Chapter 28, Militia Camp - Wooden Board Map and Old Secretary

The militiamen who had been waiting for a long time showed surprise when they saw Kiir returning carrying the heads and weapons of the three bandits. Just as the captain of this militia team was about to come over and say something, Knight Crow waved his hand and directly instructed everyone to continue today's mission: "It's just a small trouble, don't worry."

Kil found a branch and tied his head on it. The bandits all had long hair, so their disheveled heads could be easily tied on a branch and carried.

It wasn't that Keir didn't tie the bandits' heads to his belt, but the main reason was that the smell of blood was unpleasant, and the bandits rarely bathed. In addition to the smell of blood, their heads also had a strong sour smell.

Although Keel himself doesn't smell good, he can't smell himself.

By the afternoon, Knight Crow and his party finally circled around the mountain where the bandits were hiding. Knight Crow drew four stronghold patrol areas on the map except the front of the militia camp. The knight planned to arrange a group of melee militiamen at each stronghold to be responsible for the encirclement of other areas of the bandit's lair.

This is the arrangement that only militiamen with a very wealthy number would make. If the number of militiamen were not so large, then it is estimated that Knight Crow would completely let go of patrols behind the bandits' lair and deliberately let the bandits without the will to fight flee westward. Mitigating the number of people available for frontal banditry.

Of course, now that there are a lot of militiamen every year, he has enough troops to completely surround the bandits' lair, so that no bandit can be spared in the subsequent battles.

Still in the afternoon, Kiir and the others returned to the militia camp.

During the day when Knight Crow was away, the militiamen were just conducting simple training honestly. The militia teams that had gone out also came back one after another around this time.

As soon as he returned to the camp, Knight Crow asked his various militia captains to come to the door of his camp to wait for orders. Then, Knight Crow took out the parchment he had during the day and asked Keir to find a wooden board and simply draw the contents on the parchment on it with charcoal.

After receiving the mission, Kiel immediately returned the collected weapons to the camp, then carried the branches with the heads of the three bandits tied to them and came to the craftsman accompanying the army. He left the heads he had agreed on earlier on the craftsman's table, and then hurriedly He asked a clerk to get the wooden planks that Knight Crow needed.

Wooden boards are easy to find. For logistical supplies, you only need to remove the bottom board of an empty truck to get this kind of wood. As for charcoal, you can find this kind of by-product of firewood that has not been properly burned beside a campfire.

Holding the wide wooden plank in his arms, Kil ignored the craftsman's call to him. He only said he would come back during dinner in the evening, and carried his things to the door of Knight Crow's tent.

Knight Crow went to check the militia camp. Only the guards from the same camp as him were guarding the door of the camp. Kiel put the wooden board on the ground, scraped off some footprints and stains with a dagger, and simply cut the entire wide wooden board. Clean it up so he can draw the rest of it.

After spreading out the parchment handed to him by the knight, Keir first determined the north and south directions. When the knight was drawn, the militia camp was the main area directly below the map.

Then, the enemy's bandit's lair was drawn in the center of the parchment map. Surrounding it is a circle of routes they walked during the day. Wherever the route passes and where they can be seen along the way, the knights have drawn simple icons on places that can be directly observed.

At the same time, the place and route they climbed to Bandit Mountain were also firmly remembered by the knights, and were also represented by a wavy line.

Kil observed the contents on the parchment for a while, and the guard who was watching also came over curiously to see what Kil should do.

Unlike Knight Crow, Kiel first confirmed the north and south directions according to his habit.

He is not completely unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain. He has memorized the direction of the surrounding mountains. He knows where is the south and where is the north.

First, draw the mountains near the battlefield on the edge of the board. The center is naturally the mountain where the bandit's lair is located and the surrounding mountains and militia camps.

Kiel drew the exact location of the militia camp in the lower right corner of the map. He also accurately drew the camp gate and several areas with different functions.

Immediately afterwards, Kiel began to mark the many strongholds identified by Crow Knight during the day that needed manpower for short-term reconnaissance in a circle outside the middle of the map.

