Mercenaries and Adventurers

The messenger said: "Reply to the young master, although I don't have as good eyesight as the sentries, I saw with my own eyes the places they pointed out. There were fires there, and there were a lot of them."

"Is there a fire in an uninhabited village? After all, the weather has been quite dry recently. If there is little rain, the old houses in those villages will always be prone to burning down."

The older man asked while rubbing his waist.

And what the old man said made sense.

The messenger knelt on the ground and said: "Sir, although you can see faint firelight in the villages with bright lights, the sentries said it is not like the village burning."

"Are you sure?" the old man asked again.

"Reply sir, I can't see clearly at night, but that's what the sentries said."

The old man nodded and stopped talking.

The middle-aged woman on the side looked at the nails on her fingers. After making a gesture, she took a fine small file from the hand of her maid behind her and gently trimmed her nails.

When she saw that the old man was silent, she added: "Could it be those 'robbers'?" When she mentioned the robbers, her tone was particularly serious, and the other people present understood what she meant.

The messenger said at this time: "Back to Madam, it is possible that the bandits in the mountains burned down the village to vent their anger. The new wall outside our town has been repaired, and they will definitely not be able to get in. I guess they are venting their anger. Well, it is also possible that the main force of the town was transferred. A despicable ploy by the defense forces.”

Faced with the bold guess of the messenger, the middle-aged woman glanced at the messenger, snorted lightly, and then looked at the temporary manager of the territory on the main seat, that is, her nephew, the current head of Baron Yemei Town. son.

The young man coughed lightly and asked the second housekeeper beside him: "Where is the map?"

Before the butler could answer, two male attendants walked into the hall carrying a large roll of cowhide map.

This cowhide map looked very heavy, but the two attendants still suppressed their blushes and walked quickly to the middle of the hall, and then slowly put down the cowhide map that one of them had rolled up.

Then the second housekeeper personally stepped forward and picked out an inconspicuous copper key from a large bunch of keys on his waist, and opened the metal lock that locked the entire volume of the map.

With a click, the lock and the thin metal chain were removed. The second steward carried the thing backwards, while the two panting attendants beside him quickly opened the entire volume of the cowhide map.

This thing seems to be made of seven or eight pieces of square cowhide cut out and sewn together in sequence. On it, a detailed map of the entire Yemei Town territory is drawn with paint that has good adhesion and will not fade or scum.

What’s interesting is that the map is not only detailed with villages, towns, fields, mountains and forests, but also uses a special method to make the cowhide map appear slightly undulating. In this way, as soon as you get started, you can see the ups and downs of the entire territory through touch or close observation.

Since the entire barony territory is not regular, the center of the map is not in Yemei Town. Yemei Town, where everyone is located, is only located on one side of the map. On the other side are large mountains and woodlands, as well as a few scattered places. distributed in remote villages.

If you look carefully, or if Priest Batal is here, you can see the name of Changmai Village in the corner of the map.

Changmai Village is also a village under Yemei Town, but it is located in a remote location. Not to mention protected, small businessmen are reluctant to go there to do business. That is to say, when the tax collectors collect taxes every year, Only then did he remember this remote place, and sent an unlucky guy with soldiers and carriages there to collect grain taxes.

-

The map was unfolded, and the second steward went to the main seat in the hall to help the baron's eldest son, and led the young man to the map.

The temporary manager of the territory waved his hand and motioned for the messenger to come forward: "Come on, you can roughly judge that the place where the light just emitted is probably in the direction of the town, how far away, and where it is. Mm, the night magic town is on your side, Look carefully."

The messenger knelt on the ground and kowtowed, without getting up. He rubbed his knees against the ground and approached the edge of the map. He was literate, although not many, but he could still recognize some common words.

The messenger's parents were immigrants from the empire, and he did not learn to read and write like other new generations who migrated to St. Holes. He learned more or less from his parents.

On the map on his side, he easily found the conspicuous Yemei Town, and then looked for the direction of the sun drawn on the map. Generally speaking, the sun is often drawn on the map to indicate the south. , after finding the sun, you can know the direction from the map.

So after finding a string of suns in different directions on the other end of the map, the messenger confirmed the south. Then he found the northwest of the town, and after judging the distance of the light based on his experience, he got the answers to all the questions.

After kowtowing, the messenger stretched out his hand and clicked on a place on the cowhide map, and said at the same time: "Back to the young master, northwest of Yemei Town, about ten kilometers away, the accident happened in the small village of Lanjing."

The young temporary manager blinked: "Lanjing Village? Everyone, does anyone know that village?"

