Is this really a Game?!

Reign's words hung heavy in the air as the leaders of the mercenaries exchanged looks, their expressions tense with uncertainty. It was clear that they were weighing their options carefully, considering the potential risks and benefits of joining forces with Reign and his group.

"That … shouldn't be, our employer, we were all quite certain that the enemy doesn't have that many men, after all, the only way they fight is by spreading that weird energy." One of the people in the tent said as another nodded his head.

"Yes, some of our men fought against them, they aren't that strong, weaker than a person of the same realm, and not as experienced as those of their realm."

"Those would probably be the ones who have gotten empowered by the corruption, they are usually a lower realm than their aura and strength show, and the only reason they are as powerful as they are is because the enemy faction has a way to infuse them with corruption and make them more powerful."

The leaders all glanced at one another with slight apprehension after hearing Reign's words, but it was clear that they were still highly skeptical of them.

"So, you come here, you say all that you said, and you just expect us to believe you?" The man whose aura was previously not felt by Reign, the one that seemed to be the person calling the shots said as Reign sighed and shook his head.

"Of course not, but we are both on the same side, we are both trying to find and destroy the same enemy, there is no reason for us to lie to you, you should already know that by now, not to mention that there are ways to check the validity of my words, the system has made sure of that."

Just as Reign finished speaking, one of the leaders spoke up, his voice still laced with skepticism. "And what guarantee do we have that you won't betray us once we join forces?

"How do we know we can trust you, that you aren't a part of the enemy faction or working with them?"

Reign met the leader's gaze evenly, his expression earnest. "We will all swear an oath and enter an alliance, you all know as well as I do that you cannot easily break an oath or go back on an ally, the repercussions are far too serious for such a thing."

"The same goes for what I just told you, I don't mind swearing an oath that my words are true, after all, there is still more that I haven't told you, and I am sure that there is plenty that you can also share with us."

"Like it's that simple to just swear an oath and enter an alliance, how can we-"

"Enough, we shall do as you have proposed, I sense no malice or hostility from any of you, for me, that is enough to at least give it a try." The main leader of the group spoke, cutting off another one of the leaders who glanced at him with slight worry.

"Are you sure about this, Ivan?"

"Yes, there is no need for any worry, at least not now." The man, whose name was Ivan, said as he rose from the chair, showing his tall height and brawny body.

He was about 2 meters tall and packed with muscles. The armor he wore was a mixture of pelt and metal, and one could see a tattoo, a part of a much larger tattoo that was visible on his neck, as well as two on his face.

One was the number 5, and the other was a small dagger that was placed right next to his right eye.

He had a buzz cut and a thick, long beard that was about 7 centimeters ( almost 3 inches ) long. If one were to see this man on the street, one would definitely feel afraid of him, it wasn't just his look, it was the natural aura around him, one that a regular person didn't have.

Reign nodded at him as all of them started with the oath. They all swore that they would work together to defeat a common enemy, that they would not lie and give correct information to each other, that there would be no betrayal of any sort, and that their intentions were pure.

They then made a temporary alliance, one that would last until the enemy was defeated, and Reign swore another oath shortly after that what he had already told them was all true.

All of the mercenaries present had heavy expressions on their faces as the oaths were made, especially after Reign spoke and told them of the enemy faction's numbers, as well as how powerful they were.

"That damned bastard, he lied to us, he told us that the enemy only had 2 Tier VI combatants, he actually swore an oath on it, how the hell did he manage to do that?!" One of the leaders shouted in anger as he smashed his fist against the table, causing a part to crack.

"Depends on how he swore an oath, if he said that there were only 2 by what they knew, then the oath was valid, he didn't lie, he just didn't know about the rest." Beast quickly said, to which Ivan nodded his head.

"Oaths can be manipulated a bit, if one gave an oath and made sure to add some specifics, even if it seems like they broke it, everything would still be fine for them."

"Yes, oaths have to be carefully constructed and thought out, otherwise you might get tricked by someone without even realizing it." Reign added from the side, to which the mercenary leaders all showed slightly angry expressions at.

"Our employer, as you have probably already guessed, is a leader of a small faction, a small one that is not particularly strong, but quite wealthy and difficult to attack thanks to the terrain, as well as the incredible base they had managed to make for themselves."

"Most of the factions near them are neutral because of how difficult it was to defeat them, and the place their base was at makes it quite lucrative to work with them thanks to not only the monsters but the many minerals, precious gems, magical plants and more that can be found."

"As you already know, the vegetation started dying lately, and there were, at first, sightings of weird hooded people near them, those same sightings soon became fights."

"They can't defend against what is happening, the weird energy the enemy has, the thing that is slowly taking the life force out of the area, is not something that can be easily fought against, so the leader worked together with some other factions and managed to contact a person whose ability allows them to know where somebody was."

"They wished to know where the people who were attacking them were located, and that person obliged, showing them that they were somewhere in this desert, that their base was located here, somewhere in a radius of 3 miles around the camp we set up."

"And yet, we found no trace of a base, we have even started exploring the underground areas that can be found, hoping it would be there, but still nothing."

Reign and the others nodded at them before they started speaking. They hid almost nothing from the mercenaries and told them of the corruption, how it worked, and how the enemy was capable of using it to empower themselves, to take the life force of an area, and that they were capable of creating incredibly powerful monsters called the 'Spawns'.

They told them of the many fake Tier VI combatants the enemy had, as well as how they were incredibly secretive and barely left a trace.

"Yes, we are well aware of that, without that person using his ability, I doubt we would have ever found out that their base was here," Ivan said as Reign nodded before sighing.

"We have been searching for the base as well, but we haven't had any luck, with your help, as well as the fact that the base is somewhere in this place, it will definitely be easier, I'm just afraid that the enemy already knows of this."

"Their base is shielded by many arrays, two of which hid the base from sight and erased any presence it had."

"That might be the reason you hadn't found a thing yet, your men could have even walked past the base without ever noticing it." Reign said, to which Ivan and the others glanced at one another with slight worry.

"For now, we shall assume that the worst did indeed happen and that the enemy faction knows of your existence, that they already know who you are and what you are doing."

"Although I am confused as to why they haven't attacked you yet, we will go with that, and slowly start exploring this area again, trying to find the base."

"The moment we do so, we group together and slowly advance to the base, we have … something planned before the attack."