Mercenaries and Adventurers

It took a long time for the group of people to cross the river covered with thick ice and reach the ferry on the other side.

The sloping pier was not very steep. The old hunters swung their whips to drive the horses, and drove the carriage along the rocky **** to the pier in one go.

Knight Lanisa had been waiting with the people at the ferry for a long time, and everyone moved all the things on the boat to the carriage again. The three boats untied from the ropes were returned to the people at the ferry.

In this way, Kiel and the others finally reached the main town area of ​​Hekou Town.

Although it was snowing heavily, there were still occasional pedestrians on the street because of the large population.

"Go directly to the stronghold and spend the night there tonight. Tomorrow morning, a few people will buy food and supplies locally, and the others and I will go directly north to the supply point on the west side of Wumi Lake." Lanisa Knight said.

So, everyone followed behind the carriage, and the carriage followed the knight Lanisa who led the way.

At first glance, Bayou Town looks no different from other human settlements in Kendall County. Under the heavy snow cover, it looks even more gloomy and quiet. Keel noticed that more local houses were decorated with river water and fish shapes than elsewhere.

The wooden beams of the houses are all carved into the simple and honest appearance of big-headed fish. On the other side of the wooden beams of the house, there is a swinging fish tail.

The houses along the street are all brick and wood structures, while the houses further down are low wooden houses with pure wood structures.

The streets were covered with thick snow, and no one came to clear them, so Keel and the others were on the undulating streets, and had to take other roads from time to time to let the carriages carrying heavy goods pass by.

Fortunately, Knight Lanisa seems to be very familiar with Hekou Town, and she can easily find a suitable way.

After a while, when the sun behind the cloud was about to set, they still came to the stronghold house prepared by Knight Lanisa for the hunters in Hekou Town.

-

This house does not have a yard, it is just a two-story brick and wood house along the street. On the solid wooden door is a large lock that can feel a sense of rejection just by looking at it.

The key was naturally carried by the knight, and she opened the lock after tinkering with it for a while.

After pushing open the solid wooden door, she lit an oil lamp at the door.

"Come in, it's quite warm inside." The knight placed an oil lamp in the living room in the middle of the hall, and then found a handful of thick yellow candles in the wooden cabinet next to it.

With the lighting of the candles, the three old hunters climbed out of the carriage, entered the door and checked and lit up the house.

"It's no different from when I left two months ago." An old hunter said so.

"At first, I was worried that some guys with dirty hands and feet would break in during this time. But now, the law and order in Hekou Town is still good, and there are not many young people with dirty hands and feet in the town."

When Knight Lanisa walked to the door, she said, "That's because I sent a letter to the knight lord here, asking him to send someone to take care of this place."

"Keil, you and Tost come with me. There's no place for carriages and horses here. Let's temporarily put them in the town house tonight. Everyone, we'll be back later. There's a tavern diagonally opposite, let's get something to eat Come back." Lanisa Knight explained.

"Understood, Lord Knight." An old hunter replied.

Keel on his horse: "I have some fried fish here, just get me a bowl of hot soup."

After finishing speaking, they followed the knight horse, turned left and right, followed the messy streets and roads in Hekou Town, and came to the center of the town.

This place is much more lively. Although the gates are closed to keep warm, the sound of some musical instruments can still be vaguely heard in the small square in the center of the town, in several taverns.

The guard of the town house, that is, the gatekeeper of the town management office, recognized Knight Lanisa, ran out to open the gate, and welcomed the female knight, carriage and horses in.

Seemingly seeing the doubt in the eyes of Kiel who was following him on horseback, Knight Lanisa explained: "My father has a good relationship with the knights here, and I used to come here to play when I was young."

After closing the gate, the old janitor next to him said, "Yes, yes. Miss Jenny used to like to come here, but it's a pity that there are fewer of them over the years."

The old janitor is very old, not only his hair is gray, but his beard is also pure white. In this world where the average life expectancy of ordinary people is no more than fifty, no matter how he looks at it, he is about sixty or seventy years old.

