Chapter 35: Kushui County (I)
[Urged by the editor to write something, I definitely can't change it twice today, and it's only three changes tomorrow]
Aini patiently burned the corpses of the five mercenaries, dismantled his magic weapons, and retrieved his backpack.
"Salin, you can't stay here for long, and the town ahead isn't safe. He was afraid that Salin would not know about the situation of the Qin Yin Empire and its dependent principalities, so he patiently explained: "Even if the town is not destroyed by the dark magicians, if we encounter an army, we may be forcibly recruited. We have to try to bypass everyone as much as possible. ”
When Salin heard this, he didn't dare to stay long, pulled the five horses left by the mercenary, and the four of them hurried on the road.
Aini's health is not good, but fortunately, he has superb riding skills, and he has practiced since he was a child, otherwise he would not be able to support it. The group did not dare to take the main road, hid and hid, and it took five days to approach the borders of the Duchy of Phoenix.
There were only two roads from Phoenix to Qinyin, and with a view of the city from afar, Aini stopped his horse.
He jumped off his horse, walked up to the Saleen horse, took a badge from his bosom, and handed it to Saleen. Salin took it in his hand and looked at it carefully. The badge was silver, a little heavy to the touch, much smaller than his own mysterious badge.
At the center of the coat of arms is a lion totem, but it is the emblem of the Clyde family. The Clyde family has no fiefdom, but they are counts, and they are hereditary. This silver badge is only issued to the bloodline. Anyone with the silver badge has the opportunity to become the head of the family, and may even become the next patriarch.
Although Aini has lost the magic string and has no future for development, the bloodline cannot be erased, and the family has not taken back this badge. Saleen was a little dissatisfied, if Aini took out this badge, Baron Cook might not have to kill someone.
Ani smiled and said to Salin, "This badge is just a souvenir for me now, as soon as I become a necromancer, the family will create a golden badge for me again." The coat of arms bears the alchemy mark I left behind, and you take it with you to Karen County. My uncle's name is known locally, Lance. He looked at the alchemy sigil on the badge and would give you the potion. ”
Salin frowned, jumped off the horse, grabbed Aini, and asked, "Your body is in such a condition, why don't you come with me?"
"It's okay, there are people in the family in this city, I have to stay, and I can't let Baron Cook return to Qin Yin. Abandon your horses, three of you, and climb over the mountains, lest you cause trouble. ”
Salin was silent for a long time before he smiled, picked up the badge that Ani had given him, and took out a gem. This gemstone is crystal clear, and under the sunlight, there are black filaments in it like smoke and mist, as if it is still gently fluttering.
He shoved the gem into Ani's hand, patted Ani on the shoulder, and said, "Take care." ”
Aini was a little dazed, he looked at the distant backs of Salin and the others, held the perfect black hair crystal tightly in his hand, and suddenly shouted loudly in the direction where Salin left: "Salin, after becoming a great magician, remember to find me......"
Saleen heard Aini's shout, and he didn't look back, just waved his hand behind his back.
If Aini was ten years older, Salin would not dare to get close to him. Only now, Aini's emaciated body and sickly face reminded him of his childhood. Two people, so similar.
After climbing dozens of mountain peaks in a row, Salin and the others could be regarded as entering the Qin Yin Empire. The border city of Phoenix is small, but the Qin Yin Empire has stationed heavy troops on the border, not that the emperor does not trust the Grand Duke of Phoenix, this army was left at the beginning of the founding of the country, and the main purpose is to prevent the resurgence of black magicians.
The city was huge, and it was the first time since Salin left Skoccia that he had seen such a majestic tower.
From a distance, the body of the city tower emits a purple copper brilliance, and the top of the city tower is covered with seven-colored glass. Salin was dizzy, such a big spend, but he was not an upstart. The seven-colored glass is a product of alchemy, and the castle tower is covered with this thing, and the mages under the magician can't even perform magic locking.
The dozens of meters high city walls are all made of huge blue steel bricks, shining under the sunset, obviously to avoid the city wall from being corroded, will be often brushed (similar to European castles, larger scale).
The closer he got, the more Salin felt the pressure on the walls themselves. There must be a solidified magic array inside this city wall, and the magic core has not yet been embedded, otherwise I am afraid that the defensive magic on the magic robe of Salen will be immediately activated.
is so strong, even hundreds of thousands of black puppets are helpless.
Salin suddenly understood why the Qin Yin Empire dared to oppose the Holy See and did not allow the Holy See to build any churches within his borders. Even the priest did not dare to blatantly enter the territory of the empire.
The heritage of the Magic Empire is too deep, and even a city is so thrilling.
The disaster in the Duchy of Phoenix has obviously not affected the empire, and it is estimated that the Grand Duke of Phoenix can still control the situation, and the border city is still open, but there are many more soldiers patrolling the city.
If the Grand Duke of Phoenix did not ask for the emperor's support, the Qin Yin Empire would not enter the country with large troops.
