Chapter 138: Return to Greywood Town

Gradually, the rain stopped, and the clouds slowly faded bit by bit. The bright moonlight passed through the thin veil between the thick clouds and covered the ground. However, the hazy feeling was not milky white, but rather a bit dim. The dark soil under the moonlight, the shimmering puddles, and the almost silent loneliness made for a nice night scene—if it weren’t for the temporary camp set up by George and his group spoiling the view nearby.

When George woke up in the morning, he saw a different scene. The sky, washed by three days of autumn rain, was as blue and clear as the ocean. White clouds floated slowly on the water like light boats setting sail.

“This gloomy weather is finally over,” cheered Hiren, the big guy stretching nearby.

“But the road is still hard to walk on,” said Craig, pointing to the muddy and bumpy road ahead.

George moved his gaze from the sky and gave both of them a heavy pat on the shoulders: “Although the trip was delayed for more than a day, the overall situation is still within an acceptable range! Speaking of which, the roads in the Duchy are really not as good as those in my Bolerum Territory after it rains! Where we are, a small rain like this wouldn’t turn the road into what we see here.”

“This is a matter of maintenance. Actually, when this road was first built, it was connected to the one in the Territory with the same standard. However, the investment in maintenance and repair later on was not as sufficient as in the Bolerum Territory. You might not feel it at the beginning, but after so many years, the gap has widened.” The voice of Knight Val came from behind the three.

“Does His Grace the Duke still lack money?” Craig asked his question very innocently.

George suddenly hugged Craig from behind and rubbed the other’s hair, saying: “Although His Grace the Duke is very rich, he also has many places where he needs to use money! So the funds allocated here seem insufficient in comparison!”

“That’s right. As for the road, its importance to the Duchy is simply not comparable to the Northern Road that ensures the security of the northern border. Moreover, as a trade route, its rise has only been in the last twenty or thirty years, after all, the port in the Bolerum Territory only truly developed at that time. However, judging by the current situation, at most in ten years, His Grace the Duke will also attach importance to this road. Besides, as it is now, this road is considered quite good in the Western Continent. You will only know what a truly rotten road is after you go out and travel.” Knight Val, full of energy, spoke words that sounded like both a prediction and a declaration. It seemed he was also quite optimistic about the future development of the Bolerum Territory.

“According to the schedule, we should be able to reach Greywood Town by noon today. I don’t know if the situation in Greywood Town has improved a little after almost two months since that incident.” George could not help but sigh with such emotion. Everything that happened that night and the tragic state of Greywood Town afterwards gave George a huge shock. Neither descriptions in words and text nor images in photos were as alarming as the living, bloody scene. Since then, George had made up his mind that if possible, he would never let such a thing happen on his own Territory. Of course, this required sufficient strength to guarantee it. In this regard, George had done quite well in the past few years, and his achievements could be considered remarkable. However, the pressure brought by changes in the external environment had also increased greatly. This feeling of dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it, was really not good.

“Although such a tragic thing happened, the ability of humans to bear suffering is far beyond your imagination.” Saying this, Knight Val pointed to a patch of dry yellow withered grassland not far away, “Just like the wild grass over there, even if it has withered now, and even the severe cold of winter cannot stop it from sprouting again during the flowering season next year. Perhaps you don’t believe it, but experiments by naturalists have proven that even if a fire is set on the grassland at this time, it cannot stop the tenacious vitality of these little guys.”

“I’m a little hungry, do you want to go eat together?” Hiren started to spoil the scenery again without using his brain. Fortunately, although Knight Val’s face changed a little, his original smile became a bit stiff. But fortunately, he didn’t take action on the spot like in the past. It’s a pity that after returning home, he will probably settle new and old scores together. Let us observe three minutes of silence for Hiren first.

Today’s breakfast was dried salted meat boiled with peas and steamed smoked salmon. Plus the Black Bread that sounded bang-bang when knocked. However, everyone had good teeth, and the Black Bread softened in pea soup was not difficult to swallow. What, you said the previous breakfast included lamb chops? That was a special case when staying in a town; how could it be so easy to get fresh meat in this wilderness? After all, we are traveling now, not hunting or picnicking.

The journey afterwards could be said to be very smooth, perhaps because the weather improved and affected personal mood. Although the road conditions were still as bad, George truly felt that the speed of his group had become faster. This was not an illusion; although the change was not big, with George’s perception ability, it was still very easy to distinguish.

