Chapter 2: The Price of Life
Li Ke really wanted to have another choice.
But he looked at the current situation, thought about it, and didn't feel that his existing ability and capital could not break the situation.
The people around him are more powerful than himself, and he can probably guess why.
Compared to him, an ape-man who evolved from a monkey, these humans of Azeroth were literal Titans, creatures that had degenerated from steel machines.
Moreover, the original duty of these steel machines was to dry the frame, and it was impossible for the guys who specialized in fighting with various ancient gods, and the martial arts were not abundant.
The only thing he can praise in front of the people of this world is his familiarity with the plot, plus some knowledge of his past life.
But people don't tell you about it.
People only talk about violence.
So the truth is, he doesn't have a choice.
"Our business is very simple, buy low and sell high, some people give us things that they don't need, we renovate them and sell them, this is our business."
When Talos spoke, there was an indescribable look of smugness on his face, as well as a hint of reluctance.
"So we must have a way, we must have brains, five big and three thick, but people with empty heads can't do such a job."
He took Li Ke and walked out of the town from a remote path that Li Ke had never seen before.
Li Ke always thought that this was a closed hill, but when the other party walked over with him, Li Ke knew that there was a path in the middle of this small hill.
He didn't know what to say, so he could only follow them silently.
Not long after walking, the sky darkened, and the group silently lit torches, and then Li Ke saw something move in the grass.
", wolf cub......"
Talos let out a low curse, and then two apprentices came out behind him, and rushed into the grass with two hammers, and soon a whimper came from the grass, and then an old lone wolf was dragged out of the grass.
The motorcycle-sized wolf was still twitching when it was dragged out by its legs, but Li Ke knew it was dead.
So far, he hadn't seen a creature that had its head half smashed and still survived.
Looking at the other party's cloudy and desperate eyes, Li Ke knew that he didn't have the ability to pity the other party, although the other party was dying, he still struggled for a while.
And his own words, he may not even have the strength to struggle.
Looking at those people's skillful skinning and cramps, Li Ke felt that he was actually the same as this wolf, both of them were meat on someone else's board.
"Alright, it's just a lone wolf who has been damned, gone."
Seeing that he was distracted, Talos once again grabbed him by the shoulders and led him forward.
Then there was not much surprise this time, and after walking for about an hour, they saw a group of people, about twenty or thirty of them, all covering their armor with sackcloth, and most of them did not want to look up, but only looked at them with slanted faces, and did not light their torches.
Although they didn't make a banner, from the armor style on their bodies, Li Ke could see the identities of these people.
A knight sent by Lordaeron.
Unlike the local aristocracy, most of these knights from Lordaeron were war-hardened veterans, and their armor was heavily patterned, representing one deadly battle after another.
But what made Li Ke recognize them was their height.
Warriors from Lordaeron are generally taller and more athletic than their counterparts elsewhere, some can even reach about two meters three, and their bodies are burly and strong to match their height.
This allowed them to fight with shoulder armor nearly two centimeters thick, as well as full-coverage armor of almost a thickness.
One does not say that there are fifty Li Ke now, but it is more than enough to beat a hundred.
Li Ke felt that these apprentices around him were burly and strong enough, but compared to these people in front of him, they were obviously much worse.
Only Talos can compare to the other party.
As for Li Ke?
It can only be said that this is not a barrier that can be broken through by exercise, but a gap called race.
"You're too slow."
When they saw Taros, the first thing the other party said was this, obviously, after taking Li Ke, Talos and their marching speed was indeed slow.
"No way, I'm going to bring this one over today, so it's a little slower."
When Talos spoke, he pushed Li Ke and pushed Li Ke to a stumbling position, so that Li Ke involuntarily came to the front of the knight who spoke.
Li Ke was in a hurry and couldn't adjust his position, so under the light of the moonlight and torches, he could clearly see the knight's face.
A sturdy middle-aged man with a big beard.
Li Ke had seen him, and the other party was a member of the Knights of Lordan Road, a logistics officer in charge of logistics, and because he had dealt with Talos several times in the blacksmith shop, Li Ke knew him.
Seeing Li Ke, this person frowned and swept Li Ke aside casually.
Li Ke could see that he was very dissatisfied with his face being seen clearly by Li Ke like this.
"Stop talking nonsense, let's inspect the goods."
He pointed impatiently at the cart behind him, and Talos whistled, then pulled Li Ke over.
Before he could uncover a single step, Li Ke's heart skipped a beat, because the cars were all brand new, and the armor and blades were still shining.
All of these armors are fine-quality - as opposed to the best of this town, they are the high-grade materials of the Knights of Lordaeron. If an ordinary aristocratic family wants to buy a set of such armor, they basically have to take off a layer of skin.
If the minor nobles don't join the army, they don't even think about it.
As for civilians?
Civilians don't think too much, this kind of full-coverage armor is a forbidden item for civilians, and there is no official position and title on the body, and it is illegal to hold it.
Because this thing is not as inconvenient to move as ordinary plate armor, this kind of armor can even do backflips without being restricted!
Killing the head!
Li Ke thought of this for the first time, but Taros, who was tightly bound to him, did not let him go, but with the convenience of holding Li Ke, he used a dagger to resist Li Ke's left chest.
"Look at the quality of these things."
Li Ke had no choice but to start inspecting the armor.
Don't worry about the weapon, someone has already gone to check it.
But after Li Ke looked at the armor, the more he looked at it, the cooler his heart became.
The armor is intact, although each one has some traces of the buckle being cut, but it does not affect the use, even if you don't find a special blacksmith, as long as you find a skilled blacksmith, you can repair it.
