Heart of the Castle

Chapter 373 The Mercenary Breached the Contract

The Castle Black Hotel was originally a knight's castle. Although most of the defense facilities lost their original function due to the change of use, the clock tower that was originally used as an alarm bell was preserved and served as a clock tower at sunrise and sunset. An important sign that echoes in nearby fields twice a day.

At midnight, though, the bells struck hurriedly, for the first time in more than a decade.

Whether mercenaries, adventurers or merchants, the guests of the Castle Black Inn drank too many free drinks last night.Although the Fabian boss mixed the water very fiercely in order to recover some losses, but these people couldn't hold back the heavy drinking, and the inventory in Castle Black's wine cellar was still robbed.When everyone who fell asleep with satisfied expressions was awakened by the deafening alarm bell, the house was still shrouded in darkness. Many people even thought it was a prank revenge by the hotel owner, turned over and covered themselves with blankets head, wanting to continue to sink into sleep.

But the bell kept ringing, and there was a faint cry of panic at the same time, and those people quickly changed their minds, cursing viciously, and crawling out of bed with their heads aching from hangover.

Sleepy-eyed people stumbled into the corridor, asking each other what happened, but no one could provide an answer until a pale man appeared at the end of the corridor.

"What's the matter? Why do you have to ring the bell in the middle of the night?" Someone remembered that this person should be the waiter of the hotel, so he asked him.

"Guests, something serious has happened." The waiter's expression was as dead as that of a dead man. "Someone died in the caravan that set off the day before yesterday. The boss asked me to inform everyone to come to the front hall immediately."

"The caravan that set off the day before yesterday, what's the matter with me?" A person who was still awake muttered dissatisfiedly, but most of them understood what this matter meant, and immediately walked towards the hall.

The fireplaces on both sides of the hotel hall were burning vigorously. The flames swallowed the newly added firewood, making crackling sounds, and sparks exploded from time to time, filling the entire hall with red, bright and warm light. It is winter night.A person was placed on a wooden platform made up of several tables, his body was covered with an animal skin indiscriminately, and a pair of boots full of mud and leaves were worn on his feet sticking out of the blanket, although they were almost dirty. , but they still maintain the original style. Anyone with a discerning eye can immediately see that these boots are from the top tailors in Dirk City, and they are very valuable.

There were several people standing beside the wooden platform, one of them was a young man wearing a traveler's costume, with a tall and slender figure, with a long sword hanging from his waist; beside the young man was a short and fat man in gaudy clothes, and many people looked at him. Seeing this figure, an inexplicable shadow immediately appeared from the bottom of my heart, as if the bad performance last night was still shaking in front of my eyes; the last person seemed the most nervous, wiping the oily sweat on his face from time to time, it was the boss Fabi hold head high.

The doors and windows on both sides of the hall were closed tightly, the air was suffocatingly hot, and filled with choking smoke and bloody smell, the few businessman-like guys walking in the front frowned suddenly, and stopped hesitantly.

"Boss Fabiang, what happened to make you ring the bell to wake us up from sleep?" A man with a beer belly who looked the most well-dressed said impatiently, and he was one of the few who left early last night. One of those who didn't drink Castle Black's free ale with an unknown amount of water.

"Mr. Hulun, I'm really sorry to disturb you so late." Seeing the dissatisfied expression on the face of the beer belly man, Boss Fabian bowed deeply in trepidation, "But if you look at this corpse, you will know that I have disturbed you It is also a last resort."

"It's just a corpse. Isn't it unusual in the northern region?" Hu Lun replied disapprovingly, but he continued to walk towards the wooden platform. Several other businessmen looked at each other and walked over behind him.Seeing Hu Lun approaching, the young man and the short fat man in front of the wooden platform took a step back, and the young man even lifted the blanket so that he could see the appearance of the corpse.

Huron only looked down, and the muscles on his face immediately stiffened, "This man... is... Kaka... Sir Kakateris?" He asked, but his voice was as broken as if it was being ground by a stone mill. .