Sure enough, when Greywood Town clearly appeared in everyone’s field of vision, George calculated that the time was about half an hour earlier than everyone’s previous estimate.

The few Guards on the Karada side were selected from the Militia after that disaster. So although George and others had no impression of these few, some of them seemed to recognize George’s group.

The sentry post at that intersection was obviously just finished not long ago. George’s eyes were surprisingly good now, and he could see the burrs on the pillars and wall boards of the sentry post from not far away. This was not a workmanship problem; in fact, the workmanship of the sentry box seen this time was already much more refined than the previous one. Not only were the wooden boards and pillars quite straight, but they were also planed flat. As for those small burrs, they would be worn flat sooner or later during long-term use. The current one was like a new car that hadn’t been warmed up yet, and the running-in with the user was obviously not enough. However, speaking of painting, there really was none. After all, speaking of paint, although this item couldn’t be said to be a luxury, the price was not cheap either, and no one would use it in a small town’s sentry box.

Similarly, the four Guards beside the sentry post this time gave people a very different feeling from before. If the Guards before the night of the attack gave people a loose feeling. And the temporary workers on the second day after the attack could only be considered like startled birds, looking strong but their wandering eyes had already betrayed them. However, after two months of training and the passage of time, those few frightened rookies had undergone not insignificant changes, if not a complete rebirth. Now, although they didn’t have the aura of real soldiers, they were full of energy and vitality. The few standing outside the sentry post couldn’t be compared with a guard of honor or a hundred-battle army, but they also held their heads high, making it hard to pick out any major faults—of course, this was combined with their status.

Similarly, the long spears held by the few were also wiped very clean, and the sharp spear tips glowed with cold light under the sun. It was a pity that the thick cloth armor on their bodies should also be old items used by others; they were not easy to clean and still gleamed with oil.

On the other hand, the iron helmet worn on each person’s head gave them a different feeling. It should be said that among the several small towns passed through along the way in the Duchy, only the Guards here wore iron helmets. No matter what, the weight of this thing was not light, and wearing it on the head for a long time wouldn’t give people a good feeling. Except for those guards in the city who were often noticed by people, the Guards in small places like these basically wouldn’t do that; of course, this also had a certain relationship with the difference in salary between the two.

Instead, it seemed here that once bitten by a snake, one fears a rope for three years; those Guards installed protective equipment as completely as possible. George’s eyes seemed to see a broken wooden shield made with the craft of making lids and an iron pot in the sentry post. These were items those Guards brought from their own homes to serve as shields. From a purely defensive point of view, having these things was better than not having them. After all, according to the system of the Duchy, the government would not equip the Guards of these villages and towns with shields. And they probably also had plans to purchase this kind of equipment themselves. Thinking that such a thing had just happened not long ago, even if the patrol head, Tax Collector, security officer, or even the Soldier were brain-dead enough to report these contents, the people above would probably turn a blind eye.

In fact, George was still very optimistic about this slightly tense atmosphere. As long as they didn’t end up exhausting themselves by being paranoid, this was actually very necessary in this special period.

On this side of the sentry post, there was no Tax Collector; caravans entering and leaving the Duchy like this were only taxed once, of course, entering the city was calculated separately. And the man dressed in leather armor on the side of the road, constantly waving his sword for exercise, should be the new official responsible for military security. I just don’t know if he is a security officer or a Soldier. As for the patrol head, the previous survivor had already been promoted. The new person who came to replace him wouldn’t personally guard the sentry post when manpower was sufficient.

When George’s group arrived in front of the sentry post, that officer also came in front of everyone after being notified by a Guard: “Honorable guests, welcome to Greywood Town again.”

“You are?” Knight Val, who was leading the way, asked such a question. Although he didn’t show any vigilance, as long as the other party had the slightest bit of wrongness, he would swing his sword and send him to see the existence he believed in.

“I am the new Soldier of Greywood Town, previously in the Southern Clarence Garrison Regiment.” That young Soldier said with a face full of pride. In the Duchy of Nohan, having served in any regular army was an experience that made a young man feel proud.

And like local security officers and Soldiers, they were generally selected from lower-level non-commissioned officers of the rank of squad leader in the army. As for why the other party didn’t say his name, this might be a habit developed in the army! Before the superior officer asked for the name exactly, he needed to report his identity and position, and nothing else was needed. This kind of habit mostly only existed in people who had just left the army! After arriving in the local area, it might not take long before they might become philistine. But the feeling he gave people now was indeed quite good!