The appearance of the stronghold was different from the knight's simple black spot. Since the wooden board was large enough, Kiel carefully painted the simple reconnaissance watchtower that Knight Crow had mentioned on the road.

This watchtower summed up what Knight Crow said, and also added the look of a warning watchtower in Dorallin Village that Kil had seen.

After that, Kiir marked which militia team the several watchtowers were responsible for, and marked them in local characters. There are a total of ten watchtowers, which are under the responsibility of four teams. Some are more, and some are less, but they need to take care of a large area. The main reason is that there is not much flat terrain where watchtowers can be built, so we can only do this.

Most importantly, Kiel marked the mountains where the bandits' lair was located, as well as the entrance and simple roads out.

The main route for the bandits to go out was blocked by the militia camp, so unless the bandits gave up all the supplies stored in their lair, it would be impossible for them to transport so much stuff out of the mountains.

When Kil looked at it, he realized that the situation of these bandits was really not good. For this, he was quite happy.

The worse the bandits are, the harder it will be for the bandits who are bound together by simple interests to unite against the militiamen, and it may be easier for them to fight.

One after another, the militia captains who had been summoned by Knight Crow gathered over, and some idle clerks also came over to see how Knight Crow came to attack this bandit's lair that they thought was difficult to attack.

Everyone gathered around Kiel, pointing to the map of the surrounding terrain that Kiel quickly drew.

Some militiamen from farms or remote villages had never seen a map. They looked surprised and asked people around them what the things were. The principle of maps is easy for others to understand, so they quickly accepted this new and good thing.

They pointed and found where they were on the map.

Some people are guessing what the marked locations around them are for.

Some people said that they would ask Keir to go to their village and make a map like this of their village. In this way, each family can then confirm the location of their land based on the map. You can clearly see whose fields are good and whose fields are far away from water sources.

The scribes praised Kil, a guy who made a living by killing monsters, for having such a skill. Some people say that Keir recommended it to the senior political officer in their government office, hoping to make an accurate large map of Kendall City. In this way, they will be responsible for where the tax collection work will be, or who will be responsible for which area. The public security will not be so troublesome. It will be much easier if we don't push each other around.

But some people say that Kiel's skills are actually average. Among the Kendal craftsmen, the most technically outstanding stonemasons actually have very powerful skills.

The clerk was not young but had a strong body. What he said caught the attention of Kiel who had just finished painting.

"I know several outstanding stonemasons, and they have all been praised by the Earl in the provincial capital. Of course, of course, they are all students of Master Li Anxiude, so among the stonemasons, Li Anxiude is still the most skilled. Master. Even the current regent is full of praise for his skills. I heard that even the elf envoys are leaving the works of Master Li Anxiude on display in the palace."

Another clerk wrapped his body in strong and thick clothes and said, "Of course you don't need to tell me about the master's skills. Everyone knows about this. Do you know about that?"

The old clerk asked doubtfully: "Which one? There are other old things in Kendall City that I don't know about?"

"It's about the design of the underground sewers in the city. I heard that it was also completed by Master Li Anxiude?" Someone took up the topic.

The old clerk snorted: "What did you think you were talking about? You are young, so you have never experienced it. When I was young, I personally built the city's underground sewers." After a pause, the old clerk thumped his waist: "It's too complicated inside. I heard that mages from the provincial capital were invited to participate. I remember that at that time, everyone moved from the mountains in the city to the baron's fields to live simply, in order not to occupy the residents' fields and affect the harvest. , His Excellency the Baron gave up two years of field crops."

"The baron has so much land. How much food and wealth will he get in two years?" The clerks around him discussed in a low voice.

Kil placed the plank against the door of the knight's tent, supported it with a wooden stick, and asked the guards he knew to light torches around it.

The militia captains and the secretaries did not get together. After all, their status and identities were very different. Although the secretaries are now with the army and are responsible for managing logistics and taking care of all the militiamen, the status of the secretaries is actually much higher than that of the militia captains.