There are soldiers at the city gate to check the passing merchants, but now it is a little deserted, and it is estimated that there are no merchants willing to take risks at this time, and there are quite a few mercenaries.
The identity of the Sarin Wizard allowed him to enter the city smoothly, and the soldiers were exempted from his entrance tax, just by the way to look at his mercenary badge. Salin saw that the soldiers at the city gate were all wearing stainless steel armor and carrying Qin Yin's eight-sided sword, and he sighed in his heart. Those soldiers in Ceylon City are a pile of shit compared to here.
The city of Guderian, Salin remembered the name. This should be someone's name, and naming a city after a person is a very common thing on the mainland. This person must be a hero for a while, and he has a heavy stroke in history.
Salin had no intention of staying in Guderian, he went straight to the Professionals' Guild and hired ten mercenaries. This time he rented a carriage and without even stopping to rest, he passed through the city and quickly left the border.
The carriage is wide and comfortable, and it is expensive.
Salin reclined in a large soft seat, opposite Neris and Shika.
"Neris, how are you learning the lingua franca?"
"Master, I don't even have time to learn. Nellis held the book that Saleen had given her, marked with phonetics. Sika hugged her stick and seemed to be about to fall asleep. The carriage was unusually smooth, and I am afraid that some parts made by alchemists had been added.
"Three months, you teach me how to do it. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to speak in the future. Saleen was unceremonious. During the decisive battle with the Headless Horseman, Neris dared to be passive and slacked off, almost killing Shika.
"Yes, master. Nellis replied with a bitter face. Salin regretted in his heart that if the little devil reached adulthood, he could teach her memory magic, and he didn't have to bother so much. It's a pity that Neris seems to be far from adulthood, and who knows what damage will be done to her by being locked up for tens of thousands of years.
The territory of the empire was peaceful, and the carriage walked on the main road for more than two months, and did not encounter a single gang of bandits. The mercenaries hired by Saleen were very professional, and did not talk to their employers, but dutifully protected the carriages, and did not let their guard down even when resting in the big cities.
For more than two months, Saleen has been cautious and does not dare to use badges to train. The mysterious badge can increase his mental power, but after using it, it will cause his body to lose control, and Saleen is frightened all the way, and he doesn't trust mercenaries very much. Sika's injuries were completely healed, and he was a little irritable in the carriage every day.
Fortunately, as soon as he woke up that day, the mercenary knocked on the window of the carriage outside and said in a low voice, "Master Mage, Kushui County has arrived." ”
Salin pushed open the window of the carriage, and the sun was shining outside, but it was still a little chilly. It's winter, and it's still the middle of the empire, and it's about to snow.
"It's 9 days in advance, even if it's 10 days. Salin smiled.
"Thank you, Master Mage. "The mercenary was very polite.
"What's the matter? You don't follow you into town?"
"No, there are no tasks here, and taxes are still being collected. Master Mage, there will be no more danger here, we ......"
Salin knew that this was a mercenary who didn't want to enter Kushui County, so he jumped out of the carriage and looked up, and a quaint and solemn city could already be seen in the distance.
"This brother, I would like to ask, what should I do if I want to see the county lord?" Salin saw that the mercenaries refused to enter the city, and did not force it, but it was only a few minutes away.
"You're a mage, just come to the door. ”
"Well, you can take this. Salin took out a deposit note from the Imperial Bank of Scochenia and said, "There's nothing else on you, I'll give you this." ”
This is a deposit ticket with a denomination of 100 gold coins, and if you exchange it in the Qin Yin Empire, you can only exchange it for 90 gold coins. The loss in the middle is quite large, but the price negotiated by the two parties is only 50 gold coins, and the excess is 40 gold coins, but it is a reward. Before hiring these mercenaries, Salin had said that if he could arrive early, he would be paid four gold coins for each day he was preceded.
10 mercenaries work hard for less than three months, and each can get 9 gold coins, which is a lot of income for low-level mercenaries. Moreover, the territory of the empire is peaceful, and such an escort task is the easiest. Even if there is a stealthy group of thieves, they will not attack such targets.
The mercenaries happily took the gold coins, but Salin and the others had to walk into the city.
This city is a bit eccentric, built on a hill, and it is a Jedi. If you are attacked, you only need to be on the front to trap the people of the city. Of course, the pressure to defend the city will also be reduced, and only a quarter of the strength of an ordinary city will be required to withstand the enemy's attack.
What's even more strange is that the walls are not made of bricks, they are vertical, and the surface is as smooth as a mirror, and there are no gaps in sight. There is no Qin-type battlement at the head of the city, and it is flat.
The gates were beautifully built, with wooden gates that opened inward, and the patterns on the doors were all eroded by magic. It's just such a gate, I'm afraid that the battering ram will shatter when it hits.
The three of Salin strode towards the city, a thick arm in front of them, and a thunderous sound rang out.
"That little mage, pay your taxes!"
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