Before the dinner

Some of the old carriages bumped on the muddy road. The coachman was a young man in the clothes of a noble. By logic, nobles shouldn't drive carriages, but it was happening right before their eyes. The young coachman was very happy, cracking the horsewhip, but the old man sitting in the carriage had a gloomy look on his face.

Even the lowly job of a coachman had to be done by the next leader of the family. The Reed family was too ashamed to face their ancestors after their decline. The old man heaved a long sigh inside the carriage when he thought about that.

Sitting on the opposite side of the old leader, Liang Lidong saw the old man's sorrow, but he was unmoved. Village Chief Reed was a wily old fox who usually didn't show his emotions on his face. Now that he was acting like this, it was most likely to arouse his sympathy. However, it was just like a rich man calling himself a beggar. There were many people in the village who were much poorer than the Reed family, but none of them sighed in front of Liang Lidong.

So, although the old leader was knowledgeable, he was nothing but smart.

The carriage rumbled forward. This time, Liang Lidong didn't increase the speed with Mist Manipulation, because it wasn't necessary. A while later, in the twilight of the setting sun, the carriage reached the gate of Winterwind. Because it was already evening, there were very few people going in and out of the city gate. The few soldiers guarding the city were yawning. They saw a carriage coming, and the driver was actually a young man dressed in noble clothing. They were slightly surprised, and then their gazes swept past the carriage. They discovered that the carriage was actually slightly old, and there were no family patterns. They were immediately overjoyed and surrounded the carriage.

"Hey, you'll have to pay double the head tax if you enter the city at night!" shouted the leading soldier.

Kail was surprised. "But the sun hasn't set yet."

The soldier was infuriated. "I said it's night. Do you have a problem with that?" He waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him raised their spears.

"You!" Kail was so infuriated that he almost jumped to his feet.

At this time, a silver coin bounced out of the carriage and landed in the hand of the leading soldier. Then, a rather dignified voice came from the carriage, "Take the money and make way. Kail is entering the city. Ignore them."

"At least you know what's good for you!" The leading soldier chuckled and gestured for his companions to make way for them. As a veteran ruffian who had been guarding the city for more than 20 years, he knew what kind of people he could make a fortune from, and what kind of people he couldn't touch. He immediately saw through Kail's identity as a noble from a declining village.

Kail drove the carriage into Winterwind rather unhappily. In the carriage, the old village chief looked at Liang Lidong with a puzzled expression. "Priest Beta, this money shouldn't be paid by you. Moreover, you can save fifty coppers just by showing your face. Why do you have to condone the crooked ways of those soldiers?"

"It's easy for me to show my face. They don't dare to take any coppers from a spellcaster!" Looking at the old man on the opposite side, Liang Lidong said, "But as long as I show my face, there will be rumors in Winterwind that the next master of the Reed family is a driver for a spellcaster and someone else's coachman. Are you sure you're willing to hear such rumors? "

Joan Of Arc, who had been pretending to be asleep on Liang Lidong's left shoulder like a statue, suddenly opened her eyes and chuckled.

The old village chief's body immediately stiffened and his face turned pale. Amidst the shaking of the carriage, his expression slowly returned to normal. He then nodded slightly in thanks, "It's my fault for not being considerate enough. Thank you for thinking of Kail!"

Liang Lidong did not say anything else. The old village chief was too cunning and always wanted to gain benefits from other people. It was exhausting to communicate with such a person. However, the old village chief was essentially a good guy, so Liang Lidong did not hate him, nor did he like him. It was a miracle that Kail did not pick up the village chief's bad habits after spending so much time with him.

The carriage moved forward slowly in the city. Because it was almost night, there were not many people on the street. Very soon, Kail drove the carriage to a corner, which was rather quiet and unfrequented. Liang Lidong said, "Kail, stop the carriage. I'm going to get off here."

"Huh? Why? We're reaching the castle very soon!" asked Kail in confusion.

The old village chief knew the reason. He said, "Just stop when my teacher asks you to. He must have his reasons. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Kail shrugged. "Fine! Then, do you know where the castle is, sir? This is only your second time in Winterwind, isn't it? "

Liang Lidong pointed at the sky up ahead. Although it was late, the tall buildings of the castle were still obvious. Kail smiled self-mockingly. "I'm being silly. We'll go there first. Sir, remember to come as soon as possible. I'm told that the mayor is a marquis. Such high and mighty nobles pay great attention to etiquette. They might be unhappy if you're too late."

