The Laman Empire, which has been extinct for centuries, has left a brilliant legacy to the world, including practical engineering projects such as aqueducts and sewers, as well as philosophy, political structure, and even the system configuration of the army. Excellent reforms and inventions that are closely related to the improvement of spiritual civilization.
The achievements of this great nation that lasted gloriously for nearly eight centuries fundamentally defined what “human civilization” is—and to this day, the great achievements of the ancestors of the Lamanites Traces of invention still exist in every corner of the entire Rigal world.
Among the three major empires that exist in the world today, Rumanato and Padrosi were founded directly by the descendants of the Lamanites, and even the Otolo Empire, which was unified by tribal peoples, was in the imperial palace. The shadow of the Lamanite Empire can often be seen in the courts, even in the construction of cities and armies, as well as in all aspects of people’s lives.
"Successful people are always similar, while failed people each have their own failures." Many of these words said by the philosophers from the Laman Empire are still worth savoring today, but they are still shining brightly. Among the legacies of the endless summer of civilization, perhaps the most controversial thing among today's scholars is the existence of poetry.
It is hard to imagine that an empire that lives on conquest and expands arbitrarily would invent such a wonderful carrier that cannot be hit with eight poles.
But perhaps, as the Luoan poet we mentioned before, Victor, who is also incompatible with his entire nation, said - human beings have an innate desire for beauty.
Paper and pens are expensive consumables. The only reliable carriers that can record what they sang are stones and clay tablets - this is the first and oldest form of poetry. Poets of that era often also worked part-time as engineers and philosophers, but all this Great changes took place from the moment the Lamanite Empire fell.
Civilization is like a dandelion seed, taking root and sprouting everywhere.
A more effective carrier was born. It is called a song, and is paired with music played by musical instruments. These words, which were originally just words with unique beauty that only stayed in the circle of a few people, were written faster than the wind. Speed spread to every corner.
People who create poetry are no longer limited to well-informed scholars. It has become a very common thing that men, women, and children can comprehend and experience. This may be a kind of degeneration, at least in traditional Lamanism. The poets seem to be like this, but as time goes by, it is undeniable that these troubadours who can be seen everywhere do better than the traditional poets of the past.
Paper will rot, clay tablets will crumble, and even if they are engraved on cast iron, which is known for its sturdiness, it will be covered with a layer of mottled rust over time, making it impossible to read the words on it - but it is fragile, it seems The seemingly unreliable word-of-mouth transmission, but the music that may have been composed six or seven hundred years ago is sung softly with a melody that has not changed much.
——Destiny is a wonderful thing.
Those poems, which are not worth mentioning compared to the great and eternal powerful and immortal Lamanite Empire itself, still survive after the baptism of time, but the country itself has been wiped out.
"..." The brisk melody was heard in the distant sky. The language used by Emmanica was not the lingua franca of the West Coast, but Mira could vaguely understand some of the words.
"That's a song written by lovers separated by the sea when they parted. ①" Emonica hummed softly and turned her head to look at the curious white-haired girl with a smile in her eyes: "One side belongs to the defeated La La. The other was the daughter of a nobleman who later became an important family in Padrosi. In this era, the two people who were destined to be separated did not curse the vagaries of fate, but expressed their love for each other in poetry. thoughts."
"It would be great if this song could be transmitted to the distant other shore - they thought so and left this song." Emmanica smiled, while the white-haired Luoan girl used her The pair of bright eyes looked at each other seriously for a while, and then nodded seriously with a small face.
"It must have been conveyed." Mira said. Emmanica was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "How do you know?" She came over and rubbed the other person's soft hair, and Mira said, " "Ugh~" she closed her eyes, and the horse she was holding next to her nudged Almonika with its nose. The blonde girl giggled and touched the side of the horse's face: "Okay, I won't bully you. Master."
