Mercenaries and Adventurers

Kil made an agreement with the craftsman Conquinas to use a bandit's head as payment for the craftsman's help in adding a spear shaft to the gun blade. After that, Kil quickly returned to his camp, put all the unused things into his backpack and put them under the tent tent. He walked lightly to the entrance of the camp and found the knights and militiamen who were waiting for him to set off.

Knight Crow called a group of spear militia to accompany him. He himself didn't actually need an escort, but in order to train the militiamen, he tried his best not to get involved in the battle between the militiamen and the bandits except for command.

As soon as Kil arrived, Knight Crow announced his departure, and others in the camp prepared for defense, striving to simply build the camp before he returned from scouting the area.

Afterwards, they walked out of the gate of the camp, which was fenced with snow, and began to conduct reconnaissance around the bandit's lair.

The weather has been sunny recently, but the temperature is still very low, so the snow that fell last time is still thickly covered in this mountain forest where only bandits are active. Moreover, due to the sun during the day, the outermost layer of snow on the ground was melted by a layer of snow. As a result, it was frozen and hardened by the cold temperature into a layer of ice shell wrapped in snow.

It is very inconvenient to walk on it. You have to break the ice shell on the surface first, and then you can move forward on the snow.

Seeing that the team was moving slowly, Knight Crow rode forward on his monster-like strong horse and rode in front of the team.

Needless to say, since both his horse and himself were wearing armor, the horses easily crushed and pushed away the ice crust and snow on the ground. Kiir and the militiamen behind could easily walk on the 'new' road that had been carved out.

Kil felt that this was similar to the Warcraft moving forward in the snow-covered forest before, but one was pushing away the snow on the ground, and the other was sliding on the snow.

The mountains where the bandit's lair is located are relatively steep, and the other surrounding mountains are not too generous, so they have no choice but to stop and go, constantly looking for a suitable path for the team to move forward.

Knight Crow sometimes asked Kiel to cut down nearby trees with an ax in a slightly open space or a relatively flat area, and asked the militiamen to use ropes to drag the felled trees to the place he chose.

Simply letting the dragged trees form a circle, he sat on his horse, holding a sheepskin map roll in his hand, and marked it with charcoal.

Keir was curious and asked in a low voice.

Knight Crow did not hide his secrets, and explained to Keir: "These places are more suitable for establishing fixed reconnaissance outposts. The view is relatively wide, and the terrain is flat, suitable for building simple wooden buildings. After that, we only need to arrange one or two sentries and give them With wooden whistles and a mobile combat patrol team between several posts, you can block all the posts along the line."

Kil nodded and looked up at the parchment in the knight's hand. Starting from a big black spot, which was obviously their camp, he curved and connected several small black spots along the way, which just made the bandit's lair. Semi-surrounded.

Then, Knight Crow added: "In fact, there is not much need. The level of the bandit gang is really not very good. Don't forget, this is just a practical training for the militia."

Kil barely understood Knight Crow's words. For the knight, these very amateur bandits are not difficult. He can easily command the militia to destroy them. The main purpose of setting up camps and outpost blockades with such a lot of trouble is probably to train the militiamen in this regard. experience of.

Kiel asked the knight on the road if there were any of these things he saw in the militia training in previous years.

"Smart boy. The training in the past few years has indeed been different. Basically, what the Baron needs, I will conduct corresponding training specifically. Most of the training has worked, so don't tell anyone. "After speaking, Knight Crow leaned down and patted the top of Kil's helmet.

The thumping sound made Keir shake his head, and then responded.

Perhaps the conversation was aroused, or maybe the group was just a little bored walking in the very quiet mountains and forests, so Knight Crow started talking about the militia training he had done in the past few years.

"In the first two years, it mainly played a propaganda role. Let people in various places in the county know that there is such a thing. So after the training, I also led the militiamen to visit various residential areas in the county. Turn. Haha, the effect is very good. In the first year, residents from the city of Kendall were asked to participate. After a year or two, young people were selected from various villages and farms."

"Nowadays, not only adult villagers are very willing to join the militia training every year, but even some wealthy families, some who have received combat training, are also willing to let their children join."

