The incident in Chester was so loud that it was almost certain that it would attract the attention of the Imperial Inquisition. Those paladins who are extremely sensitive to heresy and have high executive power will not let go of werewolves.
But it takes time for the news to be spread and executed. Before the lord and his wife are arrested and sentenced, or executed on the spot due to arrest, or the commission is canceled due to the death of the client, the reward of more than a thousand gold coins hanging on the heads of a group of people will feel like damp. Lanterns hung in the courtyard on summer nights attract moths to the fire.
With a bounty hanging on his head, he naturally had to travel less roads, so cheap and easy-to-use public carriages were no longer a viable option. In order to ensure mobility and cope with complex environmental requirements, they need to repurchase horses and some new equipment respectively - which means that the 800 gold coins stolen may have to be reduced a lot.
Except for Mira, none of the five people in the group had horses to ride on. Even if the petite Lu Lu and Ling could share one horse, including the pack horses, they still needed to buy 4 more horses because they needed to buy more extra horses. supplies, so that when traveling in areas far away from the main roads, there will be no shortage of rations for use.
Since Constantine led his army to defeat the southern border, a large amount of valuable supplies were transported from the south to Padrosi. This also includes many fine horses bred from the Abu Sera trade. The abundant quantity caused the price to plummet, but even such a healthy walking horse with a docile personality still costs 15 imperial gold coins to start. Although this cannot be compared with the price of a serious war horse, which starts at 100 gold, it is still not affordable for most ordinary adventurers who cannot spend more than 5 gold coins on all their personal equipment.
The place where Henry and his party are now located is called Mileno, which is still within the area surrounding Parnilla in a broad sense, about 20 kilometers away from Umpelo. It can conveniently receive massive supplies from the seaport for transportation and trade. At the same time, it is also on the only way to the north on the land. Therefore, even though the town is not very large, business is prosperous. The market for adventurers in particular is extremely booming.
There are a variety of swords and weapons of unknown quality but at least fairly well-made. Our Mr. Sage and the girl from Luoan were already moderately successful adventurers when they came to the east coast, so they have never been there, but Milano is almost The East Coast is a well-known place for budding adventurers to find newbie gear.
And when they come here now, they have some thoughts of hiding in the forest - after all, in theory, there is nothing more suitable for adventurers like them to hide than a place with a large group of adventurers coming and going.
——Theoretically.
There are also different levels of adventurers.
Although self-examination suggests that there are still some shortcomings, anyone with a little bit of vision can see that their group is well-equipped.
The streets and alleys of Milano are dotted with stalls, and the stalls are filled with young guys from the Padrosi border, and occasionally little girls.
Most of them come from poor families and are the second or last sons in the family. Because they are not qualified to receive a share of the family property or simply cannot support so many people at home, they have been pushed into the path of adventurers early on with half abandonment. . Except for a few who come from hunter families and bring their own bows or simple wooden crossbows, many young people can only wear commoners and come here empty-handed with a sum of money that they have accumulated over the years but are still struggling to buy themselves. The guy who will eat from now on.
By the standards of our Luoan girls, the swords and leather-wrapped shields with a price tag of 1 gold coin at the completely unfashionable stall were already regarded as high-end equipment in their eyes, and more people still hesitated for a long time. Cheaper spears and inferior shields were chosen.
Not many people can afford armor. Even a piece of soft linen armor costs about 1 gold coin and 10 silver coins. This is the dilemma for novice adventurers: they need complete equipment to earn their first pot of gold as an adventurer before they can purchase subsequent equipment, but most people cannot earn this because they cannot afford decent clothing. The first pot of gold.
Without knowledge, without training, it is even impossible to identify whether the goods sold by the smiling merchant who greets everyone by saying "I'll give you a special price" can pierce the goblin's chest or whether they will collapse at the moment of force. break.
Most of their fate was tragic. All the money they earned from completing the commission had to be spent on repairs and purchasing new equipment, or they died in an unknown corner with inferior equipment.
Compared with them, our Luoan girl can be said to have embarked on a smooth and safe road from the beginning.
