Things are actually easy to understand.
Combined with all the previous details, the appearance of these people was not surprising at least to Henry.
Mira had guessed something, so the only one among the three who felt at a loss about the unexpected situation was the simple-minded young porter - Galeva, who looked confused, and then his expression became nervous when he reacted: " Silenced? Is it because we just talked about remuneration and they want to steal the money? "
The conclusion he came to was based on the normal reaction of ordinary civilians, because they were just talking about money and these people appeared right after. He connected the two and thought that it was the exposure of money that attracted the robbers to attack him. That's a very correct idea.
But Henry and Mira were also present.
This is the difference between professional adventurers and ordinary civilians. After being exposed to this industry for a long time, your way of thinking will become very different from that of outsiders.
Because it is a profession that dances on the edge of a knife, it is almost instinctive for everyone to quickly judge the threat level of the enemy.
——On the opposite side is a group of 6 people, one at the front and the other in the alley. He wore cotton armor and carried a dagger in addition to his one-handed sword and small shield. A few of them wore snow-proof hoods, and none of them wore mercenary tags.
These superficial details are the easiest thing to see at first glance, but with enough knowledge, you can go beyond this step.
There is nothing wrong with each of the above conditions listed individually, but if you put them all together, and these people move quickly, there are no problems with the location and number of people they choose, and the formation they deploy, and their stances also look good. If it’s a matter of hard work——
To an expert, the sense of inconsistency is too obvious to get rid of.
They are both very strong and powerful in body shape and can act decisively and quickly. But the equipment is not suitable for this kind of strength. It is an entry-level choice for low-level adventurers, and all 12 people have the same equipment. Mercenaries are not so unified. This approach seems to be deliberately overdone.
So their identities are really easy to guess.
"Is he a soldier of the count?" Mira asked Henry, deliberately using Laman language.
"Yes." The sage nodded.
"Ah? The Earl wants to kill us, but why? Money? It really is because of money!" Galeva panicked, his face full of incomprehension and disbelief.
"Yes, but not entirely right." Henry said without looking back.
The soldiers were still surrounding the outside and were not in a hurry to rush in. This was because there were still people walking around outside. But after the townspeople who were coming and going saw that both ends of the alley were blocked, they silently quickened their pace and moved away from this place - obviously, they knew what was about to happen here.
"I have a good impression, right? I think he is a distinguished and great Earl. He also punished those bad guys, the bad guys we know." The sage spoke in a playful tone, and Galeva nodded repeatedly: "I just said that the reward was a bit too much. It's okay to give some back!" He still didn't fully understand the situation and said this loudly. Apparently he thought that these soldiers had some misunderstanding and wanted to pass this way. clarified his position to them.
"Idiot." Mira rolled her eyes at him: "Have you seen any upright Earl who would feel that the money was too much after paying the reward, so he sent soldiers in disguise to take it back?"
"Uh--" Galeva was stunned, and Henry continued: "Don't you find any sense of violation? With such a powerful and hateful Earl, why would the people of Suao Marina still use " Is it common sense that outsiders need to be warned that soldiers resell arms and extort travelers?" He hit the nail on the head, but the stunned young porter still looked stupid and didn't react for a long time. The Luoan girl next to him was unhappy and explained to him in a cold voice: "Because he knew about it a long time ago and allowed this behavior to spread."
"But -" Galeva said one byte, because of the good impression in his heart and the common people's natural humility towards the nobles, they instinctively wanted to refute and defend.
"You want to think about why he did such a thing, of course it is profitable." Mira gave him another look, and the townspeople outside finally cleared the area, and the soldiers also drew their weapons. Picked up the small shield.
"Then why did he execute that person? In that case, shouldn't that person be one of his own?" Galeva was confused, and he still wanted to speak up to defend the Earl. This is the inertia that a country with a long history like Suomir cannot stop, even if he is more theoretically biased towards the Lamanites - the class tradition is too deep, and the idea of civilians obeying or even blindly obeying the nobles has become a Of course. So much so that this young man is more willing to trust a "good nobleman" whom he has only met once than a companion who has been traveling with him for several months.
Mira sighed and no longer planned to answer. After all, the time he traveled with them was too short. She pulled out the dagger at her waist and took a vigilant posture. Henry next to him shrugged and said, "It's for people like you and someone as upright as that respectable young man."
