Parnilla under the moonlight has a completely different beauty than when the sun is shining.
Even among the eight moons in the world of Rigar, even when the moon is full, only the largest Xifenke Magic Moon is bright enough when it rises. At other times, only a faint pale blue is sprinkled on the buildings. Above, a vague outline is drawn.
Few people have seen this scene.
For most of the peaceful citizens of Parnilla, night is a time when only the crowing of cocks, dogs and thieves are seen. Prostitutes with heavy makeup stand in the streets and alleys, waiting for the drunkards passing by and the mercenaries who have no reputation. After a day of being decadent or busy-mostly the former-these people will use up what little they have. All the funds are used to get drunk and seek warmth. Each side gets what it needs.
Among these nocturnal humans, thieves are not uncommon. Most of the poor mercenaries and vengeful women are inferior prey. The most beautiful fat sheep are the kind of mercenaries who have just completed a task and want to have a good time. They love vanity and have nothing more than the mercenary tag on their belts. In addition, the money bags that should have been hidden are usually hung there for display in a grand manner.
Show your strength with a bulging purse.
On rare occasions, the darkest side of the city, those who have become slaves because of their unsustainable life, will also appear in the night. But neither the tavern nor the prostitutes would have a good look on them, and even the impoverished mercenaries would suddenly feel emboldened and condescending to shout, spit, and ridicule them.
It is a matter of course here to laugh at the poor but not at the prostitutes.
In this city, which has gradually developed into the commercial center of the empire for more than a century, there is a saying that those who are unlucky do not work hard enough. Those who are also at the bottom are the ones who do the most harm to the people at the bottom.
They flatter themselves in an attempt to gain recognition from the upper class, and at the same time take all the misfortunes of their class as a matter of course. Such ideas are naturally instilled and propagated by high-level personnel. Those big nobles and big businessmen have single-handedly created such a chain of contempt, allowing the people at the bottom to fight and trample each other. Being busy fighting among themselves, they naturally have no time to unite to resist the ruling class.
And the lowest link in this chain of contempt is the slave. They are unclean people and cannot appear in the public eye. The only job he could do was to row oars for merchant ships and warships. He was chained to his seat by chains and shackles. He ate, drank and ate at the bottom of the ship. Once the ship sank, he would naturally be buried with him.
Porters are extremely noble beings in comparison.
Many people are actually aware of the existence of these people, but they turn a blind eye and avoid talking about them, which has become a common practice.
They spread out their time so that women and children from so-called "good families" would never go out at night.
In this way, Parnira during the day and Parnira at night become two cities.
To be fair, the policies of the big aristocrats and big businessmen to fool the people are quite effective. If it were not for the cultural differences between the north and the south, which caused the second generation of immigrants to still not fully integrate into this atmosphere, I am afraid that even this rebellion would not have happened.
In the quiet night, only the faint moonlight fell softly.
Like the most extreme expression of the satirical culture favored by the Lamanites. In times of peace and prosperity, the streets here at night are filthy. On the contrary, in this dangerous and chaotic time, the mercenaries and prostitutes are all gone. The quiet streets and distant buildings show their magnificence under the faint moonlight. The outline can be seen by everyone.
If they still feel that way.
"Da da da da -" The flat hardened cowhide soles of the lightweight leather boots made a sound when they collided with the stone road. Although they were very careful, it was impossible for such a large number of people to get close without making any noise.
What can be controlled is that the volume emitted is not to disturb anyone.
"Stop." The person who whispered this sentence used a fairly standard common Imperial Raman language, and you could tell that they were real Padrosi people.
This group of more than thirty people were scouts under Constantine's command. They took off all their iron armor, neither the plate armor nor the soft chain mail that supplemented the inside of the joints. They only wore armed underwear made of multiple layers of fabric pressed and sewn together, and they were also tight during the march. He held the hilt of his sword tightly to prevent the collision from making any sound.
"There is no light." The scout who just spoke shook his head: "The worst case scenario." He said this.
It was already past 1 o'clock in the morning, and West Funk had already set and would not rise again tonight.
What is shown in the front under the faint moonlight is the flat commercial guild building. The vault is on the other side, closer to the city lord's palace. This is where rare ores and magic-related materials are stored. Since what those rebel mercenaries want is wealth, then this place will inevitably be looted by them.
But the guild's warehouse not only has multi-layered locks but also magic-related protections. Even for people who are well prepared, it still takes a lot of time to unlock them - and that's exactly the problem.
If you were an attacker, what would you most like to see?
The standard answer would be: the enemy is defenseless, relaxed and enjoying himself.
