Mercenaries and Adventurers

Kil thought that the one-handed heavy sword used by Knight Lanissa to deal with monsters seemed to be made entirely of black iron. The heavy weapon that he had to drag on the ground to move was not something that mortals like them could use normally.

He saw the middle-aged fisherman Wick dancing and imagining the magical oar he made out of a whole piece of black iron, and he had to give up this crazy idea.

"Stop for a moment, Mr. Wick. Ahem, I didn't make it clear just now. In fact, although the magic material black iron is 'cheap', it is still cheap compared to other rare magic materials."

The old man Boss immediately understood what Kiel meant: "So? Is the price of this black iron also very expensive? About how much, tell me."

Kil nodded, thought for a moment, and then remembered the price of magic weapons introduced to him by the mysterious craftsman who was a weapons craftsman on one side and a priest of the Church of the God of Craftsmen on the other in the Kendall City weapon forging workshop.

"The black iron magic material costs about half a kilogram and eight silver coins. I didn't actually use much when making my weapon, so it didn't cost much."

"Eight silver coins for half a kilogram? Hiss, it doesn't sound like a lot." Wick took the long sword from Bose's hand, shook it with both hands, thought for a moment and said, "Look at it this way, I can save it for several years. It seems that with money, you can make your own magical weapon!"

The more he talked, the more excited he became, but Boss sharply said to Keir: "Black iron is very heavy, so how much is it approximately per half kilogram?"

Kil looked awkwardly at Wick and gestured with his hands. He stretched out two fingers that were joined together: "It's probably a small square piece with the width of two fingers after taking off the gloves."

"Ah? It's so small, just half a kilogram?" Wick was surprised, then spread his arms and gestured about how big the paddle he usually used was.

"How much black iron does it take to make such a big oar? How much does it cost?"

The old man Boss choked Wick at the right time: "This is not a question of spending money. You can't save that much in your life anyway. The real problem is that a small piece of black iron weighs half a kilogram. That paddle of yours It's all made of black iron, so even with your family's help, you might not be able to pick it up, right?"

Wick pulled a face and stopped talking.

Kiel originally wanted to remind the other party that there is no need to actually make a paddle made entirely of metal as a weapon. After all, you can just make it out of steel and you can't use it yourself. It's very difficult to lift, let alone hit someone with it.

But it would be better for him to say less of such offensive words, since he is not familiar with them after all. Unlike 'Lake Diver' Bowes and Wick, who are both residents of the same village and both are fishermen, this old school seems to have a good relationship in private.

People can say whatever they want to say sarcastically about themselves, and forget about him. Talking like this to someone they don't know can easily make people angry.

-

The middle-aged fisherman Wick's dream of magic weapons was shattered before it even started, but he happened to have a magic sword used by the warrior sent by the knight to solve the problem, so his attention was quickly diverted.

"Kiel, can I take out the sword and take a look?" Wick asked cautiously. After all, the weapons of the soldiers in the story are their lifeblood and are rarely used by outsiders.

But after all, Kil was not a real person who grew up locally. He had been here for less than a year, and there were many stories in the tavern, but he did not regard some of the traditions of the warriors as his own habits.

"I said yes. However, in fact, you can't do it at all." Kil shrugged indifferently.

"Why?" Old Man Boss asked, stroking his gray beard.

Kil pointed to the hilt of the hunting sword.

"Because it is not only the sword body and the scabbard that are extraordinary, but basically the entire sword is made of various magic materials. It is even difficult for you to hold the hilt, because you are not me, and it will resist your hold. And I can’t pull the sword out of the scabbard, not because there is a locking mechanism on the scabbard, but simply because I am the owner of this weapon.”

Bos opened his eyes wide and said in surprise: "It has a soul!"

"Oh, no, it's not a soul. Knight Lanisha said it's a spiritual weapon."

"Spiritual weapon?" This time, both of them asked doubtfully.

Kil made a gesture of holding the weapon empty and slashed into the air beside him: "Ah, after fighting, we defeated the weapons that killed many beasts, monsters and enemies. Those lives that died under its blades will become The nourishment of weapons gives them some character and spirituality. This is what the adults explained to me, and I don’t know if you can understand it.”

Boss was thoughtful. It seems that in his relatively long life, he should have seen the weapons described by Keir.

Wick has lived in Wumihu Village since he was a child. He is just the leader elected by some fishermen. Although his life is relatively better than that of many other villagers, it is much thinner than that of Baos.

"Then let me try?"

After he finished speaking, he saw Keir extending his hand to signal him to do whatever he wanted, so the tall and strong middle-aged fisherman held the scabbard in his left hand and tried to hold the hilt of the sword in his right hand.

But once his hand was grasped on the wooden hilt, he could no longer hold it. Visible to the naked eye, between the palm and the hilt of the sword, there is a circle of scattered green light that circulates.

It is these seemingly void things that resist Wick's palm.

Wick squeezed it hard again, but even though he suppressed his blush and finally panted, he couldn't let his fingers touch the hilt of the sword.

Keir shrugged: "That's what I said."