Although he was very old, he looked strong and strong, and his movements were not slow at all. He walked in the snow-covered yard with steady steps. When he was young, he was an amazing fighter.

Knight Lanisa said to the gatekeeper: "A few years ago, I went to study abroad. Later, you know, after becoming a knight, things were busy."

"Is Knight Eliza in town?" she continued.

"My lord has gone to the Knights of the North, saying that he wants to compete with the knights in the snow field during the Ice and Snow Festival." The old janitor replied with a smile.

"Snow project?" Keel asked suspiciously.

The old janitor looked at the long sword on Kiel's waist and answered his question: "It's just some entertainment on the snow. Isn't it snowing heavily now? After the blizzard, it's the days that those imperial people like. Compared with our snowfall every year, many knights from the southern part of the empire like to make some snow-related entertainment after the snowfall in winter."

Keir was a little interested, but his thoughts were seen through by the old gatekeeper: "Forget it, you are not capable. Those projects can only be safely participated by adults of the knight rank."

"Where is it so exaggerated, it's just some ice and snow entertainment, isn't it?" Keel didn't believe it.

Cavalier Lanisa jumped off her horse and explained to Kiel while removing the vest from her horse: "Don't believe me. I'll tell you one thing and you'll understand."

Keel also began to unhook the dangling backpack and saddle bridle from his own horse.

"The Imperial Border Knights in the north has a small group of griffins. The knights will bring some equipment, then fly to the mountains near the border on the griffins, choose a high mountain, and drop the knights participating in the competition directly in the air."

Kiel's eyes widened.

"Knights need to open their flight suits made of bat wings in the air, glide to the snow-covered side of the mountain and land. Then use tools such as sleds and snowboards to slide down the snow-covered surface from a high mountain thousands of meters away. .”

Keel even opened his mouth.

"Afterwards, they will not rest for three consecutive days, cross no man's land, collect tokens from several dangerous monster gathering areas, and then return to the Knights' resident all the way without sleep."

After finishing speaking, Knight Lanisa raised her eyebrows and said to Kiel, "So, can you do the one above?"

Keir was so speechless, he could only keep marveling, is this kind of competition considered entertainment? It's too hardcore.

"However, I heard that in recent years, the shortest time was actually achieved by our knight Crow. After falling from the griffin, he only took two and a half days to get the token from the winter snowworm lair. , and then successfully returned to the station."

The old janitor next to him also nodded.

It seems that Crow Knight is really powerful, Keel thought so.

Whether it is leading troops to fight, or participating in such extreme **** competitions, it is very powerful.

Their four horses were placed directly in the stables in the courtyard of the town house, and the old janitor said that he would feed the horses later. As for the carriage, just put it in the corner of the yard.

It is very safe here, no one dares to steal here. Besides, they'd be leaving tomorrow morning.

Carrying his backpack and his weapons and equipment, Kiel followed Lanisa Knight and the old hunter back to the previous stronghold.

To be honest, after dark in Hekou Town, the direction of the street and the road surface could not be seen clearly at all. Fortunately, Kiel's long sword will glow by itself after being reforged, so it is quite useful to use this thing for lighting.

And Knight Lanisa took out a talisman with the sun **** on it. She hung this thing around her waist, so that she could follow the light from the talisman after being rubbed for illumination.

"I'm sorry, Tost. All the amulets you used before have been taken away by the church. I only have this one left in my hand and they haven't left yet."

"It doesn't matter my lord. We didn't have them in previous years. It's not like coming out to hunt wolves in winter. But Keel, your sword is really powerful, it can shine so brightly!"

The topic turned to Kiel, and Knight Lanisa knew what was going on. After all, she also exerted some strength behind the process of reforging Kiel's long sword.

Kiel saw that the whole street was illuminated by his long sword. After scratching his head, he put the long sword back into the scabbard, only showing half the width of the palm of the sword.

Because the streets and roads are covered with white snow, the few lights can illuminate a good distance.

