"Master Xiao Chen, this is the area where the mercenaries gather." Mr. Ines, the butler of Baron Goya, accompanied Xiao Chen and Chen Hansheng into an area on the west side of the outer city of Suero. Because the mercenary group means trouble, the city lord specially marked out an area and stuffed all those guys who fight, drink and make trouble all day long into it.
To be on the safe side, Xiao Chen visited Baron Goya before recruiting mercenaries, and learned in detail about the mercenaries in the city and some common practices for hiring mercenaries. The baron not only recommended several mercenaries, but also generously allowed Mr. Ines to accompany them.
When Xiao Chen asked about Karanda, Baron Goya showed a strange and ambiguous smile and said, "That is a rose made of steel. Countless nobles and mercenaries with ideas have had their hands pricked by it. Some of them may have to suffer pain for the rest of their lives."
"Is that the beautiful lady named Kalanda you mentioned living here?" Chen Hansheng waved his hand in front of his nose. "Fuck, this is a great place to put flowers."
The neighborhood where the mercenaries gathered was even dirtier than the commercial area. The faint smell of feces and urine lingered in the air, and the ground was covered with puddles of mud of various colors. If the inner city was a sharp-edged gem, the commercial area was like a pile of rocks, and this side was a mass of mud with no shape to describe.
Xiao Chen and the other two walked along the dirt road. There were a few mercenaries around them, just sitting there doing nothing. Some were chatting, some were pushing and shoving, some were leaning against the doorpost to bask in the sun, and some were sneaking around to look at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen was very glad that he was wearing a proper wizard robe today. This robe seemed to have an invisible deterrent power, which made many mercenaries show awe.
"You guys, call all your bosses and tell them that business has come to you. Especially if anyone knows Karanda, let her know. The employer specifically wants her." Ines arrogantly ordered the boys who came over. These dirty little guys were usually spies of various mercenary groups. When they heard what Ines said, they immediately dispersed to report the news.
Ines looked around and said to Xiao Chen with a respectful expression, "Sir, this place has been made like a pigsty by those rough cutters. Let's go to the open space in front and wait for them. There's more space there and the smell is much better."
Xiao Chen and the others didn't notice at all that as they walked inside, two people were hiding in the corner of an alley and observing them.
"One wizard, two ordinary people. Wood, this is our chance." A petite green-haired girl whispered. The girl's short hair was hastily tied up with a gray cloth. She wore trousers, a shirt, a vest, and a short knife on her waist. If it weren't for her shrill voice, she would look like a handsome little boy.
"Mao'er, we shouldn't mess with the wizard. My mother said that wizards eat people." The person who answered was a somewhat dull-looking strong man. He was nearly two meters tall, and his arms were thicker than the girl's waist. He wore a ragged short coat and didn't bring any weapons, but you could tell by looking at him that in a real fight, his fists as big as bowls would be far more useful than a pair of meteor hammers.
"Don't mention your dead mother all the time. Now you follow me and I have the final say. Just do as I say." Seeing that the strong man didn't respond, she said angrily, "He doesn't eat people."
The sturdy man looked at her with an expression of disbelief. Although he didn't say anything, the girl was furious. She growled, "If you want to eat someone, eat me. You look so thick and rough, how can he chew you?"
The sturdy man rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, and grinned.
"Hey, Mu Tou, do you still remember the action plan I mentioned earlier?"
“Uh..., um..., I will hit you, and keep hitting you.” The sturdy man touched his head and squeezed out these two sentences.
"Of course, I'm such an idiot for bringing you out here." The girl covered her face with her hands and wailed in despair. She kicked her legs and jumped onto the sturdy man like a rabbit. She flipped over and sat on his shoulders. She clamped her legs together and grabbed his hair hard, saying, "I'll say it again, chase me, not hit me! Wherever I run, you run there. Just pretend to punch, but don't hit me! Do you understand? Do you remember?"
The sturdy man was grimacing as he was pulled, but he didn't even dare to make a sound and just nodded continuously.
"Then, ignore everyone and say nothing. Do you understand?"
“I… I know… Ouch.” The sturdy man replied with a painful expression.
The girl then let go of his hair, rolled backwards, and ran to the corner to check. Seeing that Xiao Chen and the others had slowly gone away, she turned around and patted the big man's thick legs, "Come with me, we'll take a shortcut."
The open space that Ines mentioned was actually a field that the mercenaries had cleared for practicing martial arts. The open space was as large as half a football field, and when they walked over, many mercenaries were exercising or practicing fighting there.
They sat down on the rocks at the edge of the open space, waiting for the arrival of the leaders of each mercenary group.
