Thirty leagues southeast of the military town of Dehrim is a huge forest. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

In the forest, the ancient trees are towering, countless dangerous breaths are constantly flowing, and beasts roar one after another, as if there is no return inside, an endless abyss.

The towering trees, one after the other, are undulating, and it looks as if giants are erected in the forest.

In the midst of it, I don't know how many leagues there were, and in the forest, I don't know how many fierce beasts and bandits and robbers entrenched here.

The chaotic forest is home to countless robbers, including murderers, robbers, horse thieves and other notorious habitual offenders from all over the country.

In this forest, there are countless fights between major bandits and bandit gangs, some for turf and some for profit.

The Chaos Forest is highly secretive, and there are many bandits entrenched here, and Duke Kesto Michod has no intention of caring about it.

Therefore, the thieves in the chaotic forest are growing stronger and stronger, constantly robbing the major trading houses that come and go to make a living.

"There's the Forest of Chaos ahead," Merck, who was at the front of the line, pointed ahead. "After passing through the Chaos Forest, we can see Dehrim City. ”

Wiggins, who was riding beside him, asked curiously, "Can you tell me about the Chaos Forest?"

"Do you know the Lands of Chaos?"

Wiggins shook his head. For him, apart from his country, the Nord Kingdom, the continent of Calradia was a strange world.

When Merck saw the other man shake his head, he continued: "The Land of Chaos is a small plain in the middle of the Chaos Mountains, and this is a paradise for bandits and bandits, who make a living by robbing the caravans that come and go, and all of them are ruthless characters who are determined to kill. ”

Hearing this, Mo Cha looked around with some concern. "There are so many bandits and bandits gathered here, can we pass through it smoothly?"

"Every day, new thieves enter the land of chaos, and people are forced to leave," Merck continued. "And there are countless trails in the Chaos Forest, and no team has a complete grasp of the roads there. ”

"Maybe we should take a detour," Mocha suggested. "Take another path to the city of Dehrim. ”

"Then it will take at least half a month, if not longer, for us to arrive," Manid stressed. "As long as we pass the mountains in front of us, we only need three days...... The city of Dehrim can be seen in a maximum of five days. ”

At this time, Merck whispered: "I know that there is a road, there are not many robbers there, and we people can cope with it." ”

The closer you get to the Chaos Forest, the more pedestrians there are on the road. It can be a single person, or a team of mercenaries composed of a few to a dozen, or a caravan of different sizes.

Even the noble lords of Svadia and their knightly guards have seen a lot.

Even Merck, who grew up in the Dehrim region, didn't know how big the Chaos Forest was, and he hadn't seen it in books.

However, the mercenaries who traveled from south to north said that this mountain range was several times larger than the largest royal hunting ground in the Swadia Kingdom, the 'Walker Forest'.

At a fork in the road, Mo Cha saw a simple tavern under a large tree in front of him, and there was a fat man in front of the tavern.

"I swear in my mother's name that this fat man must be a spy of some gang of robbers," he whispered, "and this position does not usually require caravans or pedestrians to rest. ”

"Because it's a fork in the road, it would be better to build a tavern here in order to attract more customers. Merck retorted.

"You may not be right to think so. Mo Cha said. "Hopefully we'll be lucky. ”

Merck nodded, clearly agreeing with the other man's words. "The road I remember is very remote, so you don't have to worry about it. ”

Wiggins pointed to the large caravan gathering at the fork and said, "We can walk with them for a while, it will be slower, but it will be much safer than if we walked alone." ”

"Earn a commission by the way. Mo Cha added. "I'm going to talk to the boss about it. So saying, the thief pulled the horse over and went to the back of the procession.

Tea drove over to Alleyne's side, and he briefly recounted Wiggins' thoughts to them.

Hearing this, Alleyne agreed, "That's a good idea," and then he beckoned to his treasurer. "Manid, I'll leave this matter to you. ”

In this way, the mercenaries quickly reached a temporary employment agreement with one of the caravans.

