Mercenaries and Adventurers

On the open grassland, a number of carriages are forming a fast-moving team, and they are moving along the lush grass covered with ruts.

Even if there are caravans repeatedly walking the crushed road every day, they have to bow their heads and admit defeat in the face of the extraordinarily tenacious weeds. The thick iron-coated wooden wheels crush the young grass into juice, but often after a cloud and rain pass by, countless tender grass sprouts will quickly grow on the soft soil that has absorbed the grass juice and rainwater.

The residents of the western provinces all know that without clearing the continuous grass roots under the land, it is impossible to prevent these tenacious plants from occupying the commercial roads of trade.

When the residents first established their settlements, they had to plow the land carefully and deeply, and burn the grass seeds and grass roots in the soil with flames, so that they could build stable houses and streets. Otherwise, without such treatment, often after a few years, the house will be full of annoying weeds.

In the case of insufficient population, it is already very strenuous for each settlement to barely deal with the land in the towns and villages, and it is impossible to deal with the entire business road in the same way.

"It's also quite good, at least the carriage is not particularly bumpy on such a road!"

A few carriages got in front of them, and Keel was talking to the soldiers from Weedrat Town who were driving the carriage beside him.

At this time, Keir and his team were rushing along the trade road to catch up with the Kendall army team that was a few days ahead of them after dealing with the matter in Grass Rat Town.

Of course, the several carriages that sat down were not theirs, but the lords of Grass Rat Town—the knights of Anvina supported them as traveling tools.

The driver of the car was the town's soldiers. After sending this group of Kendals to their main force, these soldiers had to drive back to Grass Rat Town again.

Kiel and Rubis originally planned to rent a carriage from the Chamber of Commerce in the town to travel. After all, the army is several days ahead of them. If they only rely on their feet to catch up, although they have a slight advantage on the marching road because of the small number of people, if they chase one after the other in the same direction, it will take several days in vain to catch up with the large army. day time.

But if this is the case, then the leased chamber of commerce carriage can only pull people empty, and if it does not pull goods at all, it is a very bad thing. Safety is also not guaranteed.

After all, if Kiel and the others rent a car and chase after them, their safety will be guaranteed by soldiers and guards like them. But what about when you return? An empty chamber of commerce carriage will cause a lot of losses to the chamber of commerce to which the carriage belongs.

After all, the carriage itself is a very valuable thing.

Therefore, Keir and others asked several chambers of commerce in Grass Mouse Town, but they were all rejected by the chamber of commerce. Even if they proposed several times the price, no chamber of commerce agreed.

In the end, it was Pawei who learned about this, and informed the knight lord of Anvina about Kiel and the others' plans and troubles.

The Anvina knights, who were particularly optimistic about Kiel, immediately arranged several carriages and soldiers driving the chariots to assist Kiel and others.

Behind Kiel, the other Kendals sitting in the spacious carriage heard what Kiel said, and they all nodded and admitted that although the road was full of grass and it was troublesome to see the specific road, it did give them a lot of trouble in the car. Brings a good ride experience.

Especially in the case of only pulling people, not goods. The carriage was running fast under the pull of two strong horses.

The surrounding scenery is open, and the grass is full of flowers. The scenery is particularly good and refreshing. And the carriage is not bumpy, which is really very comfortable.

But this is only what the Kendalls, who are outsiders, think so.

The grass mouse town soldier who was driving the car didn't think so: "Soldier Kiel, what you said is wrong."

The other party shook his head and refuted Keir's words.

"This is still on a commercial road with frequent trade. If it is in some other places, there are no roads at all, and people can easily get lost on the grassland with the same scenery. The direction can only be identified by the stone pillars and stars erected in advance."

"Haha, it's like a ship sailing on the ocean!" Keel made a metaphor.

But the middle-aged soldier driving the car smiled wryly and shook his head: "It's similar, but it's not the same. The surrounding grass is only half a meter high, so it can't be called a 'sea'. I heard that in the real grass sea, the grass under our feet It will grow to several meters high, like a maze that can swallow people, and it is impossible to get out after entering."

