Zhan Yang flipped the Star Token over.
He flipped it to the back.
Only then did he chuckle and say, "Take a look. What’s this?"
As he spoke, he brandished the Star Token in his hand.
In that instant, the three striking swords, arranged side by side, were dazzlingly bright.
"That’s..."
"Oh my god, that’s the emblem of a Three-Star Mercenary Corps! The three swords!"
"No way. Am I seeing things? It really is the Three-Stars emblem."
Upon seeing the three swords on the back, many of the onlooking Mercenaries were stunned.
One by one, they stared in disbelief at the Star Token in Zhan Yang’s hand, their eyes wide.
However, some still refused to believe it.
They immediately crowded closer for a look.
After one look, their expressions changed drastically.
They exclaimed, "It’s real! The Warring States Mercenary Corps actually became a Three-Star Mercenary Corps!"
"It’s unbelievable!"
Many people immediately crowded around.
After everyone had a look, they let out a chorus of astonished cries.
After all, it was incredibly difficult for a Mercenary Team to get promoted.
Advancing from Two-Stars to Three-Stars was even more so.
It required completing ten Two-Star Tasks.
So now, seeing that the Star Token in Zhan Yang’s hand bore the Three-Stars emblem, they were completely shocked.
In other words, the Warring States Mercenary Corps was now a Three-Star Mercenary Corps.
Among the crowd of onlooking Mercenaries were members of One-Star and Two-Star Mercenary Corps, all of whom undoubtedly aimed to reach the rank of a Three-Star Mercenary Corps.
Seeing someone actually achieve that rank filled them with envy and jealousy.
The crowd instantly erupted.
Only Ding Jie and his Caterpillar Mercenary Corps were left dumbfounded on the spot.
After all, just moments ago, they had been mocking the Warring States Mercenary Corps for being weak.
They had even made a bet on who would get promoted first.
Who would have thought that the Warring States Mercenary Corps would have secretly been promoted to a Three-Star Mercenary Corps right under their noses?
What a slap in the face. A total slap in the face.
Ding Jie was so agitated he almost jumped out of his skin.
"No! Impossible! It must be a fake!"
"I don’t believe it!"
He frantically charged forward, shoving through the crowd to get to Zhan Yang’s side.
He snatched the Star Token from Zhan Yang’s hand.
"What do you think you’re doing?"
Seeing someone snatch away the Star Token, Zhan Yang’s expression soured.
However, when he saw that it was Ding Jie who had snatched the Star Token, a peculiar smile instantly appeared on Zhan Yang’s face.
It was a look of pure amusement.
’He was just mocking our Warring States Mercenary Corps. Now, this is definitely going to blow Ding Jie’s mind.’
Sure enough, Ding Jie turned the Star Token over and over in his hands. The front had the Warring States Mercenary Corps’ emblem, and the back had the emblem of the three swords.
Everything about it indicated that this was an emblem only a Three-Star Mercenary Corps would possess.
In other words, the Warring States Mercenary Corps had truly managed to get promoted to a Three-Star Mercenary Corps.
"No, how is this possible?"
His face was a mask of shock and utter disbelief.
He simply couldn’t accept the fact that the Warring States Mercenary Corps had gotten promoted before them.
Worse, the thought of having to pay the other side 100,000 Yuanjing made him break out in a cold sweat.
Although the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps was quite strong, they didn’t take on that many missions and didn’t earn a lot of commission.
One hundred thousand was no small sum.
He was kicking himself just thinking about it.
He had dug his own grave.
And he had jumped right in.
Zhan Yang snatched the Star Token back.
Then he laughed. "Ding Jie, this time, our Warring States Mercenary Corps was the first to get promoted to a Three-Star Mercenary Corps."
"Everyone saw it clearly."
"What was it you were saying before? Something about... whoever got promoted first, the other side would have to give them 100,000 Yuanjing, hmm?"
He looked at Ding Jie, his expression full of glee.
Ding Jie’s face was now as sour as a lemon.
He had finally been done in by his own hubris.
