Ch.576Icarus, Becoming a Real Mercenary (3)

Of course, finding that “new agency to serve as an intermediary” wasn’t my job.

I mean, why would someone as clueless as me handle that directly?

Besides, unlike my completely ignorant self, there was an expert in this field right beside me.

—————————————-

<Icarus-Tsumelingweise Chat Room>

-[So find me a victory agency]

-[“It’s ‘please find me.'”](Icarus)

-[ARRRRGHHH](Tsumelingweise)

—————————————-

As a result of our highly intelligent Tsumelingweise’s thorough networking…

—————————————-

<Icarus-Weathering Chat Room>

-[hi](Weathering)

-[hi]

-[I’m counting on you](Icarus)

-[don’t worry](Weathering)

—————————————-

I decided to accept the Magellan Clan’s mercenary request with a fairly well-regarded mercenary agency at my side, feeling quite good about it.

==========

Anyway, perhaps because I formally accepted the request with an agency involved.

The Magellan Clan, led by Thinking Bell, started providing much more detailed information about the request than before.

Cutting through all the miscellaneous talk and getting to the main point, it was as follows:

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<Icarus-Thinking Bell Chat Room>

-[Since you’ve accepted the request, I’ll tell you exactly what’s happening]

-[We’ve confirmed there are people in one of our subordinate clans trying to cause discord after being paid by another clan]

-[While there hasn’t been any direct conflict yet, that’s not the real issue]

-[The clan we need to deal with is relatively small in size, but the problem is they have cleverly established internal network connections with us and other clans]

-[If we try to handle it directly, they’ll likely notice and flee](Thinking Bell)

-[Ah, so that’s why you’re using me and other mercenary users?](Icarus)

-[yep](Thinking Bell)

—————————————-

“It’s just as I heard initially, they’re using us because they can’t take action directly themselves.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

—————————————-

<Icarus-Thinking Bell Chat Room>

-[While we respond to keep the target clan’s connections from acting recklessly, you just need to crush the target](Thinking Bell)

-[But from what I’m hearing, it sounds like you want me to handle this alone]

-[How big are they that you think that’s possible?](Icarus)

-[Just the right size for you to handle alone, a little over 2,000 members]

-[You deployed 1 million ships with your unlimited mercenary corps last time, so our clan judged that would be sufficient to handle them]

-[If necessary, we can deploy other users as mercenaries too, but that would significantly reduce your compensation](Thinking Bell)

-[Hmm ok](Icarus)

—————————————-

After learning about the size of the clan I needed to face and confirming it was a force I could handle sufficiently,

I decided to proceed with the official request, but only after verifying multiple times that there were no issues with the mercenary mission.

==========

Meanwhile, at the same time.

The “May” Clan, one of the Xenovia Empire-Magellan Clan’s subordinate clans that had been targeted for Icarus’s mission, was spending what seemed like an ordinary peaceful day.

Or more precisely, rather than truly “peaceful,” the atmosphere was more reminiscent of the calm before a storm.

—————————————-

<May Clan Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Stop This Madness>

-[At this rate, that Monalisa person might really fucking clash with them]

-[Us?]

-[No, another clan, you idiot…]

-[There’ve been rumors about hiring mercenaries lately, so maybe they’re preparing for war more intensely than we expected!]

-[Damn, we’re screwed]

-[Even with Humanity’s help, aren’t we just becoming meat shields against Justice and the monster forces at this rate?]

-[The clan leader has been a bit off for a while, and now they’ve just gone full fanboy;;]

-[Oh fuck;;;]

—————————————-

Surprisingly, the conversation in the May Clan’s official chat wasn’t about them rebelling against the Magellan Clan as a subordinate force.

Instead, it was about their grand pacifist intention to prevent the outbreak of a large-scale war involving Magellan, Humanity, and Justice.

—————————————-

<May Clan Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Stop This Madness>

-[Mobilize all your connections to Magellan Clan executives]

-[We need to avoid all-out war with Justice or the monster forces at all costs]

-[We’ve barely managed to create connections between the two forces and profit from it]

-[This is bullshit]

-[Why are they suddenly talking about invasion and stuff?]

-[No idea]

-[Anyway, we need to stop the war by any means necessary, whether with gold, resources, or even by offering Superhumans]

-[If we mess this up, we’re all done for]

-[Humanity has filled Monalisa and the executives with their bullshit]

-[Damn, can’t be helped though]

—————————————-

That’s right.

Surprisingly and amazingly, the May Clan wasn’t rebelling against their superior Magellan Clan.

As it turned out, they were trying to prevent the Magellan Clan and its subordinate clans from declaring war against the Justice Clan and monster forces according to Humanity’s intentions.

Of course, the May Clan wasn’t a group of saints, and they had their reasons for wanting to prevent the war:

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<May Clan Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Stop This Madness>

-[Damn, relations between Justice and Magellan just normalized and we’re finally living well]

-[I just started getting gold commissions to decorate my base]

-[I started my starship sales business less than a year ago, can’t let it end like this]

—————————————-

As Thinking Bell told Icarus, there was a reason why the May Clan had “connections” everywhere.

After all, while they were technically a subordinate force of the Magellan Clan,

They were fundamentally a merchant-oriented group practicing the “let’s do business and make a living” philosophy by exploiting the subtle relationship between the Magellan Clan and Justice Clan.

And apart from these mercantile reasons, there was one more reason why the May Clan opposed war between Magellan and Justice:

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<May Clan Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Stop This Madness>

-[Isn’t Humanity exploiting the Magellan Clan too much?]

-[Are we their slaves?!]

-[Monalisa is being led around too much]

-[How do you think the other side sees us at this point?]

-[Agreed]

-[Strongly agreed]

-[For real]

—————————————-

To put it simply, it was about Humanity and its forces—which had completely absorbed the Earth Federation—trying to use the Xenovia Empire users as pawns.

And the “resentment” that arose from this was precisely the reason.

That’s why our May Clan, though relatively small among “medium-large” clans with about 2,000 members,

Was mobilizing all the connections they had built through their merchant activities to somehow stop Humanity and the Magellan Clan being manipulated by them.

But the Magellan Clan leadership was giving the May Clan truly devastating responses.

In the midst of this chaotic situation, while they were making effoooorts to maintain peace (and the business opportunities it brought)…

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<May Clan Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Stop This Madness>

-[Wait fuck we’re screwed]

-[?]

-[Icarus is invading us!]

-[What the fuck is happening suddenly]

—————————————-

When the unlimited mercenary corps of Icarus, known as the Overlord of the Central Zone, launched a full-scale invasion, they could only express their bewilderment.