As the study door swung open, a distinguished voice sounded out,

“Highness, it appears that that a friend we are well acquainted with is also in the outer realm along with us and has just scored a huge mark.” Tarin smiled and said ”Cyrus and The White Company.”

“Ah yes, well do I remember Cyrus and his merry company of fighters. Well , perhaps company no more. He has a small team of five now, right? ”

“Yes, they recently slain several king level beasts and collected various excellent monster cores.” Tarin replied.

“With that team’s strength, that is to be expected.”

“Still, what does your highness makes of his move to the Outer Realm?”

“Swift and decisive. After getting paid after that battle, he disbanded his company and took on 4 of his best subordinates and headed to the outer realm with barely a farewell to anyone.”

“He is probably aiming for to be a small scale S class mercenary band.”

“Indeed, a goal neither easy nor difficult for a man like Cyrus. This is an opportune time , highness. We were brainstorming of ways to get a hold of the monster core trade in Everdawn. He appears to be in league with the Brandon that Johan mentioned.”

“With our past ties with Cyrus, we may find an ingress point into the monster core trade via him.”

“Should we contact Cyrus, highness?”

Aureus nodded in assent.

—

“Boss! Boss!” A green skinned four armed naga shouted.

“A messenger just delivered a summons to us,” A grey skinned naga added.

“It is inviting us to the castle.”

“Prince Aureus is the one inviting us. He is also offering to buy up all our hunting spoils at a higher rate than current market prices.”

“We have barely been back in the city for a day and Aureus is already making a move. Man, he has not missed a step since coming to the outer realm.” Said a man with a distinguished looking mustache.

“When are we supposed to report to the castle?”

“Tomorrow at noon.”

“Alright, let us prepare then. Rycor, Mycor, you two will be accompanying me.”

—

The next day…

Aureus and his retinue was waiting in the audience hall as Cyrus and his two companions made his way in.

“Cyrus, you old bear. How have you been?”

“Rycor, Mycor, still wielding that giant war axe and war hammer of yours, I see.”

All three mercenaries cupped their hands towards Aureus.

“Highness! Very well indeed. It has been several months since we last met, your highness’s sword aura seems to have strengthened again.” Cyrus noted as he took in Aureus’s aura.

“Nothing worth speaking of,” Aureus smiled and waved his hand.

—

“How strong is this Cyrus?” Edward asked.“Those two nagas look strong, that war axe looks like it can split a man in two with one swing.”

“Cyrus was the former leader of a 1000 strong mercenary company with the A ranking.” Johan replied. “That would by Rycor, he used to be a commander in the White Company. I saw him go one versus three Damascus class Sphere users when he was in full gear. In the end, he forced two to teleport away while the last retreated.”

“Rycor would form a duo with Mycor when facing tough opponents. Mycor is lethal against armored users with his war hammer and Rycor will always be around to lend a heavy hand anytime an opponent stumbles because of Mycor. Their coordination is superb.”

“Cyrus received his third leaf in swordsmanship about 20 years ago. When we fought with him in the war of the nine kings, there were plenty of rumors he was already a divine blade level swordsman.”

“Interesting, what kind of swordplay?”

“His moniker is Illusion Blade. A more unsavory one would be King of Fakes.”

“Thankfully, his history item and goods trading are pristine clear. It was a subject of jokes for a while that his second moniker was costing him caravan jobs.”

“He sounds like a troublesome sort of opponent.”

“He is, no one can figure out his trick as he appeared to have blended his unique mastery of swordplay along with his monster core ability. Hence , there are few opponents who wishes to challenge him for the status of Divine blade.”

“Look at some of the corpses that will be brought to the castle soon, the king level beasts with a single fatal wound would be his kills.”

“What is his highness’s intention in wanting to work with Cyrus again?” Edward asked.

“We intend to gain an introduction to Brandon via Cyrus. We gathered that they are working together over the procurement and sale of grade 4 and 5 monster cores.”

“Look, the spoils are arriving.”

—

Twenty monster corpses were rolled into the hall.

Edward looked over the corpses and saw that of twenty, eight of them were taken down with a single blow.

“Those materials would be useful when we are crafting artifacts.” Tarin said as he scanned through the materials being brought.

“It is a pity that Rythea and Remil did not accompany Cyrus on this trip?”

“Who are they?” Edward asked.

“Rythea is a martial artist, she is the vice captain of the White Company. Remil is the Elven markswoman of the White Company. I witnessed her shoot down targets from 500m with ease. They are a sight for sore eyes indeed.”

“This Rythea seems formidable, making vice captain of an outfit such as this. Hard to imagine her overpowering Rycor and Mycor though.”

“They are run more like a family though, with Cyrus as the core binding them together. Oh, no worries on that front. I seen her spar Rycor. She swept the ground with him. If she says a fish can fly, Rycor and Mycor won’t even blink.”

“I heard she risked her life on several occasions to extract Rycor and Mycor from perilous situations on the field when they ventured too far. Cyrus was moaning about how she coddles the two too much when we went drinking. Though, the way I see it , Rycor and Mycor will take an arrow for Rythea with no hesitation.”

“Looks like our report was accurate, the majority are class 6 demon beasts. The class 5 demon beasts amongst them are all King level beasts. The lower classed beasts are all sold.”

—

“Highness, as you may be aware. The monster cores are reserved by a trader in the city,” Cyrus said while shaking his head. “I regret to inform you we are unable to sell you this batch of monster cores.”

“No worries, I understand the mercenary code. We are not at cross-purposes here. We were hoping that to gain an introduction to this Brandon character through you.”

“An introduction is no problem but I must warn your highness. This Brandon is very sharp in business dealings. I have yet to see him take a loss in his dealings. With your background, it is literally like gold falling out of the skies for him.”

“Well, it remains to be seen who will butcher who on the negotiations table. That is a matter for another time though. Come now, we must have a feast. You remember Tarin and Johan? There is someone I would like to introduce you too.”

“Hunting down so many king level beasts must have been a strenuous endeavor. I am sure a few good stories must lie in the midst of it.”

—

The next day, Cyrus entered the audience hall once more. This time he looked puzzled as he greeted Aureus.

“Highness, I regret to inform you that Brandon refuses to meet your august self. However, he has agreed to the sale of monster cores to yourself. He only wishes to take a 10 percent commission in the entire trade for giving up the rights to first purchase.”

Aureus’s brows lifted as he assured Cyrus that the 10 percent will be paid from Everdawn.

Cyrus bowed then went on“Highness, I do not understand either, why a trader specializing in high value commodities would turn down an invitation of a province’s ruler.”

Cyrus than recounted his meeting with Brandon. He related that as he revealed the buyer was to be Aureus, this Brandon’s attitude took a 180 degrees shift and he relinquished the right to first purchase right after.

“Could he somehow be an acquaintance of your highness?”

Aureus pondered a moment before asking what distinguishing features this Brandon had.

“Highness, he has never revealed his surname since entering the trade. He is tall, with blond hair and green eyes. His weapon of choice is a red blade.”

Aureus jolted before a his lips curved upwards.

“It appears that I may truly be acquainted with this Brandon.”

Aureus thanked Cyrus and asked whether he would like to join him for a round of breakfast.

With a grin that stretched from ear to ear, Cyrus nodded and started discussing the way of the blade with Aureus as they headed to the dining hall.