In the early morning, before the sun had risen, and the distant sky had just turned white, Rogers was awakened by the noise of the sparrows. The bonfires had been extinguished, the pale embers were faintly smoky, and some were still sleeping on sheepskin blankets, while others were gone. Rogers stretched, softened his muscles, and cautiously walked through the pile of people on the ground toward the stream, smiling flatteringly at his companion who nodded faintly.

Picking up a handful of cool stream water, he washed his face happily, drank a few sips beautifully, and when the stream was reconstituted, Rogers was greeted by a young face, which was himself.

Everything but himself was foreign to Rogers. Six days ago, Rogers joined this group of mercenaries, and for the first time left the familiar mountain forest, taking an unfamiliar road, surrounded by strange companions, surrounded by unfamiliar woods, which made the young mountain people a little excited.

These companions claimed to be mercenaries of the Warhammer Mercenary Regiment, the uncle was the leader of the mercenary group, and now Rogers was also a Warhammer mercenary. Although Rogers didn't know what a mercenary did, he followed the group closely, and he understood from an early age that hunters become prey when they leave the group. Rogers found that the mercenaries barely took the mountain trail along the way. During the day, the group marches along the outskirts of the forest, and at night, they camp in the mountains. In addition to the adults like the leader, there are six young mercenaries who are about the same age as him, but these young boys and girls are not friendly to Rogers, but fortunately, there are still seven guys in the mercenary group who are willing to talk to Rogers, and they claim to be businessmen.

The merchant made a strange impression on Rogers. The merchants were the last to enter the cottage that day, and when they saw the blood and corpses on the ground, they were like frightened apes, squeaking and trembling, and chanting in a loud voice the Lord of Light. However, they soon happily offered salt, arrows, and other goods in exchange with the people of the stockade for amber, herbs, and animal skins. Rogers was confused, the cottage had been breached, the things and women in the stockade belonged to them, why should they be exchanged?

Rogers has a special ability to sense danger and other people's emotions. Rogers noticed that the merchants liked to count amber when they had nothing to do, and the more they counted, the happier they became. So, when the merchants were at their happiest, he asked the question. The fat businessman named Wei Qi generously told him that businessmen want fame and pursue profits, and if they rob their reputation, they can only rob it once, and the business can go on forever. Rogers was annoyed, he didn't understand at all, but he was willing to learn. Intuition tells Rogers that he can only integrate into the mercenary group if he understands it.

Hammer was also annoyed because he was lost.

Six days ago, they broke through the cottage and figured out what happened. The lord near the cottage is Baron Murphy, a vassal lord of the House of Solim. It just so happened that the second son of the Marquis of Solim was particularly keen on hunting, but the lord could not hunt uncontrollably. In order to curry favor with the Solim family, Baron Murphy tried to control the mountain forest as a hunting ground for Solim's second son. There are four villages in the mountain forest, more than 500 mountain people, whether it is driven or slaughtered, it will not solve the problem, without the mountain people, monsters or other mountain people will always come to occupy the territory, and it is also unrealistic to send soldiers to be stationed for a long time. Therefore, Baron Murphy supported a puppet, the leader of the mountain people, Moore. The baron made it clear to Moore that the forest would become the hunting ground for the second son of the Marquis of Solim, and that he would no longer allow the mountain people to hunt or migrate, and that the mountain people would live by gathering and exchanging amber and herbs for supplies, and that the baron also intended to release beasts into the forest.

Moore was originally a scoundrel among the mountain people, but after being driven out of the village, he actually took advantage of the lord's relationship, and he hurriedly agreed to all the baron's requests. Then, with the lord's army, Moore killed the leader of the exiled mountain people and became the head of the cottage, and then he began to annex the other three cottages, and when the mountain people heard that they could no longer hunt, the resistance was particularly fierce, and nearly 200 people died or fled.

The rest of the matter is logical, Moore and his cronies were beaten to death by the mountain people, and the Warhammer mercenary group carried out the third article of the mercenary manual, exchanged the supplies for some mountain goods, let the mountain people fend for their own way, and burned down the cottage again. Those survivors, whether they build their own cottages or take refuge with other mountain people, will spread the strength and rules of the Warhammer Mercenary Regiment, trading is a friend, and not trading is an enemy!

