Mercenaries and Adventurers

Knight Crow rode his horse over the low chimneys that protruded from the face of the hills.

These small chimneys were constantly emitting smoke from burning materials, accompanied by the aroma of food, which made Knight Crowe's originally expressionless face show a little hesitation.

But after he turned his head and glanced at the waiting army in the distance, he no longer hesitated. After all, many young men in the army were very tired after today's battle and needed a safe and warm place to rest.

And this group of ignorant villagers actually hesitated when the army was in front of them. Knight Crow really didn't know what their brains were like.

"If you really don't have enough knowledge and experience, you will hit a wall in all kinds of small things."

He therefore recalled the days when he worked hard in the army when he was young. How did young people from border areas compete with other young people from prosperous areas to obtain the few opportunities to become knights in the army.

The pressure and struggle of those days are still hard and difficult memories that Knight Crow does not want to recall anymore.

On the top of the hill, there was a metal cone-shaped cone. The war horse raised its front hooves and touched it curiously, making the sound of a metal plate being struck.

"It's empty, that's right." He raised his head and looked at the sky, then looked around, and figured out why a lot of metal was spent on building such a thing on the top of the hill where the village is located.

The top of the hill where he was now was the highest point in the surrounding grassland area.

The villagers planted lush pastures on the gentle hills, and this was obviously a place prone to lightning strikes. In order to prevent fire, the locals built such a thing to guide the power of lightning strikes when the weather is fierce.

Without saying anything more, Knight Crow fell silent and concentrated on controlling the life force in his body.

-

Many people around looked at Knight Crow at the top of the hill. Among the outsiders, the merchants were both curious and scared. The bold and knowledgeable people dared to stay outside and watch. They didn't know what would happen. They had already got in at this moment. Went for a drink and a rest inside Kamsi Village.

The people of Kendall looked at Knight Crow's actions with a bit of anger. Although everyone had defeated a large number of harpies after a hard battle today, everyone was still relieved by the fierce battle.

If everything goes well after that, then naturally this tone will dissipate quickly.

But this small village refused them direct entry to spend the night, which made many soldiers very unhappy.

Obviously you have been bullied by harpies and monsters on the strange wind grassland, and we have just killed many monsters. Even if we are not welcomed and celebrated, how can we be shut out of the door after we have done good things?

How unreasonable!

Although their status as civilized people and citizens of the same kingdom prevented the soldiers from doing anything more sinister, it was the strong men of Knight Crow and Knight Rumi who gave this rude village a 'little' punishment. After two clicks, it was to their liking.

Regarding this order, the master of the army, Baron Kendall, had already understood the situation when Knight Crow taught the affairs of the army, so he gave such an order.

The punishment was in line with the wishes of the soldiers under his command, but it should not cause too many casualties so that the local villagers and caravans would be afraid of them and refuse to cooperate or trade.

As for the local villagers, when they followed the gaze of the overnight merchants who stopped and looked at Knight Crow, they felt something bad.

Although I didn't know what this person was going to do, he rode directly into the village and headed to the highest point of the village. He didn't have good intentions no matter what.

Some young people picked up the tools and simple weapons at hand and ran straight to the top of the hills along the commonly used paths on the hills.

At this time, there was a loud noise at the gate of the village. Many people turned around and found that the thick wooden door of the village had been forcibly broken open. Another man, whose whole body was wrapped in thick steel armor, was making such a wealthy move. After making a hostile move, Shi Shiran gave all the local villagers a cold look, and then returned to the army outside the village.

This incident shocked everyone in the village. The villagers blew the warning whistles and bells to prevent the harpies, and the chaotic and urgent sounds resounded throughout the village.

Not only the seemingly desolate outside, but also in the village located inside the hills, people kept hearing the warning sound and ringing the small warning bell in the internal passage, causing the village divided into various parts to become nervous and chaotic.

Some young people looked at the businessmen around them who had just come in with hostility, wondering if these outsiders were coming to cause trouble.

But the merchants who had just witnessed the battle in the afternoon just shook their heads and laughed softly at the people of Kamsi Village.

Just when everyone was in a mess, the ground suddenly shook.

Praise, praise!

