Aske was led out of the field and saw the recruitment officer, old Pablo, once again.

"Injured Madman Barrow?" Having heard the description of what had just occurred during the assessment, old Pablo stood up in shock, his expression a mix of annoyance and surprise.

His annoyance stemmed from the fact that Madman Barrow dared to disrespect him by boldly declaring he would attack this newcomer. It seemed the Royal Faction was truly ready to burn bridges with his side.

The surprise, of course, came from the fact that this newcomer had not only survived but had also inadvertently eliminated Madman Barrow, who had intended to establish his authority through him, thereby dealing a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Royal Faction.

With this, Ferdinand's side would certainly not let him off, and whether his own superiors would protect him depended largely on how he reported this situation to them.

After reorganizing his thoughts, old Pablo sat back down and pointed to a chair beside him:

"Sit."

Aske sat down on the chair, while old Pablo calmly looked towards the patrol squad and asked,

"Do you have anything else?"

"No, no," the patrol squad quickly replied.

Since old Pablo intended to protect this newcomer, the others didn't need to worry too much. In other words, if even old Pablo couldn't protect him, then there was nothing they could do either.

So, the crowd dispersed with glum expressions.

Old Pablo took out some paper and pen, ready to record, and looked seriously at Aske as he asked in a low voice,

"Speak."

"Speak about what?" Aske asked, puzzled.

"Why did you injure Madman Barrow?" old Pablo paused for a moment before continuing, "With the true strength you've displayed... you must be a Transcendent who has completed the Bloodline Path, right?"

"Yes." Aske admitted openly, "As for why I injured him, wasn't it part of your close combat assessment phase?"

Old Pablo was momentarily at a loss for words. True, our assessment includes close combat tests, but it's always the examiners who accidentally injure or even kill the newcomers, not the other way around! You, a level 10+ senior Transcendent, pretending to be a new recruit!

"That's how I understand it," old Pablo tried to put pressure on him, his expression turning stern and cold, "You deliberately concealed your strength, making Madman Barrow underestimate you and then struck him down with the force of thunder, right?"

"Wrong." Aske shook his head, "I didn't intentionally conceal my strength."

"If you didn't conceal your strength, then why would Madman Barrow misjudge?" old Pablo raised his tone and volume, "And you also didn't disclose your level to your peers, isn't that a senior Transcendent pretending to be an ordinary person by concealing your strength?"

"My level, you never asked," Aske said, exasperated, "Also, I had confirmed it with your people, and they all said it was fine."

"Who said it was fine?" old Pablo pressed on, then realizing that this newcomer probably didn't know the names of those patrol members, he switched his question, "What exactly did they say to you?"

"I asked them if the tests conducted by your Bull Mercenary Group were always this reckless? Even the assessment phase could result in accidental killings?" Aske recounted the previous conversation, "Then your people said..."

"What did they say?"

"They said that Madman Barrow is a Transcendent and also an elite member of your Aragon Assault Squad." Aske stated calmly, "Isn't that basically telling me to go ahead and fight as I wish?"

"Wait a moment," old Pablo raised his palm, interrupting him, and then stood up.

This matter seems a bit messy...

After pacing around the room a few times and recalling the descriptions given by the patrol members several times, old Pablo finally straightened out the logic:

At first, Madman Barro, ignoring his own "greeting," showed intense killing intent towards this newcomer, even directly hinting that he would "accidentally" kill him.

Then the newcomer asked why it was possible for an "accident" to occur during the evaluation.

The patrol members responded that it was because Madman Barro was a Transcendent, an elite member of the Aragon Assault Corps.

Alright, if this were a genuine newcomer, his question about the "accident" would naturally stem from fear of the other's death threat.

And the patrol member's tactful hint meant, "Your statuses are unequal, he really will kill you," "So you better give up this evaluation as soon as possible; your life is the priority."

However, this "Eastern Mercenary" named "Aske" was actually a professional mercenary of Level 10 or above, so his question about the "accident" was simply, "Ah, so accidents can still happen? Is that okay?"

Then the patrol member's response fell on his ears and was interpreted as, "No problem, he's also a Transcendent, and even an elite, so you can rest assured and fight him"...

What the hell is this! Why are both sides not on the same channel but still able to communicate smoothly and interpret each other's words into entirely different meanings?

Having cleared up the ins and outs of the matter, old Pablo sat down again with a somewhat rueful smile and explained to Aske:

"You, well... Lord Aske, right? Do you realize you've gotten into big trouble?"

"What trouble?" Aske asked with a smile.

"Madman Barrow has backers," old Pablo pointed at the ceiling, "You've hurt their people, they definitely won't let it go easily."

"But I'm not a member of your Bull Mercenary Group," Aske said calmly, "Can your internal strife really involve an outsider like me?"

"Firstly, if you pass the evaluation, you'll be a temporary collaborator hired by our Bull Mercenary Group," old Pablo said in a lowered voice, "Once on the battlefield, we'll assign you tasks. What if someone gives you false intelligence, tricking you into infiltrating deep into enemy lines, telling you it's just a routine infiltration mission? What will you do then?"

This old man really dares to say it... Aske was somewhat speechless and chuckled:

"The Bull Mercenary Group is also one of Iberia's top Large Mercenary Groups, would they really engage in such despicable acts?"

"Professional mercenaries, of course, disdain such acts," old Pablo scoffed, "However, some top leaders aren't from a mercenary background, are they!"

"Are you referring to the high-level you mentioned, isn't he the Prince Ferdinand of Aragon-Castilia Kingdom, the current vice squad leader of your group?" Aske suddenly said.

Old Pablo's body shook violently at these words, almost choking on his own saliva. How could it be, has the internal strife among the high ranks of our Bull Mercenary Group heated up to this extent? Now even external mercenaries know all the details?

"Cough," he struggled to select his words, gently explaining, "After all, our Bull Mercenary Group is a large mercenary group with a certain scale. The King of course wouldn't miss the chance to plant his influence inside."

"Exactly at the time of this undead invasion from the north, so the King plans to incorporate your mercenary group to enhance the kingdom's military strength," Aske added.

"Large mercenary groups usually encounter such matters," old Pablo vaguely defended, "Look at the Golden Sparrow Mercenary Group, originally called 'Brave Mercenary Group,' wasn't it also incorporated by the Anjou Dynasty? Actually, we are still considered lucky, maintaining at least the minimum independence and autonomy..."

"Independence and autonomy to the point you even can't protect your recruits?" Aske asked curiously.

Old Pablo: ...…

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