Mercenaries and Adventurers

After Keir had eaten and drank enough, he quickly became energetic again. Knowing that there would be a hand-to-hand combat test in the evening, Kiel sat on the horse and kept twisting his waist to the left and his arms to the right to prepare for the subsequent battle.

As the vanguard, dozens of them received a batch of lighting torches from the logistics. Knights Kiel and Crow walked in front, and he held one to illuminate the knights leading the crowd. The guards who were following behind were divided into three groups, basically one group of ten people each. The deputy captain of the group who led the group would light torches for the entire group of people walking together.

The same goes for the militia. The two groups of militia also received a dozen torches, which were held by two deputy captains to illuminate the twenty of them.

Since the knights Kiel and Crow who led the team were very familiar with the road to Bingxun Pass, even at night, everyone was still moving forward quickly, and the team was densely packed along the road heading south.

Although the militiamen in the team could not see much at night, there was still no problem following the lighting of the torches.

The quality of the bright lighting torch is very good. It uses scrap cloth soaked in grease to provide lighting. It is far longer than the ordinary simple torch made by Kil himself. The duration, illumination range, and whether it can be extinguished and reused are all important. Too much stronger.

After it gets dark, unknown birds often chirp in the big trees beside the road, but as Kiel and his team approach, those smart little guys consciously lower their voices. Standing on the top of the tree and watching them, his eyes reflected the light of the torch, which was flickering in the air.

Knight Crow rarely spoke when he was marching on his horse. He just led the team forward in silence, so it was difficult for Kil to talk about topics and get closer to the knight.

When the team walked along the road to a place slightly closer to the river bank, Knight Crow patted the steel plates on his leg armor with his hands, making a clanging sound that attracted Kil's attention.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

Kil asked, turning his head.

Knight Crow raised his finger and pointed to the other side, which was not close to the river. There was a series of scattered stones deep in the direction: "There is someone there, Kil. Capture him for me."

Kil looked over and found that the direction that Knight Crow was pointing was completely dark, and there was no sign of anyone. However, he didn't say anything. He directly made a fist with his right hand and knocked on his chest. Then he handed the torch to the person following him and knocked it. Knock on the horse's belly to speed it up and run towards the problem area.

Approaching the roadside, Kil slowed down and jumped off his horse. He held the hilt of the sword at his waist with one hand and put the shield hanging on his back on his hand with the other.

Approaching this scattered large and small rocks, Keir immediately smelled the smoke of burning wood. Although nothing could be seen with the eyes at this time, the smell obviously showed that there were indeed people here.

"Who is it? Come out!"

Keir scolded, and then announced his identity: "We are the vanguard of the Kendall County Militia, led by the Crow Knights. There is no need to be afraid, come out!"

But there was still no movement around.

"If you don't come out, I'll be violent!"

Holding the shield upright on his chest, Kil strode forward, but his right hand was only on the hilt of the sword and he did not draw the sword.

There was a rustling sound behind several stones, and in addition, Kil also heard the nervous breathing of humans.

Directly using the weak moonlight, Kil came to the stone and kicked towards the hiding place behind the stone.

Someone let out a cry of pain and then rushed towards Kiel.

After releasing the sword hilt, Kil raised his shield to block the opponent's attack, and then gave the opponent a punch in the face.

The gloved fist was much heavier than the bare hands. The hard leather on the back of the hand hit the face, causing the opponent to scream in pain. Then, people rushed out from all around.

These people were yelling, and through the moonlight, Kil noticed something like a dagger reflecting the faint light of the dagger body.

He gathered his energy, raised his shield and charged towards several people. After knocking one person over, he did not stop and continued to attack with his shield.

The person behind was afraid and did not dare to face Kiel's collision. He wanted to dodge, but he tripped over an invisible stone at his feet and fell to the ground.

Then Kil turned around and kicked the man who was lying on the ground screaming, beating him until he could only hold his stomach and retching. Then Kil heard the wind, raised his arm, and blocked the sneak attack of another person who turned around with a bang.

Without giving the opponent a chance, Kiel reached out with his right hand in front of the shield, grabbed the opponent's iron-clad short stick, took a step back, and at the same time pulled his arm to snatch the opponent's self-defense weapon.