Of course, there was also the fact that Zhan Yang and his men had been far too sneaky. They’d obviously completed the last Two-Star Task but had kept it a secret.
This caused his prediction to fail, resulting in a spectacular loss.
This infuriated him.
He glared at Zhan Yang. "Zhan Yang, you punk! You tricked me!"
"You finished the task but deliberately hid it!"
"You deceived me!"
At that moment, all the members of the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps looked furious.
"Zhan Yang, you’re shameless!"
"This bet doesn’t count!"
"We should compete to see which team gets promoted to a Four-Star Mercenary Corps first!"
In the end, Ding Jie was starting to regret it.
He wanted to go back on his word.
But Zhan Yang wasn’t about to let him off the hook.
He immediately turned to the surrounding crowd. "Everyone, a moment ago, Ding Jie said that whichever team got promoted first, the other would have to pay them 100,000 Yuanjing."
"You all heard him loud and clear. And now, the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps is trying to back out of the deal!"
Immediately, the crowd began to rail against the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps.
"What kind of people are they? So shameless."
"How can people like that make it in the Mercenary Realm? They have no shame."
"Pah! All they know how to do is act like scoundrels. What a disgrace."
All at once, many people began to heap criticism on the untrustworthy Caterpillar Mercenary Corps.
For a Mercenary Team, the most important things were reputation and keeping one’s word.
In fact, the most successful teams in the Mercenary Realm were naturally those that were the most trustworthy.
Only a Mercenary Team with a good reputation could earn the respect of others.
If a Mercenary Team’s reputation was stained in the slightest, they would be scorned and might not even be able to get tasks in the future.
In the Mercenary Realm, reputation came first. This was an unwritten rule, and the most important one of all.
A Mercenary Team that lost its credibility would be unable to survive in the Mercenary Realm.
Faced with so much criticism,
the members of the Caterpillar Mercenary Corps all turned deathly pale.
One after another, they looked to their captain, Ding Jie.
They absolutely could not afford to lose their credibility.
Otherwise, the consequences would be severe.
But coughing up 100,000 Yuanjing would leave their funds dangerously tight.
Ding Jie’s expression was grim as he looked at the smug Zhan Yang and his team.
Finally, he gritted his teeth hard.
He roared, "Who says I’m backing out?"
"I’ll pay! It’s just 100,000 Yuanjing!"
With that, Ding Jie decisively took 100,000 Yuanjing from his Qiankun Bag and tossed it to Zhan Yang.
"You’re ruthless. Here’s your 100,000 Yuanjing. Take it."
Zhan Yang accepted the Qiankun Bag with a wide grin. He opened it and took a look—sure enough, it was 100,000 Yuanjing.
Not a single coin was missing.
He transferred the Yuanjing to his own Qiankun Bag, then tossed Ding Jie’s empty Qiankun Bag back to him.
"Well then, thanks for the 100,000 Yuanjing."
"Haha!"
He let out a few hearty laughs.
Ding Jie was so furious he was grinding his teeth, wishing he could swallow Zhan Yang whole.
His Caterpillar Mercenary Corps was powerful, yet in the end, they had been outdone by the Warring States Mercenary Corps.
The frustration was immense.
But was he just going to let it end like this?
Obviously not.
Just then, an idea suddenly struck Ding Jie.
He suddenly spoke up. "Zhan Yang, we lost this round. I admit it."
"But since everyone is watching today, how about our Caterpillar Mercenary Corps has a little competition with your Warring States Mercenary Corps? Do you dare accept the challenge?"
To win back some face, he had come up with a brilliant idea.
He would defeat a member of the Warring States Mercenary Corps in public, winning back at least one round.
Zhan Yang was a little surprised.
"Compete? How? You’ve already lost to us. What else is there to compete over?"
He had a feeling that Ding Jie was planning to pull some kind of dirty trick.
Sure enough, Ding Jie announced loudly, "It’s simple. The Caterpillar Mercenary Corps will send out one member, and the Warring States Mercenary Corps will send out one member. The two of them will have a friendly spar."
"It’s that simple."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter
