freenovelworld Chapter 191 Stay Vigilant
Chapter 191 Stay Vigilant
Chapter 191 Stay Vigilant
Harriet had hoped to return to the library soon, but things didn't go as planned. Since arriving at the Lines Plateau, one thing after another had happened, and she had hardly had a moment to catch her breath.
She could not slack off in the slightest, not only because Mr. Mosley had instructed her, but also because of Cathy, another task of this trip was to understand the situation on the plateau and collect intelligence as much as possible.
In order for Cathy to be able to return to her hometown one day, Harriet must grit her teeth and shoulder a burden far beyond her capacity.
After leaving Whitewood, Harriet visited people she might trust, based on the list provided by Earl Reggie.
Right now, she's on her way to her next target.
Harriet was curious as to why Jarl had agreed to let her go.
Mr. Mosley had said that, as long as their goals aligned, the vice-commander of the Unswearing Knights would act as Harriet's bodyguard.
But the current actions should not be of any benefit to Jarl, so why is he still willing to follow Harriet?
Harriet couldn't figure out the reason, and she also couldn't understand the mercenary.
What beliefs drove him to fight? Was he a good person or a bad person?
There was only one thing she was sure of: she didn't dislike this person as much as before.
The two rode their horses along the hard road.
With each step the horse took, Jarl's armor rattled and clanged.
He wasn't wearing a helmet; he simply hung it on his waist so that it wouldn't obstruct him from drawing his axe.
That's why Harriet was able to see Jar's thick, long braid.
Those were brown braids; otherwise, he wouldn't have been nicknamed "Brown Braids."
But Harriet had heard from Cathy that this man originally had another braid, which grew on his chin.
However, it seems to have been bitten off by the rats that Cathy keeps.
But why did he keep a braid? Was it simply because he liked it, or was it a custom from his hometown?
Suddenly, Jarl turned around, his eyes immediately meeting Harriet's gaze:
"What's up?"
Harriet shook her head.
"Then why were you spying on me?"
"I wasn't peeking," Harriet thought, "you just happened to be walking in front of me."
But since he had asked the question, Harriet also wanted to take the opportunity to voice her own doubts:
Why are you willing to follow me?
"Follow you? Hmph!" Jarl sneered. "You're nothing but collateral in my hands."
"If that's the case, why did you come with me to see those knights?"
"I'm just after the money," Jarl said. "I'm the vice-commander of the Unswearing Knights. I swear I won't return it until the mission is accomplished."
"But the actions we're taking right now are absolutely unnecessary for you," Harriet bluntly stated.
"You've reminded me," Jarl suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Then let's turn around. I'm going to take you to Moonstone Keep in exchange for the bounty."
Harriet said angrily, "Why tease me like that? Don't lump me in with any of the stupid women you've ever met! I can tell from the beginning that you knew this was unnecessary."
Jarl turned his head forward: "So what?"
"That means you're helping me," Harriet said, "but why are you helping me?"
Jarl paused for a moment before answering:
"From your perspective, that seems to be the case."
"So what's your perspective?"
"My perspective is cold," Jarl replied. "I am a mercenary. Mercenaries can never compare to knights in terms of honor, but they are not bound by virtue either. We are good at observing from the sidelines."
Harriet bluntly stated, "Bystanders don't get involved."
"Unless it contains what it wants," Jarl replied.
What do you want?
"It's simple," Jar said casually, "just satisfying my curiosity."
"curiosity?"
"As a martial artist, I naturally admire the strong," Jar said. "So I'm curious about what kind of existence the so-called strongest person on the plateau is."
"So it's just so you can hear his story?" Harriet asked.
"No one knows his story better than your man. If I only want to know about his past experiences, there's no point in contacting his admirers. But that kid said the other person is a true knight, and I want to know if that's just his opinion."
"Have you come to an answer?"
Jarl fell silent, with only the gentle rhythm of horses' hooves echoing in Harriet's ears.
