Nearly seven thousand words.

It is said that you can click more in two chapters...

But I really don't like that kind of thing that seems to be a cheat...

——

...As the four eyes met, a short figure slipped out from behind the corridor column.

It really slipped out because his short body was only half that of an ordinary person. He was a little hunched, but he was surprisingly quick, as if he was standing by the table in just a blink of an eye...

With only two feet above, a gray cloth cloak was almost dragged to the ground, and the hood was swept behind his head, revealing a mess of hair, with a bit of funnyness. Although the first impression would make people think of this child, his long temples and rosy face, as well as the exposed feet under the cloak and the long hairy soles, can tell his identity.

A halfling.

Only the intelligent race that is used to mingle among humans will make such uninvited actions, because they never know what kind of emotions it is to fear and embarrassment.

"Hahaha... don't worry, it's just a little joke. Yes, this is just an unreliable legend... Oh, it's a shame, haven't introduced you to you yet, I'm Jack, people here call me mockingbird Jack, don't look at me with such strange eyes, everyone, I'm just a farmer living in this town

In his rap speech, the little man sniffed onto the chair beside him, and performed a funny etiquette like a third-rate harlequin, smiling and chatting: "Oh, of course, what else can it be? My father is a farmer, and his father and his father are also farmers, so I should be..." But you probably know very well that in this world, life is difficult, and it is difficult to make a living by relying on crops alone, so we honest farmers have to find some extra money within our ability..."

But obviously, he ignored whether several people here hoped and welcomed him to do so.

"If you want to find accomplices, go downstairs... We are just passing by here, and have no interest in your tricks and your legend." The knight named Jude frowned.

Anyone who has experienced some experiences will not believe such words - halflings are opportunists with good abilities, cunning and witty guys. Although some reliable and diligent residents, there are also thieves who are waiting for an opportunity to get a vote. They would rather cause trouble than be bored and have a strong curiosity, and their personality who doesn't know what danger is. Therefore, not everyone likes them, especially this guy has a pair of bright eyes on his face, as if he is thinking about some ghost ideas at all times.

What's more, the approach of the light, the subtle swords and wear marks on the worn leather armor under the cloak were enough to prove that he was not a farmer, but a sophisticated wanderer - the nickname for those thieves and hooligans.

"Accomplice? No, no, you probably misunderstood."

He almost drove away without hesitation, but the little man's smile did not diminish, so he naturally did not move his feet for half a step: "I am just a useless little person, I have no ability, and I don't want to enter the forest to visit. I have to provide some useful information here to friends who are new to you... Of course, with your talents, it is not particularly difficult to travel through the entire Whispering Forest, but I believe you are not the kind of person who simply aims to take risks. It is not boastful that the information provided by Jack has been verified by the bears, and it is safe to ensure quality. Want to capture rare magic beasts? I can provide 80% of the valuable magic beasts in the forest, and I want to dig out good minerals? I know a little about the fine gold, mitril, black iron or red sapphire, and crystal mineral veins... In short, I can guarantee that your adventure will be simpler and more colorful."

“We don’t need it either.”

"Ah, masters, please don't try to perfunctory Jack. That's so sad, especially such an obvious thing." The halfling laughed and shook her head: "Why should I hide it? Baiyang Town... Tsk tsk, although it's a good place to be in the Western Fengtian, but I don't want to enter the Whispering Forest. How many people who are used to Lord or very tangible will turn to this remote area?... Let's do this, if you don't lack money, I can try to find a few famous cave bear groups; they are all veterans who have been to the forest many times, and have also drawn maps of the surrounding area--"

The sharp nagging suddenly stopped...

An iron glove suddenly held the thin shoulders of the half-length man, and then the white luster flashed, surrounded him like a wave!

"You... no, yours, yours... turned out to be a paladin?"

The rosy on the half-body's face suddenly disappeared, but he quickly calmed down - although as the defender of order and the incarnation of justice, the paladins had the right to kill and decide to a certain extent, their principle was to protect kindness and fight evil... And what was reflected by the magical arts at this moment was slightly shining with a blue luster.

This means that at least he has not done anything to commit crimes, which is guaranteed by God's power.

"You might as well listen to what he said." On the other side, the female mage in the black robe suddenly spoke. She raised her sleeves and a gadget with a glossy gadget fell onto the table.

So the halfling who claimed to be Jack immediately had his eyes straightened.

It was not an ordinary coin. It shone with a white, but different from the luster of silver coins - platinum coins, a currency worth ten times the gold coins. In most areas of the Western Fengyi land, its exchange ability is more than half higher... The half-length man respectfully lowered his head and licked the corner of his mouth involuntarily, but his eyes were completely nailed to the gadget.

