Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 84 Korean Pine

   On the winding dirt road, two riders were galloping on their horses, whipping up smoke and dust.

   The rider behind him suddenly slowed down, and the rider in front noticed the difference and restrained his horse.

The rider in the back simply got off the horse, took an unnatural stance, and led the horse to catch up with the rider in front: "Oh, my lord, I really can't ride anymore, let's take a break. I'm here. Ass, now it hurts like being stabbed by a red-hot iron rod, and a layer of flesh is rubbed off the roots of my thighs."

"You slacker, how can there be a place for you to rest in this wilderness?" The rider in front scolded his valet: "Don't linger, wait until you get back to the manor for you to rest enough. Get on the horse, let's go before it gets dark. Gotta go home."

The old servant heard the loose attitude in his master's words, and he struck while the iron was still hot. It's really painful... why don't you go on horseback first, and I'll walk back slowly?"

   "Hey, you slacker." Polk served Kalman faithfully as a valet for more than 20 years, and the two of them turned from a good young man into a half-old man with gray temples. Although Karman, the owner of Red Pine Manor, taught a lesson, his attitude softened: "Look at this wilderness, where do you want to rest?"

  The old servant Poker was overjoyed and pointed from a distance: "Look at the smoke behind the woods over there, there must be some hunting master resting. Let's go ask for water, maybe even give me meat to eat."

   "You bastard, are you greedy? Did I treat you badly?" Karman laughed and scolded.

  The old servant Poker realized that he had missed his mouth, and he talked about him, clapping his chest and making a promise: "Let's go and ask for saliva, and after we ask for saliva, we will go home without stopping for a second."

After    walked through the woods to the place where the smoke was rising, the master and servant realized that they had made a big mistake.

  In a small clearing between the woods and the creek, several carts formed a circle around the campfire. By the campfire, a few people wrapped in capes lay on the ground and dozed.

  There are two iron pots on the campfire, which are rummaging and cooking. The smoke that the master and servant saw came from here.

   So it seems that this is an ordinary convoy, but the problem is not this, but the people by the campfire.

   Walking around this small camp were strong men with sailors' machetes. Several spears and muskets were casually leaning against the side of the car. The dark red blood on the spear tips had not yet dried.

   Judging from the clothes Kalman dresses up: these people are **** pirates.

  The Council of Iwo Jima tacitly allowed pirates to sell off their stolen goods, and everyone knew it. Pirates' loot brought prosperity to the island, but the islanders also suffered from pirates.

   Pirates are mostly outlaws, and of course they don’t mind doing a sideline on land if conditions allow. And after committing a crime on land, it is most convenient to get on the boat and escape directly.

   There are frequent murders on Chi Sulphur Island, and in all likelihood they become unsolved cases, but the residents of the island are very clear that the murderer is a pirate who is killed by God.

The    Council has repeatedly declared that it wants to crack down on vicious crimes committed by outsiders on the island. However, the pirates could not grab those high-ranking committee members. On the contrary, selling stolen goods for pirates can make them a lot of money. Therefore, the banditry on the Red Illusion Island has never been solved.

   And now, the pirates have entered the Red Iwo Island in a grand manner, and the civilians on the island are even more frightened.

  Poker's face turned pale with fright, and Karman glared at his old servant, motioning him to keep quiet and leave quietly.

   However, it was too late, the pirates in the camp had already discovered the master and servant.

   "Hey! Stop!" Someone in the camp shouted at the master and servant.

  Karlman jumped into the saddle and stabbed the horse's ribs, and in the blink of an eye he got into the woods. However, Polk's skills were not as strong as his master's. His movements were a little sluggish, and another person rushing out from behind grabbed the reins of his mount.

  Others in the camp immediately gathered around, and the first thing those who woke up from a nap was to get their weapons.

  Kalman, who had already run away some distance, saw the old servant being caught, and reluctantly turned his horse and turned back.

   Seeing that he could no longer walk, Kalman took the initiative to dismount, and he said loudly: "We are just passers-by, come to ask for saliva."

   Another pirate took the reins from his hand and pushed Kalman to Poker's side. A group of pirates vaguely surrounded the master and servant in the middle.

