"Give me the water!" the maintenance man from Molten Iron City yelled from the ladder.
A bunch of straw dipped in gold powder leaked out of his hand and sprinkled Merimanvar's face. His companions took no notice of this and immediately burst into gloating jeering.
"Where's the water?"
"Here it comes, here it is, a bucket of good urine." Fenti, the maintenance man's assistant and friend, the dwarf blacksmith known as "Parrot", was hurriedly pulling up the well rope to deal with Master Batai. His pace was so fast, and his short legs alternated like wheels, making the adventurers even more happy.
Merrimanvar had had enough. "Damn it, are your hands shaped like a colander?" He jumped down from the hammock angrily and almost bumped into Fenty again. The dwarf rolled his eyes at him, got directly between the two big hairy legs, and handed the bucket up the ladder.
"Anxiu said you came up with something good, Fenti, it won't be a knife again, right?"
The blacksmith touched his pocket. "It's not the kind of knife you thought." He muttered.
"Speaking of which, where has our great artist gone?" asked another.
"I guess he applied for a job," Merimanvar said with a yawn, "along with his broken piano. I should have had a good sleep without him here."
The dwarf Bataibach on the ladder snorted and let out a few more drops of water. His assistant took the opportunity to climb into the hammock. The guy who asked about the knife earlier took a step slower and could only spit angrily.
"This is my masterpiece." Blacksmith Fenti boasted to his companions as he swayed. "Exquisite craftsmanship, elegant patterns, anyone can recognize my mark at a glance. Look. Especially you, Asturo, take a closer look." A short knife rotated in his palm, the blade flashing with cold light.
What's amazing is that the blade surface is covered with peculiar feather-like patterns, which are complex, magnificent, and most importantly, elegant. Elegant and mysterious. It’s hard to imagine this being the work of a mortal. The adventurers' eyes were wide open, and Merimanvar was no exception.
Asturo reached out to grab it, but Fenti turned the knife around, forcing him to retreat. "You told me to look carefully!" shouted the fire elemental user who never held a knife.
"What can a layman like you do if you look carefully?" another person said. His name is Kunsong, known as "Slingshot", and he is a human archer with no ability. Joining their team is just a matter of making up the numbers - before being driven away by "Pig Eyes" Peach, the team in the mercenary group requires a specific number of people. Kunsong did not touch the knife, but it did not prevent him from pushing aside Asturo and approaching him to examine the pattern. "Almost like the hair on your face. How do you do it, parrot? Forge feathers into iron?"
"Forging over and over again," Fenti said, "over and over again. Heating, turning, a suitable angle will affect... Come on, I'm sorry you don't understand. In short, it took me a few months, and it was specially prepared for the celebration. .”
Merymanvar couldn't help but look at him with his nostrils. "A few months ago there were no Skixes, let alone any big music! Is your celebration referring to the battle in the Veil Mountains?"
"The locals call it the 'Music of Ruins'." Fenti said nonchalantly, "Of course my knife is prepared for creating ruins."
When the demon hunting war was mentioned, the five people present felt very uncomfortable. As adventurers, participating in the war is not for justice. Moreover, demon hunting is a truly cruel battlefield, and they have no intention of getting involved. "Pig Eyes" Peach, the leader of the mercenary group and the leader of a group of old, weak, sick and disabled deserters, strictly ordered anyone to take the business of the Alliance of Order or the Veil Gathering, no matter how much the other party offered.
Merimanvar took this in and was about to do it, but then some damn bastard claimed that he needed a job and had nothing to do with the devil. When Bataibach heard this, Merimanvar did not refute.
Now he regrets it, but it's a pity that the past cannot be repeated. If only I had the magic to predict the future. If I rejected Kun Song early, I wouldn't have to hesitate to kick this kid out of the team.
"In my opinion." Kun Song smiled coquettishly, "We'd better stay as far away from the ruins as possible. Regardless of whether it's music or songs, I don't understand. There are more and more people here day by day."
"With more people comes money." The maintenance man shouted, "Red paint!" The blacksmith yawned and handed it to him. "After this job is completed, the employer can pay you seventy."
"Didn't you agree to ninety?"
"That's the price for yesterday's work." The dwarf maintenance man coughed, "No one of you can help me."
"It's better to ask for ninety. How about not completing the project without paying the money?" Kunzong made a worse proposal, and Asturo seemed to be planning to agree.
Merymanvar didn't like it, but he did need the money. Without money, there would be no food. When hungry, he would lose his mind faster than usual. At that time, the employer will not be the only one who will be unlucky. I'd better think about the overall situation.
"Absolutely not! This matter is related to my credibility."