"Okay, OK, no matter what you are interested in, Jack I know everything..."

"So, why are there so many people gathering here?"

"The Whispering Forest is originally a place where magical beasts gather. Although it is a little dangerous, the things produced can always be exchanged for a lot of gold in the hands of magicians and fur merchants... The cave bears naturally gather more and more..."

"It doesn't seem to be true."

"No, no, no, for the sake of magic, I have not lie."

“…hide part of it.”

"That's all I know... OK, okay, I'll say that." The halfling's sharp voice was as fast as the beans - the caster obviously didn't like his nonsense, so the platinum coins had moved by themselves, getting farther and farther away from him.

"It is said that there are open-pit silver mine veins in the forest. Some people have seen them before, and some have even made money because of them... So in recent times, many people who have come here have dreamed of getting rich. Everyone says that it is false, but you have seen it, there are always people who would rather believe it... and it is getting more and more powerful. From silver mines and gold mines, now people are talking about mitsilver and pure gold..."

"Open-pit mine?" Some fluctuations occurred in the voice of the young paladin - not friendly: "The ownership of the metal mine should belong to the kingdom and to His Majesty the King. How can we mine without permission?"

"Sir, no one here will use the word mining...just digging, or picking it up..." Jack stretched out a finger and shook it: "And, of course, that's a legend of a few people after all, and most people return empty-handed... But you must know that people will only see a few successful cases... Moreover, those guys who made money didn't get anything. The Whispering Forest is mysterious. No one can find the mine veins they have seen before, and they have never. The money they got was thrown on the gambling table and they lost completely in a blink of an eye."

"It's easy to come and go quickly... it's always like this for these rogues." The Paladin snorted.

"Of course, there are...and..." The half-length man looked at the platinum coin slowly approaching him with joy, and quickly reached out to catch it, but at this moment his voice seemed to suddenly stagnate - a layer of beautiful purple light flashed on the coin, although it disappeared without a trace.

But when he spoke again, his voice was no longer filled with that kind of smooth tone.

"It's just that, but as far as I know... well, these seem to be rumors spread by Edward. In fact, there may be no mineral at all, just a means to attract adventurers?"

He swallowed his saliva and carefully glanced around. He lowered his voice, as if he was no longer facing a group of strangers, but his companions who had been with him for many years: "You know, once there are more adventurers, there are more good things to get out of the Whispering Forest, and they can also reduce the price of good things... The more people, the more Baiyang Town earns. With gold coins, it can naturally attract those merchants. If there are more merchants, the more magic beasts, herbs, and alchemy raw materials in the forest can naturally be sold at the price... Did you see the road outside? That is the free expansion of merchants, and the ones that Lord Viscount Hua is worth?"

"Who is this Edward?"

"I don't know who Edward is? I tell you, it's hard for you to stay here like this?"

The halfling rolled his eyes to the Knight who asked the question without hesitation, and then spit out a string of titles: "Well, since you have asked sincerely, I will tell you mercifully... Edward is the owner of this Hilton Tavern, oh, he should be the owner of the Express Hotel, the son of Old York, the blacksmith of the town, the son of our Viscount James, the consultant of Little James, and the deputy commander of the guards of Baiyang Town... A good player in the cave bear around the Whispering Forest. In addition, you may not be able to see that this guy is also the most sinister in the cave bear around the Whispering Forest... Hum?"

A noise outside the window made the half-ling suddenly stop his chattering. He glanced at him and jumped excitedly to the table beside him... and turned his eyes out of the window: "Oh, here we are here, that idiot!"

———————

The slightly inclined angle on the hillside allows the second floor window of the Hilton Inn to easily notice the things near the town gate - a team is approaching the town in the dust.

It seems to be the most common business in the Western Fengxian area.

In the western fiefdom, traveling merchants is a very dangerous thing; robber groups, robbers, and harsh road conditions... On those winding roads in the wilderness, even if the goods can be sold here at a high price several times higher than the inland with convenient transportation, it may not necessarily allow merchants to work hard. With a slight negligence, they will lose all their money and even have their lives to lose their lives.

Therefore, ordinary merchants gather in horse teams and hire guards in teams.

The one in front of me was obviously no exception - more than twenty large wooden carts were dragged by a horse, loaded with cargo covered with felt cloth, and more than thirty riders followed the sides of the vehicle, and fully armed mercenaries on it were patrolling the surroundings vigilantly... The long journey left them wrapped in a layer of dust, looking a little embarrassed.

But is a caravan worthy of being so excited?

The halfling stared out the window with concentration, which made the middle-aged knight frown. But just before he spoke, a noise suddenly broke out outside - outside the gate, the convoy suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the town gate!