Boss Fabian nodded, his expression was not much prettier than that of Hu Lun, "That's right, Mr. Hu Lun, this corpse is the president of the Tianping Chamber of Commerce, you clinked glasses with him the day before yesterday, I wish him a smooth journey. "

"How is this possible?" Hu Lun's legs were trembling, and he had to hold the edge of the table with his hands to continue standing. "Sir Kaka is a high-ranking knight with superb martial arts skills, and he also brought dozens of elite cavalry guards..." His throat seemed to be choked by something, and he couldn't continue.

"There are also several quasi-high-ranking knights from the Holy Light Chamber of Commerce accompanying him." The young man next to him finished speaking for him. "Mr. Hullen, I won't bother you to repeat the well-known facts. What we should consider now is, what should we do next?"

Mr. Hullen has always had a bad temper. Normally, if someone spoke to him like this, it would definitely make him fly into a rage.However, the corpse of the president of the Tianping Chamber of Commerce, who was several times his strength in terms of identity and strength, lay in front of him. This situation made him uneasy. He just gave the reckless young man a hard look, and then refocused his attention on the corpse.

Even if Huron was not proficient in martial arts, he could tell that Kakatris did not die in a sneak attack, but fought to the death with a sword.The skin of his hands was scorched black and exploded as if struck by thunder. The five fingers of his right hand were curled up like chicken claws, tightly grasping a broken sword. The upper part of the hilt was less than five centimeters, and the crack was glowing with a strange off-white light. .

This great man with dual identities as a high-level knight and the president of the chamber of commerce is now lying quietly on the table, half of his face is condensed with fear, and half condensed with anger.His body suffered countless wounds, and his coat seemed to be embroidered with blood-colored flowers, but only a sword mark on his chest was fatal.The sharp blade slices through the delicate armor, revealing the bone deep and penetrating the lungs.Blood spilled from his mouth, crawled down his cheek like a little red snake, and condensed on his well-trimmed beard.

Huron suddenly felt his stomach churn. As a merchant in the northern region, he had seen dead bodies up close, but such horrific corpses as Sir Kakatris's were indeed rare. The two had had a chat over wine, and Hu Lun couldn't help moaning, and sat down while leaning on the table.

Several other businessmen were also pale, and without saying a word, they looked at each other. The dead silence enveloped them, and then quickly spread to the crowd behind them.There were hundreds of people in the spacious hall of Castle Black, but there was only the sound of crackling flames in the fireplace.

The young man with the long sword on his waist tapped his finger on the table to attract everyone's attention, and then said: "Everyone saw this corpse, which was first discovered by the waiter boy, and it fell on the outer wall of the hotel." Not far away, it seems that he died of excessive bleeding. A few of us went with Boss Fabian to bring him back..."

"I have a question." A middle-aged man dressed as an adventurer took two steps forward from the crowd, "How do you know he died here? Maybe someone killed him and dumped his body in the Is this a warning?"

The young man's eyes flickered. The appearance of the adventurer in front of him looked very ordinary, and there was no fluctuation of fighting energy on his body, but it made the young man faintly feel jealous.

"It's possible that what you said is true, but this person should have died not long ago, no more than two or three hours at most." The young man pointed to Kakatris's wound that was oozing dark red plasma again due to the room temperature. "If he's been dead for more than a day, the blood won't continue to flow, but will coagulate and become a semi-solid."

The middle-aged man nodded, then shook his head again, with a strange expression on his face, "It doesn't make sense, this man is so seriously injured, he should have died a long time ago." He pointed to the sword that pierced Kakatris' chest Hen said, "No matter whether it is fighting spirit or willpower, it is impossible for him to endure such a serious injury all the way here, let alone get rid of the pursuers."

"I heard that there is a kind of vindictiveness that can keep people away from death." A mercenary interjected.

