The Nord Kingdom is located on a flat strip of land on the narrow coast in the north of the Calradia continent, bordering the snowfields of the Kingdom of Vigia to the east, and the Suno, the former center of the ancient empire and now the territory of the Swadia Kingdom, to the south.

At the junction of the Suno Plain and the territory of the Nord Kingdom, it was once a land ravaged by war. Every day, a babbling stream flows through this fertile land, eventually flowing into Wakakai, where the day's shining sun sets in the west and slowly disappears through the clouds into the Jeerberg Mountains in the distance.

Many years ago, the mighty Nord heroes rode the waves to the steppes and established their own country, but the invasion had to stop in the face of the thousands of miles of treacherous mountains - over the mountains was the rich Suno-Plain, where thousands of Imperial cavalry were ready to attack, and the Nords were reluctant to take any more risks, so it became the border of the kingdom's territory.

The majestic Djerberg Mountains were once a natural barrier to the empire, and many years later became the defense line of the Nord kingdom. In addition to the vast plains under the mountains, there are also wheat fields cultivated by farmers, and it is a thriving scene.

The Nords forgot their former barbarian life and began to plow the fields and learn to do business, as if they were the people of Calradia.

Since there was no war between the Nord Kingdom and the Swadia Kingdom during this time, the land around the Djerberg Mountains had a peaceful peace, even if it was only for a short time.

McCann is a small, nondescript village located southeast of the Jerberg Mountains. Today this quiet little village welcomed guests.

François finally arrived at the junction of the village after a not-so-easy journey. His original short robe was replaced by a leather armor. He had a sword tied to his waist and a sturdy horse behind him.

The young man patted the dust off his body, looked at him and asked puzzledly, "I think Sagoth is a rich royal capital." There's no need to travel this far to find a helper. ”

"You are an outsider and may not know the form of the continent of Calradia. François explained, "We have come out to go to the villages to recruit soldiers in the prime of life, which is also the source of troops for the armies of various countries on the mainland. The villages near the royal capital had already been planned as conscription sites for His Majesty's majesty, so we had to go to other villages to recruit men. ”

The young man said, "If I knew that I had to travel such a long way, I might as well solve that gang of pirates by myself, and there seems to be no difference in the amount of body consumed by the two." ”

Looking at the young man with easy words. François could not help admiring himself, and he then said: "In fact, there are soldiers in the towns that can be recruited, but these soldiers are more expensive - mercenaries. You should know. Their fighting power is good, and they may be worth using. But usually they live in my tavern, and I haven't seen them for the past few days. ”

The young man shook his head slightly and stopped talking. He led the horse into the village.

Two strangers were seen coming to the village. The villagers looked at them in amazement. Some villagers even put down their farm work and gathered together to discuss.

"It's not here to collect taxes, is it?"

"Nonsense, we just handed over the money to the lord's butler a few days ago. ”

"Could it be Haikou?"

"Have you ever seen two pirates come out to act? Even if it's really a pirate, so many of us are not afraid of them. ”

“......”

Vaguely hearing the whispers of the villagers, François was a little helpless, and walked up to say hello: "Hello, where is the village chief?"

"I am. An elderly villager came out and took a few private looks. François couldn't see the details, so he said respectfully: "Welcome to the village of McCann." Is there anything you can do?"

François glanced back at the young man a little nervously, but he didn't get any signal, so he had to pluck up his courage and say: "We're passing by here, and we're going to buy some food, and by the way, let's see if we can recruit a few young men......"

"What!" the village chief was a little excited, "Yesterday, Lord Luda just requisitioned more than a dozen strong men here, who will plant our fields when they come to recruit soldiers?"

The villagers also expressed their dissatisfaction.

François was stunned and didn't know how to answer. He understood the importance of young people to the village, so he was slow to speak. Because they are not a regular clan of lords, no villager is obligated to respond to recruitment. In this era of frequent wars, the lords of the kingdom need a large number of soldiers, and if there are strong men in the village to recruit, of course, it is to meet the needs of the kingdom's army first.

"Our conscription this time can be seen as a call. I will not forcibly take anyone from here who is unwilling to follow me. The young man glanced at the villagers and said slowly, "I can fully confess my purpose - to recruit some soldiers and take them to work where the kingdom needs them. Most of the battles they experienced would be against the Bandits and other fierce men. The pirates have plundered the country's shores and caravans, and some have even invaded the kingdom along rivers, and my original goal now is to destroy them as best my team can. ”

When the villagers heard his words, they couldn't help but fall silent, and no one said anything more, as if to express their anger at the pirate with silence.

The young man continued, "I believe that there must be a few young people among you who are bloody and eager to try in this war-torn age, so this time I bring you hope and opportunity - to have your own sword and cut off an enemy in your way. ”

The village chief began to get excited again, only this time because of the young man's words: "Those damned pirates, and robbers, have stolen one cow after another from our village, and I have long hoped that someone would punish them!"

