A sparkling and wide river flows through the slightly desolate plains and mountains, and large ships loaded with goods are heading towards the city of Calcutt, and whenever they pass through places where the waves are turbulent and cannot go in the opposite direction, many coolies will gather, shouting trumpets, dragging ropes, and pulling them over one by one.
In the wind that normal people would feel cold, these men were all shirtless, and there was a faint white gas steaming around their skin.
"If I hadn't left home as a mercenary, maybe I would have become one of them, a husband on the Negnin River......" Katrina was quietly listening to the familiar trumpet, when a slightly hoarse male voice suddenly sounded in her ears.
It originates from the snow-capped mountains controlled by the Vladimir family in the northwestern province, flows through the northern provinces, and flows all the way southeast, eventually flowing into the Storm Strait at the junction of the Shahran Empire and the Northern Coastal Corridor.
Katrina turned her head, looked at the young man next to her, and smiled: "Everyone has the opportunity to change their own destiny, it just depends on whether you can grasp it, obviously, Yakov, you are the strong man who has defeated yourself, if you don't go out with the determination to die and always follow the waves, then you will be like all the fishermen on the Negnin River, it will be difficult for you to live past thirty-five."
Yakov is a mercenary with short yellow hair, less than thirty, but with a beard full of cheeks, full of vicissitudes, tall, and rough in appearance, he is called "Brown Bear" by the mercenary team.
"Then you chose to become a mercenary with such determination?" Yakov asked rhetorically with a wandering smile.
Due to the vast and sparsely populated Empire of Shahran, with many magical creatures and bandits, it is a very dangerous thing to go out, especially in the north, so a beautiful girl on the road alone is a very eye-catching thing, unless she has the strength of a knight, the same reason, without accompaniment, joining a caravan will also attract a lot of extra attention.
In order not to be suspected by the clergy and noble knights of the Northern Church, Katrina cautiously chose to pretend to be a mercenary, forged the certificate of the mercenary guild, and mixed in with a team escorting the caravan to the city of Kalkate, and Yakov was the leader of this mercenary team, a knight who inspired the blood of the Frost Giant on his own.
Katrina, influenced by her teacher's habits, twitched slightly, and just as she was about to answer, a clear female voice rushed in front of her and said: "Let me guess, Sister Katrina, are you trying to escape marriage? A beautiful girl like you must have been born into a well-bred aristocratic family, and then was favored by some powerful aristocratic scum and forced you to be his wife, so in order to escape, you had to choose to become a mercenary and leave?"
"Anna, you've heard too much of the bard's story......" Katrina amused and glared at the female archer in leather armor next to her.
Anna is a mercenary less than twenty years old, with long golden hair, turquoise eyes and good looks, with a cheerful and lively personality, very much like Heidi, so Katrina hits her off at first sight and has a good friendship, while Katrina is full of curiosity - she grew up being influenced by the stories of the bard, and she intuitively believes that Katrina must have hidden "twists and turns" of ups and downs.
Although Katrina's long sword is used well, her skills are also very agile, and she has the strength of a high-level knight attendant, and a few female mercenaries are also as beautiful as her appearance, but she has a refined temperament, and occasionally when thinking about problems, she has an indescribable "knowledge atmosphere", which is basically absent in mercenaries.
Yakov once secretly worked with a formal magician known for his "erudition", but he did not possess a similar temperament.
Anna laughed twice, looked at the city of Kalkat that was getting closer and closer, and asked a little expectantly: "Sister Katrina, we will follow Boss Yaakov to settle here, what about you? Will you leave?"
Yakov had inspired the power of bloodline in his previous adventures, and this time he returned for the title. After the edict, he would receive a nearby manor and a territory on the desolate plains, and those his mercenaries would remain as his knight's attendants or butlers.
For most mercenaries, having such an opportunity is something they have struggled for a long time to obtain, so they naturally agreed without hesitation. With the support of a nobleman, it will not be as difficult as a mercenary without a foundation in the future.
Hearing Anna's question, Yaakov and several nearby mercenaries quietly perked up their ears, as if waiting for Katrina's answer.
Katrina smiled and reached out to rub Anna's long golden hair: "I came to Kalkat City to gain wealth, maybe in a few months I will be able to get a satisfactory harvest, and when the time comes, I will return to my place, where my family and friends are. Being able to meet you on this adventure is a memory worth cherishing."
The underground under the cover of the forests and desolate plains near Kalkat City contains many resources and magical creatures, which is why caravans come and go here, and countless mercenaries are active.
Many adventurers come here because of this, hoping to find undiscovered gem mines, magical plant gathering places and other things here, so as to become rich overnight, and most of them end up quietly disappointed or lie forever in the depths of the forest and under the plains, but there are also a few lucky people who have truly gained adventures, and they have inspired generations of adventurers to come here.