Before returning to the stronghold, Kiel retracted the long sword into the scabbard. Although things are good, they should not be publicized. He still understands the truth of this.

There are all kinds of utensils in the stronghold, although because no one has lived in it for a long time, it seems that it is full of impersonality. But whether it was the firewood for the fire or the clean water from the tavern, it was enough for the eleven of them to live.

Kiel took out the unfinished fried fish at noon, heated it up with the kitchen utensils in the stronghold, and had a delicious meal with the hot bread and soup.

Fatigue from the journey made him find a place in the hall to unfurl the dog skin sleeping bag, slip in and fall asleep.

The female knight and the old hunters discussed the future arrangements in the hall for a long time, until the other young hunters slept on the floor in the hall, they went upstairs one after another and took a rest in their own rooms.

-

Early the next morning, after wiping his face with the accumulated snow, Keir was done washing. He packed up the bedding and sleeping bags and waited for Knight Lanisa to arrange.

They will be divided into two teams here. The first team needs to raise food supplies for their long-term use in the wild mountains and forests, as well as a small amount of homemade tools for repairing bows and arrows. Others need to go to the field supply point that has been used before, and transport the large amount of metal clips that are crucial in this crusade.

Then come back on the second trip to bring the people and supplies left in Hekou Town.

Knight Lanisa will follow the first group of people to the supply point. After arriving at the supply point, she will cross the Wumi River alone and arrive at Wumi Lake Village. She will arrange to call some villagers who have been militiamen to help them guard the supplies at the supply point.

Knight Lanessa assigned two old hunters and three young hunters to collect food and supplies locally, and the others followed her.

When this was arranged, she gave an old hunter the keys of the house, and enough coins.

After that, they went out separately, those who went to the market went to the market, those who guarded the door, and those who set off.

During the daytime, Hekou Town is more lively than yesterday evening. After all, no matter how much snow falls, it is necessary for people to go to the town market to buy daily necessities.

Correspondingly, some people who work in the town house also have to go out to work, no matter how much snow falls outside.

Knight Lanisa handed a letter she wrote last night to a staff member of the town house, and asked the other party to hand it over to Knight Alyssa who came back later.

Then they each put the horses on the reins and fixed the saddle pedals. Knight Lanessa also had to equip her steed with a winter vest. After everyone is ready, we start to set off.

Since the number of people was reduced by almost half, the other two young hunters got into the carriage directly, and Kiel also rode on the horse. Everyone stopped walking, and the speed of progress was much faster.

After coming out of the gate on the north side of the town, there are patches of fields that are not connected.

I felt it when I was in Hekou Town before. The roads in the town are all undulating and uneven. Now I went out of the town and looked, sure enough, from the intersection of the two rivers to the north, the terrain was no longer flat.

Even so, it can still be used for horse-drawn carriages.

According to Lanisa Knight, who knows a lot about Hekou Town, and the old hunters who patrol and hunt all the year round between Hekou Town and Wumi Lake Village, although the terrain is not good, it is full of potholes and undulating terrain, but basically it can be used for food. The carriage is heavily loaded and moving forward.

It's just that when you encounter an uphill, you have to bypass the steep uphill and go around from a more gentle place.

As Keel walked these fields, he was always reminded of the true horror stories told by the old hunters. After all, in the previous life, the so-called ghost stories were basically made up to scare people.

In another world, on the contrary, the role of horror stories is not to scare people and make people feel exciting. It is to warn the careless people, so that the people have a kind of mental preparation for all the weird events that have happened and have not yet happened.

Keel followed the carriage and always looked around after riding on the horse, which attracted the attention of his companions.

"Keir, you are always looking back and forth, what are you looking at?" A young fellow hunter asked sitting on a chair in front of the carriage.

"What else can it be? Of course it's the weird house that the old men mentioned before. Didn't that thing appear near Hekou Town?"

