The sunny weather that lasted for a week and a half changed on Wednesday. The continuous drizzle that started in the morning blurred the horizon in the distance. The air became obviously humid, and correspondingly, the temperature began to change. dropped.
But just when passers-by felt that the rain that had been holding for more than a week should have lasted longer and harder, the dark clouds quickly dissipated at noon and the sun emerged again.
"Although the sunny day is nice, it will make people feel annoying after a long time." The words of the traveling businessman passing by were muttered by the three of them, but fortunately it was not the middle of summer, and the trees in the warm south were also warm in autumn. All the leaves will not fall off, and if you can use their shadows to enjoy the coolness from time to time, you will not lose to the high temperature so easily.
After coming out of Parnira, the winding road goes around the forest first to the east and then back to the north, pointing towards the big cities in the central region. This part of the road is mainly made of mud and paved with flat stone slabs to enhance the structure. It is Pader Common main road standards in Rossi. But Henry and the others were not heading to the central region. Although there were some small villages on the road where they could receive mercenary commissions, none of these villages had developed to a particularly large scale due to the presence of professional merchant stations.
From this point of view, there is a huge gap between Avenella and Padrosi, who have just begun to develop.
In the early days of development, hundreds of independent businessmen established various small trading stations and hotels on both sides of the prosperous trade roads to provide merchants with trade and rest. However, as the scale grew larger, they had to prepare for more professional and larger inns. concession. The merchants traveling through the main roads are either traveling in business groups themselves or are small and medium-sized individual traveling merchants traveling in groups. Rather than purchasing and selling a small amount of goods with low profits in small exchanges along the way, they are more likely to Rushing back and forth between the wholesale markets of the two big cities, specializing in bulk transactions.
Therefore, on the main roads in the Padrosi Empire, you will not see the trading posts and privately built small hotels that can be seen everywhere on the West Coast, but large professional stations with three or four floors, a huge area and good supporting facilities. .
Individual mercenaries rarely go to such places to look for work. Although robbers and various wild beasts do exist due to the long main road, the tasks here are mostly undertaken by large mercenary groups. The process is just like the first work Henry and Mira did in Ecasta, which was a escort mission from one point to another.
This kind of stable, point-to-point job that is monotonous and lacks change is what ordinary mercenaries dream of, because it means that they do not need to run around to accept jobs every day to make a living and be hungry for a while. This is also the reason why most people want to join a large mercenary group if they want to grab a head - but what Margaret wants is an adventure rather than a journey, so they naturally have to avoid this lack of Location for small commissions.
Although any mercenary activity is risky, a seemingly stable escort job may suddenly capsize in the ditch and die without any body due to a series of reasons. But as mentioned before, although Margaret was out for "adventure" "Yes, if something really happens, let alone whether it can afford it or not, the mercenary guild will definitely face great trouble and pressure.
All in all, despite the ignorance of the client, the client is still looking forward to an "exciting and unknown adventure" with great interest. Others, including the various responsible persons of the mercenary guild and Henry Mira, are trying their best to do what they want to do. But it is to avoid risks and unknowns, and to control the situation within a controllable range.
The east coast is the birthplace of the mercenary guild with a long history, and Parnilla is a key first-tier city-level metropolis. The manpower and material resources of the mercenary guild headquarters here are unimaginable. Their tentacles and intelligence network go deep into the surrounding area, and their power is so huge that it covers a wide range. There are even rumors that "the mercenary guild is the real manager of Parnilla".
This is in line with reality to a considerable extent. After all, if it were not so, the mercenary guild would not be able to become a giant cross-border organization. However, their relationship with the local government and the nobles is mutually supportive. Precisely because they do not touch certain things, with the acquiescence of the royal family and the great nobles to turn a blind eye, this organization can survive in a low profile. It has grown to this day.
Some things are better left unexplained. It is best if the dark history and complicated relationships in the development and growth of the organization can be buried deep underground - let's leave it to its original place. All in all, thanks to the strong strength and network of the mercenary guild in Parnilla, local mercenaries are able to obtain detailed surrounding intelligence when taking on tasks, and they can do things with twice the result with half the effort compared to their colleagues on the west coast.
