After making an appointment with Dean Levins and Great Swordsman Crude to send people to the Northland for investigation, they chatted for a long time about the current situation of the business alliance, and then Lorist took his leave. Then he walked around the college area and found that, as the old dean said, more than half of the colleges had closed down, leaving only a few guards. Even the food street in the college district, which used to be crowded with people, is now deserted, and most of the shops have sublet or sale signs on the closed doors...
Is this the butterfly effect? Lorist stroked his chin in thought. Those two letters about the glass formula and production process were like the wings of a butterfly. They caused such a big change in the situation of the entire Galintia continent, that the business alliance actually landed on the continent. The position of the largest country is even more unexpected. However, the most important thing about the number one country now is face, and it doesn't seem to be very comfortable in the face.
For Lorist, perhaps such a result is the most ideal, giving him the opportunity to acquire the top eight Dawn Academy in Galintia. This is not only the memory and nostalgia of his youth, but more importantly, if Dawn Academy is opened in the Northland, it will greatly improve the quality of the family territory and even the entire Northland civilians. Lorist has already paid great attention to the basic education of the territory, and has opened basic knowledge education schools in every town in the territory. If Chenxi Academy moves north, it will fill the gap in the comprehensive higher education in the family territory.
The more Lorist thought about it, the more excited he became, and he was determined to achieve the goal of moving Chenxi Academy to the north. Whether it was land or funds, the family would fully support it. Although the territory is thriving, it is still in the initial stage of accumulation and lacks high-quality talents. Remembering that a few years ago, as long as he could count and read, he could be appointed as a statistical officer in the territory, Lorist was also very helpless.
When Lorist came back to his senses, he realized that he had been thinking wildly and unknowingly for a long time, and this place looked familiar. Well, now that I think about it, the mercenary union is two streets away. When I was still in Dawn College, I often went to the mercenary union from this road to pick up tasks. Why don't I go to see and reminisce about my feelings at that time? This is also a nostalgia.
The mercenary union was also very deserted. Lorist looked and saw that there was no old clerk he knew. A round-faced young female clerk approached very courteously and asked Lorist what he wanted to do. This reminded Lorist of how those clerks ignored him when they handed over tasks. However, in the past, the mercenary hall was crowded with people, and the voices could not be heard clearly. Now there are only two or three kittens in the entire hall, so it is understandable why these clerks are friendly.
Lorist waved his hand, went to the lobby bar and ordered a glass of beer, then sat there and tasted it slowly. Every time he finished a mission back then, he would always drink a glass of beer with his friends here, and listen to the experiences or bragging stories told by other mercenaries. At that time, every seat in the bar was filled with mercenaries. Even though the ale here was twice as expensive as outside, it was still very popular with those mercenaries who had completed their missions. But now, among the dozen or so tables, only Lorist was sitting and drinking ale in an orderly manner.
The round-faced young female clerk had been staring closely at Lorist. Maybe it was Lorist's casual but high-quality long-sleeved singlet that gave her the illusion that Lorist might be coming. The mercenary union issued the task. After all, those who can embroider platinum lace on the neckline and sleeves of the unlined garment cannot be those rude mercenaries. The price of this unlined garment is enough for them to work hard for a month or so.
Lorist held the glass to her, and said with a smile: "Sister, I'm really embarrassed that you are staring at me like that, how about I buy you a drink?"
The round face of the young female clerk turned red immediately, she turned her head and pretended not to hear Lorist's teasing at her.
It's better now, if anyone was rude to or molested those female clerks back then, the aggressive guards of the mercenary union would unceremoniously punch them. At that time, Lorist had seen a lot in the mercenary hall. There were group fights or bloodshed out of jealousy.
A middle-aged mercenary in his forties or fifties entered the mercenary hall cursing, found a random window to hand in the task, and then walked out cursing with a few silver coins in his hands.
"Hey, Brother Gude, where are you going in such a hurry? Sit down and I'll buy you a drink." Lorist greeted him with a smile. He knew this middle-aged mercenary. He was seriously injured, and although he was cured later, his body was injured due to the delay for too long, and his fighting spirit could no longer be promoted, so he could only hang around among the middle and lower mercenaries. Back when Lorist was making backpacks, this big brother Gude was the first to take care of his business. Later, he partnered with Fatty Shi and Lorist to do several missions, and taught Lorist a lot of life tips for mercenaries.
The middle-aged mercenary stopped, turned to look at Lorist, and didn't recognize him for a moment: "You are..."
"Hehe, Brother Gude, have you forgotten me? I'm Lorist, Little Locke."
"Aha, it's you, Brother Locke." The middle-aged mercenary was overjoyed: "It's been a long time, it's been almost ten years, I really didn't expect to see you here again, when you became Morente I am a legendary figure in the city, and later I heard that you went back to inherit the family territory and title, I thought I would never see you again. I really never thought that we would meet again one day."
Lorist stood up, warmly hugged the middle-aged mercenary, and ordered him a glass of beer.
The middle-aged mercenary picked up the cup and drank half of it down. He wiped his mouth and said, "It still tastes familiar. Alas, it's a pity that I haven't had a drink here for half a year."
