Mercenaries and Adventurers

Keir felt that this thing might be helpful for him to understand the local environment of the battle.

So he carefully closed the book and stuffed it into the small leather bag on his belt. He checked the remaining books and found that most of them were poems and the autobiography of a theater actor, and there was also an introduction. Kiel flipped through the book on the White Stone City Wall and found that most of it introduced the ornamental estates of various noble families on the west side of the White Stone City Wall, and there were many words of praise in it.

Quite boring.

Keel stopped caring about the books and looked at the contents of the other boxes.

A small bundle wrapped in a tablecloth. When opened, it contained a set of exquisite silver tableware.

Keir raised his eyebrows: "Where did you get this?"

Ms. Fenia lowered her head: "That damn man gave it to me two years ago. It can be regarded as a gift."

Keir curled his lips and said, "It was probably snatched from the caravan's cargo. Let me have a look."

He looked at the set of tableware carefully, and sure enough he found the coat of arms of a certain noble family on the silver dinner plate and the handles of the knife, fork and spoon. Kil didn't know much about this, so he couldn't recognize which noble family it belonged to. This thing couldn't be used by ordinary people. If it weren't for the current chaos, using noble utensils indiscriminately would be against the law and would be severely punished. .

"You can find a place to sell it. There must be some guys with a lot of money who are willing to buy a set and use it secretly at home."

When Kil muttered like this, Ms. Fenia looked at him in surprise after hearing this: "I didn't expect that, Sir Knight, you would have such a view."

Shrugging, Kil said nonchalantly: "Money is more practical at this time. Besides, the original owner of this set of tableware has nothing to do with me, right? I don't have to rush over and return the things to him."

Throwing the cutlery in his hand back into the baggage, Kil tied the baggage.

There was also a pack of IOUs in the box. After opening it, Keel found that they were all small IOUs written by gamblers after they lost. This has no effect on him. Most of these IOUs are written by the same person. The only difference is the amount, date, and the name and fingerprint of the debtor.

“Who are these debtors?”

Facing the knight's question, Ms. Fenia's eyes wandered and she said hesitantly: "Most of them are traders on this trade route that they regularly travel to, followed by those guys nearby."

"Huh, bandits, right? I heard from the captured bandits that the hotels on the trade road are where they hang out after robbing. Forget it, this has nothing to do with me. There is no one on the trade road anyway. If we leave again, these hotels will be abandoned and destroyed.”

Having said this, Keir tore up all the IOUs in these bags, tore them into pieces, and threw them into the dug pit.

Ms. Fenia felt quite distressed when she saw this scene. After all, it was a large amount of money. Even if most of them would never receive the money again, less than half the amount was owed by the merchants. If there is a chance to catch up with the other party's chamber of commerce, it is possible to get the money out.

But these have nothing to do with Kiel, who is destined to pass by here in a hurry. He tore these things up just to feel happy.

"Finally, let me see what's left."

Kil bent down and took out the last small box, and found that the things inside were very miscellaneous, mostly gold and silver bits and pieces that seemed to come from anywhere. There are small gold and silver coins from other countries. Just looking at the size, you can tell that the value is far less than the standard coins of the Kingdom of Saint Holes that imitate the empire.

There are also gold and silver earrings and rings. Most of these things are crude and crude. You can tell at a glance that they are for men. The earrings have a thick protrusion and the rings are thick and monotonous.

It is a decoration that is often worn by businessmen who have some money but average taste.

There are other items that look valuable, including dentures made of precious metals, cloak buckles, decorative buttons for closing cuffs, badges and belt buckles with cheap reflective crystals.

"These things were also obtained through gambling?"

Faced with Kiel's teasing, Ms. Fenia put her hand on her forehead and said sheepishly: "Yes, and it's not easy to deal with. I just save it year by year. Similar to this, there are many people's clothes and smelly boots. , most of these are sold at low prices to other caravans, and most of the young people in the caravans like to dress like the caravan stewards, thinking that their status will be similar."

Keir smiled: "You can comfort yourself mentally, even if it's of no use, you still spend money indiscriminately."

After checking these things, Keir put most of the things back into the wooden box, closed the lid, tied it up with ropes, and carried it away.

Everyone returned to the ruins of the hotel with joy. Everyone proudly talked about what they had just discovered. They did not expect that the seemingly beautiful Ms. Fenea actually had so much wealth.

This is what other young people who eat melon think.

Keir knew that most of the so-called gambling gains were just a cover. Many of those items were probably bloody stolen goods, and it would be true if they were not disposed of at a low price.

Due to the handling of stolen goods, it was collected locally at a low price, and it was purchased at a similar price from some other place a little further away, but the price was different.

The relationship between Fenea and Mountain Wolf Barney is more than just a couple. The deeper relationship between robbery and stolen goods cannot be revealed at this time.

After all, he said he would let these things go if he spared her life.

Besides, it has nothing to do with him personally. He is a foreigner and he is not really here to uphold justice.

-

Everyone then got on the road and headed east along the untravelled trade road.

In the afternoon of that day, the few hundred of them unexpectedly encountered a group of armed escort caravans.

