After a while, the fighting died down, and Elton took a deep breath to calm himself, and then walked softly around the house toward the street next to him.

Behind the tavern was a narrow street of wooden houses on both sides, with weeds and abandoned tools on the side of the road, and the sea breeze blew up the dust, which was particularly clear in the morning light.

Elton saw someone lying to the ground, along with his sword and the blood that stained the red earth.

Not far away, a very young-looking man, dressed in a cotton robe and scabbard, was smiling at Elton.

Looking at the man lying on the ground and the weapon on his body, Elton was relieved that it was a pirate.

"Hello, friend. Elton greeted the young man.

The young man smiled back: "Hello." ”

Elton couldn't help but look at the young man gently, his clean cotton robe, his foreigner's face, his broad, peaceful features, and his brown and blue eyes. Most importantly, Elton noticed his sabre.

Seeing his kind face, Elton made up his mind in his heart.

"My name is Elton and I'm a local businessman. ”

The young man didn't make an introduction, just nodded.

Elton continued, "Friend, it looks like you were attacked, but I'm glad you're okay. I have something I want to discuss with you, but it's not safe here, I wonder if you'd be interested in coming with me?"

The young man unsheathed his sword, patted the dust off his body, and followed Elton into the tavern.

"As I said, I'm a local businessman. In these unquiet times. Even doing business can get in the way. Elton handed the young man the glass, drank his own wine, and said, "I can see that." Friend, you must not be from Calradia. ”

The young man didn't speak, took the wine, and smiled.

"You may not understand how chaotic this continent is, but it's enough for you to know that things like this won't happen any less," Elton said. I had some trouble yesterday when I was out buying goods and shipping them back, a gang of pirates looted our goods, and unfortunately my cousin fell into the hands of pirates. ”

"As for the pirates, I'm sure you've heard of this kind of raider in Calradia. And you seem to have killed a pirate just now. So, friend, I believe in your courage. But I don't know if you're willing to help me with that. ”

The young man put down his glass, looked at Elton, and asked, "How do you know I'm going to help you?"

Elton smiled wryly: "So I'm asking for your opinion." As he spoke, he took a pocket from his bosom, "I'll pay some dinars as a thank you." ”

The young man wanted to refuse. Because he didn't come to Calradia to be bribed by force. But looking at the dusty and helpless appearance of the businessman in front of him. He suddenly remembered the words of the old captain the previous night.

The same is Haikou, the same sincere request, the same dust and vicissitudes.

"It's kind of interesting. The young man smiled and took his pocket, the sound of metal clashing in the silence of the room.

Elton's face was filled with joy, and he reminded, "The pirates live in the snow and the seaside all year round, and usually appear in groups when raiding caravans, and they are all trained by the treacherous environment. It also has a well-equipped body. Although I believe in your strength, I still recommend that you find a few more helpers. The villages near the royal capital have many strong men who are eager to try. You can pay them some dinars so that you can form a small temporary team. ”

The young man stood up and drank the rest of the wine from his glass in one gulp.

"Good luck, friend. Elton said.

The warm sunlight shone in through the window, and the cold wind that had been blowing all night seemed to be a little lighter, and the faintly visible dust fluttered in the breeze. After a cold snap, the mornings in Sagos are exceptionally quiet.

The young man nodded and smiled and left the room.

A soft light shone through the window into the tavern, slightly banishing the chill that had raged all night. Outside the door, there was a faint noise of market clamour, drifting in the air along with the dust.

François stretched to look better, and began to sweep the bottles in the tavern as usual. It seemed to him that the day was no different from before, except that there were more drunks who slept overnight, and the morning air was fresher than usual.

Dusting off the dust from his clothes, François smiled wryly as he looked at the drinkers who were still asleep on the table.

The town began to slowly come alive, and many voices came from outside the door. The cries of the bazaar, the fluttering of the breeze on the treetops, and even the clash of swords in the arena some distance from the tavern.

What was supposed to be a beautiful morning was ruined by the snoring of several drunks in front of him, and François laughed at himself in helplessness.

"The pirates are in town, folks. Picking up an empty bottle, François tapped it on the table with a slight force, waking up several of the drinkers.

The drunks woke up from their dreams, jumped up and tried to escape. François shook his head and stopped them: "But wake up, this account should be settled, right?"

