I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 298 Arriving at the Destination

With Valentine, the experienced guide, leading the way, the player team's journey went smoothly. On their way from Bagnia to the border of Miniscia, they saw some scenery and encountered Miniscia checkpoints and patrols, but they managed to pass through them without any major incidents.

It's hard to believe, but the Minieses conducted many checks along the way. However, each check was not strict. Even though the people in the carriage didn't look like good people and were carrying weapons, the inspectors thought it was normal.

And this wasn't just once or twice; it was the same for every checkpoint Ye Aonai and his companions encountered, whether it was a road checkpoint or a city gate. The Minieses all thought they weren't good people, but they also considered it perfectly normal.

Aside from charging obviously abnormal toll fees, they didn't do much checking on the players and carriages, just giving them a cursory glance.

Having encountered this situation many times, Ye Aonai was puzzled. Could the reputation of the Azalea Mercenary Group be that great?
When players have questions, they will seek the answers on their own. They chat with fellow Bagnians along the way, ask Miniseyan shopkeepers for information, and observe how other Bagnians and Miniseyans interact over a long period of time.

The players quickly discovered the answer.

Back when the old king was still in power, it was common practice in the Kingdom of Minicia to hire Bagnians as mercenaries. There were many reasons for hiring them, such as their low cost, proximity, and the desire to win over the country.

But the main reason was that the people of Miniesia were thoroughly fed up with the Bagnian mountain barbarians.

During the reign of the old king, or even earlier, the Bagnians, led by the king, would always travel eastward every year to raid the territory of Minicia.

If they succeed, they can return home with money, food, women, and an iron pot. If they fail, they won't lose out either, as they can leave some of their food supply outside so that the survivors can return to Bagnia with enough food to survive the winter.

Did Minicia send troops into the mountains?
I couldn’t ask for more!
The kind-hearted people who delivered the grain have arrived.

When the old king took office, he signed a peace treaty with the Minesians, taking away the money and grain that were used each year to guard against the eastward incursions of the Bagnians, and using it to hire the Bagnians to go south and serve as mercenaries in the border province between Minesia and Retelia.

This was a win-win situation. To achieve this goal, the current King of Minicia even married his sister to the Kingdom of Bagnia.

Through a combination of political, economic, and other means unknown to outsiders, such things have finally become the norm.

The locals of Tavitsky, a border province of Miniscia, have become accustomed to the presence of Bagnian barbarians, and the soldiers on the road have even reached a tacit understanding with the Bagnian mercenaries who come to make a living.

If you're a mercenary coming to Minicia, you'll encounter patrols. Just pay them a toll; the larger the mercenary group, the more you'll need to pay. Once you've paid, they'll let you pass, no matter who you're with.

Conversely, if they don't intend to pay, they'll simply avoid the situation. However, if they do that, their mercenary group will also be unable to secure any official hiring missions from Minicia.

However, Valentine's actions raised a second question for Ye Aonai.

"If we continue to operate under the name of the Azalea Mercenary Team... will our actions harm them in the future?"

Players are a contradictory group, just like the current "Master Ao Nai He".

"Don't worry about it, because the Azalea Mercenary Group is now loyal to the former king."

"Oh... then we can rest easy."

Led by the experienced Valentine, the player team encountered no problems on their way to the mission objective, and had no trouble with accommodation, food, or mission passes.

The old knight knew the unspoken rules of every post station and checkpoint along the way, and even knew which checkpoint officer preferred what kind of wine.

After traveling for more than a week, they finally approached their destination... a city nearly 100 kilometers away from the border—Tavetsky.

Once inside the city's territory, the number of Minisian soldiers on the road increased significantly. They were in twos and threes, walking, riding horses, or traveling by vehicle. They were veterans and new recruits, and Ye Aonai could easily distinguish them at a glance.

Most of the recruits are new recruits, with relatively few veterans.

Once they arrived at this place, no one questioned Ye Aonai and his group anymore. Even when patrol teams on horseback passed by, they would only glance at the players in the carriage and then walk away. No one jumped out to collect any tolls or anything.

Upon arriving at the gates of Tavitsky, one sees a long queue of people waiting to enter the city beneath the towering walls.

Even a single glance at Tavitsky's walls filled him with disappointment.

Valentine described Tavitsky as a war fortress-like city, leading players to expect a massive fortress with an ancient military style. However, upon closer inspection, Tavitsky's walls are only four meters high and about three meters wide, with the same width from top to bottom, and are not trapezoidal.

