Crown of Chaos

Ferrara's group was poorly formed.

Sixteen warriors, a barbarian, and a rogue.

Most of the whole group are so-called "war cocks".

What is a warrior?

Those who wear heavy armor and use shields to block enemy spears are warriors.

Wearing light leather armor, using a long bow and a short knife, the person responsible for shooting arrows from behind is the warrior.

The dwarf, who holds two axes and rushes back and forth among the orcs, shouting the name of his ancestors, is a warrior.

Manipulating a pair of swords and daggers, he dances among the enemies like an elf swimming in the tide. He is a warrior.

Those who skillfully use darts and hooks in the arena are warriors, and those who use javelins and nets to catch prey in the wild are warriors.

This is the most common and humble profession in the entire country.

According to Candlekeep's authoritative data, perhaps two-thirds of the adventurers in the north of the country are warriors.

There were too many warriors, and these adventurers were described in a not-so-nice way as living animals.

It is true that there are some outstanding warriors.

The most outstanding recent one, the former King Asan IV of Cormyr who died with the ancient red dragon in the Goblin War, is a legendary warrior.

The elite knights who defended the country, the noble lords who fought in the north and south, the royal guards, and the city guardians were all warriors, but their proportion was extremely small.

Most warriors are village guards, ordinary poor adventurers, bandits, mercenaries, travelers, traders, hunters, yeoman farmers or sharecroppers, craftsmen, and craftsmen.

This is a very mean profession.

It is not easy for spellcasters like Aaron and Eleanor to go to the Adventurer's Guild to take on a mission. Unless there is really no shortage of people in any adventure team, they will be welcomed with open arms.

And warriors? Wait! There are 810 people waiting in line in front of you.

So why are warriors so mean?

Because the functionality of warriors is too single.

"Apprentice Mage: disguise, protection, damage, path opening, decryption.

Apprentice Warrior: Kill people.

Elite Mage: Master more spells to solve various problems in travel adventures, and begin to have hard control and powerful AOE magic. The fireball spell is simple, crude and brainless.

Elite Warrior: Cut people hard.

Master Mage: Magic can cover most of the needs in adventures, including resurrecting the dead, summoning upper-level creatures to assist in battle, long-distance support, and creating a space directly out of thin air for rest and avoidance.

Master Warrior: Kill people more ferociously.

Legendary Mage: Move mountains and reclaim seas, build an empire, create your own plane, and dominate a world.

Legendary Warrior: Super invincible, powerful and domineering, killing people with unparalleled power. "

————National Joke

Of course, this joke is quite extreme. Although the function of a warrior is relatively simple, it is not so simple as to be stupid. This is just a metaphor to describe how few things a warrior can do in an adventure.

Moreover, warriors are one of the very few major professions that cannot extend their lifespan through professional abilities.

Legendary mages, warlocks, and druids can all live a long, long time.

Legendary Paladin Monk Priest Warlock Bard There are also many ways to extend your lifespan.

Legendary barbarian rangers can extend their lives by entering the original path and integrating the power of the wilderness.

Only legendary warriors and rogues have a harder time. Without external help, they basically cannot live beyond the human lifespan limit of 120 years old. Most legendary warriors reach the end of their lives at the age of 100.

This is really a profession that feeds off youth.

Because of this, Aaron planned to ask for advice.

Ferrara, an elite warrior who can survive as a mercenary until now, must have his own unique understanding.

It never hurts to learn more.

Just like that, at noon, after walking for three hours, a group of people found a place to rest on the roadside. Montero called on the mercenaries to gather around, and they took out the still warm food they bought from the Kalan Hotel. Food, watch Ferrara and Aaron’s explanation.

The two men each held a sword, but the difference was that one of Aaron's hands was free, while Ferrara's other hand held a shield.

"In battle, Lord Viscount, you must always pay attention to your weak side, which is the side without a shield."

Ferrara stood still and demonstrated to Aaron: "Generally, we think that the side holding the weapon is the strong side, and the side holding the shield is the weak side. The strong side is often the main attacking side, and also The side that’s focused on, so the weak side is often the side that’s easily breached.”

"Yeah." Aaron recalled the instructions from his father and the Purple Dragon Knights, and followed Ferrara's movements: "Mr. Ferrara, I can't hold the shield with this hand, I need to cast a spell."

"Then the Viscount can use the weak side as a trap to lure the opponent to attack." Ferrara waved the sword in his hand and used standard warrior steps: "Sir Viscount, you look like a Purple Dragon Knight, so most of the enemies are By subconsciously recognizing you as a melee combatant, you can often catch them off guard.”

"Children of nobles who prefer to wield one-handed swords without using shields are ready-made fat in the eyes of adventurers."

"In combat, blocking is not a good idea, dodge is, and when forced to block, your arms and wrists must have enough space and strength."

"Use your shield with caution."