The tables, chairs and benches were shaking randomly, and the food and drinks placed on them fell down and scattered all over the floor.

"The earth is angry! The earth is angry! Mother Earth is angry. Kneel down and beg for mercy!"

"Idiot! You should run quickly!"

Everyone was in a mess, and even the lamp holder embedded in the wall was shaking, and the wandering lighting intensified everyone's uneasiness and panic.

No one paid attention to the ringing of the warning bell. Some people ran home, some were eager to find their families, and others collapsed on the ground, using the most helpless expression to show that this person had never been there before in his life. What is it like to experience an earthquake?

Outside the hills, a group of villagers who had wanted to go up the hill to question Knight Crow were now falling down and rolling down the hill because of the sudden earthquake.

The guy in his hand was in panic and didn't know where he had thrown it. Some people were kowtowing to the ground and begging loudly for mercy. They just prayed to Mother Earth to spare them who had never done anything bad.

Others forced themselves to run towards the entrance of the village as the ground continued to tremble. Even if they fell down many times and bruised their arms and legs, they still had to return home to rescue their families. He kept mumbling something, his eyes were numb, and his movements became more and more urgent.

No one cares about Crow Knight on the hilltop anymore.

They didn't know that it was Knight Crow who started all this.

Hey, how could they know this.

-

The expressions of the caravan stewards of several large chambers of commerce changed again and again. Although they saw from a distance in the afternoon how the Kendal people defeated a large number of harpy monsters, they also saw from a distance several rockets rising rapidly from the ground. Tall dirt pillars.

However, due to the continuous magic released by Baron Kendall in the middle of the army, it was easy for these caravan stewards to believe that those pillars that suddenly appeared were actually magic released by Baron Kendall through magic props.

In this regard, these people were lamenting privately that this so-called "little nobleman from a remote border area" really had wealth that ordinary people could not understand.

Of course, they quickly 'guessed' that these powerful magic props were mostly magic treasures passed down from the ancestors of Baron Kendall.

The thing is good, but the mana cost for maintenance and recharging is probably also a staggering amount.

Even the presidents of their big chambers of commerce are probably worried about this figure.

How did they know that Baron Kendall did have a powerful set of magic props and equipment, but this expensive magic prop was not inherited from his ancestors, but the baron himself spent many years shopping for goods in the capital of the Northwest Province. accumulated.

And the giant pillar of earth rising from the ground was not the magic of a magic prop, but was actually a powerful knight on the top of the hill in front of them.

They all clearly realized this at this moment.

Several people looked at each other, feeling increasingly confused about what this northern army, which was going to participate in the war at the border of the southern province, looked like.

A powerful knight who can cause the earth to tremble. Seriously, can an unknown baron control this?

A knight with this strength can even leave a whole volume of poems for bards to sing in an area.

"Be cautious, everyone."

someone said.

"Yes, we need to re-judge this army."

Someone else said.

"Idiot, this army is just a facade, just like weeds that wither and die every year. The key is not the grass outside, but its roots."

Some people criticize unkindly.

"Not bad, Kendall County in the Northwest Province? It seems like we need to send someone over to have a look."

"It might be an interesting place."

-

Knight Crow gradually slowed down the life energy that was operating at full strength.

The power used at this moment looked very powerful, frightening the people in this village to death, and they all panicked. In fact, for Knight Crow, the skill and consumption of life energy are not as good as the solid square pillars of earth rising from the earth during the afternoon battle.

After all, it only causes a slight tremor that can affect humans. The scope is not large, and the earth and rock controlled are not much.

Thanks to the villagers of Kamsi Village, their hard work has hollowed out most of this originally stable and solid hill.

Although it still looks stable, that's for general conditions.

Perhaps in the eyes of the army, it is very difficult to attack such an underground village, and the losses must be considerable. But to Knight Crow, the entire village hidden under the hills was like a fortress built by children with sand on the edge of the big lake.

It looks beautiful and strong, but in fact, if a bucket of water is poured on it, most of it will collapse.

(Note, Knight Crow lives in an inland kingdom and has never seen the sea, but he has seen a small number of beaches on the edges of similar rivers and lakes.)

He just controlled his life energy, invaded the main body of the hill inside the soil and rocks, and caused a slight shaking. As a result, the entire hill was shaking inside and outside.

