Riverbend is probably one of the busiest towns in the entire kingdom of Orem. Located on the northern bank of the river at the southern tip of the province of Chipo, this town has no glorious history, and it is famous for the simple reason that it runs from east to west and connects the westernmost part of the kingdom, the Dead Misty Swamp, with the easternmost "blue diamond" of Belém.

Every day, countless caravans that have just arrived on the north bank of the Jun River via the Tallinn ferry port make the town of Hewan their first stop, where they take a short break to continue their journey.

As a result, this small town is actually different from other towns under the impetus of gold coins. Government offices, arbitration courts, merchants' assemblies, bulk goods exchanges, currency exchange houses, mercenary houses, and even city defense barracks, etc., can be found here in all institutions unheard of in other towns of the same size.

As for the black market, casinos, brothels, pubs, and inns are all over the city. Of course, there are also beggars begging along the streets, wild prostitutes laughing in the alleys, and gangs forming gangs. Not to mention drunkards, gamblers, thieves, hooligans, and other people who really have nothing new.

By the way, the Holy See of Order has also extended its tentacles to the city and built a magnificent church here, which has also made the Bishop of Riverbend who is stationed here proud. Hey, God above, how can there be any steadfast faith in a merchant with a gold coin in his eyes, but it cannot be denied that a merchant is always unusually generous to his faith. Well, that's a bit of a stretch.

The Old Bass Tavern is located off the main road in Rivertown and has been doing well ever since. Rumor has it that there are some big names standing behind this tavern, so no one dares to trouble them. Of course, the occasional drunken brawl and the smashing of a few tables or chairs are not much of a problem for a tavern in such a town.

As usual, the Old Bass Tavern was still buzzing, or rather crazy, tonight. In front of the wine cabinet, as long as there is a gap, there are people everywhere. Indistinguishable accents mingled with the clashing of wine glasses, erupting in sounds that were loud enough to deafen the ears, and the intense smell of alcohol mixed with the heat wave provoked unspeakable agitation.

A group of unknown musicians are playing fast-paced ditties, and a group of colorful women, standing or sitting on the ground and glued to the arms of men. They wore low-cut dresses with a corseted waist, and unscrupulously leaked the fullness of their breasts into the air like they were about to burst, accompanied by the teasing of leaning forward and backward, forming a wave of flesh like undulating waves.

In such an environment, a table in the corner of the tavern was a little unusual, and no one came up to disturb them, and if you were careful, you would find that people even avoided them casually.

If you know the inside story, you won't be surprised, because the two people sitting behind the table at this time are the ones that no one wants to provoke. One is the leader of the Bald Mountain Mercenary Regiment, "Hyena Chadang", and the other is the leader of the Dumar Mercenary Regiment, "Sling Dumar".

These two mercenary groups have a bad reputation in Rivertown, they are mercenary groups that protect merchants when they have a job, and when they are in a depression, they turn into bandits who raid privateers. In addition, they all have good weapons, so if there is nothing going on, no one is willing to deal with this group of wicked people who have no bottom line.

I don't know what day it is, these two opponents who often fight to the death actually sit quietly at a table, if they don't see it with their own eyes, people will only treat such things as drunkard nonsense, and laugh at them the loudest.

Having just swallowed a piece of golden and tender roast lamb shank, Hyena Chadang wiped the juice hanging from the corners of his mouth on his sleeve and burped contentedly. "Hey, Dumar, do you know what I want to do most right now?"

"It's a pity that I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. Dumar took a sip of his beer, lazily coping. In fact, he was looking at a bereaving woman not far away with those protruding dead fish eyes.

"Ha, I just want to cut your throat right now, so it will be a lot easier in the future. Chadang said, looking at the remaining half of the leg of lamb on the plate.

Dumar withdrew his gaze with difficulty, and sighed not without regret. Although he really wanted to taste the woman, it was obviously not a good day, because there was more important things to do, otherwise he would not have been able to sit with Chadang.

"By the way, you're really a worm in my belly. I'm so glad we both wanted to go together. Dumar glanced at Chadang.

"I heard that you made a big deal a while ago?" Cha Dang asked maliciously.

"Are you here to find fault on purpose? I heard that dogs have very good noses, when did you become so well-versed?" Dumar's voice turned cold, and it was obvious that the other party had touched his sore feet. A while ago, Dumar and his brothers killed a convoy of fallen nobles, losing a few of his men, not to mention that there were not many gold coins looted in the migration convoy of Noda, which greatly annoyed Dumar.

Not only was Cha Dang not angry when he heard this, but this sense of victory at seeing the other party eat deflated made him laugh proudly.

Just when both sides were about to lose their last bit of patience by this boring atmosphere, the door of the Old Perch Tavern was suddenly pushed open. The cold air of the night instantly cooled the room, and people unconsciously looked at the door, and gradually, the originally noisy sound turned into whispers, because they saw a figure that was completely impossible to appear here.

