Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

August 4 at 27am.

In the square of Troski village, a group of thirty-five people had assembled.

Twenty of them were town hall guards selected from the villagers. The ordinary guards were equipped with shields and one-handed swords, wore chainmail, daggers tucked into leather belts, and red guard uniforms. Three sergeants served as squad leaders, equipped with half-plate armor, maces, crossbows on their backs, and crossbow belts at their waists.

The other fifteen were German mercenaries. These men, far from home to earn a living, were equipped with a motley collection of weapons, yet were remarkably robust. Wielding spiral spears and two-handed greatswords, they brazenly scanned the villagers lining the road, as if eyeing lambs to be plundered. In fact, if their wages weren't paid on time and in full, these men could easily transform into bandits, plunder the entire village, and then flee to another place to continue their risk-free business.

Urban, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, came to see off the executive officer, Serush.

"My old friend, may God bless you on your journey. I will prepare fine wine for your victorious return."

After giving his blessings, Urban leaned closer and whispered, "I paid those mercenaries to be at the forefront."

"I see."

Therush nodded, indicating he understood. Those mercenaries, like the bandits, were unstable elements; it was best to let them fight the bandits to the death. After saying this, he turned his gaze towards Troski Castle. They had reported their plan to suppress the bandits to the castle beforehand.

Young Master Borgo, who was vacationing at the castle, didn't care about the brawls among the country folk. He simply nodded and said he understood, leaving it to them to handle.

The castle steward, Ulrich, promised him that he would bring the castle priest over today to pray for the departing troops.

Just then, dust billowed from the castle on the mountain, and a cavalry unit galloped towards them. Troski village, being a town beneath the castle, wasn't far from it, and in no time, the cavalry reached the village. The civilians along the way quickly made way, bowing their heads in respect.

A group of more than ten cavalrymen, all riding sturdy warhorses and wearing armor, with the flying fish emblem of the Borgo family printed on their red overcoats, led the way. Captain Thomas, the castle guard, followed by Steward Ulrich, and next to him was a drunken priest—he had been thoroughly intoxicated the night before and was still drowsy.

"Your Excellency Chief Steward Ulrich, Father Nikodamus, and Captain Thomas, welcome."

Executive Officer Therush, Merchant Guild Leader Urban, Guard Captain Klaus, Mercenary Captain Ace, and others all bowed their heads in respect.

"Hurry up."

Steward Ulrich didn't even dismount, arrogantly urging the departure ceremony to be held as soon as possible, as he still needed to return to the castle quickly to serve young Master Polgar.

"Lord, look upon your Lamb..."

Father Nicholas, the drunkard, didn't waste any time. Without saying a word, he went up on stage and began chanting, speaking in a language that no one could understand, interspersed with Latin, Italian dialect, Slavic vocabulary, and so on. In short, no one could understand him, but they thought he was very impressive.

"Amen!"

"Amen!"

After the blessings were given, the castle's entourage rode off in haste, just as they had come. In any case, these commoners had at least experienced the lord's majesty.

"Let's go too."

"send troops!"

The Executor Therush led the procession on horseback, followed by his son Swatya, who was to succeed his father as Executor, so such a display of prominence was naturally indispensable.

The bandit suppression team left the village amidst cheers from the villagers lining the streets and stopped at the crossroads.

"Your Excellency, I'm going to Semey to deal with that bastard ulcer. We'll meet at the crossroads. Hopefully, by the time we get there, you'll have caught that big-mouthed jerk."

After Captain Klaus and ten foot guards bowed to Therush, they hurried away.

"I hope he can keep his word."

Mercenary captain Ace sneered.

Theros shook his head and said, "Captain Ace, I admire your competitive spirit. Why not have a contest? If you can take down Big Mouth John before Klaus arrives, I think you'll have plenty of reason to laugh at him at the victory celebration."

"I hope so."

Ace, a mercenary who had served in the Hungarian War, tapped the hilt of his sword with some concern.

..........

The two teams proceeded along their respective routes, two hours later.

Captain Klaus, the guard captain, has led his squad to the vicinity of the Lower Semi Mill.

"Captain, isn't it a bit much to miss our main target in this bandit-extermination operation just because of a dozen or so rats hiding in the mountains?"

Among the infantrymen, young Lucas, who had just inherited a decent suit of armor from his father, was eager to prove himself and harbored some resentment at not being able to join the main force in suppressing bandits.

"What nonsense are you talking about? That bastard with the ulcer killed my best friend!"

Georg, the very same ranger who had escaped, roared angrily at Lucas, "Those rotten bastards of the Ulcer have done countless evil deeds and must be completely eradicated! Let everyone see the fate of those who challenge our Trossky! Are you afraid? Or do you not want to avenge Ogrand?"

The other guards also cast scrutinizing glances at Lucas. A man who wouldn't avenge his comrade couldn't be trusted to carry out their mission.

"Sorry, that's not what I meant. It's just that the 'Ulcer' gang from before disappeared long ago when they heard about the crackdown. If we can't find them, we'll have made a wasted trip and won't get any credit."

Lucas quickly explained.

"Keep searching until you find those scumbags crawling in the sewage. I swear I will avenge my murdered brothers! I'll hang their bodies one by one on the oak tree at the village entrance and let them dry in the wind for a whole year!"

The captain of the guard shouted righteously.

"Our captain is righteous!"

"Support the captain!"

"That's how you deal with bandits!"

The team members echoed this sentiment.

Faced with the flattery, Captain Klaus glanced at the crowd and revealed a satisfied expression.

His uncle, Clement, was the second-in-command of the Chamber of Commerce. Clement had privately told him that Big Mouth John was acting strangely, his strength was excessively powerful, and he should be careful. After the Ranger was killed, Clement even gave him a suggestion: use revenge as an excuse to hunt down the weaker "Ulcer" gang, so as to avoid a direct confrontation with "Big Mouth John".

Klaus took his uncle's advice, shouted slogans of revenge, and won the enthusiastic support of the guards. Who wouldn't want such a righteous boss?

Urban, the leader of the Chamber of Commerce, sensed the unusual behavior of the guards and spent money to urgently hire a mercenary force from another region to counterbalance Klaus.

Klaus took the opportunity to feign anger and proposed a plan to divide his forces. According to his plan, if they found the ulcer gang, they would wipe them out. If they didn't find them, it didn't matter. Wasn't there a mill nearby? They could always go to the miller and extort some money from him.

No matter how you look at it, you're not at a disadvantage.

As for the crossroads? Let's see how things develop.

As I was pondering this, two men in tattered chainmail and carrying shields suddenly sprang out from the river mouth of the "Ulcer" gang's camp. They shouted, "Ha! I could smell your wallet from hundreds of paces away. Leave us all the money, or we'll use your skulls as bowls!"

"Damn robbers, who do you think this is? This is the powerful, intelligent, and benevolent Captain Klaus!"

Ranger Georg roared.

"Our ulcer boss fears no one! Pay up or die!"

The man with the shield continued his rambling.

"Kill them!"

Klaus's forehead veins throbbed. The ulcer gang was too audacious! Such arrogance was not allowed in front of him, Klaus!

"You're ganging up on us, what kind of strength is that? Retreat!"

Two men with shields, protecting their backs, jumped into the river and waded away.

"Chase them! Catch them! Smash their heads and turn them into sieves!"

Klaus roared in exasperation.