Rock Town, Ghetto, Lame Tavern. {with}{dream} щ{suimеng][lā}

The cold water season is the best time of year for tavern business. The homeless people have been busy for more than half a year, and they finally have some money on hand, and they have enough time to find some fun for themselves. The shrewd tavern owner will drain every fishy coin out of the pockets of his homeless customers with drink, food, gambling games, tender-skinned hostesses, and rare enthusiasm.

Four tall men crossed their arms and stood guard outside the oak gates of the Lame Dog Tavern, staring at passers-by with ghostly eyes. A few vicious dogs barked at the people who were approaching the tavern, and they were about to pounce. Pedestrians on the street avoided the tavern doors as much as possible, and the real pleasure seekers saw this scene and immediately turned around and chose to patronize other taverns.

Uninformed people also thought that the owner of this tavern was in trouble, and was suppressed by the gangsters, so that he could not make a deal during the peak season.

This kind of thing is very common, and the thriving tavern inn always attracts the jealousy of its peers, and this business is inextricably linked to the underground forces.

The Lame Tavern is different, it is the biggest, best and most fair tavern in the slums of Rock City, and no villain dares to make trouble here. Because it's also the stronghold of the Rockstone Thieves' Guild.

Every year, during the last three days of February during the water season, the lame dog lodge is closed to the public. Gang leaders of all sizes gather here to exchange information, discuss the distribution of territory, and hand over offerings to the sheriff's office. They talked about theft, fraud, robbery, fighting, human trafficking, and murder in Rock City, and naturally no one could afford to sit in on it.

The tavern was bustling with activity, with hundreds of vicious thugs filling the lobby on the first floor. They don't have to pay for the three days of eating, drinking, and having fun, and the gang leaders have already paid off the offerings of the security office, and they don't care about spending a little money to buy their henchmen.

The smell of wine was accompanied by the smell of sweat, and the men's wild laughter and angry scolding were mixed with the screams and laughter of the waitress. Casper, the tavernkeeper, smiled at the revelry crowd, the noise causing him to ignore the whining of the vicious dogs outside the door, until the heavy oak door was pushed open.

In the cold wind stood a tall, thin figure. He looked like a young man in his mid-20s, his whole body was covered in metal scale armor, and his face had three huge scars crisscrossing him, almost cutting off the bridge of his nose, making his originally handsome face look as miserable as a ghost. His gaze was as sharp as the blade of a cold sword that could slit a man's throat, and wherever he pointed, there was silence, and the noisy tavern became as quiet as a cemetery.

The young man walked to the bar with his sheathed sword, and the crowd immediately split a path, followed by a middle-aged soldier in dark blue chain mail, his boots stepping across the floor, leaving a trail of bloody footprints from deep to shallow.

"Ghost Rider!"

A certain thug who was attending a thief's party for the first time thought of something and couldn't help but exclaim. His companion suddenly stretched out his stout arm, grabbed his hair, slammed the wooden table with a loud thud, and then skillfully shoved the unconscious daredevils under the table. The surrounding villains kept the tavern quiet as if they hadn't seen anything.

First, Lord Clarke, Ghost Rider, doesn't like to be mentioned. Second, he really is a knight.

This is the conclusion that the thieves of Ascending Rock City came to with six lives.

Casper, the tavernkeeper, poured two glasses of green ale with a smile, handed them to Clark and his right-hand man, Ron, and said courteously, "My lord, this is a new ale with a unique taste, you can try it." ”

Clark rested his sword on the bar and took a sip of his glass, only to find the wine bitter and spicy, and difficult to swallow. He spat out the drink, looked at the foam in the glass, and said in a low voice, "It's not delicious." ”

Soldier Ron silently drank the entire glass of barley. Caspar noticed that there were large dark red blood stains on Ron's fine iron chain mail, and the corners of his eyes twitched. If the bloody footprints Ron left on the floor were dog blood, then the blood stains on his body must be human blood.