Except for those team captains, some of whom may be descendants of important families in the village, with property and status higher than those of the secretaries, most of the team captains are children of farmers, but how much land do they have? Just the difference.

Since the next thing was mainly handed over to the militia captains by Knight Crow, they were all very close to the wooden map drawn by Keir, while the scribes were further back.

The secretaries simply had nothing to do in the camp, so they came to join in the fun. However, due to their status and work, everything in the entire camp was inseparable from their management, so it was okay for the secretaries to watch.

As for some ordinary militiamen, as soon as they approached, they were driven away by the squad leaders and asked to wait for a while to eat.

After Kil finished what the knight told him, he wandered closer to the clerks and eavesdropped on the story they told about the underground sewers of Kendall City.

He was also very curious about this. After all, in this remote and backward medieval feudal area, it was incredible no matter how you looked at it, a city with perfect underground water supply and drainage for residents' houses. I just heard that magicians were involved in the construction of the city's sewers, and Keir wanted to hear more.

Different from other people, the scribes are all well-informed guys. They all at least know that the young man in front of him wearing a full armor and a wolf hair cloak is a guy who has been in the limelight in Kendall City recently.

And for some reason, this young man seems to know and look very familiar with the powerful Knight Crow in Kendall City. He even named him and temporarily hired him from another knight, Knight Lanessa, to use him as a bandit. .

Kil came close to listen to their conversation. The scribes did not chase them away, and just let Kil listen casually.

"I was young at the time, and it was time to do something big. I was responsible for the construction and management of the outer area of ​​Kendall City, which now includes the wealthy area, civilian area and craftsman area. It is said to be a job, but in fact It is to direct the people who joined to carry building materials and dig tunnels and waterways." The old secretary pointed in the air as he spoke, as if he had returned to the scene at that time.

Another clerk interjected: "I don't think the people will spontaneously help the lord build those things, and I remember that our Kendall County does not require people to work for labor, right? There is no such thing in the entire province."

The old secretary replied: "You are right, there is no such law. After all, our kingdom is composed of immigrants from the empire. Everyone is tired of the endless labor of the empire, so when the kingdom was first founded, His Majesty the King I heard that I swore an oath to the gods to never conscript the people into labor.”

Touching his beard, the old clerk continued: "In fact, it is not difficult to use the power of the people. At that time, the Baron and the church specially entered into a contract. The church served as the witness and supervisor of the contract. The Baron made a guarantee that all participants would be willing to do so. Families that are in the process of renovating Del City and have worked to a certain level will have convenient water wells and sewers that their families can use.”

The other clerks became excited and talked about how their houses came to be. Some scribes who were heads of families said that when they took over the family, they indeed received a simple luminous contract from their elders. Unexpectedly, it was the contract that the Baron entrusted the church to conclude for each family to participate in labor.

The old scribe later told the story of the original construction, but the topic of other scribes shifted to whether the contracts were still in effect and whether the divine power shining on them had magical power.

Instead, Keir leaned in front of the old clerk and listened attentively to the story told by the old clerk.

Seeing that a young man like Kiel was willing to listen to him tell stories about the past, the old clerk became excited and talked in detail about the situation when he was young.

The story continued until Knight Crow went around the entire camp and confirmed that there were no fights among the militiamen in the various militia tents during his time out, and no one was injured or killed in a firefight with the bandits during the day. The bandits seemed to have been disturbed by their group during the day and focused their attention on them.

When Knight Crow came back, he saw that the militia captains were already in place, and Keir also put the contents of his parchment onto a truck bed.

It doesn't look bad.

With just one glance, he could see that Kiel did not follow the central position of the militia camp and the bandit's lair in the picture on his parchment, but rearranged their respective positions in the correct north-south orientation.

"Oh, this is not bad, yes, at least some people with poor sense of direction will not see it wrong." He came to the wooden board, coughed lightly, and the whole place fell silent.