Keel shrugged and said nothing.

In the afternoon, patches of clouds containing rain drifted across the sky.

Looking at the clouds that gradually increased compared with yesterday, the soldier driving the car talked to Kiel about what really worried him.

"Soldier Kiel, in a few days, there will be continuous rain on the grassland. At that time, the road will be difficult to travel. I hope we can reach your army before then."

"Is there any trouble after the rain?" In the carriage compartment, the clerk Yi Moore asked curiously.

"It's a big trouble." The soldier driving the cart nodded heavily.

He went on to explain: "The land will absorb the rainfall and become soft. Only the reinforced land such as towns and villages will not be affected. In other places, the ground is as soft as stepping on girls' thighs."

A militiaman from the Nightingale team happily answered, "Isn't that great?"

"Okay?" Shaking his head, the soldier driving the carriage continued: "At that time, except for the empty carriages, other vehicles could not move at all. Once the road was pressed, they would sink deeply into the mud. Some of them were particularly soft. It will even swallow the people walking on it whole."

"At that time, we can only wait for the sun to dry the water on the ground. But if it rains continuously, no one will be able to walk on the commercial road. Even small lakes with short lifespan will form in low-lying places, and these lakes will block the road. It has to be bypassed."

Keir nodded, feeling that they had to hurry up and try to catch up with the large army as soon as possible. The clouds above the head became more and more, and it was obvious that the heavy rain in the mouth of the driving soldiers was coming soon.

The clerk recorded these messages, and at the same time hoped that the large army would be prepared to deal with this kind of trouble.

-

Since the carriage only pulled people, and did not carry any goods except for a few supplies on the road, Kiel and his party moved forward very fast.

Walk along the commercial road all the way, ask the passing villages and towns, how long it has been since the whole army passed by.

Although the western provinces with smooth roads are good for the army to march forward, it is clear that a team like Kiel's is faster.

Because including the drivers, they are all warriors with a certain amount of force, so when they are moving forward, they will not stop in the villages and towns along the road. They start after dawn every morning, and take a rest at noon. Rest the horses, and then go forward for a whole afternoon in the afternoon, and boldly spend the night in the wilderness.

At first, the soldiers driving the chariot thought that the Kendal people were crazy. Aren't they afraid of running into horse bandits or wolves at night in the wilderness?

But Keir guaranteed their safety for the night, and no one would risk their losses to attack a small team that was fully capable of fighting.

Sure enough, when they were on their way during the day, a lone rider fell far behind the carriages of their horses. However, after observing for a while, the horse bandit investigators gave up their plan to deal with Kiel and his group.

Nobody would mess with a team like them. Everyone wears armor and swords, and they know that it is difficult to chew from a distance. When the information is unknown, even horse bandits will not try it.

While staying in the wilderness at night, the scout wolves among the wolves also stared at Kiel and the others with their beast eyes shining.

In this regard, Keel asked everyone to hold up their weapons in front of the scout wolf and make a lot of noise. The purpose of doing this is to tell these beasts that they are not easy to mess with, and it is impossible for the wolves to do it even if they change one by one.

It's not worth it, it's a loss-making business.

In this way, the prying eyes of the wolves receded.

When it was dawn, several carriages moved forward quickly, leaving the cunning wolf far behind who came back to scout again.

So three days.

Keir and the others finally caught up with Kendall's militia troops outside a town before another dark day.

-

The driving soldiers in Grass Rat Town looked at the camp where the army stayed overnight in fear. After leaving Keir and others outside the camp, they hurried to the nearby town to settle down.

The soldiers will then set off back to Weedrat Town.

"Thank you for the support of the Knights of Anvina! Of course, I also thank you for your hard work these past few days!" Keel waved his hands to the soldiers driving the carts in Grass Rat Town and thanked them loudly.

