Mercenaries and Adventurers

After a while, after finishing his meal, Kil was wielding a sword to practice his sword skills to reduce the negative emotions accumulated during the day.

He was not wearing a helmet at this time and was only wearing armor. As if he heard a noise at the edge of the woods in the distance, Kil's ears twitched. He suddenly sheathed his sword and turned his head in the direction of the distant noise.

There was indeed a sound coming from the darkness in the distance.

Kil charged up and jumped onto the back of the blood-licking grass next to him, stood upright on the saddle, and raised his hands by his ears like scooping water.

"Kiel? What's wrong?"

Xueyaste, who was cleaning the crossbow next to him, also stood up and asked.

"Hush! Be quiet! There's a sound over there."

With the help of collecting sounds with his palms, Kil finally heard the true identity of the sound in front of him.

-

"Keep your voice down. Do you want to lure that damn knight over?"

"Why don't you just fart? You are the one who keeps shouting! If you lure the knight over, we will all die tonight."

"Shut up, everyone! Just go through the open space on the trade road. Everyone, hold on to the ropes tightly. Don't fall behind and fail to follow."

Finally, a dull voice spoke, and in the darkness ahead there was only the rustling sound of shrubs and weeds being trampled and rubbed. In addition, there are occasional small knocking sounds of metal weapons colliding.

-

Kil was startled when he first heard it. He thought that the bandits were trying to sneak attack at night. However, after listening carefully to what these people said and the direction of movement of the sounds, he realized that the bandits were going to sneak through the night. Cross the open space on the commercial road and go from the mountain forest on the right side of the commercial road to the left side of the commercial road in the burning village.

"Anyway, just don't come here to attack."

Kil jumped off his horse and told Bloodfangster what he had discovered, but the other party waved his hand fiercely and suggested: "You have good eyesight at night, why don't you ride out to attack them?"

At this time, most people have poor vision at night due to insufficient nutrition. Only some people who eat well can barely see at night.

Of course, if the three moon gods give them face, ordinary people can also be active in the wild at night when the moonlight shines on the earth.

Unfortunately today, not only are there clouds in the sky, but there is only one moon that is barely a quarter moon. The moonlight is not enough for ordinary people to see and move around in the mountains at night.

After listening to Bloodfangster's suggestion, Kil gave up after thinking about it for a moment: "No, what if these people try to lure me away again? During the day, everyone can still gather to fight against the bandits, but at night If there is another attack, it will be like the last time, with at least hundreds of casualties."

Hearing Keir talk about the last nighttime attack by bandits and knowing how many refugees and civilians had died, Bloody Fangster calmed down and had a good idea of ​​giving the bandits a good look.

"In this way, although I will not leave the camp where I spend the night, I can ride a horse and circle around the camp a few times to drive away the bandits. Ste, please tell Priest Batar and let him make preparations there."

"OK."

After explaining to his companions, Kiel got on his horse and shouted to an armed man not far away who was helping him wipe his helmet: "Helmet! Throw it over!"

"My lord caught it."

The citizen threw the steel helmet with both hands. After Keir caught it with one hand, he buckled it on his head and then connected the neck armor and helmet together. At the same time, the groom who was responsible for taking care of the blood-licking grass also put the bit and reins on the war horse and handed them to Keir.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. If enemies come, they will only be greeted by death——"

After shouting this, Kiel drove his war horse past the tents and fires filled with people and came to the outside of the camp. Together with the armed people who patrolled all night, they were alert to possible dangers tonight.

-

"The boss is in trouble! The knight rushed out on horseback!"

Because the bandits are in a dark distance, and the refugee camp is full of fires for lighting and heating, it is impossible to see anything outside when standing in the camp. Most people can barely see a small circle around the camp illuminated by the fire. . But the bandits in the distance could easily see every move in the bright refugee camp.

"What's wrong with me? Can I speak? Everyone, be careful and move your feet faster. Believe me, that guy won't chase him into the woods. He was played by us during the day. It's unlikely that he will be there that night." Just forget about it.”

The fat bandit leader nicknamed "Iron Bucket" was walking in the middle of the group of bandits on their way. In front were the guys with the best night vision in their group, and behind were the guys with the sharpest ears.

The person in front leads the way, and the person behind listens to the footsteps of the person in front and will not be left behind in the rush.

As soon as he spoke, the bandits around him breathed a sigh of relief. In the afternoon, there was no news about the Scarface group who ambushed the knight, and everyone had a rough idea of ​​the strength of the young knight who was mixed in with the refugee team.

They were similar in strength to the knight lords who led troops to hunt them down before, and they were not something ordinary people like them could fight against.

The bandits looked in the direction of the refugee camp and indeed saw a figure on horseback not rushing towards them, but patrolling around the refugee camp.

"Whatever you are looking at, go away! Go away! When we get back to the village, I'm going to skin that bald guy!"

The bandit leader cursed and urged the bandits around him to leave quickly.

Soon, the group of them passed through the several hundred meters wide open space of the trade road and walked quickly from the woods on one side of the trade road to the woods on the other side.