The world may never be fair, but most of the time people prefer to believe that everything is the result of their own efforts and ignore the advantages they have.
An adventurer who wears metal protective gear, holds decent weapons, and has a cheap transportation horse can already be regarded as somewhat famous in an area. Although he may not know advanced sword skills, horses are just means of transportation. When he gets there, he dismounts and fights on foot. But relying solely on the carrying capacity and mobility brought by horses, he did not have to rely on public carriages that could only move point-to-point between towns. He could quickly and efficiently get to the target location to complete the work.
The simple but reliable metal armor can turn most serious injuries into minor injuries or no injuries, saving the user from otherwise fatal attacks. Coupled with a weapon of decent quality, at least you don't have to worry about the blade curling or breaking easily during the battle. Adventurers who can meet such standards are probably the mainstays who have been in the industry for more than five or six years and have both luck and strength.
Based on the above, when Henry and his party appeared on the streets of Milano wearing metal armor and carrying well-made weapons and even various spare weapons, they took risks with the novices who were dressed in cloth and had little money in their pockets. The difference between them is as great as that of commoners and nobles.
In theory, it can be hidden in the forest, but in fact, those who have the eyes to look for it can still easily find the traces.
But this is actually enough.
The bounty issued by Lord Chester is on a first-come, first-served basis. With such a high reward, a large number of people who cannot see their own strength will definitely want to try their luck. No matter how good they are at fighting, they are still at a numerical disadvantage. Once they are entangled by the miscellaneous fish that come one after another and waste their energy and stamina in vain, they will be forced into danger by the veterans who are really threatening.
Therefore, if you first go to a place where there are many adventurers, the characteristics of adventurers who are very different from civilians, such as traveling with weapons, will be washed away, because this place is full of people who travel with weapons.
Even the tall figures of the Sage and Kaleva no longer appear unique due to the large number of Bei Lao people who eat in the same place, leaving only the more distinctive details such as the white hair of the Luoan girl and the silk, The faces of strangers on the road are covered with hoods and other clothing.
The outdated mercenary license plate was hidden, and the precious mithril brooch was put away. Weaken characteristics and hide from the public.
They were just a group of well-equipped, but not so rare, ordinary adventurers.
This strategy is enough to get rid of most of the enthusiastic novices, and you can concentrate on dealing with the more experienced trackers before the commission is revoked.
– But let’s get back to where we started.
Because the vast majority of the market is geared toward adventurers, Milano's equipment prices are generally relatively low. There is no treachery, and low prices naturally bring low quality. Although the people at the roadside stalls greeted them from time to time, and their line looked like a team of big benefactors, the sage never stopped.
The Luoan girl looked out from the edge of her purple wool hood and looked at the scene around her. She noticed that there seemed to be a certain pattern in the seemingly random stalls and buyers around her, so she consulted her teacher.
Henry explained with his abundant knowledge as always. Although theoretically he was visiting again after a long time, some knowledge was common and could be learned to a certain extent just by observation.
Not only the Luoan girl, but also everyone else around her listened quietly to the wisdom narrated by the steady voice.
"Miscellaneous, all kinds of stalls, like these. Spears, crude wooden bows, weapons transformed from farm tools and sickles, axes and swords of different lengths." He said: "These are either made by country craftsmen. , or those who are interested in scavenging from dead adventurers are selling second-hand or refurbished weapons and equipment."
"Their products basically have no reliable quality assurance, because even they themselves don't understand what the products they sell can do. Generally speaking, there are basically hidden wounds or damage, even if the surface looks complete, Just some rough renovations.”
"But if a discerning person spends some time searching, he may indeed be able to find quite good second-hand equipment at low prices at these stalls, but the seller does not know the goods."
Several people followed the elements mentioned in the sage's explanation and found that many stalls were indeed very chaotic. Weapons and armor were stacked together. They looked like scavengers selling something.
Some of the rougher shapes are not very straight, but basically the entire stall is selling weapons, knives and axes. They should be the kind of country craftsmen he said.
