Mercenaries and Adventurers

Kil put on the cowhide armor and followed Knight Crow into the city. The two of them went straight to the guard bunker inside the city gate, walked along the sloping downward passage, and reached a deeper level.

Along the way, the stewards who manage this place go ahead, lighting the oil lamps beside the passage in advance, and guiding the way.

The terrain here is very low, and after entering more than ten meters underground, the temperature is far colder than the outside. Fortunately, when the oil lamp was lit, it not only provided illumination, but also gradually blew in warm air as time went by.

Keir raised his head and looked at the top of the passage. With the illumination of the oil lamp, he found the top gap for ventilation.

When we reached the end of the passage, the passage under our feet became flat again with no slope, and a stone door blocked it.

There were no guards on either side, and the steward in charge of managing this place stood aside with his hands tied up and his hands unsmiling. After taking a closer look, Keir discovered that the closed stone door had no locks or opening and closing mechanisms at all.

On the stone door carved with warning words, there is a vertical groove that can be grasped.

"Sir, since the weapons were prepared a few days ago, the door of the warehouse has not been opened again. Hehe." The steward who led the way smiled flatteringly at Knight Crow, but Knight Crow just nodded and whispered. He replied: "I know."

Then, he put one hand into the groove, stood firm on both feet, and exerted force on his arms, a rumbling vibration and friction sound came from the stone door.

The semicircular passage was entirely built with stones, so the loud sound of opening the stone door was repeatedly refracted left and right, damaging the ears of the three people in the passage.

The stone door gradually opened sideways from left to right, gradually revealing the warehouse behind the door.

Knight Crow pushed the entire stone door completely to the right into the gap that contained the stone door itself. The steward in charge of the supplies in the warehouse also picked up the oil lamp, entered first, and lit the lighting candles on the wall inside.

The flames of the candles gradually brightened, revealing the entire underground warehouse.

Knight Crow clapped his hands, dusted off his gloves, and walked in. Kil also followed. He looked carefully at the stone door that Knight Crow had opened alone just now. Only then did he realize that the stone door was actually thirty centimeters thick. If it weren't for the cylindrical stone pillars arranged horizontally at the bottom of the stone door to assist the movement of the stone door, Knight Crow probably won't be able to open this thing either.

It weighs at least a dozen tons.

The interior of the warehouse is quite spacious, and the area near the door is relatively empty. There are boxes of packed weapons placed on the ground. Not far away, there are various things stacked up, and further away, there are more weapons and equipment placed on wooden shelves.

"Sir, the full set of militia equipment that we have counted sixty boxes before has been prepared according to the size of a ten-man team." The steward counted the sixty boxes that had been placed at the door in front of Knight Crow. box of equipment, and then he directly opened a wooden box that Crow Knight randomly selected, opened the wooden box and showed it to Crow Knight.

Kil also followed behind and saw ten simple leather and wood helmets, ten sets of simple leather and wood breastplates for the upper body, and ten sets of hooded shorts simply sewn from burlap. robes, ten crossbows that have been assembled but without strong crossbow strings, ten complete sets of short swords and hand shields, and ten pairs of soft leather and leather boots with wooden soles.

Kil read out the names of the things inside one by one. Every time he read one, Knight Crow nodded once.

Although the steward next to him didn't know who Kiel was, since he was following Knight Crow, he was one of Knight Crow's men, so he didn't show any surprise when Kiel counted the types of supplies.

After finishing counting, Kil looked up at Knight Crow: "There are no spears or crossbow bolts used by the militiamen. Everything else is here."

Knight Crow nodded: "Put the spear on it, that thing is not dangerous."

The steward also nodded: "The spear is the main weapon of the soldiers. If it is not large-scale, there is no danger in using it alone."

Knight Crow continued: "As for the crossbow bolts, it is too dangerous to issue them to the soldiers on site, and they will not put the crossbows and crossbow bolts together during storage."

The steward nodded: "The crossbow arrows are all stored in the warehouse under the jurisdiction of the Government Affairs Office, not here."

Knight Crow glared at the steward, thinking he talked too much.

The steward covered his mouth with one hand and smiled awkwardly.

