When the fighting was over, Gauss deliberately piled the bodies together and set them alight.
Fire in this world could cleanse most harmful residues. If he left the corpses out in the wild, carrion birds—or other scavengers—might feed on them, and who knew what chain of consequences that could trigger. Better to burn everything clean.
"Fisher is dead, too."
Gauss looked at Luna, who clearly had questions she was holding back, and gave her the answer outright.
Hearing that Fisher was gone, Luna finally let out the breath she'd been holding. Relief softened her face. Even if she hadn't personally avenged Wolf, Fisher hadn't gotten away—and dying at the hands of the very man he'd been scheming against felt like karmic payback.
"Thank you," Luna said, wiping blood from her face as she looked around at the group.
She'd been ready to sacrifice herself to buy time for her people.
She hadn't expected Gauss—someone she barely knew—to shelter her.
"In that moment, you were the one who struck first," she said, "you forced him to reveal what he was."
"You don't need to thank me," Gauss replied, shaking his head. "I did it for self-preservation. That man had bad intentions toward us, too."
"He attacked my teammates first—that's why I moved."
Instead of being disappointed, Luna respected him more.
He was a good leader.
"What are you planning to do next?" Gauss asked.
He glanced toward several figures approaching cautiously—Fisher's elite who had pulled back the instant they saw the corruption spill out. They didn't look like deep conspirators.
At this point, the Fang of the Gray Wolf was gutted at the top: Wolf (a Level 10 warrior) dead; Fisher (the "third-in-command" turned usurper) dead; several master-level captains dead as well. Plenty of mid- and low-tier strength remained, but without high-end anchors, they couldn't hold the same territory without shrinking.
Gauss looked back to Luna.
He'd questioned Fisher while the man was helpless, so he already knew some of the internal details—and he'd developed a favorable impression of Luna's character.
If she wanted to rebuild Fang of the Gray Wolf, Gauss wouldn't mind giving a hand. Once she stabilized, the two groups could even cooperate as friendly neighbors.
Luna's face flickered with uncertainty.
For days she'd lived only on escape and survival—thinking about the next step, not long-term plans. Everything had happened too fast.
She'd thought it would be a normal job: arrive, scout, clear monsters, loot, return, rest, repeat.
Instead, one "ordinary" assignment had flipped an entire adventurer company upside down.
But… maybe that was what adventure really meant.
You never knew what tomorrow would look like.
"I…"
"Think it through," Gauss said, then turned away to speak with his own people.
Luna wrestled with it.
She'd never been the "make the big call" type. She was execution—she'd always been better at following through than choosing directions.
That was why she'd never gone off on her own, even after years in the company. She didn't have Fisher's ambition.
But now, Fang of the Gray Wolf… seemed like it had no one else left who could shoulder it.
And then her eyes drifted to the young, handsome man nearby.
A thought took root and spread like weeds.
She watched how Red Dragon's members clustered around Gauss—checking on him, fussing over him—how even the ordinary members looked at him with sincere respect instead of forced flattery.
Compared to the larger, messier Fang of the Gray Wolf, Red Dragon looked tighter, cleaner, less rotten with intrigue.
And the truth was… this man earned it.
He was strong enough to kill Fisher—even after Fisher had gained power from something vile enough to murder Wolf.
And he cared about his people.
You could see it on their faces: their concern wasn't performative.
"Gauss… I want to join you."
When Luna approached with her trusted few and said it out loud, Gauss genuinely startled.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered the possibility—he'd just dismissed it.
Strictly speaking, this was the first real conversation they'd had. They hadn't spoken for even ten minutes.
Yes, he'd saved her life. But there were other ways to repay that debt.
Joining a company felt… impulsive.
"Are you sure?" Gauss said carefully. "Maybe go back and think on it."
Luna was a Level 9 warlock—an undeniably high-end asset for Red Dragon.
"No," she shook her head, firm. "I've thought it through."
Knowing someone wasn't about time. It was about what you saw when it counted.
She believed Gauss would be a good leader. Something about him—an unspoken pull, a steadiness—made people want to follow.
"If you need it," Luna added, "I can help you filter—pick out—who's actually useful from Fang of the Gray Wolf, and fold them into Red Dragon."