Another man next to him slashed at him with a dagger, but Kiel didn't block him and just let him slash. He hit the opponent on the head with a stick with his backhand, and knocked the man who slashed him with the dagger away with his felt hat covered in blood.

"Woo-hoo, ho-ho." The man who was hit on the head swayed and squatted on the ground. The dagger in his hand just hit Kil's body and had no effect at all.

He raised his kick and kicked the man over, then added a stick and knocked the dagger out of his hand.

The man whose self-defense stick was taken away by Kiel was frightened. He turned around and wanted to run into the distant fields. However, Kiel opened his eyes wide and could barely see his figure. He threw the stick and hit him in the back, knocking him over. land.

-

Not far away, the vanguard team led by Knight Crow stopped. The militiamen put down the spears they had been carrying vigilantly and pointed to the dark place where the fight took place. The guards all looked at Knight Crow who was leading the team, waiting for the knight's instructions.

But Knight Crow ordered to listen to the movement on Kiel's side until the movement subsided, then he ordered five of his guards and went over to take them with torches.

Five guards ran over quickly with two torches, each holding a long sword in their hands and getting ready for battle. But when he went over, he saw that several people had been knocked to the ground and were wailing, while Keir stood in the middle of the wailing and waved to them.

"What's going on? These people?" The guard leading the team handed a torch to Keir and asked.

Keir shrugged: "How did I know? We reported our identities, but they didn't talk to each other at all. When we got closer, I started fighting with them."

A guard saw several wooden backpacks lying upside down in the bushes next to the rocks. After checking them, he found that they contained some wrapped goods.

"Could he be a businessman traveling between Bingshuguan and Kendall City?" Someone asked.

So, they gathered the knocked down people together and the guards asked them.

As a result, the men who were beaten up by Kil just whined and repeated things like not to kill them, but they were willing to hand over the goods and just wanted to spare their lives.

Only then did the guards realize that these people were really businessmen.

It's just that the scale is relatively small.

Kil scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. He looked at the guard next to him, who also shook his head: "Bring these people over first and show them to the adults. Anyway, these people will extinguish the fire in advance when they see us coming with torches. I'm sure Suspicious. Take him over first."

So, Kiel and the others dragged the wooden backpacks that these people were hiding in, and pressed down several businessmen who were either wailing or crying for mercy, and came to the stopped team.

When they came to the team, these people saw dozens of neatly equipped people around them, and then they realized that they had really encountered a regular militia team from Kendall County.

They saw the Crow Knight on a tall war horse, immediately revealed their identity, and cried that they had just been beaten.

Kil sat on the horse awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Should we compensate them or pay their medical expenses?

Who would have thought that Knight Crow didn't care what these people said, he just waved his hand and asked his men to find something to gag them, then tied them with ropes and held them in the middle of the town guard team. These merchants' things were also called the guards who guarded them. Carrying.

Then organize the team and continue on the road.

There was a lot of discussion in the team, and they didn't understand why these businessmen were taken away, but everyone did not dare to refute Knight Crow's order, and could only talk in low voices.

Knight Crow didn't care so much, and made a gesture to the baffled Kil to say something later, and then said nothing.

The group continued marching south.

Soon, after walking quietly for more than an hour, they arrived outside the north gate of Bingxun Pass.

In the distance, there are many soldiers from the checkpoint standing on the wall outside the north gate. They are holding lighting torches and high braziers. They are densely packed and each holding a weapon. They seem to have been waiting for the arrival of everyone.

In the open space next to the river outside the north gate, wooden pillars have been used to circle an open space that can accommodate almost a thousand people. There are also lighting fires everywhere inside, and there are about a dozen checkpoints. The soldiers were anxiously waiting for the arrival of Kiel and his party.

"Gods above, I don't know if their arrival tonight is a good thing or a bad thing."

One of the soldiers leading the team, the captain, complained in distress.

Seeing a team of dozens of people coming along the road, he rubbed his face and led the people to greet them eagerly. While sizing up Kiel and the others, he frequently looked towards the north side of the road.