"Linden, go up and call twenty people to transport these supplies to the square outside. Don't lose anything after moving it up!"

"Yes, Lord Knight!"

After saying that, the middle-aged steward named Linden walked quickly towards the passage.

Knight Crow raised his chin at the open wooden box: "Kiel, close the wooden box."

"Okay, sir." Kil ordered, closed the wooden box, and then tied the wooden box tightly with the previously untied rope.

Then Knight Crow took Kil and walked around the warehouse at will. In addition to the sixty boxes of equipment used by the militiamen that had been prepared before, there were more other weapons and equipment.

But they are all quite messy. Things are roughly placed separately, but even if they are stacked, they look messy.

Fortunately, there is not much dust here. It seems that there is no ventilation system inside the warehouse. Ventilation mainly relies on the ventilation shafts on the outside passages to provide air. Therefore, there is not much dust in the air here, so naturally there will be no dust.

And since the entire warehouse is built with solid rock, there are no mouse holes that are common in ordinary houses, and naturally there are no mice.

Soon, Steward Linden came down with his people.

After the guards saw Knight Crow saying hello, they followed the instructions and used wooden sticks to pass through the ropes on the wooden box. In groups of four, they carried the wooden box up.

Kil wanted to help, but was stopped by Knight Crow: "What? Do you think you can lift an entire wooden box by yourself? Let them do it. They won't be needed in the war anyway. Kil , you will have plenty to do on the road."

Kil saw that when Knight Crow said that they did not need to participate in this expedition, the guards seemed a little happy.

Therefore, he boldly asked how many people Baron Kendall had prepared for this time to participate in the war in the south of the kingdom.

Knight Crow thought about it for a moment, and then told Keir: "Anyway, we are going to leave soon, so it doesn't matter if I tell you."

"This expedition is Baron Kendall's invitation from the nobles on the southern border of the kingdom to compete with the neighboring nobles for a large mineral vein located on the border between the two countries. Basically, the young militiamen with brothers in Kendall's militia training over the years have received A total of 600 people were recruited. These people serve as the main body of the team. In addition, there are 30 town guards, 20 baron guards, and 50 logistics personnel. The logistics personnel are provided by the government The recruitment includes the secretary for logistics management and the accompanying craftsmen, as well as five key priests from each church responsible for treatment."

"In general, there are about 700 people, but including some accompanying personnel, there are probably no more than 750 people."

Only then did Kil realize how many people there were in the team.

If all the 600-person militiamen have the equipment prepared in the wooden box next to them, then although the number of these people is not large, their combat effectiveness is really not small.

Six hundred people, six hundred bows and crossbows fired in a volley, and it would be difficult for a light cavalry of dozens of people to break through the rain of crossbow bolts.

Thinking of this, Keir shuddered.

-

The twenty guards who did not have to go out were in high spirits, so they moved quickly. By noon, they had already carried sixty heavy boxes of weapons and equipment outside.

Kil blew out the lighting candle in the warehouse, and Knight Crow slowly closed the stone door with one hand just like opening the stone door of the warehouse.

Keir looked at the stone gate and smiled bitterly, feeling that the local approach to preventing theft was really unique.

The heavy stone door has a groove that can only be penetrated deeply by one hand. If you don't have the skills of a strong knight like Knight Crow, you basically can't even think about taking out the things in the warehouse.

Sure enough, there was a reason why the warehouse was unguarded.

The three of them followed the passage to the upper level. Knight Crow asked Steward Linden to open a smaller room on the side of the training ground, which contained the spears used by the militiamen during winter training. Some of the spears that were not cleaned properly still had blood stains on them, so the smell here was not good.

"Call them back, order, um, five hundred spears, take them out and carry them to the top. Kil, you stay here to count them, I'll watch from outside."

After saying that, Knight Crow patted Kil and Linden on the shoulders, and then strode out.

Keir smiled at Steward Linden, who shrugged.

"Brothers, don't rest. Your Majesty still has orders. After moving the five hundred spears outside, everyone will be fine!"

The middle-aged steward shouted loudly at the guards resting in the training ground.

Although they were very tired, the guards still walked over slowly.