"What difference does it make?" Keel asked.

Wagging his finger, Knight Crow said: "It's different. Whether it's physical strength or smart fighting, it's completely different. I believe you will understand this later."

Keir nodded.

With that said, the group of them had already circled half of the mountain ridge where the bandit's lair was located, and they were right behind the entrance of the bandit's cave. Seeing this, Knight Crow said to Kil: "I remember you said before that you can climb up from here, and that there is a vertical patio leading to the inside of the bandit's cave?"

Kil squinted his eyes and looked at the surrounding environment, which confirmed the thrilling night in his memory. After thinking about it, he said: "Yes, it should be nearby. At that time, I led the rescued people to climb from there. Come out, and then slowly walk down the darkest part of the mountainside."

Looking at the steep mountains ahead, Knight Crow asked with a smile: "It's covered in snow, can you find the place where you walked in the dark again?"

Keir lingered in place for a while and said reluctantly: "Shall I give it a try?"

Seeing that the knight agreed, Kil climbed a little way up the mountain ahead, then turned around and looked at the woods at the foot of the mountain. He looked at it for a while, until his eyes were stung by the sunlight reflected by the snow, and then he squinted and slid down from it.

"I found it. The protruding woods on the left are where I came down to hide from the bandits." Kil said confidently.

"Are you sure? That place is closer to the entrance to the bandit's lair than where we are now?" Knight Crow jumped off his horse, unfolded the parchment map in his hand, pointed to their current locations, and what Kil said The location of the woods, and the location of the cave entrance to the bandit's lair.

The woods are not too far from the entrance of Bandit's Cave, they are only separated by an angle of the mountain. If there are no mountains blocking them, they can even see each other directly.

Keir looked at it again and finally confirmed for sure that it was indeed there. After all, if memory can deceive him, rational thinking will not deceive him.

Considering that after they escaped, they could see the fire at the entrance of the bandit's cave, but they couldn't look directly at it. So the only place is there.

Seeing that Kiel was sure, Knight Crow put away the parchment: "In that case, you and I can go up and have a look? Do you have the guts, Kiel?"

Knowing that following the knight would be fine, Kil agreed immediately.

If he had never seen Knight Lanessa fight against Warcraft before, and showed the huge gap in combat power between knight-level warriors and ordinary warriors, Kil would really not dare to go up there with Knight Crow.

But now, he is really curious. Everyone says he is the most powerful man in Kendall County. How powerful is Knight Crow?

-

Knight Crow did not ride a horse. Since the woods were very close to the entrance of the bandits' lair, in order to prevent the bandits from hearing the noise of the people and horses, Knight Crow asked the militiamen to wait where they were.

Instead of lighting a fire, you can lean on each other to keep warm, or you can eat the food that the militiamen saved and brought with them.

He and Keir walked through the woods first. When they reached the edge of the forest that was more prominent, Keel walked in front and broke off a branch to test the road.

Keir didn't randomly search for the path he had taken in the dark before. He first found the smoothest place to test. Unexpectedly, he easily found a flat ground under the snow.

Pushing aside the snow blocking the road, they slowly climbed up.

Unlike walking on snow-covered flat ground, climbing a mountain is a very painful thing when there is snow on the ground. It’s not just about clearing the way forward as you climb up.

They couldn't climb on the snow, they had to keep their feet on the ground. This made Kilde keep pulling at the front with his hands so that they could go up.

Fortunately, the snow on the steep slopes is not as thick as on the flat ground. The snow that had fallen in the past few days could reach up to the thighs on the flat ground, but it was not so thick on the slopes and only reached around the calves.

Although it is also very thick.

Another point is that when climbing a mountain, you have to be very careful not to fall down. Once you fall and roll down, it's a trivial matter to have to climb up again. The most serious thing is to hit the hard rock in the snow when rolling down the mountain.

Even though Kil is protected by armor, the armor is more for defense against sword slashes, and has only a limited defensive effect against bludgeoning damage from hitting rocks.

Kil didn't want to suffer this, so when he climbed up, he was more careful, more cautious, more cautious.

"Kiel, I didn't see that you are such a cautious person?" Knight Crow behind him said jokingly.

