Chapter 137: Marcus

"Claire, how many times must I tell you not to cast everyone away. We need all the help we can get," Marcus said, voice deep and cleared with a tinge of hoarseness.

Claire's twisting face shifted to one of amiable and kind as she faced Marcus. "M-Marcus. .. but we already have so many halfbreeds in the group. We need expert fighters and skilled magicians to search for the exit."

Marcus's eyes squinted, and Claire shut her mouth tight.

"M-Marcus. . ." Seraphina had a bad feeling as she stole a glanced at Ryu.

Ryu only nodded in confirmation that it was indeed Marcus, Jane's fiancé.

"Eh. . ." Seraphina did a twice over at Marcus. For such a beautiful woman like Jane, and from how Jane was always praising Marcus, she had high expectations of the man. She didn't expect that Marcus was very. .. ordinary.

"Sorry about that, friends." Marcus smiled, and the hard-line on his face softened. 

"Hmm. .. Now I see the charm," Seraphina muttered. Marcus could be scary when serious but charming when smiling. So Jane like those type of guys?

"Echbert, are you okay?" Marcus shot a look at the hobgoblin, who was still clutching its cheek.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Echbert laughed, but then he clamped his mouth shut when Claire cut him a glare.

Marcus said something to his companions before they dispersed while Marcus stopped in front of Ryu and Seraphina.

"My name is Marcus, leader of this group. May I know your names?"

Seraphina secretly nodded in approval and mused to herself. 'He's nothing much on looks, but he receives a hundred points in manners.'

"My name's Seraphina, and this is Ryu."

"Sorry for being impolite, but can we see your face and confirm your identity?" Marcus asked, a little embarrassed.

Ryu stepped over at Seraphina, but the latter held his shoulder.

"It's fine, Ryu. If we're going to stay here, then it's important to establish a level of trust." Seraphina removed her veil and what tumbled was her beautiful smiling face that made Claire's mouth drop.

"My, you're lovely Miss Seraphina!" exclaimed Echbert.

"Thank you Echbert." Seraphina beamed.

Echbert's face blossomed red, and he hiccupped in embarrassment, which warranted another knock on his head from Clare's fist.

Marcus nodded and smiled. His expression remained the same. "I supposed you're human, a Rank-A merc at least? And is he your servant?"

"I am a Rank-A merc. A mage with the affinity of water and plants, but Ryu here is not my servant." Seraphina shot a smile on Ryu's way. "He's my friend."

".. ."

Marcus nodded with a bright face. "I see. That's good news!"  He then rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, were are running a little low of high-ranking mercs since most went to the other side."

Seraphina tilted her head. "Why?"

Marcus looked at Seraphina and Ryu. He really wanted Seraphina to stay in his group. He didn't know about her plant ability, but her water ability would significantly boost their survival, especially that water was scarce in this place.

But they'd eventually find out even if he hid it. Marcus took in a large breath and sighed. "As you can see, most of our group in here consist of slaves and servants and you know. .. most humans and other races prefer their own so. . ."

Marcus looked to the sky and didn't know how to proceed. "I couldn't exactly abandon them and go to the other side. To make it short. I lead the Left Oasis, which is made up mostly of halfbreeds and servants. While the north and Right Oasis were made up mostly of demons, mortals and purebreds."

Now Seraphina knew why Jane fell in love with Marcus. The man was practically a saint! No mortal would ever take care of halfbreeds and servants. Even Jane and Theodore had reservations against Ryu the first time.

"Anyway. We have food and water though not much. And most of the halfbreed and servants here are useful. They could cook and hunt and build a hut. And though they're quite reserved, they don't do anything that would start a fight. It will be a great help if you two enter our group. Though I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to go to the other Oasis as well."

Seraphina and Ryu looked at each other. 

"What do you think, Ryu?"

Claire frowned at Seraphina's attitude towards Ryu while Echbert couldn't help but wish to be Seraphina's servant all the more.