The same was true for his fellow hunters, unable to hold the hilt of their swords at all, so at that time Kiel would first pull the sword out of its scabbard, and then let his companions hold the hilt of the sword awkwardly in the void to build a defensive position on the rocky mountain.

However, after the reforging was completed at the beginning, the hunting spirituality of this long sword was not so strong. Recently, it has become more and more powerful. It seems that the long sword's spirituality before the reforging has recovered or returned to that state.

Of course, compared with Keir's water-crossing two-handed axe, these are not even close.

The two-handed axe, which has not yet been equipped with an ax handle, can be swung with a rope and thrown, and it can attack the selected target according to Kil's wishes.

However, the ax also had a very bad temper, allowing it to chop down the little beasts that were snooping out of the woods on the way there. It was so disgusted that it flew back on its own after being thrown out by Kil.

After chatting and joking for a while, the three of them became somewhat familiar with each other. At this time, they all sat at the log table again and discussed how to deal with the sunken fish.

Kil didn't know much about capsizing fish, so he asked the two fishermen leaders to introduce him to this monster that was entrenched in the water and could prevent a large number of northern wolves from swimming to attack the village.

Wick and Boss looked at each other, and then Wick first described this thing to Kil.

"Ah, sunken fish, first of all, this thing is very big. Look, from the table to the door of the house, the six or seven meters long is almost the same as their length."

Kil turned around and saw that if Wick said it was true, this thing wasn't actually very big. At least it's not bigger than Kiel expected.

"please continue."

"Oh, Kiel, you're not very surprised. Do you think they are a bit small? Actually, no, it's just the length. In fact, the head and belly of the capsus are very big, and the size of its mouth can completely suck a northern wolf in. Chew them in your mouth. And they also have thick hard tumors on their heads. They don’t look like much, but they can easily penetrate the thick ice.”

The old man next to him, Boss, sighed: "Hey, it was just because of this that in the first winter after the introduction of sunken fish, they ate up a whole group of people who were hiking through the ice to cut ice for fishing. Fishermen. One of my little sons died just like that near the shore."

As he said this, the old man choked up a little, and sadly covered his cheeks with his hands to cover his red, tearful eyes.

Wick snorted unhappily and was silent for a moment. Then, as if he couldn't bear it anymore, he yelled loudly at 'Lake Diver' Boss: "It's not all your fault! Back then, the priest repeatedly told the big guy The sunken fish is so powerful that it can resist the northern wolf from attacking the village on the ice in any winter. You are the only stubborn old thing! You fought against the priest, and the result was fine, so many people were killed."

Then he lowered his voice and explained to Keir. Although this incident, in which many people died, did happen, the fishermen living in the north of the village never told outsiders because they wanted to appease the villagers. From the perspective of outsiders, at least the occasional caravans who are not afraid of northern wolf intrusion, although there are northern wolves on the road and sunken fish in the lake, at least the sunken fish have not killed anyone. The entire Wumi Lake Village There is still hope.

Kil patted the scabbard of the long sword placed on the wooden table, making a slapping sound to stop the ensuing dispute between the two.

"Hey, it's all in the past. If we complain now, we might as well discuss and find a way to deal with the sunken fish that harmed the villagers. Revenge the dead fishermen!"

Wick also slammed the table: "That's right, kill those sunken fish."

Bose took a deep breath, gradually calmed down and eased his emotions. He also said seriously: "Okay, avenge the dead people."

After saying that, he closed his eyes in pain again.

With a click of his lips, Kil motioned for Wick to continue introducing the sunken fish.

"Because there are tumors on the head that can pierce the ice, even in winter, no matter how thick the ice is on the lake, no one or any beast dares to set foot on it. As for the huge belly of the sunken fish, the priest said, That is, it can absorb water when swallowing prey on the water surface so that the prey cannot escape at all. In addition, it can also accommodate a huge stomach pouch, which can swallow a dozen beasts as big as northern wolves in one breath."

"Let alone people, it's impossible to really find dozens of people to die one after another, feed those capsized fish, and then deal with them."

When Kil heard this, he put his hand on the table, then propped his chin up and thought.

He felt that this was not a troublesome but effective stupid method.

As long as they feed the sunken fish with other things instead of people, they don't have to worry about being swallowed by the sunken fish for the time being. In this way, they can have a chance to avoid death and deal with the sunken fish on the ice.

But I'm afraid that the sunken fish will be full and stop swimming near the water surface, which will be troublesome.

After thinking about it, Keir felt that this method was not very effective and could be considered as a no-op solution before finally being used.

"By the way, I have a question." Kil asked.

"What's the problem, tell me."

"That's right. How many sunken fish are there? Also, they won't settle here to lay eggs, right?"

However, after hearing Kiel's question, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief: "This problem is simple. There are four capsizing fish, and they are all male and cannot reproduce. The priest prayed to God to arrange this at the very beginning."

Kil narrowed his eyes: "Then why don't you ask that priest to kill the four sunken fish in this lake? I'm not a local, but I have always heard that the priests of the Lord of Rivers and Lakes Church in Kendall County are very powerful. , has the ability to induce miracles?"

