Mercenaries and Adventurers

Kil came out of Knight Crow's tent with a grimace.

He kept muttering something about hating monster meat in a low voice, making it difficult for others to understand.

Taking off the armor he had worn all day next to his tent, Kil fetched a bucket of water and wiped his equipment with a clean linen cloth.

Bloodfangster had already fallen asleep early due to fatigue and blood loss, and one of the two guards also went back to sleep. They did not set up a tent, but directly spread their bedding on the relatively clean adobe floor. One person slept, and the other One person serves as a sentry for Knight Crow.

Of course, the purpose of standing sentry is not to protect the knights. There is no need for them to protect the knights. The main purpose is to block and question people who may come in advance, giving the resting knights a buffer time to get up.

After all, Kil knew that even if he didn't wear knight armor and used knight-specific weapons, he couldn't defeat dozens of people with his bare hands.

He disassembled the armor parts one by one, carefully used a dagger to scrape out the minced meat and plasma stuck in the gaps during the battle, and then wiped it repeatedly with linen cloth dipped in water.

After cleaning one piece, he put it aside to dry. The air here is quite dry, making it easy to dry things even without a fire.

After the cleaning was completed, Kil dumped the turbid and bloody bucket, then returned to the dreamland in the tent, took out a set of tools for oiling armor and walked out.

No one was looking here anyway, so he took it easy.

Dip a small pig-bristle brush into rust-proof and lubricating animal grease, lightly brush a layer of it on the surface of the armor, and then wipe it carefully with a wrung linen cloth until it can reflect the light from the lamp holder.

The areas where the armor rubs and moves require more grease to be applied, and there is no need to wipe it. Just put the armor together and move it a few times.

After everything was done, Kil carried the armor into the tent and placed it in the corner of the tent. He tied the tent tightly from the inside, got into the dog skin sleeping bag, and gradually fell asleep.

What he didn't see was an animal wood carving amulet hanging on his chest, showing a weird smile.

-

Ga————

Sigh——

Ga————

Sigh—

Ga————

Gah!

Ga————

Ga————

-

"Gah——"

An unknown hoarse cry woke Keel up.

"Whirring whirring."

He felt that his whole body was tight, and he woke up from his sleep quite uncomfortably.

My whole body was covered in sweat, and it felt like it was crawling out of blood. It was sticky and smelly.

The surroundings were dim, not like the cold underground overnight buildings in the village, but like a cloudy sky in a dark dense forest.

"This is where?"

He was a little confused, and the surroundings were unfamiliar, which made him feel very bad. Maybe something bad is going to happen, or has already happened.

After swallowing, Kil rubbed his body, trying to get rid of the smelly and sticky feeling on his body.

But then he realized that he was only wearing the loose coarse clothes he wore when sleeping. The solid armor that he could rely on was no longer with him. It was clearly placed in the tent when he slept.

"where it goes?"

He searched around, but in the gloomy surroundings, only his dog-skin sleeping bag was beside him.

The long sword for hunting, the cross-water head and the ax in both hands were not there, even though he put both of them in the tent before going to bed, just within reach.

This time, Kil really panicked.

He shrunk and looked around cautiously.

Surrounded by dense and dark woods, the tall trees looked like dark shadows covering the sky, and there seemed to be more dangerous and dark things hidden in the darkness.

Staring at him.

It's like staring at a delicious treat.

"snort!"

Although Kil's weapons and equipment were not with him, which caused him to panic for a moment, his confidence as a warrior soon returned.

He no longer paid attention to the smelly and sticky feeling on his body, but directly lifted the dog skin sleeping bag at his feet, draped it across his shoulders, knotted it with the open rope of the sleeping bag, and wrapped the warm and thick sleeping bag around his body.

Use it as a simple layer of protection.

He did this subconsciously and didn't even think there was anything strange about it.

Ga————

There was another weird scream that was unpleasant but long and loud. It sounded all around.

Keir alertly tried to find out the source of the strange sound, but found that every shadow around him seemed to be the source of the strange sound.

"Spit." No longer swallowing his spit, Kil spat on the ground disdainfully.

Only then did he notice that the ground where he stood barefoot was not really the ground as he had thought before, but was instead a large shadow.

"Hey, it's definitely not an ordinary place. It won't be the Strange Wind Grassland. It won't even be the real world!"

Kil was slightly panicked, but soon realized that no one could kidnap him from the hands of the Crow Knight, who was just around the corner. Just kidding, the Crow Knight could even collapse the entire Kamsi Village, and no one would. I want to cause trouble for Knight Crow in that kind of place.

And he is not a big shot, or a well-connected person who needs to be kidnapped.

