Mercenaries and Adventurers

The wretched look of this unlucky guy amused the young people around him, including Kiel.

His face was as swollen as a pig's head, and his mouth was slurring common language with changed sounds. But even with a vague guess, I could figure out what he was talking about.

Kil checked the swelling of this guy's tongue and found that there was no possibility of suffocation due to blockage of the trachea, nor a more serious reaction to being stung. Only then did he determine that the swarm of bees in the bandit camp were really just ordinary bees.

It's not some venomous bee in the forest that can sting even beasts with thick fur.

"Okay, if you're like this, just go and rest. If you feel better, the situation will probably be better in a day or two. Anyway, when you go back and join most of the people, Priest Batal will find a way to treat you."

After comforting the sullen young man, Kil decided to wait for the others to come over and then ask the guys from the Wild Snake bandit gang why there was a hive in their camp.

After all, this is a very dangerous security risk. I don’t know what the bandits were thinking. They even prepared a high tree house specifically for raising bees.

The rescued girls who were awakened by the commotion also recovered from the panic when they woke up. Knowing that it was not a big problem, they tried their best to move to the fire and whispered to the young man who was tinkering with the wheat porridge. People beg for food.

Although these girls were in an unusual state of wretchedness, and their injuries and smell were not satisfactory, the large areas of their bodies that were not covered by the animal skins still made the young man who cooked the meal blush in shock. He quickly took out the wooden bowls and spoons found by the bandits and served several bowls of steaming wheat porridge to the girls.

Ordinary porridge is much thicker because a lot of grain is put into it, which makes people very appetizing to eat it.

A few girls were not strong enough, so the four of them took turns scooping up a mouthful of porridge with a wooden spoon, and then took small mouthfuls of the food to cool it down, and then put it into their mouths one by one.

The oldest among them is like a big sister, feeding the other three more. After the other three were full, she picked up her bowl of wheat porridge and swallowed the slightly hot food in big mouthfuls.

"Make some more food. After the others come over, everyone will eat something here. There was fighting in the first half of the night and trudging in the dark, so we are probably hungry. After eating, we will take a rest here. Let's go again Return to the clearing.”

While looking at the treehouse with the honeycombs high up, Keir arranged work for the young people who had nothing to search for.

So several young people who used to cook often found a small bag of roots, potatoes, radishes, and sweet roots from the rummaged grains. They sat down and used their newly acquired daggers to scrape off the skin of the food, then washed the food in the bucket, came to the iron pot sitting on the fire, cut the food in their hands into small pieces and threw it into the boiling water. .

The water used for washing the rescued girls was also boiled nearby. The hot water and clean water were mixed in the wooden washbasin found in the bandit leader's wooden house. The young man placed the hot water basin next to the girls.

"Wash up quickly. Here, wipe yourself with these clean rags."

Several girls thanked the young man who handed him the water, but they looked around awkwardly while holding palm-sized pieces of water.

They were right in the center of the camp, surrounded by fires and various rummaged items piled up. Not only could they have a clear view, but they were also surrounded by twenty young men. Their female sensitivity let them know that there were many young men at this moment. He was secretly looking at them.

This made them feel very embarrassed, but when they thought about the experience of being humiliated in the gangster's cellar, they felt that the idea of ​​being embarrassed at this moment was so unnecessary and ridiculous.

But at this moment, because they were wearing armor, they could not climb up the treehouse with limited load-bearing capacity. However, the bored and idle Kil noticed the helplessness and little dignity they had left, and quickly waved his hand to order them to go down.

"Find a few wooden poles and build a shelter for them with animal skins and clothes. Are you really rough, so you let the girls watch like this? Move quickly and build a shelter for them. You, You, and you, don’t sit there, get out of the way.”

With Kil's arrangement, the young people seemed to have lost what they expected. They reluctantly pulled out two wooden beds used by the bandits, and simply placed the two small wooden beds sideways to form an L-shaped An angle bracket was used to place the balled-up animal furs and clothes stolen by bandits on the seamed wooden bed, barely creating a private space that could not be seen.

After everything was done quickly, Keir saw the girls who expressed their gratitude to him and waved his hands: "Hurry up, more people will come over soon. Once there are more people, it will be bad."

