PS: Tomorrow is the first day of the New Year, please forgive me.
PS2: Happy New Year's Eve to all the readers of this book!
The combat power of a mercenary group was usually determined by how strong they were compared to a regular army.
When the fighting power of a mercenary group exceeds that of a standard count's army (a standard count's army is composed of 60 knights, 500 cavalrymen, 1500 swordsmen or archers, and other standing troops. Temporarily recruited spearmen and peasant soldiers are not included), the mercenary group is generally referred to as a mercenary army.
Of course, a place like Nord would not have mercenaries. This kind of remote place could not afford to raise powerful mercenaries. The Empire and Brittania did not need them either, because they had more powerful knights as their standing army.
Only in Marlin Castle or the Southern Kingdoms would mercenary groups run amok. For example, the Iris Guards in Marlin Castle consisted of more than 6000 Cavalrymen and 10,000 Infantrymen. They were the main force guarding Marlin Castle.
It was worth noting that Knights were not to be confused with Cavalrymen. A Knight was a title and a guarantee of combat power, while a Cavalryman was just a general term for mounted soldiers.
A standard Knight unit consisted of several Horsemen, Trainee Knights, and many Horsemen.
"Of course not," Astor said with a smile. Astor smiled disapprovingly. The half-elves were also people who had seen big scenes. "There won't be a mercenary group of that level in Nord, Mr. Lane."
Olivier saw that Laing was interested in the Grey Blade mercenary group. "Mr. Laing, do you want to know about Birger?"
"'Grey Blade' Birger is quite famous," Laing thought as he rode on his horse.
The Bloody Axe mercenary group had suffered a great loss. It was not an exaggeration to say that Teresa had brought disaster to this ordinary mercenary group. Boris' injuries had not fully healed yet. Laing even doubted if they would ever fully recover.
After losing Boris, the vice-leader Werther had to shoulder the heavy burden. A mercenary group with only one Elite and two Elites were two different concepts, especially when the mercenary group had suffered a great loss in the battle with the Orcs.
Teresa wasn't aware of this, but Laing knew that the Blood Axe mercenaries were no longer reliable. If he wanted to go south, he would have to consider Gray Blade's fighting strength.
No matter how strong he was, he was only one person. There was once a very powerful knight in the Empire. He also relied on his strength to announce 28 complicated tax items in his knight's manor, forcing the peasants to make a living.
In the end, the powerful knight was rushed into his own house by the peasants. Then, he was tied to a scarecrow in the field and burned into a dried corpse.
Was this knight not strong enough? Was he ambushed?
No, this knight was very strong. He blocked the door and killed dozens of rioters.
However, everyone would get tired. For example, even if a hundred pigs were placed there for the knight to kill, he would probably be exhausted in the end.
Laing also had to do his best to prevent this from happening. He was not invincible, nor was he invincible. He was also human.
After a while, they arrived at the banquet.
The banquet in the evening was held in Villard's longhouse. It was already dark outside. The gate of the two-storey longhouse was wide open. Torches on the roadside lit up the snowy road. Several well-trained guards were guarding the gate. A whole roasted lamb was hanging over the bonfire. Golden grease was dripping into the bonfire, causing sparks to rise everywhere.
It smells pretty good ~ Ryan saw a guard swallowing a mouthful of saliva as he looked at the plump mutton and laughed heartily.
His laughter immediately attracted the guard's attention. "Good evening! Mister Laing! Please come in! The Lord is waiting for you inside! "
"Good evening!" Laing handed the reins of his Pine Nut (the name of his horse) to the guard and swaggered inside.
Olivier and the others wanted to follow him, but they were immediately stopped by a cold halberd. "Sir, please show me your invitation!"
Olivier's chubby face flashed with anger, and then he immediately showed a standard commercial smile. He took out a piece of paper with the Lord's Ring on it from his white bear fur coat and handed it to the guard. "Yes, sir."
This invitation was expensive, and it took Olivier some time to get it.
The guard's previous respect was swept away, and his expression became arrogant. After he confirmed that the seal was correct, he handed the invitation back to Olivier. "Keep your hands clean, profiteer. Don't cause trouble inside, or don't blame my halberd for drinking your blood!"