"Do you know which country is most fond of catching corruption?" The soldiers began to approach, slowly and with a cautious attitude. Although they had the numerical advantage, Henry and Mira, both of whom had orange card levels and wore plate armor, should not be underestimated.
"Well, a country that doesn't tolerate any corruption?" Galeva predictably gave the wrong answer.
"Wrong." The sage took a step to scare them away, and then continued: "It is a country where corruption has been deeply rooted."
"If there is a country that does not tolerate any corruption, there will be no such people in the first place. Because the environment simply does not allow such people to emerge."
"On the contrary, the country is hopeless. Because the rulers and senior officials know that corruption is deeply entrenched and cannot be eradicated, and they are even a part of it, they like to make things bigger and publicize a person who has violated the law. Act as if you are fighting to the death against these.”
"This is a politician's show, for the good people and the people below. He is quite successful, isn't he?" Henry and Mira turned their backs and stared at the soldiers approaching from both ends: "At least you still have Many people, including that young man, believed it.”
"...Have you known it for a long time?" Galeva lowered his head. He knew that he was of no use, and because of his complicated mood, he shrank to a corner where he would not be in the way of Henry and Mira. inside.
"The corruption behavior of people at the bottom cannot be an isolated case. Although after the incident, the people above will definitely quickly distance themselves from the relationship and say it is the arbitrary behavior of one person or a small group of people. But the reality is not like this. This kind of thing is often It spreads from top to bottom, so when reselling military supplies and extortion begin to appear in large numbers at the grassroots level, it only means that the top management is completely rotten."
"Without the acquiescence of the people above, how could such a thing happen?"
"It's just that they all maintained the superficial harmony without making a big fuss. After all, if it really caused a big fuss and attracted the attention of the royal family, the earl would not get any good results." After Henry said this, he stopped talking, and Galeva said a little gloomily. Head hung.
"So that crossbowman acted without authorization and failed to silence him, but returned with injuries, and the number of troops was reduced. After causing such a big thing, the earl couldn't hide it, so he dealt with him." Mira also finally added.
"You guys talk so much. I originally thought they were just some mercenaries who didn't know the world and wanted to beat them up and get their money back. Now that you see so clearly, I have to keep you here no matter what." Because of the dialogue. One of the intruders at the front of the alley said this because the whole process was in Lamani.
"Don't you talk a lot?" The Luoan girl retorted sarcastically, and the other party shrugged nonchalantly: "Yes, but I have this margin."
"Because you are at a disadvantage." He said this, obviously showing off.
"A guy with a bad personality." Mira flicked the dagger in her hand and lowered her body.
Disadvantages. Although this man looked a little arrogant, he was indeed right.
The three of them only brought short swords/daggers. Although Mira and he still wore plate armor because of the sage's caution, the lack of weapons like swords in their hands was an irreparable shortcoming.
In comparison, all 12 of the opponent's men were armed with one-handed swords and small shields. This dual-wielding method is not limited to disadvantages when fighting with long swords. It is obviously much stronger than the short swords of the two.
Experienced combat professionals like Mira know that in the absence of suitable equipment, one's own winning rate will be greatly reduced. This is true even with better training and superior physical abilities. Weapons are used to make up for the lack of skill and physical ability. Humans can defeat stronger beasts because of spears and bows. Without a familiar sword by his side, even a one-on-one encounter would be disadvantageous.
What's more, they also have advantages in numbers and terrain.
This alley is just big enough for 3 people to line up side by side, and our combat power is only 2 people. If the alley is wider and cannot be defended by all 6 people, they can focus on breaking through the opponent's defensive weaknesses; if it is narrower and only one or two people can stand, the pressure they need to face will be less. Up some.
But this location can just accommodate 3 people, and 6 people are divided into two rows. Even if they break through, there is still a second line of defense. In a 1 vs. 3 situation, even if you are wearing armor, you will be restrained, and then attack from the weak point without protection.
The choice of people, location and timing are all very reasonable - but this also raises questions about the Luoan girl.
If you took off your sword and only carried the dagger because you were entering the fortress and were not allowed to carry large weapons, then what happened when you walked to this alley?