"Hahahaha, let's not talk about whether you will be unlucky to meet that thing, just say how many years ago it happened, how could the weird house that can move around be near Hekou Town? Didn't the Lord Knight say that, It will go to the hometown of the dead magician by itself, probably passing through us."

Another pointed out one of Keir's decisive mistakes: "Keir, you got one more thing wrong."

"What?"

"That thing appeared at the ferry on the west side of Hekou Town. It was the place we passed yesterday. You are worried about that thing on the north side of Hekou Town. Did you make a mistake?"

Keir actually forgot some details of the story. After hearing his reminder, he remembered that the place where the story took place was in the previous place.

He scratched the soft beard on his chin awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Okay, although there is definitely no weird house that Keel is worried about, we are already far away from the areas where humans often appear. Compared with the south of the county, this place is closer to the border. From here to the north, there is no human settlement. It is estimated that except Ten of us couldn’t find it.” Knight Lanisa paused, stretched out her armored gloves and pointed to the rolling mountains, wilderness hills, and uninhabited river beaches in the distance.

"Be vigilant. Those who are sitting in the carriage, two people are in front of the horses, and the two are at the rear door to keep an eye on the back. All troubles must be paid attention to. Keep the bows and arrows at hand. Ready to fight anytime."

"Yes, Lord Knight." Everyone answered in unison.

Kiel didn't wear armor, and it was inconvenient to stop wearing it while riding a horse, so he had to wait until the next day to put it on again when he got up. He took out the spear with a wooden barrel and put it on his shoulder. Although the pure metal double-edged gun is amazingly powerful, he is not strong enough to use it right away.

He can't use it with one hand at all now, but the wooden spear can be used flexibly.

He shouldered his gun, ready to join the battle at any time.

But having said that, they were not in any danger. I only saw a group of 'deer' with long horns on their heads in the middle of the journey. They were huge, and each of them was bigger than their carriage.

Although these huge animals look dangerous, they are actually herbivores. They just go to the Umi River to drink water.

Knight Lanisa motioned for everyone to stop after seeing those animals, and then everyone tried not to make any noise, watching those huge animals smashing the frozen river with their horns from afar.

Then he stuck his head under the surface of the river where a hole had been smashed, and gulped down the cold river water.

There were at least twenty animals in that group, big and small, with many young animals the same size as horses.

Afterwards, after they were all full of water and turned behind the hills in the distance, Kiel asked, "Master Knight, do you know what kind of animal that is? It's so big!"

"It's a crowned moose. Did you see the horns on their heads? That's their all-purpose tool~www.readwn.com~ You can use that thing in battle, to push away snow, to break through ice .” The knight explained to Keir.

And an old hunter said with a smile: "They also use that horn in courtship! The male must first use his horn to defeat other stags, and then he has to compare the size of the crown horn on his head with the female deer. You If it’s smaller than a doe’s horns, then that’s fine too, people won’t talk to you at all haha.”

Knight Lanisa ignored the joking old hunter: "The large forest in the north is their territory, and there are many of them. Although they rely on their huge size and powerful crown horns, they are invincible, but I have seen them with my own eyes. Northland wolves hunt solitary crown moose in packs."

The knight led the crowd towards the crevasse in the river where the moose had just broken through. She took the lead and said, "They first caused panic among the crown moose family with their constant howls of wolves, and then they kept attacking the moose with the strongest pack of wolves." There will be a crown moose counterattack in the middle, and this behavior will continue until the old moose or young moose in the moose herd break away from the family group."

"Then, they will be swarmed by wolves to prey on them."

Keel asked why not try to tame the big guys.

"Less free-range breeding is fine, but large-scale breeding is impossible. They must be raised separately in a large area, otherwise crown moose from different bloodline families will fight and attack each other. You have also seen that their huge size really Putting his head down and running wildly, ordinary wooden houses can't stop him at all."

"I heard that Knight Crow inquired from the Knights that in the dwarf settlements outside the northern border, they have moose cavalry. But I heard that a moose can carry four or five dwarves. Oh, it's funny to think about it." , Ranisa laughed from under the knight helmet.