"Enemy attack! It's a robber group! They're a robber group! Close the door quickly, hurry..."

The screams suddenly rose on the wooden wall were extremely shrill. Amid the roar and riot, the two doors creaked inwardly... but everything seemed too late.

The parts of more than a dozen horse-drawn carts and the felt cloth on the carts "created" more than a dozen people, and the guys who were originally around the convoy had reached about a hundred people in a flash. The people who suddenly appeared quickly divided into two strands, pushing the cart in front forward, and squeezed the city gate tightly in the door hole. The rest lifted the cart behind to form a temporary shelter. Then, with the banging bow strings, the two guards holding longbows on the city tower screamed and fell down!

But in the blink of an eye, the city gate had changed hands.

...

"Damn bandit!"

The paladin suddenly stood up and pulled out the sword beside him! The white luster instantly shone brightly around him.

However, as if in response to his actions, the choking metal friction sounds in the hotel have been heard one after another.

"Everyone, we are from the Black Crow Mercenary Group. We are going to do something here today, so you'd better know more... Stay obediently and don't move."

On the tables at the gate, a dozen big men stood up. They each danced their weapons and made intimidating gestures. The speaker was a particularly tall bald man among them: "I know that you are all first-class players and have no interest in being enemies with you, so as long as you continue to rest here, we promise not to make things difficult for you."

"It won't take a long time for everyone. It's just a meal. After the matter is done, everyone here can receive five gold coins as rewards, so please rest assured... Well, in short, just watch the fun quietly, it will end soon." He yelled proudly in the duck's voice.

And what answered him was a sharp sound.

The sound was like to tearing a rag, extremely short and terrifying! Just as the bald body stiffened slightly, the four or five companions beside him had already made a muffled groan!

Their bodies flew backwards as if they were hit by a sledgehammer, and knocked down several tables!

Then there was a heart-wrenching scream.

Amid the screams, the bald man couldn't help but retreat. He seemed not to be injured, but he was scattered and noticed that several subordinates had accumulated strange shapes in the corners of the wall!

More than ten arrows were deeply nailed into their bodies, and four unlucky ghosts who were shot into the chest and throat lowered their heads without saying a word. The deep-penetrating crossbow arrows made them swallow happily. Compared with them, the other three guys who were pierced through the chest and abdomen were much more unlucky - as they rolled and struggled, the red blood spilled outwards as they moved, and in a blink of an eye the air was filled with a disgusting smell of rust.

What caused all this was more than a dozen fully armed mercenaries. They were putting down the heavy crossbow in their hands and pulling out their long swords, staring at the so-called Black Crow Mercenary Group members who suddenly decreased to four.

At this time, the mercenaries who were retreating behind them burst into laughter, followed by a rumor.

"I've said a long time ago... I said it two ten days ago. This black crow group is not a particularly outstanding person at all. After gathering a few idiots, I'm afraid I'll have the idea of ​​Baiyang Town... Let's see? Did I get it?"

"It's really an idiot! I didn't even think about it carefully. If this town could be occupied so easily, I... how could the people in front of me keep it until today? Only those stupid guys who have no news will have the idea here... Alas, they don't know..."

"Don't change the topic, bastard! We gambled five gold coins last time. Within three months, the black crow disappeared. Now I won. Don't you want to bet on the debt, right? Get the money out quickly!"

"It's been so long... Besides, they just came in, there are still some fighting here. They still have more than a hundred numbers outside."

...

Is this a dream? Is it a joke? Or...

The facts were cruel and huge impact, which made the remaining bandits a little dull. They staggered back in a daze until a peaceful voice sounded nearby.

"Be honest, surrender obediently, gentlemen."

The owner of the voice, the young waiter of the hotel, was standing in front of them. He looked at them with pity: "Although the crime of a robber will make you serve for a long time, it is better than losing your life."

What is this? Persuading surrender? Are you a fool? We have more than a hundred brothers outside! As long as I escape...

Thinking finally struggled out of that terrible fact... The bald mercenary jumped up! In his eyes, this guy was simply a hostage sent to the door - those city guards may not be restrained, but using him as a shield may also be able to fight for a front-line opportunity. As long as you escape the door, your own will be on the street...

This thought was interrupted only after a moment of circling in his mind.

Really 'break'.

A burst of sourness and numbness from his chin suddenly made the scene in front of him turn black! The noisy sound also turned into a terrifying buzz!

It seemed that a large group of mosquitoes and flies suddenly drilled into their ears, and then the mosquitoes and flies turned into the sound of horns and cymbals. It was not until it lasted for a long time that he felt something else—it was a heavy pause like something hitting, and then a dizzy feeling came...
To be continued...