Knight Crow snorted coldly: "What are you looking at? You won't take us in yet."

Seeing Knight Crow speaking to him, the soldier captain immediately reacted. Of course he knew Knight Crow. There were very few people in Kendall County who didn't know him. Even if they didn't recognize Knight Crow's face, Crow You should also recognize the knight's extraordinarily tall and strong war horse, as well as the knight's thick armor.

He led the team into an empty camp specially built after receiving advance notice from Kendall City.

The soldier captain saw several businessmen being escorted by the guards in the team. He rolled his eyes and pretended to be curious and asked the town guards who were escorting them what was going on.

But he was immediately retorted by Knight Crow saying it was none of your business.

"Okay, I don't need you here anymore, get out! Wait for the Baron just outside the camp. This camp is now under my control."

Knight Crow was not polite. He waved his hand and asked a group of militiamen to 'invite' them out.

Kil felt strange, as if something was wrong from just now.

"Sir, what is going on?" Kil dismounted and carefully whispered to Knight Crow who had not yet dismounted.

"Well, originally this was none of your business. But it's okay if you want to know. I'll explain it to you later." Riding on his horse, Knight Crow glanced at the pass soldiers on the wall of the north gate of Bingxun Pass and casually said Said to Keir.

-

Knight Crow arranged for dozens of guards and militiamen in the front to briefly inspect the open space where they would camp tonight, and then rest in place.

He brought Keir to the businessmen. Before they could approach them diligently, he picked out the best-dressed businessman among them and took him out.

Kil led the man to a place some distance away, and then followed the knight's instructions and untied the thing from the businessman's mouth.

The man glanced at Kil in fear, then bowed to Knight Crow standing next to him and admitted his mistake: "Sir, sir. We know we were wrong and we shouldn't hide when the team comes. Where are the bandits in the north of the level? , we are all blind and mistook the soldiers led by you for bandits. It really shouldn’t be done, ahem, we should fight, we should fight.”

Keir's eyes lit up. No wonder these people were hiding and fighting with him when he went to ask. It turned out that he thought they were bandits.

But Knight Crow just rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. He just took off his helmet and stared at this man seriously.

Knight Crow looked serious, and Kil also put away his happy face and became serious.

Is there any problem here?

"Sir? Your Majesty?" The businessman saw Knight Crow and didn't say anything. He just stared at him and became nervous. His body shrank a little. He was hit on the head. Now he squatted nervously. land.

"Sir, we are all small businessmen in the level. We usually do small business and go to Kendal City to buy some rare things from outside the county. We are all serious businessmen."

He became more and more nervous, with mucus flowing from his nose, and he was stumbling when talking.

Knight Crow took a step toward him, and the businessman sat down on the ground in fear, staring blankly at the knight.

"Do I look stupid?"

Knight Crow stared at this man and slowly said this word by word.

Both Kil and the businessman sitting on the ground shook their heads, but Kil just shook his head naturally, while the businessman on the ground shook his head quickly from side to side.

"So, tell me, why are you hiding on the side of the road?"

The businessman answered immediately. His words changed from his previous nervousness and became smooth and efficient: "Sir, we are spending the night there. There are really no other problems."

"Look, ba ba ba. Answer me, where did you start from and where did you end up?"

The man still answered directly and fluently: "My lord, we started from Kendall City and headed south, and then we spent the night among the piles of stones on the roadside. Really, really."

Knight Crow snorted disdainfully, and looked at Keir: "Kir, when did we set off? From where?"

"Sir, we set off shortly after dawn, from the militia camp outside Kendall City." Speaking of this, Keir immediately reacted: "Yes, in the morning, except for the farmers led by the Church of Saturn who left the city and borrowed the camp No one else is allowed to move outside the central road. If there are businessmen, they should set off after us."

Knight Crow snorted heavily: "So, how did you guys surpass the troops on the road and run in front of us? Float down the Kendal River?"

The knight stretched out a palm to cover the businessman's head, and the cold gloves made of steel armor scraped the man's head roughly, making the so-called 'businessman' horrified.

"You were just waiting there for a long time, am I right?" Knight Crow asked, staring at this man.

