Mercenaries and Adventurers

Baron Kendall waved his hand and lowered his voice and said: "You two, keep your voices down so that no one can hear anything."

Knight Crow looked around: "Don't worry, sir, we have all entered the building at our feet, and there is no one outside. And this is the outermost building of the town, and there are no locals."

Knight Rumi nodded, indicating that he judged this too.

"That's good."

The baron was wearing exquisite gloves with noble emblems on his hands. He was playing with the huge weird flowers growing on the vines next to him, with a strange expression on his face.

He said to the two knights: "Two, I hope you will not be disappointed with what I say next."

The two knights pursed their lips and said nothing.

"I personally have some thoughts about the magic ballista installed in this town. But it's not because of greed, it's just because I feel a little uneasy about participating in the war."

The rays of the setting sun scattered through the vines and shone on Baron Kendall's slightly fat face, and the baron's expression was serious.

Although they were complaining in their hearts, the two knights had serious faces at the moment.

Have to be serious.

The fine beard trembled, and the baron continued: "Although we fought hard and defeated a large group of monsters, outsiders only saw the victory, but we understand that the priests who came with the army consumed a lot of divine power. That was what they privately gave us. As I said, before coming here, each church had collected a batch of divine power from the priests in the Kendall City Diocese and found a way to give it to them for use."

He squeezed hard in his hand, and the colorful and weird vine flowers and leaves were crushed into pieces by him: "Most of these extra powers beyond their own abilities were used yesterday afternoon. The two members of the Church of the God of Saturn basically didn't have much left. , I can no longer use battlefield magic, and can only perform single-person treatment in the days to come."

"Priest Rosari from the Church of the God of Wealth is okay. He said that he recycled some of the special divine power coins made by the church. Huge mimic warriors like the last time cannot be made, but smaller ones can. If If he encounters the same number of monsters as yesterday, he can directly create a flying mimic warrior that can ride a knight to assist in the battle."

The huge flower with damaged leaves trembled, and slowly closed up, away from Baron Kendall. The baron was not surprised and continued: "But the old priest of the Church of the Sun God is okay, similar to the one last time. He can release magic of this scale a few more times, but accordingly, he has no possibility of bringing the battlefield magic one step closer. That's all he can do."

Knight Crow nodded: "So, we still have a chance to fight, but that's all."

Knight Rumi then said: "Will outsiders see through it?"

His words were also agreed by the other two people present: "So I said I felt uneasy. There were basically two people commanding and managing this march, which allowed the army to avoid most problems, and the only trouble we could barely overcome was . But I don’t think it’s enough.”

The baron pulled out the spikes of the vine that he had just inserted into the vine, and played with it in his hand: "It is so difficult to deal with monsters. Although there are also reasons for the special nature of the strange wind grassland itself, what about the troops of the neighboring countries to the south? ? They are not unintelligent monsters that can be defeated with a simple trick. Isn’t it because the nobles on the border of the southern provinces sent us letters asking for help because they are in an unfavorable situation on the battlefield? "

"As we get closer to the southern provinces, some news comes to my ears. They suffered a huge defeat last year. Although they will definitely counterattack this year, the large iron ore vein they are fighting for is under the control of the noble armies of neighboring countries. The defeated army The military has also caused widespread tension in the southern provinces."

"I urgently need something to calm this uneasiness and find a guarantee for our soldiers to win, so that they can have the reversal pieces to ultimately win when facing a strong enemy."

Baron Kendall patted the shoulders of his two knights. The thick Iron Knight armor was still very reliable: "Although it may bring a little dust to the honor of these two men, I hope you can do this."

"The honor of victory on the battlefield, the possibility of the militiamen returning home, the huge benefits after winning the war in the future, and my trust. You two, please consider this."

They didn't say anything clearly, but Knight Crowe and Knight Rumi were not the same as Baron Kendall. They were close in age, so they were actually very familiar with each other.

When they approached Strange Wind Town before, they saw something in the Baron's eyes.

What else could make Baron Kendall, who has a lot of wealth, a vast territory, and an elite army, be jealous of him? Isn't it the magical ballista that this strange wind town has installed to resist the harpies?

Knight Crow chuckled lightly: "Sir, leave this job to me. Although I have never told you clearly, I am actually really good at this."

He patted Knight Rumi on the shoulder, letting Knight Rumi, who was still a little confused, breathe a sigh of relief.

"Could it be that?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the heavy steel shoulder armor made a crisp sound of metal collision: "Yes, it is what you two thought. In fact, I did a lot of these things in the Kingdom Guards Knights. Huh, it's all for the king. , No, His Majesty the Regent did it.”

"Sir, although I haven't done anything for several years, I believe I will live up to your expectations."

He then lowered his voice: "Everything is normal tonight, and we will go on the road as usual tomorrow. Before arriving at the next village at sunset tomorrow, this magic ballista will definitely be in front of you."

Baron Kendall was so excited that he wanted to laugh, but he still maintained his expression control and just nodded with satisfaction. The whole person relaxed and looked at the spire on the movable seat at the top of the tower not far away.

