On a snowy afternoon, Wiltok and Bottom patrolled the city walls of Braun Town together.
He put on the professional suit given to him by Dr. Cole, with a hard leather armor on the outside, a long sword hanging on his waist, a hood and a half mask, revealing only a pair of pure amber eyes. Bottom is also dressed in the same attire. He carries two heavy scimitars on his back. The philistine and slick temperament has been swept away, replaced by stability and confidence, and he exudes a brave and fierce aura, like a lion patrolling the territory.
Just walking beside Wiltok, he looked like a follower.
It has been snowing heavily for several days, and the town of Braun is covered in snow both inside and outside. On the city wall more than 20 meters high, patrolling adventurers regularly clear away the snow. This is their current main job. At this moment, a group of heavily armed adventurers were dumping snow outside the parapet. When they saw Bottom, Wiltok and the others, they simply nodded to them, but did not actively greet them as usual.
Adventurers generally have good martial arts and are even better at fighting than ordinary legionnaires. What they lack is discipline. In just a few days, it was not easy for these adventurers to be able to perform their most basic duties.
This is all thanks to the supervision and teaching of Bottom. After all, he is a veteran who participated in the February War and has very rich military experience. Under his coercion and inducement of carrots and sticks, the adventurers are not yet able to follow orders and prohibitions, but at least they are not too free and loose.
Bottom knows very well that one cannot have too high demands on adventurers. He nodded in return and led Wiltok to a nearby ballista tower.
The guards of the Arrow Tower are three awakened people from the Adventurer's House. One person is watching and two people are resting. The lookout turned around and said hello to Boss Bottom, and continued to observe the vast white forest. Bottom carefully checked the condition of the ballista, asked the guard a few questions, and nodded with satisfaction after receiving a positive answer.
In addition to the crossbows and giant crossbow bolts, there are quilts and blankets in the arrow tower, as well as stoves for heating and cooking. The guards of the Arrow Tower have to live here all day long, so keeping warm is a must, otherwise it will be terrible if their hands and feet are numb from the cold.
While observing the ballista, Vertok asked curiously: "How far can this thing shoot?"
Bottom exhaled a breath of mist and replied: "There should be no orc within four hundred meters that can block its blow."
"Is it valuable?"
"Well, the cost is very expensive. A medium-sized ballista like this would cost at least 12,000 gold towers if it were brand new. Of course, the ballistas we have here are second-hand goods that have been eliminated from the regular army." Bottom said with a smile: " I took over the Adventurer's Guild in Braun Town. The six ballistae left to me by the former mayor were all junk that couldn't be fired. If I wanted to repair them, I would have to spend 50,000 gold towers to buy parts. You know how I solved it ?”
"I used 8,000 gold pagodas to bribe a chief officer of Luoye City's garrison every year, and he forcibly eliminated twelve ballistae and helped me replace all the ballistae in the town. His interests in Braun Town were also obtained Our extra care. If he doesn’t want to cut off the money here, he should send an armed caravan to support Braun Town in the spring of next year.”
"As long as we hold on for two months, the threat from the orcs in the outer lands will be lifted!" Bottom said with a heavy look.
A few days ago, the secret hunter Max and his scouts indeed discovered traces of Orc activities in the Outland along the Krill River. The Dark Hunter tracked the Orcs alone, crossed the Krill River, entered the territory of the Blackfire Barbarians, and finally found a medium-sized camp of the Orcs in Outland.
Max did not dare to continue the in-depth investigation, but there were signs that the Orcs in the Outland should have enough food for the winter. There was less friction between them and the Blackfire Barbarians. They seemed not to be prepared for a war, and both sides showed restraint.
Mayor Mine and Bottom both believed that the orcs in the Outer Lands had gone through a difficult long journey and had become weak as a whole. They were in urgent need of winter rest and had no desire to start a war for the time being. Moreover, they were parked on the territory of the Blackfire Tribe, and the threat to the plantation and Braun Town was secondary. If they cross the Krill River and attack the half-elves, the Blackfire Barbarians will most likely take the opportunity to uproot their camp on the east bank of the river.
Therefore, Mayor Mine continued to stay in the plantation, but Braun Town still could not be careless. Bottom asked Max to rearrange the warning posts outside the city in a targeted manner to ensure early warning.