"Unless you are sure of hitting the target, you should never use a lot of force when drawing a sword. Firstly, it will expose a huge flaw if it is dodged. Secondly, as an apprentice-level or second-level professional, you should use all your strength once or twice more. , the body becomes tired easily.”

Ferrara, a seasoned warrior, taught Aaron the skills he learned during his adventures.

"Don't stick to weapons in battle. Many times, our shoulders, our legs, our fists and even our foreheads and teeth are also powerful weapons. Fighting is to win and to live, not to be gorgeous, at least for us These mercenaries are not."

Ferrara demonstrated two moves using shoulder thrusts and leg kicks.

Aaron nodded, like a sponge, desperately absorbing knowledge.

In combat, every part of the body is a weapon.

"When fighting, you must pay attention to the opponent's movements. Whether it is piercing, slashing or hitting hard, the opponent's body will definitely have pre-movements. At this time, you must pay attention to what the opponent wants to do, and judge the opponent's fighting intention. ." Seeing that Aaron learned very quickly, Ferrara smiled on his face.

I can actually guide the Viscount! There will be something to talk about in the tavern lobby from now on~

"Fighting intention?" Aaron frowned, he was a little confused: "Sir, what you mean is the opponent's determination to fight?"

"I once fought with a guy who was similar to me in a manor for more than three hours. After the fight, I received a large bounty from an aristocratic grandfather. I didn't even need to go to the blacksmith shop for repairs afterwards. Weapons and shields." Ferrara said quite complacently: "It's a pity that such good work does not come often."

"I understand." Aaron expressed understanding.

"If the other party is very fierce, you have to be very energetic. If the other party is more perfunctory, you don't have to use the ten-cost collar. Most of the time, everyone is a mercenary who licks the blood with his sword. They use money to do things, so there is no need to be certain. Risking your life, there may be some misunderstanding between each other." Ferrara continued: "It depends on what your mission is, Lord Viscount, or what you want to get."

What do you mean it's almost done? Aaron seemed to have some realization: "I understand, please continue."

"Sometimes, when we face some attacks that are really impossible to avoid, we should try our best to protect our torso." Ferrara continued: "Don't worry, judging from the armor worn by Lord Viscount, as long as it is not extraordinary, Weapons, at most, leave a hole in the armor to bleed some blood."

"What if it's a supernatural weapon?" Aaron asked with interest.

"That's an area I don't understand. The Viscount may need to ask others for advice." Ferrara shook his head.

After the two sides practiced for a while, they sat down. Ferrara took the buttered bread from Aaron and continued to talk about his adventure experience.

"Fighting is only a small part of the adventure, Lord Viscount. For us mercenaries, what is the purpose of taking risks? Taking risks is to make a living, and taking risks is to make money. Then we should consider improving our strength."

"Based on that, a lot of times not only do we not want to fight, but we do everything we can to avoid fighting."

"Even in a fight, we will do everything we can to make the fight unfair. We will insert eyes, kick in the crotch, insult, and spit. As long as we can cause trouble to the opponent and reduce the opponent's combat effectiveness, it is a success."

"Other than that, spreading ashes, traps, poisoning, falling rocks, as long as it can solve the problem, there is nothing that cannot be done. If you don't do it, others will do it, and you are putting your life in the hands of others."

Ferrara pointed at himself mockingly: "After all, doing this is a life-and-death job. More than once, I deceived others that there was something behind them and then killed them with a sword. More than once, I promised and regretted it later."

"As a mercenary, you are destined to go to hell."

"In the past few years, I have mastered some channels. A few years ago, I also encountered the situation of no income. At that time, I couldn't avoid having some ideas. We usually divide the goals into several types and choose those that are easier. Let's start earlier." Ferrara felt a little embarrassed when he said this. He scratched his messy hair: "Living is the most important thing."

"Loyalty is just because the price of betrayal is not enough." Aaron expressed his understanding. He said meaningfully: "As for Miss Eleanor and I, we must not be completely sure, and the aftermath will be particularly troublesome, right?"

"Well, people like you are always the most troublesome." Ferrara nodded awkwardly.

Local nobles, who have missions from the kingdom, blood warlocks, who can cast spells, and temple priests, who are not bad at it and can also use magic.

Even if the matter could be settled, Ferrara didn't know how to deal with the aftermath.

He didn't know what was going on, but facing Aaron's pair of sky-blue eyes that could not see the end of the sky, he couldn't help but blurt out all the words in his stomach.

"Self-deprecation, grace, rules, and elegance, my Lord Viscount, these are the privileges of the strong. We are mercenaries. All we have to do is complete the mission, complete the goods, and get the damn money. That's all. The compassion and kindness in adventure are things we don’t need, they are too luxurious, so luxurious that we never expect to have them.”

"We usually abide by the rules because it is good for us, but in some special circumstances, we can also tear up all contracts, touch all taboos, and try all evil, also because it can be good for us in difficult situations. It's as simple as that."