An ordinary person, okay, maybe not so ordinary, but no one knows, right?

Thinking of this, Kil hesitated again.

But no matter what happened at this moment, he had to cheer up and take action.

Hesitating and wasting opportunities often results in losing the initiative in events.

He cautiously approached the surrounding trees and touched them gently with his hands.

It looked dark like a tree with shadows, but after touching it, it felt very ordinary. Keir let go of his nervousness a little and immediately used force to tear off a branch as thick as his wrist. When tearing it off, he kept the break at an angle.

Trying to make the stick in his hand sharper, if not more threatening.

With a stick in his hand, he calmed down and looked around carefully, trying to find a way out.

"Can't you just let yourself feel pain and then wake up from a weird dream?"

He felt that the surroundings might be a strange dream, so he tentatively whispered: "Ms. Apolifina?"

Unexpectedly, his gentle question caused great changes in the surroundings!

The shadows of the woods suddenly became taller, abstractly rising to an unattainable place, so that the slightly gloomy weather could still be seen, saying goodbye to Keir completely.

At the same time, Kil noticed that the shadow-like woods around him, which were within reach, were also moving away from him in an instant. They seemed to be receding, but it seemed as if he was moving away from those things.

Obviously his steps didn't move at all.

Kil suppressed his uncontrollable expression, gritted his teeth tightly, and kept twisting his body and neck, paying attention to all the changes around him.

"You are not Ms. Apolifina, are you?"

Kil asked tentatively.

Then he added a mocking comment: "Because the surroundings are dark and there is no sense of beauty. There is a sense of mystery, but it is not beautiful enough."

In response to Kiel, there was a loud, strange cry of "Gah——".

"Gah! Are you from Drunken Dreamer?"

A question rang out from above Kiel's head. Kiel reacted immediately and stabbed the wooden stick in his hand into the sky.

"Gah! You hurt me, kid!"

The weird cry sounded again, and the wooden stick in Kil's hand seemed to be much heavier for a moment.

Looking up, Kil discovered a big bird sitting on the top of the stick. It was about the size of half a man, and its whole body was covered in black and gray colors of varying light and shade, just like the shadows around it.

This monster looked like a huge crow or an owl, with a pair of shiny black eyes, looking down at him as it lowered its head.

A black bird's beak with a beautiful arc was opening and closing, spitting out human words and unhappy words.

"ah!"

Kil was startled, not knowing whether this thing was good or evil, and how it got to the top of his head.

He immediately threw the wooden stick in his hand out of fear.

But the wooden stick that was thrown still seemed to be held by someone. It was perpendicular to the ground, fell to the side, and stood firmly on the ground.

"What! Who are you?"

Kil took two steps back and immediately put his arms in front of him, assuming a fighting posture. At the same time, he mobilized the life energy in his body to 'quickly' fill his whole body and become active.

Big Bird looked at Kil's reaction with disgust, and then spoke again: "Little guy, before asking who someone is, shouldn't you politely introduce yourself first? Who am I? Then, who are you?"

Unexpectedly, Keer didn't answer the question and introduced himself without any stupidity.

Because he is not a country fool. He has lived in the relatively prosperous Kendall City for a long time. Not to mention the few minstrels who often hang out in the tavern, there are also those wealthy people rehearsing in the park opposite the Foxtail Chamber of Commerce. He has also seen many local plays performed.

The drama story has repeatedly warned all viewers not to passively respond to something in strange events or environments, but to actively question the other party.

Force the other person to answer!

Because a question and an answer is itself a primitive contract.

Any contract with a strange existence is not a good thing, so be vigilant.

"Who are you? How did you get me here? Why did you get me here? How to get out? What is your relationship with Ms. Apolifina? Answer my question! Big Bird!"

"Gah! Who do you call a big bird? Impolite little guy! In front of you is the howler of crows, the proud hunter of hunting eagles, the protector and hunter of flying species, the whimpering ghost in the night, The protection of wings, the patron saint of hunters, the ancient messenger of the wilderness, Budolib Dorab Ika! I am the shadow, the wings, the hunter, and your dark nightmare!"

Keir's reaction was very strange. He seemed to be holding back his laughter. He tried his best to stretch his facial muscles and control his tongue. He managed not to laugh when the big black bird announced his home. The sound comes.

But all of Kil's smallest movements were caught by the pair of dark, shining eyes in front of him.

"Rude boy! What are you laughing at?"

Kil did not answer the other party's question, but instead talked about the things he didn't want to talk about: "Master Bu, can you make the surroundings a little brighter?"