In front of these two types of stalls, basically novice adventurers of various heights and shapes, dressed in various styles, but the same age are gathered. They are either alone or in groups, and you can often see a few people gathering together. They discussed together to pool money to buy a good piece of equipment that they liked.
The sage led a group of people directly through this bustling area full of childish conversations and young faces, and entered an area where stalls and clothing were more uniformly divided.
"This part is more reliable in terms of quality." A few people looked forward. Many of the stalls here are connected to small houses at the back. The houses are not like residents' huts, with wooden windows and The thick brick wall door is obviously some kind of warehouse rather than a residential area.
The types of weapons they hung were almost all of the same style. Although the degree of newness and oldness were different, the large number of the same styles made the Luoan girl guess the source at a glance: "Is it the supplies of the army?"
"To be precise, they are second-hand supplies of the army." The sage explained without looking back: "The Padrosi Empire is different from those small countries on the west coast. Its army does not recruit militia and requires them to provide their own weapons and equipment. Although the frequency is different High, but there will be updates every few to ten years.”
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"The second-hand equipment that has been eliminated by the elite front-line troops may be distributed to the security forces in small villages and towns, while the equipment that is half a century or older will be transported by those with connections to the quartermaster and sold to adventurers like this. ."
"Weapons and armor mass-produced for the army usually have more stable quality. Of course, due to cost considerations, they are still only the lower limit of quality that can be purchased at the price. But they are still a rare and reliable choice for adventurers Already." The sage said, and others looked over and saw that there were not many adventurers here acting alone, and the average age was mostly in their late 20s or above 30.
There are also many people who do not wear armor or weapons at all, but are dressed in commoners and have several servant-like people behind them. From the uniform badges on their bodies, it can be seen that most of them are private quartermasters of nearby small nobles or someone. The purchasing specialist of a large mercenary group.
The richer and more powerful nobles can get the latest batch of equipment directly from the official arms suppliers of the Padrosi Empire, or have second-hand resellers bring the equipment to their door. Although this kind of person who personally purchases goods is considered a big figure in Mileno, in the entire Padrosi territory, he is just a small noble in the countryside.
The old military swords that have been phased out for about half a century are relatively simple in style, similar to the long sword with side ring that the Luoan girl bought when she first came to the east coast, but most of them are one-handed swords.
Most of the professional infantry swordsmen of Padrosi's regular army are sword and shield wielders. They do not favor long swords and half-hand swords like adventurers. Because of the large number of projectiles on the frontal battlefield, they are more willing to use a side of the Laman language called "Roman". Terra" round shield.
Older versions of this shield are usually made of wood and leather, and are similar in shape to the buckler commonly used by adventurers, but are slightly different in structure, usually with armbands instead of grips. The newer styles use plate armor manufacturing techniques and are made of solid steel, which can effectively avoid the problem of shield imbalance after too many arrows are missed on the shield surface.
Matching styles are available in these stores. The price of an ordinary one-handed sword and wooden Rotella shield is 2 gold and 5 silver coins, while the matching steel Rotella is priced at 3 gold coins.
The group of people continued to move forward, because they were not short of melee weapons, and this trip was more to buy some emergency armor and long-range weapons.
The crossbow machine they had seized from the adventurers who attacked them was an old military crossbow. Its simple structure was very popular among adventurers. The crossbow machine itself sold for only 1 gold, but the consumable crossbow arrows cost 1 gold and 3 pieces per dozen. silver.
The so-called crossbow loss in a dozen rounds is only 12, and a relatively fierce battle may require 40-50 crossbow losses per capita. After conversion, the price of consumables is really expensive. It is no wonder that most of the people who can afford a large number of long-range shooters are wealthy nobles close to commercial and trade areas.
What Henry and his party came to this area planned was to buy more crossbows and crossbow arrows of the same model. Although it was not a winch-strung heavy crossbow, this kind of light crossbow had the advantage of being light and fast, and could be used to ride with them when dealing with pursuing troops. Advantages can work wonders.
Although the crossbows sold in this store are retired from the military, most of them are of good quality. The owner of the store said that he only selects bowstrings that are not seriously worn or have been replaced by hand. A crossbow string as thick as an adult male's thumb is hung on a steel arm with a thickness of more than 5 mm. The arrow trough where the thick crossbow is placed has been carefully polished and maintained with beeswax.
