Old Benson had a head of brown curly hair, azure eyes that sparkled with light, and wrinkles on his forehead. He had a shrewd look on his face.
Originally, he was just a tenant farmer in a knight's manor. Ever since he was young, he liked to think. This thirst for the unfamiliar world caused him to spend most of his time studying instead of peeking at the housekeeper's daughter when she was bathing.
By the time he was eighteen, he could already read a short message in its entirety. This was something to be proud of.
Old Benson's parents thought that he would become the knight's attendant or secretary. From then on, the family would have a respectable person. However, they did not expect that on his 18th birthday, Old Benson directly went to the knight and mortgaged himself in exchange for the mining rights of a small forest in the east.
"I only need one year to repay my debt of 20 gold Delong. If not, mark me as a slave!"
At that time, when he said that, everyone thought that Ben Sen had gone crazy.
But what happened later proved that they were wrong!
Old Benson staked everything on this and began to cut down the logs in the forest. He also hired carpenters to make all sorts of exquisite furniture and sold them in Castellan Rock.
This brought him a profit of 200 silver thales. He immediately used this money to hire a team of miners and began to explore the forest. In the end, he found a small iron mine.
A year later, he handed over a hundred Gold Delons to the Lord Knight and obtained the rights to the subsequent mining of the mine.
With this first pot of gold and the subsequent contributions, Old Benson quickly got rid of his poverty and status as a farmer, becoming a free citizen. He married the housekeeper's daughter and opened a small trading company.
Now, Benson's Black Rose was not only famous in Castellan Rock, but it had also expanded the trade route all the way to Howling Castle, the heart of the Wind Firefly Plains.
This was the proudest thing Old Benson had ever done in his life.
"Tell the lads to hurry up. We need to reach Howling Castle before sunset!"
He looked at the slow caravan and frowned. He shouted, "In the inn, there will be hot meat soup, large pieces of oatmeal bread, and soft women … Or do you want to sleep in the wilderness for another night?"
The power of food and women was endless, and the caravan suddenly sped up.
Old Ben Sen sighed helplessly when he saw this scene.
In reality, the security around Howling Castle was quite good. Due to the Earl of Azure Mountain's strength and the fact that it was the center of the region, the city guards were often dispatched to sweep the plains of bandits and large beast hordes.
At that time, the Earl of Blue Mountain could proudly declare that every inch of land under his rule was extremely safe.
But now, the situation had changed!
The defeat in the war had not only cost the Earl of Blue Mountain a daughter and a large amount of ransom money, he had also lost hundreds of good men.
The city guard's main force was stretched thin. Additionally, with Viscount Garcia's sudden appearance, Howling Howl Castle's strength was at an all-time low.
On the plains, not only did they have to be careful of the wandering wild beasts, they also had to be careful of the stealthy horse bandits!
Old Ben Sen thought about it and estimated the strength of his small team. He shook his head sadly as he knew that he did not have the ability to resist the danger.
Thinking of this, he could not help but look at the back of the convoy.
There, a brown-haired handsome young man was riding on a black horse, looking around curiously.
He was a free that he met on the way. He called himself William and he came from Nia.
After receiving three Thales and verifying the man's identity, Old Benson happily accepted the man's request to travel with him.
Reality proved that he did not make a wrong decision.
This William was clean and did not have a trace of a peasant's temperament. In fact, he was quite similar to those nobles. Moreover, he was quite skilled in swordsmanship.
One night, Old Ben Sen saw with his own eyes that William wielded his longsword and spun under the moonlight like a skilled dancer, taking the lives of one warg after another.
In that one move, he saved the value of at least ten gold Delong in Old Ben Sen's pocket.
Thus, he immediately returned William's fare and even tried to curry favor with him by talking to William.
Soon after, Old Ben Sen was surprised to find that although William was strong, he did not seem to have left the Wind Firefly Plains and was full of curiosity about the outside world.
Unfortunately, his knowledge was not much higher than William's. When the last bit of knowledge in his head was emptied, William returned to his lazy attitude and continued to follow behind the carriage.
The convoy slowly moved forward and finally arrived at Howling City at dusk.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the thirty foot tall city wall stood tall. It was a dark green color with moss growing in the gaps and darkness, giving off an illusion of history.
"Sir Ben Sen, let's part ways here!"
While the convoy was waiting for the inspection to enter the city, Wu Ming came to bid farewell to Old Ben Sen.