François, who had been in the tavern in Sagose for many years, was very experienced. These drunks all come to the tavern to get drunk when they encounter frustration, they drink and then get drunk, and they don't say much, so he doesn't deal with this kind of person, and he speaks straightforwardly.

Realizing that this was a joke by the boss, the drunks breathed a sigh of relief, muttered a few words and paid and left.

François smiled and took the money into his arms.

"Haikou, are you talking about me, uncle?" a drunken man next to him, who had not yet paid the bill, woke up and stared at François fiercely.

Seeing the sword hanging from his waist, François hesitated a little and said, "I saw you sleeping too deeply just now, I made up a joke casually, sir. ”

François was not without some troubles in the long history of the tavern. For example, hooligans get drunk and sprinkle, and some deliberately repay their debts. François tried to back down from these unkind customers, not wanting to cause trouble because of a few bottles of wine. Not because he was cowardly, but because these people had weapons in their hands.

Fortunately, François's tavern was also well-known in Sagos, and the kingdom's patrol guards often took care of this good citizen's businessman, so most of the customers did not cause trouble here.

This morning was the same as usual, and it was a little colder than usual, and the guards wouldn't be on patrol at this time. François, who was facing the troublesome drinker, could only answer calmly.

The drunkard, stout man, but smelling of wine, with a wry look on his face, pressed his left hand on the scabbard at his waist, stared at François, and said, "Since you like to joke, you can try to take me seriously and think of me as a pirate, boy." ”

François looked at him and said, "How about you, then, Monsieur Quakou, you drank six bottles of ale, twelve dinars in all, and I will only charge you ten dinars after removing the fraction?"

"Have you ever seen a pirate drink and have to pay?" The anger on the drunk's face suddenly skyrocketed.

Facing the sword that was about to be drawn in front of him, François held back the retreat in his heart and pretended to be calm: "You can also pay the bill with other valuable things, I don't mind." ”

The drunkard held back his anger and looked around, there were no more customers in the tavern, and those drinkers just now had already left in a hurry if they didn't want to meddle in their affairs. He sneered secretly, intending to teach this arrogant kid a lesson. But after continuing to make his rounds, he noticed that there was a man standing next to the stairs at some point, quietly watching him.

A young man in a cotton robe.

The drunken man's face completely disappeared, leaving only an angry look: "What are you looking at?"

The young man looked at the scoundrel in front of him and his drunken sword, looked at his stupid expression, smiled, and replied, "I'm not sure, maybe it's some kind of animal." ”

The drunken man made a whirring voice in anger and said angrily, "I'm going to make your smirk disappear from your face!" and as he said that, he drew his sword, a sword that was still sharp despite being tainted by the smell of alcohol.

Listening to the sound of the sword unsheathed, the young man remembered the Haikou who didn't know whether he was alive or dead, smiled again, and drew his own sword.

A breeze blew in through the window and through the young man's coat.

He thought about the scene where he practiced his sword in the wind many years ago, and his body moved with it.

The sword flashed a silver halo in the sunlight, swinging the dust in the air and slashing at the enemy.

The drunkard, who had been a soldier in the kingdom's army, was quite confident in his swordsmanship, and when he just wanted to knock down the boy in front of him who seemed to be unable to hold a weapon, he was surprised to find that the other party had launched a rapid attack, and hurriedly raised his sword to block.

The force of the ferocity made the drunkard's arm numb, and before the blow could be relieved, the young man's sword slashed at his face again

"Ding!" the drunken man tried his best to lay his sword sideways in front of him, and slammed it into the young man's sword, and the opponent's wrist seemed to have great strength, and he pressed down the block. After a night of drunkenness, the drunkard's body was a little drowsy, and with the impact of this sword, his whole body took a few steps back, and he almost fell.

The sound of swords clashing echoed through the tavern, and François froze in astonishment as he watched the duel between the two men.

The young man's sword-wielding figure made François feel a hint of a different kind of emotion in surprise. It was an indescribable feeling. François had found this feeling in quite a few people. For example, the patrolmen who punish the traitors and eliminate the evil in the towns, the soldiers who stand on the high city walls, and the great heroes who have read about them in books and biographies...... Another example is his father.

A feeling that he longed for all along. Eastern Lightning (To be continued......)