Chapter 54: All of My Talents Have All Been Recruited

The Dragon Lion Mercenaries continued to recruit.

However, as the crew was gradually filled, so too did the standards rise.

The pier no longer had a line of people, and now one needed to be at least a bronze level to have any hope of joining the mercenary group.

Besides the Deep Sea Monster Fish hiding on the nearby seafloor, the survivors also had increased their ships from five to six.

Before, when Zong Ge found trouble with Hei Fei, Hei Fei had no choice but to give up his profits to quell the conflict.

In the end, he would rather give up one of his ships to save some of his gold coins.

After inspecting it, the survivors confirmed that the ordinary ship had been used to transport slave, and thus, its hold needed to be remolded somewhat.

The survivors’ recruitment plan was very successful, and the six ships were nearing full capacity.

Every day, Zong Ge would call the sailors together to be personally trained by him.

His arm was injured, which greatly reduced the amount of time he could cultivate battle qi. Since he had surplus time and energy, he decided to use it to train these people.

An open area of the pier was packed with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group’s people.

Bai Ya, Mu Ban, Fei She, and the other survivors also mixed in with them.

Zong Ge stood in front of everyone, “Today, we will begin training with weapons.”

In front of him was a pile of weapons, including axes and cutlasses.

All of them were made out of wood.

Not only that, but the wooden weapons were also wrapped with cloth, they were all equipment specialized for training. 

“There are many kinds of weapons.” Zong Ge extended his leg and lightly kicked up a wooden dagger from the weapon pile.

He grabbed the wooden dagger, and did a thrusting motion, “Dagger are most suitable for surprise attacks, and are the best weapon to use in the narrow confines of ship holds.”

He tossed the dagger, then picked up a simple axe, “A boarding axe. We often use it to cut rigging and rope netting, of course, it can also cut the flying hooks of enemies. Many times, this weapon can also help us board and pry open cabin doors.”

He cast away the wooden axe and seized a wooden cutlass, “A sailor cutlass! This is our main weapon, this kind of blade is shorter than normal swords. Thus, it is more suited for close quarter fights on ships. We use it to slash and chop, sometimes to cut down the enemy, and sometimes as table knives to cut food with.

“In addition to those, there are also short swords, flying hooks, firearms, cannons…”

Zong Ge presented them all.

Short swords were used for stabbing and blocking, needed technique, and their slashing was weaker than sailor cutlasses.

Flying hooks were simple to use. They were thrown and hooked into the sides of enemy warships.

Firearms were very expensive, and not everyone was outfitted with one. Since they were also simple to use, Zong Ge did not plan to conduct training for them.

As for cannons, that was another matter entirely.

If one wanted to be a famous and excellent pirate, they actually needed to master many things.

Not only did they need to work the sails, almost all pirate needed to simultaneously know how to use both cold and hot weapons.

“Next, I will teach you the most basic movements.” Zong Ge began to demonstrate.

Daggers, boarding axes, sailor cutlasses, short swords, flying hooks, and other weapons were all used by him once through. As a military instructor, Zong Ge was very familiar with doing this.

“You are free to practice now.” Zong Ge ordered.

Some sailors clumsily brandished them, while others were experienced with them, the level of skill varied.

Zong Ge pointed out mistakes in movements and observed combat experts.

Some people distinguished themselves, and were remembered by Zong Ge.

“So boring.” Xu Ma was playing with a wooden dagger. As a thief, his best weapons were small arms. Of course, he was still better at using axes, daggers, and other weapons than ordinary people.

“Hey, that young man is making an effort.” When Xu Ma saw the earnestly training Bai Ya sweating profusely, he commended him.

Under the scorching sun, Bai Ya’s bright eyes and sparkling sweat refracted the sun light and his youthful energy.

He put a hundred percent into his practice.

On the one hand, it was because he was inspired by the noble Miss Xi Qiu’s love to become a knight. On the other hand, the danger of Mystifying Monster Island made him crave for great strength.