"You mean sacrificing fighting spirit, right? That kind of skill is not called staying away from death, but embracing death." The middle-aged man pointed to the charred and cracked hands of the corpse and said, "And what Sir Kakateris mastered should be lightning attribute fighting spirit, The traces after the outbreak of fighting spirit can already explain the problem."

The mercenaries exchanged glances with each other, knowing that this was true.Many of them have seen examples of people who were fatally wounded and survived for a while, but these people died after a few minutes without exception. Fighting spirit and willpower can temporarily delay the footsteps of the sleeper, but never let him How long to wait.

"Praise benevolent Father God, there is a dead horse next to this corpse, but that thing is too heavy, and we can't carry it in together." Babrupa explained.

The middle-aged man showed an expression of "that's how it is", and nodded in agreement with this statement.

"In short, Sir Kakateris is dead, and his caravan, and the caravan of the Holy Light Chamber of Commerce should also be finished." After sitting at the table and panting for a while, Mr. Hullen regained his composure, Reluctantly cheered up and said. "But what do we do? Do we move forward as planned, or do we just turn around and go home?"

"Go home, how can I do that?" A businessman said in surprise, "I have to deliver these truckloads of goods to Lord Cedric's house, the old white wolf. If there is a delay, I will lose everything."

"Although the Tianping Chamber of Commerce and the Shengguang Chamber of Commerce are both large chambers of commerce, their numbers are relatively small after all, and the total number is less than 100." Another businessman who looked more mature analyzed, "If we now add guard mercenaries , there are more than 300 people, if you form a team, most thieves must not dare to attack."

"There may be thieves who dare to rob the Tianping Chamber of Commerce and the Shengguang Chamber of Commerce. But the thieves organization that can successfully rob, kill all the guards, and only let go of a high-ranking knight who was seriously injured and dying. I have lived most of my life, but I have never I’ve heard of it.” A small merchant with a coarse cloth wrapped around his head narrowed his eyes and said.

"You mean, the thieves didn't do it at all?" Mr. Hullen asked nervously.

The little trader shrugged, "I was there when the two caravans set off, so I remember those people very clearly. I have the power to kill a high-ranking knight and four quasi-high-ranking knights, and also kill thieves." What are you doing?" His weathered face showed bitterness, "If you go to any lord with this power, you can get a considerable territory."

"Maybe they just have a large number..." Mr. Hullen said something he couldn't believe.

"If it's ordinary thieves, even if you gather thousands of people, you can't do it so clean." The middle-aged adventurer reminded just now, "And ordinary people can't stop the charge of high-level knights at all, unless they are trained A well-trained army."

"You mean that there is an army ambushing in the Dusk Forest?" Mr. Hullen retorted with a changed voice, "How is that possible? It's freezing cold. Is there anything in the Dusk Forest that is worth using an army to ambush?"

"I'm just saying that for ordinary people, unless they are trained in the army, no amount of numbers can stop high-ranking knights. But this is not worth discussing, because that Sir Kakatris died at the hands of the title knight." At this point, the middle-aged adventurer raised his eyebrows, and a sharp light flickered in his eyes, and then he returned to his original indifferent and lazy expression.

"The title knight! Isn't that the knight among the so-called knights? How can there be one here?" Mr. Hu Lun was shocked, and the young man standing by the wooden platform also showed a surprised expression, but the content of his surprise was not same.

Because of the difference in identities, few adventurers could see the title knight make a move with their own eyes, let alone be able to recognize the strength of Dou Qi Tianhua from the wound.This middle-aged adventurer... just who is he?

A series of heavy footsteps interrupted the young man's thoughts. He looked up and found a big man in leather armor with a two-handed sword behind his back walking towards the door. There was a faint expression of fear on the face.

"Wait, what are you doing? The discussion is not over yet!" a businessman shouted hastily.

"The enemy can kill a high-ranking knight leading dozens of elite cavalry, but I don't even have the qualifications to be a quasi-knight. If you want to keep this guy on his shoulder to drink and eat meat, I won't accompany you to death." The swollen man stopped and replied coldly.