  The pirates ignored him, and a tall pirate scolded the pirate who caught Polk: "Why did you send the whistle? Everyone touched the edge of the camp!"

   The reprimanded pirate bowed his head in shame.

  Kalman saw this and guessed that the tall pirate should be the leader of the group, so he gathered up his courage and said to the tall pirate, "We are just passersby, we want to beg for saliva, we don't mean to disturb, please let us go."

  The tall pirate took a deep look at Kallman, turned to the campfire without saying a word, and motioned for the two to follow.

  Pork was trembling with fright, his jaw clenched tightly, and the muscles on both cheeks bulged out.

  Kalman patted the old servant on the back and comforted: "It's okay."

   "Sir, I'm sorry, I'm not greedy anymore." Polk finally couldn't hold back, and he cried with snot and tears.

   The two master and servant were forced to enter the camp surrounded by carts. A pirate with a toothless tooth who ran out of the car saw the master and servant and walked up to the tall pirate with fierce eyes and made a "slash" gesture.

  The tall pirate was noncommittal, bent over and picked up two cups from the campfire and handed them to the two of them.

   "This... what do you mean?" Kalman was a little dizzy.

   "Aren't you asking for water?"

   "Oh, thank you, thank you." After repeatedly thanking Karman, he took the cup, but did not dare to drink it. But the old servant Pork, who was scared to death, took the cup and drank it in one breath.

   "Who are you?" the tall pirate asked blankly.

   "Passers-by." Kalman replied cautiously: "We are just nearby farmers."

   "Do the farmers also have horses to ride?" The tall pirate was half-smiling.

   "We are... rich peasants with a little more land." Seeing that the other party did not seem to be bloodthirsty, Kalman gritted his teeth and asked: "Who are you?"

   "Me?" The tall pirate smiled: "I'm the food requisition team under Captain Kidd."

   The tension eased a little, and Kalman's thinking ability gradually recovered. He instinctively tried to obtain more information from the physical characteristics of the pirate leader in front of him.

   Although there was some black ashes on his face, the man was very young judging from his voice. His hands were slender and clean, a pair of hands that had not been damaged by rough life. And his teeth, skin, stature... If that pirate with open teeth is what a pirate should look like, then this young man doesn't look like a pirate at all, but a cultivator.

   The focus is on his eyes, which are a pair of cold and deep eyes.

   looked at each other, and Kallman avoided the other party's line of sight. He explained to himself: If he didn't have the ability, would he be able to become a pirate leader at a young age?

   Both Kalman and Polk lowered their heads under the scrutiny of the other party, just when Kalman had the courage to say something.

   "Let's go." The pirate leader waved his hand under his hand: "Let them go."

  The other pirates looked very unwilling, but after hearing the young pirate's order, they still handed the reins back to the master and servant to make way for them.

  Karlman stepped on his horse in disbelief, hurriedly took off his hat to the pirate leader, and led the old servant to run away. The master and servant looked back as they ran, for fear that there would be chasing soldiers behind.

   "I know what you are worried about." After watching the two strangers go away, the pirate leader said to his men: "But we are not pirates."

  …

  Kalman and Polk didn't even dare to slow down the speed of the horse all the way, and desperately urged the mount to run back to the Red Pine Manor.

   He strictly ordered his old servant not to tell anyone what happened today. Seeing the startled appearance of Polk, Polk wouldn't dare to tell anyone even if he didn't order it.

  The gentle Mrs. Kalman saw that her husband was very worried after returning home, but Kalman refused to say it, so she did not ask any more.

   But even back home, the feeling that his life was in someone else's hands still made Karaman's heart linger. He called the captain of the manor guard and asked if there was anything special near the manor recently, and repeatedly told the other party to be vigilant against pirates recently.

   The captain of the guard said that Nono said yes, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart. Pirates are at best highway robbery and never have the guts to attack a guarded plantation.

  The sky gradually became completely dark, and the Red Pine Manor fell into sleep.

   After finding his arquebus and dagger to clean it up, Karaman blew out the candle and climbed into bed.

   "Why did you turn the gun out again?" said Mrs. Klarman uneasily, and she couldn't help but ask: "What happened to you today? I was restless after coming back."