He looked at the elders in the family, and the uncle of the current baron nodded: "Oh, I have been there, but only once. I accompanied your father to inspect the territory when he inherited it a long time ago. A very ordinary one In addition to the name of the village, some colored stones were used for the well in the center of the village to build a large well that looks blue from a distance."

The young man looked at his aunt again. The middle-aged woman waved her hand: "I rarely go to those dirty places. You can ask your cousin. He likes to go hunting with his family's hounds in winter." Rabbit, maybe I’ve been there in the past two years.”

So the young man turned around and looked at the three peers gathered on the right: "Tristram? Did you hear that? Have you been there, tell me what's special about it?"

Among the three young people who were discussing playing cards later, one of the youngest turned around and said, "Huh? Oh, let me think about it, Lanjing Village, I have been there."

"It's Lanjing Village."

The young interim manager had to correct his cousin's small mistakes.

"It's all the same anyway. The villages outside the town all look the same. Let me think about it, oh, I remembered. The place itself is quite ordinary, but if you come from the northwest trade road to our town If so, that Lansha village, as well as the several nearby villages before and after it, are mostly the necessary and last places for caravans to stay for one night before coming to the town."

He added: "You know, although our poor place can be seen from a distance on the way here, after all, it is not easy to get foggy all year round, and the fog is sucked away by the valley back. But you can only see it once. It usually takes a day and a half to get to the town. When I hunt rabbits, I tend to misjudge the distance and journey, and I often have to spend the night in a nearby village."

Speaking of spending the night, he turned his head again, smiled proudly at the two peers who were talking to him, and said particularly proudly: "You don't know how enthusiastic the girls in the village outside are when they see me, and they How big their breasts are. Even if I just promised a job as a dishwasher in the house, those girls would have to fight each other to get the chance to sleep with me!"

As soon as he finished speaking his proud words, the middle-aged woman who was sitting nearby and trimming her nails threw the thing in her hand far away on his head and screamed: "I finally know! Where are all those clumsy maids at home?" Here you go! Tem! I’ll settle the score with you when I get home!”

The young man shrank his neck, while the other two young men at the same table smiled and gloated.

The eldest son of the baron ignored this. He stroked the neatly trimmed beard on his chin with his fingers and guessed: "So, the so-called light may also be a group of caravans from the outside world?"

The old man coughed lightly and reminded: "How come there is a caravan coming to Yemei Town at this time? In my opinion, this may be more of an evil plan by those guys."

"It's possible, it's possible."

The young temporary manager quickly added that he was also frightened by the intruders who appeared to be bandits and actual monsters a few days ago. Fortunately, those monsters did not concentrate their efforts on attacking the baron's mansion at that time. Otherwise, the south side of the town would have been destroyed by flames. In the ravaged ruins, he might have been killed by monsters or burned to death by fire in the night.

"So, our little baron, what do you think? Should we wait until the soldiers and guards come back to report, or should we make a judgment now?"

the old man asked finally.

The young man pondered for a moment, rubbed his hands repeatedly on the silver belt around his waist, rubbed it back and forth, and wiped some sweat off the trousers he was wearing, and finally gave the order: "Messenger."

"Master, please give me your instructions."

The messenger quickly knelt on the ground and bowed his head and replied.

"You go back first, to the city wall where you are, and take something that the steward will give you later. Give it to the sentries, and let our sentries with the best eyesight use that thing to take a closer look at the small village of Lanjing that emits light. "

The young man said something in the ear of the second housekeeper, and then waved to the other party to get it quickly.

The messenger straightened up and followed the butler with doubtful eyes. He found that the butler had not left the bright hall. He took out the key and took out a straight-cylindrical metal prop from the gorgeous display wooden cabinet at the back of the hall.

The messenger stretched out his hands and carefully took the ornately decorated metal cylinder, and then heard the baron's second butler whisper to him about the value of the thing, how to use it, and some instructions to use it carefully.

The messenger swallowed and quickly put the things into the clothes on his chest, not daring to insert them into his waist or hold them directly in his hands.

Seeing that the courier had gotten the things, the young temporary manager waved his hand: "Go back now, let the sentries observe carefully, ask about the situation, and then come back with the things and news."

"Yes, young master, I will obey your orders."

The messenger bowed his head in agreement, then stood up and walked out of the hall quickly. The male attendant at the entrance of the hall opened the small door at the entrance of the hall, and then led the messenger back to the gate of the baron's residence one by one.

-

After the messenger left, the young temporary manager of the territory walked back to the seat where he was sitting. When he saw the middle-aged woman getting up to leave, he quickly called out: "Aunt, wait a minute, this is not over yet, we still have to After the cavalry sent out brings back the news, the cavalry from those families will have to carry the orders we discussed and spread them throughout the town."