Big Bird was very unhappy and stared closely at Kil who was holding back his laughter. He couldn't figure out why this mortal was laughing. Even if he was holding back his laughter, he could tell at a glance that this rude mortal was laughing just now.

what's so funny!

snort!

He flapped his wings, but his body did not move. Even the wooden stick perpendicular to the ground under the bird's claws did not move at all. With only a few flaps of its wings, the surrounding shadows partially faded away.

The shadowy woods that seemed far away were still far away, but the trees overhead that could block the sky receded, revealing the dark sky.

Cloudy days are also daytime, providing at least a modicum of illumination.

Keir finally got a clear view of a large area around him.

It's all pitch black, with a small amount of gray mixed in, but not much.

The stone is black, like a large open-pit coal mine. The grass was black, as if someone had scrawled it on the parchment with ink.

The low shrubs are also black, and the berries the size of thumb caps on them are also black. They look like curled up beetles, or maybe edible fruits.

"I am Budolib Dorab Ika, the rude mortal! Remember my great name, he will be the most key to changing your life.

Become my believer and offer me your best sacrifice! Ga——

Be my messenger and spread my name! Ga——

Become my priest and lead more people to worship me! Ga——

The best sacrifice, I will give you the best hunting ability! Ga——

Say my name devoutly ten thousand times, and I will give you the ability to glide through the shadows! Ga——

As the number of people who worship me increases, I will make you sure to take it every time you hunt, and your arrows will chase the bull's-eye! Ga——”

The big black bird was shouting excitedly, as if everything was so natural. Kil was not as excited as the big bird, but calmed down.

He rubbed his arms, and then rubbed his chin with his fingers. As he got older, his chin also began to grow a beard. Although it was still a little soft, it was at least a beard, right?

Kil thought that the person in front of him should be a small bird wood carving captured from the powerful and strange archer he defeated in the Dead Leaf Village.

He remembered that when he was fighting the archer, it was indeed weird in the small house, and there were a lot of weird flapping sounds of wings.

Moreover, the blessing of the blinding Sun God Church, which was originally tried and tested, failed only on that person in so many battles.

Now look at it, combined with this big bird, no, it is the Haikou boasted by the gods.

This guy really has some skills to give to others.

It doesn't look like he's lying.

Moreover, he had previously shown this captured thing to the Saturn priests in the army. Although the other party did not know it, they still asked the Saturn to show their respect to Kiel. The god's answer was, a natural god related to birds. The prayer statue can be touched to gain help in battle. But that's all.

There is no existence of this god Bububka in the town, and no one has heard of it.

If Kiel came here on the way, it would be okay if he was not well-informed and had not heard of it. However, the priest of Saturn whom he asked asked other priests who accompanied the army. Different churches did not know the origin of this god's prayer statue.

Not even the locals know about it, and even the professionals in specialized churches don’t know about it. They have to ask the gods to find out.

Keir looked suspicious. Could it be that no one believed in this god who didn’t look very smart?

Is he an outdated primitive nature god?

Otherwise, how could the other party confidently tell him what he wants and what he can give, speaking so fluently and urgently, and even in the words that seem to be giving, there is an implicit look of asking for charity.

Have you looked at what other churches are doing?

Gods never appear in the eyes of humans except their own priests. They only communicate in their own minds. What is this?

This is awesome!

People have the capital to show off, and although they need you to believe in them, this is a matter of benefit to you, and they cannot beg you to believe in them.

After all, gods are real, they are there, or here, in short, they are around everyone, involved in everything.

It seems like it's not there, but it's actually everywhere.

But this person, although it seems that he has a handle on Keir at this time, forced him to come here, and seems to have taken the initiative in the incident, but why are you, a big bird, just talking there without stopping? .

Brother, give me some benefits first, and I will take the initiative to do things for you. You don’t need to end up like this personally.

It's so shabby, so shabby.

-

"Gah——, you seem to be thinking about some very disrespectful things, mortal!"

The big black bird stared at Kil in displeasure, and Kil also laughed. This time, the smile did not have a sarcastic meaning, but a relaxed smile after finally understanding the matter.

"Gah——, you relaxed? Why? What's wrong? Mortal, answer me!"

The big bird twisted its dark head left and right, its shiny black eyes turning to look at the humans in front of it.

"Hello, Bu, uh, let me think about it, Lord Bu Dolib Dorab Ika, great god, can we get to know each other in detail."

"What?"

"Yes, you see, whether I am praying to you or offering prey to you, don't I need to know more about you?"

"It makes sense. Mortal, what do you want to know?"

Kil sat down, wrapped the dog skin sleeping bag tightly around him, and then asked: "Great Sir, why don't you start with the guy who touched your statue before?"