Mount and Blade

"...Gambino." The voice was a little childish, but full of determination. It was Gus.

"What's the matter, kid?" There was a hint of impatience in Gambino's voice, but his eyes softened.

"...A messenger who claimed to be from the Judah Gilsh family asked me to pass this to you, saying that if you are interested, go to him." Little Gus handed Gambino a letter. The wax on the envelope was printed with a badge that he was familiar with. Gambino frowned, he knew that this letter might change the fate of him and the Fiery Bear Group.

With many years of mercenary experience, Gambino guessed that this was an internal dispute involving the Judah nobles.

"Got it." Gambino scratched his head, "Alas, it's a troublesome job."

Because he couldn't read the words, Gambino decided to hold an internal meeting of the Fiery Bear Group tonight.

.........

Gambino summoned the members of the Fiery Bear Group. They sat around the campfire and listened to North telling the content of the letter. Everyone had different expressions on their faces, some expectant, some worried, and some angry.

The content of the letter was very simple. It was an invitation from a distinguished nobleman, hoping that the Fierce Bear Group could serve him in the coming year. Gambino's heart was full of contradictions. They needed this job to support themselves, but he was unwilling to risk being involved in the boring fights between nobles.

From the information he knew, the head of the Girsh family was Landon of the Black Wolf Knights, one of the five richest men in Judah.

Landon and Heron, the leader of the Serpent Knights, were old rivals. Only these two nobles with strong financial resources and extensive connections had the strength to conquer each other. Because they were far away from the capital, their territories were adjacent, and they always fought each other openly and secretly, and the size of their territories was always changing.

"...We can't just stay here and waste our skills and strength." The voice of an old soldier echoed in the night.

"But we can't become a tool for nobles to fight again." Another old soldier retorted.

"But, the price he offered is indeed very generous..." The heated discussion continued under the campfire.

Gambino listened to their discussion quietly, and he had already made a decision in his heart. They need this job, but they also need to maintain their principles, otherwise if they offend some extraordinary people, their days in Judah will be very difficult in the future.

After a heated discussion, Gambino stood up, his eyes firm and powerful.

"We will accept this job, but we will not become anyone's pawn." His voice was particularly firm under the illumination of the campfire.

The members of the Fiery Bear Group looked at each other, and their eyes flashed with trust in Gambino and expectations for the unknown.

.........

The next day, Gambino and his party came to the command post in the city, and saw a middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes as soon as they entered the door.

"I guess this is Captain Gambino of the Fiery Bear Group." The middle-aged man said with a smile.

"Yes, sir?" Gambino saluted.

"I am the steward of the Gilsh family. This town is the territory of my master. This time I came here to invite the Fierce Bear Group to serve as our guard." The middle-aged man explained his purpose.

Ganbino's heart moved. This is a good opportunity. If it is just a guard, the possibility of offending the enemy lord will become extremely small, and the risk factor is not very high. As a Fierce Bear Group that has experienced several battles and constantly replaced members, they are just right as a guard with only 500 people.

Although the attack can earn a lot of gold coins, the risk of the whole group being destroyed is also very high, especially when the nobles use the lives of mercenaries as guns. After all... if they die unfortunately, they don't have to pay gold coins.

The work of the guard is mostly to guard the town, manage the transportation of baggage, and patrol. Usually, it is relatively easy to be the defender of the city without enemy attacks, and there are knights sitting in the city as the boss. Under the premise of not offending anyone, if the city is properly defended, it will also play the reputation of the mercenary group.

After a brief thought, Gambino said, "Thank you for your invitation. However, I would like to know more details about the duties and treatment of the guards."

The butler smiled and nodded, motioning the attendant beside him to hand over a document. Gambino took the document and asked North to read it carefully and have a brief discussion with everyone.

The document detailed the work content, salary and other benefits of the guards. Gambino was secretly happy, as the treatment was quite generous compared to the contract of the kingdom.

He raised his head and looked at the butler: "I am very interested in this job. However, I still have a few questions to confirm."

The butler expressed his willingness to answer any questions, and the two sides further discussed some specific matters. In the end, Gambino decided to lead the Fierce Bear Group to accept this task.

In addition, the butler paid Gambino 200 gold coins as a deposit after Gambino signed the new mercenary contract, and he was very neat and quick.

Gambino collected the gold coins and agreed with the butler on the time of departure. The group returned to the Fierce Bear Group's base in a good mood and told the members of the group the good news.

Everyone was excited to hear about the generous treatment. Now all they need to do is drink and chat and quietly wait for the arrival of next spring.

And with Gambino's decision, the Fierce Bear Group also began to prepare for the upcoming mission. They checked their equipment to ensure that they could still provide adequate protection in the spring of next year, trained the new mercenaries, and everyone was preparing for the upcoming new challenges.

.........

In the deep and damp prison of Grant Island, Green woke up with only a swollen pain in his head and soreness in his limbs.

His consciousness slowly recovered in a chaos, and the smell of blood in the air made his stomach churn. He tried to recall what happened, but his memory was like a torn piece of cloth, scattered and vague.

His head was so swollen... his limbs were also a little sore, and the smell of blood spreading around had long covered the normal moisture of the soil.

"...You did it all?" A voice broke the silence of the cell, with a hint of cruelty and disbelief in the voice.

Green was still wondering if he was locked up by Kadi again in a trance. He lost his memory for a while before he realized that the accent seemed to be Grant. ...It seemed to be Madwuxiu.

Green turned his head and saw the figure of Madwushu through the dim light, the man who had brought him here.

Green propped himself up, his mouth was salty and fishy like rust, and his stomach seemed to have an abnormal feeling of fullness, and he wiped off the mud on his body.

His eyes fell on a broken hand not far away, which was his "trophy" last night. His memory began to become clearer, and the madness of last night was like a nightmare, but now he knew that it was... not a dream.