Mercenaries and Adventurers

While Zhao Ji was exchanging greetings with the two, the three old men slowly walked down the wooden ladder at the back of the hall. The three old men were well-dressed, and one of them had the coat of arms of a nobleman on his body, so he seemed to be a relative of a certain nobleman.

Zhao Ji guessed that it should be a direct relative of the local knight. I heard that Doral Forest Village is the fiefdom of an old knight. These old men and women are about the same age as the local lords. Perhaps they created this village from scratch when they were young.

Old Duo Mu briefly introduced the three old men. These three are the elders of the village, responsible for various affairs in the village, such as farming, housing, tax collection, trade and other aspects.

They exchanged pleasantries with each other again, and these three old men were the ones who shouted their names when old Duo Mu first entered the door. Nia Mushou told the three of Zhao Ji's situation and asked them to give Zhao Ji some convenience in the village. Immediately, the elder named Sutter said that the problem of Keir's accommodation was left to him. After speaking, he went out to the hotel near the village house and asked Kiel for a free room.

As soon as Elder Sartre came back, he assured Nia Shepherd and his group of old men that Keel's accommodation in the hotel in the village would be free for a long time, and a clean and tidy house was ready, and Keel would be ready anytime. You can stay in a hotel.

Of course, Elder Sutter also said that the problem of eating in the village had to be solved by Kiel himself. Hearing this, old Domo patted his chest and promised that Kiel could go to his security team to settle two meals a day.

Hearing this, Zhao Jicai realized that the eating habits in the village are quite different from those in the city. Because there are a large number of craftsmen and apprentices in Kendall City, in order to ensure their physical strength, they often eat three or four meals a day. This habit has gradually been accepted by all urbanites. Even in the farms near Kendall City, those farmers who have been farming all year round are used to three meals a day.

In other parts of the county, it is still the habit of eating two meals a day. Wake up early with a full meal to meet the needs of the day, and have a half meal at dusk so that you will no longer be hungry during the long night.

Zhao Ji saluted the two gratefully. After all, they are not familiar with each other, so etiquette is still needed. If you can get acquainted with the level of the old president of Foxtail, then the etiquette will be more important, after all, informality is also a step of intimacy.

Afterwards, Zhao Ji inquired in detail about the situation between Dolarin Village and the Goblins. By the way, he took out his map and asked Old Domo to draw the topography and main landmarks near the village.

Two hours later, following the guidance of Elder Sartre, Zhao Ji came to the hotel in the central square of the village.

The name of this hotel is Iron Palm Hotel. From the name, it can be seen who the main business of this hotel is. The hotel is two stories high and large in scale. There are rooms for accommodation in the front, and horses and vehicles are parked in the back. backyard. The biggest output of Dorallin Village is the crops. Every year during the harvest season, there will be caravans from the county driving donkey carts and horse-drawn carts to buy the surplus grain produced in the village, and then sell the salt needed in the village. And cloth and other items are sold in the village. Therefore, as far as Zhao Ji saw, this hotel has built a large space for parking vehicles in the backyard, and there are also many corrals for storing livestock.

Of course, because the merchants who went to the village to trade were all familiar chambers of commerce approved by the local knight lord, there were no unscrupulous merchants who bought food at low prices and sold daily necessities at high prices.

When I heard the five old men chatting just now, I mentioned that this kind of annoying situation existed in the early years, but later their "big brother", that is, the local knight lord, signed a special transaction contract with the familiar chamber of commerce in the city. After the trading rights in the village were specially handed over to several large chambers of commerce, and at the same time the militia was used to drive out some bad-hearted businessmen in the village, this situation no longer occurred.

The lord also used the money obtained from trading rights for the construction of the village, so that the development of the village was very fast.

Many young people came here to reclaim new land, level the uneven terrain, build water diversion channels and small reservoirs, dig wells in the village, and so on.

Until the goblins start attacking the villagers who are out alone.

Thinking about the news that he had just heard, Zhao Ji walked into the hotel.

There are not many tables and chairs in the lobby of the hotel. Obviously, food is not provided here. It seems that outsiders who want food can go to the tavern not far away. Zhao Ji is much more convenient, he can go directly to the public security station to get food for free.

The owner of the hotel is the second son of Elder Sartre. He heard that he was a goblin hunting warrior from Kendal City arranged by his father. This middle-aged man in his 30s and 40s was very enthusiastic. He guided Zhao Ji to the room on the second floor of the hotel where he could open the window and see the village square. After opening the door, he handed over the key to Zhao Ji, and encouraged him to eliminate goblins more often.

Zhao Ji talked with him for a while, and asked him how his business was affected. The boss smiled and thought that as long as the goblins are eliminated, more outsiders will come to them, so that his business can be better. a little better.

The rampage of goblins in the wild has caused many young people who want to come here to develop in recent years to choose other places in the county. Of course, now Dorallin Village does not need to be filled with foreign population, but more people can still bring more benefits.

After the hotel owner left, Zhao Ji went into the room and put down his luggage, so he could finally have a rest. He had traveled a long distance for the past few days, and his legs were really exhausted.

After resting for a while, Zhao Ji started to pack his bags. There is a wooden bed in the room, with its own bedding filled with straw and plant fluff, so Zhao Ji did not untie the bedding in the luggage bag, but tightened them up and waited until tomorrow to use them. There was also a wooden cabinet in the room, which was quite big, so Zhao Ji took out all the things in the luggage and put them into the various layers of the wooden cabinet by category.

When he came from Kendall City, he also brought a large handful of very strong hemp rope, which he will use for his later exploration of the ruins. He doesn't even know the exact location of the ruins now, so naturally put this thing in the cabinet and put it away, and talk about it later.

