"Boss, wake up, wake up! Don't sleep anymore, the sun is blazing hot, hey!"

Avi woke up to the deafening shouts of Rafe, only to find Rafe dancing around and Airen wearing an embarrassed expression.

Last night, due to his prolonged use of the system, Avi was utterly exhausted. Being rudely awakened left him in a bewildered state, gazing at his two companions as if he had been in a trance.

"Huh...?"

"Boss, someone's here looking for us." Rafe grabbed Avi's shoulder and pulled him up from the ground. "Don't doze off, that person looks like a knight, quite formidable."

"A... knight?"

"Your Excellency, please use this." Airen handed Avi the water kettle from the corner of the tent. "Wash your face, it will help you wake up quickly."

"Mmm..." Still drowsy, Avi slowly closed his eyelids again.

"You stubborn man, this won't do, let me handle it!"

Evading Airen's attempt to pour water on him, Rafe splashed it over Avi's head instead.

Ten minutes later...

"How many knights? When did they arrive?"

Avi changed out of his drenched clothes and put on the shirt Airen handed him. "Did they say why they're here?"

"Not clear. They have many militia and infantry surrounding our camp. The knight in charge specifically asked to talk to our leader, so Rafe and I came to find you."

"How many people did they bring?"

"Who knows, quite a lot!"

"An estimated hundred people, likely part of the provincial army. Well-equipped, with a good number of strong crossbows and firearms." Airen whispered, "Your Excellency, we can't possibly resist them."

"I know that." Avi sighed. "Whether they come with good intentions or ill, we can only go out and talk to them to find out."

Stepping out of the tent, Avi unexpectedly found the other party was not a stranger. In some ways, they should have been partners, at least once.

The other party obviously knew Avi was the leader of the mercenary group. Seeing him come out, he gestured for his knights to lead Avi's white horse aside and walked up to Avi alone.

"Nice to see you again, mercenary." The knight leader smiled warmly, putting his hand on Avi's shoulder in a friendly manner. "I admire your courage for being able to come out of this forest."

"This is the knight who took the Rune Sword from me before." Avi thought to himself, "How should I respond? Should I acknowledge him as a friend? But it might not be appropriate to mention the Rune Sword incident in front of his men?"

Originally, Avi had given the 'Leg-Biting Sword' to this knight in exchange for a horse and some food to relieve the urgent need for provisions.

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Now that he deliberately brought up this matter, Avi couldn't figure out whether it was to test whether he needed to kill him to keep it secret, or simply because of his bold and hearty personality.

Just as he was about to respond, a dialogue option appeared in front of him.

'It's an honor to fight alongside Empire knights. Those bandits are no match for us.'

"It seems that flattering is a demonstration of emotional intelligence and eloquence in any situation." Avi thought. "Making up a completely non-existent and hard-to-investigate story to cover up the past, is this what 'eloquence' is?"

Following the prompted response, the knight leader's smile became even more intense. He patted Avi's shoulder approvingly, withdrew his hand, and took out a parchment scroll hanging from his belt.

"Since you've just come out of the Black Forest, I'll get straight to the point." The knight leader unfolded the scroll. "Lately, the beasts in this forest have been particularly rampant. Lord Boris is seeking mercenaries to solve this problem."

"Strange, doesn't he have his own people? Why hire mercenaries?" Rafe and Airen whispered to each other secretly from behind. "Old Avi, do you know why?"

"This forest is too vast, and has long been a hiding place for the Beastmen," Airen explained. "Sending an army to clear it out would not only strain our already insufficient military forces but would also be a long-term commitment, requiring the Margrave to allocate a significant amount of military funding and logistics to clean up the forest. It's simply not cost-effective for the Margrave."

"That's true. After all, the lives of ordinary people mean nothing to those noble gentlemen." Rafe sighed. "We lowly foot soldiers are nothing compared to their gold..."

On the other side, Avi also had similar doubts. He looked suspiciously at the scroll handed over by the knight leader, which bore the Margrave Boris Todbringer's command: a bounty on the Beastmen.

For Avi, this wasn't a new task, but he really didn't want to set foot in this forest again. He had had enough of its dark and oppressive environment and atmosphere.

"If you're interested, we can discuss the details of the plan," the knight leader said. "Of course, if you're not interested, I'll find mercenaries who are more courageous."

"Let's talk about the specifics," Avi replied. "Such as the amount of the bounty, and any specific requirements."

"The bounty is calculated based on time. You don't need to enter the Black Forest, just patrol around here," the knight leader explained. "Recently, this area has been frequently attacked by a group of beasts, causing considerable damage. Since you managed to come out of here, you must have the strength to confront them. By staying here to guard this exit, you will receive a reward of one hundred gold coins per day."

Hearing this, Avi thought, "Damn it, we only came out of here because it was easy to traverse! But... perhaps those long-hoofed Beastmen also frequent this area for the same reason."

"How large are the groups of beasts we need to deal with?"

"You can rest assured about that. If the groups were large, Lord Boris wouldn't have chosen to hire mercenaries to solve this issue." The knight leader said somewhat impatiently, "Will you accept or refuse?"

"... "

Avi hesitated for a moment. Thinking about the opportunity to directly cooperate with Margrave Boris, he decided to accept after all. After all, even if they managed to reach Middenheim, they might not find better work.

"I accept, but can Middenheim provide us with any assistance?" Avi paused for a moment, then explained, "I just want to ensure we can complete this task as effectively as possible."

"You'll be allowed to purchase crossbows and firearms in this area," the knight leader said. "If that's not enough, there's a village nearby where some firewood left by my men is available for you to use. Is that sufficient, mercenaries?"

"He probably won't offer me more," Avi thought.

"That's enough, but we need to reorganize our equipment in Middenheim first."

"Very well." The knight leader handed the parchment scroll to Avi. "If anyone questions your legitimate rights, just show them this order. That's it. If you're lucky, I hope we'll meet again."

After leaving a deeply thought-provoking remark, the knight leader and his subordinates left the camp. Before leaving, he came back alone to give Avi something.

"My men are stationed around here. When you can't hold out any longer, open this box," the knight leader handed Avi an exquisite black box, "But remember, we'll only come to your rescue once."

"Once...? Does that mean there's more than one group of beasts to deal with?"

"Hahaha..."

The knight leader laughed heartily as he mounted his horse and left Avi's camp swiftly.