"But I paid for it!" The merchant's voice became sharper, "If you leave like this, I will sue you for your actions to the Adventurer's Guild."

There was a fierce expression on the big man's face, but after seeing the disapproving expressions of many people in the room, he withdrew the curse he was about to say, "Then I'll give it back to you, I want me to give you my life for such a small amount of money, no way .” He took out the money bag from his pocket, threw it at the businessman’s feet, and then walked towards the door without looking back.

The back of the big man disappeared outside the door, and a gust of cold wind blew in from the wooden door he pushed open. The chill was overwhelming, and even the flame in the fireplace was overwhelmed and tilted to one side.This cold wind not only blew away the sweltering heat in the room, but also made everyone feel chills. Thinking of the bleak future like a starless night, a few timid businessmen couldn't help chattering and chattering their teeth. .

Then some adventurers returned the deposit and chose to leave here.Several small merchants from the Dan Gang also decided to go back the same way tomorrow morning, but none of those caravans were willing to leave. Different from the small merchants, the caravans all had their reasons to cross the Dusk Forest.Some caravans are because the people who hit the front line have already established a foothold in the north of the Xilan River, and these goods must be transported there immediately to further expand the business scale; some caravans want to transport the last cargo before the heavy snow closes the road A batch of goods went there, so as to make a fortune from the lords in the north.Whatever the reason, the high interest was enough to drive merchants to take risks, even reluctantly ignoring the dire dangers ahead.

"We must pass through the Dusk Forest as soon as possible, no matter what the price is." Mr. Hullen said after wiping the sweat from his brow after the backs of those who had left disappeared.Although the fireplace in the hotel lobby was burning brightly, this was not the only reason Mr. Hullen was sweating. In contrast, the tall and thin man who had been standing beside him but didn't say a word made him even more uneasy.

Hearing Mr. Hullen's declaration, the tall and thin man snorted and opened his mouth with a hoarse and weird voice. "Pay the price? It's easy to say, isn't it us mercenaries who are paying? When have you fat-brained businessmen ever been hurt?" This man's voice was like rubbing broken glass with nails, with a slash in his throat. Black and bruised, it looked like a hanged ghost.

These words made Mr. Hullen sweat more and faster on his head. While wiping the sweat, he smiled reluctantly at the tall and thin man, "I remember that the Blood Dagger of the Adventurer's Guild always pays attention to credibility and will not be afraid of it." Any difficulties and obstacles will definitely complete the next business.”

The tall and thin man snorted impatiently, "Mr. Hulun, don't play such tricks in front of the blood dagger." He said, "The blood dagger is fearless, but the blood dagger will measure the value of business." The slender finger stretched out in front of Mr. Hullen, and shook it a few times with a sense of mockery, "Your business is not worth our risk, so..." He shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the few people beside him Say hello, "Brothers, let's go."

"No, no, wait a minute, wait a minute!" Mr. Hullen panicked all of a sudden, despite the presence of many mercenaries and adventurers, he was very aware of the danger he was about to face. Encountered enemies that even high-level knights could kill, these people's performance is definitely not as good as the well-trained cavalry of the Balance Chamber of Commerce. Only these blood daggers invited from the Adventurer's Union are his last straw. "I can increase the commission to you, double it!"

To be able to make a businessman make such a decision obviously has made a lot of determination. However, although the tall and thin man stopped in his tracks, he did not agree to it. Instead, he showed an evil smile like a poisonous snake staring at its prey.

"Double? Not enough, far from enough, Mr. Hulun, I understand what you are transporting this time. If you can share half of the proceeds, Blood Dagger will take over the business, otherwise, please hire Gao Ming .”

　Recommend a book by a friend, ISBN 2100827, the title is Fighting the World Blood Emperor, the taste of fighting is very heavy, and the cover can be called a novelty.In addition, I will continue to ask for the support of the book lovers in the heart of the castle, especially those who still have free evaluation tickets in their hands.

　　


(End of this chapter)