Hearing the words of the village chief, some of the villagers couldn't help but jump out.

"The pirates are so rampant! The caravan that my family brought up with their savings finally returned to the kingdom, and they all robbed it! I want to join your team to destroy the pirates!"

"And the Virgians, they're demons! Every war has looted the village to the point of poverty, and I'm fed up with the days of hiding in the fields. I'm going to join too!"

"I've always wanted a set of my own weapons and equipment, I learned a little bit of fighting skills from the instructor when I was in the city, I hope it will help you!"

"And me. I want to join you too!"

“......”

Looking at the brave young men who stood up one by one, François was a little sluggish. He was ashamed of his previous cowardice and mediocrity, and at the same time, he felt more and more the contagiousness and command of the young man next to him, which strengthened his belief in his heart.

The sun hanging from the sky shone brightly, piercing through the clouds and shining on the mountains and plains, and like these youths, it gave people a sense of exuberant vitality. The sea breeze doesn't seem to blow the land. The whole village was filled with only the sound of people cheering.

A warm afternoon passed.

In the evening, the sun, which had been shining all day, slowly slid down from the sky and disappeared into the mountains of the Jerberg Mountains.

Night falls. François opened the door to the tavern, and a cool sea breeze poured in, rolling up the corners of his clothes.

After removing the leather armor, François felt a lot more relaxed. But it's also this feeling of being relaxed for too long that makes him prefer to wear it on.

François turned. Looking at the young people in front of him who were about the same age as him or much younger than him, he said, "The equipment has been fully equipped for you, and you will rest here for the night tonight." This is my tavern, you don't have to be polite, if you like to drink, just drink it. ”

The young men all looked at François, their weapons still clenched tightly in their hands, their eyes full of excitement and excitement, and more anticipation.

"Of course. François said, "This time the money for the drink will not be deducted from your salary." It's all a treat from adults. ”

When the young people heard this, they were even more excited, and a boy boldly took out a few bottles of wine from the cabinet, and several people immediately rushed to drink them. Usually they are in charge of farming or hunting in the village, and only rarely can they drink alcohol. Young people are in the prime of life, and they need to use strong liquor to make the blood stronger in their bones, so they drink happily at the moment.

François understood them well and said with a smile: "Don't drink too much, we'll leave early tomorrow morning." ”

Walking up the stairs, François came to the young man's room and said that everything was arranged. It was the first time to manage so many people, and although it was a little rusty, it felt pretty good, so he had an excited smile on his face.

The young man nodded and said, "I talked to the merchant just now, and the pirate has a stronghold near the town, which is very hidden and not easy to find. ”

"Near the royal capital?" François frowned, "This pirate is indeed too rampant, and he dares to build a den of thieves near the royal capital, and the patrol is not an ornament." ”

"It's not our concern, I'm more concerned about where the pirates are hiding. ”

François thought for a while, then suddenly thought of something, and said: "It seems that the day before yesterday, a group of bounty hunters mentioned when they were resting at my tavern that they had seen a group of pirates near Finnrad, a village east of the royal capital, but they slipped away. ”

Seeing the young man's doubts, François explained: "Fenrad is one of the villages under the jurisdiction of the royal capital, and belongs to the royal conscription area of His Majesty the king. After leaving the city and walking for a while to the east avenue, you can see a dense wood, and the village of Fenrad is next to the woods, probably because the environment is too complicated, and the pirates have slipped into the woods. ”

"Nine times out of ten, the pirates' lair is in that woods. ”

"In addition, it is worth mentioning that the woods of the village of Fenrad are located on the edge of a low cliff in the Gang Ting Strait, and since it is not part of the port, the patrol team did not pay attention to it. If it's a pirate stronghold, we must attack as quickly as possible, or they will escape by boat. ”

After listening, the young man smiled slightly: "Very good, you must be tired after a long day's work, let's go downstairs and have a few drinks with them." ”

Seeing the young man's relaxed expression, François nodded and followed him out of the room.

"Your Excellency is here. The young men who were drinking around the table saw the two people coming down from the upper floor, and they all stood up and gave way to their seats.

The young man waved for them to sit down, then took a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet and pulled a bench, poured it into his glass, and drank it. Seeing this, François hurriedly sat down next to him.

Drinking the wines in his glass, François felt for the first time how mellow the wines were. He lived his life to the fullest, at least more than he had been in the dark counters of the tavern and the dust of his house, and he prefers the feeling of riding horses in the vast plains.

Seven young men sat beside them, drinking too much - they now had their own weapons, perhaps more appropriately called recruits. François remembered his sword, and thought that he and this group of young people with enthusiasm and longing were about to embark on the journey tomorrow, and he couldn't help but smile confidently. (To be continued......)