It was a large caravan, with more than a hundred men, and with the helpers hired by the merchants, the entire caravan was guarded by more than one hundred and fifty people.

There were more than 1,200 pack horses, nearly 100 wagons of various types, and the goods were also different, including wool, ale, air-dried meat, and ironware, but the most trafficked this time was the pickled fish brought back from the city of Sagos, which was tuna caught from the Strait of Gangting, the gold coast of Nord. This large, delicious fish is made with sea salt and spices, making it an excellent delicacy for all ages, and it will not spoil for a year. The fish is not available in the Dehrim area, so it is said that several truckloads of fish were sold out within a few days of arriving at the destination.

"Head, do you see," the shrewd Manid mused, pointing to a few pickled fish trucks. "If these pickled fish from the city of Sagos were to be trafficked to Dukuba, the profit would be five times that of the city of Dehrim. ”

"Dukuba?" repeated Aryn, confused. He had never heard of such a place on the continent of Calradia.

"Boss, haven't you heard of Dukuba?" Manid looked at the other in surprise. "It's a big city in Salander, the desert country, and the bazaars there are so bustling that you can see things that we in Middle-earth will never see, and you'll be sure to open your eyes when the time comes. ”

"Tell me what's there. Manid's words piqued Aren's curiosity again.

"Dukuba is a strange flower blooming in the desert," Manid began to unhurriedly recount the desert cities he had visited. "The central part of the oasis is Lake Dukuba, and the desert commercial town of Dukuba is built on the lake's edge. From west to east, at each end of the city of Dukuba lies a large and densely populated and economically developed village, which is the town of Shibamo and the town of Tanum. Life in the oasis is generally comfortable and pleasant. ”

"The pastures around Lake Dukuba are the most important livestock base in the Salander Sultanate," Manid said with a stirring voice. "Not only is it rich in the famous lamb sausages, but it is also a breeding ground for the Salander desert horse, which can breed excellent military horses due to their good endurance and toughness. The Mamluks, one of the most powerful hoplites on the mainland, were all the best desert horses. ”

"Mamluks, Mamluks?" said Aryn muttering to himself. "What a strange name, how could a lord give his cavalry such a strange title. ”

In Sarandy, Mamluk is meant to mean "possessed person", "slave". Manid continued. "The Mamluks were mostly non-****** nomads from the interior of Karadia, who were captured by slave traders and sold to the Salander region, where they were then organized into mercenaries by the sultans. In the desert, the Mamluks, known as the 'Blade of Allah', were on par with the Swadian knights. The swords in their hands were stained with the blood of the invaders, and the eyes under the veils shone with the light of saints. ”

"It turns out that there is such a powerful mercenary army on the continent of Calradia. While being surprised, Alleyn did not forget to praise: "Manid, I didn't expect that you, a down-and-out businessman, really know a lot. ”

"Boss, I actually have a long-term plan. Manid pondered for a long time, and finally decided to say what was in his heart.

"What plan?" said Alleyne, puzzled.

Manid pointed out in a sharp tone, "We can't just count on the commission that Count Arcisis has given us, and besides, those commissions are not enough to cover our expenses for the rest of our expenses. ”

The trivial matter of the daily expenses of the whole team and the remaining commissions, Alleyne, who has always been careless, has not thought about it in detail.

Standing in the position of mercenary, he just wanted to fulfill the commission of Count Arassis as soon as possible - to convey the news of the imminent arrival of the Dark Legion in Calradia to the countries of the continent.

The shrewd merchant then began to tell his thoughts: "We can act as a messenger for Count Arassis to deliver information to the nations while accepting some other employers, and of course we can buy some scarce goods and some local specialties in the towns we pass through, and ship them to other cities through which we pass to sell." And those golden dinars will continue to enter our pockets, so that we can grow our ranks with the surplus dinars. ”

"This suggestion of yours is really good, it seems that it was right to pull you into the gang in the first place. Alleyne smiled and patted Manid on the shoulder. "Since this suggestion is what you want, then you will be responsible for all these things. ”