The Banquet

"Let's go!" Caslo patted the drowsy Wes.

"Huh? Where to?" Wes raised his bleary eyes and looked at Caslo in confusion.

"Of course, to where we'll be staying. Get some proper rest—His Highness Turkon has prepared a banquet for us tonight!" Caslo grabbed Wes by the ear and dragged the still-befuddled boy away.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Wes hurriedly nodded like a pecking chick and trotted after Caslo.

"Lord Hulin, are you familiar with the Second Son Mercenary Group?" Caslo asked as he walked alongside Hulin, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"The Second Son Mercenary Group? What, did they clash with your kingdom?" Hulin frowned in surprise.

"Not exactly. We happened to encounter their party on the road, so I was just curious." Caslo shook his head.

"Oh, that's good. I thought they had offended your kingdom!" Hulin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. To put it bluntly, mercenaries were nothing more than hyenas of war. They were a group full of adventurous blood, and acting without restraint was normal for them. A mercenary's conduct depended entirely on personal discipline, so there were all kinds among them. Hulin was truly worried that the Second Son Mercenary Group might have offended the Lagrange Kingdom. After all, quite a few of its members had deep ties to Gondor's nobility...

"They originally consisted of second sons from families in the Kingdom of Gondor who had no inheritance rights. Unwilling to lie flat and accept their families' arrangements, they wanted to earn achievements, win the lords' favor, and gain fiefs of their own. So they formed this mercenary group on their own. As they traveled far and wide, their reputation grew, attracting many second sons of nobles and fallen nobles from places like The Shire and Rohan. Over the years, they have made