This group of caravans are all horse-drawn carriages and riders. The caravan drivers and men driving the carriages carry throwing guns and wooden shields behind their backs. The caravan guards are even more well-equipped. More than 20 people are equipped with bows and arrows and leather armor. Some people except In addition to wearing traditional swords, there are also strong guys carrying steel swords on their backs, looking like they can fight more than ten people alone.

When the teams from both sides saw each other at a corner of the trade road, the distance between them was no more than 400 meters. The armed refugee youth walking in the front of the team looked at the large number of carriages and horses in the distance and did not know. At a loss, he was in a panic.

The caravans who saw the refugee group in Kiel were even more panicked, because when they looked up, they found a group of at least several hundred people blocking the trade road.

The convoy stopped immediately, wooden whistles and panicked shouts kept ringing. If it hadn't been difficult to turn around, the caravan's carriage would have turned and run away on the spot.

What worries the caravan guards even more is not just the hundreds of 'bandits' in front of them, but also whether there are more people ambush in the wasteland and grass on their left and right sides at this time?

Therefore, following the command of the guard leader, arrows were constantly shot towards the places where people might be ambushed on both sides. But what puzzled them was that after firing several rounds of arrows, they didn't hear a single scream?

Kiel's team also stopped in panic, causing the carriages that followed and the ordinary young refugees carrying things to slowly crowd the road.

Only when no more people could be squeezed in, did some people walk away towards the grass on both sides.

Fortunately, it was not like the refugee youth had never seen a similar armed caravan before at the White Stone City Wall Checkpoint. After the initial panic, he immediately sent people to the back of the team to invite Knight Kil and Priest Batar to come over.

-

When Kil was informed by the young man running towards him at the end of the team, Priest Batal had already passed ahead.

"Isn't it just a caravan, or something like that? Send someone forward to tell them, either they get out of the way, or we get out of the way. Someone has to get out of the way so that the other party can pass through the caravan route if they miss it."

Keir complained, but the young man who ran over to inform said loudly: "Sir, the other party is shooting arrows at us. They started shooting arrows from a long way away, not only shooting at us, but also in the bushes and woods on both sides of the road. , are you crazy?”

Keir laughed when he heard this: "Don't talk nonsense, I'm probably scared. After all, no one expected to meet so many people here suddenly. It's normal for the other party to be careful."

The young man didn't quite understand, so he could only nod and run as hard as he could beside Kiel's horse, trying to follow him.

The blood-licking grass didn't run very much. It swung its four legs in small steps, and it was already running at the same speed as the young man next to it.

Kiel's team was not very long, and he quickly ran from the end of the team to the front. When he looked up, he saw that it was indeed an armed caravan that could still do business even when the situation was bad.

The opponent was neither big nor small, with about ten carriages and about twenty mounted guards.

This is already quite a bit of power, because they are all ridden and pulled by horses, so their moving speed and power are far beyond what anyone can do by walking on two legs.

It would take Kiel and the others three or four days to travel along the trade route between the north and south of the mountain range, but the other party could get through it in half or even less time.

This is something Keir is very envious of.

It was already afternoon, and the sky was getting dark. After a while, I had to prepare to find a place to spend the night.

When the two sides met each other, they both felt nervous and suspicious.

But it's better here in Kiel, because we know that these people are just armed refugees, not bandits.

But the caravan didn't think so, because before passing through here, they already knew that they might be attacked by bandits, so they were very energetic and vigilant.

Now it was discovered that Kiel's team had carried out the 'bandit attack'. I just didn’t expect there would be so many people.

How could there be so many people?

Outrageous!

Can one trade route support so many bandits?

"What should we do? Captain, come up with an idea quickly!"

The steward of the caravan stood on the carriage and shouted loudly to the guard captain. The manager is not worried about the guards joining the bandits to steal the caravan's goods. Because they are professional caravan guards, they have held the hostages in the chamber of commerce before leaving. If nothing happens, the hostages will work in the chamber of commerce, just like ordinary clerks, but Once something goes wrong, unless these well-known caravan guards no longer want their families, the hostages will most likely be taken to an uninhabited place by the chamber of commerce and killed to resolve their hatred.

The captain of the caravan guard was also a little confused. It was not like he had never walked this trade route before. Before the chaos broke out last year, it was quite lively here. Although there were bandits, they did not want to say that they were killing people and robbing goods. In many cases, They all asked for money, or the caravan dropped a batch of goods for the bandits to pick up and rob, while other carriages passed quickly.

It's all done like this.

But now, it was so outrageous that so many bandits appeared and blocked the road.

"Are these bandits going to attack the town of Dorne? Burn, kill and loot the town?"

After making a casual guess, the captain of the caravan guard immediately shouted loudly: "Turn the carriage around quickly, a convoy of this size cannot force its way through. We retreat, but the other party is on foot and cannot keep up with our speed!"

After shouting to the people in the caravan, he then shouted to his subordinates or cooperating companions: "Gather together! Gather! Let's go up and repel the attack of the bandits and buy time for the caravan carriage to turn around!"

This was a fatal job, and some people immediately did not dare to risk their lives and wanted to escape in the direction they came from.