This is not the only way to go. Why did my teacher choose——
Isn't this like - "Ah -" Mira turned back and looked at Henry.
"Click——" The sage twisted his neck, and then his eyes began to glow blue.
“Quiet alley, very nice.”
"Mita-Tapaur (what's going on)?" "Eovalan, Leo (don't worry, go ahead)!" The other party's calm attitude and glowing eyes made the soldiers a little panicked, but they They still had the advantage of equipment and numbers, so the three of them formed a cone and rushed forward.
"Whoa -" The one-handed knife slashed down. This was the first blow. If he ducked backwards, Henry would be forced towards his companions, and the other party would take the opportunity to close in and compress their living space. But if he chooses to block, it will be very bad. With the short dagger in his hand, he will be within the attack range of the two people next to him the moment he blocks.
In addition to the one-handed swords that will attack from both sides, the opponent in front of him is dual-wielded. The small steel shield with a diameter of only 25 centimeters held in the other hand can also be used as a steel glove to attack him fiercely. face door.
During the battle, there was not much time to think. Almost at the same time as the opponent rushed up, Henry also rushed out.
"Dang - Cang -" The sage blocked the falling long knife with a dagger with one hand. The expression of "succeeded" appeared on the face of the soldier, but in the next second he saw Henry let go of the dagger and let go. It fell freely, and then with lightning speed, a hand reached out and pinched the back of his sword - "Oh no!" the soldier cried out. If it was a double-edged sword, he could pull it sharply and cut it. But the back of the one-handed knife is not edged.
"Ha - ah -" "Bah ba ba ba -" The soles of the leather shoes scratched the ground. The soldier immediately took measures to lower his center of gravity, but he only felt the force coming from the one-handed knife. It was simply impossible to resist. If he had made a decisive decision and directly dropped the weapon in his hand, he would still have a chance to save it, but it was this moment of hesitation that he was unwilling to drop his weapon that made him completely fall into the rhythm of the sage.
"Axi!" Because this man was pulled forward by Henry, the two soldiers next to him who originally slashed with swords could only stop in a hurry for fear of hurting their teammates. The man in the middle was pulled to stagger, and the action of waving the small shield was also a bit cheap, revealing a huge gap. Henry accurately grabbed his wrist, and then twisted: "Crack—— "
"Dang Cang——!" The small shield fell to the ground, but it was not over yet - after releasing the twisted wrist, Henry directly moved his fist from bottom to top with a powerful and heavy swing towards the pro. Bing's right elbow was struck away.
"Crack——!" "Uhhhhhhh!!" The soldier whose entire arm was broken in the opposite direction had already lost his strength in one encounter. "Dang Qiang——" The sage didn't even look at it. He stepped on the one-handed knife that fell to the ground with his leather boots and slid it directly to Mira's side. The Luoan girl immediately picked it up, holding a dagger in one hand and a one-handed knife in the other, and then used the increased attack distance to push back the enemy who was also approaching at the same time on the other side.
Her approach was much more conservative, because there was Galeva next to her, a tall and powerful guy who didn't know how to fight.
One side is a brute force assault, while the other side is conservative defense. This way they don't have to defeat the enemies on both sides, they just need the sages to open the passage and evacuate. This approach is already tacit for the Luoan girl and Henry, and they don't even need to communicate verbally to have this tacit understanding.
"Pray." The sage said to the soldier whose right hand was broken.
"Assi?" He was covered in cold sweat because of the pain, and his face was pale. He almost wrote "What the hell?" on his face - this sentence obviously confused him a little, and Henry added calmly: "Pray. You can pass out."
"Boom——!" The sage took a heavy step, and the ground shook as if it was the kick of an earth dragon. He lowered his focus, and then suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed the other person's throat. "Ahem——" The soldier was immediately suffocated, and Henry raised him with one hand, using his body as a shield——
step.
Step out.
"Bang!!!!"
The air seemed to be still for a moment, and then was torn apart by someone.
The remaining five soldiers, who were half a beat too slow to react, were knocked off their feet by the powerful impact. With a height of nearly two meters and a body weighing 100 kilograms, the power he unleashed was shocking. He knocked down six people on the opposite side by himself.
"Ah uh--" The soldier who had his cotton armor pierced by two long knives from the friendly forces luckily fainted and no longer had to feel the pain. Henry, after knocking everyone together, stopped and then raised his head. Shoulders, take a deep breath.