Knight Rumi looked at Knight Crowe who agreed to the task with surprise, and asked in a low voice what he was doing.

Knight Crow said something to Knight Rumi with a regretful look on his face, which made Knight Rumi look disappointed. He was disappointed with the famous Knights of the Kingdom Guards.

Although they were both trained knights for the kingdom's army, after they became knights, they served in very different places and forces.

According to tradition, Knight Rumi was assigned to the northern border area of ​​the kingdom by the Knights Covenant under the Noble Council, where he fought many battles with neighboring countries.

The stronger and better-performing Knight Crow was recommended by the Knights Covenant to the Regent and joined the Kingdom's Knights of the Guards.

This is the direct power of the royal family of the kingdom. It is not only the main force that restrains the noble council of the kingdom, but also gives the royal family of the regent the power to deal with things in the dark.

Unfortunately or fortunately, Knight Crow had to deal with these dark things in the first few years of his service in the Knights of the Guards. This detailed experience was bound by an oath, and he had never told anyone else.

-

Keir took the blacksmith and the blacksmith's apprentice, and several other town militiamen who originally drove horse-drawn carriages, and were walking along the narrow road between the buildings in the town towards the bustling center of the town.

The roads they walked on were all grassy dirt roads that were durable and not dirty, and the roads were not as narrow as those seen outside the town.

The really narrow distance between the buildings above their heads was really less than one meter wide, making it impossible for even the shortest harpy to flap its wings and get in.

The reason why it is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top is simply because the walls of the buildings on both sides are not built vertically, but are convex at the top and concave at the bottom, with a special structure that slopes inward.

This also made the corridor, which was not really narrow, very dark. When it was still dark outside and the red sunset was still beautiful, they had to come up with lighting means.

The blacksmith took out an exquisite one-way lighting oil lamp that he made himself. The flame of the oil lamp is wrapped in a metal iron sheet to prevent wind and rain, and the inside is also painted with a thin layer of silver to allow the opening to shine brighter light.

The town militiamen hold ordinary torches, but these torches have stronger lighting capabilities, but they cannot be held close, otherwise they will heat their faces.

It was much more convenient for Keir. He walked at the front, turned around and opened his hands to the following people.

"Shhh-"

He blew a short whistle, and the long sword on his waist was like an obedient hound, immediately wagging its tail and automatically pulling out a few centimeters of length from the scabbard.

And on the drawn sword blade, white light surged, and a non-dazzling and bright light shone out.

"You really love to show off, young man."

The blacksmith who followed the army complained in a tone that seemed to be a criticism, but was actually envious. His two apprentices stared at Keir's sword with envy and whispered about the maker of the sword.

The maker is of course a major priest within the Church of the God of Craftsmen who has the strongest forging power in the Craftsman District of Kendall City.

Not to mention that Kir's weapon is a magic material weapon that uses rare magic materials.

No, it is still a spiritual weapon that responds to the user.

"That's awesome!"

The two apprentices murmured enviously, and their master snorted heavily: "Don't be envious, work hard, it's not impossible to build such a weapon in the future."

The town militia felt that it was normal for Keir, a young warrior who made a splash in the battle against monsters yesterday, to own such a weapon.

After showing his strength, Kil turned around and continued to lead everyone forward.

He was now wearing the hard cowhide full-coverage armor he usually wore, and the armor was left on his carriage, under the care of Bloodtusk.

In fact, the armor was placed beside the pond in the dream, and no one could take it away or find it.

-

On the outside of Strange Wind Town are some low and huge buildings specially built for temporary overnight stays by traveling caravans, surrounding the square and square Strange Wind Town in a complete circle.

Of course, not all of them are empty; some have been converted into specialized warehouses for large chambers of commerce, or indoor pastures for raising animals that don't require a lot of space.

Shops, residences and other buildings are further inside the town.

Although the buildings in the middle circle of the town are also square and low, they are much smaller in size, and unlike the large buildings in the periphery, which only have one or two gates, these adobe houses have many doors facing the street.

Moreover, the doors are not always built on the ground. Some are even opened on the higher second floor, and can be accessed up and down through wooden boards inserted into the wall.

Some windows also appear on the walls, but these windows are not used to provide lighting, but to exhaust smoke indoors. Streams of smoke from burning plant fuels emerged from there, all the way up, filling the sky from the narrow gaps in the building overhead.

It was the setting sun in the evening, which was supposed to be the time for the family to gather together for dinner, but Keir saw some people in the town yawning as they walked out of their homes and walked slowly toward the center of the town.

Instead, he looked like he had just gotten up.

There were also townspeople pushing carts that were easier to move on the narrow roads here, carrying loads of goods. They shouted in a low voice to take them, passed the other people who gave way to him, and walked quickly to other parts of the town.

When Kil saw this man's cart, he felt nostalgic. Last autumn, he was still using this kind of thing. Later, he followed Lanisha Knight and had horses. He wondered where his cart was now. Can't get up.

