Mercenaries and Adventurers

After everyone had finished exchanging information and taking next actions, it was already approaching dusk.

Mr. Pavey invited everyone to his home for a local meal.

At noon, the accompanying businessman Olabi paid the bill. At this moment, Mr. Pawei treated the guests like a local host.

When Mr. Pavey came home just now, he had planned to entertain these northern Kendal people, so he told his butler early about entertaining dinner.

The butler was a middle-aged man. After receiving the order, he immediately got ready. While listening to the discussions in the living room, he poured tea from time to time and added dried meat slices as snacks. At the same time, he had to go to the kitchen of the house while refilling the tea, and supervise the chef and the cooks who were busy waiting for the dinner.

"The host said that most of the guests are soldiers or warriors, so the staple food for dinner must be local fresh meat. The portion must be large! They just came back from the pasture outside the town, and everyone can eat a lot of food. Don't be stingy with the food, Let outsiders look like we are stingy!"

The butler said loudly as he inspected the large pieces of meat shaved off the lamb leg under the chef's knife.

The chef pouted, the butler said it as if he was stingy.

Large pieces of meat are put into wooden basins, and then fine salt ground on site, chopped onions, and fragrant vegetables are added.

The cook on the side used her dagger to quickly scrape the skin of a fist-sized potato. After just a few simple turns, a round potato peeled off the dirty outer skin, revealing the delicious yellow-orange color inside. Edible parts.

Another cook lit the firewood under the stove, and carried a large bundle of dried thick grass stems directly from outside the kitchen with her thick arms. After drying this kind of local tall grass, it was used by the people to make fire for cooking. The main fuel.

The clear well water was poured into the huge iron pot, and the thick soup, which took the most time, had to be boiled first.

A can of sun-dried green beans was poured into the iron pot and boiled as the water heated up.

Seeing that things were on track, the housekeeper nodded with satisfaction and walked back to the living room with a filled pot of scented tea in his hand.

-

At dusk, Kiel and the others were very satisfied with their meal. The meat skewers were made of mutton pieces skewered on twig-like grass stems and grilled together with vegetables. The taste was particularly delicious.

Not only is the meat very tender, but when you bite into it, the hot gravy from the plump chunks of meat will burst out in your mouth.

The rich fat made every Kendallite who had been marching for many days very satisfied, swallowing the satiating meat skewers in big mouthfuls.

After eating two mouthfuls of meat, everyone will also have a mouthful of broth. Many vegetables and beans cut into small pieces are boiled until soft. Whatever you put into your mouth, you can swallow it with a few simple chews.

"It's really good." Guard Zambirus couldn't help but praise.

Guard Kayan also kept eating, but he nodded to show that he had not forgotten.

Clerk Imore was much more elegant. He didn't eat much. He just ordered a bunch of meat skewers to try. He mainly drank the soup with a delicate copper spoon. He whispered with the baron's bodyguard Lubis and discussed returning to the outside of the town later. During the camp, do you want to bring some food prepared in the town to the militia group staying outside the town?

Hearing them talking about this, the businessman Ouluo Bi immediately intervened and said that he should be responsible for such things.

"After all, we are a caravan accompanying the army. This is all our duty. Please leave it to me." He said this.

"Where are the soldiers under your command? Why don't you see them coming over for dinner?" Kil didn't see the few soldiers Mr. Pavey had brought with him today at the dining table. After all, they were friends who participated in the 'battle' together. Kil was curious about them. Why didn't you come?

Mr. Pavey glanced at Keir in surprise, then smiled and explained: "You are guests from afar, so naturally you will dine with me in the restaurant. As for them, you don't have to worry, they are all my regular subordinates. , they are eating together at the kitchen table at this time. They are eating the same food as us."

He then added: "After all, I am not my uncle, and I cannot be in a position where chefs can prepare a meal alone."

Then he talked to Keir about making money.

Mr. Pavey was mainly paid from the part of the affairs he was responsible for in the town. It was never easy to collect money from the people, so his uncle made it a rule that the town stewards could get money from the taxes collected. They take part of the commission.

