The season of the earth is a pleasant season, the soft wind mixed with the fragrance of plants and flowers, gently blowing through the mountains and forests, blowing the clarion call for the recovery of all things, but not blowing the haze in the heart of the hammer.

The Warhammer mercenary group walked along the outskirts of the mountain forest for five days, and under the guidance of the alchemy crow, they finally found the first mountain village. The small mountain village is a small village, with dozens of shacks behind a high iron oak fence, and according to Hammer's experience, there are no more than 200 mountain people living here. However, there was not a single living person in the village, only scattered white bones and collapsed shacks, and the originally peaceful mountain village became a ghost land.

The deputy head of the regiment, Fermi, picked up a miserable white skull and looked at it carefully for a moment: "There are no tooth marks, no cracks, the food is very clean, even the brain has been pulled out, it is a snake-headed vulture." ”

With a wingspan of 2 meters and weighing more than 20 pounds, the snake vulture, a common bird of prey in the mountains and forests, is large and clumsy, so they have no ability to hunt, and live on scavengers, sometimes killing injured or dying animals. Their powerful beaks tear through tough hides and drag heavy entrails out, their long barbed tongues lick flesh from their bones, and don't leave a single scrap of flesh from a corpse that has been visited by a snakehead. Snakeheads can spew highly corrosive gastric juices, and hordes of snakeheads can even prey on other predators, but not mountain dwellers. In front of the mountaineers who are skilled in archery, these bulky birds are the best targets. The hammer from the mountain people is very familiar with the habits of these stupid birds, and it is impossible for them to attack the mountain camp, and the murderer is someone else.

The tall and burly barberry militiaman came over and said, "Commander of the Iron Hammer, no footprints of monsters and large beasts have been found, only the paw prints of red-haired jackals. The remains were dragged everywhere by the red-haired jackals, and at least 31 people died, including 22 men and 9 women, and judging by the size of the skulls and teeth, 11 were old people, 8 were children, and 12 were young and strong. ”

Hammer nodded, pointed to the large hole in the iron oak fence and said, "The knight did it." It must have been three months ago, a knight with a team of soldiers washed the village. He was the first to break through the iron oak fence and then cut the ropes of the drawbridge, and the soldiers rushed in and killed anyone they saw. There was no preparation in the village, many cubs died, and the others ran through the back door. The soldiers moved all the mountain goods they could take, and the corpses left behind were eaten by the snakeheads, and the red-haired jackals did not find anything to eat when they entered the field, and took away a lot of bones. That's pretty much it. ”

Fermi dropped his skull, dug out a handful of mud and rubbed his hands: "The killer child and woman are definitely not mountain people, and there are no monster footprints, that is a knight." I wonder why the knight didn't set the fire?"

In order to punish the disobedient mountain people, the knights often set fire to the cottage after breaking it, the trench around the village can stop the fire from spreading, and the billowing smoke is a warning to other mountain people. It is very rare to kill and loot like this without setting fire, and Iron Hammer asked with a gloomy face, "Which lord is nearby?"

Fermi took out the sheepskin map and looked at it, and said: "To the north is the Buryat territory, and to the south is the Chebman family." Hammer, what's going on?"

Hammer frowned and said, "It's a bit like driving the mountain people." Let's go. Just look for another village. ”

The merchants who were waiting for news at the bottom of the mountain village saw that Iron Hammer had returned with his men, and they all gathered around.

"How about it, are there any mountain goods in the village?"

"Will the mountain people trade with us?"

"It's better to let them come and trade with something. ”

Iron Hammer shook his head slowly, and said, "There is no one in it, this village has been washed." ”

"Ah, who did it? Doesn't this cut off our money?"

"It must be a bandit, or it's a monster!"

Hammer said coldly, "It was the knight who did it. The merchants fell silent for a moment, and after a while, Fat Wage asked cautiously, "Captain Hammer, is this village a den of thieves?

Most people think that the mountain people are vicious bandits, but in fact the mountain people are not bandits or madmen, they are fierce and simple, they can rob passers-by but rarely kill people, and often shelter people in distress. The strong are kings and the spirit of mutual assistance is the way for the mountain people to survive, otherwise they would have died out long ago. The prejudice of ordinary people against the mountain people is deep-rooted, and the hammer does not bother to explain it.

"Let's get out of here first and find a way to find a second village. ”

Four days later, Iron Hammer stood in the cottage with a pale face, this was the third mountain village they had found, and the situation inside was exactly the same as the first two mountain villages, scattered bones, broken shacks, without any food, animal skins, weapons, or living people. This situation shows that the nearby lords no longer allow the mountain people to reside in the mountain forest.

"Damned brutes, not even women and children! Greedy crumbs, not a single hair left! I must tell the priest, that the great Lord of Radiance may punish that mad bandit knight. ”

Fat Wech waved his fist, and the tragic situation in the village aroused his anger, and the most hateful thing was that he searched for a long time in the shack, and he really couldn't find a single hair.

Hammer glanced at Wei Qi speechlessly, he really didn't know what kind of materials these freeman merchants were made of, when he first saw the white bones, he cried and called his mother in fright, and then desperately searched every shack, even the collapsed shack.

Kidd, another deputy head of the regiment, hurriedly walked over and whispered, "Hammer, someone has been found." ”

"Let's go!"

In the evening, the Warhammer Mercenaries found a group of survivors in a valley, more than a hundred people, men, women, and children. They made a simple fence with sharpened sticks stuck diagonally into the ground to defend against ordinary beasts. Before they could get closer, several mountain dogs barked wildly, and the people in the camp quickly took out bows and spears to make a defensive posture, and when they saw the heavily armed mercenaries, they immediately opened their hunting bows, and the tips of the arrows pointed directly at the mercenaries dozens of meters away. And the mercenaries also aimed their hard bows at the mountain people behind the fence.

