Longmen Memoirs

"Quiet - someone is approaching, three o'clock direction, not one of ours..."

Her hand grasped the dagger at her waist.

He【>}

The two turned around and looked towards the three o'clock direction.

"There is only one person, get out." Ines shouted.

A few seconds later, a ragged Sakaz woman wearing a dirty and worn-out tactical vest and a black cloak slowly walked out from behind the ruins. She looked very young, with a few strands of red hair in her short white hair, which was dirty. There are traces of gunpowder smoke on Xi's face, and his body is covered with dust and dirt from the long journey.

"Sarkazi...?" Ines looked at the red horn on the girl's head hesitantly: "Are you a local?"

Her eyes quickly shifted to the weapon in the girl's hand.

"No, troops, you have W's weapon and gun in your hand." She drew out her short knife and asked sternly: "Who are you!"

The girl didn't answer. Her bright red eyes looked at Ines and the dagger she drew, and she stood there without any movement.

Provided that she was not holding a knife or a blunderbuss, she looked harmless, as if she had been frightened.

"Don't speak? Then, die."

Ines was about to take action, but Hedley suddenly stopped her.

"Wait, she came with us."

Ines looked at Hedley in surprise.

"You let her follow you?"

"We were not traveling slowly. She followed us on foot after obtaining W's relic. With her skills, she could walk on foot." Hedley reminded emphatically: "She is a very experienced Sakaz. I Thought maybe a local guide would be needed when evacuating.”

"What are you crazy about? Shouldn't it be better to kill her here?" Ines asked.

A very experienced Sakaz followed their group of mercenaries on foot, which also meant that she must have received relevant training, and she might even be a scout for one of the mercenaries.

"You want to kill all of us, you can just do it."

"How dare I," Hedley explained.

"What if she is an assassin, what if she wants to lead us into a trap?" Ines asked: "Do you know how many people in Kazdare want your head?"

Hedley showed a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, how many?"

"There is one in front of you." Ines looked at him angrily: "Your head is very valuable, I just keep it on your neck for the time being. Don't be too self-righteous."

"Then... at least there are not as many as the leader who left the court, right?" Hedley asked back.

He probably didn't expect that one day the new mercenary in front of him, whom he was optimistic about, would say these words to the master of his words.

History always repeats itself inadvertently and in seemingly absurd ways.

"Thank you very much for your diligence, Ines, but I'm not joking. She took the risk to pick up the w and the gun, and then stood upright in front of us."

Hedley looked at Ines who had not yet put away her dagger.

"Can you sense it with your magic? Is she hostile?"

"No one in their right mind would suddenly accept a Sakaz of unknown origin."

Ines said, but she still looked at the girl's shadow on the ground quietly.

"Well, this is where you and I are different." Hedley did not refute: "I gave her many loopholes along the way, and she... threw stones at me three times."

He smiled and looked at the girl standing under the ruins not far away: "It's an interesting way to show your kindness, isn't it?"

"Clam?"

Ines was stunned in disbelief.

"According to the old rules, we should give her a chance." Hedley seemed not to notice Ines's stupid look: "This battle has created a lot of vacancies. It is better to recruit a group of the same people through recruitment. I would rather choose Sarkaz of unknown origin by myself."

"But she's just an outsider, and she shouldn't have those rules..." Ines said and stopped. She saw that Hedley looked at the girl with admiration, as if he had chosen someone of her. Favorite item.

She angrily put the dagger back into its sheath.

"...Ah, forget it, we will set off in 10 minutes. I don't care how many people are setting off." She took a few steps past Hedley, then stopped and added: "But if I have to deal with an extra body, No matter whose it is, I suggest you act quickly.”

Hedley turned to look at Ines who was walking away.

"Haha, I'm really impatient."

He looked away and looked at the girl in front of him, his smile turning serious.

"Okay, you, listen to me carefully."

The girl looks at him.

"What you are holding are the relics of our comrades-in-arms. If you put these things down, you can leave here alive and die anywhere else, but at least you can live for a while longer."

The girl still didn't answer.

Hedley was silent for a while, then his tone changed to a warning: "Last chance."

After a few seconds.

The girl spoke, her voice a little childish, calm but not panicked.

"Hmm... a chance?" she asked, as if to confirm, her bright red pupils looked at the tall Sakaz mercenary in front of her and the big sword he carried: "...I never felt that I had a choice, turned around When the time comes, you will draw your sword and I will fall."

"From the beginning, your other hand has been on the hilt of the sword."

"Fine, you may have met us, or worked for someone else, I don't care, but you know the point of accepting weapons from those killed in battle, right?"

"of course."

"Then, prepare to retreat first. We'll talk about the details later." Hedley moved his hand on the hilt of his sword a little further: "Return to the team now..."

"——W."

