Pioneering

Chapter 229 The Bragging Mercenary 【Two in One】

Zhong Ming wandered slowly for a while, and vaguely saw a heavily guarded castle.

Zhong Ming looked back at the map in his mind. This should be the family castle of Rufis Zamora, Earl of Seawind County in the Maritime Province of Assia, formerly the Earl of Capote.

Zhong Ming now remembered that the two unlucky sons of Rufis were still alive, no one was dead, no one was dead, anyway, in name, he arranged for him to supervise the disappearance of the ship. Not suitable either...

I have to give an explanation to my younger brothers... The greatest virtue of a vassal is to give his vassals a sense of security, that is, to have abundant martial virtues.

After reading this, Zhong Ming fell towards the castle on the mountainside.

The castles in the world of Zoya are generally divided into two types: pure military castles and urban core castles.

The buildings of purely military castles are usually located in high mountains and hilly areas that are easy to defend, and are often built on the top of the mountain or at the foot of the mountain.

In addition to the natural defense of the rocks, the mountain castle also has the advantage of vision, which is convenient for finding the direction of the enemy's attack. Once the enemy starts to attack the city, the defenders can quickly detect it and attack with rocks, bows and arrows inside the city wall.

As for the core castles of cities, the castles that are usually located in the plains naturally attract people to settle nearby, eventually developing a city.

Although the defense of this kind of castle is generally not as good as that of a pure military castle, its material reserves are usually much stronger than that of a pure military castle.And there is an extra layer of outer city wall defense, and the layout is similar to a scaled-down version of the ancient capital of the Blue Star Dragon Kingdom.

Of course, the water source is also a key factor in choosing the location of the castle. The current Zamora family castle in front of Zhong Ming is built on the mountainside.

Because of the ravages of the mermaid clan, the Zamora family "strategically shifted" to this purely military castle. The castles in the big cities were more comfortable, but the life-saving coefficient is not as high as here...

Zhong Ming stood on a sandy ground not far from the castle, straightened his sleeves, and walked towards the castle while admiring the beautiful scenery.

"Hehe~" A huge creature that looks like an earthworm but has scales and sharp horns all over its body jumped out, opened its big mouth like a blooming chrysanthemum, and suddenly swallowed it towards Zhong Ming.

"Sand dragon earthworm?" Zhong Ming opened his eyes, looked at the beast in surprise, jumped away, and said,

"Isn't that right, shouldn't you be living in the desert?
Although the seaside beach is also sandy, is there still a saying about earthworms migrating? "

Sand Dragon Earthworm... As the name suggests, it is a descendant of a giant dragon and an earthworm-shaped monster. It is a silver species, an adult monster, with level five (mid-level second) strength, strong body regeneration, good at digging holes and fertilizing fields, and has soil talent spells inherited.

Don't ask how the giant dragon got together with the earthworm monster, Zhong Ming also wants to know why the dragon's aesthetics and adaptability are so strong!
Combining the data in his mind and the feedback from the Eye of True Sight, Zhong Ming was very pleasantly surprised by this earthworm that bravely attacked him.

Such a monster can do a lot of work in a day, right?
The long-term exploration of restraining breath seems to be quite effective. How could such a brave beast come to your door before?

"Excited, right? Climb for me!"

Zhong Ming waved his hand casually, a golden long sword...

After a while, the sand dragon earthworm, who couldn't run away and couldn't be beaten, was covered with bruises all over his body, with khaki body fluids flowing, and lay there hopelessly, with the expression of "I want to kill or cut, I'll do whatever I want" appearance.

It was forced to sign a master-servant contract, and Zhong Ming, who liked to mention a temporary mount + a permanent agricultural worker, moved towards the castle again.

……

"Oh, my lord Earl, why are you so sad? Be happy, I promise you, I will keep you safe."

"That's right, my boss Besov is a warrior who slays sea monsters, any monsters, any mermaids, they are all..."

"If you want me to say, what nonsense Yasha, the new master you have defected to is not very good. I heard that the mermaid beats you and retreats steadily. Why don't you ask me to rely on our boss to protect you?"

"Count Zamora, I heard that Princess Lavinia is as beautiful as a fairy, why don't you call me out to show everyone, and let us see who is the one we want to protect?"

"Yes, ask the princess to come out and take a look! Come out and take a look!"*N
Rufis Zamora gritted his teeth and looked at this group of unscrupulous mercenaries, then at the blond mercenary leader who was obviously indulging his subordinates to misbehave. The Church of Fengshen, who threw it out like nothing, was also filled with resentment.