Iron Hammer took a deep breath, took the shield, and carried a fat yellow sheep and was about to step forward alone, but was stopped by the brute bull: "Commander, according to the manual of the mercenary group, I can't let you take risks." So saying, the bull picked up the yellow sheep, strode towards the mountain people on the opposite side, and when he was halfway there, he dropped the yellow sheep and retreated.

The mountain people were stunned for a while, and after a while, an old mountain man came out with two fat badgers, he carefully placed the prey next to the yellow sheep, looked at the disproportionate two prey, and untied the necklace around his neck and threw it on the badger, and then dragged the yellow sheep behind the fence.

"Amber Necklace!"

Fat Wech pounced on the necklace left by the old mountain man with an agility that was not commensurate with his size, but was pulled by the collar by the monkey militia next to him and slipped back. Hammer glared fiercely at the agitated merchants, turned and walked towards the mountain people, several militiamen following him closely, but none of them showed their weapons.

When the hammer threw the badger and necklace back into the group, a tall mountain man also came over.

"Wood. ”

"Hammer. ”

The leader of the mountain people named Mu nodded to the hammer and said, "You know the rules of the mountain people, and you are also the son of the mountain forest?"

Encounters with strange mountain people are generally avoided, and the exchange of prey is a way to express a demand for peaceful dialogue. It's been a long time since Hammer has used this method to communicate with the mountain people.

"It was, and now I'm a mercenary. ”

"Mercenaries are not friends with the mountain people! Wood said coldly.

"See the people behind me? They are freeman merchants and my employers, and they want to exchange mountain goods with the mountain people. Looks like you're in trouble, though......"

Wood interrupted the hammer and said, "Stranger, it's none of your business, we don't have any mountain goods to trade, so let's go!"

Iron Hammer shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and was about to leave, when the old mountain people who came out first shouted, "Wait!"

"Daddy!" Mu just wanted to stop the old mountain man, but was pushed away, and the old mountain man said to the hammer: "Captain Iron Hammer, do you have salt?"

Hammer smiled, "Of course there is." The question is, what do you have?"

"Why don't we come and sit down? We've lost our home, but we still have some good things, like amber that our friends like. ”

The old mountaineer said slyly, and then the mountaineer on the other side put away his bow and arrow, pulled out the wooden thorns on the ground, and the simple fence was like opening a door. Hammer gestured back, and the mercenary group put away their weapons and pushed the wheelbarrow into the mountain people's camp.

The freedfolk merchants were enthusiastically exchanging salt for amber and herbs with the mountain people, despite the darkening sky, while Iron Hammer, with his two deputy captains and a few mountain people, sat around the campfire, and he asked the old mountain people, "What is going on?"

The old mountaineer sighed and told Hammer what had happened to them. It turned out that three months ago, the mountain people had stocked up enough food to comfortably survive the cold water season, but the Buryat knight raided their village, and he escaped with the survivors, and then met the mountain people of several other villages, and learned from them that the Buryat army had sacked all the cottages in the mountain forest, and more than 400 mountain people were driven out. The well-known mountain people entered the Chebman to earn a living, and they usually only dealt with the Buryat village, but now they could only hide in the mountains and forests to survive.

"In the past, the head of the Buryat family traded fairly with us, so we basically ignored the village led by the Chebman, but we didn't expect that the lord of the Buryat family no longer allowed us to occupy this mountain forest, and we were desperate. Captain Hammer, we are all excellent hunters and can fight for you, please find us a way to survive and let us join your mercenary group. The old mountain folk pleaded with the hammer.

"I consulted with the guys. Hammer said quietly.

After a few mountain people left, the deputy head of the regiment, Fermi, said to Iron Hammer: "What do they mean, they are going to join the gang just after they met?"

Iron Hammer smiled bitterly: "The rules of the mountain people, if they can't survive, they will take refuge in other mountain people, and they will generally take them in, even if they don't take them in, they will take in women and children, and then give them some supplies, so that they can fend for themselves." In their eyes, I'm a mountain dweller!"

Kidd whispered, "I've seen it, there are a hundred of them, and most of them are old and weak, women and children. You don't want to do good, do you?"

Hammer pointed to his nose and asked, "Do you think I look like a man who does good deeds?"

"Okay, throw something at them and leave tomorrow morning. ”

Hammer nodded, and then said, "Well, ask the bull again." ”

The Wild Bull is the leader of these alchemy militias, and he is also the first batch of barberry militias to be created, and he has been cultivating the secret form of the barberry for a year, and his strength has been respected by the Iron Hammer, and Kidd and Fermi also nodded their heads.

The hammer called the bull over and told him what had happened.

"What do you mean?"

"According to Article 4 of the Mercenary Manual, the purpose of recruiting the mountain people who can be co-opted is to establish a stable stronghold and give appropriate help without endangering oneself. It is best to have a colony every 15 days of travel that can be used by caravans. The specific situation is at the discretion of the head of the regiment and the deputy head of the regiment, and others obey unconditionally. ”

Hammer and the two old fellows looked at each other, and asked after a long time, "Is this what you mean?"

"It's the will of adults!"

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Nicole and Edwin stood in front of a mud puddle of thousands of square meters, dazed.

"Victor, you're telling us to leave what we're doing so we need to come and see this pit?" Edwin asked, pointing to the shallow pit.

Victor smiled and nodded

"Victor, did you dig this hole?" asked Nicole in a coquettish voice, holding Victor's arm.

Victor laughed, "Baron Fenice, this is the pit I dug for your Yorkie's house. ”