"This is what we should do. After all, you helped the town eradicate a cancerous tumor." Shouting the same loudly, the soldiers driving the carriage waved and drove the completely empty carriage to the town not far away. They need to get there before it's completely dark.

When the carriage went away, Keir turned around and looked at the people around him and shrugged: "Well, I'm finally back."

Seeing everything in the familiar barracks, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The baron's personal guard, Lubis, was fine. He often followed the baron back and forth between Kendall County and the provincial capital. This kind of travel experience was ordinary.

But for the rest of the team, far away from their hometown of Kendal, in an unfamiliar land and people, an army composed entirely of Kendals is the only place where they can feel at ease after being far away from home.

Lubis nodded to Keir, and then led the entire Nightingale team into the circular barracks.

The two town guards, Kayan and Zambirus, nodded to Kiel, and after taking their leave, they walked towards the place where the town guards camped in the military camp. They have a lot of stories and experiences to show off to their colleagues.

Merchant Pusi-Ourobi exchanged greetings with Kiel with a small pottery pot in his arms. He was going to return to the merchant camp next to the military camp, find his companions, and put down the ashes of the dead merchant Shillong. He went to the barracks with other businessmen to meet His Excellency the Baron.

"In that case, let's see you later." Kiel nodded, and prepared to take the clerk to inform Knight Crowe and Baron Kendall about the experiences of these days in advance.

"Kill."

Kiel, who was about to say goodbye, was stopped by the businessman.

Turning around, the businessman held the clay pot full of ashes in one hand, and took out another small money bag from his money bag with the other.

"Please take this, thank you and others for your help this time. Hey, if it weren't for you, Shillong would have died in a place far away from home for nothing this time." Ouluobi shook his head: "I can't think of the end of the matter. It’s going to be like that. You’re all taking a huge extra risk this time, and it’s not a lot, but the money is kind of compensating you.”

Without being pretentious, Keir took the small purse handed over by the businessman.

The clerk, Emol, looked at the small purse given by the businessman with contempt, thinking that the guy opposite was really stingy.

On the last day in Grass Rat Town, the judgment and punishment on the execution platform had a big impact on him. Emol obviously realized how tragic and important the battle that morning was. Although the Kendals who intervened in it were only appropriate, they were still a decisive force.

Even if they meddled into the balance of power in Grass Rat Town by coincidence. But the fighters fighting on the front line still took great risks and brought important support.

The local lord knights then gave rewards to a few of them who participated in the battle and were active. Judging from the expressions of Kiel, Rubis, Zambirus and others, the soldiers were very satisfied with the rewards given by the knights.

However, as the starting point of everything, he took a great risk to execute the murderer. As a representative of the Red Hair Chamber of Commerce, Orobi would use this to thank Kiel and the others at this time?

He despises Orobi a little, really stingy.

Moreover, the knight lords and merchants before and after were not enough to give him his share.

snort.

But Keir smiled and accepted the money bag handed over by the other party. Because Kiel keenly found that although the money bag handed over was small, the merchant still used some strength in his hands when he took the small money bag out of the big money bag.

If he guessed correctly.

Keel shook the purse in his hand, and from the crashing sound of the coins in the purse, he got the sound he wanted to hear.

The businessman and the young soldier showed tacit smiles, and only the clerk, who usually had little contact with high denomination coins, was dumbfounded.

"Thank you for your generosity. I will distribute the money to other people in the team according to their merits. They will know that the Red Hair Chamber of Commerce is not only a chamber of commerce that unites internally, but also a chamber of commerce that shows generosity to those who help them. I wish you Enjoy the favor of the God of Wealth with your Chamber of Commerce."

Satisfied, Kiel put the small purse containing the gold coins inside the chest leather armor.

And the businessman Ou Luobi also nodded heavily: "Although this trip to the south with the army has some twists and turns, there are also some gains along the way. Experience and knowledge, intelligence and friendship, these are things that far exceed ordinary wealth. I also hope that everyone will accept The expedition that came down is also under the care and favor of the God of Wealth."