'Lake Diver' Baos smiled bitterly: "After all, the wolf problem was solved by the lord not long ago. We didn't think so much about the future. But these days, there is no threat of wolf problem, and everyone gradually feels that there is a sinking fish. The Wumi Lake is really not as good as before. I also contacted the priest at that time, but the priest thought that it was disrespectful to the gods for him to clean up the sunken fish, and even asked all believers not to directly deal with the sunken fish in the future. Hurt the sunken fish.”

Wick continued: "It's not as good as before. It's not that there are fewer fish in the lake. It's not. It's that it's more difficult to cast a net to catch fish. When we are on the lake, everyone no longer sleeps peacefully. In the boat, everyone is always worried about the sunken fish under the water. When they see the shadow of the big fish, they are all panicked."

Boss continued: "And the children born and raised in recent years can't even swim in the water. Can you believe this? Our fishermen's children can't even swim. Hey, but what can we do about this? Woolen cloth."

"Well, it seems that it is not just a problem with the northern wolves, but the sunken fish caused by it has also brought great troubles and difficulties to the fishermen in the village." Keir concluded.

He continued: "Tell me, haven't you planned how to deal with sunken fish over the years?"

The two looked at each other, and then whispered: "Actually, there is."

Old man Boss said: "When my youngest son died in the mouth of a sunken fish, I went to the young priest who had just arrived in the village. I said I wanted revenge and begged the priest to give me a chance."

"What did he say?" Kil asked curiously, lying on the table.

Wick was a little surprised: "How dare you take revenge? Didn't you know at that time that the sunken fish was the only water barrier that helped our village resist the northern wolves?"

Boss glanced at Wick apologetically: "I know, I also asked the priest at the time. I said I couldn't bear to be so old and lose my little son who had just grown up. But the priest let me do whatever I wanted. , because when I went to see the priest, the priest happened to be alone, talking to the gods."

Saying this, Bos swallowed his saliva.

The same goes for the other two people in the room.

"What next?"

"The priest said that the gods also knew about this kind of thing directly, but the gods only gave me one chance to find a way to fight against the sunken fish. At that time, I killed one, and he sent another one. Let me do whatever I want. , showing the skills and wisdom of fishermen living by the water.”

"Oh?" Kil didn't expect this natural god to do this. He seemed to be just watching the fun.

“I then secretly made some preparations, and then at the turn of spring and summer I tried to hunt a sunken fish.”

"Did it succeed?" Wick asked urgently.

"What method did you use?" Kil also asked at the same time.

Boss glanced at Wick sideways and said, "Of course it didn't work." Then he explained to Keer his method at that time.

"I asked my eldest son to follow the caravan to Kendall City with the money, and find the blacksmiths there to make a pair of barbed throwing spears. In addition, I have used the harpoon all my life to make a good job. Once I’m ready, I’ll paddle out.”

"Hey, it turned out that the harpoon couldn't penetrate the scales of the capsized fish at all. Instead, the harpoon was thrown into the mouth of the capsized fish. It went in, but the beast swallowed it directly into his mouth without even chewing it. Then the capsized fish pushed straight towards my fishing boat. Fortunately, the fishing boat had connected the two boats together according to the method given by the lord, so it was not directly overturned by the big fish. "

Wick mocked: "So you ran away and didn't tell anyone?"

Boss was silent for a moment and said nothing more.

Regardless of old man Bose's mental journey at this time, Keir turned to look at Wick: "What about you? Have you ever thought about or made any plans to deal with sunken fish before?"

Wick laughed: "Of course, although none of my family members died in the mouth of the sunken fish, some of my guys' family members died in that incident of not listening to dissuasion in the early years, and many people were injured. In the infestation of sunken fish. After we got used to this kind of life in the past two years, we would talk about this kind of things when we get together."

Then he patted his chest: "Although I haven't tried this idea, it is definitely much more reliable than the old man's single-handed action. This was all thought up together and discussed by everyone."

Keir's eyes lit up: "Oh, since you are so confident, let's talk about it."

"It's like this. Although those capsize fish are powerful, they are big fish with no brains after all. They only know how to swim in the water every day to catch food. Basically, when they see something on the ice on the water surface, they will directly go to it from the bottom of the water. Then he opened his mouth and sucked the thing into his mouth, chewed it a few times and then swallowed it."

Kil narrowed his eyes, as if he had thought of what Wick was going to say next.

"So let's make a dangerous meat bait, hunt some animal from the forest outside, and then empty its belly and fill it with sharp knives. Just feed this thing directly to the sunken fish, hum! Eat until it's full Only then will those capsize fish know not to put anything in their mouths!"

Keir felt that although he didn’t know whether this method would be effective, he could at least give it a try.

So he said: "I think Mr. Wick's method can be tried. At least there is no danger in doing it this way. Well, let's do this. You contact some brave fishermen and prepare one or two boats in the best condition. That's what you are doing today The kind you use. As for me, I went to the village chief Corydon and asked him to find a way to prepare some of the sharp blades you mentioned in the village. Then I went out of the village and brought back five or six animals for us to use as Meat bait.”

"Prepare for a few days, and after everything is done, let's try this method!"

"good!"

"good!"