Chapter 3 The Evil Dog Leaving the Court

War never stops.

Our war never stops.

This has been the case since I was born, as if war is the tool we have always relied on to survive.

...Well, that's true.

Some people still like to hesitate, and some people are already comfortable with it.

The former lives, the latter dies.

And there are some people... they are born to be good at this.

It was a surprise.

From the first moment I saw her in the ruins about to collapse, I was convinced that she... would be the best Sarkaz warrior.

------

months later

4:28 PM Weather/Cloudy

Wilderness battlefields in the east and west, edge of military buffer zone

A small ambush.

It seems that I am telling you [-

The number of enemy troops was small, so they probably planned to quickly behead them and then evacuate.

A simple decapitation tactic, but undoubtedly quite practical in this land.

After all, we only have half of the team responsible for mopping up. This is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to kill me... But it's a pity that I deliberately left this opportunity to them.

Okay, see you later, the messenger to Kazdale will be back soon.

"What are you looking for?" W, who was wearing a gun, looked at Hedley, who was looking for something on the battlefield after the ambush, and the body in front of him: "Is this body the assassin just now?"

"Yes." Hedley retracted his hand from touching the body: "I knew he would take it with him."

He held a folded note in his hand.

"A note?" She hesitantly looked at the unfolded note in Hedley's hand and shook her head slightly: "No, compared to this, you know this assassin."

"Assassin..." Hedley stood up and glanced at the body of Sakaz at his feet.

"of course."

The sword was fatal, and the wound penetrated his lungs. The person who did it was obviously very experienced and did not want him to die too simply.

"We have cooperated through life and death. A few months ago we celebrated a common victory in Scar Mall. He even said at that time that he was willing to marry his daughter to me."

But now it seems that he has no chance to be this cheap father-in-law, and he doesn't know how many people have been the father-in-law.

w sneered.

"That sounds really stupid. Since they are all mercenaries, sooner or later they won't be able to..." She suddenly thought of something and looked at Hedley in surprise and curiosity: "Wait, you can't?"

"No, of course I refused." Hedley said, "For other reasons."

When he didn't get an interesting reply, W's eyes returned to the note between his blood-stained fingers.

"What's written on it?"

"Things worth paying attention to, market trends, quotations, in short, you should also know about them."

Hedley handed the note to the girl, who took it without hesitation and looked at it.

"What is this? They are all names... no, they are pseudonyms and code names, and there is a drawing on the back..." She was not sure that it was the kind of thing she thought of: "Candy? What does it mean?"

She handed the note back to Hedley.

"The number of candies represents the reward amount. He is the only one using the black version. Whoever can get the most candies from him will be the most popular team."

W frowned and looked at the dead body.

"The mark of bad taste is really disgusting." She glanced sideways at the note in Hedley's hand: "But it looks like the amount is not small. Who will pay for it?"

"Every time we complete a contract, someone will prepare an extra sum of money to get rid of us, such as the employer himself." Hedley replied nonchalantly: "The more powerful the mercenaries are, the more valuable they are, and the more valuable the more dangerous they are. The more dangerous the person is, the more he deserves to die, while the person who fails to die...will be stronger."

It sounded like he was raising gu.

"Battlefield war forces us to think, and it also gives us room to survive."

"Sounds pretty reasonable."

"Just treat it as a rule." Hedley looked at the note in his hand: "Mercenary, alias Hedley, ten stars, his subordinates are very strong, fifteen stars, including friendship, twenty stars."

He smiled and kicked a corner of the body.

"Quite good at asking for prices." He glanced at W, who was listening with great interest, and lowered his gaze: "W, the old one has been settled, the new one, please, ten pieces, the price will be increased depending on the situation."

He looked at w: "It seems that they think highly of you."

"Maybe it's because I buried those arms dealers alive in the woods last month...so should I be happy?"

"It's just a matter of convenience." W waved his hands as if he had done a small thing: "When you robbed the Laterans, did anyone think of reporting them one by one?"

"Do not."

"That's right." The girl nodded, as if it were a matter of course: "For one reason, since it is not part of the mission, there is no need for the mercenary to share how many stones he has kicked away at all times."

She said and paused. "...Speaking of which, am I stronger than that w?"

"It is difficult to accurately describe the combat capabilities of an individual soldier in terms of strength and weakness. For me, obeying orders is more important."

"Then let me change the question. From the candy list in your hand, whose head is the most valuable now?"

"Oh, I can answer you, but the person you asked about is not on this list." Hedley folded the note.

"Why?" W became interested.

"Because he doesn't dare, at least this person doesn't dare, otherwise we wouldn't meet him here." Hedley replied: "You probably won't believe it. According to the market price, that person is worth at least fifty pieces. After adding some conditions, it is estimated to be around seventy."

"Huh? Are you kidding me..."