We may never care about the land we step on, or the stone on the ground next to us.
They've always been there, so much so that everyone is used to it. Compared with the various other exquisite objects that humans like, rocks and soil seem so inconspicuous.
But if you are lucky enough to know a scholar - or even better, a sage.
He or she will tell you.
The weathered soil and rocks that you are accustomed to covering every inch of the Rigar continent are far older than the human species.
The unit that historians and archaeologists use to describe the formation process of these rocks, mountains, and land is called "deep time" - it is far larger and deeper than the concept of "time" that we are familiar with proposed by the White Church. , It has even reached a level that ordinary people cannot even imagine.
People define the alternation of the sun and the moon as a day, thirty days as a month, three months as a season, and finally the change of the four seasons as a year.
The concept of a year is already considered a long time for human beings with short life spans - but even it, no, even an "epoch" with a unit of one hundred years is just a flash in the pan in the face of "deep time" .
Because of "deep time".
It is measured in millions of years.
The volcanoes erupting from the center of the earth brought lava and a large amount of dust floating in the air. After a long time, rain erosion, weathering and other natural forces, they turned into a thick earth - and if you want to If you can understand this concept of "long time" numerically: from the day when human beings were first born as discovered by archeology to now, it has been more than 20,000 years. This period of civilization has flourished, which is quite a long time by human standards. , leaving only two centimeters of dust on the sediment layer.
If you compare it with the Ansisibi Strait or the Grigori Gap, you will clearly realize how small the human race is in the huge world.
The world is changing all the time, and the land we step on and everything we take for granted in this world are far older than us. Just the fist-sized stone on the roadside may be Witnessed everything that happened in the world tens of thousands of years before the birth of humankind——
I wonder if these weathered lands that have remained unchanged for thousands of years have remembered the grievances and hatreds of these small lives that seem to them to be short-lived.
"Puff——thump——"
Hot blood splashed on the ground.
Broken swords, twisted swords, broken shields.
The metal fell into the soil and reflected light, and then was covered by blood.
The mercenaries who accepted this task more or less began to feel a trace of regret in their hearts.
They are mostly people who are confident in their abilities.
Because the mission has been written clearly: the target is the first prince of Avenella, and he is protected by two blue-brand mercenaries.
——One thing to note here is: the mercenary guild will never stop this kind of behavior of killing each other among the same mercenaries, because according to their philosophy, strength is the most important.
You may think this is unfair, but for an organization that puts profit first, this kind of cold-bloodedness is necessary.
The mercenaries who had conflicts due to the mission, the victorious side completed the mission brilliantly after the battle. As we have been emphasizing, the mercenary guild never welcomes the weak. They believe in survival of the fittest. As long as you have enough strength, no matter what you do, it will not violate the rules.
If you reach the top one day and become one of the legendary Red Thirteen, then even if you slaughter lower-level mercenaries wantonly in the hall of the mercenary guild, you will not be arrested by the Sheriff - on the contrary, The mercenary guild will probably still protect you.
Because you are more valuable. Mercenaries who have the strength to complete tasks well can also attract more difficult commissions, and more difficult commissions are equivalent to more rewards - more, the mercenary guild can take 50% of the commission. remuneration.
The value of a hundred green-brand mercenaries with insufficient abilities is not worth the value of one orange-brand mercenary. After all, the lowest level mercenary can make a lot of money.
——Let’s get back to the original point. The mission on the panel this time is to wipe out the entire opponent’s team. This condition and the fact that the opponent’s team has two blue-card mercenaries basically lead to the mercenaries who accepted the mission. Be a blue card or above, and come in groups.
Except for an unknown rookie team composed of several lower-level green-card mercenaries, the other three seven-man teams are all good lineups with one or more orange cards and the rest are all blue cards. of.
The only thing they were originally worried about was that others would get ahead of them, which is why after hearing the sound of fighting, everyone huddled together and rushed here desperately.