Seeing that Kil was stunned in place, Steward Linden patted Kil's arm: "Don't be stunned, young man. Go in and order spears. Give them five or five spears, and they will be done soon."

"Oh, okay." Kil reacted and walked into the house. The only weapon in the whole house was the spear.

The spears used by the militiamen were four meters long, thick at one end and thin at the other. Overall, they were not heavy. Kiel pulled out five spears, then held the tail ends and handed them to the guards waiting at the door of the house.

"One bundle." Kil counted in his mouth.

Steward Linden took out a record book from the waist of their steward or clerk, took out the pen from the device with ink bottle and pen on his waist, and wrote what was written on the latest page of his record book. Then he made a heavy vertical stroke.

"Five!"

He explained loudly. It is not only a reminder to Keir, but also one of the work procedures.

Kil quickly came out with five more spears.

"Second bundle."

Steward Linden continued to mark down the book: "Ten spears!"

This continued until the fifth bundle on Kiel's side, when Steward Linden made a horizontal stroke on the notebook: "Twenty-five spears!"

The guards didn't think that Kiel and the two were slow in their movements. They gathered outside the house, waiting, rubbing their shoulders, talking and laughing.

After all, the spear was light in weight, and Kil's movements were fast, so the spear was taken out after noon.

"Very good, Kil. All the five hundred spears assigned by Knight Crow have been completed." Linden was very happy, which meant that he had completed most of today's work.

Kil looked at at least half of the spears in the room and shrugged. Obviously, Baron Kendall and Knight Crow had been stocking up on spears. It is estimated that all militiamen in the entire county who have undergone militia training should be equipped with this simple weapon.

Considering the number of other weapons and equipment in the large warehouse deeper below his feet, it was obvious that Baron Kendall was well prepared for the armed militia.

As Keir and Manager Linden walked out together, they analyzed the matter.

There are many weapons in the warehouse that have not been used yet, but none of them look like they have deteriorated after being stored for a long time. They were obviously only manufactured in recent years. Considering the time when the person who manages these things, namely Knight Crow, came here, it is obvious that this weapon was made under his management only after Knight Crow became a knight under the baron.

So the question is, Baron Kendall agreed to the demands of the Crow Knights, asked craftsmen to manufacture such a large number of weapons and equipment, and spent a lot of money to recruit young men for militia training every winter. Who are they guarding against?

In other words, who are they preparing to deal with?

-

The city gate guards were stationed outside the bunker. At this time, a large number of wooden boxes and piles of spears were piled on the square. Not only that, from the direction of the main road of Kendall City, donkey carts recruited by the government office were pulling a large amount of army logistics supplies from the road, and they all gathered in the city gate square.

Kiel saw that many donkey carts were borrowed from various chambers of commerce, but the drivers were not the caravan guys that Kiel knew, but the city militia affiliated with the government office.

The square was bustling with people and donkeys braying.

However, it was lively, but not chaotic. After all, Knight Crow was standing on the wooden box containing the militia equipment at this time, holding a high-grade oak wine glass from the 'Wharton's Full Belly' tavern, while taking a sip from the inside. drink while looking around.

No one dared to make trouble under his nose, so although it was quite lively and novel, the curious people still gathered in the distance, not close to the square, but just looked here from a distance and pointed out everything that happened here. Point, keep curious.

Knight Crow's senses were very sensitive, and as soon as Steward Keir and Steward Linden came out, he waved them over to him.

"Come here. There are two of you." The knight stopped the two guards stationed at the door of the bunker.

"Come here, everyone. I have something to explain."

Seeing that Keir and Linden were in charge, and the two gate guards were approaching, he took command.

"Kiel, take these two guards and go to the camp outside to find Knight Rumi. Tell him as I say: 'Gather all the militiamen from each team, and then ask those boys to go into the city in groups of ten to collect weapons in the square. Equipment.’ That’s all, things have been discussed before, that’s what you said, Kiel.”

"Also, you two, follow Kil, and after meeting Knight Rumi, you said that this young man, Joe Kil, is my knight apprentice. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" The two guards looked at each other, touched their heels, and loudly accepted the order.

"Go ahead."

Kil then left the city with two middle-aged guards.

