Conan the Mercenary is a Conan novel by Andrew J. Offutt illustrated by Esteban Maroto and first published by Ace Books in 1981. It is the second installment in a linked trilogy of novels by Offutt featuring Conan, part one being Conan and the Sorcerer and part three being Conan: the Sword of Skelos. Despite being the second book in the trilogy, ...Mercenary was published last; ...Sorcerer debuted in 1978 and ...Sword of Skelos in 1979.