"But I want Wolf's personal property converted into gold and given to his family."
Gauss turned and exchanged looks with Alia and the others.
"Wolf's personal estate should go to his family," he agreed immediately.
"As for everything else… I'll discuss it with my team."
"Okay." Luna nodded obediently, then turned to handle her own people—those Fang of the Gray Wolf members finally approaching in fear and shame, begging forgiveness.
Gauss didn't involve himself in their tearful pleas. That was their internal mess.
He turned back to his group. "What do you think?"
"Luna's a good person," Albena said without hesitation. "When the fight broke out, she jumped in to help."
That mattered. Luna could've run and left them to die. Instead, injured and outnumbered, she chose the battlefield.
"She fought hard, too."
"We really are short on manpower," Steward Ivan added. "If we can absorb some elite members from Fang of the Gray Wolf, our strength could double."
"But… their loyalty needs scrutiny. They did betray their old captain."
"It's not that simple," Gauss said. "Most of them didn't know what was happening. They were obeying orders after the fact. The real culprit is already dead."
He'd confirmed that under hypnosis. If it had been a full-team backstab, he would never accept them—no matter how talented.
And he still had Proof of Leadership. If strangers entered his organization, they'd likely integrate quickly.
Plus, if more members' kills could share into his system—even partially—expanding the company helped him grow faster.
After a final round of discussion, Gauss walked over to Luna.
"Welcome to Red Dragon, Miss Luna."
He extended a hand. She took it.
Absorbing Fang of the Gray Wolf would radically change Red Dragon's scale.
Once Gauss gave the confirmation, Luna's shoulders loosened. She felt oddly safe.
"Then please take care of me, Captain Gauss."
"I'll cleanse the foreign energy in your body first."
…
With Luna leading, Red Dragon soon meet up with Fang of the Gray Wolf's main force.
Under testimony from the few core members who'd "come back to their senses," plus Gauss presenting full recorded proof on a memory-stone, the confused members finally understood.
Fisher had been the traitor.
Some had suspected it already—but Luna had fled, and Fisher's faction had insisted she was the assassin. Ordinary elites, even with doubts, didn't dare speak out. In monster territory, people died "for reasonable reasons" all the time.
When Luna announced she would join Red Dragon, reactions split.
Not everyone's intel was good. Many didn't even know what "Red Dragon" really meant.
Leadership changing from Wolf → Fisher → maybe Luna was one thing; they were familiar names.
But who was this "Red Dragon captain" supposed to be?
Their eyes drifted to the young man stepping forward behind Luna.
"Huh…?"
A lot of resistance died the moment they saw him.
He just looked like a leader.
Someone in the crowd audibly swallowed.
His 16 Charisma and Proof of Leadership weren't decorative.
Many suddenly thought: if this man took Wolf's place… maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
And Luna, who everyone trusted, had chosen him.
That alone was weight.
Under Luna's lead, more and more voices agreed to join Red Dragon.
Of course, willingness wasn't enough—entry required review and assessment. Anyone who failed would be paid out and sent away.
Some chose to leave immediately. Gauss didn't stop them. People had the right to choose.
But if they walked now, they would not be allowed back later.
He hated fence-sitters.
With coordination between Red Dragon's original crew and Luna's loyalists, the "merger" was completed over the next two days.
Red Dragon's strength jumped sharply:
Luna, Level 9 warlock
Ethan, Level 7 rogue
Dante, Level 6 knight
30+ elite members
Ethan and Dante were Luna's true confidants—the ones who'd fled with her.
Anyone who didn't pass the screening, or chose to leave, was escorted out to safer territory. Ethan and Dante handled that as well—headed toward Falrim to secure Fang of the Gray Wolf's old base and assets until Gauss could deal with it properly.
"Next, we continue the commissions," Gauss said.
They'd only finished one of the three contracts so far.
Perfect timing—he could use real operations to weld the new, larger team into something cohesive.
Proof of Leadership would bite hardest in battle. After one or two large-scale sweeps, the unfamiliar recruits would "fall into place."
Because praise meant nothing until you saw it with your own eyes.
Before the column moved out, some of the new members glanced at the massive red dragon nearby and swallowed hard.
…Wait.
So the "Red Dragon Company" actually has a red dragon?!
~~~
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