As the lioness's gaze swept through the forests, several pairs of eyes were also watching every move within the orc camp from the dense shrubs on the hillside a few miles away from the camp.

"Lion women, truly a rare sight!" A robust man spat out the four-leaf clover from his mouth onto the ground with force.

Crouching behind the shrubbery, the man was cloaked in a worn grey cape and donned a battered half-body leather armor full of scars. His short golden hair, a face covered with stubble, and a long scar stretching from the corner of his mouth to the base of his eye made him appear all the more menacing.

The leader of the "Azure Temptress Mercenary Group", Cain, was a man shrouded in mystery. Five years ago, he and his mercenary group seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the border areas of the Kingdom of Isaac and climbed from the lowest rank of G to a B-rank mercenary group within five years, becoming a miraculous legend within the Mercenary Guild of Beland Continent.

The rise in rank of a mercenary group relies entirely on the accumulation of points from completed missions, with each ascent becoming more difficult. During non-war times, it would take a newly formed mercenary group decades or even centuries to ascend to the higher ranks above C. Currently, almost all B-rank and above mercenary groups in human countries have a history of several decades, with the Azure Temptress being the sole exception.

"Boss, are we going to strike it rich this time?" a short man lying on the ground beside Cain asked in a low voice.

"It's our lucky break, 'Azure Temptress'. Who would've thought that such a C-rank task would accidentally stumble upon an orc tribe. If we take them down, we'll have enough to eat and drink for a year," Cain replied with excitement.

"Have you two lost your minds? That's a small orc tribe down there, and we've only brought thirty-some men this time. Once discovered, those orcs would be more likely to swallow us whole," a cold voice threw a bucket of cold water on Cain.

The speaker was a woman in a black hooded robe standing behind the men, with a silver six-pointed star at the collar indicating her status as a mid-level mage.

Mages are a rare profession on the Beland Continent, eagerly recruited by various kingdoms and large forces, and female mages of mid-level or higher are even rarer.

The female mage, in her thirties, had flaxen long hair, blue eyes, a high nose, and a gentle face. Perhaps due to years outdoors, her skin appeared somewhat coarse.

Cain turned back and grinned at the mage, "Don't worry, Adeline, every brother in the 'Azure Temptress' is an elite mercenary, and we're the best at hunting orcs, even if their number doubled."

"I disagree, it's too risky," Adeline's tone remained firm.

"I'm the leader; you just need to follow orders, and I'll give you an extra share of the loot."

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"I'm also the vice-leader of the mercenary group, and I'm responsible for the safety of our brothers. You're being reckless!"

"You're the vice-leader because I appointed you. If it weren't for the requirement to have a mid-level mage in the team to upgrade to a B-rank mercenary group, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths to hire you," Cain said nonchalantly.

"If you insist on being reckless, I'll leave the group right now!" Adeline compromised not a bit.

"Don't be so impulsive, listen to my explanation," Cain was the first to compromise.

He had gone to great lengths to recruit Adeline into the mercenary group, and having a mid-level mage significantly boosted the team's combat capability, naturally, he didn't want her to leave.

"You're not familiar with dealing with orcs. Orcs usually form tribes based on their clans, such as a wolfman tribe would not cohabit with other clans. The mixed habitation of orcs in the camp below only points to one possibility, that is the tribe of a high-ranking orc noble, only nobles can recruit warriors from other tribes to serve them," Cain patiently explained, pointing at the orc camp below.

"Did you see the young and female orcs in the camp? This indicates they are a noble orc tribe that has fled or been crippled, appearing here due to special circumstances. The actual number of orc warriors in the camp is very few, their real combat strength is even less than half of a normal orc tribe."

Adeline's admiring gaze inadvertently showed through; she had long noticed that this rough-looking man was actually very meticulous. For example, now, he had deduced the origin and combat strength of the orc camp below from a distance.

Seeing Adeline wavering, Cain continued, "Orc martial arts, rare materials, weapons and armor, gold and herbs, the wealth of an orc noble's camp is beyond your imagination! You know the mercenary group is in dire need of money, I still owe you half of the promised compensation, right? We mercenaries do a risky job, how can we support our women and children if we don't dare to take risks?"

Adeline nodded, finally no longer opposing.

"Boss, after this job, you should also upgrade your gear, right? We're the proud 'Azure Temptress', a B-rank mercenary group, but because of your gear, other mercenaries always mock us as being from the countryside," the short man murmured softly.

Cain smacked the short man's head hard, "Tony, you don't know anything! This leather armor of mine is an exceptional enchanted leather armor, impenetrable by many attacks, and this cloak is made of dragon skin, you ignorant fools!"

"Dragon skin? Keep dreaming, how many years has it been since dragons were last seen on the continent?" Tony grumbled discontentedly.

Suddenly, a slight rustling came from the bushes.

The two men immediately ceased their bickering, Cain's hand moved to the hilt of the great sword on his back, a fireball formed instantly in Adeline's palm, and Tony rolled aside, disappearing into the bushes.

A thin man in hunter's attire emerged, his gaze bright and sharp, with neatly trimmed mustaches on his upper lip.

Cain withdrew his hand from the sword hilt, "Angus, what's the situation below?"

Angus spoke slowly and deliberately, "The number of orc warriors does not exceed fifty, mostly low-level orcs of the first and second rank, including that lioness and her two guards. I spotted five mid-level orc warriors but did not find any higher-ranking orc champions."

Cain excitedly waved his fist, "Just as I thought!"

Angus hesitated slightly, "The only trouble is the pack of wolf cavalry in the camp, we're likely to be detected by their mounts' sense of smell as soon as we approach."

Cain smiled lightly, "Tony, it's your turn, I know you have a way to deal with it."

"I'll go to the forest to find some wild chrysanthemums and burn them together with tricolor mandrakes. The smoke produced will knock out all those beasts," Tony's voice faded into the bushes.

"Great! Let's gather the brothers, we'll strike at dusk," Cain's eyes glittered with intense killing intent.