"Bang!!!" The Druid rune lit up, and the punch passed directly through the body of the soldier at the front.
"Wow——" "Ahh——" "Dang——" The soldiers who were knocked out and hit the wall were lying on the ground with bruises and fractures everywhere, wailing and rolling around in pain or dying.
Although these soldiers of Suomir are similar in physical appearance to Henry, they are powerful.
But it's not the same level.
"Taqiang——" The sage's foot stepped on the one-handed knife that fell on the ground, and he lowered his smoking fist, his face expressionless. The fight lasted only 10 seconds, and all six people on this side had fallen to the ground, and at least one of them was still alive or dead.
The passage to leave was opened, but Henry stood still.
"Qiang——" He kicked all the weapons that fell on the ground aside to prevent these people from recovering and picking up their weapons and charging again.
On the other side, those people who were temporarily forced back by Mira were planning to rush forward, but at this moment they only felt that their bodies were stiff and unable to move.
"Han-Iao... Aseta (he has no use of... weapons)." Someone murmured such words. Because of the silence in the air, the people present could not listen. It is clearly audible in the ears.
The background sound is wailing.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The unloaded weapons were piled in a pile nearby.
"Ha-" He breathed out, clenched his fists and slowly turned around.
Those eyes were emitting a dazzling blue light in the shadow of the alley.
"Vitan...Haviol (fucking...monster)." The soldiers swallowed. There was a man on the ground on the side where Henry was knocked down. He stood up holding on to the wall. While his attention was on this side, he quietly pulled out a dagger and rushed over.
"Boom - bang -!" The sage punched behind him without even looking. The powerful force directly shattered the man's nose bones and front teeth. The fallen teeth were mixed with saliva and snot. and blood spilled, and the man with his eyes turned white fell heavily on his back to the ground.
"Dang——!!" "Dang Cang——" His dagger fell to the side, and after seeing this scene, those who still had strength among the people on this side trembled and no longer dared to climb. rise.
"Joseph! Jose!" The soldiers who were still standing on their own feet finally succumbed to their instinct of fear. They shouted loudly what seemed to be the names of people on the West Coast, but Mira knew that it was Suomir language. It means "run quickly".
The sound of footsteps grew smaller and smaller, and they quickly fled from here.
The Luoan girl breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Galeva. The young porter squatted down holding his notebook, and Mira looked back at Henry. The sage, whose eyes gradually turned back to gray-blue, glanced at the dying soldiers and said, "Weapons and small shields." Rip it off. Sell it for money."
"..."
————
————
On the way back from the weapons store, they had some more money in their wallets, and also brought two more small shields and a one-handed knife for emergencies.
Galeva didn't say anything, and neither did Mira.
If the companions were people from the peaceful and numb citizen class in the big cities of the Padrosi Empire, they would most likely hide aside and tremble during the battle, but after the battle, they would jump out and accuse the injured people. Taking the equipment to sell for money and leaving the wounded where they are is too cruel and callous.
But such a naive guy will most likely end up being stripped of all his property and thrown into the slums with his throat cut open.
The sage is not the all-powerful Holy Mother who saves everyone and saves everyone.
The choices Henry made were always the right ones, at least in Mira's eyes. When fighting can be avoided, he often does so, such as the dragon lizards he encountered when escorting mining, or the soldiers he encountered on the bridge.
But this also means that when he does take action, there will be no other solution to the matter.
Although the sage is almost omniscient, he is helplessly not omnipotent.
Because the human heart is a very complex element, sometimes just a few words can change everything, and sometimes it doesn't make any sense no matter how much you say.
In the end, simple means are the most effective.
It is true that he can take the high road to avoid the chance of being alone and surrounded. Even these private soldiers of the earl still maintain the appearance of obeying the laws of the kingdom, so they will not openly draw their swords on the street.
But that just delays the time when these guys show up.
As long as the earl has this idea for a day that "these mercenaries are so ignorant that they want so much reward, let's teach them a lesson in private" and use private soldiers to do dirty work without authorization, then they will come to look for him. Troublesome things will still happen.
