Mercenaries and Adventurers

Keir cheered up and said hello to Baron Kendall, then fell silent.

The baron and the knight did not focus on Kil. They exchanged brief greetings, and then the baron listened to Knight Rumi's report.

"Sir, the militiamen are ready to set off at any time. They can set off now. If they march with torches tonight, they will arrive at Bingxun Pass at midnight today. If they don't march at night, they will arrive at noon tomorrow."

Baron Kendall nodded: "Go there as soon as possible. I have already made arrangements at Bingxun Pass in advance. The militiamen can take a brief rest outside Bingxun Pass tonight. After leaving the county tomorrow, they will switch to a formal march."

He gently fiddled with the neatly trimmed beard on his chin with his gloved hand: "It's just right for those people to see. If I want to, I can take the Ice Flood Pass on the same day if I set out on the same day."

The baron's words immediately made the two knights laugh.

But Kiel didn't understand what they were talking about. Why did they want to win Bingshuguan? Isn't that the jurisdiction of Kendall County?

But he remembered Knight Crow's instructions to him not to speak, so he just listened and did not interrupt.

After the three of them finished speaking, they turned around and walked out one after another.

Knight Crow took Keir, got on his horse after leaving the tent, and then rode around in the militia camp. Kiel saw that Knight Crow called up the town guards who were accompanying him this time, quickly formed a team, and then casually ordered two groups of militiamen. Dozens of people just broke away from the group and walked out first. We arrived at a field outside the city that had been ravaged by floods a few days ago.

Outside the city, even though the militiamen have blocked the city and camped outside the city in the past few days, the farmers here did not delay farming.

Under the leadership of the Church of Saturn, the men of the farmers led the oxen and used plows to plow and mix the fertile silt with the moist soil underneath, while the women helped the priests divide the fields of each family.

Some deeply buried stone strips were not washed away by the flood, and these stone strips became the distinguishing conditions of large areas. Through the rough division of fields, each household selected what they owned from the large fields. Legal field size.

At this time, the peasant women would quarrel over the fields closer to the city, and the pushing and cursing would continue. Whoever was more powerful would be able to fight for the land closer to the city.

If there is no fight, the Saturnine priests will not get involved in this kind of thing. After all, this kind of thing is really out of place.

Of course, when there is a dispute, the priests will only defend the believers who believe in the God of Agriculture. Those who do not believe in God will naturally have to face the farmers and priests who stick together, and consciously choose a remote field to cultivate by themselves.

After a few days, the ground that had been ravaged by floods has gradually become drivable. The original roads were submerged in silt, but fortunately there are trees with well-rooted trees planted on both sides of the road, so that people can see at a glance where the original road is. .

There is also a law in Kendall County that Keel is not aware of. After the flood, the fertile silt on the road is a godsend that everyone can take, and farmers who are engaged in farming can take it as they please.

In fact, the government office only saved a fortune in clearing road mud.

Naturally, farmers rushed to collect these free things in advance, and directly used barrels and shovels to transport the mud from the trees on both sides of the road to their fields.

"Lord Knight, where are we going? Why don't we go with the large army." Kiel followed the leading Knight Crow on horseback. Behind the two of them, the town guards and militiamen on foot were all following on foot, and the two He also rode a horse and walked slowly.

"We are the vanguard, exploring the road. A small number of the most elite troops walk in front of the main body of the team for half a day, providing marching reconnaissance for the main body of the team and logistics behind."

Knight Crowe rode leisurely on his horse and explained to Keir.

"We have more than 20 town guards and two small groups of militiamen walking in front to judge the road conditions, bridge conditions in advance, and even determine the location where the large troops will camp every day. However, we negotiate with the towns and nobles passing by along the way to use the road to march. There is no need for us to handle the matter, the Baron had already sent people to roughly handle the matter during the winter."

"approximately?"

Knight Crow coughed in embarrassment: "Absolutely, just think about it. Not all nobles will like a team of hundreds of people to pass through their territories all the way. Even if we are walking Busy main trade road.”

He nodded at the militiamen behind him: "You should realize that the lower-level nobles do not have a formal standing army. At most, like Kendall City, they have a force of one or two hundred guards to maintain the main towns. Other places, villages, towns, settlements, and even cities with smaller populations may not be able to withstand an attack of hundreds of militiamen of this magnitude."

