"This is … a dog hole? No, it's not a dog. " Astell led Laing to the corner of the village wall. There were already a few mercenaries standing there. The vice leader of the Blood Axe Mercenary Group, Wayde, was there as well. Banda, whose arm was still hanging in front of his chest, nodded when they saw Laing. Wayde nodded because of Laing's strength, while Banda nodded because of Laing's life-saving grace.
Mercenaries tended to be chaotic. Compared to rules, they cared more about friendship.
In the corner of the wall, there was a big hole that had been opened from the bottom of the wall. The bricks and soil had been dug out by some kind of creature, leaving a hole big enough for two people to crawl through.
"We can't find enough material to fill it up. If this thing can bite through the foundation, then it's useless no matter what we put in," Wayde said worriedly.
"Also, we found this." Astaire led a few people out of the wall and found a pile of rancid things not far from the wall.
"Some kind of large creature?" Laing asked curiously.
"It should be. From the shape of the feces, it should be a rather large creature." Wayde made his own judgment. As a Great Swordsman, he had been a mercenary for many years and was very experienced.
"Let's arrange for two people to stand guard here at night!" Laing felt that there was no other way. The forest in the distance stretched to the mountainside. Arranging for people to go into the forest to look for traces of this beast was tantamount to giving them fresh meat.
"Also, I just saw a flash of fire in the forest about 500 meters from here. I suspect there are bandits on the mountain!" Astell walked to Laing's side and whispered in his ear.
"Are you sure?" This time, Laing raised his vigilance. According to the previous guard captain, Lauritz, there were indeed bandits and robbers around Mount Hodaran.
There was no problem with the half-elf's dark vision. If he said he saw a flash of fire, then there must be one.
"I'll go there myself!" Laing nodded. There was no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days without being on guard for a thousand days. Since there were bandits, the best way to deal with them was to get rid of them.
They arrived at the abandoned village at half-past four, and it was not even six yet. Laing returned to the big house in the middle of the village and saw Roste instructing his men to continue strengthening the house. "You guys, plug this gap. Yes, take those wooden planks and nail them down. Then tie them up with canvas!"
Seeing Laing walk over, Rost smiled and said, "Mister Laing, you've come early. We're still building the stove to boil water. It'll be a while before we eat. If you don't have anything to do, Mister Laing, feel free to stroll around or have a chat with Mister Oliver and the others. The rough work will be done by the boys. Also, Mister Birger is back. I'm sure you'd like to hear about his harvest."
"I'm leaving for a while to scout the area. I'll be back soon." Laing said casually. He turned around and saw the sorceress standing behind him. "What's wrong, Teresa? It's cold outside. You should stay in the house."
"I'm not a spoiled piece of trash. Laing, are you going out alone to scout? Have you forgotten that we're teammates? Or are you saying that you don't want to be teammates anymore because you can't be partners? " Teresa's silver eyes were filled with a dangerous aura. Laing believed that if he gave a bad answer, the sorceress would really give him a hard time.
"Let's go take a look at our assigned places." Laing saw that there were quite a few people who wanted to watch a show, so he spread his hands to show that he had no such intention.
As the two strongest and most respected people in the team, Laing and Teresa were assigned to a stand-alone house. It was only a dozen steps away from the big house in the center. The house had a layout of one room and one living room. The sorceress chose to live in the inner room, and the living room was left to Laing to rest.
"Well, this hole isn't that big. It shouldn't leak too much at night. Hahaha, don't you think so?" Laing found that although the roof of the house didn't leak, the walls of the living room were still damaged. Looking at the messy wooden planks and wrapped canvas, he felt that it was good to have such an environment at night.
"What happened just now? What happened? Can't the mercenaries do the scouting? Why did they ask you to go out? " Teresa opened the door of her room. She had already laid out the carpet and camel fur quilt in the room.
"I took the initiative to go out and see if there's any game." Laing explained a little. "It's so cold. I want to move around more and get some meat to eat."