However, when Zong Ge’s gaze swept past Bai Ya, it did not stop on him.

Bai Ya did not lack courage, and on Mystifying Monster Island, he confronted the terrifying and twisted magic beasts on the front lines. He also did not lack practice.

On Mystifying Monster Island, he began to practice with weapons.

He lacked a bloodline.

When free practice ended, Zong Ge divided up everyone into groups based on what he observed.

He did his best to put sailors of same level together in the same group.

This would make future training easier and improve training efficacy.

This training was seen by Tan Qiu.

Right now, he was standing on a ship and watching, completely entranced.

The dragonman youngster was accompanying him.

Although the survivors had already been on Snake Rat Island for some time, as the local lord, this was the first time. Tan Qiu had personally paid a visit to them.

The reason was because the Dragon Lion Mercenaries recruitment move was too big and noisy, the entire town was abuzz with it.

If there was a lot of thunder, but little rain, it would have been fine.

But the Dragon Lion Mercenaries had gained a lot from their recruitment!

Tan Qiu gazed from afar with rapt attention, and with a sour tone, he said, “Your group’s strength had grown rapidly. These people are of decent quality, no wonder your group has been selecting carefully these days.”

Tan Qiu also saw things, even if his eyes weren’t as shrew as Tripleblade’s, he still noticed many things the longer he watched.

The sailors that were training had physiques and stamina that exceeded that of ordinary people. Some were adept with weapons, and one could make out that they were experienced at fighting on land and at sea.

The dragonman youngster smiled, “There was no other way, our financial resources are limited, and our ships are small. If we wanted to grow our strength, we had to select the most elite sailors.”

“Not like you, Lord Tan Qiu. On this abundant island, not only do you have elite troops and generals, but you also have many other soldiers.”

The young man sung praises of Tan Qiu.

But Tan Qiu shook his head, “I have no general. Last time, didn’t my city guard commander get publicly defeated by Shi Qi? What a disastrous loss!”

Soon after, his gaze focused on a beastmen sailor, his tone casual as he said, “Did you actually bring those slaves back from the brink?”

The dragonman youngster smiled as he explained, “Our group’s magician, Hong Teng did that.”

“Although she is only a bronze level magician, she has studied medicine deeply.”

“Not only has she dipped into standard magic medicine, but she also learned about the barbarian race’s herbal medicines.”

“It was she who brought those beastmen back to life.”

When tan Qiu heard that, he turned to look at the dragonman youngster, his eyes containing deep meaning.

He had heard that earlier.

But he found it difficult to believe.

The lord of Snake Rat Island recalled the three party deal from beginning to end, then suddenly realized that the survivors were its biggest beneficiary!

“It was said that they were the ones who manipulated those beastmen slaves. If that is the case, then they exploited both Hei Fei and I.”

As far as that was concerned, Tan Qiu had no evidence of it.

But it did not prevent him from valuing the Dragon Lion Mercenaries more and even fearing them.

“Let’s talk about that magician, Hong Ten. I am quite curious about them.” Tan Qiu continued to pry, “Why don’t we meet her?”

“She is making medicine in the medicinal cabin, I dare not disturb her.” The dragonman youngster tactfully declined.

Tan Qiu nodded, “I understand, after all, they are a talented person, even though they lack cultivation.”

“I heard there is also a small giant on your ship?”

The big guy didn’t participate in training.

His intellect was too low, and couldn’t even cultivate a battle qi technique, let alone martial skills.

To prevent him from exposing inside information, the dragonman youngster did not arrange anything for him.

“I had him set up in a room at the bow by himself. The entire bow room had been remodeled to fit his large body size.” The dragonman youngster gave a brief introduction of the big guy’s circumstances.

“If your group did not recruit him, I wouldn’t have expected that my Snake Rat Island had so many hidden dragon and talents on it.” Tan Qiu’s entire face filled with regret.