Although the mountain people fled after killing Moore with their own hands, it is unlikely that they would have taken the lord's knights to track down the mercenary group. In order to avoid unnecessary fighting, Hammer led the mercenary group out of the area quickly, only to find that the road was wrong.

Iron Hammer stood on a high place, looking at a vast and vast forest, and then looked at the map in his hand, it should be a mountain forest, he scolded: "They all say that Barol is a smart man, and the map he bought with a lot of money is actually a fake! What the hell is this?"

"It's not the right way to go. According to the map marking, the lord near the cottage was not Baron Murphy at all. Now, we can't turn back, and who knows if that baron is after us?"

Fermi took the map and looked at it carefully, Kidd looked at the dense forest below, and said, "Such a large forest should be the dark forest of Gambis. Now the question is, where are we in that corner of the Dark Forest?"

The Gambis Forest is the largest forest in the Kingdom of Gambis, with a size of 22,000 square kilometers, and is unfathomably deep and unfathomable, with many monsters that few humans have set foot in. It is said that a knight once led an army of more than 100 people into the dark forest to explore resources, but not a single one escaped. Since then, the Dark Forest has become a no-go zone for ordinary people. The mercenary group only knew that it might be a dark forest below, but they didn't know that this was the corner of the forest.

The three of them had a long time together, and they didn't have any clue, and Iron Hammer said impatiently: "Forget it, let's go to breakfast first." Ask those rookies again. ”

The people in the camp had already risen, they rolled up their sheepskin blankets and tied them, and they were ready to go on the road at any time, and the freedfolk traders instructed the novice mercenaries to spread out the skins and herbs one by one and let them be exposed to the sun. Seeing the three leaders coming, a few clever mountain people quickly swept away the ashes of the bonfire, and dug out a lot of simmered sweet potatoes from the ground, which were buried under the fire when the fire was lit last night. At this time, the sweet potatoes taken out are still hot, fragrant and appetizing.

After a hasty breakfast, Hammer called Rogers over.

"Little big man, do you know that the surrounding area is the territory of that noble lord?"

Rogers was tall and strong, like a grown man, but he was only a 15-year-old mountain man who knew nothing about the outside world, even Baron Murphy had only recently heard of it. Rogers kept shaking his head, Hammer sighed, and Kidd went to Fat Wech to ask about the situation.

"Boss Wetch, do you know that Baron Murphy's neighbor is the lord lord?"

"Where do I know? This is the second time I've been far away. Fat Wech was busy drying the red tendon grass and didn't raise his head, and Dodge, who was drying takin skins next to him, also said: "Even now, I don't know how many lords we pass by." ”

"They're all uninformed!" Fermi snorted indignantly.

Putting the last red-tendon grass away, Wei Qi clapped his hands with satisfaction, looked up and saw the three mercenary captains with sad faces, and his heart "chuckled".

"Captain Hammer, it can't be lost, right?!"

Hearing this, several vendors immediately gathered around, and Hammer had no choice but to tell them what was going on.

"Now, we can't turn back, we can't go directly to the territory of other lords, we have to find a remote place to go back. ”

Wei Qi suddenly became anxious, and hurriedly shouted: "Go back? Why do you want to go back? Didn't you say that you would go to the Neville Kingdom? We still have a lot of things to change, how can we go back? Captain Hammer, listen to me, we have exchanged a total of 64 amber, each amber is worth more than 10 gold soles, and there are 3 yellow ambers, which can be sold for at least 300 gold soles. These treasures were exchanged for 150 pounds of salt and 5,000 arrowheads, and the cost was less than a fraction of the profit. I heard that Neville Amber is of better quality, and it's all gone so far, why do you want to go and see it?"

"I didn't say I wanted to go back, but I don't know the map, and I don't know the way, how do I get to Neville?" said Hammer sullenly.