"On the contrary, the great nobles don't pay much attention to etiquette." Liang Lidong smiled. "But they want you to abide by etiquette in front of them, in which you can show your respect for them and their uniqueness!"

Kail didn't quite understand what he was saying. He couldn't wrap his head around it and scratched his head hard. Liang Lidong patted his shoulder. "Alright, don't overthink. You'll have a chance to think about it later. Take grandpa to the dinner party first."

The brown horse pulled the carriage and left. Liang Lidong stood in the shadow at the corner of the street and didn't come out until a long time later.

Although Winterwind was a big city, there were few pedestrians on the street at night. After all, the nightlife in this age was not abundant. At this time, the pedestrians walking on the road, except for a small number of passers-by who were in a hurry, most of them were Nightingales wearing heavy makeup and revealing clothes. They used a seductive tone to greet passers-by and dragged them into the wooden door behind them.

Several Nightingales wanted to come up and talk to Liang Lidong, but when they came closer and saw his magic enchanted clothes, they immediately retreated in fear. Joan Of Arc suddenly opened her mouth and said, "Is it necessary for you to be so considerate of Kail? Isn't it the dogma of the spellcasters to do whatever they want? "

"That's called doing whatever I want," Liang Lidong said with a smile. "I help those I want to help, and I don't help those I don't want to. Is that wrong?"

Joan Of Arc was rendered speechless. A moment later, she clicked her tongue. "You do have a point. You're truly my master. However, master, I'm still curious why you chose me as your pet … You should have better choices, shouldn't you? For example, cats and dogs are all better than me in head-on battles … Well, master, what are you looking at? "

Falcon-Like eyes could see far away, but they weren't very useful at night. However, Liang Lidong was different. With the Cloud Dragon Blue Eyes, he could see things in any environment and, more importantly, see far away. He saw seven people hurrying forward at the end of the street. It wasn't unusual to see people walking on the street, but among these seven people, four were wearing soft leather armor and carrying different medium-sized military melee weapons on their backs. One had a recurve bow on his back and a quiver of arrows on his waist. Another was wearing tight black clothes. Her face and head were covered with a black scarf, revealing only a pair of eyes. She was a woman. Her hands were empty, but there were obvious flat bulges on her inner thighs. The last person was wearing a sky blue robe. It was hard to tell whether it was a man or a woman. There were faint magic patterns flowing on the robe. In his hand was a long wooden staff inlaid with an emerald at the top.

Seven professionals, or mercenaries? Liang Lidong had been in the game for eight years. He knew better than anyone what NPC professionals looked like. The seven of them were obviously of melee professions, an Archer or a Hunter, a Thief or an Assassin, and a Spellcaster. Judging from their attire and the staff they were holding, they were probably Air Magicians from the Cyan Magic Tower!

The seven people were in a hurry. Liang Lidong thought that they were also going to the castle, but the next moment, they turned right and went to the west of the castle.

"Oh, what's wrong with them?" Joan Of Arc finally noticed the seven professionals a few seconds before they disappeared.

Liang Lidong frowned. "There's nothing wrong with them. They're just subconsciously vigilant. After all, mercenaries are both good and evil. They help people solve their problems, but they also bring disasters and death to others. I used to be a mercenary and had a lot of contact with them. I know their nature. "

Joan Of Arc was very smart. She was sensitive enough to notice the difference in Liang Lidong's words. "Master, your words are quite interesting. Since we are mercenaries, why should we differentiate between you and them?"

"During the few years I was a mercenary, I belonged to a special group. Unlike them, I had a bottom line when I did things, and I rarely killed people for benefits. On the contrary, many of us would give up benefits for so-called 'justice' and accept tasks that seemed to be arduous and unrewarding! "

The special group that Liang Lidong was talking about was the players. At that time in the game, the NPC mercenaries and the player mercenaries were very hostile. The NPC mercenaries thought that the player mercenaries were too delicate and saintly. They even joked that if they wanted to be good people, why would they be mercenaries? How good would it be to be a Saint Knight!

The player mercenaries, on the other hand, could not stand the NPC mercenaries who would do anything for benefits. They even spontaneously stopped some inhumane tasks, such as stopping the NPC mercenaries from slaughtering villages.