"Alright, you can all go in!"
Astaire subconsciously clenched his fist, but Martz saw this and patted him on the shoulder, shaking his head.
Laing didn't know what happened after that. When he walked into the Longhouse, he found that it was already full of people. The wide wooden table was filled with food, from simple bread to stew, to roast chicken and some rare fruits. The servants constantly used iron cutlery to bring out all kinds of food. The guests sat on long wooden chairs, drinking barley wine with clay cups and mugs.
"To the victory of the docks!"
"To the prosperity of Calzenhaven!"
"Cheers to the great Lord Villard!"
"Why … Who cares why? Today, let's have a good time!"
Most of the people present were soldiers who had participated in the battle at the docks. Many of them were even wrapped in bandages, but that didn't stop them from drinking to their heart's content. There were also a few who came by invitation, such as … a lady standing at the door.
"Teresa?"
"Laing! You're here? " The sorceress seemed to have an instinctive dislike for such a scene, so she just stood at the door with her staff. Laing, on the other hand, was just looking at Teresa's outfit, and he couldn't help but feel amazed.
Teresa was a standard beauty in every sense of the word, especially her outfit today. She wore a classical silk dress with golden canary patterns on it, a snow-white fox coat on her shoulders, and a pair of milky white pointy heels with sapphires inlaid on the tips, which shone brightly in the Longhouse.
The woman's calves were wrapped in a pair of thin black stockings, and her smooth jade-like skin was even more beautiful through the hazy silk stockings.
Stockings … Laing stared at the woman's stockings for a while.
The sorceress' family was really rich.
Stockings were a kind of alchemy invention. This kind of alchemy product that was popular among women was an out-and-out luxury. It turned out that stockings could only be made with the fur of unicorns that came from the Fairy Lake in the Fairy Holy Land in Lake Brittany or the best spider silk from the Underdark. Stockings could not only improve one's figure, but also protect one's skin and cover up some shortcomings. Therefore, it became a high-end product that was crazily sought after and loved by noble women.
However, in recent years, the Empire had finally made some breakthroughs in this field. For some reason, the Empire's Engineering College also had the ability to produce a small number of stockings. However, the Empire's Emperor, Franz Frey Friedrich, had forbidden the technology to be spread to the outside world. Therefore, the number of stockings entering the market every year was always very small. For example, Laing remembered that his foster mother spent 12 gold denars to get one. She treasured it so much that she would only wear it when she participated in important events.
Laing's gaze naturally attracted the sorceress' attention. She noticed that the man's gaze was on her calves and feet. Teresa raised her slender eyebrows and said, "Don't you know that it's ungentlemanly to stare at a lady like this? White Wolf Knight, Mr. Laing? "
"No, I'm just wondering why you're standing at the door. Don't you want to go in and find a seat?" Laing asked curiously.
For some reason, the sorceress was secretly dissatisfied with the man's lack of interest in her attire. She quickly expressed her dissatisfaction by saying, "You've been staring at me for so long. Aren't you going to say anything?"
"Uh, you're the one who doesn't want me to stare. Now, you're the one who wants me to stare. My dear Teresa, you're making things difficult for me." Laing sighed helplessly. He took a deep breath and his expression became serious. "I can't find the right words to describe your beauty. I can only say that you're especially charming today. Miss Teresa Trovic, may I have the honor of guiding you to this banquet?"
"Sigh … If only those men could talk like you, it would be much easier for Jialan to communicate with them." The sorceress was finally satisfied.
"Tch … If only Jialan could put away this awkward way of getting along with each other, it would be much easier for us to communicate with you," Laing retorted mercilessly.
"I know, I know. I'm already changing. Is there a quiet place? The smell in the room is a little heavy, and the noise is a little loud. " Teresa followed the man into the room. "I don't want to squeeze with them. You're a little later than I thought."
"Yes, something came up. Come with me." Laing led Teresa into the room. The long room was deep, and rows of tables and chairs were filled with soldiers and local officials. Most of them knew this rising star from the bloody battle at the docks. They all raised their glasses to him. Laing raised his left hand and smiled, indicating that he had heard them.