For example, Mr. Pavey, as his uncle's confidant, although he cannot afford the main job of collecting business taxes because he is young, some odd jobs still allow him to maintain a decent life. And his uncle would also give him a separate sum of money every quarter as a way of supporting him.

Keir also told about his previous adventures in Kendall County and his work on completing commissioned tasks to make money.

"We also have a group of bandits similar to yours. However, because our terrain is flat and open, the bandits all ride horses and livestock, and they are called horse bandits." Mr. Pavey explained.

Keir thought of the old guys at the Burning Prairie Tavern and asked doubtfully: "I think that Scar Parry seems to have been in this business before. Why don't you get rid of him?"

Mr. Pavey shook his finger: "Because he established the tavern and paid taxes to the town!"

He shook his head amusingly: "Don't you understand? People who pay taxes are qualified people in the town and are protected. You should understand. Even if he did something before, since he doesn't do it now, and will The tavern is running well, so naturally he will not be held accountable for his previous crimes. Those who do not pay taxes are the enemies that our soldiers should deal with. For example. "

He paused: "For example - the Yisi Bladehead Gang."

Keir found it funny: "Because they stole things, killed people, broke laws and so on, and didn't pay taxes, right?"

"You're absolutely right! Of course, if they do these things locally, it's hard for them to pay any taxes. They're just a bunch of troublesome guys who can only hide in the shadows."

Mr. Pavey shook his head, obviously not wanting to have anything to do with this organization under the Thieves Guild.

After all, no one wants their hidden wealth to be remembered every day.

-

After eating, everyone walked towards the town gate with the dim yellow and red sunset.

Mr. Oluobi also bought a large basket of soft semi-circular bread freshly baked from the street and a small bucket of fruit wine made from fermented local shrub berries as water for the militiamen, and asked the two guards to take them with them.

Because the town is on a busy commercial road, the town gate here is closed later than other places at night. After sending most people to the gate and watching them walk towards the place where the militiamen were camping not far away, Kiel Together with Mr. Pavey and his five soldier men, they walked towards the residence of the local knight lord.

Mr. Pavey had to attend a party in the evening, so time was tight. He didn't want to be the one who was late. Even if he was late, it didn't matter. After all, he was the lord's confidant.

At this time, dinner happened to be happening in the knight's mansion. Just like this morning, the few times Kiel came to see the knight, he happened to be having dinner.

It was still the same restaurant. The knight's family had already finished their meal, but they did not dare to leave early, so they had to talk about today's news.

Interestingly, they were talking about what Kiel’s main job is today.

So when Mr. Pavey and Keir walked into the restaurant together, everyone who recognized Pavey looked over immediately.

"Master Pawei, I heard that you showed great power today! 'Breakthrough' and arrested a prostitute leader?" A distant relative who was not favored asked curiously.

"Some brothers who use elegant words are the bosses of fat and pink people." After a simple explanation, Pawei was asked about this matter again.

"Pawei, have you heard that you went to Jingshui Lake? Did you bring me a bottle of Jingshui Lake water? Your aunt and I have bad legs and feet, so I can't go there often to fetch water." A man sitting on a wooden wheelchair The aging woman came over to ask at the urging of the servant.

This woman's face looked like that of a middle-aged woman, but with a head full of white hair and a tired look, she obviously had some hidden disease, and it was something that the church priests couldn't cure.

Pavel was well prepared and immediately took off a water bag hanging from his waist and handed it to the aunt.

"Remember, remember, this is for you. May the God of the Sky always bless you and get well soon."

After he finished speaking, he explained to Keir in a low voice: "My aunt, one of my uncle's wives, was injured by a monster that rushed out of the sea of ​​​​cao when she was taking care of my uncle by the sea of ​​​​cao in the early years. Pass."

Keir nodded, a little curious as to where Caohai was, even though he often heard it mentioned by locals. And what kind of monster can hurt people like this.

It was as if a part of that lady's life had been forcibly taken out, and she looked like she was aging before she got old.