"Oh, that's a pity …"
Old Ben Sen spread his hands: "What do you plan to do next, William?"
"I'll live in Howling Castle for a while, and … there's also that martial arts tournament! I want to try my luck! "
Wu Ming told the truth. Ever since he heard about this, he had this plan.
"With your martial arts, even if you can't become the champion, you'll definitely catch the eye of those knights and nobles …" Old Ben Sen said: "Maybe they'll take you in as a retainer!"
"Maybe … Thank you again, goodbye!"
Wu Ming waved his hand and turned to leave, but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
If he only wanted to become a knight's retainer, why would he come here?
… …
Howling City was bustling with people. There were obviously more mercenaries, adventurers, and even wandering free knights. The atmosphere was a bit noisy, especially in the taverns and inns. Loud noises and fights became the mainstream, which made Wu Ming know that Old Ben's information was true.
"Agriculture was extremely important in ancient times. Before spring plowing, there would be similar celebrations …"
"And in Howling Castle, the main program is the martial arts tournament hosted by the Earl of Blue Mountain! In the past, the participants were limited to warriors and knights representing the various nobles. The final champion would receive glory and prize money … But this time, there are changes. The standards will be relaxed, and the rewards will be greater. There are even rumors that the winner will receive an unimaginable promotion. Thus, a lot of speculators have come … "
Wu Ming understood the Earl of Blue Mountain's way of doing things.
Previously, they had lost many soldiers and generals, and now they needed to replenish their military strength.
This martial arts tournament was like a trial. There would definitely be a large number of outstanding knight seedlings and warrior candidates.
If he didn't absorb them, how would he recruit soldiers and buy horses to resist Viscount Garcia's pressure?
Wu Ming immediately smelled the scent of opportunity.
Of course, he wasn't the only one who saw this opportunity. Mercenaries and adventurers flocked over, almost bursting Howling City.
In the end, Wu Ming had to pay a high price of one thale a day to rent a room in a remote inn.
He had dinner in the inn's hall. The main dish was onion soup and a few pieces of bread. The innkeeper's cooking clearly couldn't compare to Auntie Noah's, which made Wu Ming feel slightly disappointed.
The hall was filled with the coarse smell of alcohol. In the corner, there was a bard singing beautiful fairy tales and poems.
Of course, there were also drunkards and prostitutes.
The atmosphere was noisy, and it was normal for a fight to break out at the slightest disagreement. However, the culprit had to pay for the cost of the tables and chairs. Otherwise, the owner of the hotel would unceremoniously throw them out onto the street and call for the sheriff.
The best outcome for those who violated Howling City's rules was to be expelled. Of course, there would be whipping and forced labor.
"There's still some time before the martial arts tournament …"
Wu Ming drank mouthful after mouthful of meat soup and thought to himself, "I can make full use of this time … the church and the books!"
These two things were considered luxuries in Nia Town.
Even among the knights, there were some who were illiterate. According to what Wu Ming knew, in all of Nia Town, perhaps only Baron Terry had a small study. However, it was clear that he wouldn't open it to Wu Ming.
Howling City naturally didn't have a public library, but there were many scholars gathered here. Wu Ming planned to visit them one by one in hopes that Jin Delong could open their doors.
As for the church, there was no need to mention it.
In the novels of his previous world, and even in history, which church in the Middle Ages wasn't an arrogant existence?
Wu Ming was also filled with curiosity about the operation of the church in this world.
"Gavri! You fat pig, you also dream of participating in the martial arts tournament? "
Amidst the laughter, the two mercenaries' faces turned red and they began a common brawl. The surrounding customers all made way for them, raising their glasses and shouting.
In the end, the fat mercenary's nose was broken by a vicious punch and he lay on the ground like a dead dog.
The victorious mercenary unceremoniously stripped off his leather armor and took away his purse.
At this moment, Wu Ming's palm slashed down like lightning.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking could be heard. Next to him, a triangular-eyed man quickly retracted his right hand as if it had been bitten by a poisonous snake. His eyes were filled with resentment.
"Three Hands?"
Wu Ming said coldly, "Don't let me see you again, or else I'll have to cut off one of your fingers according to the law!"
Pu!
As he spoke, he picked up the knife used to cut bread and stabbed it into the nanmu table.
The knife sank straight into the handle. This terrifying force immediately turned the resentment in Three Hands' eyes into shock. "Please forgive me, sir! I promise this won't happen again! "
He bowed and quickly retreated into the darkness.
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