At the end of the room, Villard and his wife were sitting at the innermost table. When he saw Laing, the lord in his fifties stood up. "An important guest has arrived! Let me introduce you all. This is the son of my friend 'Bald' Norman, 'Sledgehammer' Laing! He's also our hero today, our hero who won the battle at the docks! Cheers! "
"Cheers!" A silver glass full of wine was passed around the table, and everyone took a sip. When Laing and Teresa sat down at one side of the table, the guard officer, Lauritz, handed a silver glass to Laing. "Mr. Laing, please."
"Thank you." Laing took the glass and took a sip.
Teresa's face turned green when she saw that Laing was about to pass the glass back to her. The silver glass had been passed around the table, and god knows how many stinky men had saliva on it. She subconsciously shrank back.
"Hahahaha!" Laing laughed. He did not pass the glass to Teresa. Instead, he passed the glass to the next person. He even helped the sorceress explain, "She doesn't drink much because it's not good for concentration."
A spellcaster needed to focus when casting spells. Ryan's words weren't wrong.
After a few rounds of drinking, Villard gave the order and the banquet began. Almost everyone stood up and raised their glasses in twos and threes. Everyone was talking loudly about a series of recent events, from the prices of goods, to what was popular in the upper class, to the war with the northern barbarians. They were all talking about it.
"It can't be helped. That's the custom in Nord. Since Mr. Villard wants to show off his silver set, the custom is for everyone to take a sip from the glass," Laing whispered into Teresa's ear, "Don't worry, I know you don't like it."
"Oh, I've had enough. I really regret coming to this banquet. I even dressed up for it." The sorceress' high heels were thin and long. She stood behind Clayon and said, "Oh my god, there are only three fireplaces in such a big house …"
"Are you cold?" Laing led her to one of the fireplaces. The two men who were warming themselves by the fireplace immediately moved aside and gave the two of them a seat by the fireplace.
"Sometimes, we need a reason to gather everyone together. A business deal, a business deal, or even some tacit agreements and contracts are negotiated in this kind of environment." Laing casually broke off a drumstick from the roast chicken on the plate next to him and bit off half of it in one bite. "I'll go take a look over there. You rest."
"I know this better than you!" Teresa watched the man walk away and continued to warm herself by the fireplace. Her body had not recovered, and her outfit today was a little cold, especially when she was not wearing boots. Although her bare calves and feet were wrapped in stockings, it was better than nothing.
However, her quiet time did not last long. Soon, it was broken. "Beautiful lady, can I buy you a drink?"
The woman raised her head, a little displeased.
Unexpectedly, standing in front of her was … a handsome man. He had blue eyes, a high nose bridge, and the contours of his face were harmonious. His black hair was tied into a small ponytail, and he wore a round-rimmed lens over one of his eyes. He was dressed in the clothes of an Empire noble: a loose shirt, tight pants, fashionable shoes, and a hat with a white feather.
Before Teresa could react, he began to introduce himself. "It's my honor to introduce myself. My name is Eyke, Eyke Albrecht. I come from the Empire. You can just call me Eyke."
"Alright, Mister Eyke. My name is Teresa, Teresa Trovic. Thank you for your kindness, but …"
"I think I should introduce myself to you, Madam Teresa!" Who would have thought that this handsome guy would not give the sorceress a chance to refuse. He continued, "I'm a knight … Alright, a trainee knight. But I already have my own warhorse and armor. I also have a family emblem. Look!"
After saying that, Ike showed his family emblem to the sorceress. On his family emblem, a dove flew over a kite shield with an arrow in its beak.
"Thank you, Mister Eyke, but now I …"
"Let me tell you about my glorious past! Beautiful Madam Teresa! My story is a long one. If you want to talk about the most famous incident, it would be the Battle of Winle three years ago. I participated in that battle and followed the White Wolf Knights to launch an attack against those despicable Barbarian scum … "The handsome guy immediately started talking about his glorious history without stopping.
It's over! He had met a difficult person! Teresa rolled her eyes. The sorceress's thin heels drew circles on the wooden floor of the house …
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