"Emonica, isn't it proof?" "Huh? What kind of proof?" Mira said after shaking her head. Emonica tilted her head again. She was a little confused and didn't react for a moment. come over.
"It proves that the singing has reached the audience." The white-haired girl nodded seriously, her tone firm.
"...Yes." Emonica stayed for a while, and then a smile slowly appeared on her face: "They must have achieved happiness."
"You two, walk faster." Joshua in front turned his head and waved in the general direction.
"Yes, yes -" The sky was clear and bright, and the air after the rain was very fresh. The group of people walked on the slowly downward slope, and the birds that came out to look for food were chirping, temporarily suspended due to the wind and rain. The summer cicada now began to chirp continuously again.
The heavy rain, which lasted all afternoon and night and only stopped this morning, was just the vanguard of the stormy season of June.
The price of a night's stay in the hotel built on the roadside where we stayed last night was slightly more expensive than the ordinary hotels in Avenella and Sivalliers. This was because of the food in the Koli Conrad area. It all relies on trade, and most of the people who come here are mercenaries or merchants with a little money.
When Henry and the others checked out, the dark clouds had basically dissipated. After they replenished their supply of fresh water, seasonings, and purchased a lot of bread and bacon with added salt to prevent them from spoiling too quickly in the hot weather, the blazing sun began to show its power.
In less than five hours, the puddles of water left by a night of heavy rain had shrunk from covering the entire road to one that could be completely avoided by just turning around and taking a step.
Even the soil in some higher places has turned dry white - the four of them were not very well prepared before, but now they have purchased two more large-capacity water bottles at the hotel.
In the hot weather, water consumption is also greater than before. The creek that can be easily found dozens of kilometers ahead is not so easy to replenish because it winds up to this section of the road, far away from the urban area of Corey Conrad. There are fewer and fewer traces of humans on this side. Except for a few paths leading elsewhere, everything else is covered with tall weeds.
Under the direct sunlight, the exposed skin was soon covered with a layer of fine beads of sweat. And these sweat beads are then dried in the sun, and then sweat again, and are dried in the sun again.
"Gudu~Gudu~" Mira took off the newly bought kettle from the horse. She liked it very much, not only because this kettle was a unique style made of large bamboo sections, a specialty of Corey Conrad. It smells like a plant. Also because its price is only one-fifth of the soft-skin kettle.
——The white-haired Luoan girl is still essentially a good and frugal child as before, even though her income and expenditure over the past six months have shattered her past understanding of the "quantity" of "money". . "Don't spend money if you don't have to. Even if you need to spend money, make sure your income and expenditure are balanced." This kind of thinking still exists in the heart of Mila, who is afraid of poverty, and I am afraid it will accompany her all the way in the future. Go down.
The days of sitting back and forth were still going on. Although she still had some savings, she couldn't help but start to become a little impatient.
Fortunately, the hotel where the employment task was issued was about to arrive. As long as the task was completed, they could get the reward directly from the hotel owner.
The content of the mission can be simple or difficult, because it is not decided by the mercenaries themselves. The escort missions that Henry and Mira had experienced in the past with the team of the Chamber of Commerce in Ecasta were similar to the current mission. There were not a few hotels that issued such missions at the Mercenary Guild. Most of them The requirement is for mercenaries with a blue card or above, and the duration of the guard and the number of people required are described in detail.
The hotels closer to the city-state of Cory Conrad are usually the first to reach full capacity. The hiring price is around two Ella silver coins per person per day. After reporting the mission, the mercenary guild will register the mercenary's badge and name. Send a raven to inform the innkeeper.
The duration of the stay is generally between a week and half a month - this does not mean that the storm will only last for such a short period of time. On the contrary, the typhoon season of Morbigas actually starts from June to September. Mid-month. If you just need to hire a mercenary to stay here for three consecutive months, the expense will be quite large.
The shop owners are locals with many years of experience. They can judge when the wind and rain will be the most severe and the kingdom's patrol troops will not go out, so they roughly estimate this period of time and seize this time. Hiring mercenaries for a period of time to guard.
