The northernmost part of the human territory, Beifeng Town.
This place is only a step away from the Desert of Death. The wind is always mixed with hot sand, screaming and beating at anything that blocks them.
A heavily trooped convoy arrived at this simple but noisy town at dawn. The residents seemed to be used to such caravans and were still busy with their work.
Such convoys arrive here almost every day, and the purpose of these people coming here can be seen from the configuration of the convoy:
If the convoy only has one or two carriages and a large number of cavalry, it is probably because some big family sent their children to the Desert of Death for training; if the convoy has multiple carriages and is still equipped with a large number of cavalry, it is probably because they want to cross the Desert of Death.
, the team headed to the Elf territory.
The team in front of us obviously belongs to the latter. If there is any difference between this team and other teams, it is probably the long team of slaves following the team, and the huge thunder wolf following a carriage. It is really big.
Too eye-catching.
The motorcade stopped in front of a hotel, and the smart businessmen of the town immediately gathered around.
After a brief mutual introduction, the owner of the convoy said to an arms dealer: "Did you see the slave team behind? That is the private army of a blind little lord on the way we came. I can sell them to you.
But I don’t want gold coins, I want a standard short crossbow and crossbow arrows, oh, and I also need some shields!”
The merchant visually checked the number of slaves, thought for a while, and then replied: "Your suggestion is undoubtedly beneficial to both parties. Let's do this. Three slaves can be exchanged for a short crossbow, fifteen crossbow arrows, and a shield. I don't know what you think.
?”
After a brief bargaining, a deal was concluded that affected the fate of many people. The person in charge naturally did not care about the fate of these slaves. The owner of the convoy was happy that his army had more weapons, while the merchants were thankful that they had more weapons.
Made a deal.
These slaves were formerly soldiers. Even if they are sold to the Death Desert, which is famous for producing slaves, they can still be sold at a good price.
After settling the slave's affairs, the owner of the convoy suddenly remembered something and hurried towards a carriage in the middle of the convoy. The passengers on the carriage had already got off the carriage, and all of them were wearing brown cloaks that covered their whole bodies. They were observing curiously at this moment.
This small town is close to the desert of death.
These people are members of Aranza's Thorn Mercenary Group.
When the convoy owner saw Aranza, he immediately bowed respectfully to Aranza. The real strength of the people in front of him was obviously not as simple as their level. The battle with a certain lord was not as easy as the convoy owner and the weapons dealer said.
If it weren't for the help of the Thorn Mercenary Group, this convoy might not have gotten here.
Especially the big man holding the pillar, the fighting style of trading injuries for lives is something that soldiers are not willing to face on the battlefield.
"Lord Lando, please allow me to express my gratitude for your help along the way."
"Well, you're welcome." Aranza said casually, twisting the joints on his body. The long drive made him very uncomfortable. "Lando" was the pseudonym he used along the way.
"Where are those people going?" Cyril asked with a frown when he saw the knights escorting the slave team to the other side of the town.
"It has been sold to a local weapons dealer."
Cyril nodded.
The owner of the motorcade was accustomed to Cyril's taciturn style and didn't mind. He just exchanged a few words with everyone and left.
After a brief stop in Beifeng Town, the convoy set off into the Desert of Death. The Thorns Mercenary Group remained in Beifeng Town. After all, the convoy's destination was the Elf Territory, while the Thorns Mercenary Group's goal was the Death Desert.
Of course, due to Dolores's feelings, no one made it clear along the way that this team was actually a slave-catching team heading to the elves' territory.
It’s time to get down to business next.
After Aranza was kicked out of the Lane family, Jessie had discussed with Aranza the future development direction of the mercenary group. Aranza meant to form an army, because Elita's mercenary group and Alpha's mercenary group were in
The biggest benefit the Lane family received was that they could use the soldiers provided by the family to form an army.
Aranza naturally did not want to lose to them at the starting line.
But Jiexi rejected Aranza's idea. First of all, they did not have a complete mechanism and enough manpower to train soldiers. However, the troops in the hands of Elita and Alpha were specially trained by the Lane family, and even directly took over the battlefield.
An invincible army of a certain number.
Secondly, they have no territory and cannot legally recruit soldiers. Although they can conceal the fact of forming an army in the name of a mercenary group, they have no place to place soldiers, let alone train them.
Of course, even if he successfully formed an army, Aranza himself knew the difference between a new army and a specially trained army.
In the end, Aranza decided to give priority to training the future core members of the Thorns Mercenary Group. This is also the reason why the Thorns Mercenary Group came here.
But the journey of the Thorn Mercenary Group to Beifeng Town was not smooth. Aranza understood that Duke Alsis kicked him out of the Lane family not because of tolerance, but because no one could kill Aranza openly.
So along the way, Aranza encountered killers who wanted to kill him more than once.
There were no dangers along the way. After strangely changing their routes by airships and changing routes again and again, and after confirming that there were no pursuers, the Thorn Mercenary Group found a slave-catching team headed to the north and followed them in disguise.
After arriving in Beifeng Town, everyone stayed in an inconspicuous hotel, and then the division of labor was clearly defined. Aranza and Jiexi went to the mercenary office to select tasks; while Karu found a tavern to have a drink and collect intelligence. The others
Then wait at the hotel.
The purpose of Jiexi letting Aranza choose the mission was actually to tell Alsis through the channels of the mercenary agency: They are now in the Desert of Death, and if they want to kill Aranza, come here and try.
Because the Desert of Death never belonged to any family, if Alsis wanted to kill Aranza here, he could not send out a steady stream of killers as before. Instead, he could only place his hope on one or a few elite killers.
Just because a lion can't resist a pack of wolves doesn't mean it can't tear apart a lone wolf.
"Aranza, choose a task." Jehi handed Aranza a bunch of task lists with difficulty levels ranging from elementary to low to elementary and intermediate, and asked Aranza to choose the task herself.
Having said that, after that night in Ix City, Jessie's attitude towards Aranza was much more subtle, at least she no longer gave him orders. This made Aranza couldn't help but lament what his father, the King of Heroes, said in his memory. Sure enough,
The best way to conquer a woman is in bed.
"Well, let's choose this one." Aranza flipped through a few task sheets at random and selected the task.
This is a mission to hunt down several escaped human slaves. Recent intelligence shows that these slaves fled towards the Abel Mountains, which is located in the center of the Death Desert.
Jiexi glanced at the task list, said nothing, turned around and went to the counter to complete the formalities. This made Aranza stretch out comfortably. It happened that a waitress passed by him, so the boy's hand couldn't help but itch.
, and slapped the waitress on the butt.
"Crack!"
...The sound seems to be too loud.
"Aranza! Watch your hands!"
...Jie Xi’s voice.
"Well...well...I...I...I haven't touched it yet. You...you...which eye did you see?"
…This is…Aranza’s voice?
"quibble!"
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
When Carew saw Aranza, he couldn't help but be surprised by the three claw marks on Aranza's face, but the big man also saw Jessie's angry expression. So Carew wisely chose to ignore Aranza's face and coughed seriously.
Cough, calm down the atmosphere, and then start to report the collected intelligence to Aranza.