Xiao Chen and Chen Hansheng were soon attracted by two mercenaries fighting with knives not far away. The two mercenaries were of similar build, one holding a long sword and the other holding a scimitar, fighting back and forth, it was very lively. A large group of mercenaries were watching around, sometimes cheering loudly, sometimes cursing.
"Old Chen, I heard that you are quite good at fighting. Come and see how good those two are."
"The one who uses the sword is very strong, but not flexible enough. The one who uses the knife is half a point stronger than him."
"What if you face them?"
"This kind?" Chen Hansheng laughed, "I'm not afraid of both of them combined."
"How does it compare to our escort team?"
Chen Hansheng frowned and said, "Except for Ji Yijun and Ye Zi, the others are from the military and can probably fight one-on-one with bayonets. As for student soldiers, they need to form a group of at least five, with long weapons and a tactical formation, to fight."
Soon, the mercenary with the scimitar exposed a flaw, allowing the opponent's sword to deflect and use up all his strength. Then he slashed the scimitar, leaving a deep wound on the opponent's thigh. Then he returned the scimitar and cut off the opponent's sword-holding hand from the wrist.
Blood gushed out and the mercenary could no longer hold on. He fell to his knees on the ground and screamed in pain.
Xiao Chen, who had never seen such a bloody scene, felt his heart tighten and his breathing became rapid.
"I take back what I said just now. If these mercenaries are so ruthless, the five guards will probably be driven away by one man." Chen Hansheng said depressedly.
"It's okay, as long as we spend money, these ruthless people will stand on our side." Xiao Chen comforted with a pale face.
"Hey. These guys who cause trouble every day finally did something good and gave us a good opportunity." The girl who was mixed in the crowd of spectators muttered.
She picked up a stone and threw it towards the other side of the crowd without even looking. After throwing it, she shouted in a hoarse voice: "Go to hell, you idiots from the Violent Bear Mercenaries. If you hurt our people, don't even think about getting out of here with your head held high. Everyone, hit them."
Then she winked at "Mutou", and the sturdy man pushed forward lightly, and two onlookers were pushed out of the crowd with their fangs and claws, and fell on the guy who had just won. The mercenary, who was still enjoying the joy of victory, was caught off guard and knocked to the ground.
The audience on the other side were naturally not easy to bully. A one-eyed man with a ferocious look rolled up his sleeves and shouted loudly: "The Iron Axe Group is cheating. Come on, beat them up!"
For a moment, the place was in chaos, with at least fifty or sixty people fighting each other with fists and kicks. The girl smiled slyly, grabbed a handful of dust from the ground and smeared it on her face, then shouted to the strong man, "Come and chase me," and ran straight towards Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen and Chen Hansheng became nervous when they saw the mercenaries fighting for no apparent reason. The mercenaries had their friends to help them, and soon almost everyone in the room joined in the fight. Soon, Xiao Chen and his team were surrounded by people fighting, leaving them in a dilemma.
"These damn idiots. The city lord should lock them up in jail and let them starve for a month." The old butler Ines could do nothing about these people except complain.
"Xiao Xiao, stand behind me. Let's move slowly towards the exit." Chen Hansheng picked up a wooden stick and blocked Ines and Xiao Chen behind him.
Just then, a short figure ran over while shouting for help. Behind her was a strong man who made Chen Hansheng's scalp tingle.
Chen Hansheng wanted to stop the figure with a wooden stick, but she dodged it by lowering her head. Then the strong man stepped forward and broke the stick with one punch.
"What a great force!" Chen Hansheng took two steps back, then rushed forward again with the broken stick in both hands.
The shorter girl obviously regarded Xiao Chen and the other two as obstacles to block their punches, and she moved around them while the larger man chased her as if they were playing hide-and-seek.
"What's going on?" Chen Hansheng dodged the punches in a panic. After several attempts, he neither caught the lightning-fast little guy nor hurt the big guy with thick skin and tough flesh.
Xiao Chen was also puzzled. He clearly tried to avoid the little guy, but he kept getting close to him. This guy was not right, Xiao Chen thought instinctively. He looked at the big guy's face again. He didn't have the ferocious look when he was chasing others, but a silly smile as if he was playing a game.
In public places, there is only one kind of person who sneaks up on others for no reason: a thief!
Just as he thought of this, Xiao Chen touched his waist and found it was empty. The purse wrapped in his clothes was gone. At this time, Chen Hansheng and Ines shouted at the same time, "My money!"
Xiao Chen turned around anxiously and saw the thief turned into a black shadow and ran past Chen Hansheng's waist, with three bulging money bags in his hands. Chen Hansheng turned around to chase him, but was hit by the big man following him and flew to the side.