From sailboats to star destroyers (Source: Web)

Chapter 26 The Test at Warriors' Day

"Look, take a look, fresh vegetables only cost 6 copper coins."

"The Wild Wolf Mercenary Group is recruiting. We don't need new recruits, only experienced hunters."

With the arrival of Warriors' Day, West Limit City is becoming increasingly lively. Although the prices of daily necessities have risen slightly, they are still within an acceptable range, so the festive atmosphere has not been affected.

Therefore, various knightly orders and mercenary groups began recruiting new members once again to prepare for the arena competition held during the Warriors' Festival and the subsequent pirate attacks.

However, unlike inland areas, the mercenary group only gave preferential treatment to newcomers with shooting skills, and was not very enthusiastic towards ordinary soldiers or even veterans.

This is also a characteristic of port cities. When facing pirates who arrive by ship, having a sufficient number of archers is the best option to suppress them, rather than engaging in bayonet fighting.

Of course, it wasn't that they didn't want to buy some convenient crossbows. Such weapons only required a month of simple training to master and could inflict sufficient damage on pirates and even cavalry.

In reality, since crossbows and powerful bows are both controlled resources, they are already considered lucky if they can recruit some hunters with soft bows who can shoot 20 or 30 paces.

As for mages and druids with spellcasting abilities, the knights and mercenaries wouldn't even dare to dream of it; how could their small temples possibly accommodate such a great figure?

Miao Meng was walking around the streets, observing the strength of these mercenary groups through various means, mainly to find out the abilities of those spellcasters.

He didn't want to start his assassination attempt on his target only to be pulled to the ground and beaten by some unknown anti-air spell.

Therefore, after the Warriors' Day, Miao Meng left the Flying Squirrel Gang and became an ordinary country warrior, scouting out recruitment sites for various mercenary groups.

Such detection operations couldn't even be assigned to the gangsters, since it was too difficult for a group of semi-literate people to distinguish the spellcaster.

Therefore, after a few days' delay, Miao Meng was quite relieved. Judging from the current situation, the number of spellcasters in the city was pitifully small.

Apart from the major churches with strong faiths, even the Northern Merchant Alliance doesn't have a single proper spellcaster, though it does have some alchemists who can concoct potions.

After confirming that the alchemists did not have the ability to prevent flight, Miao Meng set his sights on the Ocean Church. He had no choice, since the storm wizard from before had left a deep impression on him.

Furthermore, Count Bartholomew of the Black had a close relationship with the Ocean Church, not only attending services every few days but also making numerous donations to the church.

Therefore, Miao Meng was unsure whether there would be priests from the Ocean Church guarding Bashamuh's side, and whether they would strike him down with lightning.

So he chose to take a look around the Ocean Church to see what was going on. If the spellcasters in the church were too high-level, he would have to find a way to break them up or make a move in advance.

It was only when Miao Meng actually arrived at the church district that he realized he had worried too much, because the Ocean Church was actually a niche faith in the Kingdom of Herrest, with only one small church.

If this weren't a port, the Ocean Church wouldn't even have a church, because the Kingdom of Herest worships Vatik, the god of wind and snow.

According to the kingdom's royal family, they possess the blood of the God of Wind and Snow, are descendants of this deity, and are renowned throughout the continent for their powerful physique and strength.

Therefore, without the Black Earl's tacit approval and funding, the Ocean Church wouldn't even have many priests in this small chapel, so there's no need to worry about the spellcaster's threat.

Before leaving, Miao Meng glanced at the statue of Orichalcos, the sea god, in the center of the church. Its flowing long hair and long, antler-like eyebrows truly gave it an extraordinary appearance.

After thinking for a moment, he turned around and put a few copper coins into the donation box to thank the sea god for not providing much support to the area. Then he walked towards the arena in the city without looking back.

He also visited the temple of the Snow Goddess and the Snow God, which were not far away. The so-called Snow Goddess is the embodiment of the snow mountain of this country. Unlike the Vatikeng, which has a clear appearance, she is considered a nature goddess.

However, the strength of these two temples is indeed beyond that of the Ocean Church. They not only have professionals, but they are even second-tier professionals, with the highest level reaching level thirteen in the comprehensive network assessment.

Miao Meng was also familiar with the occupational divisions on this continent. Each stage was equivalent to five levels in the comprehensive network, but usually the third level was already the top level.

To break through the third stage, one needs to master a profession. However, mastering a profession requires extremely high personal qualities, which even many nobles with centuries of family heritage cannot achieve.

This is good news for Miao Meng. He no longer needs to worry that Barsamuel will break through from level 15 Fear Lord and grow into an invincible ultimate boss.

From this information, he began to speculate about why Bartholomew chose to whitewash his past and become a count. Bartholomew was not yet 40 years old, and theoretically, he had the potential to advance further, but his background limited him.

Without a family heirloom cultivated for hundreds of years to enhance his physical attributes, Barsamuel could not cross the line of professional mastery.

Therefore, after Captain Bartholomew went ashore and became an earl, besides wanting to clear his name, it is more likely that he wanted to join a noble family or establish his own family to cultivate a lineage.

Having figured out Bashamou's thought process, Miao Meng was much more confident about his subsequent assassination attempt. Even if the other party escaped from his grasp, there was a high probability that he could lure him out again.

Otherwise, if Bashammud were to remain holed up in the city's fortress like a tortoise, it would be a huge headache for him; a direct assault would always be the worst option.

"woooo!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"Yes, that's how you hit him. Smash him on the head with your shield."

As soon as Miao Meng approached the arena, he could feel the overwhelming enthusiasm inside. Arenas, which only exist in big cities, are the most popular places for the Warriors Festival.

The origin of this festival is unknown, but the generally accepted explanation is that it symbolizes a festival where the warriors who launched the rebellion offer their blessings.

However, it has now degenerated into a festival to display bravery. Those with outstanding martial skills can gain the favor of nobles through the arena. Some can be knighted, while others can be recruited as retainers.

Meanwhile, the corresponding knightly orders and mercenary groups can also show off their skills during such festivals, defeat themselves, and gain more benefits.

As for the difference between knightly orders and mercenary groups, it lies in whether their leaders have gained the lord's approval and have been granted identity certification.

Only legitimate teams with knighthood can obtain military supplies, such as crossbows and horses, from local lords; otherwise, it is illegal and they are universally condemned.