Such a straight wall is incredibly easy for artillery to breach. Ye Ao doubted that he could even blast it down with a six-pound field gun.

This Tavitzky guy is really not that interesting.

Valentine didn't see the disappointment on the player's face. He skillfully drove the carriage into a side road, bypassed the main gate, and arrived at a small side gate. The guards here were obviously much lax, with only two yawning guards.

"The usual rules?"

One of the guards lazily extended his hand, clearly recognizing Valentine.

Valentine pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket and threw it over.

"Buy some alcohol for the brothers."

The guard weighed it in his hand and grinned.

"readily."

He nudged his dozing companion beside him.

"Let them through!"

The carriage passed through the dark city gate, and the view suddenly opened up. The city of Tavitsky was far more lively than the player had imagined. The narrow streets were crowded with all sorts of people. Ye Aonai noticed that almost every street corner had groups of three or five mercenaries drinking and gambling, while the patrolling Minisian soldiers ignored them.

It was far dirtier than players imagined. The four-wheeled carriage had only traveled a short distance when Ye Aonai saw several men urinating in the street. In the dirty open drainage ditch by the roadside, black sewage revealed suspicious long objects floating on it.

"Damn, guys, turn your noses down to the lowest setting. This city smells amazing."

"Let's go to our lodging first."

Valentine turned back to look at the shouting players with a helpless expression and gave them some instructions.

"Keep a low profile. Don't be surprised by anything you see here."

The carriage wound its way through the maze-like alleys, occasionally bumping into drunken mercenaries. As it passed an open-air market, Ye Ao Nai saw several Bagnian mercenaries haggling with a vendor... selling armor and weapons still stained with blood.

"arrive."

Valentine stopped his carriage in front of a tavern called "The Drunken Bird," whose dilapidated sign featured a Picasso-style bird, and two burly men stood at the door with gleaming axes at their waists.

A young man, not quite grown up, ran over from the tavern entrance.

"Old rules?"

"Old rules."

After saying this, Valentine jumped off the carriage and handed it to the young man.

As soon as I entered, a strong smell of ale and sweat hit me. In the dimly lit hall, dozens of men who looked like mercenaries were making a lot of noise. In a corner, an old man with one eye was carving something on the table with a dagger, taking a sip of ale with each cut.

"Old Valentine!"

The proprietress behind the bar's eyes lit up.

"Did you bring a new person with you?"

"Yes, I brought a young man from my hometown out to look for work. Are there any vacant rooms upstairs?"

"Yes, at the end of the corridor."

Valentine nodded and led the group upstairs. At the corner of the stairs, Ye Aonai was suddenly bumped into. It was a burly man with a face full of scars and a bull's horn emblem branded on his breastplate.

"New here?"

The burly man, reeking of alcohol, asked.

Which group are you from?

Before Ye Aonai could answer, Valentine strode up the stairs and stood in front of the player. Without saying a word, he punched the burly man in the face, and the latter fell to the ground, blood from his nose arcing through the air.

The mercenaries in the tavern didn't seem to mind; instead, they laughed and shouted.

"Haha, the newbie in the yak group got the short end of the stick. I knew this idiot had no sense of judgment."

"Give me the money, give me the money, you lost!"

After the burly man who had been punched by Valentine got up, his nose was bleeding profusely. He had sobered up from his drunkenness. He looked up at the old man, and then at the several players with sinister and terrifying expressions behind him. He immediately knew that he had run into a brick wall.

The burly man immediately turned and ran away. His companions behind him did not come forward to help, but instead loudly mocked him.

"When you encounter provocation while trying to make a living here, you need to respond firmly..."

Valentine turned around, looked at Ye Aonaihe, and sighed helplessly.

"Fighting is allowed, but killing is not... Could you please put your weapon away?"

Ye Aonai shrugged and tucked a sharp, black sword back into his sleeve.

The reason Valentine rushed over and stood in front of Ye Aonai was not to protect him, but to protect that reckless drunkard... No matter how much the latter deserved to die, he shouldn't die here.

Just now, during the collision between the two, Valentine turned around and saw that Ye Aonaihe, in the process of flipping his hand, slid out a piercing spike that could pierce through plate armor, about to stab the strong man in the kidneys.

"I'm sorry, it was just a subconscious reaction."

"Be careful, things will get complicated if someone dies."

"learn."

"Let's go."

Old Master Valentine sighed. He felt a bit tired. The five young men he had brought along were too murderous. Along the way, when they were unhappy, they wanted to kill someone. When they were happy, they wanted to kill a few more to add to the fun.

This human killer is...yes.

(End of this chapter)