Kobolds are very obscene and cold-blooded creatures, bullying the good and fearing the hard, and preferring to abuse their prey. They are short, only about 1 meter in size, and they are also very thin, with a long, pointed tail like a mouse dragging behind their bodies. It is only because of the wolfdog-like face and the horn-like bulge on the top of their head that they are called kobolds by other races.

"My lord, since these kobolds are dead, can we go back and get the bounty?" Seeing that the sky was getting darker and darker, and the dark red sunset was about to disappear behind the mountains, and the atmosphere of sudden silence after the fight continued to permeate the forest, Siegel couldn't help but urge: "Maybe we can go back to Oak Town before midnight, end this mission, and get a good night's sleep." ”

"Scared? It's just some kobold. Tiger Beale said to his battle henchmen, "We're just warming up, you're not done, cub?"

"Of course not!" Siegel pulled out the arrow stuck in the kobold's eye socket, looked at it closely, wiped off the bloodstains, broke off the arrow that could still be used, and put it back in his belt bag. As a combat entourage who has just "entered the industry", it is his important duty to do this kind of work of cleaning up the battlefield and recovering weapons.

"I just think it's too much of a fuss to bother an adult like you to do something like kobold robbers. The young attendant said to himself, completely oblivious to the clenched fists of the adult behind him. "Now that the robbers here are dead, there's no need to waste any more time. ”

Tiger Beale stood in front of Siegel, just in time to shade out the last rays of the sunset. He kicked the dazed Siegel over and watched as he collapsed on top of the kobold's corpse, splashed with the drumming black blood that was about to freeze. "What do you know, little! I don't want you to be a jester when I make you a retinue! Keep your mouth shut and work hard! Otherwise, when I own a castle and a territory and lack a clown, I will be the first to think of you!"

Tiger could clearly see the pursed lips of the "little cub", and he could feel the stubbornness behind the answer of "Yes adult", just as he had done more than thirty years ago. He took the young man off the boat and took him with him as an entourage, precisely because of this sense of déjà vu. He recalls himself, a stubborn, hard-working young man who tries to change the world, constantly fighting through battles, and after thirty years of ups and downs, he only becomes a down-and-out "knight". From the bottom of his heart, he hoped that this equally stubborn young man could take a different path.

It is precisely because of this thought that Tiger will not show a mild look, and still reprimands sternly and urgently: "Knights must learn to obey, talk less and do more." So little cub, you hurry up and put away all the arrowheads, as well as those kobold daggers that are not rusty, and bring them back to the village to melt them and save some iron. ”

Listening to the constant nagging in his ears, Siegel always felt as if he was back at sea, surrounded by the never-ending sound of the waves, and there was no time to relax. These messy jobs, like sputum on the deck, always come back after you've cleaned up, and there's never a day to finish. If it weren't for the problem, how could a Sir not even forget to loot the kobold's things? Remember that the first mate, whom I would never call Captain, gave this big mouth five gold coins, and it was all spent?

Siegel looked his employer up and down while he was packing up his spoils, and it was undeniable that Tiger Beale did have a kind of jazz style. He was emaciated, but full of strength, straightened his back, and now he was turning over and riding the black horse that had crossed the sea with him all the way, condescending and graceful. He had a long sword diagonally around his waist, a longbow on his back, and two daggers stuck in his ankles. Black leather boots, black pants, black rabbit skin gloves, black cowhide inlaid armor, black bowler helmet. Several woven bags with booty were hung on hooks behind the saddle, creating a balanced load on both sides of the horse, which did not affect the battle or income.

Sir Bill was born into a truly aristocratic family, and although he was the youngest of five boys, he was not originally eligible to inherit the title, but he won the championship in the jousting tournament with his superb swordsmanship, and won the honorary knighthood. Unfortunately, since then, Sir Tegbil has been accompanied by bad luck all the way, nothing has gone well, and he has offended his superiors in a civil war of nobles, and has been deprived of battlefield honor, and has lost the possibility of gaining territory as a knight. Later, he "fell into his own depravity" and made a living as a mercenary, going back and forth between the "New World" and the "Old World".

It is undeniable that Sir Bill's martial arts are very high, whether it is a bow and arrows or a long sword, he is very powerful. Since following him ashore, Siegel has started from scratch and gradually learned the habits of life on land and the various skills that he should master as a warrior. Unlike at sea, adventures in the New World require careful attention, as any mistake in the process can lead to bad results. Siegel was quickly improving, and was able to do the job of a knight's servant, he just didn't like to be called a "cub".

