rune hunter

Chapter 33

Just as Tony had guessed, the mercenary group that left the city first in the morning established a simple forward camp under the Red Stone Ridge.Unlike the scattered mercenaries in the city, there are many veterans in the regular mercenary regiment under the guild.Whether they were discharged from the army with disabilities or were expelled from the army for violating military discipline, these veterans had received formal military education, and at the same time led the entire mercenary regiment to develop in a semi-militarized direction.

In the past, the camps were usually a trading market and resting place for mercenaries, but today's camps have finally played their true role-accommodating the wounded.

The enthusiastic mercenary group easily wiped out the kobolds wandering outside. After setting up the camp, they couldn't wait to rush into the quarry, drilled into the mine, and soon encountered setbacks.

The mercenary group is generally not well-educated, and it can even be said that they are a group of reckless men who can't read.Although it is not the first time to come into contact with a creature like a kobold, no one has bothered to understand the true nature of this creature.

Kobolds are underground creatures and don't like to be active in the sun. This made the mercenaries use the kobolds wandering on the surface of Red Stone Ridge as a standard and misjudged their real number.When they entered the mine, what they saw in the darkness were countless pairs of small blood-red eyes.The frantic counterattack of the kobolds caught the mercenaries by surprise, and lost more than a dozen lives in the embarrassing retreat.

After some rest, the mercenaries put away their arrogance and organized a team to re-enter the mine cautiously, but this time they still failed to achieve any results.The kobolds hid in the dark shadow of the mine, throwing stones from a distance, smashing their heads and blood.However, as soon as the mercenaries charged, the kobolds would disperse.

Even if an unavoidable encounter occurs, the kobolds' short stature has a great advantage in a dark environment. The mercenaries in the battle are very depressed to find that these kobolds are scurrying around under their feet like big rats, waving small The hoes were designed to attack the lower three lanes, but it was difficult for them to aim and use their strength to cut down with the swords in their hands.

After several hours of stalemate, the mercenaries were full of wounded soldiers, but failed to make any progress.

When the camp was full of mourners and the mercenary leaders gathered together to frown, an unremarkable carriage came outside the camp, opened the baffle and erected a signboard, and quietly started business.

El was originally unwilling to put Laurana in danger, but the girl had already made up her mind, and her words vaguely revealed the meaning of "run away if you don't agree to me".To be on the safe side, he had no choice but to hold his nose and board the thief boat.

It wasn't until he was out of town that he realized that Laurana had reasons for not worrying about safety.The partner in the girl's mouth is also a student of the academy, a short and weak noble lady named Yujiali, who is actually the investor of this plan.According to Laurana's original plan, she not only provided the principal, but also accompanied by an elite family guard.

The guard who drove the carriage to report was a big man with a strong back and waist, wearing a military-style armor, with a square shield and a chain hammer on his back, looking very safe.Not to mention his real strength, just this outfit with the family crest can scare a lot of people, and make those who have evil intentions dare not act rashly.

"Laurana, everything you need is in the car... But is it really okay?" The little girl tugged on Laurana's clothes with tears in her eyes and refused to let go: "It's better not to go, it's so dangerous there. "

"Don't worry, it's not dangerous, how can there be any profit? Besides, besides your Uncle Bruce, I also found a helper, and nothing will happen." The girl with gold coins in her eyes patted Yu Jiali on the head, and raised her head. The corners of his mouth showed cute little tiger teeth: "As long as you follow my plan, you can make a lot of money this time. You just need to be prepared to count the money!"

This kind of comfort makes people feel more at ease, El sighed secretly in his heart.He could see that Laurana was obviously teasing the weak Yujiali. The girl's thoughts were meticulous and unfathomable, and she presumably was prepared for all kinds of accidents.

"Hi, I'm Bruce." The armored guard stretched out his big furry hand to El, and said roughly.He is not young anymore, his hair and beard are connected together, and there are many marks left on his armor, he should be a retired soldier.

"Hello, my name is El." El said, he also stretched out his hand, and shook his hands heavily, as a greeting, and at the same time, he experienced the strength of the other party.Feeling that El's foundation is not weak, Bruce nodded, his face looked much better.

This little move didn't attract Yujiali's attention, but Laurana noticed it.The girl blinked her eyes and said nothing along the way.After the three arrived at Red Stone Ridge, she suddenly changed her mind, instead of going to the camp to do business, she continued on her way until she reached the gate of the excavation site before stopping to set up a stall.This position is actually very dangerous. The mercenary group failed to occupy the entire excavation site, and kobolds would emerge from unexpected places from time to time.

"Uncle Bruce and Brother El are both very powerful masters. They can't even deal with three or two kobolds, can they?" Laurana said casually when the two tried to dissuade them.

