Mercenaries and Adventurers

Kiel agreed with the craftsman Conquinals to use a bandit's head as a reward for the craftsman to help add the barrel of the gun to the blade. Afterwards, Keir hurried back to his tent, packed all the unnecessary things into his backpack and put them under the tent bedding, and he went to the gate of the camp with light clothes and found the knights and militiamen who were waiting for him to set off.

Knight Crowe called on a group of spear militiamen to accompany him. He himself didn't need guards, but in order to hone the militiamen, he tried his best to not get involved in the battle between the militiamen and the bandits, except for command.

As soon as Kiel arrived, Knight Crowe announced his departure, and the others in the camp made defensive preparations, trying to build the camp simply before he returned after scouting the vicinity.

After that, they walked out of the gate of the camp that was being surrounded by snow-covered walls, and began to investigate around the bandit's lair.

The weather has been fine recently, but the temperature is still very low, so the snow that fell last time is still covered in a thick layer in this mountain forest where only bandits are active. Moreover, due to the sun during the day, the outermost layer of snow on the ground was melted with a layer of snow, and as a result, it was frozen hard by the cold temperature into a layer of ice shell wrapped in snow.

It is very inconvenient to walk on it. Everyone has to break through the ice shell on the surface before they can move forward on the snow.

Seeing that the team was moving slowly, Knight Crowe rode forward on a monster-like strong horse, and rode in front of the team himself.

Not to mention, since both his horse and himself were armored, the horse could easily crush and push away the ice crust and snow on the ground. Kiir and the militia behind can easily walk on the 'new' road that has been opened up.

Keel felt that this was similar to the monsters walking in the snow-covered forest before, but one was pushing the ground to clear the snow, and the other was sliding on the snow.

The mountain where the bandits' lair was located was relatively steep, and the surrounding mountains did not give way too much, so they had to stop and go, constantly looking for a suitable path for the team to advance.

Knight Crowe would sometimes let Kiel use an ax to cut down nearby trees in a small open space or a place with relatively flat terrain, and let the militiamen use ropes to drag the felled trees to the place he chose.

Simply making these dragged trees form a circle, he was on the horse, holding a sheepskin map roll, and marked it with charcoal.

Kiel looked curious and asked in a low voice.

Knight Crowe didn't hide his secrets, and explained to Kiel: "These places are more suitable for establishing fixed scout outposts. The field of vision is relatively wide, and the terrain is flat and suitable for building simple wooden buildings. After that, just arrange one or two sentries and give them With a wooden whistle and a mobile combat patrol between several outposts, the entire line of the outposts can be blocked."

Kiel nodded his feet and looked up at the parchment in the knight's hand. Starting from a **** spot, it was obviously their camp. Along the way, several small black spots were connected along the bend, which happened to be the bandit's lair. half surrounded.

Then, Knight Crowe added: "Actually, there is not much need for it. The level of the bandit gang is really not very good. Don't forget, it is just a practical training for the militia after all."

Keel barely understood what Knight Crowe said. For the knight, these very amateur bandits are not difficult. He can easily command the militiamen to destroy them, and the establishment of camps and outpost blockades, which cost so much trouble, is probably mainly for training the militiamen. experience of.

Keir asked the knight on the road, did the militia training in the past few years have these things he saw?

"Smart boy. The training in the past few years is indeed different. Basically, it is what the baron needs, so I specially conduct corresponding training. Most of the training has worked, so don't say it. After finishing speaking, Knight Crowe leaned down and patted the top of Kiel's helmet.

Keel shook his head at the sound of the thud, and then it should be.

Probably because the temper of the conversation was aroused, or it was a bit boring for everyone to walk in a very quiet mountain forest, so Knight Crowe talked about the militia training in the past few years.

"In the first two years, it mainly played a propaganda role. Let the people in various places in the county know that there is such a thing. So after the training, I took the militiamen and went around in various residential areas in the county. Turn. Haha, the effect is very good. In the first year, residents were asked to participate from the city of Kendall, and after a year or two, young people were selected in various villages and farms.”

"Nowadays, not only the adult villagers are very willing to join the militia training every year, but even some wealthy families who have some combat training are willing to let their children join in."

"Does it make a difference?" Keel asked.