He looked around and found that the locals were well dressed. Whether they were working or not working, everyone had obviously gained a lot from the trade routes that passed through this place.

Keir noticed that even though the local buildings in the surrounding residential areas have shrunk in proportion, these low and wide buildings are still shared by many families, and there seems to be no phenomenon like one house for one family.

Just when Kil was about to tell his companions what he had discovered, he saw that on the buildings approaching the center of the town, there were fewer and fewer dozens of households in one building like before.

First, there were dozens of houses in one building, so that on a certain wall of the square, there would only be the gates of a few residents.

Walking further inward, passing through a circle of houses, the residential buildings inside turned into a long wall, with only one residential door, and the door became more imposing.

Not only are the residences of big families here, but some small business associations also rent here. I don’t know whether these chambers of commerce with their names and business scopes written on the walls are opened by locals, or whether they are established by powerful and large chambers of commerce from other places to handle things and make money.

The closer you go to the center of the town, the more things related to business and trade there are in the town.

As lights shine on the walls, the surrounding buildings have transformed from places where residents live and where chambers of commerce operate and work, into large and small shops with lights on.

The number of people gradually increased.

Not only the local townspeople, but also villagers from other villages on the Strange Wind Grassland. In addition, of course outsiders like Keir and the others are indispensable.

In other words, outsiders like them are the most numerous people on the streets.

The trade area in the center of the town has arrived.

-

The shouts and flattering voices soliciting customers are constantly reflected along the narrow road, giving the surrounding streets an illusion of being lively even before they are crowded.

This illusion has a magical power that makes people want to spend money to buy things. Kil puts his hand on his money bag, looking at all the novel things around him and wanting to buy some back.

The wall on the side of the street has been opened by shop owners. When walking on the street, you can see the products being wiped by shop assistants inside.

The sharp and easy-to-use iron sickle is most suitable for people living on the grassland to cut fresh and tender grass to feed cattle and sheep. The sharper the tool in hand, the more grass the person who goes out to mow can harvest during breaks in high winds.

The piles of large animal skins show that the local animal husbandry is pretty good, and the technology is even better. Different types of animal skins, whether they are used to make tents, clothing to keep out the cold, or sheepskin rolls used by wealthy people, Or a pair of flexible boots, you can buy products of reasonable price and quality in the leather goods shops in the row.

There was also a tavern that smelled of alcohol. Just when Keir led people through the door, he could hear people talking and drinking inside. There might be some performances, and bursts of applause could be heard from time to time, which made Keir want to go in and watch the excitement.

But that's not enough yet. He must first complete the task assigned to him by the knights.

He is leading the team, so he cannot run away in advance to enjoy it.

There are also restaurants here that specialize in the consumption of wealthy foreigners. The aroma of stewed soup and barbecue can be smelled from a long distance away. The taste of a special spice from the prairie is particularly special and can be easily distinguished.

There are also ready-made clothing shops with wooden dummies, selling everything from fabrics to ready-made clothing sets specially designed to serve outsiders. Even the largest shop sells complete sets of leather armor, ranging from lightweight stab-proof leather armor. They actually sell everything from hardened thick leather armor that can protect against cuts from heavy knives and heavy swords.

Obviously the chamber of commerce behind the store is very powerful.

There is also a shop that sells horses with excellent abilities. The tall prairie horses are strong and energetic, swaying their heads and tails in the small shop. Customers who don't like to come and go point at them and raise their heads proudly.

There are also shops selling wooden furniture with stylish decorations. Due to the lack of trees on the grassland, wooden furniture that is common elsewhere can be openly sold in special shops here, instead of being sold by most of them like other places. The carpenters make it specially according to the customer's wishes.

The style is just like this and the price is so expensive, it’s up to you whether you want it or not!

Wood or furniture was brought here via caravans. These wooden furniture were so expensive and were not available elsewhere. You could either buy them here or build a piece of furniture with adobe bricks at home and make do with it.

What Keir didn't know was that most local residents still used a variety of simple fired pottery products. The beds and stoves at home could only be made of adobe bricks, and each family used their own wooden furniture. The wealth of each family is judged by the amount.

There are so many houses, but the townspeople are not satisfied with them. The standard of living of each family naturally depends on how much scarce wooden furniture they have.

In addition to these, Keir also saw a shop selling luminous plants, which was really strange.

There is no such thing for sale in other places. Perhaps there are many plants that can emit light in other worlds, but in most places people do not need such things.

After all, whoever lacks money or housing can also lack sunshine.

However, in Guifeng Town, this thing has become a hard requirement for every household.

The light that shines into the interior of the building from the patio in the middle of each square building is still very limited, especially for families with many households living together. If there are no luminous plants in the home, then the not-rich families simply cannot afford basic necessities. lighting consumption costs.

The large expanses of green grass outside the town are free, but these things can hardly provide enough lighting.

Raising sheep can provide enough animal fat, but it is not cheap to use for lighting.

It is impossible to get enough light in the building, so planting a few plants that can glow by themselves in every room of the house is a necessary part of life.