Mercenaries and Adventurers

Keir sighed, while others discussed in low voices the current situation in the city of Boris.

They were not very familiar with each other. They were just a group of strangers gathered around Knight Kil and Priest Batal. Therefore, the discussion is more restrained.

The latest news for everyone at this time is the old businessman who passed by the local area before being captured by the bandits, and the news that the young villagers heard occasionally from the entire village who fled their homes some time ago.

You can’t fake it, but the truth is also very limited.

Moreover, times have changed, and no one knows what the situation was like back then or what it is like now. The situation may have calmed down, or it may have become more chaotic.

After listening for a while, Keir found that most of the others did not have good expectations for this place.

Originally, the military and security forces from all over the southern province were brought to the provincial capital by nobles from all over the country to gather together, preparing to go south to launch a new war. This has led to chaos in public security in various places. In addition, last year's deserters and defeated troops have joined bandit gangs in various places, making the situation so unsafe.

If there are just bandits making trouble near the city of Belisfa, the remaining local soldiers can still find ways to calm them down and ensure the safety of one side.

But now the rural people in the area under the control of the city of Belisfa have gathered and surrounded the entire city. No one can guess how far the current situation will deteriorate.

"Then, as for the situation in this place, let's wait until we get out of here. After we arrive in Dorne Town, we can find someone to ask for information. It can be regarded as a selected place that has been reserved for the time being."

Kil scratched his head and found a small piece of sawdust and placed it on the map of the city of Boris.

"Let's take a look and see where the surroundings can be safer. At least there must be houses and farming land for hundreds of people to settle. This is the premise. This is not a place to live temporarily, but may need to be settled and defended for a year or two. A place where time can escape the chaos of war and chaos.”

Keir first stated the conditions required for the place he wanted, and did not let some people choose some extraordinarily outrageous places.

Everyone gathered around the map and looked at this relatively complicated map carefully. They also repeatedly asked Kiel about some incomprehensible markings, and Kiel answered them one by one.

Nine people gathered in a small circle, causing insufficient lighting from the nearby fire. Kil took out the long sword from his waist and hunted, with the tip of the sword pointing downwards and piercing the land next to the map.

Then, according to Keir's request, the blade of the long sword constantly emitted a uniform, non-dazzling white light, illuminating the map and everyone in the circle.

The two businessmen and the four young men under Kiel looked at the weapon in surprise. Priest Batal closed his eyes slightly and did not express any opinion on the fact that Kil, the warrior chosen by the God of Agriculture, actually used the blessed weapon of the Church of the Sun God.

Especially since Kil had already been wearing this weapon when he received the ritual blessing from the God of Agriculture.

The God of Agriculture didn't say anything, so he pretended not to see it.

Especially everyone knows that compared to other churches, the main body of the Church of Saturn does not have many blessings and magical arts that can be directly used in combat.

-

"How is this place?"

A young man had a sudden idea and pointed to a mark with a skull on the map.

Kil has just explained that this place is an abandoned ruins of dwarves. Although it is located on a small plain in a good river valley, there are no human-settled villages within a certain distance around it.

"There is no one around, so there will be no bandits to attack! No matter how chaotic it is outside, it should be quite safe there."

Kil shrugged: "The reason why the abandoned ruins of the dwarves are marked with skulls is because the village elder who provided the information said that the early immigrants who had passed by had never returned and disappeared. That's why even the bandits did not go there. Go there. If we want to settle there, we have to figure out how the people who moved there died. And the abandoned ruins of the dwarves, it’s hard to say whether they were abandoned after the establishment of the Kingdom of Saint Holes, or whether they were abandoned earlier. abandoned."

"If it's because of the establishment of the human kingdom, it's okay for the dwarves there to move away. But if it's something that even the stubborn dwarves can't handle, then I suggest we don't go there."

The young man scratched his head and smiled.

The middle-aged businessman, Long Barford, later made a special proposal: "Sir Knight, with you in the team, our combat effectiveness should be higher than that of ordinary bandit gangs, right?"

