Mercenaries and Adventurers

The older dwarf ‘Iron Fist’ was speechless. He raised his hand, but in the end he did nothing or said anything.

The dwarves around wanted to hear what he had to say, even if it was just verbal comfort as usual, but the silence of the 'Iron Fist' and the face hidden under the hard helmet disappointed everyone.

Even ‘Long Tail’, whose words were full of indignation, muttered in a low voice and picked up the one-handed ax that hit the ground, standing aside speechlessly.

The suffocating atmosphere remained in the lounge for a long time, which made even the most optimistic dwarves dare not speak. They had to silently pack up their weapons and equipment, and secretly felt cruel, preparing to take their anger out on the human knights who were waiting for a while.

'Iron Fist' waited for everyone to be ready, then walked up to everyone, patted the helmet of the dwarf in front of him, pulled the large metal piece of the armor, and checked whether everyone was ready.

He spoke with difficulty and spoke to every dwarf being inspected.

"Be careful now, you have bad eyesight, don't hit the wrong opponent with your spear." 'Iron Fist' reluctantly joked.

The dwarf in front of him winked, twitching the corners of his mouth and letting out a silent laugh.

"How is the leg that was injured last time? Don't force it when moving to the ambush site. There is plenty of time. Just walk over slowly." 'Iron Fist' patted the other dwarf on the shoulder and whispered.

The dwarf smiled confidently, picked up the heavy metal one-handed ax at hand, and knocked the armor on his injured leg with the blade of the ax, making a banging sound: "It's strong. I'll dig in the mine for a few days." No problem at night.”

‘Iron Fist’ chuckled: “Show off your strength.”

As the smiles appeared, the atmosphere seemed to get better. Everyone seemed to have deliberately forgotten the unpleasant but realistic problems just now, showing the optimistic character of the dwarf miners.

The third dwarf was ‘Long Tail’, and ‘Iron Fist’ had to whisper to his fellow dwarf: “I will find a way.”

"You always say that." 'Long Tail' curled his lips and put on his helmet.

'Iron Fist' helped his companions straighten their helmets, and stuffed the black beard with 'long tail' exposed outside the helmet into the armor: "I know that days like this are coming to the end of everyone's patience. I will find a safe and reliable way. , let everyone return to their hometown. I swear, I swear by my family."

"You always say that." 'Long Tail' rolled his eyes and said vaguely.

‘Iron Fist’ walked towards the next companion, helped him hang the weapon on his belt, then selected a well-made spar buckler and handed it to his companion.

Before he could say a few words to encourage morale, the dwarf shouted: "Old guy, remember what you said, although we people still have enough lives, who wants to waste tens or hundreds of years in vain? What? We should have evacuated the mine as soon as possible."

"What's the use of talking about it now, old man."

'Iron Fist' explained: "I asked everyone about the issue of staying or leaving, and everyone said that when our kingdom's army comes back, we can't blame all the problems on me now. This will make me My family has been humiliated because of this. Don’t worry, I already have a few ideas for everyone’s future, although they are not very mature yet.”

Seeing what 'Iron Fist' said, the dwarf in front of him nodded and believed it. I don't know if he really believed it or if he just nodded because he didn't want to lose the old man's face and prestige in front of everyone.

After all, these dwarf miners who were left behind have been able to stay together over the years and have not been separated, thanks to this person's constant work.

After that, they checked and encouraged the two dwarves. After seeing everyone armed, Iron Fist waved his hand and was the first to walk out of the lounge and quickly walked towards the ambush point.

Other dwarves followed behind, each of them fully armed. Although these miners are not full-time dwarf blacksmiths, they are naturally capable of smelting and forging. In addition, the metal ore produced in the local mines is of high quality, so these miners They are all armed to the teeth, and all parts of their bodies that can be protected with metal armor are protected.

Not to mention the heavy armor, these dwarf miners are all incredibly strong, and the weight of this armor is actually nothing. You must know that many dwarf miners can even mine in the mines for a long time without eating or drinking, and drag the same volume of crude ore to the surface alone.

