Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 793: The Spanish tercio
What at first sight appeared to be a single large group of hunters was actually three different hunting parties, though the sniper who fired at Uriel was evidently commanding them all. Shooting at such a distance was already a huge feat, but doing so on horseback made it almost unbelievable. However, the most intriguing part was that the man who performed the feat was an old man, probably on his sixties, with a long mustache that crept down his cheeks almost to his chin and a goatee. His white hairs were well maintained despite the hardships of the wilderness which could mean that he either took very good care of it or had only just started his trip.
The man in charge of one of the hunting parties unmounted his horse and walked casually towards Uriel while extending his hand, which Uriel promptly attempted to shake as a greeting.
"I'm asking to see your tickets, you moron." The man scoffed after retracting his hands.
"Our tickets? We don't have them." Uriel said, then lifted his hands up in the air while quickly assessing the power of his enemies. The only reason why he decided to yield was because he knew that from such a distance he was nothing but a sitting duck, now they were in range though, he knew he would be able to at least take down a handful of hunters with him if it was needed.
While Uriel took his time inspecting his enemies, he noticed an oddity that immediately called for his attention. Each unit was geared with different weapons and armors. The first unit was comprised of people with pikes and pistols, the second was assault rifles only and the third swords and snipers.
"It's obvious from your appearance that you are foreigners, but poaching is highly illegal. We will take all of your flux orbs and arrest you until we return to the city."
"Hang on, we're not poachers, we're not even hunting. The trip from Cordoba was pretty safe, we didn't encounter a single beast level cryptid on the way!"
"And why the hell do you think that is? Huh?" The man scoffed, but didn't wait for an answer. "if you're not hunting, then what the hell are you doing here?" This time it was the boss the one who asked that question, though he remained mounted and at a distance from Uriel.
"Well, I'm an archaeologist." Uriel shrugged.
"That's interesting, do you have any proof?"
"I can't produce my degree if that's what you're asking, but the fact that I know that you are reenacting the Spanish Tercio should do." Uriel's answer caused several murmurs along the hunters and the strict expression on the boss' face shifted into a benevolent one.
"An archaeologist! A real archaeologist! This must be fate, please do tell us all you know about the Tercios." The boss said.
"Despite what most people would think, Spain is the father of modern warfare. Firearms had already existed for a while, but Spain was the first to put musketeers, arquebusiers and pikemen together. Each of those units had their own advantages and disadvantages in battle, but when put together they each made up for the others shortcomings. For instance, musketeers were able to fire at a great distance, pretty much like snipers, but were open to fast moving opponents such as cavalry. Pikemen were perfect counters for cavalry which is why they were used to protect them which allowed the arquebusiers to shred through the enemy front line with rapid fire, well for the era at least." Uriel explanation was well received and the boss quickly unmounted and approached Uriel, this time extending his hand for a handshake.
"My name is Alonso Quijano, it would be my honor to call you my friend from now on." He said in such a solemn tone that prompted Uriel to check his system app to see if the 'friend count' had been increased. Much to his surprise, it actually did which meant he was now ten percent stronger than he was not a few seconds ago.
"Likewise, may our friendship last forever." Uriel nodded with a relieved grin.
For one, he knew that fighting so many hunters even to the top of his flux energy was unlikely to end well for him, but they also had a few doctors that were happy to help both Luna and Nika. As usual, a moment of confusion and even a bit of fright followed after Nika crept out of Uriel's shadow.
"If that is your trait I'd happily change mine and an arm for yours." The leader of the pikemen, the same man who asked for Uriel's ticket, said.
"She's got cake." The leader of the assault rifles said and others agreed with nods and murmurs in Spanish.
"Please, you're making me blush guys. Also, I speak Spanish so..." Nika chuckled.
While the doctors treated Nika, Alonso decided it was a good time to explain what they were doing in the open to gauge his interest in joining them.
"We as the Tercio have the task to roam the wilds to keep them safe for travelers. We also scout different POIs to let the army know when they need a culling. This allows hunters to perform better in their incursions."
"So, you're like the rangers of this place." Uriel said as he showed the Ranger badge he always carried in his pocket. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"You're a ranger too! Then I think you will be more than interested in our current mission." Alonso said.
"Well, I am a trained ranger, but a lot of things happened and..." Uriel attempted to speak but the man cut him short.
"Once a ranger, always a ranger. Besides, we're currently on a private endeavor. We were hired by the city to investigate a POI that's been causing trouble, there are so many reports about the place but whenever the army investigates there's nothing there. Today, we are set to exploring that POI and of course, salvaging whatever we may find along the way for profit."
"Rangers salvaging? That's unusual." Uriel pondered.
"It is not in these lands, actually. There are few private hunters anyway, most companies turn to dungeons nowadays," Alonso said, keeping a sharp gaze on Uriel and noticing he didn't seem surprised. "you do know about dungeons..."
"A little." Uriel chuckled.
"You see, that is precisely why I want you to come with. We believe that the reason behind the strange reports that can't be confirmed is because there is a dungeon in the vicinity." Alonso said.
"That would certainly make sense. Dungeons are quite unpredictable, unless you've found the word CROATOAN written around the place. That would mean..."
"A dungeon break." Alonso cut Uriel short.
"Is that common knowledge now?" Uriel lifted a disbelieving eyebrow, but found no answer, only a formal invitation to participate in the form of a check with one more zero than Uriel expected.
Had it been his past self, he would have certainly agreed on the spot, but now he was more mature he knew that only what remained in writing was of any value which is why he asked for a sheet of paper and wrote a contract.
It was his standard contract, the same one he used with Lister, in which both parties agreed to work as equal partners and compensating each other in a proportionate way depending on their contribution. He then handed the fountain pen he liberated from Hollywood's governor to Alonso who proceeded to carefully read the contract.
"One must be much more wary of the pen and paper than of the gun and knife these days. A knife could end a life, but a mere sheet of paper can condemn an entire country," Alonso wisely stated before signing it, then he offered Uriel a horse by handing him the reins. "you can ride her for as long as our trip last. May she serve you better than she did her last master."
Although Uriel had his own mount, he still accepted the horse they were lending to him since it would allow him to keep the cryptid nature of his mount a secret and save him some flux energy at the same time. Still, he remained puzzled by Alonso's words until he realized the horse refused to obey and the only reason it kept going along with the group was because it was tethered by the saddle to another horse.
Luna was already being taken care of, though there wasn't much they could do for her other than replenish her fluids with an IV line and let her rest while sharing a mount with one of the female doctors.
And so, they set their way following the river which eventually led to what used to be a small town named 'Villanueva de los infantes', commonly referred to as just 'Infantes'. However, the mention of this place was not common at all, except when someone brought up how its entire population seemingly vanished overnight and all the hunting parties sent to investigate had gone missing.
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