"Are all men so restless? My father … "Teresa crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was about to speak impatiently when she realized that she had said something she shouldn't have, so she changed her words." Alright, you go. I'll wait for you here. I won't participate in the gathering outside. "
About ten minutes later, the Royal Knight walked alone in the dark Black Forest. The snow had just stopped, but the sky was still covered with dense clouds. Most of the trunks of the trees were so thick that it would take a person to wrap their arms around them. The heavy snow would bend the branches from time to time and fall to the ground, covering the sound of Laing's footsteps.
Laing carefully walked forward while thinking about the sorceress's words.
Teresa had a father, that was for sure. There was no country of women in this world, and there was no Zimu River that could directly guarantee pregnancy. The sorceress definitely had a father, and according to Laing's knowledge, Teresa's mother, Aurora, was originally the daughter of a noble in the Empire. She eloped with her husband and gave up her title. In the end, she relied on her strength to join the Garland Council and settled down in Skyvault Castle.
This was very strange because Laing had seen Aurora a few times. She was an outstanding woman full of wisdom and talent, so the man who could kidnap her was definitely not a good-for-nothing or a hooligan. Reality was not a web novel. There were not so many good-for-nothing protagonists who could easily win the heart of a noble lady who had been educated in the Middle Ages. Therefore, Teresa's father was at least a person with some ability.
Furthermore, the sorceress was 27 years old this year, and Aurora, as a powerful witch, had been reigning over the continent for fifty years. So why did Teresa rarely mention her father? Looking at her expression, it didn't seem like there was hatred or shame.
He couldn't figure it out. Looking at Aurora's appearance, it didn't seem like she had been abandoned.
"Forget it, when did I feel curious about her?" Laing couldn't figure it out. The information he had was too little, so he decided not to think about it. The man advanced along the path in the forest. He carefully advanced along the gaps between the trees. He wasn't a wood elf and had no way to secretly advance in the forest, so he had to be as careful as possible.
There was once a joke, "Knights are not afraid of dying honorably in battle, but they are afraid of dying dishonorably."
What was the weapon that killed the most knights?
It wasn't swords, arrows, or magic.
It was a dung fork.
This weapon commonly used by farmers had amazing lethality. Many honorable knights had spent half their lives on the battlefield, but in the end, they died in disgrace under this weapon. This was especially true when the dung fork was often covered in feces, and the wound infection was even more fatal. Since ancient times, who knew how many powerful knights had died under the dung fork.
Laing had an extraordinary physique, so it was difficult for ordinary weapons to hurt him. However, as mentioned before, the legendary rank was not invincible against ordinary and elite rank enemies, so he still had to be careful.
The Royal Knight carefully moved in the direction that Astor had pointed out. In fact, this matter should have been solved by the half-elf herself, and it wasn't Laing's turn to do it. Laing just wanted to try his luck and see if he could get something out of it.
His luck was good, and he soon found traces of bandits.
Under a tree about eighty steps away from the Royal Knight, there was a group of people holding torches. Their clothes were tattered and full of patches, and most of their armor didn't fit. Their weapons were also varied, and only their messy hair and stubble looked exactly the same.
"Boss! This convoy is too big, and there are only twenty of us. I'm afraid we can't beat them, "a bandit with braided hair said.
"That's right, boss. I also saw several fully-armed knights!" Another subordinate added.
"Damn it, but if we don't act now, we won't be able to get anything good in the near future. The snow is going to seal off the mountain soon. If we don't do something big before then, how are we going to celebrate the Winter Veil Festival?" The bandit leader held a scimitar and pondered for a moment, then ordered, "How about this, Noah, you take a few people and wait here. When it's midnight, find a chance when they're relaxed and release a smoke signal. I'll take a few people and rush in through the secret passage. Catch them off guard, steal their stuff, and run."
