"Welcome to the Yelan Army."

A two-meter tall bald man who looked like a pro wrestler said with a smile.

"I am the General who oversees this battle, and I go by the name Watson Reid," Bruce said. "Just refer to me as General Watson. So, you guys are the mercenaries that are planning to fight against those invading Ammarians? Mmm, you kids don't look too shabby. What do you think, Sherlock?"

A gnome who was nearly four feet tall adjusted the glasses on his face and gave Lux and the others a side-long glance.

"Tell me, mercenaries," the Gnome named Sherlock raised his chin in arrogance. "What is better? Dwarven Armor or Gnome Technology?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Cai replied. "Naturally it's Dwarmph!!"

Lux transformed his arms into that of a dragon and shut Cai's snout tightly, so it couldn't say another word.

"Gnome Technology is superior," Lux answered. "With the gnomes helping the Yelan Kingdom defend its territories, victory is assured."

The Gnome once again adjusted his glasses before giving Lux a nod of satisfaction.

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," Sherlock replied with a smile. "Welcome to the winning side."

"Thank you. I look forward to working with you."

"I like you. Here, I made a Pseudo-Legendary Item a day ago, you can have it."

Cai, who was struggling to break free of Lux's hold earlier, froze when the Gnome casually handed the Half-Elf a metallic ball, after the latter had mentioned that the item was a Pseudo-Legendary weapon.

Lux examined the ball firmly in his hand as he released Cai's snout and his partial dragon transformation, then he tossed it to his other hand. It was around 2 kilos in weight, and if one were to observe it closely, it just looked like an ordinary metallic ball, with no redeeming features whatsoever.

However, after using the Elysium Compendium to appraise it, Lux's jaw almost dropped because of the information that was written on it.

---

< Map Projector >

Rating: Pseudo-Legendary

Once activated, this artifact projects a map of the area that is three miles from where the user is standing.

This artifact will detect friendly and enemy forces within the map, key locations, as well as landmarks that might be useful.

Can be upgraded to Treasure Map Projector once the requirements are met.

< Treasure Map Projector >

Shows locations of treasures on the map that are no further than a mile from the user.

(Requirements to Upgrade)

Beholder's Eye (0/1)

Cyclop's Eye (0/1)

Arimaspi Eye (0/1)

Balor's Eye (0/1)

Likho's Eye (0/1)

Snallygaster's Eye (0/1)

This artifact is Soul Bound to Lux Von Kaizer.

---

'Wow!' Lux thought when he saw the information of the Map Projector in his hands.

Unlike other people, Lux had a special map of his own. However, its range was only up to five hundred meters. It was nothing compared to the Pseudo-Legendary weapon in his hands, that were casually given to him by the gnome named Sherlock.

"Master, I also think that Gnomes are better than Dwarves." Cai scooted next to Sherlock and tried to butter him up with praises. After seeing the Pseudo-Legendary artifact in the Half-Elf's hands, the shameless and thick-skinned Boar decided to try its uck and sang praises for the Gnomes until its spit was flying all over the place.

"Those smelly Dwarves are no good. From the start, they didn't stand a chance in this war. How can they be so delusional? Gnomes are the best! Gnomes are amazing! Viva Gnomes!"

Lux was about to tell Cai that it was pushing its luck. Frankly, he felt embarrassed by how the Boar was acting, who originally wanted to say that Dwarven goods were better than the Gnomes' Technology.

However, to his surprise, Sherlock chuckled and gave the Boar a nod of approval and handed it a red metallic ball.

"I like honest people and beasts," Sherlock said. "Here is the Pseudo-Legendary Artifact I made two days ago. You can have it."

"Yay!" Cai immediately stored the red metallic ball inside its storage ring before Lux could even blink. "Don't worry, Sir Sherlock. As long as I, Cai, am here, this war is already in the bag."

"Hahaha. I look forward to your performance, Cai."

"Leave it to me, Sir! I'll smash them good!"

Keane, Einar, Vall, and Xander, were also tempted to follow the shameless Boar's example, but they were too prideful to do it. In the end, they bit their tongues and glanced at Cai who was still buttering Sherlock with words in the hope that it could get another freebie.