They are businessmen, and it is their nature to be prudent. Two silver coins a day with food and accommodation included and you only need to stay in the hotel seems to be a good deal, but it is just like the incident that Henry and Mira once experienced in Ecasta - if you are unlucky Well, this amount of money that seems easy to get will become your last income.
Before deciding to accept this mission, calm down and consider that there is a condition like "if someone comes to rob you, you must fight hard". Most people will choose to weigh two silver coins a day to see if it is really worth it.
Returning to the original point, the so-called skilled people are bold. Even considering such risks, there are still many mercenaries who will take on such tasks. When Henry and his party arrived at the hotel, the mission description of the mercenary guild said, "On the left is a blacksmith shop and a tannery shop, and on the right is a stable and a chicken farm among the stables." Such easy-to-identify features , they happened to meet a group of mercenaries who seemed to have just returned from the port.
The reason why these people attracted Henry's attention was because they had neat clothes. This was certainly not Corey Conrad's patrolling army. Coming from the opposite direction and having neat and similar armor, they could only be mercenaries. The original meaning of this word refers to the organization - a regular mercenary group.
This is indeed true when you think about it. Individual idle mercenaries are not reliable, and no one can predict the possibility of them turning back for money. Therefore, directly hiring an already famous mercenary group is a safe choice.
Mercenary groups with a good reputation are like craftsmen in various professions. They deeply understand that only by making a name for themselves can they obtain a truly stable income. Therefore, if one of the mercenaries If a member of the group betrays their employer, they will take the initiative to clear the door.
The communication method of people on the West Coast is often the use of ravens. We have mentioned countless times that paper is expensive, so in fact, in most areas, people use torn strips of cloth to write messages.
Of course, considering the fact that not many people are literate, these so-called messages are often just graffiti with symbols of native dialects.
Returning to the original point, although they have the raven, which is a faster transmission method than the rider, these mercenaries from the mercenary group do not seem to have received the message at all. On the contrary, they look more like I just finished another task, and then came directly to the hotel to report.
"That is to say, I am employed stably every year, so I have arranged my schedule. After completing a task, I can come back here directly. I can rest and complete another task at the same time. It is professional and efficient." Use this detail as an answer. After the question to test Mira's observation ability was raised, the sage got an answer that satisfied him very much.
"Neighing-" The horses made a little noise, because there was a small amount of water in the potholes caused by human movement at the intersection outside the hotel. After storing the horses in the stables, the four of them followed the mercenary group in front. Go in.
"Oh, Memphis, you are here." The store owner is a middle-aged man with a goatee. After he saw the row of mercenaries in uniform uniforms in front of him, he quickly walked over and followed the leader who was 1.8 meters tall. The big brown-haired man immediately gave him a warm hug, and it was obvious that the two of them were old times.
"I'm counting on you this year," the boss said. The mercenary named Memphis nodded, but then turned back and looked at Henry and his party behind him.
——He obviously noticed the existence of Joshua. After all, an orange-level mercenary can still hold the position of a cadre even in such a regular mercenary group. In addition, judging from the appearance, it is obvious that he is not a local. The existence of Henry and Mira, just as the sage noticed each other, Memphis was also attracted by the combination of these four people at a glance.
"Are the four people over there our colleagues this time?" Memphis, who had her hair on her forehead and sides tied back into a short brown ponytail, said this, and the owner of the hotel only noticed at this moment. Behind the mercenaries were Henry and the four of them.
"Oops! Sorry for neglecting everyone, please come up and check and register your identities!" The thin middle-aged store owner said this, and the four of them looked at each other and took a step forward.
The week-long hotel security work officially begins from this moment.
…
Notes: ①: The song described in the article is actually "Far and Away" by Ai Nakajima, because I like it very much, and it just happens to be needed for the plot. (To be continued.)