If the magician, Hong Teng, had actually solved the beastmen’s disease, then her value was quite high.

Then there was the small giant, even if he wasn’t a cultivator, with just his body, he could become the tip on the battlefield. If he became a cultivator in the future, then that would be even more wonderful.

Even if he couldn’t fight, he could labor at astonishing efficiency.

Tan Qiu recalled the time when his castle was being built, it had been difficult. If he had the small giant helping during that time, it would have saved so much trouble.

He inwardly calculated how strong the Dragon Lion Mercenaries were.

Currently, the Dragon Lion Mercenaries were mostly composed of humans, these people were filtered by levels and were of high quality.

Second were the beastmen slaves, composed of dogmen and oxmen. These beastmen were tall and sturdy, and after going through the chaos of war, were selected to be sold as slaves. Their vitality was exuberant and many of them had potential that could be excavated.

What made Tan Qiu’s heart beat faster was that dogmen and oxmen were the most loyal of beastmen and the easiest to manage.

The Dragon Lion Mercenaries also had many cultivators.

They had 12 bronze levels, including one magician.

There were 3 iron levels. They were Tripleblade, Cang Xu, and Kuai Tui, all of them were worth having.

Then there were the 2 silver levels. Zong Ge was a peak silver level and suspected weapon master. The dragonman youngster’s bravery during the gold level magic beast incident had left a extremely deep impression on Tan Qiu.

The Dragon Lion Mercenary Group had been on Snake Rat Island for a long time, and the speed at which their strength swelled could be seen with the naked eye.

“Perhaps, I also should have a large scale recruitment of fresh outside talent?” The thought inevitably stirred in Tan Qiu’s mind. 

Even though Tan Qiu had Snake Rat Island as his foundation, he couldn’t help but be envious.

In some respect, when the survivors recruited so many people from Snake Rat Island, it also weakened the strength of Snake Rat Island.

“Anyways, if I can get Shi Qi, losing these talents won’t matter.”

Tan Qiu once again recalled his sly poaching of him.

Zong Ge responded that he needed time to think it over.

But consideration was not enough to satisfy Tan Qiu.

He wanted the entirety of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group to help him deal with Rou Zang!

“With your group’s pool of talent, your prospects look bright. However, according to what I see, you still lack some people. Has Commander Long Fu looked into battle teams?” Tan Qiu asked.

“Battle teams?” The dragonman youngster thought of Rou Zang’s hurtling sword and shield force.

Tan Qiu said, “Battle teams are quite the important force on a battlefield. Battle teams are slowly shaped, and aren’t easy to foster, however any organization that has them will substantially increase their battle power.”

“It is different from battle qi techniques, and related to how the battle team is established, every organization keeps that information secret, and it is very difficult to purchase.”

“I want to give your group a battle team organization method. It is called the Drunken Shrimp Mud Spear Army!”

“They cultivate the same battle qi technique, the Peasant Technique, and use the same weapon, the shrimp spear. This spear force can quickly march through mud, and even slink through marshes. They can also be adapted to the sea, and can fight in water.” 

Tan Qiu’ presentation inevitably aroused the attention of the dragonman youngster.

Battle teams were something the survivors really wanted, and the earlier they developed them, the better.

The dragonman youngster had no battle team organization plans on him.

War Merchant’s database had nothing related to this topic in it.

Now, there was a battle team organization plan directly in front of the young man.

“But…it won’t be easy to take.” The dragonman youngster sighed to himself.

This was clearly bait Tan Qiu was tossing to him.

He wanted to recruit the Dragon Lion Mercenaries over to deal with Rou Zang.

This thought, along with the survivors’ swelling strength, had increased his determination.

As expected, Tan Qiu followed up with his want to unite everyone and eradicate Rou Zang.

“Lord Tan Qiu is sincere, I can sense it. But this is a significant matter, I still need to think it over.” The dragonman youngster looked embarrassed, and dodged the question for the time being.