"In this case, I understand the thinking of a normal mercenary."

Aaron stood up after taking a swig of a glass of ale. He stood on the edge of the team, looked at the bright spring scenery and the nearby villages, and sighed.

The complexity of human beings is really vividly displayed in adventurers.

"You shouldn't hang out with them for too long." Seeing that Aaron was in a bad mood, Eleanor couldn't help walking to him and whispered: "We are servants of the Silver Virgin, and we should learn to be kind."

"It's so hard to live." Aaron smiled and said nothing more.

"No matter how difficult it is, you must live." Miss Pastor said firmly: "Have you forgotten what our Lord expects of you?"

"That's right, even if it's for the Silver Virgin, I will live well, well!" Aaron nodded.

Mercenaries are social instability and potential criminals, but the nobles always need them.

In the country, the ownership of territory is often finally determined after dozens or hundreds of years of war. When a noble intends to open up a territory, it starts from clearing monsters, establishing settlements, exploring the surrounding area, resisting monster counterattacks, building cities and walls, It may take dozens or hundreds of years of intermittent wars to reclaim farmland, build houses, and establish territory before you can finally make the ill-intentioned "neighbors" around you recognize your sovereignty over this land.

Take the Kingdom of Cormyr, for example. Even if the Elf Empire withdrew and clearly transferred land ownership to humans, the Kingdom of Cormyr, which was founded in the 26th year of the Vale Calendar, was forced to start its own long history of war, with goblins, With lizardmen, with lycanthropes, with dragons, with pirates.

The continuous war continued until the 432nd year of the Sea Prince in the Valley Calendar. King Cormyr led a comeback with the nobles who supported him and defeated the pirate king Magrath who occupied the capital Susar. After 400 years of war, the war was finally basically completed. All surrounding forces recognized human sovereignty over this territory.

400 years of war.

It is too expensive to raise an army of your own, which is an important reason why adventurers and mercenaries can always be active in the country.

While I was thinking, around three o'clock in the afternoon, Suzal arrived.

The capital of Cormyr stands high on the shores of the Dragon Lake. It is a pearl in the middle of the country and a testament to the 1,000 years of Obeszil's rule over this land. It has a tall and majestic city wall, and behind the wall is an equally towering city. architecture.

There are two giant sculptures standing at the city gate.

The first giant sculpture is the famous purple dragon Sagro. This ancient dragon was once the master of the Cormyr region. The elven empire united the human tribes to fight a long war against it, and finally drove it away.

From that day on, the purple dragon became the symbol of Cormyr.

It is not that he worships the dragon, but he is proud of slaying the dragon.

The second giant sculpture is of the famous King Duar-Obeszil of Cormyr.

This king is the King of Cormyr who lived in the Year of the Sea Prince in 432 in the Valley Calendar. King Duar spent half his life fighting countless foreign enemies in the kingdom. As a result, the capital Susar was betrayed to the "Tauren" by traitors. The pirate king Magrath, King Duar was forced to hide in a hidden manor in the Forest of Kings with a few loyalists. He managed to gain the support of some nobles and a mercenary group, and in the same year killed the pirate king Magrath and recaptured it. became the capital of the kingdom and formally established human sovereignty over this land.

The 400-year war finally came to an end.

It is worth mentioning that the name Susar comes from Susara, the wife of Ondas-Obeszil, the first king of Cormyr, but this queen really couldn't stand the endless war and war. Pioneer, finally chose to leave.

The group of people approached the north gate. The gate was crowded with carriages and travelers who were about to enter the city. The queue formed a long queue. The guards were busy checking the packages and vehicles of the people entering the city, and of course the indispensable permits. .

Due to the large number of people, the attitude of the guards was not very good, but as long as they saw Aaron's robe and armor and the certificate he produced, it was enough for the guards to wave and let them go.

After entering the city gate, what hit us was the weakening of the light and the overwhelming stench. Crowds, noise, beggars and vendors gathered together. Young children with naked clothes opened their eyes wide and looked at Aaron and Ellie. Nuo Shen stretched out his little hand, his eyes full of desire.

"Why are there so many people!" Aaron didn't even have time to signal with his eyes. Ferrara immediately led the mercenaries forward and scared the crowd back fiercely. Despite the sad and helpless look in the pastor's eyes, Ferrara couldn't help but asked understandingly.

"There are many refugees from Arabel here, and they all came to Susar." Aaron said calmly, while he was still comforting the pastor's emotions: "Their homeland fell, and Susar was unprecedented. The ground is crowded.”

"Are you going home?" The mercenary leader knew that it was time to say goodbye.

"No, let's go to the cemetery first." Aaron shook his head and took out a small square box from his luggage.

"This bastard...his soul deserves to rest in peace."

Updated, the emperor is here to wish everyone a happy National Day.