   "I met the food collection team of the council today. The food collection team is full of pirates." Karaman sighed: "There is a war outside, and our home is not safe."

   "Go to sleep, go to sleep." Mrs. Karaman didn't know what to do, so she could only hold her husband's hand and fell asleep.

   Unbeknownst to Mrs. Karaman in her sleep, a small group of men was lurking outside the Red Pine Manor, waiting to strike.

   Originally, from the perspective of the three warrant officers, the plantation owner is one of the two pillars of the federation. The plantation must have high walls and deep trenches outside, and it has elite private soldiers inside. It is heavily guarded and impregnable.

   But judging from the information brought back by Bud and Andre, who were in charge of the reconnaissance, the defense of this plantation was simply vulnerable, and the weak defense even made the three warrant officers feel ridiculous.

  The outer wall is a wooden fence less than one person high, and Bud and Andre can't count a sixth guard with arms.

  Winters led the remnants of Veneta to ambush outside the manor for a long time without waiting for the patrolling. The night guard seemed to have only one dog.

   "I don't think there are night patrols in this place." Andre said in a low voice, "There are only five guards, and he can't even arrange the night shift."

   Winters did not expect that the defense of the famous plantation would be so slack. Thanks to his painstaking efforts to formulate a detailed raid plan, he only found it irritating and funny.

   "Let's do it." Winters said one last time: "The plan remains the same. If someone resists, they will be killed on the spot. But the owner's family must survive."

  Bard shot the night guard with an arrow tied with poisonous flesh.

   The night guard barked a few times, and then started to enjoy the feast.

  It took a while.

   The Night Guard of Red Pine Manor is still alive and kicking.

  Andre scolded Gold while suppressing his voice: "[Mood particle swear words], didn't you say this trick is very useful?"

   "It's a good thing! Really! But I used poison rat poison before, I never used poison mushrooms." Gold replied aggrieved.

  Andre turned his gun on Bud again: "What's going on? Didn't you say those mushrooms are particularly poisonous?"

  Bud sighed, stood up and opened his bow like a full moon, knocking down the night guard of Red Pine Manor with one arrow.

   "Wouldn't it be over already?" Andre was furious: "What are we doing on the ground for so long?"

   "It's not that you want to use poison? Hurry up and get down to business." Winters was helpless: "Don't let anyone go."

  Bud led people to guard outside to prevent anyone from escaping, and Winters and Andre took the rest of the people into the guard's residence.

After    neatly dealt with the five guards, the Veneta soldiers lit torches and stubbornly broke into the main house.

  Kalman was awakened by the sound of footsteps downstairs, but before he could do anything, the bedroom door was kicked open, and several people with machetes and torches broke in.

   The fire stabbed Karman so much that he couldn't open his eyes, but the other party laughed loudly and shouted: "Sir, it's a coincidence, the sparrow that was released actually flew back into our hands."

  …

  Kalman, the owner of the Red Pine Manor, was brought to Winters and glared at the pirate leader in front of him. Kalman asked angrily, "You followed me here, right?"

   Winters shook his head: "No, we were originally going to find the owner of Red Pine Manor."

   "It turns out that our family is doomed." Kalman seemed to have been exhausted, and the whole person was much older: "Money, jewelry, food, you can take whatever you want, but please don't hurt my family."

"No, I'm not here to rob." Winters took the machete back into its scabbard: "You're a doctor, right? I'm here to ask you to save people, and to ask you something. Satisfy my two Ask, your family, your estate, your money, nothing will happen."

"There are many good doctors in Red Sulphur Port. Why do you want to come to me? I am the owner of a manor in a remote place, what can you ask me about? You..." Kalman suddenly figured it out, with a sea-blue accent, not like a pirate Appearance, strange grain collection team, he understands, he understands everything.

  Kalman's eyes widened, his pupils shrank sharply, and his trembling right hand pointed at Winters' nose: "You...you...you are from Veneta...you are an officer of Veneta..."

   Winters nodded slightly: "Large Veneta Legion, Chief Brigade, Centurion of the 100th Army, Winters Montagne. Nice to meet you, Dr. Kalman."

   Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thanks to the book friends writersblocks, I don’t know what it’s called, Yuan Hongjian for the recommendation vote, thank you all.

   (end of this chapter)