I Became A Zompirewolf

Ashton wasn't even the leader of the group and yet he was having to behave like one. It almost felt like the rest of them had already forgotten about their duty. Galaxy's deadliest hunters were going crazy looking for them and these fools were enjoying themselves as if they are on a paid vacation.

Thankfully, he was able to knock some sense into them and soon they began to fulfil their duty as they should have from the beginning. A couple of days passed and nothing noteworthy happened on the ship. Which was a bit boring.

Since the captain was helping them so much, Ashton decided to help him out too, but for a price. His job was very simple, all he had to do was train some guards. While there were a few guards stationed here and there, none of them had any real fighting experience.

Since there were some mercenaries present on the ship, the captain asked them if they could teach a few things to the guards. While the rest declined his request saying they had their hands full with protecting the cargo, Ashton and Vimur accepted the request and took turns teaching them a few things. At the same time, Ashton learned a bit from Vimur as well.

Although he had defeated the man once, Ashton was surprised to see how good Vimur was at fighting. Even without having a cheat system and genes as Ashton did, Vimur's fighting technique was more refined than Ashton's. It was something only experience can teach you and not having a bunch of skills served on a platter.

The more they sparred to teach the guard, the more Ashton realised something. Had it not been for his Draconic physique, he would have had a bit more tough time than he did against Vimur. The man was literally half beast and half man, thus his tenacity didn't come off as a surprise.

"Damn... teaching newbies isn't an easy task at all." Vimur complained, "I thought it was a good way to make some quick cash. But I'm not so sure anymore."

"Don't worry, payday is just a day away." Ashton remarked, "We'll reach her planet by tomorrow and we'll flaunt money in the faces of the rest."

"Haha! That's why I like you. Either way, I'll head off to bed. In the meantime, try not to overwork yourself for money."

Ashton nodded and the two went their separate ways.

They had just returned from one of such teaching sessions. Vimur was tired and immediately retired to his room to get some sleep. Meanwhile, Ashton switched with Avvo and Laihud and kept guarding Eula's room.

After seeing his dedication to the mission, the fellow mercenaries couldn't help but get impressed. In the three days they had been on the ship, they hadn't seen Ashton take a break. Not even once.

He was always working. Either it was on guard duty for Eula or working around the ship helping the captain. Also, no one had ever seen him sleep and yet Ashton was working better than most of them.

All of them thought he was dedicated to his job. However, they were wrong. Although Ashton was working to ensure Eula's safety, he wasn't sacrificing his sleep for her. It was for the phantom. He didn't want to risk sleeping and lose him in case he decided to appear. Which led him to worry about something...

Once Ashton was settled in front of Eula's room, he took out a communicator and contacted the Ena-bot in the private ship. It wasn't because he was missing them or something like that, but because the robot had not called in to report as she was supposed to which left a weird taste in Ashton's mouth.

Once again there was nothing. Ashton had reported the abnormality to the Mermen but they didn't seem phased by the situation. According to them, such communication gaps happened all the time in space. However, Ashton's intuition was yelling at him it was something much more than some communication gap.

"The twins didn't want me to, but I think I should report this to the Association just to keep a record-"

Suddenly he felt something coming his way and immediately rushed inside the room.

"Excuse me! I'm getting dressed-" Eula shouted at the top of her lungs, but Ashton cut her off.

"Get your mask, now!" He yelled back while throwing a robe on her, "We have to go."

"What's wrong?" Eula forgot about everything once she saw Ashton's panicked expression and began dressing up.

A moment later, she had her answer. The ship stopped abruptly and came to a halt. Soon the rest of the mercenaries were there as well. Outside, sirens were blaring and everyone was panicking. No one knew what was going on, but considering the alarm went off, it wasn't good news.

"Take care of her," Ashton said and rushed out of the room.

Avvo, Vimur and a few others stayed behind while the rest of them rushed behind him. A moment later, Ashton received a call from the captain and things were not looking good.

"What's wrong?"

"The Ship's lower deck has been breached." The captain calmly responded, "If that wasn't enough... we have been surrounded by two ships. One is right in front of us and the other one is directly below. I'm not sure, but I believe intruders have already boarded the ship from the lower deck."

"Damn it. Can you lock them out?" Tolgoi, the second tank of the team asked.

"I already did. But since the ship is just a commercial one, I'm afraid the locked doors would hold out against the invaders." The captain replied, "The guards are already on their way to check things out, but I wanted some of you to accompany them... just in case."

"We're on it. In the meantime, please inform the guests to stay inside their rooms." Ashton said, "Travelling around the corridors is dangerous at this time. If we find them loitering around, they might get injured by friendly fire. As we don't know who raided the ship, we'll have to view everyone suspiciously."

"Got it." The captain replied before disconnecting the call.

Ashton then called the strategists. Gathering information and coordination between the mercenaries was crucial at this time. While Ashton did get the information he was looking for, he also got to know something that immediately made him curse out loud.

Just as Ashton had predicted, his bait was successful and the private ship was able to lure the terrorists. But what he hadn't predicted was that the consorts were pathetic, weak-willed bastards.

Their ship was invaded and as soon as it was confirmed they lost the battle the bastards gave up everything they knew to the terrorists. How did Qamnol and Kargon know this was a bit suspicious, considering they had told Ashton just a couple of hours ago that they have had no contact with the other ship?

The more Ashton thought about it, the more suspicious their alibi got. For starters, the consorts had to be under Eula's influence and since he had gone through pretty much the same thing when Anna first became a succubus, he knew betraying their mistress wasn't something the consorts would be able to do.

This meant one of two things. Either Qamnol and Kargon were hiding something from him or there was a traitor on the other ship. Qamnol and Kargon were both chosen for the job by Mazton so it was unlikely they would betray the association.

'Now is not the time to think who betrayed whom. We have to get rid of the invaders first.'

[So what are you waiting for?]

'I don't know the way...'

[...then fucking ask someone already!]

'Right.'

Ashton grabbed one of the bartenders who was on her way to escape to her room. She vaguely pointed in the direction of the service elevator that would take them to the lower deck before running off.

The five of them rushed down and were immediately greeted by a series of locked doors. However, there was no sign of the guards that the Captain had mentioned.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tolgoi quietly mumbled.

Ashton immediately used [Perception] to scan the surroundings, but he didn't find anything noteworthy down there.

"Everyone, upstairs now!" he instructed the mercenaries but before they could do anything, the elevator crashed.  Someone had deliberately trapped them down, "Damn it!"

Although there were five mercenaries and five bodyguards with Eula, Ashton had a feeling they wouldn't be enough. At this moment, Ashton had no doubt in his mind. There was a traitor in their midst. Someone who had managed to fool not only them but the entire mercenary association.

"How do we get back up there?" Tolgoi panicked, "There's nothing we can use to climb up either..."

"Listen up. You guys, blow this door up and keep pushing through and see if you can find the guards or not. If you can't, then claw your way out if necessary." Ashton instructed them.

"And what will you do?"

"I'm gonna fly up."  As soon as he said that, gigantic wings sprouted from his back, surprising everyone there, "I'll hand the problems on top, you guys take care of the shit here."