Lorist smiled and said, "Don't worry, there is something you want to drink. Boss, have two more glasses. I'm treating you today, brother Gude, you can drink slowly to your heart's content."
"Thank you, Brother Locke, you're still so generous." The middle-aged mercenary was not polite, he picked up his wine glass and drank it in one gulp, and Lorist pushed the new ale in front of him.
"By the way, Brother Locke, why are you here today? Is there anything you need to ask the mercenary here for help or to issue a mission?" the middle-aged mercenary asked.
Lorist shook his head: "It's nothing, it's just that I returned to Morente City these few days, remembered the past, and also remembered that I still have a mercenary badge here, so I came here specially to sit down and taste this place again It’s just that I didn’t expect how it would become so deserted here, it’s completely different from the crowded hall in my impression. The only luck is that I can meet Brother Goode, so this trip is not in vain.”
"Alas..." Gude took a few sips from his wine glass and sighed: "Brother, you and I are both lucky, you can still see this mercenary union this time, and it will be gone by the end of the year. There is no mercenary union anymore. I am lucky that I can see you again when I turn in the task today, and let you buy me a few drinks...
Now mercenaries have no way out in the business alliance. "Gude burped: "Brother, you must have never expected that mercenaries will disappear in the business alliance in the future, er, it's not considered extinct, but Morente City is no longer a place for mercenaries. No task, even if there is a task, I can't do it. On the contrary, the Chicod Chamber of Commerce established another mercenary union at the entrance of the underground cave, a famous and dangerous place in the former Principality of Urubah, in their territory of the chamber of commerce. They summoned mercenaries to explore the underground cave. The mercenaries have all moved there. "
"En? The mercenary union is gone? What do you mean, Brother Gude, isn't the commercial alliance a country of mercenaries? What happened to so many mercenary regiments and nearly 10,000 registered mercenaries?" Lorist was curious. asked.
"A country of mercenaries? Haha, what other mercenary groups are there? Everyone has gone their separate ways. All the mercenaries have gone to join those nobles. Did you know, Brother Locke, the boss of the top ten mercenary groups here? They all mixed up a title, the youngest was also a viscount, and the rest were earls. The fourth-ranked boss Lesimba of the Dragon Claw Mercenary Group gave himself the title of grand duke, which is considered a shit. Now How can there be a mercenary group? They have all been disbanded. The boss has become a nobleman, and the brothers under his command have all become knights. The worst ones are also working as guards...
Did you know that this time the business alliance entrusted 451 titles in one go, and those who were a little bit able mixed up with the fiefs, and the rest were also recruited by those nobles as knights under them. Now there are no mercenaries. Those who are still dawdling here are just like the hundred or so of us who are useless. We don’t want to serve others in a low-key manner. We only imagine that we can earn money to support our family through our own efforts, but now you see, I ran away for half a year. I only earned one big silver coin and three small silver coins last month, how can I support my family with this little money at the current market price..." Gude was full of resentment.
"No way, so many titles?" Lorist was a little stunned: "But no one is a mercenary anymore, isn't it because no one is robbing missions, so it should be considered a good thing?"
"What a good thing!" Gude took a sip: "In the past, all the chambers of commerce in the countries and business alliances would issue missions. There were many mercenaries, but there were also many missions. Everyone had something to eat. Now all countries are cut off. Even our mercenaries were refused to pass through the trade route, so we had to sneak across the border. It is a trivial matter to be caught and whipped. The worst thing is that you go to investigate the military situation, and you will be hanged without any explanation. …
This is not a big deal, the big deal is that we will not accept tasks from other countries. But the problem is that the business alliance has a large territory but there are not so many tasks. Except for the Mana Hill Plain, everything else is the territory of the owner. If something happens to them, they will use their own family to solve it, and they will no longer post tasks here. What's even more exaggerated is that our mercenaries have to pay tolls when passing through their territory on missions. If you don't pay, you won't be allowed to pass... "
Good picked up the wine glass and gurgled down another glass, then wiped his mouth and pointed at the mercenary union and said, "Brother, do you still remember that bastard Schlock, the boss of the mercenary union? I became a viscount, and the territory is in the original Principality of Delia,
The mission I took this time happened to pass through this bastard's territory, and I shot a rabbit in the wild and roasted it as before, and then the bastard ordered his guards to arrest me, saying that the firewood used for the rabbit I ate was slept on The place is all his territory, and he asked me to compensate for these expenses, and forcibly knocked two large silver coins from me. If I hadn't said that I was taking the mission in his mercenary union, this bastard would still want to parade me through the streets... "
Well, some merchants are more limitless than the nobles. No matter how mean the nobles are to the people, they still have to worry about their reputation, and those merchants can't see anything except gold coins. Especially when those merchants transferred their business savvy to their citizens, Lorist wondered if those citizens would be left with only a piece of clothing to cover their bodies, but there was nothing he could do, at most it was for these leaders. Three seconds of silence...
"Then what are you going to do in the future?" Lorist asked. He knew that Gude had already married a family. There were two sons and one daughter. They were Gude's children when he left Morente City. The youngest daughter was only born when she was four or five years old, and now the oldest is only fourteen or five years old. This is the most difficult time.