Some of the better quality ones also have smooth bone pieces attached as chutes. This kind of crossbow machine is relatively more durable, but the price is also more expensive. One machine costs 3 gold to start.
Henry and his party purchased a total of 3 more exquisite crossbow machines and selected the ones with the best quality. The 3 machines were worth 10 gold coins in total. I also bought 10 bags of crossbow arrows and spent 20 gold coins together.
Later, they also purchased some second-hand armor. Most of the armor eliminated by the imperial army is the old plate armor style. Chain armor often does not appear in this market because it is more convenient to modify. Although the old style plate armor was available in several sizes, it still did not fit the few women in the team who needed armor. Therefore, in addition to buying a set of breastplates for Kalaiva, what they mainly bought here were some parts such as hand armors and helmets.
In fact, most adventurers rarely wear helmets. They prefer to spend the budget of about 1 gold coin on shields and other armor that can be freely blocked or better weapons.
However, a group of people who had encountered long-range attacks before still felt it was necessary to prevent sneak attacks that they might encounter again in the future.
The model they purchased was also an old model used by the crossbowmen of the Padrosi Empire, a light steel helmet with a visor. The shape is like a sun hat, with a reasonable center of gravity. It is boiled with alkaline water and has a shiny black surface, which can effectively resist the humid climate.
A set of second-hand light armor like this - including a helmet and breastplate - currently sells for about 3 to 4 gold coins. It can be considered a good choice for mid-level adventurers.
After communicating with the boss, they also purchased 3 pieces of chain mail. Due to their relatively higher body shape adaptability, each piece was sold for up to 6 gold coins.
With special cutting pliers, they can even cut off part of it on site to better fit the figures of Mira, Lulu and Aya.
These cut pieces of mail cloth were used as wages. Considering Lulu and Ling's petite bodies, I have to say that this businessman is really good at business.
3 pieces of mail, 3 crossbows and the crossbow cost about 40 gold coins, and another 22 gold coins were spent on the breastplate, helmet and hand armor. But that's not all. Because Miss Doctor couldn't pull the crossbow even with the help of the ram's horn lever, they spent a full 30 gold coins in order to give her a certain degree of combat effectiveness.
Bought a rare but powerful matchlock hand cannon in the shop.
This is not an old style that has been eliminated. After all, it has not been installed on a large scale in Padrosi's army until now.
It’s just that the previous battle of Parnilla and the black powder weapon that made its name in the Conqueror’s Lowland Campaign not long ago gradually made people realize its value. Although its reliability may not be as good as crossbows or bows, the sound brought by firearms The lethal power of light smoke and lead bullets is enough to create a high level of shock.
This handgun is of a shorter style, so even a doctor can hold it. Its filling and aiming are not very laborious, and the smart Aya can quickly learn how to use it.
Although the range is short and the accuracy is not ideal, it also gives Miss Doctor, who could only wait and watch in the previous battle, the ability to fight.
The high selling price of 30 gold each, together with the consumable expenditure of 4 gold coins for 10 kilograms of gunpowder, directly pushed their expenditure here to 100 gold coins.
The shop owner could be said to be smiling from ear to ear. In order to please such a big benefactor, he also gave away two folding knives commonly used by Padrosi citizens for free.
Mail armor, steel helmets, gauntlets; crossbows, crossbows, spare strings, horn levers for winding; hand cannons, spare match ropes, lead bullets and gunpowder; after buying all these personal equipment, they went to the store for adventurers. In the stable market, I spent a total of 70 gold coins to buy 3 better riding horses and 1 pack horse, as well as matching saddles and other related equipment.
After doing all this and buying all the necessary equipment such as tents, water bags, candles, rations, etc., the group's reserves had dropped to a span of 600 gold coins.
Spending money is like running water, but it’s impossible not to spend it.
With the newly purchased equipment and supplies, the group of people who had been shopping for a whole day left Mileno in the evening and continued to move north.
