“You! I’ve heard of you. It’s only been a while since you came here, but you are already living in district A.”

The person speaking was Head Commander Antonio. He was speaking to Abel, but his eyes were fixed onto the mount wolf king Abel was riding on.

Abel had already agreed to participate in the Orc Empire hunting quest. The team that he was joining had eight knight’s head commanders and twelve beginner wizards. They all kind of knew each other. It was a community, basically, so no one was really a stranger–even for Abel.

For the wizards, he knew K3305, K3308, and K3003. For knights, he already knew the names of Head Commander Bodley and Head Commander Markham. By the way, the person he was speaking to was Head Commander Antonio, a well-respected figure introduced to him.

Abel greeted with a bow, “That would be me, yes. I’m K3515, a wizard that has just been here recently.”

Head Commander Antonio seemed to be more interested in Abel’s mount, “Oh, okay. Hey, is your mount wolf open for sale?”

“Wow, wow! Hold on there!” Head Commander Bodley went on to interrupt, “I’m so sorry, Sir K3516. Antonio is a very straight talker. He’s just interested in your mount, that’s all.”

Head Commander Antonio didn’t really say anything back, but the look on his face was clearly one that indicated surprise. Bodley might have had a very humble demeanor to him, but it was no secret that he was a very prideful man.

Still–just now, he used the word “sir” to refer to a beginner wizard. Either Abel had a very powerful background, or it was himself that was very powerful. Actually, even if neither was true, no one would just happen to own his own mount wolf.

So who gave Antonio the idea to just ask if Abel’s mount wolf king was for sale? Well, it was K3308 and that big mouth of his. K3308 never talked about their journey into the Budapest Mountain Range, but he was always bragging about the mount wolf he had just newly acquired. More importantly, he was bragging about how his mount wolf could be transferred to another owner.

Mount wolves were supposed to be loyal. For most people, it was the very first time that they had heard of a mount wolf that could change its owner. It was not like K3308 was lying about it, either. The one he owned was a fully-matured one, and it had only been recently that he decided to show it to everyone else.

Back to Abel. Now that Head Commander Antonio asked him if the mount wolf king was for sale, they were all waiting for his response.

Abel nodded to show that he understood, “Yeah, I can tell. He’s just interested in my mount.”

“To be honest, I don’t really mind selling this mount wolf king to someone else. I’m only keeping for as long as I’m in Miracle City. Before that, though, I need it to do something for me first.”

“A mount wolf king, you say?!”

Head Commander Antonio was almost screaming when he said that. He had suspected that Abel’s mount was different, but he didn’t think that it’d be a mount wolf king. Even most orcs didn’t get to own their own mount wolf kings.

By the way, the team was already about five miles away from Miracle City.

“Everyone, be careful!” a knight in full black called out, “As the one who arranged the preparation for this mission, I’ll also take the role in leading this twenty-men team. Does anyone object to that?”

So, K3308 lied again. When he talked to Abel, he said that he was the one who arranged everything.

Abel threw a look at K3308, but K3308 just looked back with a wide grin on his face. In his view, he wasn’t really lying about being the one to have arranged this mission. Like, at least three of the twenty people were here because of him, so it was really all fair and square.

One of head commander knights laughed out loudly, “Who else but you, Edi? You’re the strongest knight in Miracle City. Of course, it’d be you that’s going to lead the mission!”

“Yeah, just go for it!” the rest of the team said. As it turned out, Head Commander Edi was a very popular man. There didn’t seem to be anyone who objected to him being the leader.

Head Commander Bodley whispered to Abel, “K3516, this is Head Commander Edi. As the wielder of both ice and fire type combat qi, his fighting strength is in the top three of Miracle City. Even the intermediate orc priests have a difficult time facing him.”

A head commander capable of wielding ice and fire combat qi. That was the first time Abel’s seen anyone like that. Well, anyone aside from himself (lightning + the power of dimension), to be specific, but that was a different story. Even if one had the potential to cultivate two elements, it would usually be extremely hard to master one element when one was already in place.

It was not just about combining the two elements, too. To be it simply, it was about making a giant leap in one’s overall ability. It was about being stronger, faster, containing a higher capacity of mana (about twice than before), and it was about just being a much, much better version of oneself.

Head Commander Edi continued with his announcement, “We’ll split out twenty men into three mini squads. Every squad will look out for each other from different angles. We’ll make about one mile of distance between each one. If you can take an enemy troop yourself, go ahead and do. If you can’t, send a signal so the other two can come to reinforcement.”

No one really disagreed or was confused by this suggestion. It seemed to be the standard squad formation. In Abel’s view, he did think it’s a good way to find the orcs quickly and efficiently.

“Very well!” Head Commander Edi continued, “We’ll split the men now. Sort it out yourselves, and if there’s any problem, we’ll make further adjustments.”

As soon as Head Commander Edi said that, four beginner wizards were already rushing behind him. There were others who were about to do the same, but they weren’t fast enough.

On the other hand, Head Commander Bodley, Head Commander Markham, K3305, and K3308 were standing right behind Abel. They didn’t just agree to join in his squad. They were already electing him to be the squad’s leader.

K3303 hesitated to find a squad to join. As a wizard who’s had many years of experience fighting the orcs, his guts told him to join a power team consisting of many head knight commanders. That being said, he was also a very informed man. He knew how strong K3308 really was. If Head Commander Markham decided to let him take part in this mission, then the answer was clear.

This was why he stood behind Abel really quickly. This way, Abel’s squad just enrolled its last beginner wizard.

For Head Commander Antonio, he made a much more sensible choice. This was on the battlefield, after all. He was good friends with head Commander Bodley, but he didn’t know anything about Abel. It was just not right to leave your life at the hands of someone you didn’t know, let alone having him as the leader of the squad you’re fighting in.

Other than that, K3308 was also a very big factor. Everyone knew how “strong” he really was, and Head Commander Markham had to spend most of his time taking care of him. Judging from these factors, the squad would have a hard time to unleash its true potential.