The woods next to Xinqingquan Village here are much familiar to the bandits. Many experienced bandits who often come out to rob have carved many unique marks on some tree trunks as high as a man's shoulder.

By following these marks one can find the path to the village, no matter where one is in the woods.

Guessing it was safe, the bandit leader pulled out a torch from his waist, then took out the tinder and lit it. The torch soon burned brightly, illuminating the figures of a dozen bandits around them.

"Everyone with a torch should light it up. Everyone, please move quickly. Hurry."

'Iron Bucket' still had something to say. He actually had an uneasy premonition in his heart. The fire in the lair tonight was too coincidental. It caught fire as soon as it got dark. If it weren't for the captured slaves rebelling, then Others may be even worse.

The reality is that when you don’t want something, that thing will often flap its wings and fly towards your face.

-

After a while, the bandits holding torches found the path leading to Xinqingquan Village in the woods, and they quickly walked back along the path they had just come down at noon.

When they set off, they were all high-spirited and happy, thinking that today would be another day to make a lot of money. But in the same day, there were only a dozen of them, nervous and tired, walking up the mountain and hurried back.

The comparison between the two made some bandits with sensitive minds unconsciously take a closer look at their leader - 'Iron Bucket'.

To be honest, the bandit leader didn't do a bad job, he just chose the wrong target today and didn't investigate in advance. If he could have sent people to climb on the treetops at the edge of the forest to conduct a reconnaissance before leading the plunder at noon, the loss of manpower would not have been so great.

These bandits with wandering thoughts carried this idea all the way to the gate of Xinqingquan Village.

Then here, the group was blocked by the gate of their lair.

Within the tall wooden walls of the village, in addition to the crackling of the flames, there were also the cries of many people, mixed with excited shouts.

The bandit leader frowned and shouted towards the sentry position on top of the gate: "People above! Open your eyes and see clearly who I am! Hurry up and open the gate for me!"

There was a figure flashing above the village gate, but no one came out to talk.

‘Iron Bucket’’s heart sank, and the bad feeling came again. Although there were no signs of fighting on the village gate, which made him feel relieved, an ominous premonition still came to his mind.

"I say it again, open the door for me! You don't want to live anymore, do you? Or is your ear broken?"

The bandit leader shouted angrily.

A close bandit next to him said: "Boss, these people may be worried about being punished if they make a mistake, so they don't answer us at all and don't open the door. I think they are trying to delay it for a while. The fire in the village is out, so they probably have the nerve to open the door!"

"Well, what you said makes sense. People above, listen, I swear not to punish you. I will only deal with the bald guy who is responsible for guarding the village. The others are not guilty. Open the door quickly!"

The bandit leader shouted again.

But this time, as someone climbed up inside the gate, a figure appeared with the firelight in the village behind him.

It was a muscular figure wearing thick black bear leather clothes and trousers. After this figure came to the railing above the door, he coughed twice, then lifted the cloth covering his face, revealing a middle-aged face that was damaged by wind and frost.

"Tiegu, I haven't seen you for a while."

The middle-aged man said with a smile and a teasing voice below.

At the same time, he waved behind him, and then the seven or eight people who had been hiding on the inside of the platform on top of the gate also came out. Each of them was holding a fist-sized stone, holding a throwing gun, or holding a hunting bow. .

There was not a single familiar face.

The face of the bandit leader Tiegong changed visibly. He frowned, gritted his teeth, stretched out his hand to signal the people behind him to retreat away, and shouted viciously: "It's you! Damn it Ken! You actually made a sneak attack My territory! Have you forgotten what we discussed with several groups of people in the past two months?"

The middle-aged man who was once a well-known mercenary spat out the door: "It's not the damned Ken, it's the murderer Ken. Remember it clearly."

After a pause, he did not let his men condescendingly attack the retreating Tiegong and others. He said: "Discuss? Do you call that discussion? Your two families cut off this trade road end by end, which is a piece of meat. The soup was not even given to me and my brothers. I didn’t agree at the time, what did you say? Let me hear it again?"

Tie Gu, who had retreated more than thirty meters, stood still, stared at Ken who was also looking over, and said bit by bit: "I didn't do well at first, but you know, in our business, bandits, What I relied on was the skills in my hands and the number of brothers under my command. I had the advantage at the beginning, so you deserved to suffer some losses. In fact, the Hanged Ghost and his gang didn't eat up your team, so we already left you with It’s a bit more respectable.”

"Ha!" 'Ken the Killer' laughed angrily: "Oh, I also have to thank you two? You allowed me and my brothers to eat wild vegetables and fruits for more than two months?"

"You understand it wrong. I am not asking you to endure hardship. I am asking you to take your people and leave this place voluntarily. Phew, think about it carefully. Wouldn't it be good to develop in other places? The three groups of us are all crowded here. It’s a small place, to be honest, don’t you think it’s too crowded? Not to mention three, I’m just on the same trade road with the Hanged Man’s gang, and two is too much for me.”

"You should let the people who hang the ghosts listen to this. I guess they have the same idea?"

Ken, the killer, made a wisecrack, then straightened his face and shouted angrily: "Now that you have seen it and talked to me, you can get out! Get away! I also feel that three groups of people are in a business together." The road is a little crowded. But the difference is that this time, you are the one who should take people away, not me! "

Ken from the top shouted angrily, and the 'iron bucket' below could only grit his teeth and curse loudly.

