Genius Mage in a Cultivation World

Chapter 207 - Emperor's Mercenaries

"Hurry it up, you maggots!" An officer stood on an elaborate platform, overseeing the movement of the troops. The golden standard at the very front of the massive unit announced its name and number. "We don't have a whole day just for you to form up!" The officer shook his hands in a desperate attempt at hastening the entire process. 

'We can't be late, we can't be late, we can't be late,' he continued to repeat the same phrase as if it was some kind of mantra. At the same time, the officer tightened his fingers around the handle of a saber that hung by his belt. 'Just why did I agree to take on this job,' he whined in his mind, watching how his friends and colleagues struggled to follow the strict regime imposed on their unit. 

"Two minutes!" A distant shout reached the officer's ears just as the rest of his people were about to finish forming up. 

"It will be done," the man replied to no one, allowing his voice to freely float in the air. 

Back when their company was hired by the Star Emperor emissary, Olaf rejoiced. On the continent, there was hardly anyone better to serve under. With how the Star's Emperor empire spanned over two-thirds of the fertile parts of the entire continent, he hardly had any enemies that he would need mercenaries to deal with. 

But as it turned out, only after their lives were signed away, one such enemy finally appeared. 

'I never expected to see a day when someone would challenge that bastard's authority,' Olaf thought, gripping his saber as he noticed the rows of policing units marching right behind the last ranks of his own formation. They were sent here by the Star Emperor himself, not to help the mercenaries fight or to serve as their reinforcements. 

They were here only to make sure that no one would dare to attempt running. After all, according to the Star Emperor's logic, if they were to fight a losing battle, they were supposed to fight to their deaths. 

With this kind of employer, any thoughts of escape had to be eradicated before they would even march out. 

'Well, let's hope that this fight will end up soon,' Olaf thought as he shook his head. Then, with a single step, he jumped off the elevated stage from where he oversaw the forming of his company. 

"Men!" Olaf shouted as soon as he landed at the forefront of the entire unit. For a moment, he allowed his voice to linger in the air, using that time to turn around and dust off his robes. "Today, we march out!" he added another sentence to the moment.

"URA" ALl at once, all of his men started to shout. Given how his unit was known to judge a person for how powerful they were rather than what they had between their legs, the shout turned into a beautiful unison of both deep, male voices and melodic, female shouts. 

"Right now, we march out!" Olaf shouted, pulling out his saber. Then, he pointed it out at the Warcamp, already visible right at the edge of the horizon. "We are going to fight an enemy unknown to the man and an enemy that knows nothing about the civilization of the man!"  Olaf continued his rallying speech. Yet, even in this tense and almost ritual moment, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander towards the face of the Star Emperor's oversees, ones that were sent to make sure the mercenaries would follow the orders issued by his emperor's majesty himself. 

"Brothers, Sisters..." Olaf said, cutting his sentence as his soul filled with emotions. "I'm not going to bullshit you. Even if I tried, you all know how bad I'm at lying, so it would be pointless," the officer shook his head before biting his lips all the way to the point when they started to bleed. "We are not going to fight with normal people. And do you know why?" he threw the question to the gathering of his people. 

At first, a total silence ensued. No one dared to be the first one to step forward and interrupt the sacred ritual of the rallying speech. 

"Why?" A man from the back row stepped forth. The annoyance on his face proved how little he cared about the sacred rites of the mercenaries. 

'What a fucking arsehole,' Olaf thought, using all of his willpower not to strike the arrogant prick down. "Because we march against people who dared to disobey the Star Emperor himself!" Olaf shouted, revealing the answer to the question he posed himself. 

A small turmoil shook the entire formation. 

For the people who grew on the Star Continent, this kind of thing was unheard of. The Star Emperor was the highest authority over the continent. While he didn't rule the entirety of it directly, all the petty kingdoms and city-states that refused his authority still heeded his calls when he bothered to issue them.

And now, they learned that there was someone who not only dared to ignore the Star Emperor's wishes but even went as far as to escape to the forbidden hunting zones to avoid the just punishment!

"That's right!" Olaf shouted as soon as he noticed how his earlier words riled up the crowd. "We are not going to kill some sensible and just people! We are not raising our weapons and fists against innocents!" the officer continued his shouts, glancing every so often at the overseers to check whether they were satisfied with his words. "What we are going against are some worms that don't know their place!" Olaf continued to shout, even though he could feel a bad feeling welling up in his insides.

'If they really dared to oppose the Star Emperor, they are not going to be all that weak,' he thought before raising his saber once again. 

"KILEMAL" A sudden shout in some weird language broke the tranquil atmosphere in the unit. And what was even worse was how this shout didn't come from anywhere near the unit.

Olaf turned his head to the side, to where the shout came from. His face turned white as his saber suddenly turned too heavy to keep it in the air. 

Because a horde of burly, almost naked men appeared at the edge of a nearby forest, all charging downhill towards them!