Shaking his fingers, Knight Crowe said, "It's not the same. Whether it's a strong body or a smart fight, it's very different. I believe you will understand this later."

Keel nodded.

With that said, the group of them had already circled half of the mountain where the bandit's lair was located, and they were right behind the entrance of the bandit's cave. Seeing this, Knight Crowe said to Kiel: "I remember you said before that you can climb up from here, and there is a vertical patio leading to the inside of the bandit cave?"

Keir squinted his eyes and looked at the surrounding environment, confirming it with the thrilling night in his memory. After thinking about it, he said: "Yes, it should be nearby. At that time, I took the rescued people to climb from there Come out, and then slowly come down in the dark along the most gentle place on the side of the mountain."

Looking at the steep mountains ahead, Knight Crowe asked with a smile: "It's covered in snow, can you find the place you walked in the dark again?"

Kiel lingered on the spot for a while, and reluctantly said, "Shall I give it a try?"

Seeing that the knight agreed, Kiel first climbed a little way up the mountain ahead, then turned around and looked at the woods at the foot of the mountain. He looked at it for a while, until his eyes were stung by the sunlight reflected by the snow, and then he squinted and slid down from above.

"I found it. The protruding forest on the left is the place where I came down to avoid the bandits." Keel said confidently.

"Are you sure? It's closer to the entrance of the bandits' lair than where we are now?" Knight Crowe jumped off his horse, unfolded the parchment map in his hand, pointed to their current locations, and what Keel said The location of the woods, as well as the location of the entrance cave to the bandit's lair.

The forest is not too far from the entrance of the Bandit Cave, and there is only a mountain angle between them. If there is no mountain blocking, you can even see each other directly.

Keel looked again, and finally confirmed with certainty that it was indeed there. After all, if memory can deceive him, rational thinking will not.

Considering that after they escaped, they could see the flames at the entrance of the bandits' cave, but they couldn't look directly at them. So the only place is there.

Seeing that Keir was sure, Knight Crowe put away the sheepskin roll: "In this case, you and I will go up and have a look? Do you have the guts, Kiel?"

Knowing that there would be nothing wrong with following the knight, Kiel immediately agreed.

If he hadn't seen Lanisa knights fighting monsters before, and showed the huge gap in combat power between knight-level fighters and ordinary fighters, Kiel really wouldn't dare to go up with Claw knights.

But now, he was really curious. Everyone said that he was the most powerful man in Kendall County. How powerful is the Crowe Knight?

-

Knight Crowe didn't ride a horse. Since the woods were very close to the entrance of the bandit's lair, in order to prevent the bandits from hearing the sound of people and horses, Knight Crowe asked the militiamen to wait where they were just now.

Don't start a fire, you can rely on each other for warmth first, or you can eat the food that the militiamen saved and brought with them.

And he and Kiel walked through the woods first, and when they reached the edge of the protruding woods, Kiel walked ahead, breaking a branch and testing the way.

Keir didn't randomly search for the path he walked in the dark before, he first looked for the most peaceful place to test. Unexpectedly, he easily found a flat ground under the snow.

Pushing aside the snow blocking the way all the way, they slowly climbed up.

Unlike walking on snow-covered flats, climbing a mountain with snow on the ground is a very painful thing. Not just clearing the way along the way as you climb up.

You can't climb on the snow, you have to be down-to-earth, which makes Kiel keep pulling the front with his hands, so that they can go up.

Fortunately, the snow on the steep slopes is not as thick as on the flat ground. The snow that fell in the past few days can be submerged to the thigh on the flat ground, but it is not so thick on the hillside, it only reaches the calf.

Although it is also very thick.

Another point is that when climbing a mountain, you have to be very careful not to fall and fall. Once you fall down and roll down, it's a trivial matter to climb it again. When you roll down the mountain, hitting the hard rocks in the snow is the most terrible thing.

Even though Kiel is protected by armor, the armor is more of a defense against swords and swords, and it has only a small defensive effect on blunt impact damage from hitting rocks.

Keir didn't want to suffer from this, so when he climbed up, he was careful and cautious, cautious and cautious.

"Keir, I didn't see that, are you such a cautious person?" Knight Crowe joked behind him.