He intended to say some witty words, but considering that behind him was a powerful figure in Kendall County with a very high status and strength, he still took back the wise words that slipped to his lips.

He just said dryly: "If you fall and roll down, you will probably be seriously injured on such a steep hillside, right? I'd better be careful."

"Yes, that's true. It seems impossible to get a large group of militiamen up in such a steep place. A dozen skilled militia captains can probably do it." Knight Crow muttered a few words in a low voice, but Keir didn't. Listen clearly to what is said.

It took the two of them a lot of time to crawl to the place where Keir led the people to escape.

It is very conspicuous here, as other places are covered with thick snow, pure white or white and gray. Only the rocks here are not covered with snow.

After getting closer, I discovered that the patio that led vertically to the cave inside the mountain was continuously gushing out streams of warmer air.

Both Kil and Knight Crow were curious as to why there was so much hot air coming out of here. Keir took off his gloves and tested the temperature at the entrance to the patio. He found that it was much warmer than the cold air around him.

Opening the visor and smelling it carefully, there was a lot of smell of burning wood in the air, and there was also a vague complex smell of many other things mixed together.

After thinking about it, Kil suddenly realized why the heat was constantly gushing out from here.

It turned out that because it was very dark inside the mountain cave, the bandits must have lit many fires for lighting. It's fine in other seasons, those fires and the air heated by the fires are nothing. But in winter, the temperature inside the cave is significantly different from the temperature outside, and these hot air will be very conspicuous.

It melts the surrounding snow and continues to rise into the sky.

However, there is no black smoke from burning wood in the hot air coming out from here. It is probably because the black smoke generated in the hall where the bandits mainly operate is gathered at the top of the hall, while other hot air flows along the passages and vertical patios. Welling up.

Thinking about it this way, air must be pouring into the entrance of the bandit's lair. After all, hot air is flowing out from here, so the entrance to the lower cave must be filled with cold air.

Simple air pressure principle. The air in the cave was heated by the illuminated fire, expanded and became lighter, and then emerged from the vertical patio in front of Kil.

After the air pressure in the cave is lowered, the air from the entrance of the cave will flow in from high to low.

Kil rolled his eyes and briefly relayed his findings to Knight Crow. Knight Crow was not surprised at all. He said directly: "In this case, if we secure the bandit's entrance Seal it, then the bandits will be suffocated inside. After all, their air has been heated by the fire and escaped." After speaking, he pointed to the patio.

It was difficult for Kil to explain oxygen to Knight Crow with his mouth, but after thinking about it, the result was actually similar, so he nodded tentatively.

"Very good, this is also a way to solve the stubborn resistance of the bandits. If they want to rely on the narrow terrain of the cave to resist, they can do this when the time comes. Block the entrance to the cave first, wait until they realize something is wrong, and then send people to block the connection above. The patio opening to the outside world is sealed tightly. It is estimated that they will be finished in a short time." Knight Crow said.

He continued: "But this is only a backup method. If possible, I still hope that the militiamen can get sufficient training."

Kiel immediately said: "If we attack the bandits' lair, there will probably be a lot of militia casualties. What should we do?"

Patting Kil's armor arm, Knight Crow said confidently: "Fine and accurate command will greatly reduce losses. And as long as a large number of bandits are killed outside their lair, the casualties caused by the final attack on the cave can be avoided. After all, even if they fight to the death in the end, they must have enough fighting manpower. A small number of people cannot withstand the militia's attack."

Kil and Knight Crow were talking here, but the bandits passing under the patio vaguely heard someone talking above. They immediately reported to the bandit leaders in shock.

Although the bandits did not realize that Kiir led the people to escape from here before, this time they faced the militia's special clearance, and the bandits also prepared for this possible entrance and exit.

There are five elite bandits with axes in their hands. If anyone dares to come down from here, no matter how many they come, they will die here. Kill one with an axe, and the five bandits can even take turns to take a rest.

The five bandits who had been doing nothing before now vaguely heard the voice of someone talking at the entrance to the patio above their heads. As elites, they knew that there was no one on duty outside. In this case, it can only be a militia.

The bandits who thought of this immediately became frightened and sent someone to report the news.

