Seeing this, Luo Lin dropped his shield and, holding a spear, ran towards the Barbarian that Little Black had pounced on.
He needed to be quick to prevent Little Black from getting hurt.
However, the Dorn Knight was even faster, which demonstrated the advantage of physical fitness gained from being supported and focusing solely on combat.
He overtook Luo Lin in a few strides and rushed in front of the Barbarian.
He raised his hand and with one swing of his sword, cut off the Barbarian's raised left forearm, rendering him completely controlled by the black dog and unable to retaliate.
"You were shot by an arrow?"
The Dorn Knight glanced at his attendant, who had rushed to his side with an arrow diagonally embedded in his chest.
Only then did Luo Lin realize that the battle rhythm had been so tense and fast that he had forgotten to pull out the arrow stuck in his chest; mainly, it was still hanging on his clothes.
He immediately pulled out the arrow, patted his chest, making the copper coins in his money pouch jingle, and feigned surprise, "Oh my god, my money pouch saved me."
"You are very lucky,"
The Dorn Knight withdrew his gaze and then looked at Little Black, who had disappeared into the darkness, asking, "Is that your dog?"
"Yes."
Luo Lin had no need to hide it, as he had already prepared a reason to explain it.
He had been thinking about it the whole way.
However, the Dorn Knight did not press further, but instead pointed his sword at the Barbarian who had lost an arm and questioned him in the Barbarian language.
He babbled on for a while.
Clearly, Luo Lin could not understand him.
But he understood the Barbarian's next action.
The fellow first grinned, then spat a thick glob of phlegm at the person in front of him.
The Dorn Knight shifted his right leg back, dodging the insult and hostility.
He turned to Luo Lin and said in a calm voice, "Let him go to the embrace of the earth god to repent and atone."
"Yes, My Lord."
Luo Lin gripped his spear, facing the Barbarian who had lost an arm.
"Go to the embrace of the earth god to repent and atone" translated to: kill him.
Pfft.
The spear pierced the Barbarian's throat.
It was then pulled out, and blood splattered.
Pemon, still cowering to the side, watched Luo Lin pull out the spear and then shake off the blood from its tip.
His body involuntarily tensed up.
He thought, what a cold-blooded fellow.
"Hmm."
The Dorn Knight affirmed, then looked deeply at Luo Lin and said, "For the spoils of this expedition, you can have a 3:7 split with me."
"Thank you for your generosity."
"Throw these Barbarian corpses far away, and keep anything of value."
The Dorn Knight said this, then added, "Don't worry, these are scattered Barbarians who infiltrated our territory to scout the grain growth and take the opportunity to cause damage; there will be no more danger around."
"Yes."
Luo Lin nodded slightly.
Through his inherited memories, he also had some understanding of the Barbarians.
Those people existed in tribes in the Frost Land, primarily surviving by gathering, fishing, and hunting.
Because they needed to store a large amount of food before winter, relying solely on fishing and hunting was clearly not enough. So, they would attack when the Looi people harvested their grain, plundering food and also taking away the fattened pigs and sheep from village households, not even sparing the oxen.
Precisely because they did not engage in farming, they would occasionally send people to infiltrate in autumn to scout the crop growth, and then launch a large-scale raid at the appropriate time.
"Laotie, let's carry it together."
"Okay."
Bill had already arrived, and the two of them worked together to carry the Barbarian corpse away from the camp area.
Generally, for such a small number of corpses, the common method of disposal was to leave them exposed in the wilderness; burial was rare.
The Dorn Knight, holding his sword, returned to the tent.
He glanced at his nephew, who was hiding behind a shield like a mouse, and his eyes revealed complete disappointment.
"Uncle... My Lord."
Pemon bowed, looking left and right, afraid of another sneak attack, and asked with concern, "Are you not injured?"
"Hmm... go clean the sword."
The Dorn Knight wanted to say something but swallowed the words he was about to utter, handing over the blood-stained longsword in his hand.
When utterly disappointed in someone, one cannot even muster the energy to scold or hit them.
If it weren't for his deceased cousin's sake, he would have replaced this attendant long ago.
However, he could not betray his cousin's dying entrustment.
Nor could he let people think he was a cold-blooded and unsympathetic person.
Before obtaining the pioneering order, his reputation could not be tarnished in the slightest.
On the other side.
"Laotie, a three-seven split is too good!"
Bill said, pulling the corpse with effort, "But then again, you deserve it; you weren't afraid when facing the Barbarians for the first time."