"Then find a town and ask someone, and it's better to buy a map. As soon as Dodge finished speaking, another freeman trader jumped up and objected, "With so many valuable things, there is no way here, and you won't be robbed?"

Wetch stepped forward and said, "I'm going to have to make a trip to town, there's not much salt left, and there's no linen." Some mountain goods also have to be sold quickly, the leather goods of the mountain people are not handled well, especially those takin skins, which are very delicate, and they will rot if they are not shipped, and the horns of the beasts occupy a special space, so they must be sold, and those honeys, if they fall, they will be all over!"

"Yes, yes, yes, we must find a town to ship, these takin skins are for the knight to make armor lining, especially pay attention to the quality, the price difference between the flawed leather and the perfect leather can be ten times!

"What if someone robs you?

The traders are silent, doing business in unfamiliar places, and it is inevitable to be exploited by the local snakes, but if they are targeted, it is a loss of both people and money.

"We won't go into the town! The mercenary group has rules when they enter the villages and towns, they have to pay according to the head, everything has to be checked, and they can only settle in the designated place. Otherwise, according to the bandits. We are all free people with no background, and no one can guarantee anything. Hammer said categorically.

The merchants all showed frustrated expressions, but Kidd said quietly: "The mercenary group will not enter the town, we will camp in the wilderness, but we can send some men to accompany you in, as long as you don't wear armor, don't bring bows and crossbows and spears, it's no problem." Leave the valuable goods in our care, and you go to buy supplies and sell them. We're responsible for the safety outside the town, and it's up to you inside the town, how about it?"

"That's great!" said Wedge, happily, as long as the dots are up and down, no one will rob the town, although it will inevitably be lowered, but at least the business of the mountain people can continue.

"Wake you up, go to church and say a prayer, donate some money. Naturally, the priest will not let everyone have an accident. Fermi laughed.

"But where is the town?" Dodge asked.

"Leave it to us about the town. Hammer looked up at the falcon in the treetops.

————————————

As the night fell, the mountain wind howled, the twisted branches of the trees danced, and the shadows on the ground moved with it, and the gloomy valley looked particularly terrifying.

An owl, half a man tall, flapping its wings, landed on a low tree, and by the dim moonlight, its green eyes looked around, as if looking for something.

"You're here. ”

The shadows of the dwarf trees rippled like water, and then filled with mist, and finally returned to calm. The big owl closed one eye, and the other became brighter, and it stared at the shadow under the tree, but a chuckle came from the shadow: "Don't bother with it, my body is not here." ”

The big owl let out a long howl, which gradually turned into a hoarse and unpleasant human voice: "Yin, why did you summon me, what can't you let those mortals communicate?"

"Recently, my subordinates have been stared at by people, and they can only run in person. The shadow fluctuated, and the voice continued: "Don't worry, there is no one here, no one will know that there are two wizards gathering, not to mention that we are not here in the body." ”

"What's the matter, tell me quickly, there's always a risk in using witchcraft. The big owl turned its ears, listening for everything within a radius of 500 meters, ready to fly away.

"I want to make a deal with your Shadow Council against a minor nobleman. The Shade said.

"Impossible! Killing nobles with witchcraft will inevitably lead to the Church's investigation, and the Pope's great prophecy is no joke!" the big owl decisively refused.

"Two newcomers!"

"What?"

"Haven't you Shadow Council been recruiting wizards? I've spotted two novice wizards who have been hidden by my men. Promise me they'll be yours!" the Graith whispered.

"Be specific about your plan, and if it's feasible, we can consider it. The big owl said.

"Hehe, I know you have a way to fight the Great Prophecy. Actually, this plan does not pose any risk to you, I would like to ask you to ask the demagogues of the Shadow Council to take action, influence the judgment of a noble lady, and then let the phantom deceive a silver knight, and finally ask the soul breaker to take action and assassinate a minor nobleman. The Yin Soul chuckled and continued, "Soul Breakers will die a natural death and will not attract the attention of the Church, and the Bewitcher's abilities are even more ethereal and untraceable, although he can't influence the knight, but that lady is just a trainee knight. As for the Phantom, he doesn't need to meet with the Silver Knight, just deceive his men and send a letter. ”

The big owl was silent for a moment, and then said, "The Broken Soul is dead, and the Bewitcher has also caused a lot of trouble, I'm afraid it won't help you." ”

"Are you prevaricating me?