So Henry deliberately triggered the conditions to allow these people to appear, and then directly and unilaterally killed them with overwhelming force - in the final analysis, it was a restraint measure.
Let the earl realize that this is a hard nut not worth chewing, and he will start to weigh the pros and cons, and as long as they do not further touch the earl's bottom line, this matter will pass like this.
Thinking from the perspective of interpersonal relationships of survival, Henry deliberately led them to the alley in order to cut through the trouble quickly and solve the problem quickly.
but.
Maybe it's more than that - Mira looked at her teacher's back.
He is angry.
Henry is not a person with rich emotions. To outsiders, he may always have a calm face, but after being together for so long, the white-haired Luoan girl can understand it.
That kind of suppressed anger, as if the muscles all over his body were tense and even the air was stagnant around him.
She had seen him like this once, many years ago, in Thoradin. At that time, he also entered this state because of some unreasonable things. The situation this time is indeed very similar when I think about it.
An organization with a long and intricate history and unshakable traditions casually decided to kill a certain person due to its own reasons.
Scrawled and casually, like crushing a bug, it doesn't take other people's lives seriously.
They didn't care at all about how beautiful that person's mind was, and they never wanted to understand it. Just because it offends one's own interests, or trying to use one's own merits to gain recognition from above to please, one unilaterally decides the end of the other person's life.
Reasonable people among a group of fanatics will not end well, even if later in history and even in the era when people with good intentions know that these guys are wrong.
But there was nothing they could do.
There was nothing he could do.
Sages are not omnipotent.
People who are unfamiliar with him or those who have just come into contact with him will be surprised by his omnipotence and have the illusion that this man can do anything. But Mira, who is inseparable, understands that compared to the things he can do, Henry regrets that the things he failed to do are the vast majority.
She suddenly remembered the incident at the monastery she met in Ashenil. Although the scale was different, the corrupt practices in these local departments were very similar. The original matter was resolved within a few words between Henry and Edward, who was still a prince at the time. Independent of this institution, unaffected but more powerful departments directly intervene. This is the best way to solve this kind of problem - but in Suomir now, even writing a letter to summon the Queen , but she was powerless to do anything about such matters in the far north.
After all, it was already extremely difficult for her to protect herself.
And even if the earl and his subordinates were uprooted, because of this environment, it would only be replaced by another person who would soon become corrupt.
The change had indeed begun, ever since that day when the sage used himself as an opportunity to make the queen take that belated step and make the great swordsmen realize that they had taken that step.
But it is not easy for a country with a long history like Suomir to truly change.
No one could do anything to the earl and many nobles similar to him in the kingdom. Even if they knew that he was sending his men to do this kind of thing, Henry could not do anything.
After this, there may still be many soldiers who are unwilling to join in the conspiracy and be silenced, and they will still be rampant here. Until the day the end comes, these people will continue to live their lives happily like this.
So the power that explodes with both hands.
It was just his humble, inconspicuous resistance.
A wise man is someone who brings change to the world.
But what if the world itself is unwilling to change?
Mira had not thought about this problem in the past, because the young kingdoms on the west coast where she was born were always in chaos, and their political power and country were always precarious. But because of this, they had a strong hope for survival and change. As she was born there, she naturally had this established idea that if something was right, it should be done.
But this land is different on the East Coast.
Historic Padrosi and Suomir.
People here hate change.
From top to bottom, even if they are dissatisfied with the current life, they are more inclined to go on with humiliation.
Just like the innkeeper would warn them of the danger, but when they saw the soldiers coming around, the townspeople chose to turn a blind eye and walk away quickly.
It's also like Galeva, who obviously grew up in Porusaro, but instinctively wants to speak up and defend the nobles.
They are afraid of change and reject anyone who cannot fit into this rigid, traditional and conservative atmosphere.
For example, the situation of the Luoans spread to the entire country and even the entire east coast, but on the west coast, there are still people like Edward in Avenella who will stand up for them, there are still those who are willing to respond to him, and there are still those who think this kind of thing Wrong citizens.
So Avenella became a second home for the Roan people.
But there may not be such people on the historic East Coast.
Both the Lamanites and the Thuomirites. Despite their perceived differences, the two countries are very similar in this regard.
"It's really hopeless."
Looking up at the blue winter sky, the white-haired Luoan girl let out a long sigh.