"When the weather gets warmer, I estimate that the Outland Orcs should leave the Braun Lake area, otherwise the Blackfire Chief will send his butchers to challenge them. The Outland Orcs' butchers won, they are in the Blackfire The tribe will have a place. If they lose, the entire tribe will be annexed by the Blackfire Warchief. In any case, the peace covenant between the Alliance and the Blackfire tribe is still valid. The crisis in Braun Town has been resolved." Bottom's eyes wandered In the forest snow, he muttered to himself as if to cheer himself up.
Wiltok patted the steel frame of the ballista and said, "We have twelve ballistas, and the orcs dare not attack us."
Bottom looked back into the distance and smiled: "The ballistae is mainly a siege equipment used to attack the enemy. If it is used against a single target, its deterrence is greater than its lethality. Don't expect a giant crossbow bolt to kill someone." The most powerful thing about a group of enemies is to pierce three Orcs. If the Orcs launch a desperate charge, they will ignore casualties. The ballistae may not kill as many enemies as the javelins thrown by the Hemer female warriors."
"Vell, you have to remember that whether it is a large-scale war or a small-scale battle, it all starts with a battle of the heart." Bottom patted his chest and said seriously: "If you want to win, you must understand ourselves, and then learn as much as possible about the enemy... We are actually very weak. We can rely on this strong city wall and the brave and capable Hemer tribe. But the problem we face is that the city wall in Braun Town requires thousands of people to garrison it. Only in this way can there be no dead ends, and we can only mobilize a maximum of 700 soldiers. Such a small number of manpower is not enough to go through a high-intensity fierce battle, because the soldiers need to take turns to rest."
"In addition, more than thirty Hemer tribe members participated in this year's Life Festival at the Earth Mother Temple, and each of them chose a partner. More than seventy people have turned into soft-footed shrimps... When I needed John the most, he actually Running to participate in the Life Festival?"
Wiltok asked: "Why does John insist on participating in the Life Festival? It seems to me that he is very reluctant. Didn't all the professionals in Qin and the Whistle Adventure Group refuse?"
Bottom said with a slight embarrassment: "We have an agreement with the Taku tribe. We cannot refuse the invitation of the Hemo female warrior, but the adventurer can refuse... Let's not talk about this. What did we just say?"
"Well, our defense has weaknesses, so we have to bluff. First, it can intimidate the enemy so that they don't dare to act rashly; second, it is to maintain our morale. If there is no morale, we will be easily defeated by our opponents."
"The battle of wills runs through all types of battles. Orc shamans and half-orc butchers have the ability to predict danger, but in war, predicting danger can lead to bad things. Excellent half-elf commanders often take advantage of orcs' prediction of danger. , to reverse the situation. Do you think, where is there no danger on the battlefield? You are obviously weak, but you are determined, but the orcs shrink back. The Blackfire Tribe has suffered a lot on the battlefield, and they have learned well now. As long as the drum sounds, Just charge to the death. At that time, both sides can only rely on their strength to speak. Whoever fails to hold back first will be completely defeated."
"Fortunately, the orcs outside the territory are not Blackfire... We don't know the size of the opponent's tribe yet. If it is a small tribe with only a few hundred people, it will not pose a threat to us; if it is a medium tribe with 2,000 or 3,000 people, they can pull With more than 1,000 orc warriors, attacking the city walls of Braun Town would hurt both sides. They cannot afford to lose so many tribesmen; for large tribes with a population of more than 5,000, the orc leaders are often wise and can consider all aspects and should not be reckless. Attack the town of Braun.”
"Wil, what do you want the orcs in Outland to be like?"
Wiltok thought for a while, his eyes gradually brightened, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and said excitedly: "I hope they are a medium-sized orc tribe, and then they will fight with us."
The three half-elf guards in the arrow tower also looked excited. Bottom laughed. Twenty years ago, he might have scolded these young people for not understanding the cruelty of war; forty years earlier, he himself would have also longed for war. No matter what, the morale of the guards in Braun Town was not bad, and his money was not wasted after all.
"The Outland Orcs and Blackfire Barbarians are restraining each other. As long as we don't take the initiative to provoke, they should not attack Braun Town." Bottom sighed longly, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This time is even an integrated training for adventurers. I thought we would all know what to do if we encounter a similar situation again.”
"Boss, boss..." A professional from the Adventurer's House shouted while running along the city wall.
