Mercenaries and Adventurers

The horse's hooves moved rapidly, causing the ground to vibrate slightly.

A sound like muffled thunder gradually sounded on the commercial road on the west side of the town, which attracted the attention of many debtors who were still working in the fields.

They had been working all day, and were mentally bored with the work. At this moment, attracted by the strange noise, many men and women who were in debt stopped the farm tools in their hands, straightened up their waists that had been bent all day, and curiously asked the voice. Look in the direction you came from.

Many people stopped what they were doing, but did not suffer direct whippings from the caretakers, because the same humble guys sitting on their own chairs on the edge of the field also put down their whips and followed Like the debtors in the field, they all looked towards the direction of the trade road not far away.

"oh--"

People screamed in surprise, because what appeared in their eyes was a silver-gray war horse that they had never seen before, running at high speed.

The tall and heavy horse's hooves trampled part of the already solid road surface, leaving a long row of clear hoof prints.

The tall war horses galloped, especially with the dull sound of trampling, which made the debtors who were a little closer to the trade route feel a huge pressure. Some timid guys even squatted down with their heads in their hands.

However, no one else dared to laugh at this guy at this moment, because others were not much better than him.

-

"Alas--!"

Kil's right arm was rounded and waving, and he let out strange screams of excitement.

Although he felt that the blood-licking grass wearing horse armor could not run as fast as before, but the solid and powerful feeling at this moment was far from the previous feeling of galloping at high speed.

They are all intense and fun, but the faster horse riding brings a secondary sense of speed. After all, the speed of horses is still far behind compared to cars. It is a kind of excitement that is different from driving a car with your own hands. It is the excitement of directly taming and driving an animal yourself.

At this time, unlike the previous horse riding, the blood-licking grass wearing horse armor brings not only the excitement of driving the animal, but also the safety brought by the powerful strength of this beast. feel.

And this sense of security brings an exponentially higher sense of accomplishment.

Men are naturally excited and happy about this kind of powerful power that they can personally control.

"Good boy, run faster! Run faster! Let me see where your highest strength is!"

Kil cheered, and the blood-licking grass also responded to the owner's request. He cheered and used all his strength to move his four hooves and strong legs. He breathed in through his nose, and then spurted it out with all his strength, using the gentle spring air to come. Encourage your body.

This scene stunned many debtors who stopped what they were doing. Many people's eyes not only contained shock, but also visible envy. They also want to be like that young man, running wildly and freely.

Living so youthfully.

Instead of being detained in the fields and working hard like today.

Even if most of this is their own choice.

Of course, none of these poor people and civilians realize that the current situation of many people has been arranged behind the scenes by the large chamber of commerce at the top of the town, and this is the effect they want.

Debt labor, which seems fair, uses labor to pay off the money owed by gambling or debt. In fact, in the final analysis, it is just a cheap way for the ruling managers to obtain labor force.

With a seemingly reasonable appearance, it can easily deceive most of the people who have no knowledge and culture. Let them work willingly without thinking about whether the harvest of their work and their debt situation are equal on the scale.

For the actual managers of the town, if a sufficient number of debtors are working around the town, the chamber of commerce in the town can easily obtain various raw materials at a much lower price than other areas, allowing other areas to want to use them. Commercial trade was also launched, but no matter how hard we tried, the prices of many goods were still inferior to those in Dorne Town.

This is the truth behind the former prosperity of the town of Dorne.

anyway.

Kiel ran for several kilometers along the westward caravan road. He was satisfied with the running, both for humans and horses, and then he went back in a roundabout way.

On the way, he saw two small striped tents set up outside a forest outside the actual control of the town. Two men, one old and one young, wearing large cloaks, were sitting next to a small campfire in front of the tent, preparing dinner.

Kil didn't know what these two people were doing, but when the other party noticed him and stood up to look at him, he waved to them friendly.

As a result, among the two people in the distance, only the older one returned his greeting and waved in a friendly manner. The younger one was indifferent to Keir's gesture.

But Kiel didn't care.

On his way back, he didn't run as uncontrollably as he did before. He asked the blood-licking grass, which was satisfied with running, to walk at a constant trot to the west side of the town.

When he came back, Kiel saw some people standing in the field, looking at him curiously. Some guys with leather whips on their waists were hunched over and gathered around Mr. Scott, with sad faces on their faces, begging Mr. Scott for something.

But Mr. Scott looked indifferent.

Kil waved to the debtors standing in the field looking at him. Unexpectedly, many people also waved to him excitedly, which made Kil laugh.

A pair of bright eyes rolled around, and he whispered to his chest: "Ahem, what do you think of these people?"

After waiting for a while, a voice sounded in Kil's mind: "Not so good. These humans are inferior, stupid, short-sighted, greedy, and unable to control their own desires."

Keir tilted his lips and mocked, "So do you have any choice at this time?"

"If you, rude fellow, work hard, of course I have a choice. Gah!"

Kil snorted coldly: "Then you have no choice now. Although these people are despicable, stupid, short-sighted, greedy, and afraid of violence, they can't control their desires and like to indulge. But they can easily believe that any A mysterious being who can get them out of their current bad situation. As long as this being can bring them any obvious benefit."