After an unknown amount of time, Jarl finally came up with an answer:
"At least for now, he is more deserving of the title of knight than anyone I know."
Pegasus Byrne is the person Casey mentions most often.
He was a somewhat slow-witted, righteous old knight, much like Cathy's father.
I heard that the knight also protected Cathy's grandfather and mother.
So even Harriet was interested in that knight and wanted to know what kind of person he was.
And right now, his past glory is still helping Casey.
Harriet suddenly thought of a question: "Do you admire him?"
Upon hearing this, Jarl suddenly turned to look at Harriet and burst into laughter.
As the laughter subsided, Jarl replied:
"I am a mercenary, and mercenaries do not worship knights."
"Then why do you want to understand him so much?"
"Because he is a strong person."
"Just because he's a good fighter?"
Jardon paused. "He is indeed physically strong, but as far as I know, his mind is equally powerful. I have to admit, I may not be as strong as him, so I respect him."
Harriet could tell that these were heartfelt words.
They had been traveling together for months, but rarely talked about their own lives.
After all, once Jarl gets the money and escorts Harriet back to the library, their lives will never cross again, so there's no need to know more.
But this conversation gave Harriet a rough idea of what kind of person Jar was.
Jarl McCoy, the vice-commander of the Unswearing Knights, is not a purely mercenary indiscriminate in his choice of good or evil.
She couldn't help but wonder what Jarl's life would be like if he stopped being a mercenary and instead followed a nobleman.
With his abilities, obtaining a knighthood should be a piece of cake.
And he is an extremely serious person, so he will inevitably uphold the virtues of riding a horse.
Perhaps he really can become the second Pegasus.
Jarl suddenly spoke up: "However, this journey is almost over."
Brown was right; in the next city, Harriet would meet a dozen riders on Reggie's list.
These people weren't originally in those places; rather, they were knights Harriet had previously met who ran errands for her, summoning the remaining people to one location.
After that, Harriet will have at most one or two more cities to visit.
As the golden tiger surveyed the sky, a few beads of sweat appeared on Harriet's forehead.
Finally, a city came into view.
Jarl led Harriet into the city without alerting the guards.
This is Winewind Town. The lord here, Baron, is only a third-rank nobleman, whose title is only one level higher than that of a knight.
Kathy hadn't mentioned this place, but Harriet had heard from the people of the Highlands that this city was the largest supplier of Highland wine, a fact that was evident from its name.
Harriet and the knights arranged a time and place to meet.
Today is the last day, and Harriet barely made it.
So she didn't dare delay and went to the hotel immediately.
Harriet entered the hotel, explained to the owner that she was looking for someone, and gave him a name.
These were the names the knights and Harriet had agreed upon; perhaps they were pseudonyms, but they would allow Harriet to know their whereabouts.
The shop owner said there was such a person and sent one of his employees to invite the customer.
Soon, a burly man stepped forward:
"You've finally arrived."
Harriet waited until the other person got close before saying:
Where is your armor?
"Walking around in armor, I'm afraid the Zorc family will hear of my movements even before I leave the territory of the lord I serve."
The man smiled and whispered in Harriet's ear.
"Let's go to my room first; the others are already here."
Harley nodded and followed the man into the room with Jar.
After opening the door, Harriet found the room empty. She asked, "..."
"Didn't you say we were already there?"
"Since we've all arrived in Jiufeng Town," the man shrugged. "It would be too blatant to all rent rooms in one inn, so we've separated. Wait a moment, I can't find them all."
After saying that, he left.
This man was named Minos Dickinson, and among all the knights Harriet encountered, he was the most enthusiastic.
This gathering was also proposed by Minos.
However, Harriet had no idea whether this person was truly trustworthy.
But even if she can't completely trust him, she has no choice but to wait here for now.
However, Jarl suddenly spoke up:
"Let's go."
Harriet asked, puzzled, "Where to?"
"Find a place where we can monitor this place," Jar said, "and we need to have a backup plan."
Why?
"If that knight has already betrayed you, who do you think you'll be going to find now?"