I wonder if eating monster meat that replenishes vitality can cure it.

Not the kind of monster meat that is toxic and pathogenic to the human body, but the kind of strange lizard meat that he had hunted in the north of Bayou Town in Kendall County before and only appeared in the ice and snow.

Since he ate that lizard meat, not only has he been in good health these days, but he has never been sick at all.

It seems that the nourishing effect that Lanissa Knight said was not a lie.

But Keel just thought about it. He didn't think that after the local knight lord found out, he would personally go to Kendall County, the most remote county in the Northwest Province, just to hunt a magical lizard that only appeared in winter.

There were other people saying hello to Pawei, and Pawei responded one by one as they passed by. Others also looked at Kiel curiously. This was the third time they had seen Kiel in the past two days, and today's news was all related to Kiel, a young warrior.

At least the news that doesn’t include Mirrorwater Ranch is related to Kiel.

Knight Anvina stopped eating when he saw the two men coming over, "Come here now. Are you finishing last night's murder case? Or something else."

Mr. Pavey approached his uncle and whispered a few words into the ear of the Knight of Anvina.

The knight immediately reached out and pushed away the food on the table: "Everyone, today's dinner is over, please disperse. Butler."

The middle-aged housekeeper came over immediately.

"Take these things down and ask everyone in the restaurant to leave. I want to say something to them both."

The housekeeper was a little surprised, but he agreed immediately.

Although the family members who had received permission to leave were curious about what Pawei and the young boy were going to say to the owner of the house, they were extremely willing to leave the idle restaurant as soon as possible.

Before leaving, several young people made a few gestures to Pavey to indicate that they were leaving first. Pawei waved his hands and told them to go first, and he would arrive later.

The butler and the servants immediately cleared the table, and then moved the lampstand at the far end of the spacious dining room closer to the knight. The place where the conversation will take place is illuminated very brightly.

Then everyone left, and the door of the restaurant was closed tightly, tightly.

-

"So, it was the people from the Thieves Guild who did something good?"

The tall and fat Knight of Anvina put one hand on the dining table and asked with a frown.

Keir nodded and sold Scar Parry immediately: "This is the testimony of the owner of a tavern in your town, which is the tavern where the murder occurred last night."

"Burning steppes," Mr. Pavey added.

In fact, he added a lot. As the lords of the town, how could Knight Anvina not know what Mr. Kil and Pavey did in a day.

"Old Parry's wine is good. Although I don't drink it often, I often give it to others." The knight muttered.

Then he said: "It seems that things are always like this, the cause and the result are like being woven together with grass stems. Follow the result, the cause or something, often they are connected together."

The knight clicked his fingers: "A murder has occurred in a guest room of a tavern, and the cause of the accident is often not far from the place where the accident occurred. You just said that other taverns and hotels have also been visited by that knife-head gang?"

Kil blinked: "At least that's what Scar Parry said. They opened a shop, and news in the circle often spread quickly. The Yisi Blade Gang came to visit and used the reputation of the Thieves Guild to coerce them into 'cooperating' , even if those shops are given a portion of the share, many people are still unhappy."

Knight Anvina frowned and tapped the table with his finger: "But they didn't report this matter to me. What makes them think that I shouldn't know about it?"

After speaking almost to himself, the knight looked at Mr. Pavey, obviously asking about his young nephew.

Mr. Pawei hesitated and couldn't say anything. It was obvious that the words were not nice or nice to say.

Kiel was much bolder. After meeting him a few times, he realized that the tall and fat knight seemed to have a good impression of him, so he didn't care what he said at this time: "Perhaps the businessmen in the town think that as soon as you come to It is impossible for you to dare to go against the huge organization of the Thieves Guild. Maybe you will acquiesce to this matter if you know it. Secondly, the comparison between you and the subordinate organizations of the Thieves Guild. Those who steal things may make those businessmen unable to sleep every day. It feels more intimidating.”

Mr. Pavey looked at Kiel. He did not expect that this young man would dare to say such a thing. As his uncle's confidant and nephew, he would not dare to say such a thing to a knight.