Kil waved his hand: "That should be the case, but Batal and I have to rescue the people in Changmai Village, and then we have to return to the army. We can't stay here for a long time."

"That's true, but it doesn't matter. I have a proposal. Please listen to it."

Everyone looked at this middle-aged businessman, whose spirit was completely different from that of the other rescued businessmen, to see what good location he could offer.

I didn't expect this person's words to be very bold.

"This is what I think. Since we have been able to defeat many bandit gangs during the period when the Lord Knight was here, why not just find a bandit lair with a good location, let's attack it directly, and just occupy it. We don't Will they attack other people like bandits, occupy a place, and open up new fields? At the same time, they will also completely eliminate a large bandit gang to frighten bandit gangs in other places and try to get our idea? "

"I wonder if this method is feasible?"

He stood up, put a humble hand on his chest, made a gesture and finally asked.

This seemingly unexpected plan immediately opened the eyes of the four young people who led the team. They became excited and whispered to each other, seemingly very excited.

Priest Batar frowned, seeming a little worried, because unlike the Kiel warriors who would leave, he would stay here after returning to the settlement that everyone had chosen with the rescued people of Changmai Village. .

It seemed like a good idea to lay down a bandit's lair and then use the situation to intimidate other bandit gangs. It was a simple and violent plan, but because of this, he felt vaguely inappropriate.

I just couldn't tell what was wrong for a while.

But next, the two people will help him sort out these doubts.

"Deterring gangs of bandits? I don't think this will work." The first person to retort was Bloody Fangster. Unlike most of the people present, he would follow Keir, so he spoke more directly and casually, without paying much attention to other people's faces and concerns.

Businessman Bafoot frowned, but then he spread his hands and asked the caravan guard, who was about the same age as him, to explain in detail.

Bloody Fangster carried a crossbow on his back and a bag of crossbow arrows on his waist. On the left was a recently captured steel long sword and on the right was a similarly captured high-quality short knife. He was wearing a thick leather jacket, with some scattered leather armor parts on top of the leather jacket.

"What I said doesn't work is a matter of power decline. As the chaos in the southern provinces intensifies, the strength of the bandit gangs will definitely enter a stage of rapid growth as they absorb a large number of young men who have lost their homes. The more chaotic the situation, Their numbers and combat effectiveness will be further strengthened."

"Today we defeated a gang of bandits and thought it would intimidate the surrounding enemies. What about tomorrow? If their number has doubled, will they still think they can't deal with you? This won't work. It's too dangerous. Some of them even proactively announced that they would settle down in reverse. The existence of young refugees. They didn’t know it before, but now, they have established a bandit lair and they all know it.”

Businessman Bafoot was so embarrassed by these words that it was difficult to say anything, because it was really hard to say what the situation was like among the bandits. At least as time went by, the strength of some bandit groups increased. This was something that everyone recognized.

If this matter is not resolved, they will be like a piece of fat meat, attracting a group of hungry hyenas with a murderous and looting habit to chase and bite them wherever they go.

Just like the bandits they met last night.

Even more brutal.

At the same time, the old businessman Fentiga also slowly gave his rebuttal. It was not that he came specifically to undermine his fellow businessmen, but mainly because he saw the difficulties faced by so many people after settling in the bandit lair. It was difficult to solve, so I had to retort.

"Ahem, that's right. I also have some immature opinions."

The old businessman shook his head at the middle-aged businessman, indicating that what he said next was not to help him.

"I won't talk about the external security situation, but after settling down inside, I think the problem is not small."

He pointed to the locations of several marked on the map, some old and larger bandit gangs with certain family heritage: "Not to mention some of the smaller bandit gangs and their lairs, after all, those places We can barely accommodate a few dozen people, but many places with a population of hundreds cannot be accommodated no matter what. There aren’t that many places to live, let alone to cultivate land.”