Dwarf miners can easily deal with the large dormant insects, cave creatures, and skeletal monsters that they usually encounter when mining underground.

-

As the ambush point, the dwarf ‘Iron Fist’ chose a place on the side of the forest near the valley.

The dwarf anti-skid road that runs through the entire forest happens to pass by a big tree that died long ago, so the dwarves call this place the "dead tree".

This is a rare open area in the misty forest. The big tree that died unknown how long ago occupies a large area. Even if it has been dead for a long time, the roots left behind still hinder the spread of other big trees in the surrounding circle.

After all, the tree is dead, but I don’t know how long it will take for the entire tree to rot and break into pieces.

Logically speaking, dead trees are very easy to attract insects and make their larvae settle on them. However, due to the unique nature of this forest, no other living things exist except the big trees. Therefore, at least the dwarves do not know it so far. How long does it take for this [dead tree] to rot into mud after death?

In the tunnel ambush point under the [Dead Tree], the dwarf ‘Iron Fist’ read the contents recorded on the latest communication bat that flew over. Then he sent the tired little bat into the storage groove on the wall, and then said to the two dwarves around him: "The target is coming soon. How are the other tunnel exits around?"

The two dwarves who had just come from other places immediately said: "Get ready. When you hear the sound of action, you can rush out of the tunnel immediately."

"Don't worry, everyone wants to fight each other. Everyone is howling."

Hearing the dissatisfied snort of 'Iron Fist', the dwarf immediately changed his words: "Of course he won't really shout out. It's not like he has never been on duty in the forest and knows not to make a sound when ambushing. Oh, you old guy, this is a literary metaphor. Understand? Metaphor!"

‘Iron Fist’ didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course he knew this was just a metaphor. After all, he came from a big family, not from an ordinary miner’s family like his companions. But after all, he is responsible for the safety and lives of dozens of dwarves in the mines and gathering areas. When faced with difficult and powerful human opponents, he cannot carelessly treat them as unintelligent mountain monsters and warcraft.

Crude traps and ambushes are very useful when dealing with monsters, and smarter monsters can barely do it. However, when facing humans who are equally smart or even more flexible in their brains, any carelessness in actions and crudeness in planning will become a problem. It is possible for the other party to see through the trap.

"Okay, okay, be quiet. Remember, after hearing my attack roar, I will rush out of the tunnel entrance first, and then you two will follow in turn, aim at the humans who must be on the road, and use your spear to hit me hard Throw them out!"

"understand!"

"You don't need to repeat it again, 'Iron Fist', you're not so careful usually? Why, your beard has turned gray, and your courage has turned into a timid white?"

‘Iron Fist’ did not respond, but silently waved his hand behind him.

Seeing this action, the other two dwarves immediately shut up and breathed softly. At the same time, their left arms were holding the handle of the crystal shield tightly, and their right hands were constantly loosening and tightening, holding the heavy weight in their hands. Throwing the gun and fiddling with it.

The ambush tunnel entrance where the 'Iron Fist' is located is different from other nearby tunnel entrances. Here, a simple periscope-like mechanism is added to the stone slab at the entrance and exit. Two smooth and reflective natural crystals replace the reflective glass. installed on it.

Due to the irregularity of natural crystals and the lack of a reflective layer, only a small part of the road outside can be barely seen through these two crystals.

But that's enough.

The dwarves have already done surveillance and reconnaissance in other places. Here it is enough to confirm that the target has entered the ambush circle, and it does not need to be very sophisticated. And the dwarves who were forgotten here were unable to make glass and silver plating.

In the blurred and narrow vision, ‘Iron Fist’ saw a vague figure of a horse.

That’s the goal!

Closer.

Closer.

A little closer!

It's now.

The older dwarf suddenly stood up straight, and at the same time pushed the stone cover overturned at the tunnel entrance with his right arm, and at the same time he yelled: "Do it!"

He jumped out of the tunnel, and his dwarf companions behind him also jumped out left and right.

