The detailed introduction of Ugor's people had already been mentioned before, so it would not be repeated here. Laing sat on the top floor of the Olivier Merchant Guild, watching the performance of the Ugor Circus. He frowned and sighed softly. At the same time, he felt a little amused. "How are the goods of the Ugor's people selling?"
"Average. They can only be sold slowly." The great merchant of the Empire, Olivier, sat opposite Laing. "Who would have thought that these damned Northerners would bring so many goods? I suspect that Tsar and the Empire are behind this."
"Hehehe. It's not easy for Kislöw to resist the invasion of Chaos all year round. Just bear with it. We're doing him a small favor." The knight of the Holy Grail, Laing's flag bearer Armand, looked relaxed. He picked up his big wooden cup and found that he had finished the wine. The servants of the merchant guild immediately came up to refill it.
This wine was the famous liquor from Kislöw — vodka. It was tasteless, light, and refreshing. It was not sweet, bitter, or astringent. It was just like a burning flame. Armand was eating it with a plate of Brittany horse sausages.
Laing's right-hand men, the royal knights Olivier and Hex, as well as his recently appointed female courtier, Veronica. As for the other female courtier, Teresa was still recovering from her injuries. Laing arranged for her to rest in the guest room of his castle, where Emilia and Olica would take turns to take care of her.
As for his wife, Suria … she was now playing with a brown bear in the castle.
Ugor's mounted archers had arrived at Laing's territory two or three days ago. In order to fool the public, Laing had ordered them to perform immediately. However, when the group of Mrs. Kiesler arrived, Laing found that they had taken the opportunity to smuggle more than thirty carts of goods, including almost all of Kislöw's specialties, all kinds of ores, hides, wine, handicrafts, and textiles.
The count quickly understood that this must be a large-scale trade that Mrs. Kiesler saw the opportunity to carry out. With the Empire's intermediary and Laing's name, this trade only required a very low tariff (only the tariff at Bordero's port). The Kingdom of Kislöw took the opportunity to let the mounted archers carry all the goods they could carry.
The kingdom of Kislev was the first line of defense for the forces of Order against the forces of Chaos. This was especially true for the Woogol Tribe. These nomadic tribes that had been riding, shooting, and hunting for generations had been at war with the barbarian tribes in the north for close to a thousand years. They were both sentries and scouts. In order to survive, countless Woogol archers had spent their entire lives fighting against the barbarian tribes. They would not rest until they were dead.
"Our sacrifice is so great that Tsar has been trying to forget it."
— The Ugor tribe north of the Linsk River
The captain of the Ugor mounted archers was called Mikoyan Ivanovitch Govorov. This Ugor captain had a lot of experience in accepting mercenaries from major forces. He had fought for the Empire and the Kingdom of Nords many times. He had even been hired by the dwarves on the Roof of the World. Laing thought that the Empire was more reliable. This group of mercenaries was relatively obedient and knew the rules. Laing did not need to emphasize too much.
As for why this group of people became mercenaries, it was actually quite sad. The Taqir Desert where Kislöw was located was basically unsuitable for farming. The food that could be obtained by nomadic herding was also extremely limited. When the vast land could not support themselves, mercenaries appeared.
"What's worse than your mother being a Garan witch is that your wife is also a Garan witch," Veronica said. Today, Veronica was wearing a light blue dress with a peach pink fishtail. Her dark brown hair was tied with a blue bow. Her sweet face stretched out her small hands to support her face as she smiled and said a famous proverb from Kislöw. Under her gray coat, the pink dress only revealed the width of a finger. Then, her small and round ankles and pink insteps were wrapped in flesh-colored stockings. A pair of fiery red strappy heels was Laing's New Year's gift.
This was a joke from the nobles of Kislöw. After many years of careful planning, as one of the important members of the Garan Council, the Ice Queen (who called herself the female Tsar) Katarina had completely controlled the forces of order in the northernmost part of the world. The male nobles of the entire kingdom were often married to Garan witches or Ice witches. With the help of magic and pillow talk, the Ice Witches led by Queen Katarina had completely controlled the military and political power of Kislöw.
Laing glared at Veronica. He knew that Garan was mocking Teresa. At the same time, she was also mocking him in a roundabout way for having an Ice Witch as his female minister.
She made it sound like she was not a Garan Witch.
"Lady Veronica, do you know a lot about the Ugor people?" Holy Grail Knight Armand asked curiously. Seeing that Veronica had officially obtained the status of a female minister, the knights and nobles in the territory were more polite to the two witches.
"Actually, I don't know a lot about them." Veronica shook her head. "I've met them before. The Ugor mounted archers have special privileges in the Kingdom of Kislöw. For example, when they pass by a village, they can directly ask the villagers to provide them with a sumptuous dinner and women. Otherwise, they can sue Tsar for not fulfilling their obligations."
"Why is that so ridiculous?" Armand frowned first. He asked Veronica, "Doesn't the Kislöw court know that giving these mounted archers such power is highly likely to lead to rampant looting and disruption of the villagers' production?"
The Holy Grail Knight, who abhorred evil, could not accept such an outrageous law.
"The reason is simple. The Kislöw court does not have the ability to pay these mounted archers," Veronica said nonchalantly. Veronica said nonchalantly, "How is it possible to make the horse run and not eat grass? So the court can only give these horses the right to find grass to eat. "
"They have to eat." Olivier, who came from the Empire, was very open-minded about this. He smiled and said, which only made Xhex and Armand roll their eyes.
"My Count, do you have a plan for hiring these mounted archers?" Xhex turned to Laing. The thirty-year-old knight was very mature and steady, to the point of being a little stiff. "I think they will only bring trouble."