"To be honest, my legs are still trembling right now."
Luo Lin said casually, while strenuously dragging the Barbarian's corpse; they were generally tall and heavy.
However, a 3:7 split of spoils was already the highest distribution ratio for an attendant soldier in this world.
But there was nothing to be satisfied with.
The goal of becoming a freeman was still far off.
After dragging the five Barbarians to the dumping ground, they began to search them.
First, they found some dried meat, which he would find an opportunity to keep later to improve Little Black's diet, as it had done a great service tonight.
Bill stood to the side with his hands clasped, muttering, "May your souls rest in peace, and may you not be Barbarians again in the future."
"Laotie, aren't you going to say something? It's not good to be haunted by vengeful spirits."
"Forget it."
Luo Lin waved his hand.
To be honest, since the Barbarians chose to kill, they should also be prepared to be killed in return.
So, where was the resentment?
If it were him lying here, these Barbarians would also strip him bare and search him.
Immediately, he checked the wrist of the Barbarian that Little Black had bitten.
He shook it twice and found that the bone at the bite wound was already fractured.
This showed how powerful Little Black was, endowed with Sharp Steel Teeth.
"Laotie, Barbarians all have a habit of wearing decorations in their ears,"
Bill also squatted down to search, pointing to one of the corpses and saying, "The higher their status, the more decorations they have in their ears. If you find one with gem decorations, you've hit the jackpot; noblewomen only care if the gems are pretty, not where they come from, hehe."
"Their ears are pointed?"
Luo Lin removed the fur mask from the Barbarian's face and found that the tops of their ears were indeed pointed.
This brought a considerable visual impact.
"What's so surprising about that? Haven't you heard before?"
Bill focused on removing ear ornaments and then said with a smile, "That's right, it's your first time seeing a Barbarian. Indeed, they have some differences in appearance from us, otherwise, why would they be called Barbarians?"
"Hmm."
Luo Lin nodded.
With such pointed ears, could these Barbarians be some kind of distant relatives of elves?
But he had never heard of the existence of elves, yet these pointed ears really resembled them.
"These are all ordinary Barbarians,"
Bill pulled off the ornaments from the ears of the Barbarian in front of him, and said with a slight air of mystery, "There are even stronger and fiercer ones. It's said they only eat raw meat and drink fresh blood, and their skin is dark red. We call them Blood Barbarians, and the Barbarians call them something like Blood Guards. If you meet them on the battlefield, you must hide, those guys are more terrifying than fierce beasts."
Blood Barbarians, Blood Guards.
Luo Lin noted this appellation.
Before long, he returned to the camp and reported the scavenged spoils to the Dorn Knight.
Money: a total of 12 silver and 88 copper, plus a few crude ornaments, with the small gems on them not even polished.
Spoils: one spiked club, one hand axe, two crude scimitars, three daggers, one longsword with many nicks, plus a worn-out wooden crossbow, five crossbow bolts, and two simple leather armors, etc.
Miscellaneous items included: over thirty strips of dried meat, two flasks of fruit wine, and other various items.
"So it's a single-arm wooden crossbow,"
The Dorn Knight picked up the somewhat worn crossbow, examined it, and said, "Some hunters use such low-power wooden crossbows to avoid excessive damage to the prey's fur from penetration wounds, which would lead to a poor selling price. Those foolish Barbarians cannot make such a finely crafted crossbow. It seems they have already attacked a certain village and snatched this from a hunter."
After saying this, he tossed the wooden crossbow aside.
"Bill, these copper coins are yours,"
The Dorn Knight grabbed a small handful of copper coins and pushed them to the person squatting in front of him, "This is your reward for holding off the Barbarian and gaining time for me."
"Your generosity is so great, it fills my heart with gratitude, My Lord."
Bill took the copper coins, unable to hide his joy.
He thought, this trip out was really good, a good start.
"Laotie, your performance tonight surprised me,"
The Dorn Knight turned to Luo Lin and asked, "Facing a Barbarian for the first time, did you feel no fear?"
In the eyes of important figures in this world, serfs did not possess the word 'courage'.
It was no wonder the Dorn Knight asked this.
But he clearly asked with deeper meaning.
"Lord Dorn, I was indeed very afraid,"
Luo Lin spoke truthfully, then feigned slowness, "But... but I also know that even if I'm afraid, these Barbarians won't go easy on me because of it."