After hearing this, the middle-aged woman sat back and said angrily: "Don't I have to rush back and ask those little girls who sneaked into the house? Huh, Temu! Look at the good things you have done!"

"Okay, mother, no one will run away tonight anyway, and now most of the territory is surrounded by people in the town. You fired them, where are you going to find another group of reliable and capable girls? Think about it. , now people on the street are all scrambling for a living job, those guys who use tricks to win, do you think they are really reliable?"

The young man Tristram responded carelessly, and then he took out a handful of magic cards from his pocket like a magic trick, waved it at two other close peers at the same table, and then looked at Territory who was sitting on the main seat. The temporary manager, the Baron's eldest son, and his cousin asked: "Future Lord Baron, your men haven't come back anyway, and we can't sleep tonight without accurate news. How about we bring some cards?" To cheer you up?"

"Yes, big brother, come and play."

greeted another young man, the youngest, sitting at the table.

The last young man was the grandson of the old man next to him. He also waved his hands and said: "Three people are not as good as four people. Come on, cousin."

The baron's eldest son looked around and saw that nothing was going on. The second steward who was waiting on the side also leaned over and added: "Young master, I will warn you in advance before the soldiers or messengers come back."

So the young man walked over.

The old man sitting in front called an attendant and said that since he had to wait for a long time, an old man like him had to sit in a very comfortable chair. He needed to change to a comfortable chair with armrests and backrests.

"Another cup of tea with a mild fragrance. I'm old, and scented tea with a strong fragrance will make my nose uncomfortable."

The middle-aged woman asked her maid to fetch a mirror. She came here in a hurry before putting on makeup. Although it was night, women from noble families could not lose this most basic etiquette.

-

On the deserted farmland outside the small village of Lanjing, it was not only the humans in the town who were attracted by the fire. A group of parasitic monsters who preyed on small animals in the distance at night also noticed a group of parasitic monsters appearing within their patrol range. uninvited guest.

But these patrolling parasitic monsters that often interact with humans are not as stupid as the 'newly born' monsters in the old lairs in the distant mountains and forests. On the contrary, as the parasitism time gets longer and the parasitized creatures do not die due to lack of food, these parasitic monsters become more and more stupid. The monsters become smarter and more cunning.

A small team of five parasitic monsters knew that it was impossible for them to take down the noisy human overnight camp with bursts of fire in the distance, and it was impossible even with several teams around them, but they had to understand a little bit about this. The strength of the newly emerged human team.

If they can't take it down or bite it, they won't lose their strength in vain. And if it is possible to win, but if a sufficient number of flesh and blood parasites are needed, then they have to return to their nest and try to notify the Prophet so that he can think of a solution.

But if this group of humans that suddenly appeared were all soft-footed shrimps that dispersed in a rush, then this group of parasitic monsters thought that they might be able to make a surprise attack at night, parasitically control dozens of humans, and then Go to the nearby flesh tree and transform into one of their new members.

These more flexible and cunning guys are currently lying in the lush weeds. In the somewhat dry and flat eyes of the parasitized humans, the most slender plant roots are slowly swinging in the eyeballs, pulling on the humans. The pupils dilate and expand to absorb more light and see more clearly at night.

"Want...to try...?"

A parasitic monster that seemed to be the leader made a low and hoarse questioning sound from its throat.

There was an immediate response from the side: "If you want to try, hang yourself...join...us."

"Join the arms of... flesh and blood."

"Humans...can't see clearly at night. According to...the previous method, tonight...will definitely be a hunt."

But there are also voices of opposition: "Be careful! There are too many of them. If we are alone, without Chaos... we will be beaten into pieces by humans."

The parasitic monster who led the team thought for a while and felt that what his subordinates said made sense, but humans were right in front of him and it was impossible not to take action. He would be laughed at by the surrounding team and reprimanded by the prophet.

And if you want the great flesh demon to come here and cause pain to the human kingdom, you must parasitize more and more humans.

"Then...come with me and try the previous method first."

"hiss--"

"hiss--"

The five humans parasitized by the parasitic species retreated, not rejecting them, but walking around from the surrounding grass to the commercial road in the direction of the town. They sorted out the clothes they were wearing, which were all parasitized before. Worn by businessmen.

They looked at each other, rolled on the ground a few times, and made themselves more embarrassed. Then they checked each other and confirmed that they looked like a small caravan in trouble. These guys were in a hurry, and something seemed to be chasing them behind them. Likewise, he kept turning back and running forward along the trade route.

And ahead is the bright village of Lanjing.