"Our reputation has been ruined by our old club a long time ago, Batai. Otherwise, your craftsmanship is worth ninety?" Asturo sneered at this. He lit a thorn on fire, turned the flame into circles of green, gray and purple, then raised his bow and shot.
The arrow passed through the ring of fire without any damage, and was nailed straight to the trunk of the holly tree. This is naturally not a manifestation of the exquisite control of flames, but the archer's superb archery skills. Merrimanvar didn't know why he gave up Windrunner and became a fire elementalist, but he had to admit that "Firestone" Ashturo could always hit the target accurately when he used magic to attack. Perhaps the element of fire and arrow loss have something in common.
The dwarf repairman and the elementalist debated the price. Someone pulled out the feather arrow and walked to Merimanvar. "Are you worrying about trivial matters again?" The musician casually threw the arrow shaft into the bag, and the sword scabbard hanging by his hip bounced and turned aside.
Before becoming a third-rate swordsman, young Anxiu worked as a musician in a country tavern. He was one of many examples of ignorant people dedicating themselves to artistic ideals. There is no doubt that he has no creative talent, no understanding of music theory and techniques, and cannot appreciate the beauty of vocal music and the rich emotions in it. In fact, this person didn't know a word of Chinese characters at all, and could only pluck the strings according to the marked positions.
Merrimanval believed that Anxiu's skill with a sword was much better than that of playing music, although Anxiu's swordsmanship was not among the best in what he saw.
But Anxiu is only twenty this year, and he is as beautiful as a girl, which makes his vocal skills shine and he is praised by many fools. Before leaving "Pig Eyes" Peach's mercenary group, this boy was a star, sleeping under the girl's roof every night. I heard that sometimes he sleeps with men. Merrimanval secretly looked at it, but was kicked out and lived for a long time. He found that Anxiu's attitude towards men and women was not as good as that of the broken piano, and he was relieved.
But this doesn't stop his companions from calling him "whore" or "social butterfly". Fortunately, this kid doesn't care what people call him.
"Slingshot" Kunzon, "Flint" Asturo, "Parrot" Fenti, "Social Butterfly" Anxiu... and the dwarf repairman Bataibach, these are all the companions of Merrimanvar, the future great mercenary group A prototype, an insignificant team, and a group of rare talents. Nothing can be accomplished with these assholes, but it's better than nothing.
"Eating and sleeping are not trivial matters, Anxiu. Can you eat paint?"
"I am traveling in the world of art, and everything else is trivial."
Merrimanvar snorted. "You will drown without food."
"Having said that, there are many things to do in this world than running for a living. Carpe diem is the choice given to us by the gods."
"You're so boastful, have you found an employer?"
An Xiu continued to fiddle with his sword belt and turned away. "Four hundred." He smiled charmingly, "That's just the price for one day. Your Excellency loves my playing so much."
What a hell. In remote areas, ignorant girls are indeed willing to spend so much money for him, but it's a pity that they have no money... Sjix is now a hodgepodge of poets, singers and musicians, and there is no shortage of "social butterflies" who can play and sing. In fact, Merimanvar saw many women who walked past the plaque in a showy manner and turned a blind eye to the adventurers. "How did you win the favor of the master here?"
"My talent and..."
"What else?" Ashturo interrupted.
An Xiu shrugged. "And my kindness. At that time, an ignorant brat appeared and tried to steal the harmonica encrusted with jewels. The guards held the kid down, and I went to help... Who would have thought that they would also beat me up! After the kindness of the adults, They gave me compensation, healed my injuries, and even hired me to play outside for two weeks as an exception."
"Parrot" laughed unabashedly and rolled down from the hammock while laughing. Ashturro "Flint" quickly caught him, lest the great blacksmith roll over and be stabbed through by the dagger he had made.
"Anyway, four hundred is still too much." Merrimanvar muttered.
"What? Do you think you are the only one who can make a lot of money?" An Xiu stared.
"It's hard to distinguish between compensation for labor and compensation for injuries. However, collecting money to move things and getting compensation for injuries... Let me ask you, Anxiu, what kind of adult would compensate an adventurer?"
"Kind-hearted lord." "Social Butterfly" Digu, "kind-hearted and appreciative lord. There are always such people in the world, right?"
Merimanvar pointed out: "I have seen such a person, but he will definitely not hire you to wail and howl at the door for four hundred Black City coins every day for two weeks."
"There's something wrong here." "Firestone" also agreed, "Who is that adult?"
"A noble lady with elegant manners, a voice like an oriole, and a beauty that is rare in the world. The knights who follow her are enough to build a wall of silence. I can guarantee that they will be willing to die for her."
Fenti frowned: "According to your standards, there are many such people in the world."
"There are many," An Xiu admitted, "but my lord is the special one - she is from the south."