The militia captains sat down according to the knight's gesture. The ground was covered with frozen hard soil, nothing unclean, and it was not the rainy muddy ground in spring and summer.

The secretary and Keir stood behind the militia captain and watched, barely able to see clearly what was on the board.

Qiang, Knight Crow pulled out the sword from his waist. As expected by Kiel, the weapons used by powerful warriors like Knight Crow were not ordinary.

It was a sword that looked ordinary in appearance, but the sword hidden under the scabbard was extremely gorgeous and mysterious. It is bright golden in color, and its surface is covered with an unknown text. There is also a bright luminous energy flowing in these text marks. The source of energy is a row of five red gems inlaid on the sword's middle spine. Those gems emit a faint light and look inconspicuous, but you can imagine that there must be powerful energy hidden inside.

After the knight pulled out the sword, he pointed at the wooden map with the tip of the sword: "During the day, I took people to walk around the mountain where the bandits were hiding. Huh, the level of the bandits is limited. They only have one main entrance and exit, which is here. ." He clicked on the entrance to the Bandit's Cave.

"This and the large area in front, all the way to the entrance of our camp, are the main fighting areas in the future. The main militia will fight for it, and then attack from the bandit entrance."

Then he used his sword to draw a semi-encirclement net around the mark left by Kiel: "The bandits may escape, or they may make a surprise attack to escape the failed outcome. They will definitely escape from these places. But the surrounding areas can There are not many places for people to walk, only here, here, and here, here." He pointed at the main mountain passages in four directions for people to walk.

He looked at everyone and found that everyone was focused on his sword, which made Knight Crow helpless.

After thinking for a moment, he sheathed the sword directly, and then said to Kil: "Kiel!" He waved his hand twice.

Kil understood and knew what Knight Crow meant. He drew out his hunting sword and threw it in a spin.

The knight didn't even look at it, he just grabbed it with his hand, and Kiel's prey flew into the knight's hand like a baby swallow falling into the forest. Because the two men moved so quickly, no one present noticed that it was not Kiel who aimed at Knight Crow's hand and threw the sword, but that Kiel threw it casually, and his sword automatically flew into Knight Crow's hand. .

Kil's long sword for hunting is much more ordinary than the sword. Although it is also a tough and sharp weapon with reflective dents of fish scales on the surface, it is at least not as special as the sword just now.

Continuing what he just said, Knight Crow once again pointed to four possible directions and passages for the bandits to escape: "Eagle Team, Lion Team, Mountain Leopard Team, and Wild Boar Team. You four teams are the best close combat militia teams in the team now. , I want you to take charge of these four areas."

"Yes!" "Yes!" "No problem!" "Okay!" The four of them responded.

"As for who wants to be responsible for where, discuss it with me next. Because the places everywhere look different, and some places are spacious, it is necessary to build denser wooden reconnaissance towers. It is what Kiel painted on it, and your main force As a mobile team within the area, we rest during the day. When we see the warning signal from the reconnaissance tower, we must rush there immediately to eliminate the bandits who are trying to escape."

"We have prepared the wood for the reconnaissance tower before daylight passes. As long as you bring enough tools, you can quickly build it."

"Sir Knight! Is this guard tower the same one used in the village to guard the fields against wild wolf goblins?" a militia captain asked.

"That's it. My name is the guard tower. As for what you call yourself, I don't care. In short, I ask that when the main force attacks the bandit's lair in the future, you can't let any bandit escape. Among the four teams, whoever kills the most bandits in the end , whose team will have the opportunity to become the official guard of Kendall City."

As soon as the knight said this, the eyes of the four team captains lit up. Rather than farming in the village for a lifetime, it would be better to become a high-status guard in the city. Especially since they themselves, as team captains, each have some status in the village, but their militiamen do not. It would be better if their young companions from the same village became town guards and could provide various conveniences to the village in the future.

Not to mention anything else, just the news about the low prices of various materials in the town will ensure that the village will not be ripped off when trading with the caravans.