He also walked away, sat by the fire, and urged the young man who was cooking to add more food to the pot.

After they stopped looking over, the girls dared to take off their animal skins and start scrubbing each other.

They cried while wiping. They couldn't shed tears at first, but after their intestines and stomach absorbed the water in the wheat porridge, the tears finally flowed out.

Some young people wanted to go over to see what was going on, but were suppressed by Kiel.

"If there is anything interesting to see, do your own thing. Well, most of the sufferings in the world are similar, so don't ask about these things. Just like I didn't ask you about the various things you encountered along the way when you fled your hometown."

When Keir said this, the young people around him who were still in good spirits all lowered their heads. Continuously capturing the gangsters' lairs, this success made them seem to forget that just before dark, their relatives and friends suffered heavy casualties when they were attacked by bandits.

There are still people with minor injuries that are not intrusive. Some young refugees twitched the corners of their mouths as they touched the bruised skin left behind by the bandits. Some people thought of their friends who were killed. Yesterday, everyone was begging for food together at the White Stone City Wall Checkpoint. Today, during the day, they were still talking enthusiastically about the new possibilities after 'escaping' from the old, weak, sick and disabled. But a sudden attack by bandits at night separated life and death.

Everything was so sudden, yet so natural.

A few smart young people understand that even though they are so strong and seem to be able to make a success of themselves anywhere, they actually have no strength.

No matter when they were at the White Stone Wall level, they did not have the ability to survive decently in the level, nor did they have the ability to force their way through the level without paying the customs fee that was deliberately set up to stop them.

There is no ability to deal with bandits in this wild area.

They are like pig urine bubbles. They look like a big bag, but are actually hollow and light. If anyone or any organization taps them, they can be rolled around at will.

A young man held the weapon placed on his leg, his fingers lightly brushed the not-so-sharp blade, and then cast his gaze on the young knight.

A young man wiped the tears and snot from his face with the back of his hand, and cast his eyes on the young knight named Kil.

There was also a young man who ran over excitedly and immediately lay down next to Keir, staring intensely at the young knight's shining eyes. Not only was he not afraid, he was extremely envious of the heat.

"Lord Knight, please lead us. I will listen to you and fight well."

This outspoken young man left Kiel baffled as soon as he opened his mouth.

"What's wrong, you suddenly said that?"

Another young man came over, knelt down in front of Kiel, and put the captured weapons that Kiel distributed to them on their foreheads: "Master Knight, we don't want to be bullied anymore. I also swear here, listen to you. Order."

Kil stood up from the ground, squinted his eyes, and looked at the young people walking over one after another. They seemed to have figured something out in whispers, and they all came over to offer their 'loyalty' in their own ways.

To be honest, Keir was confused by the actions of these people.

Because he had no intention of accepting anyone before, even if he led young refugees to act together, it was because of two reasons. One was when elderly refugees came to the door at the checkpoint. He saw the distress of those people and agreed to help take them away.

Another one is that in his judgment, rescuing the captive villagers of Changmai Village is not just a simple matter of rescuing people. If only it were that simple. Because as far as he knew, the security in the southern province was constantly deteriorating. After villages in various places lost the protection of soldiers led by superior knight lords, bandits in various places that had been suppressed for a long time were frantically expanding their scale. Moreover, after the army stragglers who retreated last year also fled back to their hometowns, most of them relied on the guys in their hands to do evil. .

Just rescue the villagers of Changmai Village and then let them follow Priest Batal back to the burned-out original Changmai Village. Is the matter over?

Even if you think about it with your feet, you know it's impossible. The other intact villages all fled to avoid the disaster. Bringing the captive villagers back to the village and leaving them alone is no different from killing them or sending them into the tiger's mouth.

It's just a tragedy in the end.

Therefore, what he really needs to do is to gather and train a group of militiamen and manpower who can assist him when rescuing people, and can spontaneously protect the resettled village after rescuing people.

Just to complete the task appointed by the gods, and casually ignore the people after rescuing them, it is estimated that it is not easy to maintain the existing good relationship with the Church of the God of Saturn, not to mention the possible rewards.

Therefore, in Kiel's view, he only needs to arm these people and simply train them, so that they can reliably protect the resettled villages in the chaotic days of the southern province.