"Hmm, your thinking is very practical,"
The Dorn Knight nodded, reached into the spoils, grabbed a few silver coins, and tossed them over, saying at the same time, "These 3 silver coins are your reward for killing the Barbarian."
"Your generosity is witnessed by the sun and moon."
Luo Lin took the three silver coins and clutched them in his hand.
He hadn't expected the Dorn Knight to actually fulfill his promise of a 3:7 split.
A year's worth of accumulated grain had sold for less than 8 silver coins.
And after a bout of killing, he had gained 3 silver coins.
No wonder some poor knights, when short on money, would secretly become bandits.
Killing and arson leading to wealth was even more vividly demonstrated in this era.
"It's not just my generosity,"
The Dorn Knight's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Your bravery is also commendable, and your brief and precise warning was very well done."
As these words were spoken,
The attendant Pemon hung his head in shame; the word 'bravery' pricked his heart like a needle.
He suddenly felt as if the whole world was mocking his cowardice.
But he quickly stopped self-mocking, thinking: I will become a musician in the future, I must not die in this wilderness, nor let filthy Barbarians take my life.
He hadn't retreated just now; he had been protecting a genius who would one day compose timeless masterpieces.
With that thought, he raised his head again.
"But, I must warn you,"
The Dorn Knight said with a serious expression, "Before giving a warning, you need to observe carefully. If there had been a second Barbarian archer, our situation would have been completely different."
"Yes, I will definitely remember that."
Luo Lin felt this deeply; if it weren't for the makeshift chest plate, he would be dead by now.
At the same time, he also noted in his mind that when encountering a sneak attack, one must ascertain whether the opponent has a follow-up plan.
Of course, if he were to launch a sneak attack in the future, he must always have a sufficient backup plan.
This was very important.
"Of course,"
The Dorn Knight did not continue to press the matter, but instead said, "Mistakes will always make those who remember and correct them grow."
"Thank you for your guidance."
Luo Lin nodded slightly.
He had not had much contact with the Dorn Knight before.
He had only heard about his character from others.
It was often described as harsh and unsmiling.
Regardless of what others said before, or for what purpose he acted, from the current perspective, he was a person who dispensed rewards and punishments fairly.
This was something to be grateful for.
Just like when he was a laborer in his previous life, encountering a reasonable superior was difficult.
Moreover, in a world with such clear class divisions, such superiors were even rarer.
At least he could be sure that any future meritorious achievements would most likely not be embezzled by him.
"By the way, where is that dog of yours?"
"My apologies, My Lord,"
Luo Lin knew that it was not allowed for attendant soldiers to bring dogs privately.
So, when answering, he had to give a disclaimer, then said, "When I came out with you, I boarded it at a friend's house. I didn't expect it to escape, nor did I expect it to follow me all the way. I only just realized how deep its affection for me is, that it cannot be separated from me for a moment, which is why this happened. I beg your forgiveness."
"Don't worry, I won't blame you. After all, your dog helped us a great deal tonight. Let it come out."
"Yes."
Only then did Luo Lin turn to the darkness and wave his hand.
Now was the chance for Little Black to legitimately follow him.
Of course, it was also possible that because of Little Black's bravery, this knight might take a liking to it, and he would lose it then and there.
However, one must gamble for everything.
Little Black came trotting, obediently squatting beside its owner, only its fierce gaze fixed on others showed no reduction whatsoever.
"Hey, you brave big fellow,"
The Dorn Knight exclaimed upon seeing Little Black's size, "What's its name?"
"Little Black."
"Little Black?"
The Dorn Knight looked at the sturdy black dog, picked up a piece of meat strip from the spoils on the ground, and offered it with a smile, "This fellow isn't little at all. Hey, Little Black, you performed excellently tonight. Come, enjoy this meat to your heart's content."
Little Black did not step forward.
Instead, it turned its head and looked at its owner.
Luo Lin conveyed with his eyes: Eat it, you deserve it, but remember, don't bite his hand.
Little Black received the message, immediately took a few steps forward, bit the meat strip.
Then quickly retreated, squatting beside its owner.
"This fellow, it really likes to stick to you, just as you said. Your bond is indeed deep, truly endearing,"
The Dorn Knight showed a loving smile, then turned to Luo Lin and said, "You and Little Black just helped me a great deal. As a titled knight who always guards honor, repaying kindness is one of my creeds. I will not simply overlook this matter because of your status. Do you want any other rewards?"
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Note: In the author's note, there's a setting for knights in this book.