He intended to say some witty words, but considering that behind him was a powerful figure in Kendall County with a very high status and strength, he still took back the witty words that slipped out of his mouth.

He just said dryly: "If you fall and roll down, you will probably be seriously injured on such a steep hillside, right? I'd better be careful."

"Well, that's true. It seems impossible to get up a large group of militiamen on such a steep place. A dozen or so skilled militia captains may be able to do it." Knight Crowe muttered a few more words in a low voice, but Kiel didn't Hear what was said.

It took the two of them a lot of time to climb to the place where Kiel led the people to escape.

It is very conspicuous here, and other places are covered with thick snow, a piece of pure white or white and gray. Only the rocks here are not covered by snow.

After getting close, it was discovered that the patio leading vertically to the cave inside the mountain was continuously gushing out streams of relatively warm heat.

Both Kiel and Knight Crowe were very curious, how could there be such a large amount of hot air coming out here. Keel took off his gloves and tested the temperature at the mouth of the patio, and found that it was much warmer than the surrounding cold air.

He opened the mask and smelled it carefully. There was a lot of burning firewood in the air, and there was also a complex smell mixed with many other things.

After thinking for a while, Keir suddenly realized why the heat kept gushing out from here.

It turned out that because the cave in the mountain was very dark, the bandits must have lit many fires for lighting in order to illuminate. Other seasons are fine, those fires and the air they heat are nothing. But in winter, the temperature inside the cave is significantly different from the temperature outside, and the heat will be very conspicuous.

The surrounding snow is baked and melted, and it rises to the sky continuously.

However, there is no black smoke from burning firewood in the hot air from here. It is estimated that the black smoke generated in the hall where the bandits are mainly active gathers at the top of the hall, while other hot air flows along the passage and the vertical patio. gushing upwards.

Thinking about it this way, air must have flowed in from the entrance of the bandit's lair. After all, hot air is flowing out from here, so the entrance of the lower cave must be filled with cold air.

Simple air pressure theory. The air in the cavern was heated by the lighted fire, expanded and lighter, and then emerged from the vertical patio in front of Kiel.

After the air pressure in the cave bottoms out, the air from the entrance of the cave will flow in from high to low.

Keir rolled his eyes and briefly relayed his findings to Knight Crowe. Knight Crowe didn't make any fuss about it, and he said directly: "Well, if we close the bandit entrance Seal it, then the bandits will be suffocated inside. After all, their air is heated by the fire and run away." After speaking, he pointed to the patio.

It was difficult for Keir to give Knight Crowe solid oxygen with his mouth, but after thinking about it, the result was actually similar, so he nodded tentatively.

"Very good, this is also a way to solve the bandit's stubbornness. If they want to rely on the narrow terrain of the cave to resist, they will do so at that time. Block the entrance of the cave first, and when they realize that something is wrong, send someone to block the connection above. The outside patio hole. Seal it firmly. It is estimated that they will be finished in a short time." Knight Crowe said.

He went on to say: "However, this is only a backup method. If possible, I still hope that the militiamen can get enough training."

Kiel immediately said: "If we attack the bandit's lair by force, it is estimated that there will be many militia casualties. What should we do?"

Patting Kiel's armored arm, Knight Crowe said confidently: "Precise and accurate command will greatly reduce losses. And as long as a large number of bandits are killed outside their lair, casualties caused by the final storming of the cave can be avoided. After all, even if they fight to the death in the end, they must have enough combatants. A small number of people cannot withstand the forceful attack of the militia."

Kiel and Knight Crowe were talking here, but the bandits passing by under the patio vaguely heard someone talking above, and they immediately reported to the bandit leaders in shock.

Although the bandits didn't realize that Kiel escaped with the people from here before, but this time, in the face of the militia's special settlement, these bandits also took precautions against this possible entrance and exit.

There are five elite bandits with axes in their hands. If anyone dares to come down from here, no matter how many people come, they will die here. Come to an ax to kill one, and the five bandits can even take a break in rotation.

The five bandits who had been doing nothing before could vaguely hear the sound of someone talking at the exit of the patio above their heads. As elites, they knew that they did not have anyone on duty outside. So it's just the militia.

Thinking of this, the bandits immediately turned pale with fright and sent someone to report the news.