How did he know that Kil had already dealt with many knights, and that these existences that looked like humanoid monsters to ordinary people were actually just humans.

It doesn't have an extra head or an extra set of hands. (Actually, there is. Laughs)

After hearing what Kil said, Knight Anvina didn't say anything. He just subconsciously rubbed his thick fingers, then turned to look at a pair of giant axes hanging on the wall of the restaurant behind him.

The light in his eyes flickered, and his aura changed slightly.

Pavel only felt that after Kil said those words, his uncle made him feel dangerous, his hair exploded faintly, and the hairs on the back of his hands stood up.

Kiel is different. Although he sits farther away than Pavey, the knight training in recent days has made him more clearly aware of what happened.

The knight of Anvina was originally as big as a pile of firewood, but it seemed to be ignited by his words that were like a spark.

Although it is not as light as Knight Crow's ability to release life energy out of the body, under the knight's skin, the life energy has changed from slow and motionless to a rolling flow like fire.

His eyes, which were small compared to his face, also became brighter.

Bright in the physical sense, the knight's eyes shine as brightly as the oil lamps in the dining room.

"Um."

Knight Anvina grunted in his throat and lowered his voice, which would have made a loud noise, to a level where Pavekiel and the two would not feel uncomfortable.

But his words were still the same as those shouted by ordinary people.

"When I was young, I served as the captain of the defense in Caohai."

"The monsters in Caohai come out every year in spring and autumn to attack humans."

"But in the area I was responsible for, there was never a monster that ran out, jumped out, or spread its wings and flew out."

"It's not that there are fewer monsters."

"It's just that I took them all and killed them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of giant axes originally hanging on the wall of the restaurant suddenly trembled, and the iron nails holding them were forced out of the wall with constant trembling.

Then there was a bang, and two axes flew straight from the wall towards the Anvina Knight.

The ax spun rapidly as it flew over, not only bringing up a roaring wind, but also making the originally empty and cool restaurant become scorching hot. It's as if this is not a restaurant but a kitchen stove.

Pavel was startled by the sudden change and fell to the ground with his chair.

Kil slapped the dining table next to him with his right hand and used the force to do a somersault. After landing, he squatted on the ground and dodged the scorching wind brought by the spinning of the two axes.

At the same time, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. The hunting sword was slightly unsheathed, and the slightly exposed inch of the sword was filled with extremely bright white light.

Kil stared closely at the Anvina Knight, his body making various preparations at that moment.

But the result was not a battle.

Because the target of the pair of giant axes that suddenly flew over was not Kiel or Pavel, they were just strongly summoned by their master, displayed themselves with great excitement, and put themselves into the master's hands.

boom! boom!

With two loud noises, Knight Anvina stretched out his hands as lightly as if holding two wooden sticks, holding two giant axes that weighed about a hundred kilograms firmly in his hands.

Then he stood up from his chair.

As soon as the knight's butt lifted off the chair, the large, sturdy wooden chair immediately collapsed and shattered into pieces.

Each of the two axes was about the same size and weight as an ordinary person, but in the hands of the tall and fat Knight of Anvina, they seemed very suitable.

In other words, the two are originally a whole.

Qiang——

Knight Anvina gently bumped the two axes in his hands, and the place where the axes touched made an excited cry.

The knight turned his eyes away from the blood-connected weapon and looked at Kil who stood up again not far away.

"They crave blood, young man."

Kil nodded: "I understand, sir, because I am too." Kil took out all the long swords, and the long swords wrapped in white light emitted a light far brighter than all the oil lamps in the restaurant.

"Sir, if it starts with blood, it may end with blood. What do you think?"

Knight Anvina chuckled: "Ha, of course. Boy, your weapons are not bad."

"Sir, yours are not bad either. They have all drank blood. However, it seems that your pair has not heard the cry of prey for a long time?"

Qiang——

The two axes collided lightly.

"Yes. But tomorrow, I will let them have a try and see what the difference is between monsters and humans."