Harriet's heart skipped a beat: "Soldier!"
“Even other cavalry,” Jarl said, walking toward the door, “are undoubtedly here to deal with us. Their attitude is still unclear, while our position is under their control. This situation is far too passive; we must at least find a way out.”
Harley nodded; in this respect, she was definitely not as experienced as Jarl.
She also understood that without Jarl by her side, she would never have gotten this far.
The two left the inn and found a secluded alleyway connected to several passageways. They hid there and secretly watched the inn's entrance. About an hour later, Minos finally returned.
However, this made Harriet raise an eyebrow.
She said to Jarl, "He came back alone!"
Jarl didn't answer her, but stared at the inn and the two ends of the street for a while.
He then told Harriet to wait for him there, and left from the other end of the alley.
After a while, Minos came out of the inn and stood on the street looking around.
"You should watch what's behind you."
The sudden sound startled Harriet.
It's Jarl, he's back.
He said, "When you're alone, you have to learn to watch out for what's happening behind you. Even if I'm here, you still can't let your guard down. I'm not your friend, and you have no reason to completely entrust your back to me."
Harriet understood that Jar was right, but she wasn't in the mood to study right now.
"Where did you go?"
"Let's see if he has any hidden troops."
"And the result?"
"I didn't find it."
"And he walked out of the hotel."
"I saw it," Jarl said, taking a step forward. "Let's go meet him and see how he explains himself."
Harriet followed Jarl toward Minos.
As soon as Minos saw Harriet and Jarl, he immediately came over to greet them. "After I went back to my room, I found you were gone. I asked the boss and found out you left. I specifically told you..."
Wait for me.
Jarl answered on Harriet's behalf: "We must be careful. The walls are not only a barrier against wild beasts, but also a cage that traps birds. If you resort to underhanded tactics, we will be in a very dangerous situation."
"I understand, but I'm still a little sad," Minos said, spreading his right hand. "Alright, let's go then."
Harriet asked, "Didn't you say you were bringing people?"
"Just like your bodyguard said, this is a cage. A gathering of a dozen people, no matter where it's held, will inevitably arouse suspicion."
Minos said,
"That would be too risky, so I didn't bring a group to the hotel, but I have already informed them to head to the new meeting point."
Harriet pressed, "Where?"
“Outside the city,” Minos replied, “everyone is on horseback, so even if something happens to anyone, everyone can escape. Besides, the meeting point was decided on the spot, so there’s no need to worry about ambushes.”
"But you also laid the conditions in advance," Jarl pointed out precisely.
"Good heavens, am I really that distrustful of you?" Minos's face showed a wronged expression. "If you're not comfortable with me,..."
You can check four weeks in advance.
"Of course we will," Jarl replied firmly.
Minos shook his head and sighed:
"Sigh... do as you please, but you'll have to come out of the city with me first, won't you?"
The three of them left the city together. Jarl asked for directions to the meeting point and then let Minos go ahead on his own.
Then, he led Harriet on a detour, carefully checking the perimeter to rule out the possibility of an ambush.
Although the process was tedious, Harriet did not voice any objections.
She knew that she was very inexperienced in this area.
Her greatest contribution is not holding others back.
Meanwhile, Harriet was also observing Jar's every move.
She wanted to grow up quickly so that she could help Cathy in the future.
Learning from Jal is undoubtedly a shortcut.
Finally, Jar said to Harriet:
"Let's go, we didn't find anything unusual."
Harley nodded, and the two then headed towards the meeting point.
This is a pine forest. Although it is not too dense, if a dozen or so people gather in the forest, it would be difficult for people outside the forest to find them.
Upon arrival, Harriet discovered that the others had already arrived.
Everyone was sitting in their saddles.
Clearly, everyone knew this was a dangerous gathering, and therefore they were prepared to scatter at any moment.
Minos stepped forward and introduced himself to the crowd:
"Ladies and gentlemen, these two are the agents, representing the last member of the Lyons family, Duke Casey."