader had Epic rank weapons as well.
Those things can't be acquired easily." spoke Dante in a stoic voice.
Legolas then chimed in and continued in a grim voice.
"I'm afraid they weren't pirates.
But hired goons by your enemies." he iterated out of nowhere.
Gasp!
"What do you mean?" asked Ruben.
"They had Warships and hundreds of flying ships.
And think about their leader himself.
Which saint in this empire would be so stupid as to lower himself to be a pirate group leader when he could be in a position of authority because he was a 2nd stage saint and a Human at that.
He could easily work for high nobles or join the military. His life would've been full of prestige and luxury. Yet he went as far as specifically targeting your envoys and merchandise for the past 5 months.
What does this tell you?" asked Legolas after revealing some hard facts about the situation.
"You mean?..."
"Yes. You're being targeted by a powerful enemy.
A business rival or corporation I presume." stated Legolas confidently.
Soon, he started stating some more facts about the attack and how the people from the authorities didn't help their respective organizations, making the 3 clients even more afraid for their lives and the future of their business organizations.
"Please, Mr. Legolas. You have to help us!" pleaded Ruben, the other 2 nodding with him.
"I will if we can carry on with our previous arrangement.
From now on, I will send Dante and Loki with your envoys whenever you make such big transactions or travel to the capital." assured the elven ironborn.
Few more details were discussed and the clients left with a sense of relief.
The Misthios guild didn't just become a mercenary guild but a Savior in their eyes who helped them in times of peril when others didn't even bother them to give a glance because of their economical problems.
Finally, it was only Kahn and Ronin in their alternate personas left in the office.
"So how do we find the mole and the people targeting them?" asked Ronin in a curious voice.
But to his question Kahn let out a devious smile and chuckled as he responded.
"That's the neat part. We don't."
Ronin reacted with a curious expression.
"Why do you think I told Jugram and Ceril to not leave anybody alive?" asked Kahn with a grin.
"So they won't have anyone left to investigate.
And after we revealed this fact about someone intentionally targeting their business
The clients will be reliant on our guild for protection." he revealed his true intentions.
"And since this arrangement of half payment with Itikar and half with SS Rank cores benefits them they will keep doing business with Misthios guild for a long time." spoke Kahn as he started laughing.
In a way, Kahn made their First Client as their long-term customer just by working for them once.
"I see. Then what do we do from now on?" asked Ronin again.
"Spread the word about our arrangement with the 3 Qebikas and their business organizations.
And how one of the 1st stage saint commanders of our Misthios guild single-handedly killed 2 thousand enemies, destroyed 2 warships, hundreds of flying ships and killed a 2nd stage saint by himself.
Use people from information organizations or criminal groups of Alfheim to spread this matter to the population and big corporations." ordered Kahn.
This was just one of the main steps he had planned a long time ago.
"Once people confirm this from the 3 Qebika clients and their organizations
People will give more thought about us instead of giving preference to other guilds since they'd save half the money and only spend extra cores they have access to." Kahn explained his reasons.
SS Rank cores were rare in Vantrea no matter which empire.
But powerful clans, noble houses and top leading business organizations in goods and manufacturing sectors had no lack of them.
1 SS Core was 10 times more potent than S rank core. But absorbing them depended on a person's capability who had invoked magic and fighting classes.
For other Saints, 1 million SS Rank cores would be enough for 2 to 3 years for them to completely absorb.
But for Kahn and his subordinates who had Chamber of Exaltation along with Energy Plunderer skill the same amount wouldn't even last for a month if they seriously cultivated.
The current resource Kahn and the gang had would last them only for a year and provide a rise in ranks and levels only by one.
Thus, they needed money only for the management of the guild but their main goal was always the SS Rank cores and ores.
Even hunting inside Dungeons would give them mostly low-quality cores and ores at best. This was more waste of time and resources instead of gaining anything significant.
This was also one of the main reasons why Kahn decided to open a Mercenary guild instead of becoming an adventurer this time.
"So tell me what have you found about the people who targeted us before we even made our debut?" asked Kahn curiously.
Ronin handed Kahn a report and all the details.
"Master How do we deal with this? They too have Saints."
"Isn't it obvious? We'll send a message." stated Kahn as he revealed his next step.
"The one that will set an example."