The man was a muscular man, with a delicate grey tail feather stuck in a wide-brimmed velvet hat with a low brim, wrapped in a pitch-black cloak that could not be seen clearly, the piping of the cloak delicately locked by hand-sewn silver threads, and a pair of riding boots of cooked cowhide immaculately keeping, and beautiful silver ornaments at the joints. Obviously, this is a nobleman, and his status is not low.

"The noble lord came to the old bass tavern?" this is probably the same idea of everyone in the tavern.

The noble lord ignored the gaze around him, glanced around a little, found the destination of the trip, and walked straight over.

The momentum of being in a high position for a long time made everyone a little depressed, and they unconsciously made way for him in this crowded tavern. Soon, he walked up to Chadang and Dumar, tugged at his chair with some disgust, and sat down across from them.

The door of the tavern was closed again, and after a brief moment of astonishment, the people began to drink and make noise again.

"What would you like to drink?" asked the tavern waitress cautiously.

The man adjusted his sitting position to make himself a little more comfortable. "Bitter jasmine, don't add sugar. His voice was low, but magnetic. It must be admitted that the waitress in front of him made his eyes light up, and it was hard to imagine such a slender girl in such a scruffy tavern.

"Yes...... Yes, please wait. A hint of blush crept up the girl's cheek, and her voice was a little nervous.

The wine was quickly delivered, but the man did not drink it. "The target has already departed from Sardinia, and it is estimated that it will not be long before we cross the Tallinn crossing, and then cross the Whispering Hills north to the province of White Oak, so you have to move quickly. ”

Dumar coughed lightly, and the momentum of the other party overwhelmed him a little. "My lord, there is no portrait, there is no guide, even if we squat all day, we don't know who your target is. In fact, what Dumar had in mind was that no matter what, he would have to press a certificate, even a living person in his hands. From being recruited a few days ago to seeing customers today, he never knew who the buyer was and who the target was, which was too bad for Dumar.

As for the target, hehe, you can't see such a conspicuous target. The man raised his head slightly, and under the brim of his hat was a patch of fair skin, with a high nose and two well-trimmed mustaches.

"Excuse me...... Is the target conspicuous?" asked Cha Dang, puzzled.

"Of course, heavily armed knights, high knights. ”

"How many?"

"A dozen of them. ”

"Is the other party a nobleman?" Dumar asked, leaning over and cautiously.

"Duke. The man's voice was calm.

As soon as he finished speaking, Dumar suddenly put his back on the chair like a frightened mouse, his face was pale and bloodless, and the cold sweat that exploded from his pores instantly soaked his clothes. Chadang wasn't much better than him, and the knife he used to cut meat was almost thrown to the ground.

The two glanced at each other, and both saw an almost suffocating fear in each other's gazes. Assassinating the duke, for the sake of the main god, this idea is obviously crazy to the point of unimaginable, this is not an assassination, this is simply sending death, or looking for death!

Cha Dang considered the language for a while, after all, the guy who dared to kill the duke wanted to pinch himself to death, but it was as simple as pinching an ant to death. "Great, sir...... Not to mention that we don't have the courage to assassinate the duke, but if the matter is revealed, I'm afraid that our two mercenary groups will never live in this world again, and cutting off our heads is the best fate for us. ”

"yes, you're right. Therefore, killing them all and not letting any of them go is the best choice. That won't be revealed, will it?" the man slowly swirled the wine glass on the table, the light brown liquid shining in the glass.

"Adult ......"

With a "pop", a sheepskin bag was thrown on the table. "Take a look. ”

Dumar and Chadan hesitantly opened the bag, thinking that the small bag could not hold many gold coins. But the contents of the bag shocked the two men and completely forgot about the danger of beheading.

It was a round purple phosphorus gem that shone with a deep purple glow in the dim light, and Dumar and Chadang's gazes seemed to be sucked in, and only the naked greed was left on their faces.

"The finest purple phosphorus gemstones, I don't say their value, you know it. With such wealth, it is enough to find a poor country and buy a low-ranking title!Are you going to be a robber for the rest of your life? Think about it, think about it and talk back, future Lord Sir. ”

It was as if a skylight had opened in the darkness, and Dumar and Chadang looked at each other, and their eyes burned with **, which was ** for power. Even the lowest title is enough to free them from the mire of civilians, and this reason is enough to make them completely insane.

"We did it!" replied in unison, and at this moment, the once rivals who fought each other had become the most solid allies. Interests are always the best way to maintain an alliance, and in many cases, this is more solid than a promise.

"Wise choice! By the way, I suggest that you just send cavalry, although the equipment is poor, but it is better than the peasants who can only chase after the horses with broken copper and iron. The man stood up as he spoke, and the conversation ended, to his great satisfaction.

"You're just leaving, my lord, aren't you afraid we'll swallow the gem and run away?" Chadang asked in a low voice.

The man took the glass and drank it down, then pressed it on the table and said coldly, "You can try it." With that, he turned around and left the old bass tavern.