He didn't have the courage or ability to lead the dozen or so people around him to launch an attack. If it was noon, when there were the most people, then he still had plans to have people cut down trees and use wooden ladders to attack, but today at least half of the people were killed or injured in the process of robbing the refugee team, and the manpower and morale were simply not enough.

"You guy, you plotted against me and took away my village. Aren't you afraid that I will learn your method and take down your previous village? Yes! Answer me!"

Tiegu asked loudly.

Beside him, the dozen bandits also shouted together, adding power to the leader's words. Although these guys have other plans in mind, after all, some people worked hard with the "Iron Bucket" to have a few slaves at their own disposal, as well as personal belongings hidden in the village. These things are all from the bandits. It is really impossible for them to give up like this after risking their lives.

Therefore, several bandits were thinking about changing their families. After all, they didn't care which boss they would work with. Who can win? The strong one who can always win is their bandit leader.

Of course, this was not the right time to take refuge in Ken the Killer.

If you dare to take refuge in the other party now, this guy "Iron Bucket" will go crazy.

Faced with Tiegu's question, Ken, the killer, laughed for a while at the village gate, and then replied: "You can go if you want. It just happens that you and I can change our places? But I'm sorry, my village is surrounded by There’s nothing left to eat. You know, it’s not a farming village, it’s just a forest farm owned by a group of lumberjacks. If you like to eat wood, you can eat enough. Haha..."

Being humiliated in this way, the veins in the hand holding the ax in 'Tiegong''s hand popped up, and his teeth made a rattling sound.

Maybe it wasn't enough of a blow, so Ken, who was cutting people, gave a low order to his men, and then shouted to Tiegu: "Let you understand how I took this place before you get mad to death. After all, you occupy it." This village is really nice.”

As if he knew what was going to happen next, Tie Gu looked around hesitantly at his men and saw that none of the experienced bandits dared to look at him. Tie Gu was also broken, and he was not directly in the worst situation. He led the people to retreat before the situation happened, but raised his head and scratched his neck, glaring angrily at the village gate not far away.

Soon, a 30-year-old bandit nicknamed Baldhead, who was actually a bald man, climbed up to the village gate.

As soon as this man showed up, the men around Tiegong exclaimed and cursed. They all used harsh words such as traitor, ￥￥, \u0026amp;*%￥, etc. on the bald man.

Iron Bucket, on the other hand, was mentally prepared and knew that cursing at this time was of no use, so he only thought about his words in his heart without speaking first.

Ken, the killer, patted the bald head proudly on the shoulder and encouraged him a few words loudly. He greatly appreciated the bald head's behavior of changing his family according to the situation, and publicly expressed that he would let the bald head pick and choose him at will in Xinqingquan Village. Anything you want.

"In addition, I continue to welcome other friends and brothers who have the same idea to do the same. You know, I am not a stingy person. Unlike some people, I always keep the best of the looted things for myself to enjoy. And I will share it generously with my trustworthy brothers, because I understand that my reliable brothers are my best reward. Do you think that’s right?”

The last sentence, Ken who slashed the man, asked the other bandits at the gate, and these people also shouted in unison: "That's so right, boss!"

"If I die, I will follow the leader and continue my banditry."

"Haha, this can be avoided, haha."

Ken, who was cutting people, looked excited, and the bald man next to him was also very happy. On the one hand, he didn't like the iron barrel, and on the other hand, he had already obtained the benefits of betraying his original companions - the leader of Ken let him choose his own village. things, and both his position and his subordinates have been promoted.

Looking at the cheerful group of people at the village gate, Tiegong said: "Haha, don't be too happy too soon, Ken. Before long, you will be like me, maybe even worse than me. What happened today? Admit it, then finally I wish you an early war with the Hanged Ghosts. After all, it is a bit too crowded for two gangs to eat on the same trade route. I believe that when you are playing happily with the Hanged Ghosts and the others, this bald head , he will definitely do something that will surprise you.”

"Let's go, retreat."

Tiegong retreated facing the direction of the village. After he was out of the shooting distance of the bow bandit, he turned around and left with his men.

Soon, in the direction where the iron barrel left, several torches were thrown towards the farmland outside the village, and the flames soon burned in the field.

At the gate, the bald man who saw this scene quickly told Ken, his new bandit leader, to suggest: "Boss, you have to send people to put out the fire quickly. It's okay to burn one or two houses in the village, but the ones outside the village Farmland must not be burned!"

But Ken, the killer, waved his hand to signal the bald head to calm down: "Don't worry, I saw it when I was ambushing in the farmland outside the village in the evening. The ground was very humid, and the wind in the mountains brought a lot of wealth." The mist containing moisture cannot be burned. Don't worry, it's just a little trick of the iron bucket to lure us out. Don't pay attention to him."

Sure enough, as Ken said, only part of the crops were lit by the torch, and the flames quickly extinguished.

The iron bucket who led the people to ambush in the woods near the farmland outside the village finally led the people away with curses.