But the captain of the escort directly sent people to catch the horses of the fleeing people, tied them with nooses, and then brought them over.

The guard captain yelled: "Run! Is running useful at this time? What will happen to the brother at home who ran away? He will not survive? Untie the rope, return the weapon to him, everyone rush together, listen to me, if you can survive, you may not be able to survive." Die! Go!"

After saying that, twenty-one guard riders gathered together, all ready with long-range bows and arrows, and at the same time, swords for close combat.

They worked together and approached the bandit team in front at a constant speed.

But before they could get close and fire arrows to stop the enemy, an armored warrior riding a tall prairie horse rushed out of the chaotic team of 'bandits', along with a priest holding a luminous staff.

Um? Priest?

One or two hundred meters away, the captain of the caravan guard saw this scene and immediately lost his mind.

He also wondered how the robbers could be assisted by church priests. Wasn't this helping the robbers to do evil?

But then, the armored warrior rushed over.

-

When Kil saw the other party gathering more than 20 riders to rush towards him, he felt something was wrong. He changed his position to the other party and once he guessed, he understood what they were going to do.

"Everyone, move back and avoid the arrows!"

Kil yelled, then knocked the horse's belly violently, causing the blood-licking grass to run wildly.

His right hand hesitated for a moment, but still didn't hold the weapon, but his left hand held the elf metal shield behind him in case of any eventuality.

Behind Kiel, Priest Batar, who was riding a prairie horse, also saw that the other party was coming with bad intentions, and immediately rushed out, hoping to prevent misunderstandings between the two parties, which could lead to casualties.

"We are not bandits!"

"Be careful not to attack!"

Kil shouted loudly, and Priest Batal quickly used a short prayer and used the magic of amplifying his voice. His voice was louder than what Keir would have shouted in an emergency.

"Yes, we are not bandits! Caravan guards in front, we are not bandits! Don't attack! Don't cause any misunderstanding!"

The sound roared loudly, allowing even the riders who were surrounded by the noise of a large number of galloping horses to hear it.

"Not a bandit?"

"Is it true? Captain?"

"I don't know either! Take out your bows and arrows, be careful!"

Having said that, he who was leading the team still slowed down, and the other riders following him also slowed down. He quickly added: "Be careful of possible traps by bandits! Pay attention!"

The two parties approached on horseback relatively quickly. Kil's metal armor made the riders particularly nervous: "Captain! Don't let people get close! Otherwise it will be difficult to deal with! It is very dangerous!"

Of course, the guard captain knew that although they also had armor on their bodies, they were all simple leather armors. If they were poked by the lance on the horseback of the opponent's rider, there would be a hole in the front and back of the body, and they would be killed immediately.

But at this time, not only was the other priest making a sound of dissuasion, but the approaching armored rider was also shouting, with the same content.

Taking a deep breath, the captain of the caravan guard quickly shouted: "Stop! Don't get close! People on the other side, stop!"

His voice was not loud enough, but fortunately there were other companions and subordinates around him. Twenty-one of them shouted together, and the voice was not soft: "Stop! Don't get close! The people in front stop!"

When they shouted to stop, they also strung the bows and arrows in their hands, ready to shoot at any time.

If the opponent doesn't stop, they will shoot arrows and then go up to fight. If the other party stops, then there is no communication.

Such is the case with desolate and uninhabited wilderness trade routes, let alone places frequented by bandits.

-

Kil squinted his eyes. He had good eyesight, so he naturally saw the opponent's plan and the bow and arrow he was wary of.

After hesitating for a moment, Kiel still stopped. Even though he stopped the horse fifty or sixty meters away from the opponent, he was completely within the accurate range of the opponent's more than 20 bows and arrows, which was very dangerous.

At least if the other party sets a trap like this, his blood-licking grass will definitely not be saved.

Kil pulled the reins to slow down the blood-licking grass, and at the same time touched the mane on the horse's neck vigorously: "If they cheat and let you die, little guy, I will give you all their lives to avenge you! "

The blood-licking grass gradually stopped and neighed in response.

In response to the opponent's request to stop, the opponent's more than 20 riders also stopped at a distance. Half of them drew their swords and weapons, and the other half raised their bows and arrows, pointing towards this side from a distance.

Priest Batal also rushed over at this time. When he saw Kil stop, he stopped too.

"So, what does it look like now?"

The priest was panting. He was a little dizzy from shouting just now, and accelerating the horse so fast also made him a little uncomfortable.

Kiljan pointed at the other party: "There has been no misunderstanding or conflict. Go ahead and communicate. You are a church priest, and your words should be enough to gain the trust of strangers."

Patting the red cheeks caused by nervousness with his hand, Priest Batal responded, then threw his amber metal staff to the Kiel warrior, and he gently knocked on the horse's belly, raised his hands, and slowly leaned over.

The other party did not shoot the arrow recklessly. He obviously saw the church robe on Priest Batal. Regardless of whether the clothes are real or fake, they cannot act rashly until they have a clear judgment.

"Be careful, everyone, don't be nervous. Follow my orders and don't make any moves on your own!"

After warning his subordinates and companions, the captain of the caravan guard put away his buckler and sword, and cautiously approached.