Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 131

They were mercenaries. But they were not a part of a large organization— they were a small, elite group typically hired to carry out high-leveled missions. They didn’t have much of a reputation, because the jobs they were given required a certain level of secrecy. Only those in the know knew about them.

They were called the Clawed Hands. And Giles was their leader.

Kings and queens and lords and ladies and politicians sought to employ them for their expertise. Even across the seas— they had been hired by prominent gnomes and powerful dwarves for jobs that required them to sail to the other continents. But this was the first time they had ever been hired by the Adventurer’s Guild.

It surprised them when they received this request. After all, the Adventurer’s Guild was a reputable institution. While they weren’t supposed to be a bastion of justice or ethics, they very rarely acted outside of the law. Their acts always complied with the domestic rules and regulations set in place of each individual country. That was how they managed to span far and wide in their influence. That was why they were ubiquitously accepted throughout all of Laxo.

And now, they were coming to Giles with a request— to carry out acts that would circumvent the laws of the Kingdom of Kal. Although… to be fair, it was the [Hero King] who first went against the conventions of war in place and seized a Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild.

It was funny. Giles found it amusing, to say the least. But just with every other job he was given, he could not speak about his clients… not to anyone… not even to—

“I can’t believe the Adventurer’s Guild is actually hiring us to clean their dirty laundry,” a young woman said, drawing his attention back to her.

He frowned as he stared at his carefree companion— Sylvie. She walked with a slant posture, leaning back as she held her hands on the back of her head.

“Are you sure the guy you spoke to was actually from the Adventurer’s Guild, Giles?” she asked casually.

And that made the leader of the Clawed Hands click his tongue. But before he could reprimand her, another voice spoke up.

“What are you saying, you idiot?” the third member of the group sputtered.

His name was Jaden. He was young too— even younger than Silvie. He claimed to be about twenty years old, but he looked like he was seventeen at most.

Giles was more than certain that he was lying about his real age.

Jaden gestured towards the passersby in the street as he exclaimed loudly, drawing their attention. “What would you do if someone overheard you saying that we were hired by the Ad—”

“Shut up, both of you,” Giles snapped.

Jaden and Sylvie both paused as their leader turned towards them. Giles swept his gaze over the mostly empty street. Fortunately, there weren’t that many people out and about. And those that were slinking around didn’t look like they even heard what either Jaden or Sylvie said.

“We have a job to do, so that’s enough chatting. Or we’re going to be late for our rendezvous.” Giles drew his dual dagger as he strode forward with haste.

The trio of mercenaries made their way out of Windrip as they started to head northwest. They passed the encampment erected right next to the city— they ignored the tower that rose up to the sky, overseeing everything in the area.

They had a job to do, and it didn’t lead them to that fortress of soldiers. They had arrived here in this city weeks back, and they were only acting now for a reason. They hadn’t been making plans or scheming on how to complete their mission. Their job was simple. They were supposed to save a guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild.

But the reason they had refused to act for weeks was because they had been waiting. They had been biding their time for the right moment to break the guildmaster free without attacking the encampment. After all, there was no way they could take on an entire fort full of soldiers.

Not when Captain Rokh the Bludgeoning Striker was in charge of the garrison. He was an A-ranked [Fighter]— supposedly around the same level as Giles. And it wasn’t just him. There were a multitude of other high-leveled individuals present here in Windrip.

While Giles himself was a Level 57 [Daggermaster], Jaden and Sylvie weren’t A-ranks just yet. They were close though. But they weren’t enough to battle against a garrison of thousands of relatively high-leveled soldiers— not when the lowest-leveled soldiers were D-ranks, with many C-ranks and even a handful of B-ranks added into the mix.

Of course, the Clawed Hands were comprised of more than just the three of them. But only a dozen of the highest-leveled members embarked on this mission. The others just weren’t here because they had other roles to carry out.

“Kristen and her team should already be at the meeting point,” Giles said simply as the three mercenaries stalked through the tall trees of Briar Glenn. “Because you idiots took your damn sweet time getting out of bed, we’re going to be arriving late.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault!” Jaden protested. “Sylvie’s the one who forgot to set the [Wake Up] spell last night!”