Mira has a deep understanding of this after taking on this task.
Based on the rough map and precautions provided by the mercenary guild, they planned their route for at least half a month.
After leaving Parnilla, the current destination is a place called Chester, located in the southeast outside the city, like the other 1,800 Laman towns. This name is unremarkable and popular, but it refers to an ancient town with a history of 600 years. In ancient times, Chester existed as a nearby transportation hub to more southern regions, but due to the rise of the Lamani Empire, Main roads were built on the flatter terrain on the other side, and the town has retained its appearance ever since, without becoming more prosperous.
Most of the local young people will go to the more prosperous Parnira to find jobs when they reach adulthood. The town survives in the shadow of Parnira and cannot grow, but it has retained many classical Lamanite buildings. .
For thousands of years, wars have often affected military towns and first-tier cities. In addition, as city-states expanded, old buildings were naturally demolished. But by chance, Chester, which is neither of the two, has preserved a large number of ancient Lamanite ruins with complete functions.
Therefore, in addition to the mercenaries who came to look for work, Chester also had an astonishing number of artists and high-status foreign tourists.
This also shows its good public security environment.
The town is relatively safe inside, and as a relatively large residential gathering point with many small commissions, Chester is a perfect starting point for Margaret's adventure.
However, all this must be avoided to this enthusiastic client. Although she may be able to understand what he said, the happy look will probably disappear and become dejected.
The wheels of the carriage ran over the dirt road that was slightly damp due to rainfall. Even though it was only a light rain, the muddy road still made the riding experience miserable.
The cheap flatbed carriage does not have any soft padded wooden seats and will vibrate whenever the wheels hit small rocks or the like. On a sunny day, the relatively smooth and hard road is fine, but if it rains and becomes muddy, it will We can only move forward slowly. Once the wheel gets stuck in the mud and is pulled with brute force, it will sink deeper and deeper and even eventually damage the axle. Although this is still in the suburbs of a big city, this situation will also add a lot of trouble to the journey.
Among the three horses that Henry and the others purchased, except that Sage and Mira rode standard high-quality war horses, the horse that pulled the cart was a much cheaper mid-range draft horse. The latter is much "stupid" than the former, and is not as smart and spiritual as the war horse, but because of this, it is easier to tame. If a packhorse pulled a cart and walked normally along the road in a straight line, even a layman like Margaret would be able to understand the maneuvers with a little instruction.
Henry and Mira guarded both sides of the slow-moving carriage at an oblique angle, one behind the other, one behind the other, and guarded against others. Although most places in Parnilla were more peaceful than those on the west coast, Robbers and robbers still exist.
The sides of the road that became muddy and difficult to travel after the rain are excellent ambush points for them. Speed is life. The larger bandit groups in the areas surrounding the big cities in Padrosi, which has better security, will be quickly eliminated. And the thieves, who are composed of twos and threes of down-and-out mercenaries and gangsters who have no real reputation, mostly ambush on foot. Therefore, when the weather is fine and the road conditions are good, the traveling merchants only need to swing their whips to speed up the carriage, and they will Being thrown far away.
Only on rainy days when the roads are muddy and they cannot escape even if they want to speed up, will they have a chance of success. This is why many individual travel businessmen avoid traveling on rainy days.
However, Henry and the three of them look like mercenaries. Although two of the members are women, the white-haired girl who is nearly 1.8 meters tall and the sage who is 1.95 meters tall are riding on horseback wearing breastplates. It's enough to make most people with evil intentions retreat.
After all, there are only a few desperadoes, and even robbers will cherish their lives. Padrosi's laws and regulations are far from as strong as those on the chaotic West Coast, where there are and are not the same customary laws, where the penalties for petty theft and injury to human life are very different.
Although the irony is that all this is not for justice, but just for profit.
Parnira is an important large port city, and there are also many tourists and merchants in the surrounding area. Human instinct is to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. If the cost of traveling due to law and order chaos is high, either spending money or risking your life, more people will choose to stay in their hometowns like the people on the West Coast. Labor and consumption power cannot be freely circulated, and urban prosperity and commercial prosperity are nothing but empty talk.