He chuckled: "Kier, you will understand later that not every place is like Kendall County, and not every lord is like the Kendall Baron family. Development? Haha, where are they in that thing? Is it important to receive the coins in your hand?”

"During the years I served in the army, I traveled across the entire kingdom. Ignorance, backwardness, xenophobia, narrow-mindedness, stupidity, short-sightedness, misery, oppression, hunger, poverty, and cruelty. These things are widespread and spread throughout the kingdom. In the villages scattered in the countryside, not everyone is happy and comfortable. Cities in other places, even if they are bright and beautiful, are adjacent to real slums full of filth."

"Oh, the common people of Kendall always laugh at themselves as the slums where they live. Where are the poor people there? Rich people in other cities can't live in their kind of clean and safe houses." Speaking of this, Knight Crow shook his head. Shake his head.

He looked at Keir: "I won't say any more, young man, you can see it with your own eyes."

"I understand, Lord Knight." Kil responded.

But he only heard Knight Crow whispering to himself: "You understand."

"So, dozens of us will go in front to open the way, while Rumi will follow us with a large army. By this time, they should have set off. The Baron will lead the logistics team, food, Supplies, equipment, money, etc. are all in the logistics.”

-

Shortly after Kiel and others set off, Knight Rumi summoned the militiamen, lined up and set off along the road.

At the same time that the militiamen were gathering to set off, Baron Kendall had already asked the donkey carts that had been prepared yesterday in the city gate square to start setting off.

His attendants took down the baron's big tent, packed it up, and prepared it for loading.

Part of the militia was left to the command of the baron, plus his own personal guards, and the logistics team was also quite large.

Donkey-carts loaded with supplies drove out of the city gate one after another, mixed in with the supply vehicles of the baron himself and the two knights. The two personal guards of Knight Crow also drove the carriage into the long queue. These vehicles have been dragging the long queue. The front end has caught up with the end of the militia army, and the rear end has not yet left Kendall City. .

When the last donkey cart walked out of the city gate, Baron Kendall waved at the city gate, bid farewell to his family and tribesmen, and arranged for five mounted guards to follow the convoy at the back, while he led his people to the front. .

The donkey cart is faster than the militiamen on foot, but the logistics naturally cannot run faster than the troops who are the main body of the team.

At this time, the militiamen from various towns who were driving the train were chatting and laughing, talking to the clerks and cooks who were on the train about the things and novelties that most people felt about going out with the army for the first time in their lives.

Several church priests who accompanied the army had a special carriage. In the spacious carriage, there were several priests from various churches. No one spoke. Everyone was doing their own thing, or sitting cross-legged in the middle of the carriage to meditate, or to pray to God with their hands clasped together. While praying, there were people lying on the carriage windows, opening the wooden windows of the carriages, and using ink pens to record their experiences on the trip in their personal notepads.

Baron Kendall and his party galloped past the road, and the baron himself waved to a young priest who looked at him. The young priest recorded the heroic posture of this group of people while riding horses in his notepad.

He revised and revised it, and finally he was satisfied with the description of the scene just now.

‘The baron waved to me, and I excitedly showed my goodwill to the baron who was running past the carriage. The baron's attendants were very skilled in riding, far superior to the guards who followed them. The soft ground became a mess after being trampled by the horses, but fortunately, our carriage was near the end of the team, which would not affect the march of the militiamen who moved forward by foot.

Everyone was confined in a carriage carriage. Even so, the specially made carriage was spacious and would not make us feel uncomfortable. Everyone is restrained simply because they have never been in a small space with so many people from other churches, and this time will last for a long time. Phew, I'm looking forward to the afternoon trimming now. Will it be repaired in the afternoon? After all, the donkeys and horses pulling the cart could walk slowly for a whole day, but the militiamen couldn't do this, right? ’

Not only did the accompanying priests feel fresh about the march, but even the militiamen were in high spirits. After all, most of them arrived at Kendall City early at the end of winter when the snow had not yet melted. Although there has been a free supply of food these days , but after all, there is still nothing to do.