-

"Hahahaha, look at them, they look panicked!"

Baron Kendall deliberately used exaggerated voices and expressions to act out his emotions. Sure enough, seeing the Baron like this, the soldiers also laughed loudly, and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Some people yelled randomly, and some shouted the honorific title of Knight Crow.

Seeing that the atmosphere was good, Baron Kendall retracted his fake smile and waved his hand, signaling Knight Rumi to lead the soldiers to forcefully enter the village in front of him.

"Remember, don't have a big conflict, just spend the night, like those caravans. But if someone is not clear-headed and provokes us, Rumi, don't let the children chill and impale the troublemaker's head on a spear. , to warn others.”

"Yes sir, I will do it depending on the situation."

Then Knight Rumi's order sounded loudly, and groups of soldiers strode towards the village gate.

After they passed by, they completely destroyed and tore off the wooden gate destroyed by Knight Rumi, making it easier for subsequent logistics carriages to enter.

The local villagers were in a panic and no one cared about these things. They ran back to the villages in the hills to check the damage to their families and property.

Unopposed, the army was soon within the walls of the village.

Kiel finally completed his mission, and led the people to drive the carriage containing the money box to Baron Kendall, and showed the Baron several boxes of scattered coins that he had found.

After these coins were broken, they took up much more space than before. Looking at several boxes, in fact, if the coins were intact and neatly placed, one box would be enough.

The baron nodded with satisfaction. Although these coins did not look good after being damaged, they could reduce the loss of his wealth.

Seeing that the baron was in a good mood, Keir told Baron Kendall what he did and who performed well in the process.

This was a tangible achievement that would be recorded by the clerk beside the baron. Those whose names were called by Keir all smiled. Although they could not fight, they could still make meritorious deeds.

Moreover, this young man, Kiel, is indeed young and straightforward, and he does what he says, rather than being slick and greedy like some middle-aged people. Not only are the achievements he has made often refused to be implemented, or if they are implemented, they have to be secretly given to those people. Bribery benefits will do.

In contrast, Kiel, who does not have so many tricks, does things truthfully and reports the process and achievements truthfully.

Baron Kendall saw all this. Although he admired the enterprising spirit of young people like Kiel, he also understood that such young people are very easy to cause trouble, so he just gave a few words of encouragement and asked everyone to retreat.

-

The people in Kamsi Village recovered from the panic. They spent money to buy important information from their friends who were merchants.

It turns out that the sudden anger of the earth just now was not a sign of disaster because they angered Mother Earth by digging and settling in the hills. It was completely caused by a powerful knight.

And this knight was part of the army that was coming here to spend the night.

They directly opened the gate to the hilly interior of the village, welcomed Kendall's army to spend the night here, and would definitely provide them with the best service and provide them with the convenience they needed most.

When the top military officials, including Knight Crow, entered the village, some of the old men who were really in power in the village only dared to glance at Knight Crow, whose body was glowing with an earthy yellow light.

Because Knight Crow had used his life energy with all his strength before, at this moment, his whole body was faintly glowing with energy that could be seen by others.

"Is there something wrong? My whole body is glowing."

Knight Crow raised his arm in embarrassment and looked at the khaki light that broke through the silver-gray steel armor.

"No, on the contrary, this will actually make the villagers here feel more comfortable and avoid unnecessary trouble."

Baron Kendall whispered to Knight Crow. Knight Rumi next to him also had a bad smile on his face, curiously poking at the shimmer of energy on Knight Crow's body.

"If you say so, then so be it."

Knight Crow originally wanted to spend some time calming down the active life energy in his body before entering the village, but Baron Kendall stopped him from doing so, saying that it would be beneficial.

Looking at it this way, it was also very interesting to see the villagers secretly looking at him with awe and fear.

At least there won't be a conflict tonight.

-

The real entrance to Kamsi Village is at the entrance of a mine similar to what I mentioned before. The carriages were parked outside and secured while others slowly entered the village from here.

After entering from the entrance, there is a spacious passage with several narrow but deep reinforced rooms on both sides of the passage. You can tell at a glance that they are used to store some supplies.

