Swords, magic, and martial arts

It took the group most of the night to carry all the bodies out of the hotel and bury them.

The hotel was like a slaughterhouse, with blood and brains everywhere, and in many places there were broken intestines and other things.

Finally, they endured the nauseating surroundings and forced themselves to eat the food Webber had prepared.

The Blackhearted Knight killed people during mealtime. Everyone was on the first floor, and no one was in the rooms on the second floor, so there were no bodies on the second floor.

As soon as Rod closed his eyes, the image that appeared before him was that of the hotel owner's lovely daughter, whom he had met a few days earlier. She was younger than him. When he saw her again, her beautiful face was completely sunken in, covered in blood and brain matter, and she was staring at him with her beautiful big eyes wide open.

The other dead also died in similar ways.

This strengthened everyone's resolve to eradicate this area.

Hammer said that if he had ten heavily armored infantrymen with shields, he could definitely take down that Blackheart Knight.

Once the soldiers formed a shield and surrounded him, he could then use his spear to kill the Blackheart Knight trapped inside.

They left the inn early the next morning and continued their journey toward Winterfell Fortress.

The rest of the journey was peaceful, and nothing happened. They returned to Winterfell fortress on the third day.

Weber gave each of the women some gold coins and told them to leave so he could find work.

Afterwards, Hammer went alone to a tower in Winterfell Fortress, where he had previously said he wanted to find his uncle to make him an officer.

The uncle he was referring to was Earl Miken Smith, the younger brother of Marquis Randolph Smith.

Earl Miken is one of the senior commanders of Winterfell Fortress, and the current supreme commander of Winterfell Fortress is Duke Claude Smith of Winterfell Province.

Rhodes and his companions sat in the tavern, talking and listening to the people around them discussing recent events.

"Have you heard? It's said that the emperor of the Roman Empire has started hiring knightly orders to fight for him, and this year that order will join the main battle."

"Of course I've heard of it. Is it that Morning Knights?"

"It's the Knights of Dawn."

"Oh, right, that's it. Did you know that we Nords also have a formal knightly order?"

"The Roaring Knights of Winter?"

"I think that's the name."

"You two shouldn't talk nonsense if you don't know. Don't you know that besides them, there's another ancient knightly order on the continent in the far north of Nord?"

"The Twilight Knights? That knightly order that rides deer? Didn't they disband a long time ago because they couldn't recruit enough people?"

"If you three don't understand, then don't speak. Are they called the Twilight Knights? Everyone else always calls them the Twilight Guardians, the last guardians before the long night arrives."

"You think you know so much? Let me ask you, what does 'a long, dark night' mean?"

"Nobody knows except them. If you want to know, go ask them up north."

……

Rhodes sat in the tavern for the entire afternoon. The tavern was a really interesting place. The people inside talked about everything from the ancient war that threatened the survival of mankind to the Roman Empire's preparation to conquer the entire Kingdom of Fish next year, and from the emperor of the Roman Empire to the silly boy from the Tom family next door.

However, the tavern was also a good place to learn about recent events on the continent. He couldn't help but think that someone had taken control of many inns and brothels after transmigrating, and thus controlled the direction of public opinion.

Hammer, carrying his warhammer, returned to the tavern and sat down at the table where Rhodes and the others were.

"How is it?" Baron asked.

Hammer shook his head and said, "He can make me an officer, but he won't allow me to lead troops to wipe out the bandits in that area. He said we're about to start a large-scale war with the Roman Empire, and we can't let our soldiers sacrifice themselves in vain in that position."

"Then let's make it the four of us. As long as we don't run into someone like that Blackhearted Knight, we should be fine," Webber said.

"It doesn't matter if I run into him. Last time I used too much force when I seriously injured that dragonman and I haven't recovered yet. I think if I run into him today, I can definitely defeat him," Baron said, putting down his wine glass.

"That would be best. When shall we depart?" Weber asked.

"Tomorrow."

……

Rod and his men bought Hammer another horse at the market and set off again the next day. They gave all the money they had taken from the bandits to the poor women. The weapons were too heavy to bring back; they were all piled up in the cave, where they might come in handy later.

"When does the Roman Empire usually go to war with us?" Rhodes asked.

"Usually, wars start in August or September, after the work in the fields is finished. It's only May now, so it's still early," Baron replied.

Every time the Roman Empire launched a war, it would not only mobilize various nobles and their soldiers, but also conscript ordinary peasants from all over the country. If they did not respond, they would be stripped of their land and become serfs under the nobility.

"How should we plan our route?" Rod asked.

"Um...why don't we head south from Winterfell Fortress to Red Eagle Fortress, which we now occupy, then northeast, and finally west to Dawn Province?" Baron thought for a moment and replied.

Weber nodded and said, "I think that's a good idea. This way, we'll pass through most of the area, and we'll eliminate the bandits we encounter one by one and put them to trial."

"I think so too," Hammer said, while Rhodes didn't care about any of this.

For Rhodes, eliminating the bandits was the perfect way to complete his mission. After dealing with that group of robbers, his mission progress was 13/100, and he still needed to punish 87 people he considered bad to complete the mission.

However, there are some problems with this mission. The Black Heart Knight is also considered a bad guy by him. If he is killed, the mission progress will only increase slightly. Ordinary thieves are also considered bad guys by him. Fighting the Black Heart Knight is much more difficult than fighting ordinary thieves.

In addition, nobles who excessively exploit the people can also be considered bad people by Rhodes. Will the quality of the reward vary depending on the difficulty of the person being punished when the system gives out such a task?

That evening, they came to the roadside inn for the third time. After hesitating for a while, they stepped into the inn again. The bodies on the first floor had been cleaned up by them before, but they did not clean up the bloodstains.

The smell of blood was much fainter than before, and Rhodes and his companions began to feel irritated after seeing the inn again.

After Rhodes and the others had all sat down and Weber went into the kitchen to cook, a group of mercenaries entered the inn.

"Quickly, give each of us five something to eat, and prepare a room for each of us!" one of the mercenaries shouted before even seeing the first floor clearly. "Why are you all staring at me?"

"Everyone here is dead. You'll have to make whatever you want to eat," Baron said.

"Then you'd better go and make us something to eat, or I'll make you eat knives." The mercenary drew a curved knife from his waist.

Rod, who was already in a bad mood after returning to the hotel, smiled after hearing his words...