Chapter 133: Being Hired

The group looked at one another, and soon someone asked, "If we choose the commission, do we still get the rights to auction the equipment at the end?"

Lei Ming nodded. "Under normal circumstances, no. But your squad leader has a bit of pull, so it can be arranged."

"You're the team leader; what do you think?"

"My advice is to take the commission," Lei Ming said in a low voice. "The Plague Fortress is too difficult and the risks are too high. If we officially unite, we have to follow orders and face the most dangerous spots head-on. If we are mercenaries, it’s different—they face the danger, and we provide auxiliary support. The risk is minimized."

The group pondered this. Chu Cheng was the first to speak: "I agree with the captain. I also think taking the commission is better. Safety first."

Zhang Chaosheng, the other main tank of the squad, nodded as well. "I agree. It saves us a lot of trouble."

The group began to discuss the matter, voicing their opinions one after another. Lei Ming listened carefully, and after a while, he said, "Everyone has discussed it enough. Let’s vote. Press '1' if you agree to take the commission."

A series of '1's immediately appeared in the team channel, quickly exceeding ten.

"The minority follows the majority. Since the vast majority agree to the commission, I will go and inform them."

About fifteen minutes later, Lei Ming returned and spoke in their private squad channel: "It's settled. We get half the deposit upfront, and the remaining half after the Plague Fortress is captured. Let’s divide the gold."

Following individual trades, Chu Cheng soon received his share of 15 gold coins.

Once everyone had been paid, Lei Ming began assigning tasks in the team channel: "Their plan is the same as ours was initially: attract the attention of the Necromancer Spire from the front to drain its mana, then send an elite force to break into the city and force the gate open. As mercenaries, we don't need to drain the spire's mana or stand on the front lines; we just need to follow the main force."

"Watch how the main force moves and follow suit. Remember, don't be careless, and don't stray too far from your teammates."

He went on at length, explaining every detail with total clarity. Such a leader was rare; Chu Cheng felt that if he were the leader, he would struggle to do better than Lei Ming.

Next came the wait for the main party to finish their preparations.

Nearly half an hour later, a call came from their side, and Lei Ming immediately signaled for his team to get ready. Their group of fifteen formed a single unit, trailing to the right of the main force.

The party was already quite large, numbering nearly eighty, and with all the summoned creatures brought into play, the total size reached nearly two hundred. They moved in a chaotic stream toward the Plague Fortress.

Once the force reached a certain distance from the fortress, many mages began casting high-powered spells simultaneously to provoke the necromancers inside.

Fang Xi was in the second squad, the mage group, casting some unknown spell that radiated intense mana fluctuations.

As the magical ripples rose, the Necromancer Spire inside the massive fortress reacted. A brilliant magical glow ignited, and a giant pupil slowly emerged, scanning the area.

Eye of Death!

The first wave required no action, as the front line of summoned creatures absorbed the brunt of the Eye of Death. Standing behind the summons, Chu Cheng took less than two hundred damage.

Ten seconds later, the second wave of war magic struck.

It was the familiar Corpse Poison Nova. This time, even the summoned creatures could not withstand such a wide-area war spell, and everyone was hit.

Chu Cheng did not need to activate any damage reduction. The initial two thousand damage was mitigated by his magic resistance down to one thousand, and the remaining damage was merely a dozen points of continuous poison damage per second. With the thirty-second 'Time Force' pulse, the negative corpse poison status was scrubbed away after just seven seconds.

The third round was another Eye of Death. This time, Chu Cheng activated Blade Storm to block the hit.

After the third round, people began to retreat one after another; they had exhausted all their damage reduction abilities and could not survive the fourth round.

Soon, the fourth round of the Eye of Death swept across them. Chu Cheng activated his defensive damage reduction and blocked it once more.

After four rounds of war magic, even more people retreated, and fewer than twenty remained. They withdrew into the trenches dug earlier, watching as the death-light swept over their heads.

By the fifth round, everyone had retreated.

While this maneuver might seem foolish, it was actually quite necessary. If they didn't unite to put pressure on the necromancers, how could they drain the spire's mana?

After waiting for half an hour, the party reorganized, summoned their creatures again, and began the second round of probing.

The necromancers and the Necromancer Spire within this fortress were significantly more powerful than those at the Cursed Fortress. Previously, they had only needed three or four waves to exhaust the spire's accumulated mana, but here, even after five waves, the spire still held power.

However, it wasn't much. By the fourth wave of the second round, the necrotic mana surrounding the spire was nearly depleted.

The party then split into four groups and approached the city walls. They were the fourth group, stationed on the far right, while the group on the far left served as the assault team to open the gates.

As the main force reached the foot of the walls, they quickly drew the attention of the numerous undead defenders above.

A dozen people leaped onto the wall, using all their skills to pull the undead away. Once a gap was cleared, the first assault team jumped onto the wall, quickly finished off the remaining scattered undead, and vaulted into the gate passage.

Chu Cheng had the ability to jump down and back out, but as a mercenary just here for the pay, he didn't need to be that reckless.

Nearly twenty people from the first group jumped down, and four or five worked to open the gate. It took only about twenty seconds to force it open.

"Second and third squads, move toward the gate to support our brothers inside. Fourth squad, stay on the wall and intercept the undead on both ends."

The force quickly split up. The second and third squads left, and the fourth squad divided in two. Lei Ming’s squad of seven took one side, while Zhang Chaosheng and Chu Cheng’s group of eight took the other.

With two tanks on his side, the pressure was relatively low. He even had a moment to walk to the edge of the wall to observe the battle at the gate.

Just like before, the gate was packed tight with undead, and there was another terrifying Death Knight boss, this one level 48—higher than the one they had killed previously.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from inside the fortress. He looked up, his pupils constricting.

A gargantuan mountain of flesh, over ten meters tall and wrapped in blood-dripping iron chains, slowly emerged from the castle. Every time it stepped, the earth shuddered.

Butcher (Terror): Giant Abomination, Level 49, 330,000 HP.

"Hiss!"

Chu Cheng immediately sent a message to the squad channel and to Fang Xi: "Another big boss has arrived. It's a Giant Abomination. Be careful not to get hooked."

Fang Xi replied immediately: "I'm a mage, I'm staying in the back, it's relatively safe. You're the tank, you’re the one who needs to watch your safety."

"Don't worry."

Just then, the voice of the commander, Wu Yuanfeng, came over the team channel: "All mages and ranged units from all four squads, stop what you are doing and prepare to focus fire on the Butcher."