Bottom thought there was some emergency military situation, so he quickly walked out of the arrow tower, stopped him and asked: "What happened in a panic?"
The professional pointed to the west of Braun Town, excited and incoherent: "Backdoor... there are troops coming into the town, they, they are dragoons! The alliance's dragoons, there are at least 150 dragoons, and they also bring four I've seen all the dragon beasts...the sound of that thing is particularly terrifying."
Bottom was surprised and delighted. He grabbed the professional's arm and asked, "Dragoon? You've never seen it before. How do you know it's a dragoon?"
"They said it themselves, saying they were dragoons from the Disa Alliance. The adventurer Old Bob who guarded the back door also said that those half-elf cavalry were dragoons!"
Dragon Cavalry, the full name of Dragon Veined Half-Elf Cavalry, is the most powerful special unit of the Disa Alliance. Each dragoon is at least a third-level professional, and their bodies have been engraved with dragon blood. Of course, it is not the blood of Dragon King Philumat, but the blood of high-level dragon beasts. Even so, the life level of the dragoon has reached the third level, which is equivalent to that of the adult Hemer female warrior. Their strength and physique are superior to those of the Hemer tribe, and coupled with the expertise of professionals, the Disa half-elves generally believe that the dragoons can suppress the Hemer tribe and the Takut tribe.
In fact, the Dragoons were once the Skirmishers of the Earth Temple. After the fall of the Earth Temple, the Dragoons were divided among the sixteen famous sects. The current dragon cavalry in the alliance are either affiliated with the Dragon King Palace dedicated to worshiping Philumat, or they are the private soldiers of each of the sixteen famous families.
Bottom was very confused. He did send people to Luoye City to ask for help from the chief officer of the garrison. Logically speaking, the chief officer of the garrison was from a well-known family and held a high position, but he would not be able to mobilize a team of dragoons to reinforce Braun Town.
Are these dragon cavalry people from the Dragon King Palace, or are they private soldiers from the 16 famous families? What is their purpose in coming to Braun Town?
"Boss, what should I do? Do you want to open the door and let them in?" the professional asked eagerly.
Bottom was awakened and cursed angrily: "You idiot, you come over and ask me if I want to open the door? If you don't open the door, the dragoons will break down my city gate. These gentlemen are not easy to serve. Go back and ask them to open the door. I Come right over."
The professional got a positive answer and ran away quickly. But just as Bottom expected, the dragoons outside the town directly opened the door, and no one at the back door dared to stop them.
When Wiltok, Bottom and others rushed to the street, a group of cavalry had already rushed to the street from the end of the back door. Many townspeople were watching on both sides, and adventurers were coming from all directions.
These proud and arrogant half-elves ride astride the short-horned oryx. They all weigh about a ton, with knotted muscles underneath their smooth and shiny fur. Their shoulder height is taller than most of the residents of Braun Town, making them look extremely muscular. The eland's body is covered with protective horse armor, and heavy steel throwing spears are hung on both sides. It does not feel difficult to carry the heavily armored half-elf dragoons.
The dragoons are all wrapped in gorgeous heavy armor. They wear black horned helmets with a cross-shaped opening on the front. The cavalry's faces are hidden in the shadow of the horned helmets, making it difficult for people to see their appearance clearly, but when they When turning around to look over, the person being stared at will feel an unknown sense of terror. It was as if these dragoons and armor were integrated into one. They were not half-elves, but humanoid dragon beasts.
The dragoons really brought dragon beasts with them. Four monsters as big as antelopes were on both sides of the cavalry. They looked like a combination of lizards and big cats. They had thick limbs, flexible and smooth body lines, and their bodies were covered with blue-black horny scales, glowing with a ghostly look. It has a cold metallic luster, a long lizard tail trailing behind its butt, and its head is also the head of a lizard, but with a pair of horns that curl forward, making it look particularly ferocious.
The dragon beast looked very manic. From time to time it opened its huge mouth full of fangs and roared lowly at the onlookers. Many half-elf children who were watching the excitement were frightened and cried.
At the front of the dragoon team, there are five half-elves who are clearly different from other dragoons. They wear red, brown, blue and silver heavy armor respectively. The last half-elf wore a professional suit. He didn't wear a mask. He was a middle-aged man with a shiny face and a fat body.
When he saw Bottom who had moved to the side of the street, he said a few words to the half-elf dragoon wearing silver armor. The silver-armored dragoon pulled the reins and raised his shining gauntlet, and the cavalry team immediately stopped.