He had no intention of actually taking these people away. Sooner or later, they will stay, farm the land, and protect the village voluntarily.

That's his plan for these young men.

But now, he is faced with young people who have pledged their loyalty to him and expressed their intention to follow Kiir.

He was a little at a loss.

-

At this time, not all of the more than ten young people expressed their intention to follow Kiir.

After all, some people know their own weight. Rather than fighting and relying on force to survive, young people with self-awareness prefer to live on the land based on their previous life experiences.

There are also people who don't think too much and are not very sensitive to changes in life, so they just sit on the ground and watch other people's actions in surprise.

But at this moment, there are still eight young people gathered around Kiel, including two guys in leather armor who were promoted by Kiel, influential among the refugees, and dared to fight.

"Let me think about it. Everyone gets up first, everyone gets up first. Don't make big decisions so easily. Think carefully before making any decisions."

Keir waved his hand, temporarily stopping the actions of these young people. He is actually a young man, at least in appearance, even younger than most people present.

The knight's refusal made several young people regretful. They put away their weapons and sat on the ground in silence at first. Then after a while, several young people who were preparing to follow Kiel gathered together and whispered.

Sighing, Kil walked aside, followed the blood-licking grass's mane, and stroked the long horse's face with his gloves.

As if he disliked the metal gloves being too hard, Blood Licker kept shaking his head, trying to get rid of Kil's hand.

At this time, fire gradually approached from the direction of the gate of the bandit camp, accompanied by the sound of the wheels of the carriage creaking and the sound of weapons colliding with each other.

"Here we come, don't stand still, clear the area near the gate and prepare to load valuable supplies into the car!"

Keir's loud voice sounded again, and the atmosphere that had been slightly silent before became active again. The food and bags containing clothing and other items blocking the road were moved away. The scattered weapons were tied together with ropes and carried aside. The clay pots containing living creatures were also carefully moved aside, and someone Special guard.

At this time, the young man who came in first confirmed that everyone in the camp was his own, so he stood at the door and greeted the carriage and others behind him to come in quickly.

Three carriages carrying trophies and rescued people came in with an awkward sound. The three horses stopped one after another. Other young people who came after them first pushed the detained bandits to the ground and told them to stay still. , and then they all joined in the moving work.

Seeing that everyone was moving quickly, Keir turned around and said to the rescued girls behind the wooden beds laid horizontally: "Have you finished cleaning up? I'll tell you when you're ready."

"Ride, Sir Knight, we've got it done." The oldest of the girls replied. Her voice was no longer so hoarse and weak after eating a lot of wheat porridge, and her physical strength seemed to have recovered a little.

In the noisy and chaotic environment, Kil still heard the other party's not very loud reply clearly. He nodded and called two young people: "Go over and help put them on the carriage. Pay attention to laying out soft cushions. They are all I’m very weak and can’t bear the extreme bumps.”

"Yes sir, leave it to us."

The two young men summoned were the two who wanted to follow Kiel before. They seemed to have discussed it before, and they didn't know what judgment they made. At this time, the voice responding to Kiel was loud and powerful.

With a snap, Kil put down the steel visor, then showed a wry smile that no one could see, and walked towards the place where the surrendered bandits were being held.

And here, the girl wearing a large piece of animal skin embarrassedly covered the basin that she had used for scrubbing. They were much cleaner, but the basin now became dirty and smelly. Several girls were very embarrassed. When the person in front was picked up, the others relied on their bodies to cover the water basin behind them.

Although the two young men were thin, they still had a lot of strength from farming before. It was easy to pick up the equally thin girl.

The two of them first sent the person to an empty seat in a carriage, and then placed soft animal skins on the wooden box. The two girls gently moved to the animal skins and nestled together.

Then two more people were picked up, and the four of them huddled together, keeping their bodies steady, and burying their heads in each other's hair, which was not known to be wolf skins or other animal skins. They shrank away from those who looked at them and whispered to each other. A businessman was rescued in the same car.

-

Keir kicked a bandit from the Wild Snake gang.

With Keir staring down, the bandit sitting on the ground quickly stood up and forced an ugly smile on his face: "My lord, my lord, what do you want to see me for?"

Pointing to a tree house on a big tree high in the camp, Kil asked: "Why, among you bandits, some of you used to keep bees? The food is very good, life is sweet, and there is honey to eat."