The shadows were surging like a tide of rage, and seeing the anger of his old friend, the big owl explained: "Although the ability to shatter souls is strange, it is also dangerous, and it is very likely that it will be counterattacked. More than a year ago, Fireraven, the guide of Soul Breaker and the Bereaver, heard the whisper, and he didn't know what madness he had, and he actually thought the Whisperer was the king of shadows that we had made up. He sent Broken Soul to assassinate an elven nobleman, but Broken Soul had an accident. The fire crow still refused to give up, and sent a demagogue to influence the eldest son of a great nobleman to continue hunting the elven blood noble. Worst of all, the fire raven was discovered by a paladin, but fortunately he annihilated his own soul, so that our Shadow Council was not exposed. ”

The Shadow was silent for a long time, and very few wizards were able to hear strange sounds, and the owner of the voice was called the Whisperer by the wizards and the devil by the church. A wizard without a guide will be influenced by the Whisperers, do many things out of the ordinary, and then be purified by the Church. And those wizards who have a guide will be admonished not to pay attention to the whispers they hear, and the whisperers will soon disappear. As the guide of the Shadow Council, the Fire Raven is actually controlled by the Whisperers, and he is indeed a fool.

"Forget if the Broken Soul is dead, what did the Bewitcher do? The Shadow asked reluctantly.

"We suspect that the whisperers who influence the fire ravens crave the elven blood sacrifice, and that the fire ravens hunt the elven blood nobles in order to please him. After the Soul Breaker was counterattacked, the Fire Raven came up with a good solution, Raymond Peter, the eldest son of Duke Peter of the Borui Kingdom, was also a Moon Elf bloodliner, but he was not willing to be a mortal. The Fire Raven learns that Raymond is collecting the Sword Saint Draven's battle skill scrolls, so the Fire Raven allows the Bewitcher to influence Raymond's butler, and makes Raymond believe that by killing all the elven blood nobles, he can awaken the bloodline of the Sword Saint Draven. In the aftermath, we recovered the Bewitcher, but the assassination of the elven nobles had already begun. So far, three nobles have been assassinated. ”

"You're being too cautious. Raymond Peter is the perfect scapegoat. Let the bewitcher strike once, and you don't need to directly affect the noble lady, as long as you affect her henchman maid. Help me, you can get two new members, and if I find any new wizards, I will still be introduced to you. The Shade said.

"Shade, as long as you join our Shadow Council, your problems can be solved. The big owl persuaded.

"You want all wizards to be noble, but I'm already a nobleman, why do I want to join you? I'm not that noble to dedicate myself to other wizards! I don't think you'll be able to succeed! Wouldn't it be nice to cooperate?"

"Although you are a nobleman, you can only hide in the shadows and work for the great nobles, do you dare to reveal your identity? In the eyes of the Speaker, the Lord of the Church is nothing more than a powerful whisperer, and the clergy is also a wizard. Unlike the Pantheon, which only wants revenge, we can coexist with the Church as long as we abandon listening to whispers. The orcs in the north are ready to move, and when the centaurs set foot on the Sasan Empire, the human kingdom will need our strength, and we, the Chosen One, will become nobles like knights, worshiped by mortals, instead of hiding in the shadows and not even daring to come out. The big owl said feverishly.

The branches swayed, but the shadows no longer faltered, and the ghost said, "Great ideal, I've been helping you, haven't I? Now it's your turn to help me, and only then can the cooperation continue." ”

"Okay, who are you targeting? I need to consult with the other members. "The big owl no longer persuades the Shade to join the Order.

"Viscount Victor Wimbledon Randall. It's a coincidence, he's also an elven nobleman. You have to move quickly, if he is assassinated by Raymond's men, the plan will be meaningless. ”