"Little cub, have you forgotten something?" said Sir Bill, sitting on his horse, raised his hand and pointed at the kobold on the ground, "I will be rewarded if you think of it." ”

It's not common to reward such things, so Siegel carefully rummaged through the corpse to make sure that not a single copper plate would fall. Fortunately, the doghead is small, as tall and short as a four-year-old human child, and it is easy to rummage.

"2 silver coins per kobold's ears, I remember!" Siegel patted his head, and then covered his forehead again: "Why do you want to do such a thing, I heard that only the barbarian beasts of the north have the habit of cutting their ears?"

"This is the New World, not the Star Country, where is there so much nonsense?" Tiger Bill watched the twilight that was gradually rising, soothing the increasingly impatient war horse. "I saw a light crossbow hanging on the wall of the grocery store, just the right weapon for you. Your seafarer friend says you can throw the rope very accurately and your eyes are outstanding. Hopefully, you'll be able to use it more when you have a light crossbow. ”

"Thank you, sir. "It's sincere.

"But the crossbow is to be paid for by yourself, and it will be deducted from your earnings this time. Then he rode away, not knowing what to do.

It took the young man nearly an hour to pack everything up, and during that time, the returning Sir Bill simply stood by and watched, not reaching out to help. The camp they chose was in a verdant valley with low shrubs growing under thick trees. Siegel chops down the bushes with a scythe to clear a flat land. Then he broke off the branches and used them as a broom to sweep away the fallen leaves on the ground. He gathers firewood, lights a campfire, and prepares dinner.

The two were not wealthy, so they could only eat some powdered meat soup. It is made with a mixture of grated jerky, pumpkin flour, potato flour, brewed with beer or boiled in water and eaten. When it's done, it looks sticky, smells sticky, and tastes sticky. Fortunately, there are still a few heads of garlic to taste.

"There were twelve kobolds, eleven were killed, and one escaped. This is consistent with the description in the town. Sir said, "But you can't just see that. There were no young children among the kobolds, no small pots for cooking, not even much to eat, let alone the booty that the robbers had looted from the road. So there must be a camp nearby, or a cave. ”

"That's why you deliberately let one go, my lord?" Siegel wondered, "But we can't track it down at night?"

"Light the fire, eat, keep a good vigil, little cub, there is so much to do tomorrow. Sir said, "I have reconnoitred their tracks, and I will kill them tomorrow!"

Sir Bill went to bed with that, and he had a warm leather sleeping bag. Siegel is also responsible for keeping watch in the middle of the night and taking advantage of this time to maintain Lord Jazz's equipment. First of all, the black horse should be served, including picking out the gravel and silt stuffed in the horseshoe, massaging the back of the horse's neck and back with soft grass, and feeding a handful of black beans. Then he also needs to clean up his weapons, which includes sharpening his longsword with a small piece of oil, arranging the bowstring of his longbow, and the tail feathers of Shuping's arrows. After that, it is necessary to take care of the campfire, and use the light of the fire to repair the broken armor from the battle, fill the holes with leather scraps, and check the rivets on the inlaid leather armor. He worked until late at night, filling the firewood, waking up the horse, and feeding it some forage and black beans before he could sleep.

Fortunately, the war horse is very vigilant and can act as a sentry for a period of time in the middle of the night, so that Siegel will not be kept on the night shift all night. Sir Bill would wake up before dawn, pray to the morning sun, and then move his body to prepare for the day's battle.

The day's battle was deep into the forest, so Siegel's task was to take care of the horses. After the two of them left the valley, they were covered with thorny bushes along the way, and cutting a path with their swords was very physically demanding, which would seriously affect the battle later. If they chose to avoid these places, they would have to climb up and down between the huge tree roots.

God forbid, the road did not go far, and Sir Bill climbed the hill with his party. He broke a branch to make a walking stick and pointed to a bare puddle on the ground: "Little cub, look, there is a handprint here." The kobold drank water in this puddle and then moved on. ”

Siegel stood on the hillside, following the direction Jazz was pointing, looking at the horizon with his black eyes. The green foliage forms a dense shade that stretches from the hillside into the distance, obscuring everything on the road, and only faintly discerning the movement of some of the woods' animals, such as a large group of monkeys and a few litters of squirrels. In the far reaches of the woods was an open field, glowing pale golden in the morning sun, and a few small black dirt bags were next to it. Siegel focused on it, and finally made out that the light was the reflection of a small lake.