"Are you Vice President Berg of the Fallen Leaf City Adventurer's Union?" Bottom asked uncertainly as he walked towards the half-elf in a professional suit with a flattering smile on his face.
The middle-aged half-elf jumped off his mount, walked up to Bottom, pointed the whip in his hand at his nose, and shouted angrily: "Botom, what are you doing? Blocking the city gate in broad daylight. It made Sir Hulant want to open the door himself. Please apologize to Sir Hulant!" As he said that, he winked at Bottom.
The hotel owner understood this and stepped forward quickly, bowed and apologized to the four dragoons in front of him, and said repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my lords, I'm really sorry. A group of orc invaders from the outside world were recently discovered in Braun Town. In order to As a precaution, I ordered the city gate to be temporarily sealed, leaving you waiting outside for a long time."
The silver-armored half-elf sat on the eland and said nothing, but the half-elf wearing the red lady's armor next to him chuckled and teased crisply: "The long wait is not long, Hurant slashed the back door with his sword. . Mr. Bartomeu should hurry up and find someone to repair the gate to prevent the orcs from breaking into the town through the back door."
Bottom's eyes jumped when he saw the two giant epees hanging on both sides of Hulant's mount. He lowered his posture and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. A few adults brought dragoons to Braun Town. We are still afraid. What orc invaders?”
Hurant finally turned his helmet sideways, glanced at Bottom indifferently, and said in an indifferent voice: "The orc invaders have nothing to do with us."
The vice-president of the Adventurer's Guild of Fallen Leaf City coughed and explained from the side: "Sir Hurant came to Braun Town this time because of the nearby shadow lurker... The famous Golden Oak family has taken over the adventure mission of the union. Assign Lord Hulant to capture the shadow lurkers alive..."
Among the onlookers, Annie and Katie from the Qin and the Whistle Adventure Group whispered excitedly:
"It turns out that he is Hurant, who belongs to the famous Golden Oak family. I heard that he mastered the Heart of the Mirror at the age of 26 and was promoted to the fifth level swordsman at the age of 37. He is the famous Dragon Vein Venerable in Highland City and is regarded as the right-hand man by the Golden Oak clan leader... Oops , Master Hulant is so handsome, I wonder if he has mastered the legendary 'Shadow of Dreams' now..."
Katie stared straight at the red-armored female knight next to Hulant, and said with envy: "That is Isa from the famous Golden Oak family, the youngest fourth-level animal trainer from the famous Golden Oak family? Me too I want to have a dragon beast battle pet..."
Wiltok had very sharp ears. When he heard the conversation between Anne and Katie, he quietly squeezed through the crowd and asked in a low voice: "Annie, Katie, did you just say 'golden oak'?"
Anne realized it was Wiltok, she covered her mouth in embarrassment and snickered: "Vil, you are here too... Well, Sir Hurant is not as handsome as you, no matter how handsome he is..."
Wiltok had no choice but to ask again, "You just talked about the 'Golden Oak'... I heard it."
"Oh, 'golden oak' is a unique term. Legend has it that it is a big tree that grows in distant lands, but there are no oak trees in the Dragon Kingdom. We don't know if oak trees really exist? The golden oak family is famous for its seeds. For the emblem, look at the emblem on Lord Hulant’s shoulder plate, it is the oak seed depicted by the famous Golden Oak family.”
Vertok turned his eyes and couldn't help but frown his slender sword-like eyebrows, and muttered in his heart: That's an acorn... I must have seen it before, how come there isn't one in the Dragon Kingdom?
Wiltok's figure is tall and well-proportioned, and his bearing is extraordinary. Even with a half-mask on his face, he is extremely conspicuous in the crowd.
Hurant noticed Wiltok standing on the street, pointed his whip at him and asked: "Who is that?"
Bottom looked back and was immediately frightened. He knew that Wiltok's beauty would be coveted by famous families, so he specifically asked Wiltok to go to the pharmacy first to avoid it. However, he didn't expect Hurant to cut open the back door directly. The cavalry rushed too fast again, and Wiltok was discovered by the opponent before he could leave.
At this point, Bottom could only bite the bullet and said: "That's the adventurer Wiltok..."
Hulant directly interrupted his explanation and shouted: "Come here, arrest Wiltok!"
