Mercenaries and Adventurers

After eating the greasy breakfast prepared by Knight Crow at the camp cook, he spoke to the two guards of Knight Crow, and then climbed into his carriage. He fell asleep soundly.

The other militiamen who participated in the battle last night also found themselves in the carriages of donkey carts and carriages under the arrangements of the logistics personnel. They simply lay down and fell asleep.

Soon, as day dawned, Baron Kendall, who stayed overnight at the old Gulov Knight Manor last night, also returned to the camp with his people.

Knight Crow, who did not follow him to sleep, took the Baron to the wealth harvested last night and explained to the Baron in detail what happened last night.

The baron took over the list given by the logistics staff who quickly counted the boxed financial harvests. He was not very concerned about these. After all, even if it was the wealth accumulated by a chamber of commerce for many years, to the baron who controlled the entire county's land, the wealth was The quantity is nothing more than this.

He only paid attention to the total amount of wealth for a moment, and then put away the list and listened carefully to Knight Crow's talk about what happened last night.

Such and such, such and such.

The Baron chuckled: "Claude, you are really good at selecting people. You can also pick out a young warrior like Kiel from the crowd. What do you think? Do you want to give him to me?"

Knight Crow's eyes widened, and he immediately shook his head and said, "No. This young man has great potential, and I will have to develop his potential in the future. Maybe he can break through and become a knight with his own ability."

The baron's eyes lit up and he continued: "Become a knight? I also have the ability. Give him to me and I will invest resources in him. I guarantee that he will become a powerful knight soon."

Seeing that Knight Crowe still didn't allow it, the Baron whispered to Knight Crowe: "You know, I was bewitched by others a few years ago and was obsessed with raising my title, so I made a fat pig and occupied one. seat. I have always known what the people in the city say. You know it, right? This is an opportunity for the young Kiel who dares to fight to remove the fat pig's seat, and no one will say anything. People I can only clap my hands to celebrate, and I can also gain support from the citizens."

"snort."

Knight Crow snorted heavily: "Put away your ideas. Let Kil accept your 'investment' and become a knight with no future. This will only satisfy your desire to lose face." It's just a chance to get it back. This will only destroy him."

"And by dealing with Geel like this, we just replaced that fat pig with a young knight with no potential. It's not good for anyone."

"how come?"

"Why not? At first, that boy may be extremely excited, but one day he will resent you. You want to replace that fat pig, why not take the opportunity to observe more on the battlefield this time, looking for the smell of death? If you have a taste for wandering knights, or if you talk to some knights whose lives are unsatisfactory, someone will always agree."

Baron Kendall hesitated after hearing Knight Crow's words. He felt that what Crowe said made sense. Instead of cultivating and investing in a knight who would always resent him in the future, it would be better to find a wild knight, or a knight whose career was not going smoothly. It felt okay.

Seeing that the baron was convinced, Knight Crow continued: "You can even spend a lot of money to recruit one from the knights of neighboring countries, as long as someone is captured on the battlefield later. I believe there will always be someone who wants to replace him with one. Work. After all, our Kendall is doing pretty well, isn’t he?”

"Of course, its development has far exceeded that of the surrounding noble territories, but the population has always been smaller. After all, our place is still a bit remote." The baron smiled proudly.

Finally, Knight Crow took out the magic dagger captured last night - Heart Fire.

Baron Kendall took the thing curiously, carefully looked at the style of the dagger, and then quickly read the instructions for using the dagger written in aristocratic script.

After reading it, he just smiled softly: "The work of a certain magician in the east of the kingdom. It seems that that person is very rich. He should have made a lot of these magic weapons at once. Look here, Although it is not written in the description, inside the magic gem in the center of the dagger, the magician who made it left the production date, number and personal mark inside the gem before it was completed and infused with magic power."

Knight Crow didn't know much about these things. After all, he didn't specialize in using these expensive magic weapons. He couldn't compare with Baron Kendall, who was wealthy and had magic props all over his body.