But when they really came here and saw the four purple-brand mercenaries they needed to look up to lying on the ground with blood splattered on them, it would be a boast to say that they didn't have any intention of shrinking.
However, the idea of timidly retreating only lasted for a short time. The mercenaries who were accustomed to licking blood with their swords quickly responded by forming a temporary alliance - after all, the reward was awarded by the Sivalier royal family. Yes, even if it is divided into twenty parts, it still has a considerable amount.
The most powerful desire in human nature: "greed" defeated their timidity, causing these people to roar loudly and attack Henry and others.
And just one wrong person passed by, and the roars of many people came to an abrupt end along with their lives.
"Boom -" The stunned green mercenary was the first to die. Except for Edgar, who was staying near the carriage, the other four men joined hands and stepped forward to stop the opponent's attack. Among the attacking mercenaries were Many of them were paired with shields and swords, but the vanguard had no organization and discipline and failed to form a shield wall, and they failed to form any advantage.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" This green-brand mercenary was the first person to die. He came too close and was within the attack range of Prince Edward. Not to mention the previous purple-brand mercenary, facing such a rookie His Royal Highness, the Warrior Prince, handled the situation with ease.
It was not easy to cut through the Stone-style round shield with a diameter of more than half a meter with the sword in the prince's hand, but Edward, who had experienced many battles, did not need to do so. He directly kicked the bottom of the shield hard, causing the shield to break. He lost his balance and leaned forward, then accurately seized the gap and thrust his sword into the mercenary's throat.
"Kill ah ah ah ah!!" There is a big difference between the chaotic situation on the battlefield and the one-on-one duel. The prince is still a little immature in this aspect. He wastes too much time on one target and grabs him and whips him. When the sword was open, another mercenary holding a shield rushed over from the side - but Edward was not fighting alone.
"Huh-huh-" the sound that broke through the air was like a flying dragon flapping its wings with a wingspan of more than ten meters. The sage, who was taller than most mercenaries, held a big sword from bottom to top, from left to right. He held the sword and swung it fiercely.
Kramer, who had a more powerful strike capability than Danlasso's battle ax, directly smashed the opponent's shield that was raised urgently for defense into pieces of wood flying in the sky. Even the metal shield cap was twisted and deformed, leaving deep scars. mark.
"Ah!! Ah!! -" The mercenary, whose left hand holding the shield was directly dislocated by the impact, opened his mouth and screamed in pain with a ferocious look on his face. His saliva splashed in the air, and that mouthful looked awkward because he was too lazy to clean it up. The dirty and smelly teeth were clearly visible to everyone——
"Woo-" But Henry's attack has not stopped yet. The inertia brought by the sword swing at a large angle is extremely powerful. The sage made excellent use of it. He just twisted his body and then used his waist to exert force with the sword. After spinning around in mid-air, he returned to the battlefield with a cassock slash.
"Boom - Clang -" The chainmail ring fell apart, and the bones, muscles, fat, and internal organs moved forward wherever they went.
"Pa--" Blood splattered everywhere, and the warm and smelly blood of the mercenary who was split in half splashed on many people nearby. The green-card mercenaries who rushed in first began to retreat, and The blue and orange mercenaries, who slowed down their pace and deliberately let them die in order to consume the group's physical strength, saw that the situation was about to get out of control and had to fight.
"When - Clang -" Intermediate mercenaries with higher strength and more experience joined the battle, and the situation immediately began to change. First, simultaneous attacks from multiple angles overwhelmed the two royal knights, and one of them was hit by a sword directly on the shoulder. , and the other person was also stabbed with a knife deep into the bone in order to cover his back.
If Henry and Edward hadn't rushed over to rescue them, they would probably have died, but even if they survived, they would not be considered a factor in combat effectiveness in the short term.