“Clarence Garrison Regiment? Then what was the atmosphere and situation like over there before you left?” Knight Val raised his question as if chatting idly.

The other party seemed to think of something and became a bit alert, but his alertness didn’t seem to be directed at Knight Val, instead looking around. Then he walked a little closer and lowered his voice and said: “It is indeed a bit abnormal there. The civil administrator of the Kingdom of Coruz seems to be hoarding grain on a large scale. And the army also rarely started to increase training. But according to the news provided by the informant I bought, the army of the Kingdom of Coruz near our regiment’s garrison area has large-scale movements. Those experienced veterans seem to have been transferred to other places, but soldiers were not transferred from other places to supplement, but were recruiting on the spot. Even so, because too many hands were transferred, the number of that army had not been filled up until I left.”

Although the other party had lowered his speaking voice, with George’s 22 points of perception, he could hear it very clearly.

Similarly, Knight Val also responded to him with a roughly equal volume: “So to speak, the border line between the Kingdom of Coruz and our Duchy of Nohan, at least within the range guarded by your regiment, can basically be said to be undefended! Then, what kind of changes are there in the Independent City of Saxony nearby! And why did you avoid those few Guards, do they have any problems?”

The so-called Independent City of Saxony was a political entity similar to a city-state that possessed autonomy and enjoyed many privileges. This autonomy was the result of the struggle of citizens. The earliest cities were produced on the territory of the Church or secular feudal lords, and the Lord was the owner of the city. The administrative management power and judicial power of the city were in the hands of the Lord, who ruled the city. He levied rents and taxes on the city residents, forced them to perform labor and various kinds of apportionment and extortion, and sometimes even openly robbed citizens’ property. In a period about 200-300 years ago, many cities generally launched struggles against feudal lords to strive for city autonomy. Some relatively wealthy cities often obtained autonomy through redemption, but many cities relied on armed struggle to obtain varying degrees of independence and autonomy.

Of course, with success came failure, and the successful ones were mostly those countries where the regime was relatively loose and the nobles themselves were weak. The Commercial Republics in the south were formed by the union of multiple independent cities. The failed ones either became history or still submitted to the rule of nobles. However, precisely because of such an opportunity, most nobles, even those who did not abide by the Knight’s code, understood the huge hidden danger of draining the pond to catch the fish. In the 100-200 years after adjusting policies, no new independent cities appeared, and even some of the original independent cities partially returned to the control of nobles. Of course, Saxony was obviously not in this list. After all, as a border city, it could use the contradiction between two different countries to protect itself.

“Lord Val, the appearance of the Kingdom of Coruz seems to show that they are completely at ease with our Duchy of Nohan. As for whether they are secretly preparing something, that is not something a member of my level can know. As for the Independent City of Saxony, as far as I know, it seems to turn a blind eye to such changes. On the surface, everything is the same as in the past. As for those four over there, although they are temporarily my subordinates. But for them who have big mouths, the more they know, the worse it is for them.” This Soldier looked at Knight Val with undisguised worship in his eyes. Soldiers worshiped the strong, not to mention the legendary strong on their side. The reason why he said so many words to Knight Val was also because he was influenced by this thought!

“Thank you very much for the information you provided. By the way, what is your name?” Knight Val waved his hand to let the caravan enter the town first, then asked.

The Soldier said very excitedly: “Tamsin Kethcart. My name is Tamsin Kethcart.”

“Tamsin Kethcart? I will remember you.” Knight Val’s words were not just talk; with his memory, he would absolutely not forget a person’s name after hearing it once. And from the conclusion drawn from his own experience, this sentence he said was far more pleasing to that Soldier Tamsin Kethcart than giving him a bag of money.

Just when Knight Val was about to ride away, that Kethcart said: “There is a wedding being held in the town today, I don’t know if it will have any impact on your itinerary.”

In fact, Kethcart’s reminder quickly became reality. Passing by, Knight Val and Hiren were pulled by Mayor Duz to act as witnesses for that couple. Many people around looked at the newlyweds with envious eyes. For Commoners, having a Noble as a witness was definitely something that could be met but not sought.

In fact, this could not be called a couple. They were a reorganized family; both of their other halves lost their lives due to the attack that night. Such weddings were held almost every day during the time after the busy farming season. There was no celebration, no banquet, only pairs of wounded people helping each other through life.

Of course, because of the population decrease, the busy farming time here was also longer than elsewhere. It was not accidental but inevitable that George and the others would encounter such a wedding.