He took the dagger handed over by the baron and followed the baron's instructions to turn the dagger to an angle facing the sun. Sure enough, he saw the message that the maker left inside the most important magic gem of the magic dagger.

"The Kingdom of Saint Halls is in its ninety-third year. Wasn't that last year? The second batch of No. 12 Heart Fire Series self-defense daggers, made by the magician - Deconstruction Messenger Bados."

The baron nodded and took the dagger from the knight's hand: "This thing is still full of magic power. Have you never tried it before?"

Knight Crow waved his hand: "Hey, you know, I'm not interested in these soft things. According to the description, it releases magical flames to selectively burn the enemy and the surroundings. How can I use this thing? The long sword is full of life energy. , just slash it out and cut everything open."

The baron rolled his eyes and played with this small weapon in his hand: "If you find an opportunity in the next two days, call Rumi. Let's find a place to release the magic power of this thing. It will be full of magic when left unattended. The weapon is still unsafe, so what use can this broken box hold? I’d better find an opportunity to use my magic power.”

Knight Crow smiled and teased: "You just got a good thing for nothing, so you have to try it, right?"

"Just say whether you want to go or not."

"Go, why don't you go? After we leave the territory of Knight Gurov in the past two days, we will find a place to try in the wild."

-

At the same time, outside Pine Needles Town.

The mercenary Eldo Lundega, who was wearing a black fur coat, blended silently into the crowd and lined up towards the carefully inspected gate of Pine Needle Town.

The voices of the small businessmen who came to the town to do business around him reached his ears carefully.

"What's going on today? Is there such a strict check at the door?" A small businessman carrying a wooden box asked his local companion next to him.

The companion looked around and said in a low voice: "Did you hear that there was a big battle in the town last night! Many people died."

The small businessman opened his eyes wide: "How is that possible? How long has it been since there was an incident in Pine Needle Town?"

"Can I still lie to you? I just heard this from the foreign businessmen at the gate of the town. They live in the open space outside the gate. Last night I saw the army enter the town and kill many people."

"Where did the army come from? Where is the army in Pine Needle Town?"

"I don't know, it's the army anyway. Those businessmen seem to know, but they are very strict in their words. They probably have to pay for it."

Eldor frowned, feeling that things were in trouble.

Unexpectedly, not only the Ska Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Dry Leaf Village was attacked by those people, it seemed that the other party had visited Pine Needle Town before going to Dry Leaf Village.

And they did the same thing as Dry Leaf Village.

Thinking of what happened last night and what he secretly saw this morning, his hands started to shake slightly.

It was impossible not to tremble. The other party's attack was far more ruthless than he had expected.

‘Where did the army come from? ’

With such doubts in his mind, he slowly lined up and walked to the entrance of the town. The other party was able to successfully enter Pine Needle Town last night to start a battle. He must have had a relationship with the powerful people in the town, or he was invited by those people.

His judgment on this point is still very clear.

Now, we have to go in and look for evidence. Although he himself is not the same person as the Ska Chamber of Commerce, if he can figure out the ins and outs of this matter, whether it is selling the information later, or studying it carefully to avoid encountering it again in the future, he can make a profit.

The queue slowly reached him.

Facing the gate guard who wanted to see his face clearly, he naturally raised his head.

After the two guards took a closer look at Erdo's face, they muttered a few words, and then just as they were about to speak, Erdo flicked a copper coin each towards the two guards.

The guard quickly caught the copper coin flying in the air, and then raised his hand with satisfaction, signaling him to leave voluntarily.

"snort."

Erdo knew these gatekeepers very well. They just wanted money. Taking advantage of the strict investigation of the personnel of the Ska Chamber of Commerce, they looked for an opportunity to detain some outsiders, threaten them, and ask for more money.

But if you satisfy the greedy desires of these guys in advance, they will not cause more trouble and will just let you go. If you stay here for a long time, they still think it is a waste of their time.

