Mercenaries and Adventurers

Kiir and his party followed a group of militiamen through two mountains and saw a large group of militiamen camping.

It's almost time for the sun to set. The mountains are different from the plains. You must camp early at night, otherwise the mountains will enter darkness very quickly at dusk.

If you wait until dark to set up camp, it will be too late. Without the light from the sky, the troublesome and complicated work of setting up camp would be a state of chaos.

It would be fine if it was summer, but winter nights are dark and cold. If we fail to build enough tents for people to rest and keep warm during the break, many young militiamen who have no experience camping in winter wilds will freeze to death. Frostbite.

Knight Crow, who was experienced in the military, naturally would not make such a simple mistake. When the sun set early and he was close to the mountains, he led a large group of militiamen to camp in the open open space in the mountains selected by the scouting militiamen.

So just after Kiel and the others crossed the mountains at dusk, they arrived at the militia camp where they had basically completed their night camp.

Due to the large number of craftsmen in Kendall City and sufficient supplies in the city, the militiamen's logistics are good. Not only are each team distributed with drinking water and matching pot fuel, but these militiamen who need to conduct actual combat training do not need to move during the day. , responsible for carrying these logistical supplies.

These things are all handled by some secretaries and assistants that Crow Knight brought from the government office in the city. The militiamen are only responsible for clearing away the bandits.

This means that the final scope of the militia's winter training does not extend beyond Kendall County. Within the county, Baron Kendall can still provide very good logistical assistance to his troops. Of course, once you leave Kendall County, these convenient logistics management will be gone. You can't bring all the secretaries of the Government Affairs Office out of the county to join the battle, right?

Knight Crow thought so, but of course the other two senior secretaries who managed the government office would not agree.

At the entrance of the camp, a group of close combat militiamen were patrolling and guarding. When they saw that a group of militiamen who had gone out not only captured four bandits, but also brought back some armed men who did not look like bandits, these people came over for questioning.

Os, the militia team leader who was following Kiel, told the interrogating team leader the information he had received. Obviously, the news about Warcraft and the forest where a large number of bandits were entrenched still caught the team leader a little off guard.

The man rubbed his hands and asked in a low voice uneasily: "Is this news credible?"

Os looked at the honest Kiel and his team behind him, and then said: "It should be credible. Besides, these things are also considered by the knight, aren't they? What should we worry about? They will all be disbanded and go home in a few days. To be honest Yes, the food in the militia training is much better than at home. I can eat pickled bacon every day. At home, I can only eat more fried dried beans to fill my stomach."

"Who says it isn't? My father wishes that all my brothers in the family would come here to participate in training every year, which would save a lot of food. Unfortunately, the quotas are all registered in the village. Each person can only participate twice now, but that won't be possible in the future. "The interrogating militia team leader said regretfully.

Since the patrolling militia team leader was unable to determine the news about Kiel and the others, he had no choice but to follow Os and his team, guarding Kiel and his group one after another, and arrived at the center of the militia camp.

The Crow Knights' camps and the scribes who manage the team's logistics are all arranged in the center of the camp.

The knight's camp is arranged here, naturally not to protect the knight himself. After all, Knight Crow himself said that he can wipe out these hundreds of militiamen by himself. No one in Kendall County can defeat him, so he naturally does not need protection.

The arrangement of his tent here is actually to make it easier for the militiamen to come to him when they have something to do, and also to facilitate the knights to take command when encountering emergencies in the camp.

The other secretaries and their assistants were placed in the center of the camp for pure safety reasons. With hundreds of militia guards around them, they didn't worry about safety at all, even in the mountains and forests where wild beasts and bandits more ferocious than wild beasts were raging.

Some of the scribes who had their spare time took out exquisite flutes and started to play them while warming themselves in front of the campfire beside their tent.

There are people passing by, and they will occasionally sing one or two voices, so that the relatively smooth flute sound will not be too lonely.

"Report! Sir Knight, there is a hunter who claims to be the knight La, Lanisha. They have something to ask you." The patrol team leader came to the knight's camp and announced loudly.

The two guards who were sitting on wooden barrels at the entrance of the camp arranged their equipment and stood up to guard the entrance of the camp.

Not long after, the thick curtain of the camp was opened, and Knight Crow, who had taken off his heavy armor, came out carrying a dinner plate.

At a glance, he saw Kil's group being guarded. He didn't know the hunters under Knight Lanissa, but he had seen Kil's armor twice and immediately recognized him wearing a helmet. Keir.

He handed the unfinished dinner plate to his guards, and with a wave of his hand, Knight Crow told the patrolling militia to continue working.

"Kiel, I didn't expect to meet you here." Looking at Kiel, Knight Crow said with his hands on his waist.

Kil took off his helmet and revealed his head and face. He smiled and said, "Sir Knight, I have already told you how I came here."

Waving his hand, Knight Crow first asked Os and the returning militiamen to go to the clerk in charge to register the mission status, and then hurriedly ate and rested.