The man stammered and wanted to nod in answer, but the steel gloves tightly held his hair, and the man's head could not move at all: "Yes, yes. But we are really businessmen, but there are people in Bingxunguan who spend money. Find us and let us hide in the north of the pass and wait for the troops to set off from Kendall City."

"Yeah?"

Knight Crow tightened his fingers, then raised his hand, directly lifting the man sitting on the ground.

The man was about to scream and howl, but he quickly shut his mouth for fear of offending the knight in front of him.

"Just hiding there, can't you do something?"

The two looked at each other, and Knight Crow stared at the person in front of him.

"I don't know, really, really, I don't know." The man was shaking as he spoke, truly frightened.

Knight Crow was silent for a moment, and then said to Kil, "Kiel, go over and ask the guards to gather all their luggage together and burn them all!"

"Yes!" Kil thought and thought that there might be something wrong with those things.

"The fire is burning!" Knight Crow warned.

"Yes, the fire is burning." Kil responded, then immediately turned and ran towards the guards.

-

The guards were all sitting on the ground to rest. Some people were curious about the merchants' things and were about to open them to take a look. Kiel ran over and stopped the guards.

"do not move!"

He ran over quickly and directly suppressed the hands of the guards who wanted to open the so-called merchandise tightly wrapped by the merchants.

"There is something wrong with these things. Knight Crow has ordered to burn all the wooden backpacks of these people! Burn them with fire!" Kil said seriously.

The guards looked at each other in confusion, until Kiel repeated it again, then they reluctantly picked up the things and threw them into the fire lit nearby.

After Kiel watched them throw everything in, he asked people to find firewood, increase the firepower of the fire, and completely burn the contents of the wooden basket.

"Did you make a mistake? I thought I could make a fortune directly." Someone complained in a low voice, and someone next to him acknowledged: "What I'm saying is that this place is so close to Bingxuan Pass. If I just find someone to sell it at a low price tomorrow, it won't be a big deal." It will delay things.”

But while Kil was paying attention to several wooden boxes in the fire, he turned to look at the remaining so-called 'businessmen' who were being guarded by the guards.

He noticed that one person was particularly excited. The others were just gagged and shook their heads, feeling sorry for the goods being burned. Only one person moved his buttocks and tried to stay away from the fire.

"More firewood! Stay away from here at the same time!" Kil shouted to the guards around the fire.

Some guards were puzzled, and some did not want to pay attention to Kiel's order, but Kiel repeated it several times, then stepped forward and dragged the guards who were sitting on the ground to rest, and then he was able to deal with them.

"Keep an eye on these people, they have problems." After speaking to a troublesome middle-aged guard among the guards, Kil kept his eyes on the so-called merchandise in the fire.

After a while, the wooden waterproof shell of the wooden backpack was burned through, and the packaging of the 'goods' inside was also lit. With a pop, something was burned and exploded in the fire, and a yellow stream came out of the high-temperature flame. of smoke.

However, before these things spread, they were ignited by the rolling flames, followed by them, and were completely burned.

The guards who had been looking at the fire and lamenting about the goods inside were stunned. They looked at each other, and then consciously moved a few meters away from the fire.

Kil also calmly stepped back: "Throw some more firewood over there, just throw it in."

This time, no one disobeyed him anymore.

A few guards who also saw something was wrong got angry and punched several 'businessmen' with fists and kicks. Kil did not stop them at first. After these people were beaten with bruises all over their bodies, he stopped the beating of the guards on the grounds that Knight Crow might want to interrogate them.

"Watch them."

The guards watched them closely, and two guards even drew their weapons and stood guard next to them.

After a while, Knight Crow dragged the leg of the man who had interrogated him before and walked over. He naturally noticed the situation here. He patted Kil's shoulder, gave a silent encouragement, and then shook the man off his hand. He walked over and said, "Stop his mouth and keep an eye on these people. Don't ask about anything else. This is something that the Baron needs to consider."

As he said that, on the road to the north of Bingxunguan, a series of torches were arranged into long snakes made of fire, and they slowly walked over.

The baron's army is coming.