"I'm just talking about these bandit gangs that have been around for a certain period of time. These places can barely accommodate the number of people we have now, and even more people in the future. Well, they generally occupy some places that can be developed into villages, and the terrain is relatively open. Just As far as I know, oh, I heard from some businessmen who were captured by bandits and redeemed. Bandit lairs that can be maintained for a long time generally adopt a half-robbery, half-farming model. There are even The kidnapped people are sent to work in the fields like the family members who do not kill or rob. And if the land has a good harvest that year, the people are not sent to rob, just like some smaller villages."

He looked around at the faces looking at him and then said, "So, that's a good thing, but."

Sure enough, whenever the word "but" appears at the end of a discourse, the advantages mentioned earlier will turn into disadvantages later.

"But, because of this, these bandit lairs, dens, whatever you want to call them, which have been around for a certain period of time, have a larger number of other people who are not going to rob."

His old and cloudy eyes looked at Kil, and the white light from the long sword's hunting gave these eyes a bright reflection.

"If the bandit's lair is captured, what should we do with the families and relatives of the bandits who outnumber the bandits? Sir Knight?"

Kilburn wanted to say that he had dealt with them all just like the Crow Knights had dealt with the Pocket Hole Bandits within Kendall County. But he knew that it was okay for Knight Crow to say this, because Knight Crow was leading all combat militia at that time. Those people originally hated bandits on the trade road, especially because the family members of the Luo Pocket Cave bandits were hiding in the cave. , the militiamen did not see each other's women and children with their own eyes when they fought.

So in the end, hundreds of people were smoked to death or burned to death with smoke and fire. Except for some militiamen who were disgusted and collected the corpses, most people were indifferent.

But not now. His identity as Kiel and the composition of his team did not allow him to answer like this.

Kil frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "It's not possible to kill, and it's not easy to deal with, so we can only keep them under guard and live together?"

The old businessman nodded: "The question is, can two groups of people who have hurt each other live under the same roof?"

At this moment, Keir shook his head as soon as he finished speaking: "Impossible. We can't handle this with a small number of people. If you are a noble with a territory, you can disperse the family members of these bandits and arrange them in various villages in the territory. This way They are only a small number of people wherever they go, and if they cannot gather together, it is not a problem, and the village managers can handle it on their own."

"That's right. In addition, there are some other problems. For example, after settling and occupying the bandits' lair, survival necessities, such as salt and tools, must be obtained through external exchanges. Of course, large towns can organize armed caravans to protect them. The last remaining trade, but how can a small place like ours obtain these necessities for survival?"

"Of course bandits can be solved by robbery, robbing villages, caravans, and even other bandits. After all, in a chaotic situation, their scale will only continue to grow, and even the more they attack each other, the faster and bigger their scale will grow. But what about us? ? Also by robbing? Who are you robbing? Bandits? After the Knights of Kiel left, most of the people who settled down could only barely survive. How could they defeat the increasingly powerful bandits? So what about other villages? Isn’t that the same as bandits? Already?"

"I'm afraid that when the border war ends and the nobles from all over the country lead their troops back to their hometowns, we will just be wiped out by the army like the bandits everywhere."

As soon as the old businessman finished speaking, everyone present fell silent, especially the four young people who thought the plan was a good one before. They all wilted like eggplants beaten by frost, sitting on the ground with their heads lowered, not knowing what to do.

They then looked at Knight Kil, but they could only see a forced smile on Kil's face, and then the smile turned into a sad look, staring at the messy and complicated map with various markings.

"Batar, tell me."

Kiel finally asked the priest Batal who had not spoken much.

Of course, Priest Batal didn't like the plan of the bandits' lair, but he couldn't come up with any other plan, so he had to say: "I still want to know the recent situation in the city of Belis. If it is safe there, I am sure. I can get some help from the Parish of the Church of the God of Saturn in the city of Belisfa. After all, there are no people in the villages everywhere now. I think most of the village priests will not follow the people to flee, but should take their believers with them. Head to the parish gathering.”