After Os and his party happily took the captured bandits with desperate faces to register, Knight Crow asked a guard to arrange a place for Kiel and his party to stay and rest, right next to his tent.

The young hunters and the rescued female people were given some water and fuel, and then they immediately started tinkering. The female people built a fire, took the food brought by the guards and a small bucket of ice and snow and started making dinner. The young and strong hunters took off the weapons and equipment they were carrying, and hummingly began to set up their tents for the night.

Kilze and three old hunters were brought into his camp by Knight Crow, and they listened to what news they had about Knight Lanissa.

-

There was nothing complicated in the camp. Apart from a wooden box containing Knight Crow's very heavy armor, there was only a camp bed, a simple low table with documents and maps, and a small iron stove with charcoal fire.

Knight Crow asked the guard to hand him the dinner plate, and then placed it on the iron stove. The thin silver dinner plate quickly used the temperature of the charcoal fire underneath to heat the cold food.

There was no place to sit in the camp, but Kil didn't mind being dirty, so he sat directly near the small stove and warmed his hands. Kil and the old hunters told Knight Crow what Knight Lanissa had told him. .

Knight Crow listened to the experiences described by Kil and the hunters while eating. Knight Lanessa had previously explained that when facing Knight Crow, they needed to tell their experiences in detail so that Knight Crow could have a grasp of the entire situation.

"Those bandits spend the winter in the forest? Haha, those bandits are really not afraid of things deep in the mountains and forests. But they are so bold. Phew, there are also Warcraft. They were a little careless this time. Kendall and I didn't expect that the ones that appeared this time Warcraft turned out to be such a difficult guy to deal with. It's really hard on Lanessa. Fortunately, that child has always been serious and smart and strong enough." After Knight Crow finished the food, he took the heated plate directly with his hands He put it on the ground next to the small stove without fear of burning it.

After he nodded and commented, he looked at Kil again: "I didn't expect that you would join Lanessa's men. Do you want to go to the north with her to deal with the wolves?"

Kil scratched his nose, hoping that joining Lanissa Knight's staff would not affect the future trade contract with Crow Knight: "Uh, yes. There seems to be nothing in the south recently, and I am not a person who can be idle. At that time, I met Knight Lanessa and her hunters in the forest, so I agreed to them. I heard that this winter, they will once again deal with the wolf pack that is raging in the north of the county."

The three old hunters sitting on the ground next to them all nodded and admitted that they did have this plan. In fact, they were quite curious. They didn't expect that this young man, Kiel, actually knew Knight Crow, and seemed to have some understanding of him.

"Ha, I just like young people like this. They have the same enterprising spirit as when I was young." After a pause, Knight Crow continued: "I know what Lanessa arranged. This is the lair of the recalcitrant bandits. After the annihilation, I will lead the militia to move forward and wipe out all the bandit gangs hiding from the militia. However, this period of time will not be short, it will take about ten days at least, and if it is slow, it will take more than ten days depending on the situation. Lani Can Sha's supplies last?"

A few old hunters were questioned, and they discussed it directly. According to the undamaged materials found in the bandit camp that had been wiped out, not counting those carried out by them, they should be able to be used for a long time.

Mainly, the winter supplies hidden by many bandits were not stored in the camp, but were buried in the surrounding forests. They killed all the bandits in that camp immediately, so naturally they couldn't find out the whereabouts of the hidden supplies.

Knight Crow listened to the discussion of the old hunters, and he continued: "Since the food is still enough, then you do this. Tomorrow morning, you arrange for someone to take the rescued people and a messenger back with one of my men. Kendall City, the news is very important, Baron Kendall must be informed so that he can make arrangements for the next preparations."

He continued: "The remaining hunters should return to Lanisa first and help her guard the body of the monster. That thing is very important. It is not only the personal record of Knight Lanisa, but also the great glory of our Kendall County. .But, Kiel!"

"Here!" Being called suddenly, Keir immediately replied.

Patting Kil's armor, Knight Crow said: "You have to stay. Although you said you joined Knight Lanissa's hunter team, I heard that you had sneaked into the bandit's lair alone before and rescued it single-handedly. Killed more than a dozen people? Your experience and combat power will be indispensable to deal with this bandit gang's lair next."

After he finished speaking, he looked at a few old hunters again: "Kil will be here in the militia to help deal with the bandits. You go back and tell Lanessa. I will borrow Kil for a little while, haha, he was rescued. Some people are in the camp helping the militiamen lead the way and serve as guides. But compared to those people, Kiir probably knows the neighborhood better."

The old hunters looked at Keir, who shrugged, and they could only express that they knew.

They have no right to refuse when facing knights. Knight Crow can let all of them help deal with bandits. Some young hunters in the team are probably also willing to do such exciting things.

After finishing speaking, Kil and the others bid farewell to Knight Crow. Knight Crow called the guards at the door and began to write a letter to arrange for the guards to return to Kendall City tomorrow.