"Besov, is this how you restrain your subordinates? Are you trying to provoke the nobles?" Rufis questioned.

Besov straightened his headband and said nonchalantly:

"Alas, my lord, don't be angry, don't be angry.

My subordinates are just joking, why are you so serious?
Besides, Princess Lavinia is not shameless, why can't she come out to meet our brothers?

Besides, you still have to rely on us brothers to find your two precious sons!

Do you still expect to be beaten by the mermaid so that you can't find Yasha in the north?Counting on your hairy boy with no beard to grow into the king? "

Besov didn't panic at all:
In this chaotic period, it was a seller's market, and it was Rufes who wanted something from himself, not what he wanted from him.

Even if he offends this great nobleman, at worst, he pats his ass and leaves. Where are the mercenaries going?
With my ability as an earth knight, plus these more than 800 brothers who have cultivated fighting qi, I am not a vegetarian.

Strange to say, after the "Continent Kneeling and Submitting" that time, fighting spirit practice seems to be a lot easier, and he has broken through to Earth Knight recently.

With this strength, where can I not be a nobleman?

"I seem to have heard someone mention me?" Zhong Ming's voice suddenly came from outside the hall, "Secretly criticizing a monarch behind your back, you are very brave!"

The next moment, Zhong Ming's figure appeared in the center of the hall: "I'm very happy that you can praise me for being young. But I don't like the tone of your words just now."

"Slap your mouth and get the hell out of here!"

"Are you?" Besov looked at Zhong Ming who suddenly appeared like an enemy.

Zhong Ming looked down at Besov: "Have I stopped talking? I am the overly young Asshai monarch you said! What, my ears are not good or my IQ is not enough?"

A drunken mercenary stood up and said, "Don't be so arrogant, who are you? My boss said something to you..."

A golden light flashed across, and before everyone could react, an arm flew into the sky, leaving behind a drunk who was rolling all over the ground.

"Do you want to try it? Maybe you have a chance to achieve the achievement of 'Kingslayer'?" Zhong Ming casually folded his arms and looked at the mercenaries who drew their swords.

Rufis also recovered from his astonishment. Although he couldn't go to Chang'an City to receive the title in person due to physical reasons, he still saw Zhong Ming's portrait.

"Sorry, Duke Ming, I didn't know you would come..." Rufis tried to smooth things over.

Zhong Ming waved his hand and said:

"Sir Rufis, I have said that I am deeply sorry that your two sons disappeared while supervising the building of my ships.

I've heard that the Maritime province has been attacked by the merfolk.

As a lord, I fear for the safety of the loyal Zamora family.

So come uninvited, and come here to see Sir Rufis.

It was I who broke into the private territory and lost the courtesy, you don't need to apologize, it's me who needs to apologize.

Well, by the way, the mermaid invaders have been wiped out, and you can return to the city. "

"What?"*N
There was an instant discussion in the hall.

Zhong Ming said calmly:
"Well, that's right, a few days ago, Yaxia just pretended to be defeated to attract the mermaids to go deep into the land, so as to wipe out these aliens.

Last night, under the leadership of General John Tucker, the First Army of Yashai attacked the mermaid stationed in the river at night, annihilating 40 enemies and capturing nearly 10 people.

It didn't take long for the news to spread. "

Besov only felt a burning pain on his face. Just now, he was mocking Yashai for his inability to fight, and he was beaten by the mermaid tribe. Now he heard the news that the mermaid tribe was completely wiped out...

And Earl Rufis also seemed to have taken a reassurance, his gray face flashed a rosy glow.

Zhong Ming looked at these drunken mercenaries: "I hate when people point their weapons at me, I'll give you another chance, put down your weapons, and each of you will slap your mouth twenty times before you get out!"

The strong sense of oppression spread from Zhong Ming as the origin, and the mercenaries only felt as if there was a terrifying dragon standing in front of them...

"Pa~papa~" Besov took the lead to put away his weapon, and shot left and right in his face.

The rest of the mercenaries could only follow suit when they saw that the boss was cowardly.

Looking at the figures of the mercenaries turning away, Rufis hesitated to speak.

Zhong Ming glanced at his expression:
"Sir, the Zamora family seems to have encountered some difficulties?
If there is anything that can help, please feel welcome. "

Rufis hesitated with a sick look on his face.

Suddenly, a pretty princess broke in from the back door of the hall: "Father, you are embarrassed to say, let me tell you!"

