He understood—the viscount was just his son’s spokesperson. The true negotiator was the inscrutable young master.
“Let’s be blunt, Young Master Laval.” Worner decided to lay his cards on the table.
“You’ve shown me your trained ‘deathsworn,’ and now you’ve gone to great lengths to prepare two contracts. I figure if I don’t accept your special contract, none of us are likely to walk out of here alive today, am I right?”
The moment he said this, his unarmed subordinates immediately turned pale, cold sweat pouring down.
Boss! That’s not what you said last night! Didn’t you say it’d be fine? Why are you about to flip the table now?!
Allen just chuckled inwardly at Worner’s reaction. Perfect. The mercenary leader might seem ready to break off negotiations, but in truth, his heart was already moved.
Now he was only trying to maximize his leverage at the bargaining table.
So Allen smiled and nodded at his father, who understood and yielded the lead to his son.
“Before we sign any contract,” Allen looked at Worner with a gentle smile, “don’t you want to ask what I intend to have you do?”
“You’re a smart man,” Worner met Allen’s gaze, “since you’re determined to absorb the War Hound band, whatever dangerous tasks you want us to do, we’ll have to do them, right?”
“Exactly, talking to a clever man is so much easier.” Allen nodded in satisfaction. “I admire that about you. Besides, I’ve always liked your mercenary group’s name—War Hound.”
Allen left his seat, slowly pacing around the long table. “A dog is a tamed wolf. Loyal and gentle, a friend to humans. You chose that name to tell employers you’re reliable and faithful.”
“But,” Allen’s tone shifted, “dogs are for guarding homes, herding sheep, keeping company—not for war. For war, you need wolves! You’re not dogs—you’re wolves in dog’s clothing, howling under the moon, ready to tear prey apart at any moment!”
“Since you crave war, I’ll give you real war. If you want a stable den, I can give you the best home too.”
“So, would you mind becoming part of the Lorraine Kingdom?” Allen finally asked.
After hearing Allen’s words, Worner smiled, a touch of bitterness and relief in his expression.
“Young Master Laval, perhaps you don’t really know who we are. I’m a runaway serf from the Empire—most of my brothers too. We may look like Imperials, but we’ve long been homeless.”
“We’re landless peasants, and apart from risking our lives, we have no other honest trade. That’s why we came to the Lorraine Kingdom—maybe here, we outlaws can find a way to live.”
“Then you’re truly lucky.” Allen said, meaningfully.
At Allen’s gesture, Bernard pushed both contracts in front of Worner. “Take a look. The choice is yours. You can also read them to your brothers.”
Worner picked up the traditional mercenary contract first. He knew it inside and out: the pay was a “one-off deal,” likely to be withheld or docked, and much of a mercenary’s expected earnings came from permitted plunder and spoils.
There was no injury compensation, no medical coverage. If wounded, you relied on your own savings, help from friends, or the army’s sorry excuse for a medic.
Disability meant the end of a career and a life of poverty. Even basic food and lodging came out of meager pay.
Conditions were abysmal. Yet even such a rotten contract was the only lifeline for countless mercenaries.
Laval House’s pay offer was generous—the down payment alone was tempting enough to take any dangerous job.
Then, Worner opened the second contract. With just one glance, his pupils contracted sharply. This upended everything he knew about “employment”!
In truth, the contract really was unprecedented—utterly beyond its era. It completely overturned the feudal contract system of the Middle Ages, modeled by Allen on modern Private Military Company (PMC) frameworks.
Its main feature was to transform mercenaries from “disposable tools” into “company employees.”
The contract offered stable wages and allowances, replacing the old unstable plunder and spoils model.
Risk premiums, mission bonuses, and comprehensive insurance all addressed the dangers of the trade.
What’s more, it included full benefits: medical care, disability compensation, death benefits, logistics, equipment maintenance—all covered by the employer (the soon-to-be-established PMC company under Allen).
Mercenaries became “high-value assets” requiring long-term investment and care.
Lastly, these former bandits-turned-mercenaries would gain legal identity and belonging. They could hope for a stable, dignified future.
Drafting this contract hadn’t been difficult for Allen—the only headache was naming his new PMC.