Taking human life will lead to a bloody and cruel siege, and for petty theft, mercenaries like Henry and the others, who look like they have no luck but are full of thorns, are naturally the next choice.
The only ones who would choose them to attack were the hungry and reckless men - and the stupid green man in front of him who rolled out of his hiding place with fallen leaves all over his body.
"Stop, stop! Hand over the money!" Perhaps because he was hiding in the bushes and could not see the whole team clearly, this young robber, who looked like he was from a farmer at first sight, stumbled and rushed towards the sage. After standing in front of him, he looked up and saw Henry riding on horseback like a giant from myths and legends. For a moment, his feet were weak. The threatening words he spoke were not to mention imposing and fierce, and could not even be fluent. Arrive, stammering like a young boy facing the beautiful girl he likes.
"..." Henry turned back and glanced at Mira. The sage shrugged and the white-haired girl rolled her eyes. Even Margaret, who had never met the robber in the rear, was not frightened by him at all. The noble lady grabbed the reins and was stunned for a while, and then after reacting, she covered her mouth and snickered softly.
"Are you serious?" Due to the arms control laws of the Padrosi Empire, the poorly dressed robber only held a 30-centimeter dagger in his hand. He held this in one hand and stood on the heavily armed In front of Henry, he seemed very courageous at first glance - so the sage spoke and asked these words that directly touched the other person's heart.
"Of course!" But perhaps it was the desire to retreat in his heart that made him feel ashamed. The robber mustered up his strength and shouted loudly, while taking a step forward. In response, Henry, who was the vanguard of the team, grabbed the reins, stepped on the stirrups with his legs, and patted the horse's belly. The horse neighed and under the sage's command, it straightened up and kicked out with its front legs. This powerful and intimidating action made the robber sit down on the ground.
"Eh-" He used his hands and feet to distance himself, and Henry, who returned the horse to its original posture, turned sideways and put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"I, I'll get out." Two consecutive intimidating movements were enough. The robber, who understood the difference in strength between the two sides, turned around and ran forward without looking back, covered in mud. The sage retreated into the group, while Mira in the back rolled her eyes again.
"Isn't this guy's escape direction the same as our heading direction?" she said, and Margaret finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Clear and lively laughter echoed under the clear sky with a few white clouds floating, and how can human foot strength be compared with horses? After the three of them set off on the road again, they ran for a while and the bandits started walking slowly again. came into their sight again.
The rookie thief who heard the sound looked back and glanced back, almost making his eyes pop out. He subconsciously felt that Henry and the others were not going to let him go and chased after him again, so he ran away again.
The splashed mud covered the back half of his shirt. After running halfway, he felt relieved that he had left Henry and the others behind and walked forward slowly. But after a while, the three sages walking slowly forward appeared behind them again, and the robbers had no choice but to run away again.
In this way, Henry and the others slowly moved forward, while the robber Mr. ran for a while and walked slowly for a while, then ran for a while and then walked slowly for a while. It wasn't until I was so out of breath that I couldn't run anymore, that I stopped and looked like I was going to kill or chop them into pieces as you please, panting heavily and hesitating and hesitating at Henry and the others: "You, you, I...I...don't"
"Huh?" The sage stopped and looked at the other person condescendingly. Only then did the robber notice some noises and people talking in front of him. Looking along, he realized that he had arrived at Chester Little House. town.
He looked around, first at the town in the distance, and then at Henry and the other three. Finally, after being in a daze for a while, he raised his hand and patted his forehead hard.
"Ah ah ah, doesn't this road only lead in this direction!" The robber, who was holding his forehead and looking speechless, made Henry shrug again, while Mira from behind rolled her eyes again.
"Ding--" A silver coin fell on the ground. The dirty young man was stunned for a moment, and then looked up at Henry above.
"Stop doing such dangerous things and find a job in the circus."
Leaving behind some faint words, Henry and the three of them walked towards the gate of Chester without looking back.
The dirty and failed robber just stared at their backs and stood there for a long time.