Deeper was a place where horses and animals were kept overnight, and town militiamen driving horse-drawn carriages walked in with their horses. The appearance here is similar to the previous warehouse, but it is divided into smaller places for livestock to live.

Not only are there horses and livestock owned by outsiders, but also horses and large flocks of sheep owned by local villagers.

It seems that the place is smaller than the previous Thor Village, but in fact, the rooms on both sides of these cave-like passages, although narrow, are very long and deep.

There is no end in sight.

"This project is quite large."

Baron Kendall, who was familiar with all this, was not in a hurry to rest. Instead, surrounded by his men, he visited the place with curiosity and scrutiny.

Kil did not 'visit' with the Baron. After arranging his horses with Knight Crow's bodyguard, he helped Bloodfangster to the upper level of the passage.

It turns out that this place is like a tall building, with layers upon layers.

Unlike the Tor village that we had seen before digging downwards, the people of this Kamsi village used this solid hill to dig upwards in the opposite direction.

The entrance passage they came in was actually on the first floor. Following the stairs that often appeared on both sides, they could reach the upper floor.

The first floor is a narrow and deep warehouse, stables, and breeding farms. The second floor above is a spacious and empty room specially used by outsiders.

The space is more spacious, but the length is much smaller, and it can accommodate thousands of people living here at the same time for a short period of time.

The second floor is separated by a passage in the middle that is the same as the first floor. This spacious passage can also be used by outsiders for transactions. The villagers also built a small passage here using small pieces of adobe bricks and wood. A small shop selling various village goods and services.

It's just that there was an 'earth fury' before, so the place was a bit messy. Many villagers who knew what was going on had a bad look on their faces and were cleaning up the overturned tables, chairs and cabinets.

The next level up is naturally the floor used by locals. There is only one staircase leading to the upper level. At the end of the spacious passage on the second floor, there are not only checkpoints like city gates, but also more than a dozen armed village militiamen holding weapons to guard the place.

Residents of the village can pass by, but outsiders are not allowed to enter the upper level.

"It's quite interesting."

Kil and Bloodyost were sitting at a food stall and eating the freshly presented mutton.

Bloody Fangster was very weak. While drinking the broth, he shrugged and said slowly: "Tomorrow you will see Strange Wind Town on Strange Wind Grassland, which is more interesting. As long as tomorrow is not the same as today."

Kil smacked his lips: "I don't think monsters will react so quickly. Although everyone often thinks that monsters are a whole. But from my point of view, when the monster group is small, it is naturally a whole. But when it develops into monsters Fengpingyuan is so big, they must live in settlements as the main body."

Bloodfangster had never heard anyone say that before. He looked at Kil and listened carefully.

"The reason is simple. When too many monsters gather together, unless they continue to launch massacres, there will not be enough food for all of them. How many days can a large group of wild horses or sheep feed them? Therefore, there must be a group of monsters in one place. After the number threshold is reached, the monsters will spontaneously separate into other groups according to local food production and go to other places."

Keir fiddled with the dinner plates and wooden bowls on the table: "Look, these are all monsters. The whole table is the strange wind grassland. This is the monster colony we encountered today. Here, there are a large circle around it. Their hunting ground and home. And here is another monster settlement. This is their hunting ground and home. The two parties cannot be next to each other, and it is easy to cause disputes. Just like the territory of the nobles, what is yours is yours, and what is mine is mine. It's mine. You can't approach it at will, except for monsters who specialize in delivering messages, or young monsters who communicate and marry."

Bloody Fangster smiled: "You guys, the more you talk, the more outrageous you are, and you are still talking about intermarriage. Why don't they hold a wedding? Sing a little song to bless the bride and groom. Haha."

Kil also smiled, but the corners of his mouth turned up: "I can't say for sure about this. You see, the harpies are intelligent, and they have their own language. It's unclear whether they still have their own language. What about the currency? What should we use to make currency?”

"Okay, okay, Kil, the bard who drinks the most wouldn't dare to brag like this. Come and have a meal. Thank you for saving me, I'll treat you to this meal." After a pause, he continued: "And there will be more in the future. Wherever there is a need, you tell me and I will take care of it. If I owe you a life, I will repay it with my own life."

Keir picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth and chewed it without saying anything.

Just nodded.