If Al and Bruce were alone, they would definitely pull the girl back to the camp without hesitation.Kobolds are not troublesome for the two of them, what they need to pay more attention to is those guys who are obsessed with sex.But now there are two people here, and their combat power is obviously rich. Out of self-confidence and a man's pride, they will not easily back down.

Just at this time, a team of kobolds climbed out of the bushes halfway up the mountain, saw that there were only three humans in front of them who seemed easy to bully, and rushed down screaming.

To deal with these little things, Elke was reluctant to use the white-feathered ebony arrows he had bought at a large price. He casually pulled out three cheap ones from Laorana's wholesale from the carriage and put them on the hunting bow.When the kobold rushed to about 20 meters in front of the carriage, his hands trembled, and three arrow shadows flew out against the ground, wiping up a faint cloud of smoke.

The ugly barking of the three kobolds rushing to the forefront stopped abruptly, their bodies froze suddenly, and they fell to the ground.The kobold who followed behind hadn't reacted yet, his small eyes were fixed on the arrow stuck in his companion's mouth, but his body subconsciously ran a few steps forward.

When they realized that the archers on the opposite side were very powerful and wanted to escape, a shadow had already shrouded their heads.The spiked chain hammer, which was bigger than their heads, came from the side with a gust of wind, and directly blasted the kobold in the front into a ball of meat paste, and smashed half of the other kobold's head along the way. .

Bruce, who used to be a member of the hoplites, was filled with a steady sense of strength in every movement while running.Unlike El's fatal arrow, every kobold under him can only end up in a bloody mess.Although the cooperation between the two is very unfamiliar, it is more than enough to deal with these kobolds.

"It's the best free advertising ever," Laurana said happily.Although the girl was very unaccustomed to the smell of blood, she still suppressed the feeling of vomiting in the face of the temptation of huge interests, and asked the two to pile the kobold corpses on both sides of the carriage.This scene quickly attracted the attention of the mercenary camp.

Some mercenaries have discovered that it is easier to use bows and arrows to deal with kobolds in the dark environment of the mine.But this time, the arrows carried by each mercenary regiment are limited, and it will take time and effort to go back to Istaron to buy them.Unexpectedly, there were merchants outside the camp who started selling arrows, which was a surprise.

It is said that these businessmen are willing to take risks for profit, but not everyone can find the profit, not to mention that the seller is a beautiful girl, which is amazing.Soon, many mercenaries came to the carriage in groups and asked about the price.

"What? A thornwood arrow and a silver coin? Why don't you grab it!" The mercenary who asked about the price yelled with his eyes wide open.Although he was ready to be slaughtered, it was difficult to accept this unscrupulous price.Even in Istaren, where the price is relatively high, one silver coin is enough to pay half a day's wages for a hard worker, or drink a few mugs of ale in a tavern.Ordinary mercenaries earn only a few dozen silver coins for completing a mission.

"Sir, please don't be angry, you have to pay attention to the cost of doing business." Laurana smiled and patted El's shoulder: "At least let me earn back the money I paid for hiring bodyguards?"

"Even that is too expensive!" The mercenary looked at the two door gods beside the girl and the kobold corpses under their feet, but he still didn't dare to act wild after all, but he was still complaining.

"If you think it's too expensive, you can go back to Istaron to buy it now." The girl narrowed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth slightly raised to reveal her cute little canine teeth: "It's just that it will take a long time to go back and forth. I don’t know how many kobolds will be left here when we come back.”

The noisy mercenaries suddenly fell silent, and the smart people had already started to think according to the girl's words.Judging from the current situation, the kobolds will throw stones when they are far away, and they will disperse when they are close. Only bows and arrows are the only effective weapons.But if you run back to the city to buy something cheap, it will indeed take a lot of time.And those who bought arrows on the spot can directly throw themselves into the battle now, and when they come back, they may not even have the chance to clean up the battlefield!

Compared with the little money saved, the kobold's head is the real military merit point!As long as you have arrows, you can kill kobolds. As long as you kill kobolds, you will have military merits. As long as you have military merits, is that money still money?

"Please be sure to give me two cans first!" The smart man who was the first to think of a reason suddenly jumped up, took out his purse and rushed in front of Laurana, completing the transaction in lightning speed. He swaggered away in a loud voice.His behavior awakened all the mercenaries who were watching, and everyone was so shocked that they didn't care about other issues, and they rushed up to surround the carriage.

Seeing the girl's money box getting full little by little, El couldn't help secretly admiring it.In just two days, the girl made a profit of 150% before changing hands. This kind of genius's business sense is daunting.

"Even if we made huge profits this time, mercenaries have limited demand for arrows after all. Do you have to come here to earn money just for this little money?" Seeing the bundles of arrows on the carriage being swept away Empty, El couldn't help leaning into the girl's ear and whispering.

"Don't worry, Brother El." Laurana grabbed a handful of silver coins, with a mysterious smile on her face: "My plan has just begun."

(End of this chapter)