"If I had known this, I would have hired a fully armed cavalry team to protect them." Edward and Henry were back to back. Edgar, Minna and Mira on the other side rushed up to cover the two injured people. The knight of the guard returned to the vicinity of the carriage, and the prince gasped for air and said so.
"If that's the case, the chasing force we face will be ten times as large as now, Your Highness." After taking a breath, the sage took another step forward and then split the opponent's head and entered the enemy's formation with an unstoppable attitude.
"Haha... Even if there is a war, Sivalier still has to maintain this kind of superficiality without tearing his face." Edward sighed: "Politics is really dirty."
"Qiang——" He blocked upwards, then drew his sword and turned around. The two people with similar physiques cooperated like old friends, taking care of each other's backs to avoid being attacked from both sides. Henry and Edward successfully blocked an enemy ten times their size. The mercenaries launched an offensive, but the battle that lasted for several minutes quickly made the other side realize that it would be detrimental to them if this continued.
"Sir!" Edward turned his head and noticed behind him, but it was precisely because he was distracted this time that he was unable to perfectly avoid the opponent's attack. A shallow wound was opened on the side of his face, and a few strands of blond hair slowly fell down.
"..." Several mercenaries separated and attacked the people behind them. Henry also realized this, but the mercenaries immediately changed their positions and replaced them with the more experienced Orange Card in front.
"Wave formation..." the sage murmured with half-closed eyes.
This formation is a branch of wheel warfare. Like any other wheel warfare, it is mostly used in encirclement situations or frontal confrontations. The key point is to maintain continuous output to the opponent by constantly changing the soldiers directly fighting, so as to quickly consume them. The enemy's physical strength.
In addition, another advantage of the wave formation is that it can prevent one's own members from being injured. If someone is injured, he will immediately change to behind him, and the uninjured member will continue the battle.
"Damn it." Edward cursed. With a severe numerical disadvantage, they fell into a temporary stalemate after being put into a wave formation by the opponent. However, the few green and blue mercenaries behind them were already fighting with the carriage. Ming Na and the others handed over.
"When - Cang -" The two seriously injured knights of the guard could barely cope with the blue-card mercenaries, while Edgar faced off against two green-card mercenaries holding shields, while the remaining two fought against each other. A couple fell in love with Mira and Minna.
"..." The white-haired Luo An was trembling a little. Although this was not the first time she had stepped into the battlefield, and perhaps not the first life-and-death fight, the girl was still there without Henry. I don't know why I lost some confidence.
"Kill!" The dirty mercenary didn't have much sympathy because she was a little girl. Because of the blue tag hanging on Mira's body, one of the two people who came to this side to deal with her and Minna was One is also a blue card.
When they saw the timid girl who was as unsteady as a newborn deer, they felt joyful emotions from the bottom of their hearts. However, the unmarked blonde girl at the side stepped forward and forced her back with a superb thrust. He killed the blue mercenary holding a battle axe.
"Cowardly!" The bearded mercenary with short make-up spat, then distanced himself and started fighting with Minna. The girl's movement and sword skills were not inferior to those of the Guards Knight, allowing her to fight her opponent at a 50-50 draw. Come, but that’s it, if one more person interferes, Ming Na will definitely die.
"Woo!" Mira forced herself to calm down and judge the situation, then strode forward and stabbed out with her sword.
"Clang-clang-" Months of training have made her skillful with this sword, but the sword-wielding mercenary, who was obviously more experienced in fighting, easily avoided it, and then the sword struck the girl flatly. With the one-handed sword in her hand, Mira stumbled and almost fell down. Fortunately, Henry's training for her took effect at this time. The white-haired Luo An Loli did not retreat but advanced, and she threw herself on the dirt ground to avoid it. The other party grabbed her weak point and slashed with the knife.
"Huh...huh..." The gap in experience became obvious at this time. The gray-headed girl's physical strength was consumed rapidly due to her nervousness. She felt like she was almost out of breath after just one confrontation.