The Knight of Clark is in charge of clearing the Marquis of bandits at the Sheriff's Office. He had apparently just returned from a mission, and he was killing at the moment. Casper smelled the sweet and greasy smell of blood, his scalp tightened, and he explained in a low voice, "My lord, the purple cane wine has been out of stock for a month, and we really don't have a better wine." ”

"Hmm. Let Lucy and Jenny prepare hot water, and I'm going back to my room to take a shower. Clark commanded, picked up his sword, and led Ron to the second floor of the tavern.

About five months ago, the Lame Tavern welcomed four uninvited guests, led by Ghostface Clark. He rented three rooms with fireplaces, occupied two of the most beautiful hostesses, and fished and meat every day, and refused to pay a copper sol for more than ten days. The tavern owner does business fairly, but he is not a good type, and he has a way to deal with the customers who eat and drink for nothing. When the hostess figured out where they came from and the purse of forty-eight gold soles, Casper decided to follow the rules, leaving the money bag and selling them to the mines for hard labor.

That night, more than a dozen strong gangsters broke into Clark's private room and killed six of them on the spot. Seeing that the situation was out of control, Caspar hurriedly called for the security soldiers outside to come forward to suppress it. Clark unhurriedly pulled out a parchment document, and the wolf-like vigilantes changed their attitude and respectfully invited them to the sheriff's office.

The thieves' guild inquired overnight, and Casper learned that Clark was actually a noble knight, and he was almost scared to death. He didn't expect that the next morning, Master Clark would return and live in the same room, and Jenny and Lucy would be his handmaidens. He regarded the Lame Tavern as his home here, and he lived for nothing until now.

Caspar was puzzled, shouldn't the knight lord live in a villa in the aristocratic district? At worst, he could also choose a hostel in the vassal district, why did Knight Clark stay in the ghetto? Caspar didn't dare to ask, and neither did the thieves' union in Rock City, because Clark was already the security captain of the security station, and he specialized in leading people to clean up the bandit camp in the marquisate. Every time he went out for half a month, he always came back covered in blood, and only Ron was left with four accompanying soldiers. Through connections, the Thieves Guild confirmed that Knight Clark had killed at least 67 fierce bandits with his own hands. Over time, the reputation of the Ghost-faced Rider began to spread among the underground forces of Ascending Rock City.

Before Clark went upstairs, he glanced at the trembling thug with disdain.

He believed that his current strength was not inferior to that of most beginner knights, but he was not arrogant enough to think that he could defeat a hundred. In fact, there are many of these villains who are skilled in martial arts, and if they do not care about life and death, they rush up and take advantage of the narrow space, as long as they are willing to sacrifice a dozen people, they may not be able to kill him. But in the face of the knight, the villain has no fighting spirit, just like no matter how many sheep can't kill a lone wolf, he will only fall into the prey of the wolf's claws.

Of course, the main reason why gangster villains fear Ghostface Rider is that he is a subordinate of Sheriff Vamon. Any thief's guild must rely on the power of the vigilante to survive. In the eyes of the Rock City Gang, Ghost Face Rider can be counted as one of their own.

The Ghost-faced Rider is Todd. He managed to get the attention of Vamon, the sheriff of Ascending Rock, and managed to infiltrate the sheriff's office. But instead of placing him in the city, Lord Wamun sent him out to do the dirty work - to clear the marquisate's free private lands.

The free private land is actually a bandit camp, and they steal the wild resources of the territory and rob and kill the displaced people passing by, which can be called extremely vicious. However, the free private sector also has its own backstage. Just as the thieves' union in the city obeys the orders of the security office, the free people bandits in the field have a deep relationship with the city defense army. Because they were able to help the city guards monitor the situation in the wilderness, limit the range of monsters, and loot caravans and travelers who did not follow the official routes.