In the dark and silent night, the lights shining in the windows can be seen two kilometers away, and the sounds of people drinking, talking and laughing can also be heard far away. These details were proof that they were letting their guard down, and they were what the scouts hoped to see.
Even though they had already fought, during the day, they learned from some of the captured people about the firm will of many of them, but it was not until this moment that they finally had the real feeling that they were fighting an equal enemy.
At least the command team is very professional and determined.
The new recruits among the scouts became nervous. The temperature in Parnilla in spring is not low, but luckily there is no wind yet tonight. The sense of tension made people's senses more acute. They began to feel that their palms were slipping with sweat and they were about to lose their grip on the weapon's pole. Moreover, the fine sweat also began to make the skin on the back of the neck feel itchy.
Feeling uneasy, many people began to have the impulse to urge all this to be resolved quickly. They didn't need to speak, the scout captain could tell from their breathing and movements like a child with ADHD.
But he and other more experienced veterans just held back, whispering to calm the restless recruits.
This is a task that must be done carefully.
It is common for professional soldiers to look down on mercenaries. They have always looked down upon the professionalism of these guys who come for wealth and are likely to be attracted by the treasure and run to plunder it even on a tight battlefield.
But while looking down on him, if he encounters such an opponent, it is naturally the best thing to do.
It is very easy to deal with an opponent who is low in morale and will surrender easily, who is greedy for pleasure and has low vigilance, and who always exposes his position in a arrogant manner.
The similarities between their professions lead to them having many opportunities for contact whether they are enemies or cooperators. The scouts under Constantine had also heard the briefing before - but that careless officer was a loser under the former Duke Juliande. Although a man who knows the current situation is a hero, he is on the right team, but this incompetent The guy obviously completely misunderstood the information the person above wanted to convey.
"How can this be a 'rabble composed of third-rate mercenaries and incompetent slaves'..." the scout deputy captain muttered next to him. He was also a veteran and had seen a lot, so he could tell at a glance It can be judged.
When attacking the east gate, they stayed behind the main formation, because the main force of the siege was knights and archers with superb riding skills. The scouts led by Constantine, who were better at reconnaissance on foot, stayed beside him and were responsible for protecting him.
The lethal effects of artillery fire that they saw with their own eyes gave them considerable shock, but that was just an advantage in weapons. Without personal contact with the enemy, their knowledge of the opponent was limited to a few words conveyed by people above them.
But now that they are in battle in person, they can read a lot just from the layout and arrangement.
Another scout unit that was responsible for tracking during the day had already seen the mercenaries withdrawing with their own eyes, and signs of activity inside the building could be seen through the windows. But at night it was peaceful, not to mention the flickering lights, and not even the slightest sound of conversation.
Naive recruits may think that these stupid mercenaries lay down and slept peacefully without even a night watchman, but sleeping peacefully on the day the enemy army invaded only existed for them. In the fantasy of this crazy guy.
The purpose of not lighting a lamp was to avoid exposing one's position to attackers. And they did not drink and have fun to celebrate after gaining a lot of wealth, which proves that this is not what they want.
Enemies seeking wealth are not difficult to deal with. You can even reach some kind of agreement without using swords. But people like this who calmly and carefully control their subordinates often only regard wealth as a part of their own plans, and are people who have firm beliefs and want to achieve their goals.
As a professional soldier, such an enemy is the last thing you want to see.
"These southerners seem to be really determined to destroy the empire." The scout captain knelt down and raised his hand: "Card the crossbow, stay here and stare at the door, the others will go around to the right with me. ."
"Be alert and don't hesitate, because your opponent will never hesitate." He explained, leaving ten people hiding in the alley with light crossbows pointed at the entrance of the guild. After that, I sneaked past by taking a detour from the other side.
The scout captain who led the team was originally from Parnilla. He was a mercenary from the poor class and was appreciated and recruited into the army. Constantine's way of assigning important positions based on ability regardless of class, bloodline and origin made him swear to follow this man for the rest of his life. But the feelings of these rebel mercenaries who are going to fight this time, and why they are fighting, in a sense, the scout captain can also empathize with.
When walking through these familiar alleys, he felt a little complicated, and he almost made a big mistake.
"Cha——!!" If the vice-captain behind him hadn't grabbed his collar in time, he would have stepped on it.
"...Phew." He raised his hand to stop the people behind him, and the scout captain wiped the cold sweat from his face with his other hand.
"The fragments of the earthen jar were deliberately smashed into pieces. Glass was not chosen because non-reflective tiles are less likely to be spotted at night." They retreated for a while to ensure that no one noticed the slight movement just now. Afterwards, he breathed a sigh of relief and spoke.
"They know we are coming, and they even know roughly which direction we will come from and at what time." The vice-captain nodded.