Many nearby specialties also have a great role in the research, spellcasting, and alchemy of magicians, so the official magician came here to take risks, and as a result, he was involved in the worship of demons and died inexplicably in the city of Calcutt.
"Family...... Friend......" Anna whispered a few words and said melancholy: "Sister Katrina, before you leave Kalkat City, you must come to see me often."
Yakov said in a low voice: "Katrina, if you need help, don't be shy, just come to me, we are companions."
Katrina nodded slightly, seeing that the scene seemed to have become dull, she quickly changed the subject, and asked Anna and the others about Kalkat City - she was not yet ten years old when she left here, and she only had a rough and vague impression.
During the discussion, the mercenary team protecting the caravan gradually approached the city gate, and at this time, a group of cavalry rushed out of the city, the sound of horses' hooves was rapid but extremely neat, obviously having undergone long-term training.
This cavalry team wore black full-body armor, and the helmet mask was also lowered, giving people a cold and cold feeling, as if they came from a battlefield full of corpses.
Their left arms were painted with blood-red crests, and inside was a blood-colored giant bear with a head held high in their left palm.
"Count Vladimir's Blood Bear Legion......" Yakov introduced Katrina in a low voice.
Although the territory of the Vladimir family is the northwestern province, they also have a certain influence on the neighboring northern provinces, such as the city of Kalkart is the hereditary county of the Vladimir family, the lord is known as the "Count of Calcutt", and the blood bear crest, which symbolizes strength and glory, is the exclusive emblem of their heir.
Anna said envious and fascinated next to her: "The Blood Bear Legion, it seems that they are going to greet Viscount Andre!"
"Viscount Andrew?" The name was too ordinary and popular, and Katrina didn't quite know what he had done, although it sounded like the next Count of Calcutt.
"Well, Viscount Andre, he became an official knight at the age of twenty, was promoted to a great knight at the age of twenty-five, and reached the peak of a great knight two months ago, and was favored by the epic knight 'Ninel' and became his student! He is definitely expected to be promoted to the Heavenly Knight in the future and become the strongest Count of Calcutt." Anna said in a dreamy tone, as if discussing the male protagonist in her own prince or bard story.
Ninel, "Deathstorm" Ninel? Katrina was a little surprised, this first-order epic knight was the current head of the Fetado family, the actual ruler of the northern province, and it was precisely because of his promotion that St. Ivan was considering elevating the Fetado family's title from marquis to duke. But isn't the Fetado family at odds with the Vladimir family? Are you dissatisfied with their involvement in the northern provinces?
Although "Ice Age" Tom Vladimir is old and no longer held the title of Grand Duke more than a hundred years ago, he is undoubtedly still alive and is expected to break through to the legendary third order of the Epic Knight!
Is there any secret hidden in this? Is this intelligence important to the council? Katrina thought in confusion.
Looking at her shocked expression, Anna became even more envious and adored: "Becoming a student of an epic knight is also a very rare adventure for the sky knight, not to mention the great knight, Viscount Andre must have something extraordinary!"
"Don't mention the Epic Knight, I am satisfied to have a Heavenly Knight as my teacher, without the Lord's gift and favor, this kind of thing would never have happened." Yakov sighed slightly bitterly and yearningly, people are more angry than people.
The other mercenaries even laughed at themselves: "If there can be a big knight, no, the official knight will be the teacher, we are all willing to go to Paradise Mountain in advance."
During this discussion, they escorted the caravan into the city and found a hotel to stay temporarily.
When Yakov went to the town hall to report, Katrina took Anna to a nearby tavern.
Having just stepped inside, the beautiful Katrina was immediately "welcomed" by the whistles of mercenaries and adventurers, who constantly made vulgar jokes.
Anna glared at them fiercely, pulled out the dagger on her body, and Katrina was not shy to hold the long sword in front of her, and looked around indifferently.
In this case, the weaker you are, the more you will be bullied.
Sure enough, their toughness made the drunkards restrain themselves a lot and they were able to walk to the bar smoothly.
"Hi, little Anna, welcome back, who is this beautiful girl?" The tavern owner is a middle-aged man with a squinting complexion.
Anna smiled and said, "Uncle Guelph, do you want to enjoy the trampling of brown bears? By the way, has there been any major incident in recent months?"
"The biggest thing you must know is that Viscount Andre has become a student of His Excellency 'Deathstorm', and to a lesser extent, there was a demon worship incident in the noble district next door, and dozens of people died at the scene inexplicably." Gulf put away his squinting smile.
"Demon worship incident?" Anna asked curiously.
Katrina quietly breathed a sigh of relief, with a local mercenary as a companion, it was indeed much easier to find out about things, and it would not arouse the suspicion of others, otherwise a "foreigner" would definitely attract the attention of those who wanted to ask about this matter rashly.
The second watch, ask for a monthly pass~
(End of this chapter)