Now that everyone has finally set off, even though the future of this trip is uncertain, everyone is still relaxed.

Someone sang a song, and soon, a popular country ballad rang out from the militia. On both sides of the wet and soft roads, some working farmers and women stopped their work, stretched out their hands to set up awnings to cover their eyes, and looked at the large group of people singing on the road.

Baron Kendall rushed to the front of the logistics convoy, followed by the militiamen responsible for the security of the logistics team. He listened to the singing coming from the front, and sang in a low voice with the attendants beside him in high spirits.

Although he is middle-aged, he is more familiar with the land beneath his feet than most people in the team, including the songs sung by the people there.

The Kingdom of St. Halls advocates music and songs. Although it was a habit brought by the great nobles when the country was founded, it still influenced this young country that was only a hundred years old from top to bottom, including the low-ranking nobles and people.

"Hey, pick up the fire. Hey, pick up the gun and stab the roaring beast as hard as you can."

"Hey, pick up the shield. Hey, pick up the sword and strike hard at the robbing robbers."

"Hey, pick up the leather rope. Hey, pick up the bow and shoot hard at the enemy."

"Hey, take off your pants, hey, take off your shoes, and rush towards the enthusiastic woman."

"Hey, stay alert, hey, be careful, because you don't have the money to feed them."

"Hey, grab your clothes, hey, run quickly, be careful not to be caught by their relatives."

Knight Rumi in the militia team laughed out loud while riding on his horse. Although his village belonged to Kendall County, it was actually blocked by mountains. The enclave-like land could be developed and built by him, simply because Because the lord of the next county owed Baron Kendall a large sum of money many years ago, and the territory could not develop well, and the debt could not be paid, a piece of land was transferred to Kendall County under the witness of the noble council.

Naturally, Baron Kendall is not wanted everywhere. The village established by Knight Rumi has a relatively valuable plant growth environment, which is also the source of funds for the development of his territory.

Don't ask why people don't develop. They are simply poor and can't even spend money on the early development of valuable plants.

Of course, this also resulted in the fact that although the two families were close neighbors, their relationship was just that.

Knight Rumi not only has to guard against wild beasts and monsters in the mountains and forests adjacent to his territory, but he also has to be on guard against anyone from the neighboring county stumbling upon him at any time.

The main reason for saying this is that Knight Rumi has never heard of this song that is occasionally sung in taverns in Kendall County. It seems to be about marching and fighting, but in fact it is filled with people's thoughts about the war at the beginning. I take it for granted that in the second half of the song, the dirty things from the country are mixed into it.

Knight Rumi had never heard of this before. When he joined the army, although the soldiers and knights in the army would also sing songs when marching and stationed, the content of those songs was really serious, and most of them were important points that needed ideas when marching and fighting. , the generals specially hired well-known bards with superb skills to create it. This is far from what people in remote places think so easily.

He shook his head, shaking off the tragic scenes from his youth. Looking at the young faces around him, he wondered how many of them would survive when he returned.

How many people will return to their hometowns with disabilities, and how many families will they suffer from?

'Hey, after all these years, I have become weak. ’ Pulling out the long sword from his waist slightly, and then inserting it back, he touched the knight’s spear inserted in the weapon rack on the side of the horse without saying anything else.

-

Knight Crow and Kiel were the first to leave, so they were also the fastest to feel that the ground was muddy and difficult to walk on.

After the heavy floods a few days ago, the farmers had not had time to remove the silt from a section of the road far away from Kendall City, so Kiel and his party soon slowed down.

The horses' hooves were stained with mud the size of a human head, which made both knights Kiel and Crow very unhappy. The excitement that the horses had before to be able to run around was long gone.

Knight Crow's war horse is indeed a war horse. Although he is not happy, it is tall and healthy, and the mud on its hooves is not a big deal. Secondly, as a war horse, it has experienced even more unbearable environments than this time. Yes, it's just mud. Look at me ignoring them.

Kiel's horse shook its head to express its displeasure, causing Kiel to stroke the horse's neck gently, put his mouth next to the horse's ear, say some kind words, and comfort him.

I don’t know if the animal understood what Kiel told the horse to clean the mud on the horse’s hooves himself after a while, but obviously, Kiel’s affectionate comfort still had an effect. Although it was hard work, the horses still moved forward hard.