There was a sudden silence. For half a minute, no one spoke.
Just the right coincidence, Merrimanvar couldn't help but think, is often a sign of danger. "So, there was a beautiful and wealthy lady who generously saved An Xiu's life. She was from the south and she had to stay in Sijix for more than two weeks." He concluded. The blacksmith and the maintenance man exchanged a look.
"This kind of thing doesn't happen often." Fenti said.
Kunzon had a different idea: "Maybe we can change it, I mean, uh..."
"Temporary change of plans?"
"Who made the plan change so quickly?" "Slingshot" turned to look at the captain.
Merrimanvar sighed. "Is it just her?"
"I'm not sure, Xiaomei." Asturo hesitated, "No one understands this stranger. No matter how cautious we are in what we do, if, I mean, if she is unreliable..."
"If you ask me, acquaintances may not be reliable!" Fenti said sharply, "Peach has always been an old friend of ours, oh, except for Kunzong. Now even he knows the good things that bastard has done. Do you think people will To miss old friendship, let us go? Lie! What is acquaintance worth in this world?" He spat.
"Then it's her?"
"Let's give it a try." Bataibach also relaxed. "Anyway, it won't be worse than wasting time here. On the contrary, once you seize the opportunity, everyone's situation will be better."
"Temporary safety." "Flint" sneered.
"The longer you delay, the less hope you have." Merimanvar said seriously, and Asturo stopped refuting. He would never question me to my face because I was the real captain. "But observation is also necessary. Anxiu, you should do your job well. Fenti?"
Blacksmith "Parrot" waved his hand, "Batai and I have both shown up."
"Slingshot" Kunsong can't do it. He already has a bad temper and has to sneak out to drink. Merrimanvar had no other choice: "Flint, let's go and see that lady together."
Asturo glanced at him with complicated eyes. Merimanvar almost thought he would refuse, but in the end, he agreed.
"Kunsong continues to move his location, move to the city area, and just blend in with the group of poets. He is neither far nor close to the goal." Merrimanvar made proper arrangements for the follow-up, "Be careful when purchasing! The ingredients of the potion do not need to be used. If you go out of your way to find it, the stock should be enough.”
The next day they followed his division of labor.
On the road Merimanvar thought about his plans, about money, about direction, about time. He considered so much, but he didn't dare to claim to be thorough. Adventurers are roaming beasts and will never stop where they can't get any benefits, worrying about their livelihood all day long. In his plan, "Pig Eyes" Pidge driving them away is one of the links: when a person carries a secret, if he follows a large group of people, his fellow travelers will become targets that need to be vigilant. Peach's driving them away was just a way for the team to break into pieces and then into whole again. It was the only way for them to legitimately enter the Skeeks.
After the war in the Curtain Mountains, news of civil strife among the coalition forces came from the south. The mercenaries stopped, hesitating whether to participate in the melee at the mysterious fulcrum. Many people remembered the Battle of the Saints a hundred years ago and gave up going south; more warriors rushed to the border of Bres, hoping to share the victory of a certain fulcrum. Merimanvar heard almost nothing more from them. Some people stayed in the Veil Mountains after the war, looking for wealth, opportunities and survival needs in the ruins ravaged by hunters. Fenti claimed that they were their distant relatives, crows that ate carrion and bones.
…until the real crow brings news of death.
The demon hunt was suspended, right at the foot of the Castlevania they found. During the long night, the light of order did not shine, and the coalition forces fell apart and became history again. The seven pivots began to declare war on each other for their own interests.
The secret society survived the desperate situation, and now it has become the dominant party - to be honest, the part of them that can be clearly called the enemy no longer exists. The pillars of the mysterious realm, the great guardians of order, are like a group of standing The mice in front of the cake bit each other viciously and turned into a piece of loose sand. In the end, the devil found a flaw and allowed the fallen plane Gavash to descend on Knox.
After Gavash arrived, even the death messages and battle reports from the south disappeared. The rectangular ladder lost its coordinates, and the detection station also stopped working. The Tower of the Sky, which once guided the direction of the mysterious realm, closed its door to the creatures of order on the last night of the frost moon, completely becoming an isolated island high in the sky.
There are many different opinions about mysterious creatures, talking about towers, undead and wars, blaming everything on demons, and countless rumors and legends that disappeared in history are revived from word of mouth. Merimanvar visited a reclusive witch for this purpose. She told the adventurers that this was the lingering sound of the god who controlled the fate of the world when he left. "The stars are swallowed up." The witch whispered, "The moon is rising. The brightest stars can only dim in front of the broken moon." She despised them. "He is dead. His time is over! In his place is Berti, our god." The next day the witch disappeared, and a young boy said she had been torn apart by ghosts.