But before they could swing forward the heavy-throwing gun in their hands, a tall prairie horse accelerated and rushed over at a very fast speed!

Although 'Iron Fist' was surprised at the target's speed after mounting the horse, he still threw the heavy-throwing gun in his hand towards the target human.

Woo——

A heavy throwing gun that uses a lot of metal cannot hit very far, but it is an excellent weapon for breaking armor at close range, especially compared to the use of armor-breaking weapons in close combat and the longer range of the heavy throwing gun. This allows the user to attack armored enemies without having to fight desperately in close combat.

This is very important for non-professional combatants. It not only reduces possible losses in combat, but also greatly reduces the training time and resource consumption of personnel.

Including the local dwarves who were ambushing Kiel at this time. Although they had persisted in the local area for some reason for many years, they were not professional warriors after all. Their main job was miners. Mining consumes a lot of energy and physical strength of the dwarf miners, even if they are sent to guard the forest during their breaks. But these young dwarves have long since given up the idea of ​​training in martial arts.

The spear-throwing skill of 'Iron Fist' is pretty good. He is mainly responsible for managing the dwarves, but he can still find time to practice his fighting skills. If the target to deal with at this time is not Kiel.

scandium--

There was a clear sound of metal collision, but it was a human knight on horseback who was approaching at an accelerated speed. He used only a metal spear to deflect this dangerous heavy-throwing gun.

"ah?"

The elder dwarf had just expressed his surprise and the expression on his face had not changed when the human knight rode his horse and rushed towards him, and the metal spear that had just missed the throw went straight to the chest of the 'Iron Fist'.

Don't ask whether Kil's metal spear can pierce the front of the dwarf's armor with one blow. You just need to know that the force generated by being hit like this is far greater than Kil's powerful kick before.

The armor blocked the attack, and the dwarf under the armor was crushed to death by the impact.

Realizing his tragic end in the next second, the older dwarf lowered his body with a low voice, and at the last moment, propped the large crystal shield on his left arm diagonally on the ground.

"ha!"

Kil shouted, without changing the direction, he lowered the spear with a bang and wiped out violent explosions and flying crystal fragments from the front of the dwarf's shield. Then the spear squeezed the opponent and dragged it out half a meter long on the ground. drag marks.

Only then did he rush over.

The other two dwarves who followed 'Iron Fist' and rushed out of the tunnel were frightened. The tall armored horses rushed towards them. These two people had no chance to throw their heavy throwing spears. They didn't care about fighting. The two dwarves moved towards him in unison. Their left sides jumped and rolled away, avoiding the impact and trampling of the horses.

The dwarves who were ambushing in other places also lifted up the hidden stone slabs at about the same time and rushed out of the tunnel. There were three dwarves far away, and four dwarves closer to both sides of the road. They jumped out from the left and right sides of the road. .

But as soon as they came out, they did not see the target that should exist on the road for the first time. Instead, on the side off the road, the human riding a tall war horse knocked down several people from the 'Iron Fist'.

These dwarves were just about to throw their spears as they were told before, but they were worried about their companions in the same direction and hesitated to launch an attack.

No matter how awesome everyone claims to be, everyone knows what their real abilities are. Their location was just right away from the 'Iron Fist' and the human knights, which was the stage when the spear was most powerful.

But the fighting opportunity was so short. After a moment's hesitation, the humans on horseback drove their horses farther and farther away from the [Dead Tree] area, bypassing the dense and protruding trunks of the [Dead Tree]. A large number of tree roots on the ground, after detouring for a while, ran to the road on the other side of the big tree.

-

"'Iron Fist'!"

The two dwarf companions who got up from the roll immediately rushed to the older dwarf, lifted off the crystal shield with half of the crystal broken, and then took off the metal helmet that the older dwarf had been wearing on his head.

The face of the old dwarf under the helmet was not very good. Although the huge force of the knight's impact was blocked, some of the shattered crystal fragments still escaped through the gaps in the helmet, hitting the old dwarf's face with many small scratches. hurt.