Marcus was a little surprised, too, when Seraphina asked the halfbreed of an extremely important decision instead of deciding herself. It never happened that a Rank-A mortal would ask the opinion of a mere servant.

"I'm fine here," Ryu said, and Seraphina seconded.

Marcus's eyes shone. "Really?!" he shouted, surprised before he caught on his fist and said, "Glad to have you aboard then."

"Rather. . ." Seraphina took confirmation on Ryu's nod and proceeded, "There's something we want to tell you. .. in private."

Marcus was confused for a moment before he shifted in Claire and Echbert's direction. "I'll be the one to show this two around. You two can get back to your work."

Claire was a bit hesitant. She threw one pointed look at Ryu and Seraphina before she flipped her hair and dragged Echbert by the collar.

When Echbert and Claire left, Marcus led Ryu and Seraphina towards his hut while explaining along the way, "As Echbert might have probably explained to you, all boss has restrictions. According to that little Pink creature, Tiamat's restrictions is, it cannot enter the area hundreds of kilometers from the starting point. I don't know if it was part of some twisted machination, but within that hundred kilometers are three Oasis. And we call this area the protective zone."

"Did you search within the hundred kilometers for the exit?" asked Seraphina.

Marcus nodded. "Yes, we did. As you probably guess by now. The exit lies somewhere in Tiamat's territory."

Both Ryu and Seraphina grumbled. 

"We formed little squads to scout out the Queen of Dragon's lair, but none returned until now." Marcus closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I'm afraid that they were all dead."

"Is Tiamat always guarding her territory?" Ryu was baffled because so many died. If they were just going to search for the exit, then there was no need to attack Tiamat. There was at least a single group to come back if they were careful enough not to attract the Dragon's attention.

Marcus skidded to a stop for a moment before he glanced at Ryu and Seraphina. "The problem is, it's not only Tiamat that is troublesome. Outside the protective zone, many beasts and monsters are lurking for prey. And with the desert and heat, most of our squads died of thirst and starvation before they could even find the exit."

"That is. .. troublesome." Seraphina was having a headache. If it were only Tiamat and the harsh condition, then it wouldn't be too much of a problem. But if monsters appeared in the picture, there was a high chance that Tiamat might hear the commotion if these beasts suddenly attacked them. 

"Our only choice is to search while making sure not to create so much noise. Or better yet, avoid the enemies altogether," Ryu muttered.

Marcus nodded. He was impressed that Ryu already had a grasp of the situation.

"There is also another problem," Marcus added and pointed to the pool of water and vegetation. "Our resources are almost running out. That's why we are in desperate need of Rank-A mercs or higher beings to go venturing outside the protective zone in search of the exit."

Then Marcus laughed. "Who knew that someone much more would appear? A mage with water affinity. Now one of our problems is solved!"

Marcus laughed heartily, and Ryu and Seraphina looked at each other. They couldn't tell him that they chose to stay mostly because of Jane and Theodore. 

"How about the other Oasis? The other groups? Have they found the exit yet?" asked Seraphina.

Marcus came to a halt, and his laughter's disappeared while a suffocating aura enveloped his entire being. "Those bastards."

Marcus controlled himself and sighed while the pebbles and stones around him dropped to the ground. "The reason why our supply ran fast is that every time that we leave our group to search for the exit, those dastards raid our lair."

"Eh? Is that the situation in here?" Seraphina asked with a finger on her chin.

Ryu expected as much but didn't comment.

"It came to the point that I have to remain here to protect our supply and our group. The trees you saw earlier have plenty of fruits before, but now. .. even the leaves weren't spared." Marcus scratched his head, irritated. "The leader of the north and right Oasis are both demons. But because they have a high chance of finding the exit and getting out from here, everyone wanted to join their groups."

"The leader in the Right Oasis is a Demoness calling herself Reyna. While in the north, it's a demon who called himself Azor. Both are really powerful demons. Not only that, but there are also a bunch of high-level mercs in their group and nasty elves."

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A/N

Sorry for the late and single update. So busy writing another novel T o T