Since then, however, Merrimanvar has been preoccupied. Ashturo saw his extreme unease, so he said: "Even if the gods come back, they will be replaced by the demon society, and now they have the upper hand."
But what the adventurers learned about the battle situation on the front line was completely unreal. There are always people appearing from the south, bringing some specious information, such as the Silent School occupying a certain sky island but being repelled by the Paladins, the Mist Elf Kingdom fighting the underground race, Queen Sita announcing her departure from the Oath Keepers Alliance, and the Holy Radiance Council planning to Malandeno was rebuilt into the Dawn Fortress, and the undead knights of Garvas gathered the corpses of those killed in battle to create an army of the dead...most of them were contradictory rumors.
As of now, only the last piece of news has solid evidence: in the battlefield left behind in the Curtain Mountains, many ghosts appeared silently in the ashes of the secret society "Curtain Gathering" that had been burned by fire. They are surrounded by a ferocious-looking female ghost, calling her the "Princess of Demon Spirits" Wuyin Losnis.
She took possession of the Veil Mountains, considered them her own domain, and renamed them.
The Skix leader of the Byrne Empire, Merrimanvar thought to himself, a name with unknown meaning. What does sjix mean? Where is Byrne? He asked the members of the team he assembled along the way, as well as the witches and fellow mercenary groups. Even the gods... well, sacrifices were still too dangerous, and he didn't dare to do it. But all in all, no one has an answer.
However, the Demon Princess herself is no stranger to the realm of mystery. This person is an undead from the sunken plane of Gavash. He once invaded Huoklin, the sky island that is a tributary of the Sky Tower, but failed and his whereabouts are unknown. Now she appears in the Veil Gathering, gathering new people, bringing a bad signal to the order.
Maybe she was about to rebuild the Order, Merimanvar thought anxiously. Maybe her men would be hunting for hunters, just like they were searching for demons during a witch hunt. Although the Princess Mononoke's first order was to hold a musical celebration, known as "The Ruins of the Skirks".
But he will not forget that the ruler of Gavash is currently the undead lord of the "Starless Night", and the Demon Princess is the subordinate of the demon lord. The Skekks are becoming more dangerous with every passing moment, especially now that Kunzon joins us. But I can't give up on him, we collected the money...
"Captain." The dwarf climbed down the ladder, "What do you say, seventy or ninety?"
Merrimanvar came to his senses. "Do we still have to bid?"
"I don't care." Bataibach shrugged, "I won't work here forever anyway. Then again, where have I stayed? Molten Iron City? Golden Helm Castle? Huh, there is no place for me anywhere. "
"You can continue to follow us." Merimanvar promised. "After leaving Sjix, we plan to go to Sodria to hunt monsters."
The dwarf repairman stared at him. "Is this what you meant, or is it a new mission?"
"What's the difference? No matter what, everyone in this world serves themselves in the end."
"Fenti and I joined later, so we have to answer our questions. You know, your business..."
"...Secrets must be kept. Come on, Batai, it's no good knowing more than you need. If you find a better employer, you'll be relieved when you leave. Why bother knowing more and getting yourself into trouble?"
"You are so boastful," the dwarf muttered, "Why did you create a war mercenary group to compete with old bastard Peach, and you made me believe your lies!"
"This is not a lie." Merrimanvar explained, "Without the cover of Peach's mercenary group, it is inconvenient for us to go anywhere. In fact, it is too conspicuous, and we have to make up for it. The boss is planning to find a new one. Collaborators, but why bother being held back by others? I’d rather build a new team myself.”
"Well, there are not many people who keep their promises like you, Merrimanvar. But Peach is not the only treacherous adventurer. I trust you, but not your kin."
He couldn't help but smile. "You don't have to trust the wild wolf. As for me, these are all words and deeds from someone. You will definitely be happy to meet him, if I have the opportunity to take you to my hometown." But it is more likely that I will never be able to go back in this life. "Let's go, let's send our real employer away first. We must hurry up before the celebration, otherwise we can only transport the ashes."
"He asked for it." The dwarf snorted, "Smart people will not get involved in the sport of demon hunting. No matter which side you take, there is no benefit. Let me ask you, why do the good nobles of Bures become hunters? Now they still have to Send someone to rescue him! Just let the Demon Spirit Princess burn him to ashes and put him away without taking up any space."
There is a reason for this. "You don't understand my kindred," Merimanvar whispered. "If you stay at home, this child will only die."
"They will eat him? Is this really possible?"
Dying in a hot bath is a good thing, as long as you don't get disemboweled. "No. I won't eat it." Merrimanvar raised his hand and looked at the round moon between his furry fingers. The cracks intertwined into a ferocious mouth, seeming to swallow the stars. "Unless someone is hungry."