After patting his head and realizing that something was not right, the bandit lowered his head and stared at his other former companions who were also members of the Wild Snake gang, and then quickly put on a smile and said: "Sir, you are joking, it was not raised by one of us, it was us, no, It’s the hive that the wild snake raised by himself.”

"Oh, the bees that your devil leader keeps by himself? What is he used for? Is he eating them? Or is there another use for them?"

"It has another function! It has another function! Dog Tail, Dog Tail, you know, tell the Lord Knight."

With that said, the bandit kicked another bandit next to him from the same gang. This short bandit had a pair of triangular eyes, and his face that was swollen from being beaten had very heavy nasolabial folds. At first glance, he was not a good guy. .

But at this time, the bandit nicknamed Dog Tail also nodded and let out a flattering laugh, and said to Keir: "Sir, Sir Knight. I said, I know what that damn guy of Wild Snake does raising bees. "

There seemed to be women's low exclamations and scared sobbing in the carriage behind him. Keir raised his eyebrows, and the voice under his mask was calm: "If you know it, just say it, don't hold back, you are not qualified. Recognize it." Do you understand your current situation?"

The short dog tail nodded sharply: "I understand, I understand. I'll say it right away. That guy from the Wild Snake led us to rob a small but powerful caravan. We probably don't belong to those people in a head-on confrontation." The opponents are all ruthless characters, and Fatty doesn't even plan to attack them."

"But those who are small in number, although powerful, are the opponents our group is good at dealing with."

After saying this, the bandits of the Wild Snake Gang raised their chins proudly.

Kil snorted coldly: "Use poisonous snakes, right? Continue."

"Yes, sir. It's the poisonous snake! In order to ensure success, we took out all the poisonous snakes at that time, because that guy from the wild snake judged that a small but powerful caravan must have good goods. The risk is worth taking."

"We followed them for two days. The gang was taking a trade route, so we took advantage of other bandit gangs' territory and walked through the woods to get to a place where we could spend the night before them. It happened to be a place without any hotels along the road. We can spend the night in the wild. We opened the jar containing the venomous snake in advance and hid it outside the open space where the caravan spent the night. Because the jar is covered with a lid, the venomous snake inside will not notice anything unusual and come out in a short period of time."

"So, to put it bluntly, I don't really want to hear about another illegal atrocity of yours."

"Yes, yes, after we threw the live rats at night, the poisonous snakes were lured out and bit those guys to death. Although the guards killed many poisonous snakes before they died, the goods fell into our hands intact. The wild snake was very excited at the time, As a result, when a secret box hidden among the general cargo was opened, only some small bottles and cans were found.”

Keir immediately recalled those small jars with strange names and contents that nearly froze his nose.

"Hmph, I saw those things among the loot I searched. The names marked on them are very strange. Do you know what they are?"

"Sir, we didn't know at the time that one of them accidentally killed two people when we opened one of them. Because it can kill people, we copied the words on those jars and sent people to the towns to find people for questioning. As a result, I found out what the raw material of the potion was, and everyone who inquired about it died without any explanation."

The corners of Keir's lips raised: "You have caused a big trouble, haven't you?"

Several of the bandits from the Wild Snake smiled bitterly, obviously they had offended some people.

"But the other party didn't know which bandit team on this trade road was the one who robbed the valuable goods - potion materials, right? It's impossible to really kill all the bandits and search for them. What happened next? Why did they just raise them? The bees have risen and are still in your old nest camp."

"Everyone was illiterate, so they took apart the vocabulary and asked the literate people, and then they found out from those bottles what kind of honey one of them was. That guy from the Wild Snake wanted to follow this path by raising bees to produce honey. As a result, the honey produced by the bees, after more than a year of work, was just ordinary honey. The failure of this matter also made Huangshe very embarrassed at the time."

After figuring out what happened, Kil told the guy to go back and sit down.

Then he found the box of bottles and cans that was guarded by a special person again. This time he carefully placed the wooden box on the back of Blood Licker and carried it on his back.

He couldn't yet judge the value of this thing, but at least, no matter how much these magic materials and raw materials were worth, they could be used as a stepping stone to contact people and organizations that could refine magic potions.

And it’s also a very useful stepping stone.