Todd led the vigilantes to clear the bandit camp, but met with fierce resistance, and three of the four arcane warriors handed over to him by Viscount Randall were killed. He realized that the sheriff of Ascending Rock City had not coordinated well with the commander of the city defense army at all, and he was involved in the internal struggle between the security office and the city defense army. Except to hand over him, the new man, to the guilt, Todd could not think of a second possibility. However, Todd didn't care about the sheriff's calculations, he had been in the thieves' den in Rock City for several months, and everything that needed to be investigated had been clarified.

Just as Todd informed Barrett that he was ready to close the net, he received a new order. Barrett asked him to stay on hold for the time being, to find out the troop movements of Ascend Rock City, the patrol of the roads in the territory, the deployment of sentry defenses, and the location of the bandit camp.

The order made Todd both frightened and excited. Count Ludwig's car happened to pass by Rock City, and it was very likely that Lord Randall was planning something big. Todd was thrilled to think that he could contribute to the great things of his master. As for the question of being killed by his master, he disdained to think about it. From the moment he took the golden potion, Todd put his life at the Randall family's gambling table, and he wanted his loyalty to gamble on a brilliant future.

Once a true gambler has placed a bet, he or she will no longer think about getting it back.

After taking a hot shower and changing his clothes, Todd hurried to the police station with Ron.

He was immediately received by the sheriff, Vamon. After listening to his mission report, Lord Vamont asked in a kind tone, "Clark, you have been staying in an inferior hotel, which is not the dignity of a nobleman. Why not move to the Trout Hotel in the vassal quarter, or rent a cottage in the noble quarter. With your annual income of 300 gold soles, you can save a little money and can afford to live in the villa. ”

Todd touched the scar on his face and said with a wry smile, "My lord, I don't have any money......"

When Vamondwemick first met Todd, he thought he was a wild knight. However, Todd confesses that he was once a secret knight of Duke Erickson and is now a fugitive from the Kingdom of Dodor. He took four servants and ran from the centaur hill to Ascending Rock City in order to seek refuge with his youthful companions and find a way out for himself. But he couldn't get in touch with his friends, so he had to stay in an inferior hotel for the time being. Later, Vammon enlisted Todd's companion, Kerry, the clerk of the Ascending Rock City Office. Kerry confirms Todd's identity to Vammon.

Considering Todd's swordsmanship and the fact that he was a veteran knight of the Eleven Elemental Ranks, Lord Vammon received the approval of the Marquis de Vemick, took him in, and re-forged his identity and changed his name to Clark.

Clark's obedience is very strong, he never compromises to carry out the order to clear the bandits, and he does not complain at all when he dies three servants, and his strength is not weaker than that of the junior knights, Vammon has a mind to subdue him.

The sheriff pondered for a moment and asked, "Clark, do you know how outcasts, bandits, and gang leaders hold power?"

Todd shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about it. ”

"The sheriff should think about this. Vammon smiled and said, "When 10 outcasts are willing to kill for you, you can control 60 outcasts." If 30 outcasts obey your orders, you can control 300 bandits. All the gang leaders and bandit leaders have to do is to encircle their minions. ”

"It's also easy to destroy them. As long as the boss and a few minions are killed, the gang or bandit gang will naturally disintegrate. Vammon paused, then said, "We nobles are different, we run a family. If the head of the family dies and he still has an heir, the family still exists, and the power remains the same. So we value spouses, brothers, and children. ”

"I know what you think. Vammon drew a false picture on his face and said, "Save a sum of money, buy a regeneration potion, and ask the priest to help you restore your noble appearance, and then restore your reputation...... A bottle of regeneration potion is worth 16,000 gold soles, I can't even afford it, can you afford it?"

"This ......"

"If you have the money, you might as well buy an energy potion and try to hit the knight rank. But you still can't afford it. Wamon spread his hands and shook his head, "I can't help with this. ”

Todd was silent, his eyes revealing unwillingness. Vammon smiled and said, "You disfigured yourself, didn't you try to escape capture? You have regained your appearance, even the Marquis will not be able to continue to shelter you, how can you restore your reputation? As for the energy potion, you are basically hopeless." ”

"What do you mean?" asked Todd, hesitantly.