The guards and militiamen were in a lot of trouble. They also stepped on a lot of mud at the beginning, but they quickly lengthened their queues smartly and spontaneously formed a more slender queue, specifically taking the route of Knight Crow and Kiel. Where two horses walked.

The soft soil in these places has been taken away by the horses' hooves. Although the road below was originally more wet, at least the silt and mud would not make a mess on their newly issued boots.

Not only did the militiamen have new boots, but the town guards under Crow Knight, especially the guards who accompanied the army this time, also received the hard cowhide armor boots recently made by Ganner craftsmen.

Needless to say, Ganna craftsmen have skillfully incorporated the styling and advantages of Kiel’s boots into these new boots. Some time ago, when sending a sample of boots for inspection, Knight Crow recognized at a glance that the boots were very similar to the boots in the hard cowhide full-cover armor that Kiel often wore.

I called the craftsmen and asked, and it turned out to be true. The young Ganna craftsman was the first craftsman who made the armor for Kil.

However, the Ganna craftsmen still removed some unused parts of the boots for the guards, such as removing the thin iron pieces under the soles of the feet. Although this design can prevent sharp stones from piercing the soles, it does not But it additionally increases the weight and cost of the entire boot.

When the Ganna craftsman tried on the sample himself, he felt that compared to the strong sole, the softer and more flexible sole was more suitable for the guards to wear for a long time.

As for the original iron sole, he moved it to the front of the calf of the boots and mixed it with the original hard cowhide. The front tibia was protected with a curved iron piece, and the back was wrapped with soft leather for cushioning, while the sides of the calf The original hard cowhide is used as protection.

In this way, not only are the calves that are easily kicked by people better protected, but the protective area is also increased than before.

Baron Kendall was quite satisfied with this sample. The craftsmen's skills in his town had improved rapidly, which justified the fact that he had retained the armor craftsmen from the big cities and specially trained a local armor craftsman.

In fact, Knight Crowe quite approves of Kiel's armor, but money comes second. The main problem is that the production is very complicated. It would take an armor craftsman and an apprentice more than half a month to make a set of that kind of armor. , it’s really not worthwhile.

In this case, it would be better to just mass-produce a pair of new boots and distribute them to the town guards on this trip.

The guards and militiamen complained quietly that when they got to the Kendall River, they had to wash their boots in the river water.

Otherwise, they themselves would not be able to bear the use of their new boots in this way.

Soon, as the road gradually turned south and approached the Kendall River, Knight Crow looked at the sun in the sky and chose a wilderness not covered by mud beside the road as a temporary repair place for the entire team.

He was riding a horse, and he straightened his horse and hit a tree beside the road. There was a loud click, and the armored horse didn't even sway. He smashed the tree with his chest and galloped into the wilderness.

The knight circled around a patch of new grass and wild flowers, then stopped his horse and said to everyone in the following team: "You all saw it. The place where I rode the horse just now is the open space that the team needs to repair later. Keir, You clean the soil from the hooves of the two horses. Others have treated the grass and wildflowers and shrubs in this area and piled them aside for the horses and donkeys to eat later. After finishing, you go to the river next door. Give your boots a good wash!”

"Yes, sir!" Kil said as he scratched his head.

The guards called on the militiamen. First they scraped the mud off their feet by the roadside, and then they each drew their swords. They all swung their swords to chop the weeds together, with those in front cutting and those behind picking them up.

Clean this place up quickly.

Kil dismounted and pulled out his dagger, first calmed his horse, and then carefully approached Knight Crow's horse. This smart giant horse also knew what Keel was here to do, and raised a hoof to let Keel help it clean the mud on its hoof.

Knight Crow walked to the tree that he had just broken. He first lifted the entire tree, then carried the entire tree and threw the tree aside into an unused open space.

With the broken half-trunk left, he took out the sword from his waist and easily cut off the part of the tree above the ground with a single stroke.

He then flew up with a kick and directly kicked the remaining part of the tree far away into the wilderness.

The piece of broken wood flew and flew, flying for more than a hundred meters before rolling and hitting the ground.

In the distance, there was a dull sound of falling from the landing point.