And the most time is the armor in the back, and I don't even bother to cut it off for you with a buckle or something, but I get a few scratches and it's over.
Tarlos clearly saw this, and he sneered and let go of Li Ke.
The last few cars were no longer armor or the like, but some precious stones and delicate objects, Li Keka couldn't understand the shape and meaning of these things, but he could roughly guess what ritual these should be.
Because among these things, there are one or two crystal balls and books or something.
Talos wasn't interested in any of these things, he just flipped them a few times, and then slapped Li Ke at the quartermaster.
"You keep watching."
He said this completely nonsense, because Li Ke didn't understand the words of this world at all, and the reason why he said this was entirely because of the spell of the lord mage.
Talos and the quartermaster stood together and discussed something, but Li Ke couldn't hear it, because their conversation was very low.
But it was clear that their discussion was not pleasant, as their voices quickly rose to the top.
"I'm trying to say, you've crossed the line, idiot! The price of things is so high, who do you think we are working for? You don't have much experience at first glance, don't think it's that simple! ”
Fingers slammed into the quartermaster's stained armor, and Talos unceremoniously sprayed himself at the bearded quartermaster.
The other party held the hilt of the sword in his hand, and his face still had the tiredness and dust stained by the expedition, so he was quite impatient when he was scolded by someone pointing to his chest.
To be honest, Li Ke really felt terrified, and he was really afraid that they would be exterminated.
Because even if he didn't know the words of this world, he was very clear, and in the current situation, according to the law of Lordaeron, everyone present would be sentenced to prison.
It is usually hanged, and the lightest sentence is exile or guillotine.
So if you can't talk about it, you can only pray that the other party will be suspicious of the person behind Taros.
Otherwise, Li Ke does not guarantee that these people will ......
"Kill the mouth!"
Talos laughed exaggeratedly, and then continued to spray his spittle.
"I wish you knew what you were talking about, my sir, and after you killed us, did you think you would be safe and sound? Of course, you don't care about my mud-legged threat, but you know that if you kill me here, you won't get what you want. ”
As he spoke, Talos patted his money bag, making the money inside make a crisp sound.
The knight's face twitched.
It is not easy for Lordanren to live in a big place.
This is not a joke, but a fact.
Whether it is daily life, or maintaining the dignity of the nobility, or maintaining and manufacturing the equipment of oneself and one's family, it is not a simple job.
So he needs this money very much, and a lot of people need it.
What are you fighting for? Not for money and status?
This time, there was really too little oil and water to exterminate the cultists, and that small cult was only a hundred people in size, and it had gathered more than a dozen bandits. As a result, His Majesty sent three hundred knights and six hundred soldiers, ten mages from Dalaran, and even sufficient supplies.
To be honest, the loot really isn't enough.
After all, these people sent by His Majesty the King are enough to attack the city. Moreover, the loot mage still has to take the lion's share, and the most precious magic treasures and valuable books of those cultists have been looted by those mages, otherwise the income will barely be enough.
Even Rivendell, which is not far away, will have a headache when facing their troops, and will directly fall into passivity.
Therefore, everyone can only find some other way to get some profits.
"Anyway, the last two cars are worthless, but they are some cultists' gadgets, and I can't sell them, so I'll give them to me."
Talos smiled.
The cultists' stuff was gilded, and scraping it off was a lot of money, not to mention the gems that the mages didn't look up to.
It's a lot of money.
As for the books, he had just glanced at them casually, they were just erotic novels, and those high-ranking mages would not pick them up.
The quartermaster was silent for a moment, and Talos playfully shoved a bag of money into his hand and whistled, and his apprentices untied small bags from their belts and threw them in front of the quartermaster.
"What's convenient?"
Looking at the unmoved quartermaster and soldiers, Talos was a little nervous, he didn't know if these bribes would convince the other party.
The quartermaster glanced at the money bag at his feet, then at the one that Talos had given him, and after a moment of silence, nodded.
"Absolutely."
Talos smiled, as did his men and the soldiers opposite, and for a moment the whole place was filled with joy.
Talos put his finger in his mouth, whistled violently, and then came to the convoy with a smile on his face, and came to Li Ke's side again.
The soldiers also left the convoy in tacit agreement, allowing the blacksmith apprentices to take control of the cars.
After casually flipping through a few erotic books he had just seen, Talos had to admit that these books were quite attractive to him.
So he kept flipping through it, trying to find a few interesting books, and he would go home and read them tonight.
But as he flipped through the books, Talos saw a yellow pamphlet without any text on it, which was quite discordant among the erotic books, and ......
He was quite disappointed.
He scoffed, a booklet with nothing was just right for a piece of waste with nothing.
So he threw the yellow pamphlet into Li Ke's arms.
After all, it's working along, even if it's for the rules, you have to give this guy something.
"This thing is yours, and after you take it with your share, you will be considered your own person completely."
Li Ke hurriedly took the booklet, and before he could read it, he was restrained by Talos again and walked in front of the quartermaster.
The quartermaster was a little puzzled, because he had already heard the sound of horses coming with money, and what did this guy named Talos want to do?
Do you think you've bribed yourself too much?
He looked at Talos quizzically, and Talos smiled and pulled out a piece of parchment.
"Just in case, I wanted to have a contract, and it just so happened that this subordinate of mine was going to join in, so I asked him to sign it."
The quartermaster frowned, he didn't understand why he was doing this, this kind of thing still needs a contract? Are you afraid that there will be no evidence of guilt when you are tried?
But he took the parchment on the face of bribery, but when he saw it, the way he looked at Li Ke became weird.
This is a confession.
He confessed to being a leader who led the bandits to steal weapons and threaten the blacksmiths to sell the stolen goods.
He knew why his bribes were so much.