Zhong Ming looked up:

The Princess Lavinia is tall and slim, with an upright posture.

Her long brown-gray hair was combed into neat braids, shining silver in the sun; her facial features were delicate and beautiful, her skin was delicate and fair, with a faint blush; her black eyes were deep and elegant.

She was wearing a gorgeous robe, a fur coat, and a machete hanging from her waist, revealing a sassy air.

Lavinia revealed a touch of whiteness, and bowed sincerely to apologize: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, it's like this..."

What happened was roughly:
40 years ago, Rufis went to Fort Hroat (the castle at the foot) and put a large bounty on it to kill a raging monster.

At that time, the Queen of the Capote County, Hosok (the biological mother of the three Lavinias), offered a reward of up to 15000 gold coins to attract many warriors to hunt monsters.

At that time, Rufis, who was poor and white, carried his family's enchanted weapons and all his skills, and rescued the queen when the monsters attacked. After a group of warriors rushed to the street, he successfully challenged the monsters and killed them.

He brought the monster's head back to Herrot Castle, and won the Queen's favor and the respect and praise of the people.

The next step is for the beloved warrior to marry the queen, inherit the throne, and reach the pinnacle of life.

However, before the goblin died, he cursed Rufis, saying that his mother would avenge him and sprinkle every inch of the land with brimstone, plague and death.

Later, as expected, the monster's banshee mother was very angry with her son, and crossed mountains and mountains to find Rufis and planned to take revenge.

The banshee's magic posed a huge threat to both Capote and the Rufis family.

Rufis had no choice but to draw out the "Rune Sword" inherited from his family again, and fought a desperate fight with the banshee on a rainy night.

After this night, Rufis repelled the banshee and defended Capote County again.

Unfortunately, a few days ago, Lavinia's two elder brothers suddenly disappeared in the castle by the sea, and the guards and servants died in a horrible way.He also left behind the words "I'm back" written in blood.

Everyone thought the banshee was back for revenge.

The old and frail Rufis wanted to pick up the sword to save his son again, but was persuaded by Lavinia, saying: Father, you have been fighting all your life, and your body has already collapsed. Why don't you use the power of Yasha...to deal with the daughter? demon.

Hence the plea for help.

However, due to the unfamiliarity and low trust in Yashai, the Zamora family spent a lot of money to hire the "Horn Mercenary Group", one of the most famous mercenary groups in the Northern Continent, and even promised Besov a baronial title.

A few days ago, Yaxia retreated steadily, the mermaid tribe was rampant, and the Zamora family's dependence on Besov increased a lot. This bastard also saw this and became more and more insane.

Unexpectedly, today, Besov was caught by the real master for mocking Zhong Ming behind his back, insulted him and drove him away...

Although this saves a huge amount of final payment, how to face the banshee's revenge is another big problem.

"So, you are planning to use me as a gunman?" Zhong Ming was thoughtful.

"Your Excellency, you can blame me if you want to blame me. It was I who suggested that my father lied that my brothers disappeared after being attacked by the mermaid tribe. Everything was my idea..." Lavinia apologized again with a raspy white expression.

"Oh, how about punishing you by canceling this year's tax exemption and paying the bonus as usual?" Zhong Ming rubbed his chin and made a decision.

The newly obtained four provinces also have a one-year tax exemption, not only for civilians, but also for the donations in the feudal contracts of nobles.

"Thank you for your forgiveness, I..."

Lavinia wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Zhong Ming reaching out:
"Since the two Zamoras were not due to the invasion of foreign enemies, but because of the disappearance of monsters in the territory, it belongs to the vassal's duty to guard the territory, and has little to do with Asshai.

I still have a lot of government affairs to deal with. I have nothing to do. I will leave first. Goodbye! "

After finishing speaking, Zhong Ming turned his head and left.

"Please wait," Lavinia lifted her skirt lightly and stepped after Zhong Ming, "My lord, we need your help!"

Zhong Ming stopped in his tracks and looked at her indifferently:
"Oh, I see. But why should I help you?
In the feudal contract I signed with the Zamora family, there is no protection payment, right? "

Yes, Zhong Ming hates others to deceive him very much.

Zhong Ming was very dissatisfied with the Zamora family's semi-deceitful way of asking for help. Although they had been punished, they had no intention of helping them.

Zhong Ming, who has seen many beauties, is unlikely to turn into a free thug because of Lavinia's "sincere apology".

(End of this chapter)