Eldor walked into Pine Needles Town with great swagger.

This place is quite famous on the commercial route in the west of the kingdom. Its main feature is that there is no strong local lord to manage it.

The weak family members of the old knight lord gave up a lot of power in the town just to make more money in peace and harmony.

Therefore, everything here is mostly discussed by the various chambers of commerce that have settled here.

This is naturally a mixed area where wandering mercenaries, thugs, thieves, and bandits gather.

He had naturally come here often before. Although he didn't live here, he knew it quite well.

Thinking about things in his mind, he looked around and walked in a circle towards the street stronghold formerly occupied by the Ska Chamber of Commerce.

He couldn't walk in a straight line. A stranger like him from out of town would most likely be stared at at the town gate.

Walk away, don't go straight to where what happened last night, it's just a little trick he subconsciously uses to avoid trouble.

He touched the neatly trimmed beard on his chin, thinking that he had not been a thief for many years, but he had not lost these skills.

He even saved his life in the battle last night.

The two guys who wanted to poach him are dead, and he is still alive. The thieves' tricks are not as bad as the friends in the group said.

There are many people on the street, but most of them are walking in a hurry, and from time to time they point in one direction of the town while talking quietly to their friends. When he deliberately passed by, he heard some words similar to dead bodies, shops, and Ska Chamber of Commerce.

Sure enough, looking at what that army did, the Ska Chamber of Commerce in the town is probably doomed.

Relying on his memory, he walked through two alleys in the town. This technique of getting rid of people's surveillance was just a subconscious action on his part.

Then he walked towards the street controlled by the Ska Chamber of Commerce.

New tricks, be sure to see them for yourself before going to the local tavern to ask for information. Only after you have mastered the basic facts can you tell which of the things said by drunkards and drunkards in the tavern are facts, which are exaggerations, and which are just conjectures catalyzed by alcohol.

He didn't stupidly go to the shops near that street to inquire. It would be fine if he was a local. His unfamiliar face would only arouse suspicion and vigilance from the other party.

Even if he was just curious to ask.

This is a recipe for trouble for a foreigner.

He rented a three-story attic room with windows in a small hotel opposite the street formerly controlled by the Ska Chamber of Commerce.

After declining the hotel proprietress's recommendation of a pillow mat and boasting that it was cheap, Erdo closed the wooden door of the room tightly and then opened the window facing the street opposite.

There are thugs from the Chamber of Commerce armed with iron-clad wooden sticks standing guard at street intersections, and everyone who passes by will be stared at with fierce eyes.

And the line of sight extends inside.

The streets were filled with blood.

There was blood spilled during the battle, and there were small pools of blood that accumulated on the ground after falling to the ground.

However, no body was seen. There was only a carriage parked on the side of the road, with drops of blood dripping down from the side of the carriage's cargo box.

And those arrogant-looking thugs didn't even look in that direction.

Sure enough, it should contain the people who died here last night.

I just don’t know how many men each side of the battle last night lost.

Next to the carriage, a priest in simple robes was kneeling and praying to the carriage pulling the corpse. It seemed that it would take some time for the other party's prayer to end.

Continuing to look upward, Erdo noticed that many chamber of commerce clerks were moving goods and goods out of some stores formerly controlled by the Ska Chamber of Commerce.

Some stewards from the chamber of commerce who are good at calculation and literacy are calculating the value of the goods and counting them.

And some big-bellied bosses gathered around a middle-aged man, talking to him in a flattering manner.

Eldo stared at the man surrounded for a while, taking note of his appearance. Then he noticed that the carriage containing the dead body was about to set off. He immediately turned around and walked out of the house, telling the innkeeper to go out for something to eat. Then he quickly walked out of the hotel.

The priest of the God of the Dead called a very reluctant clerk from the Chamber of Commerce and asked him to drive the carriage in the direction of the church.