"Let me think, gah."

"Thinking about it again, they are also some of the easiest people to exploit. Of course, I think some bandit gangs in the mountains or forests around the town are pretty good. But those people have weapons in their hands and advocate violence. If you want to satisfy them, The benefits that need to be given and the benefits provided are not even the slightest bit."

"Gah, to make mortals believe, you don't necessarily need to give benefits! I can use my strength to intimidate them!"

Kil spat disdainfully: "What? One or two birds with brightly colored fur? Or some noisy crows? Are you going to defecate on top of humans to scare them?"

"Rude human being! How could you insult a primitive and great god like this? Gah!"

Kil carelessly touched the long ears of the blood-licking grass, causing the war horse to twist its neck in displeasure: "Oh, so it's a god? Then I'm really sorry, do you need me to run to the central square of the town now? Proclaim your name loudly and tell everyone your long, convoluted, boring, backward and primitive priesthood or title or something?"

With the corner of his mouth raised, Kil continued: "I think the priests of the Church of the God of Wealth in Dorne must be very interested. Or some other churches?"

There was a period of silence, and finally, a voice rang in Kil's mind: "I'm a little tired. As you said, let's start with those in debt. Please get the statues you made and put them on the Up in the treetops, I will arrange for it to be taken away and delivered to these debtors.”

"Rude human being, by helping me, you are also helping yourself. Before my shadow bird helps you drive away the resentment that entangles you, you will be entangled by the resentment of those you killed with your own hands. Every night, they It will further erode your soul, interfere with your thinking, and cause confusion in your actions."

Kil pursed his lips: "I'm following your plan, so, Otori God, let's not pick and choose. Only by stepping down on each section of the stairs can we go up to the next floor."

"I'm a little tired, Gaga."

Keir ended the conversation with a final snort.

He frowned, thinking not only about the resentments that entangled him, but also about this primitive god who could directly and unilaterally communicate with his thoughts.

If you can directly make words appear in his mind, will it also be possible to detect his thinking?

Thinking of this, Kil reviled the big bird god and cursed it seven or eight times in his mind. Then he confirmed that the black bird wood carving on his chest had not changed, that there was no voice arguing with him in his mind, and that there were no hairs on his body. Intuitive feeling.

It seems that this guy can't detect his thinking or his memory.

But once the seeds of doubt are planted, they can never be eradicated.

‘What if this is the daring operation of this primitive god? If you are willing to endure the humiliation, please bear with my rudeness for the time being, and then rely on cooperation with me to develop a faith community. Later, when the wings grow longer and the wings harden, how about you calculate all the old and new grudges together and beat me to death? ’

The possibility of this idea is not impossible, but Keel was unable to confirm it for the time being, so he could only carry this passive idea with a bad expression and came to the intersection on the west side of the town, where Mr. Scott and his guide His subordinates, craftsmen, and apprentices are all waiting here.

There were also many people surrounding him, including debtors who stood barefoot in the fields beside the road and looked at him. and the debtor caretakers who hunker down and say something to Mr. Scott.

Seeing Kil's return, Mr. Scott disgustedly interrupted the caretaker who asked him: "Okay, you can't control people by yourself, it has nothing to do with us. Get back and don't bother me."

After saying that, Mr. Scott came up with the craftsman: "Knight Kiel, how about, when the horse is running at full speed, how is the armor of this horse?"

Kil jumped off the horse, and Bang Bang knocked twice on the armor on Blood Licker's neck: "Very good, most of the previous improvements at low speeds have made the horse running at full speed smooth and noisy."

The craftsmen were much more practical. They noticed some problems when Kiel started running at full speed. At this time, they came around to check the armor on the horse again, and they came up with some beneficial changes.

Kil waved his hand and asked them to do something. He pulled Mr. Scott aside and talked about the cost of making the war horse armor.

"So, what is the final price of my horse armor? Since I have discovered a future income for you, you must give me a discount."

Kil said with a smile, he still has a lot of funds here, but this thing is not cheap, so he can save some.

"You can't say that. The initial investment in the multi-layer protective cloth business is definitely not small. Whether it can make money in the future and become a long-term business is still unknown! Of course, it depends on me and Knight Kiel, if you match up like this, there will definitely be a discount. Let me see."

After saying that, Mr. Scott took out a small cowhide notebook from the merchant's leather bag on his waist, took out a long charcoal pen from the gap in the cowhide next to the notebook, turned to a certain page of the notebook and began to calculate the price.

"Oh, I haven't calculated these accounts directly for several years, but fortunately I still haven't forgotten my skills. Let's take a look at the final price. After excluding some low-value coins that you and I don't care about, the total price is twelve Gold and six silvers. How about it? At this price?"

"How much? Twelve gold? You are so rude!"

Keir quickly complained that the price directly exceeded the price he expected.

When he originally bought the hunting sword as a steel sword, it only cost one gold coin. After that, he produced the design and raw materials himself, and the production cost of a suit of metal armor was only a few gold coins.

How come this set of horse armor, which only uses a small amount of metal, costs him more than twelve gold coins.