Watson laughed before clapping his hands together.

"Well then, let's get down to business first," Watson said as he made a gesture for everyone to follow him to the giant table, where the map of the battlefield was laid out.

Several markers, and wooden figures could be seen on top of the map, representing the armies, as well as the position of the generals of the Yelan Kingdom.

"To tell you the truth, we are hard-pressed to win this war," Watson stated. "After the clash earlier, we have estimated that a good chunk of our army was slain by our enemies. Right now, we have a little over four-hundred thousand troops, while the enemy has more than six-hundred thousand. Also, according to our scouts, they have recruited a group of strong individuals who might turn the tide in their favor."

Watson sighed before pointing to key locations in the enemy's main camp.

"We have the territorial advantage, so we can hold out for a while. But, with a strong army, strong weaponry, and strong mercenaries helping them in this war, it is only a matter of time before they overwhelm us with their forces."

Sherlock nodded in agreement before voicing his opinion.

"In this war, brawn will not be enough to overturn our obvious disadvantages," Sherlock stated. "We need to use brains, and every trick in the book to turn the tide in our favor. Also, we have a time limit"

The Gnome sighed before pointing at a location on the map that was marked with a wooden structure.

"The Ammarians are currently in the midst of casting a high level spell that can instantly obliterate our soldiers into meat paste," Sherlock explained. "However, they need exactly a week in order to gather the needed magical energy to unleash their grand magic.

"There is no point in targeting that location because that place is heavily guarded by Rankers. So, our priority is to kill their army's general to lower their morale. Once we have taken their general's head, all of our forces can decimate their army, allowing our own Rankers to engage the Rankers of the opposing side."

Watson then tapped the location of the Main Headquarters of the enemy to show their allies how difficult it was to Assassinate the enemy's general.

"Both sides have sent their best assassins in order to take the life of the commanding general, but it was all in vain," Watson lamented. "I can't count the number of times that I was attacked by Assassins while I was taking a dump. Those dirty bastards, can't they leave me alone when I'm sh*tting?"

Everyone ignored Watson's grumbling and returned their attention on the layout of the map. The battlefield they were fighting on was quite diverse.

There was a plain, a forest, mountainous regions, and even a marshland.

Since it was a large-scale battle, every part of the map could be used to tilt the battle in their favor.

While Lux and his comrades were discussing their strategy with Watson and Sherlock, three wagons arrived at the Main Camp of the Ammarian Kingdom.

"This quest sure is interesting."

"I know right? We are actually being sent to war and our side is the invading party. Feels good."

"I can't wait to go all out tomorrow. According to our quest, the more people we kill, the more Merits we gain."

"Yes. The items we can exchange for those Merit Points are insane! There are even Pseudo-Legendary weapons, artifacts, and armor in the list. The only problem is that I need to kill at least a thousand of them in order to buy one of those items."

Malcolm, the leader of the representatives of the Skystead Alliance, looked in the direction of the Yelan Camp with his arms crossed over his chest.

Right after they chose the Gate of Conquest, they found themselves in one of the border cities of the Ammarian Kingdom. There, they received a quest allowing them to exchange Merit Points for valuable items, and one of those items was a golden key, with a Draconic design on it.

The Merit Points required for it was a whopping One Million Merit Points, and he could only gain that amount once they had cleared the mission with flying colors.

"Everyone, rest properly," Malcolm ordered before turning around to go to the temporary tent that had been made for their arrival. "When morning comes, we will start our conquest of this Dungeon."

""Yes!""

Malcolm and the members of his team were confident of their strength. They believed that as long as they all worked together, the mission they'd been given would be as easy as a walk in the park.

'Just wait for me, Father, Your Majesty,' Malcolm thought as he looked at the map of the battlefield that was given to him by one of the general's aides before they arrived at the main camp.

"I will definitely conquer this Dungeon for our Empire," Malcolm vowed as he placed an "X" mark on the enemy's camp, where Watson, the commanding general of the Yelan Kingdom was stationed.

"I'll show them the might of the Skystead Alliance."