The four bandit leaders immediately sent people out to expel them.

As one of the bandit leaders with a fierce style and the strongest desire to fight, Delang the Headman personally led his elite men from the entrance of the cave and used the simple wooden ladder they had prepared to set up on it. Just climb up the wooden ladder and you can directly reach the top of their lair. A few more steps will lead you to the vertical patio.

To be on the safe side, Delang called on fifteen of his elite men, all of whom were old men who had been with him for a long time. Different from the scattered bandits recently recruited, most of these guys have gone out with him to do at least five jobs. They are all good at fighting. They are fierce and brutal, which is very suitable for his style of doing things.

A deft bandit took the lead and climbed up the ladder, followed by three or two bandits carrying large wooden shields, and then Delang himself, and then the other men climbed up the simple wooden ladder in turn.

The terrain on the steep hillside was complicated, and it was impossible to deploy everyone at once. The bandits had to lean on each other, carefully kicking away the snow on the ground, and walked to the top of the patio.

Two people.

When he saw that there were only two people, Delang breathed a sigh of relief, and his men also breathed a big sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was not the militiamen who gathered here in large numbers. If the militiamen had established an offensive position on their heads, then they How to defend the entrance to the lair cave? Come out in vain and be shot to death by a crossbow from above?

The most terrifying expectation did not appear, which made all the thieves breathe a sigh of relief.

But Delang then realized that something was wrong with these two people.

One person is wearing thick and exaggerated steel armor. If the armor is not fake, it must weigh at least several hundred kilograms? Can humans support this weight?

If it is true, how much strength does it take to do it?

The other person is also in armor, and this person's armor is much more normal. Although the armor that protects the whole body is still strange, at least the hard cowhide armor is not heavy. If Delang hadn't been a bandit, he wouldn't have been able to buy armor and weapons in the town. He wanted to get himself a suit of armor to wear.

This man had many weapons on him, including axes, swords, shields and daggers. The weapon of the other man opposite who was wearing thick armor was much simpler, just a long sword on his waist.

They quickly approached the two men and barely managed to semi-surround them on the rugged and steep hillside.

"Take off your armor, put down your weapons, I promise not to kill you." The decapitated Delang slammed his double-edged ax on the ground, and then slapped the large iron ring armor outside his animal skin clothing with his hands. . The surrounding bandits also shouted in an effort to support their leader: "Surrender quickly, and we will be lenient. As long as you have one limb, we will let you go. Normally we don't leave you alive, haha, You still haven’t thanked our leader, huh?”

Kil and Knight Crow looked at each other. Kil's eyes were full of seriousness, while Knight Crow found it funny.

The knight put his hand on the hilt of the long sword at his waist and said to Kil: "Speaking of it, Kil. I haven't seen your ability yet. I promised you before that I would train you to be like me, but if If you are too capable, it will take me a long time, and you will also have to spend a lot of time."

Kil fixed the ax on his back, then pulled out the hunting sword, and fixed the metal shield with a damaged wooden surface on his left hand, ready for battle: "Please don't worry, I do everything on my own." It’s made from my own skills and has no water content.”

The knight let go of the hilt of his sword, crossed his arms, and stood still: "Show me what you are capable of."

"Okay, please watch it."

On the opposite side, the bandits were all angry. These two guys were so arrogant that they regarded their words as nothing. Delang, on the other hand, is both rough and subtle. Although he fights wildly, he is not a fool. His many years of banditry have taught him the difference between confidence and arrogance.

Seeing that among the two people on the opposite side, only the weaker one would fight for the time being, he also selected three good players, preparing to take down the man wearing hard cowhide armor.

It's not that he didn't think about everyone rushing up together and defeating the opponent, but his vague warrior instinct told him that if he did this, death might come immediately.

Waving his head, Delang waved his hand: "You three, take down that guy for me." His eyes were fierce and his words were unpleasant: "As long as he dies. His guy is good, I want the ax and other things. Whoever grabs it belongs to you."

The three bandits immediately became excited. Kiel's weapons and equipment all looked good. Not only did they look valuable, but now that they were facing a large-scale attack by the militia, full-frame armor or metal shields were both good things to save their lives.