It could only be said that different growing environments created different groups. Players were 'playing'. They were born in a peaceful environment and generally lived a good life. They sought comfort in their hearts. To put it bluntly, they wanted to be happy and have peace of mind. They generally had a bottom line and knew when to stop, and they were willing to help others. But the NPC mercenaries were different. Most of them were born in poverty and had a hard life when they were young. It was not easy for them to become professionals. They lived on the edge of a knife, and they could not resurrect infinitely like the players. When they earned money, they fought with their lives. In order to survive, it was very easy for them to use extreme means.

One side sought happiness, while the other side sought survival. It was normal to have different ways of doing things.

"If it was someone else who bragged like this, I would have blown saliva all over his face." Joan Of Arc laughed. "But master, I still believe 60% of what you say."

"Only 60%?" Liang Lidong looked a little disappointed.

Joan Of Arc laughed. Her voice was crisp and pleasant. "Then 80% is fine."

This was why the players and spellcasters liked magic pets and did not want them to be hurt. Having a magic pet by your side was equivalent to having a good friend that you could completely trust and chat with to relieve boredom.

The man and the bird chatted casually and soon arrived in front of the castle. From a distance, looking at the castle had already felt that it was grand enough. But when they got close enough, they found that the castle was even more shocking than they had imagined!

The highest point of the castle should be the four watchtowers in the east, south, and west. They were about 150 meters high from the ground. With Liang Lidong's current eyesight, through the front watchtower, he could see two soldiers sitting and chatting inside, drinking ale and blushing.

The castle was about 240 meters long and a hundred meters wide. That was only the main body of the castle. Two smaller fortresses were connected to the castle. They were only about a hundred meters tall, but they occupied almost the same area as the main body of the castle. If Liang Lidong's judgment was correct, the fortress on the left should be the fortress of infantry, and the fortress on the right should be the fortress of cavalry, because he vaguely heard the neighs of horses from the fortress on the right.

Before the main body of the castle was a large garden. The path made of green stone divided the garden into three parts. In the middle was a round square, at the center of which was a fountain that was powered by magic.

A moat at least five meters wide surrounded the castle and blocked it from the outside world. The only way to the castle was the suspension bridge that was about fifteen meters long and twenty meters long. The castle was both a residence and a military fortress. If the periphery of Winterwind fell, as long as the drawbridge was closed, it wouldn't be a problem for the fortress to hold out for two to three months even if the enemy was besieged by an army.

At this moment, the suspension bridge had been lowered. People were coming and going on it. Most of them were nobles. They parked their carriages before the suspension bridge and walked into the garden of the castle. Many servants hurried out of the garden and moved the carriages of the guests to another place in case the road was blocked.

When Liang Lidong stepped on the suspension bridge, he felt that the air around him shivered. Everybody paused for a moment, before they returned to normal.

A barrier! Liang Lidong realized that such a large castle and military facility, without the protection of a magic barrier, would be a piece of tofu in the eyes of a sorcerer, who could easily destroy it with a large-scale spell.

Liang Lidong walked on the bridge slowly. Very soon, some servants noticed him. After some pushing and shoving, the boldest servant approached him and asked carefully, "Honorable Mr. Spellcaster, are you here for Miss Barbara's birthday dinner?"

Liang Lidong nodded. "Yes, this is my invitation!"

As a matter of fact, Liang Lidong didn't need an invitation at all to enter the castle. His magic robe was one of the best invitations. Many nobles wanted to invite a spellcaster to their banquets, but they couldn't.

The servant was relieved. The invitation suggested that the spellcaster wasn't here for trouble. He immediately accepted the invitation and said, "Sir, I'll take you to the mayor right now!"

"That won't be necessary!" Liang Lidong waved his hand. "I'll take a walk inside on my own. I'll meet the mayor later. There's no need to trouble you. "

Although this was suspected of neglecting the honored guest, the servant did not dare to force it. He said, "I wish you a pleasant banquet" and left. When he returned to the line of servants, the other servants all expressed their admiration for his courage.

Joan Of Arc saw that and smiled. "Spellcasters are probably no different from demons in the eyes of ordinary people."

"That should be the case!"

Liang Lidong sighed. When he entered the garden, many nobles noticed him … It was a spellcaster that they had never seen before. Many people's eyes lit up, wondering how they could get to know him without being obtrusive.

Because the banquet hadn't started yet, almost all the guests gathered in the garden. Liang Lidong looked around, and soon found Kail and the old village chief, but he frowned the next moment. People who looked like surrounded the two of them, and the atmosphere didn't seem to be very good.