"But we need a long-range mobile force like this. Do you still remember the situation when we fought the northern barbarians outside Lyonnasai Castle?" Laing frowned and continued, "If it wasn't for the Thunder Gunners' ambush and volley, it would have taken a lot of effort to take care of the barbarian cavalry."
"The Wugorians have no problem with riding and archery. Every Wugorian is taught to ride and shoot from the moment they are born. You don't have to worry about that," Veronica emphasized.
"Yes." No one could object to this point.
"Then we will have to train the knights and infantry to cooperate with the mounted archers. Oh, right, and the dwarves." Xhex thought of something else and said.
"Yes, we will need the dwarves' help to attack the Blackstone Stronghold." Laing thought for a moment and said, "Since the Ugor mounted archers are here, Xhex, Olivier, Armand, I will leave this group of mounted archers to you."
"Yes!"
… …
Thirty minutes later, the performance of the circus was temporarily over. Mikoyan Ivanovich Govorov came in front of Laing. He bowed deeply and said in a not very fluent voice, "My respect, Count."
This was a man who looked like a typical Mrs. Kiesler. He had light-colored skin and a very strong body. His nose was very narrow and high, and his facial features were very clear. He was tall and very strong. He carried a hard bow on his back and a handaxe on his back.
Laing noticed that this man was wearing a slanted collar coarse linen shirt, a coarse coat, skinny pants, and a pair of leather boots. His hair and jewelry were obviously specially groomed. He tried to be polite, but his posture was obviously not standard. At least, it was not standard at all for the Brittany court.
"Welcome to the Count of Glamorgan, Mikoyan …" Laing thought that this name was too long and hard to pronounce.
"Just call me Ivan," Ivanovich said. He did not show much expression. He looked up and said, "You pay, and we fight. This is just a deal. We are mercenaries, and you are the employer. Simple as that."
"Very good. I like simple things." Laing nodded. In fact, he was too lazy to argue with these Ugor people. Whether it was their living customs, food culture, religion, or living patterns, the Ugor people were very different from the Brittany people. Laing did not have any expectations that these people could integrate into the society. "Who introduced you here?"
"It was Duke Auster, Elector Wolfenstein, His Excellency Wamir von Zhukov." Ivan stood up straight. He looked like a big bear from the outside, with two long strands of beard hanging in front of his chest. "He introduced us here."
After that, the Northerner stood up straight and did not speak anymore.
Laing wanted to ask more questions, but he did not know what to ask.
"Alright, that's all for now. Ivan, you can tour the nearby areas for a while."
The sound of high heels clicking on the wooden floor came from behind Laing. Veronica whispered in Laing's ear, "Auster and Kislöw have a very good relationship because they have always faced the repeated invasions of the barbarians from the north together. Auster's army and Kislöw's army can even exchange defense zones."
"I know that. Veronica, do you remember Oleg? The eldest son of Elector Wamir? " Leon gestured for the two of them to go downstairs. Veronica grabbed his arm and pressed her soft bosom against his arm. "That Baron Wolffin who's dressed extravagantly and keeps saying that he's going to annihilate the Nordics?"
"Yes, Auster and Kislöw have a good relationship. I heard that Snow Queen Katarina specially gave Oleg a magic scimitar, the Blade of Frost." Laing calmed himself down and said with a smile, "It's definitely not as good as the Rune Tooth, but it's still a powerful weapon."
"Snow Queen Katarina is a sacred-level ice element witch. After she ascended the throne, she used her magic power to build the entire Bokaha Palace into a giant fortress made of ice and snow. She is different from her father, Bokaha. Bokaha likes to go to war personally. He personally led the Karim guards and Kislöw Bear Cavalry to the north of the Linsk River many times to fight the barbarians and finally died on the battlefield in the troll kingdom. Unlike her father, Katarina does not like to go to war personally. She prefers to stay in the palace and appoint generals to go out and solve problems. If you ask me, Mrs. Kiesler should thank you. After Egil's death, the Northerners were busy with the civil war. From the news from the Sky Fortress, the number and frequency of the barbarians going south has greatly decreased." Veronica purposely dragged her voice and said, "Really, these Northerners don't know how to thank you."
"Fighting against the Chaos is the best way to thank me." Laing did not mind. Fighting against the Chaos was a duty, not something to be rewarded. It could only be said that they were on different sides. Veronica was not that passionate about fighting against evil. What she liked most was to spend time alone with Laing and do her own research in the tower. Especially after her wizard tower was built, Gallan Witch, who liked to live a luxurious life and a top-notch environment, was actually satisfied.
"Well, anyway, you are the hero of the kingdom and the champion of the Lady of the Lake. You want fame and fortune. I am just a little witch who is your vassal. You can play with me and kick me out of the palace at any time … Ah!" Veronica pretended to be pitiful. However, Laing just smirked and picked her up by the waist and put her on his pure-blooded elven horse, Grape. Grape soon realized that it was not its master who was riding on it, so it impatiently lifted its hooves and signaled Veronica to get off.
Laing stroked Grape's mane, and only then did Grape calm down.
"Speaking of your wizard tower, I haven't been there for a long time. What has your magic workshop been making recently?" Laing also got on his horse. He held Veronica's hot body in his arms and signaled Grape to hurry up.
The pure-blooded elven horse's load capacity was amazing. Grape whined, but still lowered its head and walked quickly toward the castle.
"Recently? My magic workshop is not only producing all kinds of potions, but it is also making explosive bullets. " Veronica thought for a moment and said, "It's the kind of magic bullets that are loaded with dwarven guns and will explode when they hit the target. Want to see it?"
"Let's go and have a look. I have some ideas by the way." Laing kissed Veronica's cheek and said with a smile, "Do you want to know what I have prepared for you?"
"What?"
"Light magic!"
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