CHAPTER 532: CHAPTER 98: COMPARISONS ARE ODIOUS

Under the assistance of the Titan and the Black Dragon, the Cloud Sailing ship, with all its masts already damaged, had no choice but to dock in a desolate Stone Forest District.

Jin Nuo was tallying the casualties and losses from the air raid.

Compared to the heavy losses on the Cloud Sailing ship, the people on the Titan were unharmed, every woman looking radiantly charming and vigorous. Everyone was calculating the windfall of fifty thousand Dark Pills as their commission.

Originally, these women were exceptionally beautiful, bound to attract attention among men, but at this moment the Imperial Soldiers looked like deflated balloons, each hanging their heads low, feeling unable to raise their heads.

The proud Imperial Soldiers, to be outdone by a few women—should this news spread, it would probably cover Lord Jin Nuo and all of them in shame.

Remembering that the women’s ship was equipped with Xuan Crystal Cannons, and their fierce attack on the sky bandits earlier, the Imperial Soldiers involuntarily shivered.

It was all blamed on the Ministry of Revenue; were it not for the Ministry repeatedly cutting their budget, they wouldn’t be landed with such a rundown sail, lacking even proper cannons for attacks.

People are always adept at attributing faults to others. After finding a reason, the soldiers unanimously directed their blame at Niu Er, the Tax Officer, with fierce and venomous eyes that made the already terrified Niu Er tremble incessantly.

While Lord Jin Nuo was surprised by the high-quality equipment of Yue Jinghua, he also pondered whether to offer Yue Jinghua some hush money in addition to the pay.

When Yue Jinghua returned, the soldiers still looked at him with admiration. In their eyes, Yue Jinghua’s status had long evolved from a smalltime Mercenary Captain to a wealthy warrior of great martial prowess, no wonder even his captain, Lord Jin Nuo, treated him as a close brother.

Upon seeing Yue Jinghua return empty-handed, Jin Nuo guessed that he had lost track of the sky bandit leader.

He wasn’t surprised, after all, the terrain of the Balkan Region was too complex; ensuring the safety of the personnel was everything.

After repeated repairs, it was certain that the Cloud Sailing ship could no longer be used.

"Brother Jin Nuo is worried about accommodating the personnel, leave it to me, fitting everyone into my skyship, it’s just that the cost..." Yue Jinghua was not trying to be secretive; this visit to the Wo Hua Imperial City was an opportunity amidst a place mixed with dragons and snakes, households and mighty ones as numerous as oxen hairs.

If she could establish a certain prestige in front of the Pengbo Family and the lower ranks of the Imperial Army, it will definitely be a significant help in revitalizing the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion in the future.

If before their departure, Yue Jinghua had guaranteed that his skyship could accommodate a hundred people, Jin Nuo would have not believed it to death, but after surviving the air raid, even the Xuan Crystal Cannon could be moved out from that underground vessel sized wooden ship, it became believable that it could accommodate over a hundred people.

It’s good that the Cloud Sailing ship is broken; now they can apply for a new Sky Sail upon their return.

Jin Nuo coughed, from last time at the Sky Dragon Palace to this air raid, in Jin Nuo’s view, the performances of Yue Jinghua were indeed stunning; he was bold yet cautious, his only flaw being too greedy for money, sometimes behaving just like a woman.

Thinking of Duke Blood Cherry’s situation and looking at Yue Jinghua surrounded by a group of chirping women, Jin Nuo could only helplessly shake his head.

Always talking about money, luckily Jin Nuo came from wealth, with no grand concept of money, he negotiated a price with Yue Jinghua, then led his soldiers majestically towards the Titan.

As soon as they boarded the ship, Jin Nuo’s mouth opened wide, finally understanding the meaning of outwardly shabby but inwardly golden.

You, Yue Jinghua, these past few days I’ve been dizzy from the rocking on Cloud Sailing, and here you are hiding in luxury, indulging in good food and drink," Jin Nuo said indignantly, glaring at Yue Jinghua with a face full of resentment.

The Imperial Soldiers were speechless.

In the Dragon War Empire, mercenaries are generally viewed by soldiers as nothing more than Lower Class citizens, and probably only the Dragon Knight Mercenary Corps Group could be seen as an exception.

But the appearance of the July Mercenary Team immediately changed their perceptions.

It turns out, being a mercenary can be quite a lucrative path.

Thinking about the tough days in the army of the Dragon War Empire, where they had to gnaw on dry rations and undergo strict training, earning barely any salary, many soldiers from humble backgrounds were nearly brought to tears.

As for those soldiers from wealthy families, seeing Yue Jinghua surrounded by beauties, relaxed and comfortable, felt quite unbalanced mentally.

Many of them cursed inwardly, thinking that in their next life, they definitely must become mercenaries. There’s more money and more women—there’s nothing better in this world than being a mercenary.

Although the Imperial Army had many men, under the coordination of the capable steward Hongling, over a hundred soldiers were evenly distributed in each cabin.

The facilities on the ship were quite superb, and with the skills of Four-star Mercenary Chi Xi, far exceeded the living conditions on Cloud Sailing.

This made the remainder of the journey pleasant.

Jin Nuo heaved a sigh of relief but couldn’t help sighing deeply whenever he remembered Black Beauty’s injuries.

"Is Big Brother Jin Nuo worried about Black Beauty’s injuries?" The Dark Skill of that Sky Bandit Leader was very sinister, even carrying a whiff of the aura from Dark Hell.

The wings of the Black Sky Winged Dragon were severed, causing damage to the muscles and bones.

The physiques of Dark Beasts are generally robust; they recover from ordinary injuries much faster than Dark Practitioners.

However, the Dark Skill from Dark Hell carried Evil Qi, which acted like a chronic poison for the Black Sky Winged Dragon. After getting injured, it continually corroded the wings of the Black Sky Winged Dragon, and ordinary Healing Pills were utterly ineffective.

To make matters worse, the Black Sky Winged Dragon had previously forced itself to endure the pain and brought the tottering Cloud Sailing to safety, which only aggravated its injuries.

"The most important wealth of a Dragon Knight is their dragon. For me, Black Beauty is not just a partner in life and death," Jinnong said with a crestfallen face. He could only watch Black Beauty groan in pain within the Dragon Pattern, wanting to help but having no way to do so.

"If Big Brother Jin Nuo trusts me, you can entrust Black Beauty to my care. I happen to know some techniques of Qi Huang Skill, and I guarantee that by the time we return to the Empire, I will give you back a vigorous and lively Black Dragon," Seeing Jin Nuo’s intrigued expression, Yue Jinghua merely smiled without a word, simply suggesting that he temporarily hand over the Dragon Pattern and Black Beauty to her.

After hesitating for a moment, considering Black Beauty’s injuries and having seen the excellent equipment on the Titan, coupled with Yue Jinghua’s persuasive assurances, Jin Nuo half-doubtingly handed over the injured Black Beauty and the Dragon Rider Armor engraved with Dragon Pattern to Yue Jinghua.

Upon receiving that piece of Dragon Knight Armor, a sly glint flashed through Yue Jinghua’s eyes, appearing as if a conspiracy had succeeded.