Sylvie just casually tilted her head. “Whaaat? I forgot? But you’re the one who told me to disable it last night so we could get an extra hour of sleep—”

“Wait, you’re not supposed to tell Giles that!” Jaden quickly cut her off as he covered her mouth.

Giles sighed in response. But he didn’t even bother to indulge them with a response. He raised his head as he saw the thick forest of trees begin to peel back, revealing a winding road leading away from Windrip. Up ahead, it cut across a valley in between two tall hills. And a small convoy of troops bearing the banners of the Kingdom of Kal were making their way down to that valley.

This was the opportune moment that had been given to the Clawed Hands.

Their target— Guildmaster Evan of the Adventurer’s Guild— was locked up there at the very center of the convoy. He was being transported out of Windrip, presumably to be brought back to the Kingdom of Kal. And it was the job of the Clawed Hands to rescue him.

There was only a small legion of about a hundred or so soldiers escorting him out. They didn’t want to make a show of it, so they transported him discreetly along with a cargo of supplies. Which was why this was the perfect moment for the Clawed Hands to intervene.

Not only was it far safer to extract their target here than in the city, it could also be disguised as a bandit attack. Or maybe the blame could even be pinned on the Astrad Kingdom— an assault on the supply lines of the Kingdom of Kal.

Either way, the Clawed Hands had to get to work. Giles, Sylvie, and Jaden made their way to one of the hilltops as they waited for the convoy to sluggishly rolled across the gravel path.

“Good— we weren’t too late.” Giles perched himself atop a rock as he eyed the armored wagon at the very center of the convoy. “And Kristen is…”

He swept his gaze to the other side of the valley. He spotted a group of shadowed figures waiting there. He nodded at one of them, and they began to move. They slunk into the shadows as they made their way down to the bottom of the hill as the convoy reached the valley.

Meanwhile, Giles turned back to Sylvie. “Now it’s our turn…”

He waited. But there was no response. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the young woman. She was distractedly staring at a butterfly as it fluttered around a tall flower. His brows snapped together as he gritted his teeth.

“Sylvie— Sylvie!” He snapped his fingers, drawing her attention back to him. “Focus.”

“Huh? What?” She blinked as she looked up at her leader.

“Were you even paying attention?” Jaden snorted. “It’s your turn to do your thing.”

“My thing?” Sylvie pointed at herself. “What are you talking about, Jaden?”

He opened his mouth, before pausing. He tried to work his jaw, only to slump his shoulders and turn to Giles. “...uh, what was she supposed to do again?”

“Were either of you idiots listening when I told you my—” Giles started. Then he looked between the clueless duo. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. “Nevermind.”

He looked back down at the convoy as it fully entered the valley. He took in a deep breath, before pointing down at them.

“Sylvie— cast [Landslide],” he said simply.

The young woman blinked, before grinning back at him. “You got it, boss.”

And with that, she slammed a fist down onto the ground as the valley shook, before the cliffside began to collapse down the convoy.

The closest soldiers to the landslide screamed as they were crushed by the falling rocks. But before the main bulk of the cascading cliffside could crash into the convoy, a group of [Mages] dashed out of their wagons, raising their staffs.

A tall stone wall rose from the ground, stopping the landslide before it could crush the convoy. The first [Mage] lowered his staff as he let out a sigh in relief. Then he spun around and called out.

“We’re under—”

But he paused. He stumbled forward before collapsing onto the ground as a dagger protruded from his back. And Giles lowered his empty hand.

The leader of the Clawed Hands still stood atop the hill as he looked down at the convoy. There was a flash of light, and his dagger vanished from the [Mage]’s back, reappearing in his palm. And as that happened, a group of shadowed figures emerged from the other side of the valley, flanking the panicked soldiers down below.

Giles turned back to Sylvie and Jaden as he heard the shouts and screams coming from the valley. And he nodded at the both of them.

“Now let’s do this.”

With that, the Clawed Hands descended on the convoy to rescue Guildmaster Evan from the Kingdom of Kal.