The thugs blocking the road hurriedly moved out of the way, fearing that it would be unlucky to have anything to do with these unknown corpses.

unlucky.

Erdo followed the carriage on foot from a distance, and soon followed him to the church backyard of the Church of the God of the Dead.

This place is located in a remote part of the town. Eldo paid attention to the surroundings and climbed directly to the roof of a tall, unoccupied house next to the church's backyard.

He was very close to the carriage in the backyard next to him, and the morning sunlight was not directly facing here, so he could see clearly from a high position.

As soon as the carriage arrived in the backyard, the merchant driver who was driving the carriage seemed to have been burned by fire. He threw away the reins and ran away without even looking back at the few coins the priest gave him.

The priest shook his head helplessly to take back the money, then opened the back door of the carriage, and then a body fell from above and fell to the ground.

The priest knitted the sleeves of his robe and dragged the body to the ground with difficulty. He laid the body flat, then went to a well in the backyard to fetch a basin of water, carefully wiped the blood on the body with a rag, and used special techniques to smooth the frightened face and eyes of the body.

Erdo watched for a while and saw that the priest was busy working slowly and endlessly by himself, and he was also anxious. After thinking about it for a while, he came up with some words in his mind, then carefully jumped down from the roof, straightened up his appearance, and walked towards the backyard of the church.

"Dear old priest, do you need help?"

-

After the sun rose in the sky for a long time, Eldor took the dozen copper coins that the priest gave him, chuckled, shook his head and walked back.

He had inspected the corpses while transporting and cleaning them, and most of them had been shot with crossbows. Just like in Dry Leaf Village, all elite soldiers were equipped with crossbows.

In addition, there were others who were killed by spears and swords, all of which were consistent with the weapons of the soldiers.

In addition, he found that among the dead there were no senior officials of the Ska Chamber of Commerce in the town that he knew. Thinking about it, those people were probably not dead and must have been locked up.

He found a shop to eat something to fill his stomach, then returned to the hotel to rest for a while and put on a new set of clothes he bought that were only worn by local small businessmen.

After dressing up briefly, he walked out of the hotel again.

The afternoon is not a good time for drunkards to go to the pub to drink, and it is a bit too early to inquire about information in the morning.

After all, for real information to come out of the mouths of relevant personnel and reach the ears of acquaintances and friends, there must be an opportunity for breakfast or lunch.

He first found a shop and bought a small bottle of wine, opened it, sprinkled it on his body, and then took a sip, so that people could smell the smell of wine on his body and mouth when they met.

Details, he always told his team members, when going out to inquire about information, in addition to knowing the general flow of information, special attention should be paid to the details of clothing and grooming.

If you are not careful, although nothing bad will happen, the other party may not tell you the information you really want to know.

He casually placed other bottles of wine at the door of the roadside shop, regardless of which lucky guy could pick up a bottle of wine that he had not drunk much today.

Then he relied on his memory of Pine Needles Town to find an inconspicuous tavern that only locals would go to.

‘Drunk Shrimp’

He silently walked into the tavern where there were not many people. As soon as he entered, he asked the bartender who looked at his unfamiliar face for the largest glass of ale.

Moreover, he carefully counted the iron coins given to him by the bartender.

Then he found an unoccupied table as soon as he entered and sat down at this place.

It seems that this place is a bit far away from other regular customers, and it seems that he has no intention of listening to people, but in fact, as a 'former' thief, Erdo's trained and excellent hearing is what he eats.

Even if he sat far away, his ears could not escape his ears in every move in the tavern.

Slowly sipping the ale alone, and even swearing at someone in a low voice from time to time, he acted out the image of a drunkard in a bad mood vividly and flexibly.

Drinkers in the whole tavern came and went, and no one even had the slightest doubt about him sitting opposite the door. No one doubted that he was not a regular customer of this tavern.

Except for the bartender.

But the bartender didn't say much, and he soon became busy with the increasing number of drinkers. The strange drinker had long been forgotten.