He’d considered “Soldiers Without Borders,” “Havoc,” “Griffon & Kruger,” “United Security (USEC),” “Atlas,” “Wagner”… all of them fitting his villain aesthetic, but each carried a heavy death-flag vibe.
Finally, Allen thought of the perfect name—“Lily Guard”!
A brutal bunch of killers for hire, yet named “Lily Guard.” It fit the bloodthirsty spirit of lily fans, while also carrying the charm of “a fierce tiger with the scent of roses.”
Moreover, irises and lilies were so similar that lilies were often seen as royal symbols.
“Lily Guard” thus also implied armed protection of the royal family. “I’m truly a master in the lily field!” Allen mused.
After reading this meticulously designed, era-defying contract, Worner was left with only one thought: this unfathomable young master definitely aimed to overthrow governments—even reshape the whole world!
Connecting this with the “Dawn’s Children” undergoing military training, Worner could barely suppress his excitement.
He saw not only a mountain of corpses in the future, but endless opportunity and glory… No, it wasn’t wealth he craved.
As a warrior, what he longed for was unparalleled honor and victory!
As a mere mortal, he’d always had to watch the Engraved Mark-bearing nobles reap lives like his on the battlefield.
But now, looking at Allen—this young master who seemed to see through everything—Worner suddenly realized: this man would change everything! He’d destroy the old noble order and rewrite the rules of war!
Mercenaries? That was just a transition! What Allen truly sought to build was a new kind of army no one could have imagined!
Perhaps Worner Kruger and the War Hound Mercenary Company could really leave their mark on history!
After Worner explained the contents of both contracts to his men in detail, all his trusted followers looked at him, their eyes filled with longing and disbelief.
And in them, Worner saw the same excitement as in himself.
“Well? Made your decision yet?” Allen asked.
“Sir de Laval,” Worner took a deep breath, locking his gaze on Allen’s calm, dark eyes, “we accept your second contract—War Hound is yours. But I have one condition.”
“All right, name it.” Allen nodded.
Worner summoned his courage and asked, “Tell me what you really want to do. I want to join you.”
“Sure, I figured you’d say that.” Allen acted as if it were all part of the plan.
He explained to Worner and his men the ideals of “Dawn’s Children” and the Mutual Aid Association, painting a magnificent blueprint for the future.
After repeating this speech several times, Allen’s oratory had become almost flawless.
His stirring words deeply moved these not-so-literate mercenaries.
At the end, he pushed a detailed battle plan in front of Worner—it was the entire scheme for the raid on the Thieves’ Guild headquarters.
“After learning all this, you only have two choices.” Allen’s tone was calm, without the slightest threat, merely stating a fact. “Join, or die.”
Worner Kruger, the mercenary leader who had fought for freedom his whole life, let out a hearty, almost relieved laugh: “I was a runaway serf who killed my overseer and fled! Tearing down your so-called old world—count me in!”
His men, still reeling from the shock of that contract, were once again swept up by the even greater vision.
They looked at each other, and finally made their decision: “We want in too!”
Things had gone so smoothly, even Allen found it hard to believe, as if he really was a mind-controlling bald sage.
What was going on? A few speeches and he’d won over a group of fanatics ready to swear eternal loyalty and battle the old world to the death? Was that even possible?
What Allen hadn’t realized yet was that in a thousand years, this world had never undergone the cycles of imperial collapse, dynastic change, industrial revolutions, or ideological liberation like his own world.
Under the oppression of the Engraved Mark nobles and feudal system, the people here had been silent for far too long.
They would either erupt from that silence, or perish in it.
Engraved Markbearers, such transcendent beings, should have led the silent masses to extinction.
But the spark Allen had ignited, quite by accident, happened to set ablaze the rage accumulated in this world—enough to incinerate the old order!
Such a blaze of fury wasn’t wholly good, but to Allen at this moment, it was certainly no bad thing.
On June 26th, A.S. 1082 (Rescue Era), the War Hound Mercenary Company’s leaders attended the initiation of the Brotherhood of the Children of Dawn.
On that same day, the War Hound Mercenary Company became history.
The Lily Guard private military company was officially established.
It became another key arm of Dawn’s Children’s military power—and, for now, its most reliable core fighting force.
The death knell of the Thieves’ Guild had already begun to ring!
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