"Hehe." The wretched green-card mercenary who wielded a long sword showed a confident smile. Apparently, he was relieved after discovering that Mira was not worthy of the blue-card level of combat power, so he no longer hesitated at the moment. Giving the girl time to recover her strength and adapt to the battle, the long-sword mercenary stepped forward and slashed at her shoulder with the knife in one hand.
"Huuu!" Mira, whose breathing was disrupted again, hurriedly avoided it without taking a breath. She accidentally choked herself and bent down on the spot and coughed loudly. This behavior almost caused her to choke. Her life was cut short. Ming Na in front turned around and glanced anxiously, but immediately had to parry the opponent's attack. Henry and Edward on the other side accelerated their speed and turned from defense to attack, breaking through the mercenary formation. Blood Splashing, the sage's face was as gloomy as the sea surface of Morbigas in winter——
"boom--"
"Ugh-" Mira, who couldn't breathe anymore, coughed repeatedly and finally realized that she shouldn't do this, was hit in the head by a roundhouse kick from the long-sword mercenary.
"Pa—" Loli Luoan, who fell heavily to the mud, felt her whole head hurt terribly. The long sword in her hand also fell to the side, and the mercenary holding the sword smiled coldly. Mira stepped hard on her right hand when she reached out and tried to take back the sword.
"Uh-" The pain that penetrated her bones made the girl grit her teeth, while the other party showed a mouthful of rotten teeth and laughed unabashedly.
"You're the only one with a blue card, you're ridiculous." The long-sword mercenary with an accent from Avenella used the tip of his knife to fly away Mira's sapphire badge. The girl gritted her teeth because of the pain, and her hair was messed up. There were still a lot of mud stains on his face.
"She is quite beautiful, but it's a pity." The mercenary raised the girl's beautiful face with the tip of the knife. She gritted her teeth, while the other party raised the long knife.
"……go to hell."
The exact same words were spoken by the two people at almost the same moment. The only difference was that the mercenary spoke lightly while Mira spoke at the top of her lungs.
She pulled out the short sword that Henry originally gave her from her lower back, and then when the opponent stabbed her with a long knife, she curled up and stabbed the mercenary's thigh with the small sword.
"Pfft..." The long knife that struck the muddy ground only cut off a few strands of ivory hair, but the small sword in the girl's hand made a stabbing sound, and the leather pants on the inner thigh of the mercenary were completely cut open. A deep wound.
"Ahhhh, you little bastard!" "Stab--" The lower half of the leather pants was torn open by Mira. The knife she just made didn't cut deep enough. Although it was dripping with blood, it didn't really hurt. This mercenary.
"Ahhh, damn it!" The mercenary put away the foot that was stepping on her right hand. This action allowed Luo An to get free, but at the same time, her further attacks were ineffective.
"Die! You little bastard!" The mercenary kicked her in the stomach and kicked the girl backwards.
"Mira!" Minna turned around and shouted, but had to focus on defense again.
"Pfft...cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough." The girl landed next to the carriage. The long-sword mercenary clenched his teeth and walked slowly with an angry look on his face. The leather pants on his left leg were completely covered by the girl. It was cut open and fell down, revealing a thigh covered with black hair and dripping with blood, but in comparison, it was obvious that the girl's own injuries were more serious.
"Woo..." There was a metallic reflection on the ground on the right, and even the small sword fell next to it.
"Is there anything else that can be used as a weapon..." She put her elbows on the ground and kept retreating. Hanging on the side of the carriage was a kettle filled with water, but it was obviously impossible to use this thing to kill people. .
"Oh, do you think hiding under the car will be useful now!" The girl suddenly remembered something. She pulled off the kettle and got under the car, while the long-sword mercenary strode forward and roared before grabbing The white-haired lolita's ankles pulled her whole body out, and at this moment——
The girl came out with something in her hand. At the moment when she was dragged out, she poured the water bottle in her hand on top of the linen cloth, and then threw the long linen cloth hard at the mercenary.