"Just use Clark's identity and start all over again. The appearance of the nobles does not need to be considered. Vamun shook his head and asked instead, "Isn't it strange to you, why did I send someone to clear the free private land during the season of water?"

"My lord, I am a secret knight, and I only know how to obey orders, and I don't ask for reasons. Todd said respectfully.

"I'm happy with your attitude, but I'm going to tell you why. ”

Wamun stood up, walked to the window, looked at the streets of Rock City, and said slowly, "Since my grandfather, our family has been the sheriff of Stone City. The soldiers at the police station are all the children of my family's vassals. In the past few months, we have knocked out three free camps, you have killed three servants, and my soldiers have been killed and wounded 37. I paid a huge price just to get more fiefs. ”

"It was useless for outcasts and bandits to occupy the mountains, but now it's different. By building three streams and reservoirs, my vassals can build three villages and expand my lordship to 580 square kilometers. However, the outcast bandits obeyed Commander Marte. If I hadn't done it first, the Marquis would probably have given these lands to the Martes family. ”

"Speaking of which, you're the only outsider in the police station. However, you were brave in battle and protected many vigilantes. They don't say a lot of good things about you in front of me. Vamun turned around and said lightly, "You are loyal to me, I will give you a village, and I will marry my niece to you." Although she is just an ordinary noblewoman, she will not dislike your appearance. ”

Todd half-knelt on the ground and said "excitedly", "I am willing to die for my lord!"

Whether this scapegoat should be thrown out or not, it is not certain, how can you accept his allegiance so quickly?

Sheriff Wammon stepped forward and pulled Todd up, laughing and saying, "Don't be in a hurry to swear allegiance to me...... I have something for you to do. ”

"Your Excellency, just give me orders. ”

"Before Count Ludwig left, the Marquiss of Wimbledon arrived at the family's border. She had a large caravan of 300 guards and 600 men, and a dozen barbarian followers under her command, among whom it was said that there was a barbarian berserker of the golden rank......" Vamun shook his head and sighed, "The Marquis asked the family army to be fully guarded, but the Earl of Kinriquek was unwilling to meet the Marquise of Wimbledon, and insisted on taking the first step. That guy from Marte refused to escort Count Ludwig, saying that the city defense would cooperate with the Marquis's military movements. ”

The sheriff sneered and said, "I don't know what he was thinking, you dispersed the bandits in three camps, and those outcasts had no way to live, so they either went to Rock City to spend the winter, or they took over the lair of other bandits. Count Ludwig saw that the road to the Marquis was not smooth, and Marte must have taken the opportunity to speak ill of the magistrate's office in the Marquis! If there is a mess in Ascending Rock, it will also be my responsibility. ”

Todd's heart pounded, and he pretended to be calm and asked, "My lord, you mean to let me escort Count Ludwig?"

"You?" Vamon glanced at him and sneered, "this face of yours is not good, and your identity is not enough...... I'll personally escort Count Kinley!" Immediately, he patted Todd on the shoulder and said, "The Ghost-faced Rider is notorious, and the leaders of the thieves in Rock City know you. I will take most of the soldiers from the security station, and the security of Dengshi City will be handed over to you. If those bandits and rogues make trouble in Ascending Rock City, I'm the only one who asks!"

"Don't worry, my lord!, I will not let the peace be disgraced!" said Todd, with a solemn knightly salute, and assured in a loud voice.

Vammon nodded in satisfaction, waved his hand, and said, "I don't have many people left for you, you go back to the lame dog tavern and get ready...... Seeing that it was about to rain in freezing, there were not too many displaced people in Ascending Rock City. ”

"Clark won't disappoint adults. "Todd Shi saluted and retired.

He walked out of the police station, looked up at the lead-clouded sky, and whispered to Ron the Spirit Monkey Militia, "It seems that this freezing rain at the Dwemick family will not be small. ”

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