"Well, if it had been earlier, even though we had nowhere to hide under the moonlight of West Funk, these gadgets would have been exposed." The scout captain smiled bitterly in a low voice: "It's because our actions are too rigid. ."
"The opponent is not to be trifled with, as you said." The vice-captain took a spear from the hands of other team members and carefully moved away many tiles with the end of the spear shaft to clear a path.
"Follow the footsteps of the people in front of you and don't step on the tiles." He said this, and the group quickly passed the obstacle and arrived at the gate of the guild.
The rebellious mercenaries naturally did not have the key to the guild door, so the door here had long been destroyed and the lock could not be locked, but was only ajar.
"Should I say it was expected?" The deputy captain pointed to the top of the door. If he looked carefully, there was a large vase on the top edge of the door leaning against the door frame. If someone rushed over and pushed the door open, they would definitely It will fall to the ground with a loud cracking sound.
Obviously, these people did more than just put out the lights. In the case of poor visibility, they made a lot of sound alarm defense lines.
"Rope." The captain said, and the two team members quickly took off the thin hemp ropes they were carrying, and then quickly weaved a small net with their hands and feet.
"I'll push -" the squad leader said as he pulled out the dagger, then reversed his fingers to hold the blade and prepare to throw the knife. He squeezed it like this with one hand, and gently pushed open the door with the other hand. Two team members stood under the door holding a temporary net high, and with the captain's movements, the vase became more and more tilted. , and finally landed firmly in the net without making any sound.
"Send a signal to the crossbowmen. After capturing the first floor, light the torch and let the follow-up troops pick up." He said this, and then the people behind him quickly entered the door after giving the signal. Then they closed the door ajar again and slowly crouched their bodies and reached inside.
"Tap, step, step." A rebel on night patrol slowly walked down the stairs on the second floor holding the hilt of his sword. He did not speak and was only wearing a breastplate. He planned to walk to the window to take a look around. appearance.
The scouts hid nearby and lowered their figures. After waiting for several minutes to confirm that he was alone, the captain turned around and pointed at the deputy captain and another veteran, and then pointed at himself, and the two nodded.
Immediately afterwards, the three people moved out like lightning striking in the darkness.
"Wha——" "Chu——" "Gu——" The two men on the left and right held his arms respectively, and the captain directly covered his mouth and wiped his entire throat. The mercenary's trachea and arteries were cut. He was being held down so hard that he couldn't even make a loud noise when he struggled. He kicked his legs desperately, but it only caused his blood loss to accelerate. After confirming that he was dead, they slowly placed the man with blood all over his breastplate on the ground.
"Shasha——" The scout captain wiped the blood-stained dagger clean on his clothes, and then the three of them turned around.
But it was at this time.
Perhaps it was the change in the clouds, or perhaps some other reason, but the moonlight became brighter, spilling in from the window and shining on the wide red-carpeted marble steps of the Commercial Guild.
The smell of something burning reached everyone's noses.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock." The sound of blood flowing on the ground from a man whose throat was cut.
It was a hand cannon, and the match rope on it glowed dark red. The muzzle of the cannon hung to the ground because the man holding it had insufficient arm strength.
Maybe it was because I couldn't keep up, or maybe I ran to use the toilet. Reasons and possibilities are constantly popping up in the captain's mind, but these are actually not important anymore.
"Tick tock, tick tock." The sound of tears falling on the marble steps.
"Dad..." It was a girl with black hair, about sixteen or seventeen years old, who was not well-dressed.
"It's just a ragtag group of third-rate mercenaries and useless slaves!" The nonchalant tone of the officer who sent the message echoed in their ears.
Yes, they should have thought of it. The fact that hateful, ineffective rebels raise their families.
Then why are you still hesitating——! ! !
"The scum of the empire——" The girl tried her best to lift the hand cannon that was too heavy for her.
"Pah!" But before that, the scout captain threw out the flying knife in his hand.
The heavy flying knife thrown by the strong adult man hit her right between the eyebrows, causing her to fall back with the hand cannon. However, the moment she fell, the three of them could see through the sudden bright moonlight. Clear.
The young but not smooth and soft slender fingers showed signs of twitching before death or determined perseverance.
The snake-shaped pole connected to the match rope was buckled.
"It's over."
"Boom!!!" The hand cannon fired into the sky directly hit the ceiling of the first floor. Several pieces of the gorgeously decorated floor were shattered and fell down. The extremely loud sound also echoed in the dark night for a long time.
There were dense footsteps and shouts immediately between the first and second floors.
"Everyone, draw your swords."
"Fight to the death, in the name of the empire!" the scout captain roared loudly.
He raised his sword.