This was still a small matter. At this time, blood was constantly flowing out of the old dwarf's nose and mouth, but he himself closed his eyes tightly and lost most of his consciousness.

"what to do?"

One person asked, and the other person took out a piece of dirty cloth from his waist, wiped it randomly on the old dwarf's bloody face, and put his ear close to the other person's mouth and nose to test whether he was still breathing.

After listening for a while, I was still breathing.

"Still breathing! Still alive! Damn it, that damn human knight!"

Once it was judged that the old dwarf was not in danger, the dwarf companion ignored the old dwarf, took out the heavy-throwing gun from the leather pouch on his waist, and looked for the human enemy.

But when he looked around, he found that the man had already run to the other side of the [dead tree] on horseback, at least twenty or thirty meters away from them.

"No matter what! Eat me and shoot me!"

The dwarf roared, and Kil was so frightened that he turned to look at the dwarf.

The dwarf took two steps and threw a heavy and powerful spear sideways, but Kil just glanced at it and paid no attention to it.

As expected, as Kil expected, although the power of the throwing gun was sufficient, the distance exceeded the accurate hitting range of the heavy throwing gun. The powerful spear missed and flew more than seven meters away from Kiel, diagonally diagonally piercing the bottom of the trunk of a big tree.

This thing drilled directly into the trunk of the big tree, leaving only a large part of the palm at the end of the spear.

Other dwarves also caught up at this time. Without anyone to direct them, some of them were fierce and rushed towards the human knights. Others were worried about the unconscious 'Iron Fist', so they gathered around the old dwarf. While holding an ax and a shield to warn Kil, they turned to look at the old dwarf lying on the ground.

"So many dwarves, hiss..."

Kil rubbed his teeth, pulled the reins, and let the blood-licking grass run onto the forest road. He then knocked the horse's belly violently and let the war horse speed up on the forest road, which was not spacious but enough for the horse to rush forward.

The dwarf who was chasing behind him was able to escape behind him in just a few breaths.

However, this speed was only maintained for a short while. As soon as Kil rushed through the spacious forest area where he had seen an ambush before, the surrounding environment changed to what it was before.

The road under their feet became twisted and twisted, and if they were not careful, their horses would rush out of the road. With no other choice, Kil had no choice but to jump off his horse, carry his spear and start trotting, letting the war horse follow him at a fast pace.

As for the dwarf behind him, Kil estimated that the opponent's short legs would be useless and he would not be able to catch up with him. As long as he maintains his current speed and there are no new ambush ahead, it will be difficult for the opponent to catch up with him. He stayed in this forest.

"Ha, I must have overthrown their leader just now! The cunning dwarf really ambushed me. But, haha, what were those guys thinking? They actually came to stop me in such an obvious place. They really thought they could defeat me. Already?"

Keir sneered as he jogged.

But after all, he still looked very serious, because even if he didn't observe carefully just now, he could see that these dwarves were really difficult to deal with. Not only did each of them wear thick and heavy metal armor, but each of their hands He jumped out of the tunnel with a heavy throwing gun, and was still surrounded on both sides of the road, waiting for him to fall into the trap and give him a hard blow.

Kil thought about the power of the throwing spear he just saw and couldn't help but shudder. If he hadn't felt something was wrong and got on his horse in advance to be ready to speed up and break through the siege, ten dwarves would have thrown that kind of throwing spear at the same time. Ha, he would have almost I guess all my lives are gone, right?

"It's really terrible. Don't these dwarves not kill the humans who come in? Why do they attack me so harshly? Or are they just so cruel?"

Kil was a little worried about the human compatriots trapped by the dwarves. He was also worried that if he chose this place as a safe area to resettle the refugee team, would he have to kill all these brutal dwarves in order to control this place?

"Trouble! What a trouble."

Kil had a headache. Not long ago, he finally used expensive potions to get rid of the nightmare of resentful souls. If he went on a killing spree, would these dwarves follow him?

"Can we still let people sleep well?"