Khan shrugged his shoulders and closed his mouth. The rcenaries did the sa. It was better to remain silent in front of Johan.
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Johan naturally rode beside Eldans. None of the rcenaries were on horseback. Even if they were, they wouldn’t have dared to join him.
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‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. . .’
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Johan was surprised at the rcenaries’ gear. It was much more rudintary than he thought.
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None wore tal armor. All had shabby cloth armor. Even with padding, it had its limits. The best-equipped had a steel plate over their chest and chainmail on their arms.
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The weapons were even worse. Setting aside spears and bows, there were axes fit for lumberjacks, and even so with clubs. He knew the wood here was as hard and heavy as tal, but clubs were still inadequate.
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‘𝘚𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘳𝘬𝘵𝘦𝘯?’
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Johan was mistaken. The Wolves of Arkten were among the most renowned rcenaries on the continent. The fact that their fa reached Johan’s fiefdom spoke volus.
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In this era, standing armies were rare. Raising, training, and maintaining soldiers was expensive. It was common to train a few slaves or capable commoners or servants for protection.
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Most nobles preferred hiring rcenaries as needed. And a feudal lord of high rank always had rcenaries on hire. The Wolves of Arkten were elite, even employed by the Emperor. Their equipnt and weapons were far superior to those of ordinary knights.
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Among the rcenaries available, Goran’s group was decent. Except for the novices, all had combat experience. Captain Goran was competent, and each had at least so armor and a shield.
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‘𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. . . 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳.’
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Goran’s group was under a ridiculous misconception.
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🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
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Johan was essentially a great person to beco friendly with. Despite being of noble status, where he could act arrogantly, humble and kind Johan was bound to be liked.
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“Are you affiliated with a guild?”
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“Yes, that’s correct.”
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“They say guilds make a lot of money, is that true?”
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“Haha. . . While guilds do earn a lot, a roaming rchant like doesn’t make that much.”
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Guilds of rchants.
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In the dieval era, people closely bonded with those in their profession to protect their interests and rights. rchants were no exception. Large guilds established branches in cities, generating imnse profits through their affiliated rchants.
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Of course, this was the general story, and it was unlikely that a roaming rchant like Eldans had much wealth.
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The Katana rchant Guild, to which Eldans belonged, was active mainly in the southern cities of the Holy Empire and the free cities of the Catalian Peninsula, beyond the Dwarf Mountains.
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“I also wanted to join a guild.”
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“Haha! I appreciate even the thought.”
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Mistaking Johan’s jest for an attempt to praise him, Eldans laughed. It was rare for a noble to wish to beco a rchant, especially a knight.
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Still, it wasn’t unpleasant. Eldans felt a sense of friendliness towards this young knight.
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‘𝘈𝘩, 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴.’
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The other seed to be around twenty years old but caution was more important at such tis.
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“As a child, my dream was to beco a knight. Of course, it was an unrealistic dream. How could I fight in a battlefield? I’m still trembling as I wander around. It’s fortunate to et a knight.”
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It was half sincere.
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In an era full of dangers on the roads, any addition to the force, especially a knight, was welco.
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“Isn’t this area relatively safe?”
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Count Jarpen was known to be a decent noble, attentive to law and order. This was comndable, considering many nobles cared only about tolls and neglected their duties.
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“That’s a thing of the past. I heard Count Jarpen’s estate suffered a defeat, leading to delayed paynts to the rcenaries. Consequently, many of them deserted. . .”
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Eldans shrugged his shoulders.
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rcenaries were greedy and rough. There weren’t many rcenaries who would endure without getting paid. They either went sowhere else, or road around and acted as rogues. It was hard to tell the difference between rcenaries and bandits.
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“The situation is very tense around here. I wish those rcenary b*stards would go sowhere else soon.”
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The continent was constantly overflowing with blood and iron. War was almost a daily routine. The Holy Empire fought with the nobles inside and with the nobles of the Erlans Kingdom and the city-states on the southern peninsula of the Dwarf Mountains outside. The Erlans Kingdom fought with the elf nobles inside and with the Holy Empire and the nobles of the Fingland Kingdom outside.
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It was not a war where countries pulled out their full strength and fought until one fell, but a war where feudal lords competed and compromised for a piece of land, a line of honor. rcenaries always played the most active role in such wars.
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Most of the rcenaries who were now running away and acting as bandits would flow to that side if a big fight broke out nearby.
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“Is it okay with this number of people in such a situation?”
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“It’s okay. We move along the Empire highway, and even if they are rcenaries, they won’t openly run wild on the highway.”
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Bandits aid for weaker and easier targets.
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