-

"Kiel, do you still know Lord Knight Crow?" an old hunter asked curiously, stroking his beard.

Kil followed the old hunters and replied casually: "Yes, when I was dealing with monsters near Kendall City before, I met the Crow Knight who came out to deal with the monsters. Hey, his performance at that time was pretty good. It's better, it's in the eyes of the Lord Knight." Naturally, he would not talk about the important private transaction with Knight Crow, because he knew that it could not be revealed.

"Any more?"

"And I have a very good relationship with the gate guards of Kendall City. After going back and forth, I naturally became familiar with Knight Crow. Hi, you may not know it well, but I am actually quite famous in Kendall City, especially if I go there often From the mouths of people drinking in taverns.”

"Really, we hunters are always running outside, mainly to curb the wild wolves heading south in some places in the north all year round. After the Harvest Festival every autumn, we basically gather in Kendall City." An old hunter said Talk about their normal work.

Only then did Keir realize that the hunters did not all gather together all the time. They usually brought the old with the new, using the Kendall River Ferry and Umi Lake Village as their strongholds, along the road between the two, to curb the flow of traffic. A pack of wolves testing from the north to the south.

Only in winter, they would gather in Kendall City to make some repairs, and tentatively deal with the main activity area of ​​wolves in the north of Umi Lake Village with Lanisha Knight.

Of course, the number of hunters is small, so it is naturally impossible to seal off a very large area. That's why Keir encountered wild wolves and monsters like Goblins competing for territory in the wilderness to the west of Doral Forest Village. .

While Kiel and the others were talking to Knight Crow, the young hunters had quickly set up the tents for everyone to camp. The rapid speed made the nearby militiamen envious, not only because there were six female people making fire to cook next to the young hunters, but also because these young hunters were able to cover the tents where they spent the night in the dark just by relying on the light of the surrounding campfires. Build it up.

This technology makes the militiamen who are in a mess every day dismantling the tents in the morning and setting up the tents in the evening very envious. They all hope that they can also have such skilled skills and have a mother-in-law to cook for them in this wilderness and forest.

Kiel and the others finished their meal under the envious and jealous eyes of such a militiaman.

The guards under Knight Crow brought a lot of bacon and dry bread. And of course there was a bucket of drinking water that had been frozen into ice cubes by the cold weather.

The rescued women lit a fire and then took out the small iron pots they carried. They first cut open the frozen drinking water and put large and small ice cubes into the hot iron pot that was heated by the fire. Then, they cut the bacon with the daggers they were given, cut the salty, fat and thin bacon into small pieces, and poured them into the gradually boiling water.

Then, they smashed the frozen dry bread with the dagger handle, then used the dagger body to crush the small pieces of bread crumbs, and poured them into the pot.

The high temperature melts the fat in the marinated meat and releases it into a flavor that makes your stomach roar. The addition of bread crumbs will prevent the soup from being too boring.

Keir and the others had a hearty dinner.

After a day of riding horses, the tired women got into the middle of the tent that was set up. There were young men around, so it was better to be careful anyway.

After finishing the meal, Kil took out some food that the bandits had prepared in the camp from the supplies that his group carried that could be used to feed the horses. Keel coveted these three horses, so he took the job of feeding them himself.

These three horses all have docile temperaments and have gotten to know Keel after several days of feeding. He no longer resists Keel feeding them. He will deliver food to the horses, straighten out the tangled hair on the horses with his hands, and check the horses for parasites.

It is probably because of winter that the conditions of these three horses are relatively good. Kiel did not find many parasites hidden in the horses' hair. And after observing the horses' defecation, he found nothing in the feces.

Kil asked who would send the news back to Kendall City on behalf of Knight Lanissa tomorrow, and the important task of returning fell on an energetic young hunter.

Kil personally inquired with the old hunters and learned that since these horses were the trophies of Knight Lanisa, they would be kept in the stables of Knight Lanisa's villa after arriving in Kendall City. The same goes for the rescued women. If they have relatives and friends in Kendall County, they will naturally arrange for people to be sent there to reunite and take care of them. But if not, after obtaining the consent of these rescued women, they will be sent to Wumihu Village and arranged to be betrothed to unmarried young people in the village.

However, two of the women are already pregnant. According to Lanisa Knight's intention, the pregnant two people can temporarily live in her house to prepare for pregnancy. After they have safely given birth to their children, they will find time to move to Umi. Live in Lake Village.

Of course, it is difficult to arrange for unmarried young villagers with children. Most of them will place women with children depending on which villager family needs more manpower in the future.

Wumihu Village, which is often harassed by wolves and suffers a slight population loss, will not reject any newborn child. In fact, many resident families in Kendall County migrated from the Empire or other places with large populations. During the long migration process, many families were continuously combined, separated, and then combined again. In order to get their own piece of reclaimed land, the relocated people suffered so much that they no longer cared about anything.

As long as they can form a complete or incomplete family, people don't care about anything else.