Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1185 1167. Predator Dwarf

In fact, the rendezvous point established by Duke Heward outside the Pontal Valley is quite easy to identify.

Under the dark night sky, only a few roars of beasts or monsters could be heard from the Pontar River and the mountains on both sides. This shows that the influence of the thing that caused the mutation and the 'white mist' It hasn’t really spread here yet.

At least for now.

Amidst the sound of the rolling river rapids, there is a gentle slope on the south bank of the Pontal River adjacent to the foothills of the Mahakam Mountains.

There were noisy people, the sound of livestock burying their mouths in the trough, and the crackling of firewood. It was lively and noisy.

It was only when the river barge docked at a makeshift ferry near the camp that it caught the attention of a guard.

"You are late, you are late! I was scolded for a whole hour!"

The guard held a torch and directed the barge to dock.

The captain on the ship also yelled and cursed at each other a few times. In the words of 'greeting' to each other's family, they clearly explained what happened at the ferry that was attacked before.

It is equivalent to clarifying where the time they spent when they were late was used.

The appearance of the term Scoia'tael undoubtedly aroused another round of abuse.

But no one was surprised. This only shows that these inhuman race guerrillas have indeed done a lot of things in this area.

The captain's negotiation with the ferry manager was their business. For the mercenaries and soldiers on the ship, they had nothing to do with the captain at this point.

So a group of people each took away their luggage and their horses from the center of the deck. Of course, there were some who took advantage of the situation and fished in troubled waters.

But this group of people at least had the courage of their combat professions. Even in the chaos, it only took half an hour for them all to get off the ship.

"But they don't seem to know you're coming, my lord."

Among the people who were moving things under the boat and leading horses, Lincoln said behind Lan En.

The young clerk, like his lord, was in no hurry to go under the boat.

He leaned on the railing on the side of the barge and looked down.

There was no welcome guard downstairs, and no one even came to ask questions.

Although Duke Seeward's stance on demon hunters and non-human races was well known, the etiquette required to receive a duke recognized by law was indispensable.

For aristocrats, especially old-school aristocrats, poor etiquette means being shameless.

"Do you need me to communicate?"

Lincoln asked, turning to his side.

"No need." Lan En shook his head, "Foltest didn't tell him that I was invited. It's interesting. This should also make it easier for me to move."

Lincoln knew his master, so he didn't refute, he just continued.

"Then I will put our flags away and we will make ourselves less visible."

Lane determined the direction of action, and Lincoln prepared on this basis. This is already a familiar cooperation mode between them.

Finally, when the crowd was no longer so crowded, Lan En and the others also stepped off the barge.

Most of the mercenaries who disembarked in front lit torches to illuminate the uneven ground.

The torches were connected into a long dragon, extending all the way to the camp not far away.

——

"So say"

The speaker was the eldest of the Marauders, named Buchter. His arms were as strong as tree roots, and his exposed skin was covered with large tattoos.

"Everyone, are you the last group of people invited by Prince Seeward? Okay, although so many people are just to clean up some monsters in the river valley, it's a bit fussy, but we ordinary people are not qualified to say anything to the princes and nobles. Tao Si."

"Come on, madam, sit down and let us all warm up over the fire. We all rely on knives to eat, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about, right?"

There are many bonfires in this camp to resist the cold mountain air on spring nights.

Of course, this is how rough guys are treated. Like knights or nobles, they have spacious and comfortable tents.

Lan En was originally sitting next to Bucht, and then saw him familiarly calling Sakia and several other mercenaries to the bonfire.

Of course, this tough-looking man actually has a delicate mind.

"You just met with the prince." Buchter brushed his mohawked hair to one side. "What did he say to you?"

"He didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't see us." Sakia sat down by the fire. "He was working on a roast chicken in the tent. The one who talked to us was an entourage knight, what's his name?"

"Thales," added Yarpen Ziegelin, a short, fat, bearded dwarf with the same hairstyle as Buchter.

"Scar on the face, scarlet cloak, and a white rose emblem on the left shoulder, right?"

The dwarf smiled uglyly, while his thick, dusty neck turned red in the firelight.

"It's a good thing you don't have an inhuman race among you, otherwise the knight would tell you how vicious words can be. Fortunately, it was of no use to me. I have seen the world, so even at that time, I wanted to kick his calf to the bone. Come on, I can't help it either."

Buchter nodded.