The four bandit leaders immediately sent people out to expel them.

As one of the bandit leaders with a ferocious style and the strongest desire to fight, the decapitated Delang personally led his elite men from the entrance of the cave, and used the simple wooden ladder they had prepared to build on it. As long as you climb up the wooden ladder, you can directly reach the top of their lair. A few more steps lead to the location of the vertical patio.

In order to be on the safe side, De Lang called on fifteen of his elite men, all of whom were old men who had been with him for a long time. Unlike the newly recruited scattered bandits, most of these guys have followed him out to do work at least five times. They are all good fighters in battle. They are fierce and brutal, which fits his style of work very well.

A dexterous bandit climbed up the ladder first, followed by three or two bandits carrying large wooden shields, then De Lang himself, and then other men climbed up the simple wooden ladder one by one.

The terrain on the steep hillside was complicated, and it was impossible to deploy everyone at once, so the bandits had to rely on each other, carefully kicked away the snow on the ground, and walked to the top of the patio.

Two people.

When he saw that there were only two people, De Lang breathed a sigh of relief, and his subordinates also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there were not a large number of militiamen gathered here. If the militiamen established an offensive position on their heads, then they How to defend the entrance of the lair cave? Come out in vain and be shot to death by a crossbow from overhead?

The most terrifying expectation did not appear, and all the bandits breathed a sigh of relief.

But De Lang followed and saw that something was wrong with these two people.

One person is wearing a thick and exaggerated steel armor. If the armor is not fake, it must weigh at least a few hundred kilograms? Can humans support this weight?

If it is true, how much effort is required to do it.

The other person is also in armor, and this person's armor is much more normal. Although the armor that protects the whole body is still strange, at least the hard cowhide armor is not heavy. If it weren't for De Lang himself being a bandit, it would be impossible to buy armor and weapons in the town, and he himself wanted to get himself a suit of armor to wear.

This person has a lot of weapons, including axes, swords, shields and daggers. The other person wearing thick armor on the opposite side has a much simpler weapon, just a long sword on his waist.

They quickly approached the two of them, barely half-surrounding them on the rugged and steep hillside.

"Take off your armor, put down your weapons, and I promise not to kill you." The beheaded Delang smashed his double-edged ax to the ground, and then slapped the big iron ring armor on the outside of the animal skin coat with his hands. . The bandits around also made gestures and shouted for their leader: "Surrender quickly, we will let you go, as long as you have one hand and foot, we will let you go. Usually we don't leave anyone alive, haha, Not thanking our leader, huh?"

Kiel and Knight Crowe glanced at each other. Kiel's eyes were full of seriousness, while Knight Crowe thought it was very funny.

The knight put his hand on the hilt of the long sword at his waist~www.readwn.com~ and said to Kiel: "Speaking of it, Kiel. I haven't seen your skills yet. I promised you before that I will train you to be I am like this, but if your ability is too bad, then I will have to spend a long time, and you will also have to spend a lot of time."

Kiel fixed the ax behind his back, then drew out his long sword, and fixed the metal shield with a damaged wooden surface on his left hand, ready to fight: "Please rest assured, I rely on myself It was spelled out with my own skills, and there is no moisture in it."

The knight let go of the hilt, hugged his arms, and stood still: "Show me, let me see your skills."

"Okay, please look after it."

On the opposite side, the bandits twisted their noses in anger. These two guys were too arrogant to take what they said as air. De Lang is rough but fine. Although he fights wildly, he is not a fool. His years of banditry have taught him the difference between self-confidence and arrogance.

Seeing that among the two people on the opposite side, only the weaker one will be fighting for the time being, he also selected three good players to take down the man in the hard cowhide armor.

It wasn't that he didn't think that all the people would surge up together and defeat the opponent, but his vague warrior instinct told him that if he did so, death might come immediately.

Waving his head, Delang waved his hand: "You three, take that guy down for me." His eyes were fierce, and his words were not pleasant: "As long as he dies. His guy is good, I want the axe, other things Whoever grabs it belongs to you."

The three bandits immediately became excited. Kiel's weapons and equipment looked good. Not only did he look at the past, but now he was facing the militia's massive attack. Full armor or metal shields were good things to save his life.