"Got it, boss!" A small bandit leader nodded. The bandit leader looked at the camp at the foot of the mountain, unwilling to give up. If this convoy had fewer people, he would have already led his men to rush in.
The Winter Veil Festival was approaching. Only by doing something big would they be able to enjoy the festival, right?
"Damn it, it's all because of these vampires, a bunch of bastards from the Empire and Marlin Castle. They stole our wealth and took our things. Everything in Nord belongs to Nord! Remember, men, we're not robbing them. We're doing justice for the heavens! We can't sit back and watch these bastards take away our wealth! " The bandit leader cursed, "F * ck these merchant bastards. They don't do anything every day, and they earn a lot of money? These things should belong to us! Kill these vampires, long live Nord! "
"Boss, you're right!"
"We've been annoyed by these bastards for a long time!"
"I just don't know if there's a woman to cool us down?"
"Yes, yes, there will be! There will be bread, and there will be milk. "
"Let's do something big and go home for the Winter Veil Festival!"
The bandits yelled. Most of them quickly left the area under the tree with their leader. They seemed to have a special path in the forest, and they didn't make any noise when they walked.
Only the leader named Noah and the four bandits remained under the big tree. From Ryan's perspective, there was something similar to a watchtower on the branches of the big tree. It could monitor every movement in the abandoned village at the foot of the mountain.
Thinking back to the bandit leader's words, Laing had an answer in his heart. It seemed that the abandoned village had a secret passage dug by the bandits, and the whole resting spot was a trap for the bandits to lure the delicious prey into the trap. If the prey was too strong, they would pretend that nothing happened. If the prey was too weak, they would swarm and kill passers-by, rob their wealth, and take their lives. Then they would glorify it as "fighting to protect the wealth of the Kingdom of Nord".
What a great acting skill.
What should I do?
Laing's mind spun. I got it!
Noah and a few others were warming themselves around a small fire under the tree. "Damn it, who didn't light the fire properly? Who accidentally lit the wood? Come out now! "
"It's not me, it's not me!" The bandits quickly shook their heads.
"Damn it, you guys better be careful. What if we're discovered? Damn it, there are a few knights down there. If I knew we'd meet … "
"Meet what? Knights? " A ghostly voice came from behind them. A handsome man in chainmail holding a huge two-handed hammer suddenly appeared from the shadows. "I'm the Nord White Wolf Knight, 'Sledgehammer' Laing! Son of Norman, Lord of Ortney, what are you doing here?! "
The man was tall, and the knight's badge on his chest shone under the light of the fire. The white wolf head gave off a strong pressure.
"Who are you?!" The leader subconsciously raised the sword in his hand and said fiercely, "Put … put down your weapon and take out your valuables!"
"Hmph!" Laing directly reached out and grabbed the sword. Under his powerful brute force, the sword was twisted into a lump of metal and thrown to the ground. "The valuables are here. Come and get them!"
The bandits were scared out of their wits. Their previous fierceness and arrogance had all disappeared. Noah directly took the lead and knelt down. "No, no! Lord Knight, we didn't mean to offend you. We're just villagers who came into the mountains to hunt! "
"Lies!" Laing's right hand struck out fiercely, and the tree next to the Royal Knight was directly pierced through. Splinters of wood and snow fell into the forest, causing a loud noise. The bandits were scared witless by the powerful force and desperately kowtowed. "We were wrong! My lord! We're just villagers who can't live anymore. We came out to block the road because we had no choice! This was the boss' idea, not ours! It's not ours! "
As expected, Laing looked at the bandits who were scared out of their wits. His guess was right.
These bandits were probably villagers who couldn't live anymore and had no choice but to become bandits. They were cruel and vicious to the merchants and travelers, but when faced with a knight like Laing, they had a natural fear.
This fear was engraved in their bones, and would not disappear with a few words or weapons. Laing only showed a little of his strength, and their will to fight instantly collapsed.
"Take me to your boss, quick!"
"Yes … Yes!"
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