"Listening to what you are saying, it seems that this Knight of Thales has no other abilities. He can only shout and drink, and then use the teachings of eternal fire to attack others."

After saying that, Buchter patted Lan En's arm next to him.

"Okay, Nischuka. Go and cover the pile of firewood with canvas. I think it will rain in the mountains tonight."

Lan En tilted his head: "I'm not the Nischuka you mentioned, man."

Bucht was obviously stunned.

"Yes, I am Nischuka."

A tall figure wearing a hooded cloak came over with a piece of canvas and covered the firewood with it.

As the boss of the small organization of the plunderers, Bucht rubbed his forehead.

"I saw a ghost. Why did you have to buy this broken cloak? Sorry, I recognized the wrong person, my friend."

Lan En nodded amiably: "It doesn't matter. But you also know that not everyone is like you, looking tall and fierce. I have to add a little deterrence to myself."

As he said, Lan En raised his hand in front of the fire, and made a tiny gap between his two fingers to indicate the "a little" in his words.

Bucht nodded with a little complacency.

After finishing his work, Nischuka also sat down by the fire: "This cloak can make the enemy unable to distinguish the attack position when fighting, which is a great advantage. Otherwise, why would I buy it?"

"And then again, I always feel that this scene is too big? Everyone is attracted by the bounty of Xiward. This is not like an expedition, but more like suicide. I don't want to fight in a crowd."

"Calm down," Buchte comforted his partner, "It's just that there are many people. We have hunted dragons many times before, and it's always like this, isn't it."

"A large number of people are watching, just like a market or a mobile brothel. But once the fight starts, who will be left? Only us, the real warriors."

Speaking of "hunting dragons", I don't know if it's an illusion, Sakia frowned, and her eyes briefly brightened in the firelight.

Only Lan En noticed it.

"Yes, the current situation is not worth worrying about, except for one thing." Yarpan Zigrin grabbed a narrow-necked wine bottle wrapped in wicker and took a sip.

As he spoke, both the plunderer team and the dwarf team led by Yarpen Zigrin fell silent.

Apparently, what he was about to say was also of concern to most people.

"What exactly are we fighting against? Does anyone know? Even a little bit?"

"Let me make it clear in advance that my brothers and I are never afraid of fighting. After all, many monsters have died at the hands of our group, including real dragons."

"Plunderers, you know. After all, we had some business frictions before. For the hunting rights of a dragon."

Bucht took Yarpen's bottle and drank a sip.

"Yes, we testify that it is true."

"But fighting bravely does not mean being brainless." Yarpen wiped his side-parted Mohawk hairstyle to make his hair more shiny.

"We should have a countermeasure for each enemy. If it's a monster, then we can catch it easily. But if it's the Scoia'tael as the rumors say, "

"Intelligent creatures are different from monsters, everyone. They can deceive, disguise, ambush, lure, and raid. How can we deal with monsters with no brains and only stupid muscles? They can do anything to us!"

"That's not all." Another member of the predator team, the youngest one, looked straight at Yarpan. "The danger is far more than that."

Yarpan Sieglin was silent.

The atmosphere around the fire was silent.

Only a dwarf next to him, a dwarf with a face full of flesh and a short cockscomb hairstyle, spoke.

"What do you mean, huh?"

"It means that we have recruited a lot of people here, including non-human races, such as you." The youngest predator said without concealment.

"How can we be sure that if we are dealing with the Scoia'tael, no one in this camp will be instigated by them? Or to put it in a positive way, you are trustworthy, but what if you are too soft-handed when you chop your fellow countrymen with your axes?"

"I really am..."

The dwarf was furious and wanted to argue, but was stopped by Yarpan.

"Okay, Zoltan! There is no point in arguing. How many times have I told you? If you come out with me to learn how to make money, you must first learn how I deal with people! If you make a fool of yourself again, I will not give you face!"

After suppressing the dwarf beside him, Yarpan, as the leader, looked at the plunderer and others seriously.

"I solemnly declare that we are not the same as the Scoia'tael."

"I have accepted the employment of Heward. As long as he pays according to the rules, we will work for him according to the rules. I will never refuse and never say anything."

There was a silence. Not only the humans were silent, but even the dwarves around Yarpan opened their mouths hesitantly, but in the end they said nothing and could only look down at the fire dejectedly.

"Let's put it this way first." Buchte took off his studded throat guard and scratched his bull-like neck. "Maybe Prince Heward came here for the monster?"