"Bang!" The black linen soaked in water was thrown on the mercenary's injured thigh, but it had no effect other than causing him pain.
"Oh, do you want to kill me with this!" The mercenary showed a arrogant smile, then raised his long knife and planned to give the girl the final blow, but it was just at this time.
"Uh..." The stubborn expression of the white-haired girl who was leaning on the chest of the carriage and gasping for air became blurred.
"What am I...how...clang-" The long knife fell to the ground, and the mercenary knelt on his knees.
"Haah...haah."
"Go to hell!!" The brief sound of footsteps ended with a crisp word.
The white-haired Luo An Loli raised her painful right hand and held the small sword at the same time. At the same time, she thrust her whole body forward and stabbed the short sword in her hand directly into the abdomen of the mercenary who was kneeling on the ground. She used all her strength to rush into the opponent's arms and stabbed the entire small sword in until it had no handle. The damaged internal organs and toxins made the dirty long-sword mercenary widen his eyes and mouth. Blood kept pouring out and dripping on Mira's head and flowing down her long hair.
"Ahhhhhhh!!" The clear but high-pitched shout echoed throughout the Grigli Crack, covering up any other sounds. Mira pulled out the small sword in her hand and stabbed it in again and again. The long-sword mercenary tried to raise his hand to push her away, but in the end he fell back to the ground feebly. He fell to the ground, Mira rode up, and the blood began to spread, but the girl still worked tirelessly again and again. He stabbed the small sword in his hand into the lifeless mercenary's body.
Blood was splattered all over her clothes, armor, and her dirty little face.
"Clang - hoo -" Mingna seized the gap and slit the throat of the blue mercenary. Edgar and the other two guard knights stabbed the last mercenary here from three directions. Edward wiped away the blood and took back the sword, while Henry lifted up the dying orange mercenary, ignoring the begging for mercy in his eyes, and calmly broke his neck.
"Haah...haah...haah——"
Mira stopped when her breathing finally couldn't keep up with the violent movements.
"Haah...haah...haah..."
Severe gasps came from the petite girl's mouth and nose.
Her pure blue pupils dilated at first, then shrank to the point of being as thin as a needle point.
"I...I, I..." Mira raised her hand.
The pain in her head and scarred palms were clearly visible, but what was more eye-catching than that was the blood on her own hands.
"Eh - no, don't." The hilt of the small sword inserted in the dead mercenary's chest reflected the light coming from the top of the canyon. The mercenary's mouth was wide open, and a mouth of rotten teeth and gushing blood and vomit were clearly visible. , his brown eyes looked up at the sky aimlessly.
The muscles and internal organs were clearly visible under the cut skin, and a fishy smell filled the girl's nasal cavity.
"I... don't want this smell, I don't want it!!!"
She hugged her head and squatted on the spot.
"Mira..." Minna looked at her worriedly, Edward nodded to Henry, and the sage walked over.
"..." He touched Mira's head with his hands as always. The girl was guided by the familiar warmth, and then raised her head.
"It's okay..." The black-haired sage looked down at her and said.
"Well..." The restless mind calmed down a little, but then she noticed the blood stains on Henry's clothes.
"Uh-huh -" Pupils shrank into needlepoints again, Mira looked past Henry towards the battlefield behind her, where more than twenty mercenaries died miserably.
Bad memories flooded her mind again.
"no, do not want!"
"Snapped--"
She shook off the sage's hand forcefully, and then took several steps back.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."
"No!!" the girl repeated simple words, just kept repeating them.
"..." Henry responded silently.
"How can you, who are used to killing people, understand how I feel now!" She scolded the sage loudly, then squatted down and hugged her head. After a while, her shoulders began to twitch slightly.
"Let her be alone." Minna came over and said to Henry.
"..." The sage nodded, and then retreated to the back to clean the battlefield with Edward.
