Finally, after an entire year of doing squad-sized missions, Aragosh Dragonos and Yerra Draco announced that we would be taking on our first mission together.
At long last, Night and Day would be mustering out into the universe at full strength.
I remember being ecstatic. We would finally show the universe what we're about! We were Night and Day! Fifty thousand hardened warriors of overwhelming power!
However, reality was not as pretty as our dreams. Our first mission at full strength was an inglorious mission.
Pest extermination.
Due to many long millenniums of neglect, a mining planet owned by an ancient clan was overrun by an indeginous monster species that had somehow triggered a gene which boosted their virility and reproductive ability.
Our inglorious task was to completely exterminate and root out this species from the planet.
I remember Aragosh Dragonos gathering all of us together the night before we descended on the planet.
"I know how you feel. Many of you chafe at being ordered to do such a menial mission. Something only lowlife grunts should do, right?" Aragosh said with a smile.
"Hear hear!" One of the squad captains shouted.
"You must be extremely curious as to why I took on this mission, right?" Aragosh continued.
"That's right! We trust you general, and would batter down the gates of hell along with you if you commanded that of us! But we couldn't help but wonder why we're doing such a dirty job." Tharas, a powerful black dragon and a Major, spoke up.
"I thank you for your trust." Aragosh Dragonos began. He glanced at Yerra who nodded lightly at him. "The reason why I took on this… inglorious mission, and then kept quiet all about it until now is because there is a secret involved."
An excited murmur spread all around the massive auditorium.
"When I first saw the mission come online, I dismissed it automatically. I was looking for a suitably glorious and challenging mission for our newly enhanced mercenary group, one that would set the tone for many long years to come. However, by sheer curiosity, I opened up the details of the mission, and then I immediately accepted it."
The excited murmur died down immediately as everybody sat at the edge of their seats, eagerly waiting for Aragosh Dragonos to elaborate.
"You see, the pest that we were tasked to exterminate was called Black Death Crow." Aragosh Dragonos said.
The rest of us just stared blankly at him.
One particularly uncouth troll warrior even remarked "What the f*** is that?"
Instead of getting angry, Aragosh Dragonos merely grinned and snapped his finger. Apparently he was waiting for someone to ask that question.
Immediately a picture of a Black Death Crow appeared.
"WHAT THE F***!!!" A large ancient dragon in elven form shouted and jumped to his feet.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Another wizened old human female croaked out from her seated position.
A low murmur of shock rippled out among those who recognized the picture. However, many of us did not recognize it.
"What in the nine hells is that? Explain!" A large and fearsome orc with red eyes growled loudly.
"That, my ferocious but dimwitted friend, is a Black Hexacrow." Another dragon in elven form informed us.
Finally understanding dawned upon all of us and a huge roar of excitement erupted from all of us.
Yes, even I jumped up for joy.
What the flower is a Black Hexacrow? Your Majesty, Black Hexacrows were thought to be extinct in Symphonia. They were hunted to extinction mercilessly many thousands of years ago for a unique beast core that could only be found in wild Black Hexacrows. Once they were extinct and no more Black Hexacrows Beast Cores were available in the market, the demand died down due to lack of supply.
But many treasure hunters never stopped looking. If one could find a nest of Black Hexacrows, one would be beyond rich.
People would pay an astronomical amount just to get their hands on a Black Hexacrow Beast Core!
This is because the Black Hexacrow Beast Core has a very, very unique effect upon consumption.
It would amplify pleasure, and only pleasure, by a factor of ten for a period of time.
Oh yes, Your Majesty, I kid you not. Amplify pleasure by a factor of TEN. After consuming a Black Hexacrow Beast Core, even eating a little piece of chocolate would be a heavenly experience. Imagine having sex or doing drugs under the effect of a Black Hexacrow Beast Core. It was incredible.
Oh yes, I tried one. The first time was always the best. It would last the longest and would feel the best. My then partner and I, we couldn't keep our hands off each other during that entire month.
It was easily the best month of my life.
The downside was that your body would slowly gain resistance against it, and over time, you would have to consume more and more Black Hexacrows Beast Cores to achieve the same level of enjoyment.
You can imagine why Black Hexacrows went extinct. There was an incredible demand for it. I heard that near the end, when supply thinned, a single Black Hexacrow Beast Core could be auctioned for a Universe Grade treasure or two.
The other downside is that after enjoying all of life's pleasures under the effect of a Black Hexacrow's Beast Core, trying them again without it made them feel really… underwhelming.
Sigh.
Anyway, I digress.
After we all learnt that there was a planet FULL of Black Hexacrows, everybody was pumped and couldn't wait to descend upon the planet!
"I believe that I was the first person to view the mission when it appeared. I accepted it within ten seconds, so I do not believe that anybody got to look at the details. Extermination missions are, afterall, highly unpopular. Still, I will be maintaining a fully armed regiment on full alert orbiting the planet, while the other four regiments will gather the Beast Cores as fast as possible. I want this mission done within two weeks. Yerra will command the four regiments and I will command the regiment in orbit.
Do not, I repeat, do not consume the beast cores. Any one found consuming a Black Hexacrow Beast Core will be executed, no exceptions. We will share loot based on the established system. You will gain a chance to redeem for a beast core if you wish to once we are done with this whole thing.
Any questions? None? Good. Have a good rest tonight, tomorrow, we will be rich. Dismissed." Aragosh Dragonos smiled.
The next day couldn't come too soon.
I was part of the four regiments that would be hunting down the Black Hexacrows. Yerra Draco set up an extremely efficient method to farm these walking treasures. Two headquarters were established, one in the middle of the Eastern Hemisphere and one in the middle of the Western Hemisphere.
A ring of eight sub headquarters surrounded each main headquarter and another ring of twenty four gathering points surrounded the eight.
A grand total of fifty headquarters/gathering points. We were divided into squads, and each day, we would deposit our Black Hexacrow Beast Cores to the nearest gathering point, and each day, the beast cores would be sent back to the main headquarters.
It was insane.
On average, each day my squad of twenty five would deposit at least a THOUSAND beast cores. A THOUSAND!!
If all the other squads performed at our level, that would give us over twenty million beast cores! And if a single beast core can go for a few Universe Treasures...
My God.
I had no idea what the grand total was, or how Aragosh Dragonos got rid of all the loot, but I was damn sure we were THE richest mercenary group in all of Symphonia.
The richest. I doubt even the next thousand richest mercenary groups combined together would even be half as rich as us.
We were so rich that most of us chose to trade a portion of our share of treasure for a Black Hexacrow Beast Core to try it out. Personally, I've never regretted it.
Do I still have one? Ha ha ha. That's a good question.
Anyway, the reason why I told you this story is because it's epic on its own, and also because it is the reason why we managed to get Rona Rhythmos the Royal Time Dragon and Zas the Royal Space Dragon to join us.
I didn't know what the deal was, but a few months after that mission, Rona and Zas became Co-Leaders along with Yerra Draco.
And we became the de-facto second ranked mercenary group after that.
You can imagine the uproar that followed.
Rag-Hatharos leads Death, the first ranked mercenary group with five dual titled dragons.
But now, a mercenary group had appeared with four dual titled dragons! And not just any dual titled dragons, but all four of the remaining top five dual titled dragon types!
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