Saying goodbye to the merchant, Kiel walked into the barracks with the clerk.

Everything in the barracks was as usual, and the militiamen had already adapted to the days of marching, and compared to the previous rush, no matter which militia team it was at this time, they already had the experience and skills of camping for a short time.

When camping every day, everyone knows who to go to and what to do at the same time.

Some teams know that they have to go to the logistics carriage to get the wood for building the fence on the outer wall of the camp immediately, and some teams know that they have to help the chefs cook, even if their cooking is not delicious, but the simplest way is to cut it with a dagger. Potato skins always, right?

There are also teams that know that they have to take a shovel to dig out excrement holes at a fixed position in the barracks at the first time. After all, after walking for a day, many soldiers have already been unable to bear their stomachs.

Keir also keenly felt that after leaving the barracks for a while, he also faintly found that the entire army at this time was more like a well-made complex machine than the mess when the entire army marched out of Kendall City.

Efficient is running smoothly.

I just don't know if it will operate as smoothly as it does now when it really plays its role.

-

In the baron's own tent.

At this time, the baron himself and the two knights had arrived, and Kiel was standing with the clerk and Rubis, and the three of them told the baron and others about the trip together.

Knight Rumi was not interested in the specific process of doing things, but he was very interested in the knight Rusvis-Anvina whom he had never seen before. And he was envious of the fact that the other party could control a prosperous town with the status of a knight.

"Isn't it a lot of money just to collect taxes from caravans every year? After all, there are quite a few soldiers under his command." He muttered to Knight Crowe while eating dinner.

Knight Crowe focused on the thieves' guild described by Kiel. Of course, he was also curious about the military experience behind the Anvina knight, and planned to talk to Kiel later.

After all, when the knight joined the army, he was stationed at the edge of Caohai in the western province. He had heard about this 'Caohai' before he came here.

Baron Kendall, on the other hand, was flipping through the detailed records recorded by the clerk Emol, while listening to the experience that Keir and the others said.

He is interested in everything that his subordinates have experienced.

Not only about how they investigate the killing of merchants accompanying the army, but also meddling in the balance of local forces. Even the level of local economic development, the density of buildings and shops, the composition of the population, and the public's reaction to the knight's final execution.

Of course, of course, the most important thing is the Thieves Guild.

After all, no one thought that an ordinary businessman was killed~www.readwn.com~Behind it was the collision between the dark forces of the Thieves Guild and the local official forces on the bright side.

After the three of Kiel and the others finished speaking, the baron tried his best to say that there would be rewards later, and then let them go down to rest and eat.

When there were only three of us left in the camp, the Baron and Knight Crowe took a look and talked about the Thieves Guild.

"Crow, do you think there are any figures of those people in the county?"

The baron put down the book in his hand and looked up.

Knight Crowe stroked the beard on his chin, thought for a while and then shook his head: "If it is Kendall City, I can assure you that it is not. After all, judging from this incident, most of the guys behind the scenes will come from It develops secretly in the bottom gangs in various towns."

"But you know that the several gangs in the city are actually affiliated with people from the government affairs office, and the government affairs office is managed by your family. No one will interfere, and you don't know." Ke Law Knight finally said this.

"It's true, what about Bingyuguan? It's impossible for such a place not to be active." The baron was worried.

"Don't worry, how long did it take for that place to rise? It wasn't after the prosperity of Kendall City that the Bingyu Pass was opened. I remember when I was young, it was just a normal pass."

"However, after going back this time, I really have to pay attention. I can't guarantee that there will be no similar ones. But it is really possible, those people. Digging mechanism traps and activity spaces underground. This has been developed in a few years. And in some big cities with a history, who knows what the dark places will be like by these thieves?"

"A dark labyrinth located underground?"

At the end of the conversation, Knight Rumi cracked a joke.