Zhao Ji plans to explore the vicinity tomorrow, looking for scattered goblins, and seeing how these monsters actually fight. Although judging from the descriptions of everyone in the village, the images of these goblins seem to be inconsistent.

The stubborn stone who was on duty at the simple wooden watchtower at the edge of the field thought that these goblins had nothing to do with him, and they could be scared away with a roar. A few sentries, also on guard, can drive away hordes of goblins with clubs.

Well, the possibility of the stubborn man bragging cannot be ruled out. After all, Zhao Ji found that in various places, the more there is nothing, the more people will brag about it.

But there are indeed many goblin bones displayed in the wooden cage in the middle of the village square. When Zhao Ji opened the wooden window, he could see those eye-catching things at a glance. From time to time, villagers passing by the square pointed at the dead goblins, obviously not afraid of them.

Zhao Jineng could hear from Lao Duomu's words that although he didn't look down on these little green-skinned monsters, there was still a hidden worry in his words. Shepherd Nia said that the church's books said that the Goblin settlements reproduce very quickly. Once the Goblins in the forest have no natural enemies, their number will skyrocket. Goblins only need to be three years old to become adults. Their reproduction is similar to that of humans. They are in estrus and conceive all year round. As long as there is enough food, female goblins can give birth twice a year, and each time they will have multiple births.

It is often powerful monsters or wild beasts that devour goblins and limit their expansion. However, since the establishment of Kendall County, human knights have wiped out all kinds of powerful monsters in the county, which led to the settlement of goblins. It has expanded dramatically in recent years. The human knights all live in the city, and have no interest in the primitive forests and hills.

Speaking of this, Lao Duomu also complained that their "big brother" didn't come back to the village very often in recent years, even though the village developed so fast and so well.

The old men were very depressed at that time, so Zhao Ji had no choice but to promise that this time he would be able to completely wipe out the goblin settlements that disturbed Dolarin Village just like the slime monsters in the swamp south of the city. They wreak havoc.

Hearing Keir's simple speech, the elders finally cheered up.

After packing up his things, Zhao Ji locked the door and went downstairs out of the hotel to eat at the security team not far away.

The security team is actually nothing, and there is not even a decent prison here. Hearing Zhao Ji's question during the meal, old Duo Mu said that the villagers of Dorallin are simple and honest, and there is no such thing as fighting, so naturally there is no need for a special prison.

Zhao Ji told Lao Duomu while eating thick porridge with green beans and wheat kernels. In the future, Dorallin Village will become a town if it develops. Old Duo Mu was very unhappy, but finally nodded and said nothing.

After the security team had a full meal without meat, Zhao Ji came to the tavern in the village. He hadn't drank for a few days, and he had to satisfy his hunger today.

The name of the tavern was Donkey Call or Donkey Hum Call, Zhao Ji said it was a strange name, and it was inexplicable.

There were quite a lot of people in the tavern, after all, it was not long after the Harvest Festival. Farmers from all households have harvest and income in their hands. For them, every day before the arrival of heavy snow in winter is a wonderful time for them to spend their days drinking and bragging in taverns. The two businessmen I met at the village house during the day were also there, and many sentries who were on duty outside the village during the day also returned to the village. They gathered together, drinking and bragging.

When he came to the bar of the tavern, Zhao Ji asked the bearded bartender for a large glass of ale. But the bartender said: "I don't sell alcohol to children."

Hey, Zhao Ji raised his eyebrows. He looked at the bartender, patted the long sword hanging on his waist and said, "I came from Kendall City alone. See if this thing has killed more monsters than You've seen more."

The bartender leaned out of the bar, saw clearly the long sword hanging from Zhao Ji's waist, and then took a closer look at Zhao Ji's face to confirm that he was from outside the village. Then he put a large glass of ale in front of Zhao Ji: "A large glass of fresh ale, five iron coins."

Zhao Ji took out a copper coin from the purse inside his clothes, and handed it to the bartender: "One more food, I'll serve the wine."

Hearing this, the bartender didn't give Zhao Ji any change. He asked the cook for a pickled and dried wild vegetable, and put it in front of Zhao Ji: "The wild vegetables near the village have a strong salty taste."

"Ah, thank you." Zhao Ji took a sip of ale and tasted the pickled and dried wild vegetables.

It is indeed quite salty, but it does not have the bitter taste of wild vegetables that Zhao Ji expected. Instead, it has a fresh and sweet taste that emerges after the salty taste. The more you chew, the more delicious the dried wild vegetables are. It is quite suitable to be served with ale .

The two businessmen who met in the village house in the afternoon noticed Zhao Ji, but Zhao Ji had no intention of communicating with them, but raised his glass to toast from a distance.

The militiaman Wan Shi who was on guard in the village saw Zhao Ji, and he ran over to say hello to Zhao Ji, and Zhao Ji invited him to drink a glass of beer. After talking for a while, Zhao Ji moved his position, brought appetizers and beer, and moved to the table of the militiamen of the Stones.

After introducing himself and inviting a few militiamen for a glass of ale, Zhao Ji joined their bragging and drinking circle. Unlike their simple bragging and drinking, Zhao Ji mainly asked them about their respective encounters with goblins.

Zhao Ji probably understood the difference in combat effectiveness between goblins and ordinary militiamen by automatically filtering out the exaggerated and joking elements brought about by the ale.

Contrary to what he thought, goblins were weird. The smaller the number of goblins, the stronger their combat effectiveness, but once the goblins gather, they will be easier to deal with, and once frightened, a large group of goblins will collapse on their own.

Goblins in groups of three or four are so courageous that they dare to rob the goats that the villagers graze during the day, while a large group of Goblins will be scared to collapse by the sound of a horn.

Zhao Ji scratched his head, not knowing what to say.