"That's quite a force. If we get help or even gather together, maybe everything can be solved smoothly."

"Even if we don't solve it, we can still get some help, that's what I think."

But after listening to what he said, Kil silently shook his head: "Priest Lothar Batal, think about it carefully."

"Um?"

Knight Kiel's words made everyone around him confused. They didn't know what he meant, but the knight didn't seem to want to explain.

The old businessman was thoughtful, but said nothing more.

Priest Batal was a little confused at first, but after looking at Kil and pointing at Kil himself, the priest understood.

Priest Batal fell silent.

If there was still strength left in the Parish of the Church of Saturn in the city of Boris, or if the situation was not bad, the god of Saturn would not direct him to the city of Montoka to wait for a Kiel warrior from an outsider.

Although the warrior God arranged for him exceeded his expectations many times, he did not seek the power of the Parish of Paris at all, which already explains a lot of problems.

The Church of Saturn’s diocese in Belisfar had a big problem.

At least it is in a state where it cannot move or support.

-

In the end, this night discussion failed to reach a clear destination. In the end, everyone only proposed a few constructive plans, and a few seemingly "safe" settlements whose situation was like a fog.

Kiel finally ended the discussion and said that everyone should leave this trade route first and go to Dorne Town, which is chaotic but must be well-informed, as a short-term destination.

There are many things that they can't draw any conclusions from just guessing in this remote place. Only by getting the latest news can they make accurate judgments.

So, the target - the town of Dorne.

-

When he went to bed at night, Kil was wearing a suit of armor, except that he didn't wear a helmet, so he lay down on his dog skin sleeping bag and fell asleep hastily.

He didn't sleep for two days and one night, even though Knight Crow told him that after becoming a knight, there would be no big problems if he didn't sleep for a week in the tense state of battle.

But last night was too long and there was a lot of killing.

Keir only felt that as soon as he closed his eyes, the humans he killed appeared repeatedly in his mind and even in front of his eyes.

The screams, wailing, pain, and crying of those people before they died appeared so clearly in his ears and before his eyes.

‘How many people did I kill last night? ’

Kiel can’t remember exactly.

In the darkness with his eyes closed, accompanied by the screams clearly ringing in his ears due to his deep sleep, Kil's consciousness sank into the darkness.

-

Opening your eyes, you are greeted by the familiar shadowed trees again.

Kil was stunned for a moment and looked around. Everything around him became wider, but it was still pitch black and monotonous.

His consciousness became clear and he understood where he was.

The secret realm of shadows is a space of consciousness created by the wooden sculpture hanging on his chest.

"Big Bird God? Are you looking for me? If something happens, just come out and stop pretending to be mysterious. I won't do this."

Kil climbed up, and with only the help of the dim light around him, he saw the dark red stench of the souls of the dead all over his body. At the same time, there were some small purification mushrooms that were tenacious in 'surviving'.

He first confirmed that he was in the last small territory of the god named Budolib Dorab Ika, and then he confirmed that the many enemies he killed last night were indeed in the conscious world that he could not see. Is pestering him and hurting him.

And these mushrooms, which must have come from goblins, were silently treating him.

As soon as Kil finished speaking, there was a lot of flapping sounds around him, and a lot of small bird-shaped shadows flapped their wings and flew around, and finally landed on various branches of the forest.

The birds, whose entire bodies were composed of black shadows of different depths, landed quietly on the branches, all staring at the human being, Keir.

What he got in exchange was not fright and admiration, but a muffled groan from Kil with his arms folded.

"Humph, who are you trying to scare?"

Seemingly annoyed by the attitude of this little human being, Kil, after a loud cry of "Gah!", a huge black bird about the size of a person landed on the wooden stick that suddenly appeared in front of Kil and was stuck on the ground. top.

"Rude human being! It seems that you are not aware of the tragic situation that is about to come? Ga!"

So says the god.