"Hey, you must have misunderstood, Knight Kiel. Let's see, the metal on the horse's head, neck, and chest are all double materials used by another batch of cavalry. Specially modified for you. Not only are they made of high-quality steel, but the double thickness, the protective power and the original price of the metal are all a small profit for you."

"You can use it yourself and bump it around. The metal materials are all real. It's worth the price itself, right?"

"Secondly, although the price of this multi-layered protective cloth used for the first time is difficult to calculate, its excellent protective power and lighter overall weight than hard cowhide material. I will simply calculate the price of hard cowhide for you, and you have already earned it. ah!"

Kil rolled his eyes, feeling that Scott was getting more and more outrageous, good guys, it was all his side that took advantage, you all suffered, right?

"In addition, the most important point, Knight Kiel, in order not to delay your schedule, I have called several craftsmen in the Chamber of Commerce who can undertake horse armor, as well as all their apprentices to help you. The work is done. You have also seen how meticulous and hard-working they are, perfectly meeting all your requirements. Many people have been busy since yesterday."

After being told this, Kil turned his head and saw the tiredness and dark eyes on the faces of several craftsmen and many apprentices. It was his fault to negotiate prices.

"Okay, okay, it's the price you said. How much is it, I'll pay it now."

Keir waved his hand. He was afraid of Mr. Scott's mouth. He immediately took out his money bag, took out a pile of gold coins and silver coins, and handed them to the smiling Mr. Scott.

"Oh, it feels really different to receive the coins handed to me by the knight."

Mr. Scott said proudly, and then casually put the money into his purse.

After seeing his actions, Keir asked: "Won't this money go to your Chamber of Commerce's account?"

Mr. Scott raised his eyebrows: "Of course I won't leave. This is a deal between me and you. It has nothing to do with the [Burner] Chamber of Commerce."

Keir was speechless. He was using things from the Chamber of Commerce, people from the Chamber of Commerce, and land from the Chamber of Commerce. In the end, it did not count as a transaction from the Chamber of Commerce.

"I know what you are thinking. The craftsmen have been idle recently. You know, the trade routes are blocked and they have no work to do. Therefore, I will pay the craftsmen and apprentices privately for their work. As for the Chamber of Commerce I will replenish all the materials consumed privately. As for borrowing various facilities of the Chamber of Commerce, hey, I have the final say in the Chamber of Commerce in Dorne Town. Can I use my own things? I don’t know. Bar."

Keir shrugged: "I don't care, as long as things are done."

"That's right, as long as things get done, I'll help you get things done, which deepens the relationship and understanding between you and me. Even if the president or vice president asks, they will only praise me for my good job."

"Yes, yes, you are right."

So, after that, Kil watched the apprentices holding various tools, under the command of several craftsmen, slowly modifying the armor on the blood-licking grass bit by bit.

When the sun was heading west and about to set, all modifications were finally completed.

On the multi-layered protective cloth near the tail of the war horse armor, the old Kent craftsman finally stamped his name and the mark representing his own work.

In this way, the war horse armor is finally completed.

-

After Keir and the others were done, they were about to disperse.

He himself could just ride the armored blood-licking grass back to the open space in the south of the town from here. Mr. Scott and the others disbanded directly, and the craftsman apprentices returned to where they lived. After Mr. Scott said hello to Keel, surrounded by his men, he returned to the town in the carriage of the Chamber of Commerce.

The debtors who were watching the excitement finally had nothing to see, so they dispersed in the fields, driven by the whips that the caretakers kept cracking in the air.

Some caretakers who felt that production was being delayed shouted loudly to the debtors they were responsible for to continue working while the sun had not yet set. They must make up for the half afternoon's work that was delayed by watching the excitement.

But no matter how loud their whips were, the debtors who had seen enough of the excitement returned to their temporary residence in the field, lay down on the land simply covered with straw or hay, and went to rest directly.

Keir laughed at this, looking at the caretakers like a group of people looking in a mirror. They are said to be caretakers, but in fact, like the debtors, these people are also firmly bound to the fields outside the town by the rules of the town.

Field stalks are like the surface of a mirror. The person looking in the mirror seems to be outside the mirror, but actually to the person inside the mirror, isn't it also inside the mirror?

Debtors have to work under the sun every day. Is there anything different about these caretakers? Isn’t it just standing in the sun, getting drowsy from the sun, being bitten by mosquitoes, and being beaten by wind and rain every day?

The vast majority of debtors only work in the fields temporarily, but these caretakers have to work beside the fields all the time.

That is to say, there is no need to work hard, but it is not easy to constantly wave the whip to intimidate debtors into working.

Following the road that circled the town, he came to the south of the town. Before he reached the gate of the vacant lot, Keir saw a figure sitting outside the gate of his vacant lot with a heavy bag in his distance.

The figure still lowered his head and looked busy with something.

Keir muttered something in his mouth, and then his vision doubled, and he could clearly see who the person was from a distance.

Isn't that the craftsman who was commissioned by him to make the wood carving?

Why did you come here now? Didn't you agree to do the deal in the middle of the night?