Goode opened his confused eyes and said painfully: "I don't know, the road of mercenaries is dead, maybe I will go to look after the homes of those chambers of commerce, as long as the salary is enough for me to support my family..."
Lorist stood up and took out a gold dollar coupon and stuffed it into the pocket of Goode, who was drowning his sorrows. He was already drinking his seventh glass of ale, and he was a little half-drunk and half-awake.
"I sent some gifts to your child and put them in your pocket. Brother Gude, you can go back and see. If you can't stay in Morente City in the future, come to Northland to find me. You just need to go to the Peterson Chamber of Commerce and say If you are my friend, they will send your family to my territory."
Then Lorist called a carriage to help Goode up. He still remembered where Goode's family lived. After telling the coachman the address and paying the fare, Goode's family will take care of him when he arrives.
After returning to the mercenary union, Lorist said to the round-faced young female clerk, "Call the person in charge here, I want to buy that book Burning Blood and Fighting Qi."
This can be regarded as a commemoration of the ten years he spent in Morente City and his mercenary career. Back then, Lorist mistakenly thought that his family's battle qi was of the fire attribute, and when he cut off news from his family and could not get the follow-up battle qi cheats and could not advance to the silver rank, he spent a lot of money to buy several high-level fire-attribute books on the market. The fighting qi cheats turned out to be completely different from those handed down in the family, and I bought high-level fighting qi cheats with other attributes, but I still couldn't practice. In the end, he had no choice but to practice the Jinshuijue handed down by the previous family, and won the legendary title of Black Iron Locke and Silver Invincible for himself.
This book of Burning Blood Fighting Qi is the treasure of the mercenary union's town council. It is priced at 15,000 gold points, and it was the sky-high price cheat book in Morente City back then. It's not that Lorist never thought about buying this blood-type fighting qi cheat book, but he thought the price was too high when he first came, and secondly, he didn't expect that the blood-type fighting qi passed down in his family was also a blood-type fighting qi, so he missed it. Now that I think about it, if I gritted my teeth and pooled my money to buy this Burning Blood Dou Qi, then I might have been promoted to the silver rank, and then I would not have to practice the Jinshui Jue handed down from my previous life.
Perhaps Lorist will take another path from now on, and will no longer be able to leapfrog the ranks to kill the enemy, but will just follow the path of the silver rank and the gold rank honestly, maybe he will not be able to become a great swordsman until now , then the Norton family may also have disappeared long ago, instead of rising and prospering like they are now...
Now Lorist wants to buy this book of Burning Blood Dou Qi out of this commemorative feeling. He has a gold dollar coupon worth 30,000 Gold Fords by his side, and he doesn't care about the high price at all, so he simply buys it. The person in charge of the mercenary union also wanted to recommend a few high-level battle qi cheat books with other attributes, but Lorist refused. Now the family has collected nearly a hundred high-level fighting qi cheat books of various attributes, and it is enough to reward the family knights, especially after the Kingdom of Haneyabada was destroyed, there were forty or fifty high-level fighting qi cheat books seized. Bought a duplicate. But this book of Burning Blood Fighting Qi is different. This is the second book of blood attribute Fighting Qi besides the red blood Fighting Qi handed down in the family. It can also be used as a reference for your own children to practice in the future.
After leaving the mercenary union, Lorist called a carriage and went to the Fengweihua Street in the East City. Looking at the dark red three-bedroom, four-storey steeple attic, Lorist thought again of the man with naked feet in the moonlight. The dancing girl is the one who allows herself to taste the beauty of first love, and it is she who makes herself change from a boy to a man in this life. It was also her who made herself feel desperate and heart-piercing pain, watching her leave with another man, she was so heartbroken...
Facing the old house full of tenants in front of him, Lorist was surprised to find that his heart was as calm as water, and he no longer had the painful throbbing and sadness of the past, only a faint yearning lingered In my heart, the girl who was once the most important in my life, is she okay now, how is she doing
Time goes by, things change and people change, these are just the fond memories that Lorist has settled in the deepest part of his heart, and even the pain is worth reminiscing about. There is no more that elf-like girl and her two naughty and lively little maids here anymore. Lorist took one last deep look at the dark red three-room, four-story steeple-roofed attic, heaved a sigh of relief, and turned to go. Go outside the alley.
The fruit shop at the entrance of the alley is gone, replaced by a grocery store, but the boss is still the garrulous Uncle Ji Luo, whom I haven’t seen in ten years, and Uncle Ji Luo’s hair is all white, it can be seen that he is living a good life not so good.
Uncle Jiro recognized Lorist and was very pleasantly surprised. He told Lorist endlessly about the changes in personnel affairs in the neighborhood. Like before, Lorist often bought fruit candy for the little girl named Roni. She died when she was ten years old, she left here with her father, I heard that her father was doing well, and now he has become a family knight of a certain grand duke, etc...
Lorist listened to Uncle Ji Luo's nagging for nearly an hour, and finally left a gold dollar coupon and left.
"Coachman, go to the Red Crow Tavern." Lorist ordered.
…