At the nearby city gate, several of the guards who guarded the city gate after hearing Knight Crow's words winked at Keir.

Keir could only smile and wave at them.

Here, Knight Crow asked his steward Lyndon to use ink to number serial numbers from one to sixty on each box so that the militiamen would not mess up when they came to collect weapons and equipment.

"You go down and call a few unlucky guys and wait at the entrance of our bunker. If any wooden box is empty, just move it down and pile it in the corner of the training ground."

"Yes, sir!" Steward Linden agreed. He first went down to find four people, then took out an ink pen and started marking numbers on the outermost circle of wooden boxes.

After Knight Crowe finished marking the first wooden box, he jumped lightly from a box in the distance directly to the first box.

He took a sip from the wine glass in his hand, only to find that there was no drink in it.

"One more drink!" He shouted at the 'Wharton's Full Belly' pub on the other side of the square, and then threw the oak wine glass over there without looking.

He threw the wine glass skillfully.

But the young bartender walked to the door of the tavern, pushed aside the male and female waiters who were crowding at the door to watch the excitement, and stretched out his hand with open palm.

The oak wine glass that flew straight towards him landed in front of the bartender's hand.

He reached out to fish it out, held the wine glass, and handed it to his companion: "Give Knight Crow another glass of bitter leaf essence juice."

The waiter nodded, took the glass, and walked into the tavern. The bartender bowed slightly to Knight Crow from a distance.

Knight Crow waved his hand casually.

-

Kil led people out of the city gate. He knew where Knight Rumi's tent was.

So he headed directly towards the opponent's tent, hoping that Knight Rumi would be in his tent at this time.

Sure enough, as expected by Knight Crow, Kil was blocked outside Knight Rumi's tent. Fortunately, the two town guards who followed behind conveyed Kil's new identity at this time, and the guards turned around and entered. He entered the tent and called out Knight Rumi, who was holding a wood carving and a carving knife.

This Knight Rumi is also a tall and strong middle-aged man, even taller and stronger than Knight Crow. However, Knight Rumi's appearance is relatively simple, and he does not look like a very smart and shrewd person.

"I'm Punk-Rumi. Are you the knight apprentice that that guy Crow accepted as the guards said?"

The other party looked at Kil carefully, his eyes focused on Kil's long sword and the ax on his back: "Looks like he's quite capable."

Kil saluted: "Thank you for your recognition, but at this time Lord Crowe Knight has something to convey to you: 'Gather all the militiamen from each team, and then let a team of ten militiamen go into the city to the square to collect weapons and equipment. 'Well, that's all."

Knight Rumi smiled: "Well, okay. It seems that we can set off soon. After all, it doesn't look like it is like this now. We have to train the militiamen on the way."

After saying that, he blew a very loud whistle, and all of a sudden, the eyes of all the surrounding militiamen who were waiting idlely were focused on him.

Seeing that the knight was about to give orders, some militiamen wandering around the camp gathered together.

"Everyone, listen carefully! Everyone assemble! Everyone assemble!"

Knight Rumi roared loudly.

All of a sudden, the militiamen were all shocked, and immediately ran back to their respective camps, waking up all their sleeping comrades in the camp. Then, Knight Rumi's loud voice came to mind again: "Listen, everyone, follow the previous assignment. Teams of ten people gathered together. The captains and deputy captains of each team led their respective team members for me. One person was missing, and the captain became a deputy, and the deputy became a captain. Teams of ten people gathered at the entrance of their respective tents. Then the team will be led by the captain and deputy captain to assemble in the middle of the road."

"I repeat, there is one less person in the team, the team leader becomes the deputy, and the deputy captain becomes the team leader directly!"

"Did you hear that clearly?"

As soon as Knight Rumi's loud voice fell, hundreds of people responded loudly.

"Listen clearly!"

The sound was deafening.

Then there were noisy sounds, waking up the companions who had fallen asleep before, shouting the nickname of the companion who was missing one person, or indicating where a certain team was gathering.

"Okay, young man, you go back and reply to Crowe." Knight Rumi patted Kiel on the shoulder, and then walked towards the messy militia camp, commanding the militiamen like headless flies to bring order.