Chapter 194: An Accident?

Facing the shopkeeper’s teasing, Anason asked back, “It seems like you, Old Tom, haven’t been to the ‘Rose Shop’ in the last two days.”

“Didn’t you say those guys were your mortal enemies, Old Tom? I didn’t expect you to be unable to control your pants,” the guests in the Tavern who were not yet completely drunk thought, looking at the boss behind the counter with different eyes. Many of them showed the same expression: “We are all men! We understand this kind of thing.”

This made Old Tom, sitting behind the counter, feel as if his bald round head was turning red like the sunset. He glared at his bad friend, then handed him the large cup of Cider he had ordered.

Anason turned to look at the waitress, Emma, who was teasing other customers not far away. Then he grabbed the cup and said to Old Tom, “Our little Emma is indeed great, but unfortunately, I have to tighten my belt for the rest of this month. I really don’t have any extra Silver Bits to fill your old bag.”

“I never thought you, Anason, would have a day like this! I wondered why you weren’t drinking your usual favorite Ale and switched to wine. It turns out you are out of money!” Old Tom deliberately shouted loudly so that everyone in the Tavern could hear.

However, this time the people in the Tavern did not show expressions of schadenfreude. It was clear that the impression of the two in everyone’s hearts was very different.

“The main reason is that because of the festival these past few days, I really couldn’t get any business! Once the celebration is over, I will be able to recover immediately. My craft as Anason will never let me starve to death!” After taking a sip of wine, Anason laughed and scolded his old friend in front of him.

“Starve to death! I was just joking earlier. Others may not know you, but I know you! You have plenty of stock, how could you starve to death! You are just unwilling to spend your coffin money!” Old Tom said with great contempt. “And you still want to eat tender mutton?”

It was clear that the relationship between the two was indeed good. Otherwise, they would not know each other’s secrets so well.

“A few days ago, I changed my tools for making a living. So, my hands are a bit tight! I didn’t expect those few young girls outside the city to be so… Hey! Hey! You know what I mean.” Anason’s words revealed a sense of lingering desire.

“You really bought that stove! That thing is so expensive. It is just a bit more convenient to use. Even if it improves your craft a little, can you really raise your wages?” Old Tom showed an expression that said, “Are you crazy?”

“Although I cannot raise my wages, I will be able to work on more things in the future. Some fine items cannot be charged the same as fixing a pot!” Anason’s rebuttal was also very sharp, as if he was accusing Old Tom of being short-sighted.

Old Tom’s eyes looked as if he was seeing the other person for the first time: “You don’t mean it, do you? Can you really fix those jewelry pieces?”

“Because of my master, I will never be able to enter the Jewelers Guild in this life. But if I just repair things, Karada will not force me too much in this regard. And as for my craft, I am quite confident.” Anason’s face was full of pride.

“Here, this cup of Ale is a gift for you! But you need to take care of my business in the future.” Old Tom said while handing over an Ale covered in foam.

The evening sunset was struggling to resist the intrusion of the night, shining with brilliant colors. The moon quietly revealed its outline from behind the clouds, and the dividing line between day and night was clearly presented in the sky.

The city is the highest achievement of human social living, from tribes to villages, and then from villages to cities. As the settlement methods continued to develop and change, human cohesion became stronger and stronger.

When people of all kinds lived on the same land, wisdom and technology allowed a unit area of land to support more people, and increasingly developed transportation made the centralized storage of goods simple and convenient.

This is how regimes were born, and this is how wealth was accumulated.

Starting from the city-state era after the first great social division, the classes of people were divided: nobles and citizens, citizens and commoners, commoners and slaves. People in the same house became like two different creatures. Do not pay attention to the remaining similarities in their physiological structures. Because from the perspective of living habits, dietary structure, thinking patterns, and behavioral characteristics, they were all different.

Most importantly, after the strength reached a certain level of difference, the physiological structures between the two would also have gradually increasing differences. Even in this world where there is almost no reproductive isolation, their birth success rate with ordinary people would drop significantly.

Among them, as Knights who developed in all aspects, this point was particularly obvious. So after the bloodline solidified, Knights often only married into another Knight family. It really made the difference between the two seem even bigger than the difference between Humans and Elves. At least the birth rate of Half-Elves was not low.

When ninety percent of the wealth was in the hands of nine percent of the people, we could find that in our cities, there were inevitably many different regions divided.

The Lower District was by no means a feature of a certain country or a few cities. It was like dandelion seeds flying to all places.

Bolerum Territory was naturally no different. As long as one turned from the main road of the bustling Commercial District into a small street, walked a distance, and then turned into an alley, people would find the place where the poor of this city gathered.

However, compared to other cities, the poor of Bolerum might be considered happy! At least the town government led by George strictly controlled the exploitation from them. The relatively generous wages in the workshops under the Lord’s name could also make the poor secretly happy after comparison. At the same time, timely relief after natural disasters could also ensure that many Commoners who would have entered the Divine Realm remained in the human world.

This was why the Lower District, which should have given people an impression of chaos, appeared more like a vibrant small town in Poitou. It even had stable consumption places like Taverns.

Anason, who had left the Tavern, was swinging a thin rope in his hand as he walked into the alley. It seemed that the full and satisfied man wanted to find a corner to relieve himself. Not far away on the street, cleaning workers who were busy cleaning up accumulated dirt and discarded items were looking at him with angry expressions.

This period could be said to be the busiest time for the cleaning workers of Poitou City. The huge increase in the flow of people and the various garbage left after the carnival could be said to be all over the road.

The regulations that usually prohibited littering temporarily became invalid during these few days. Although this allowed the residents of the city to enjoy themselves to the fullest, it indirectly increased the burden on the cleaning workers.

Most importantly, watching others put aside everything and enjoy the carnival to the fullest, while they, the cleaning workers, still had to work, inevitably made them feel psychologically unbalanced. And Anason’s actions might also increase the workload of the cleaning workers, so it was no wonder the other party did not give him a good face.

Soon, the night deepened. Even the noise of Bolerum, which was shrouded in songs and laughter, gradually became hazy and faded.

Accompanied by the dim yellow light projecting from the houses on the street, Anason walked towards his home with quite steady steps. He had just strolled around a few theater troupes outside the city, but unfortunately, he was too poor to make himself happy. Then, he managed to return to the city before the city gates closed. For a time, not wanting to go home, he just wandered around the city. As for returning to the Tavern, he had not thought about it.

During this period, because of the festival, the time for the city gates to close was much later than usual. So when Anason went home, it was already late at night.

Suddenly, he saw someone in front of him with their back to him, slightly bent over with their head down, pressing their hand against the wall by the roadside. Although he could not clearly see the man’s face, the long boots on his feet that could make the road sound loud, and the carefully made clothes, all proved that the other party was not waiting to give someone a Golden Finger. Such a cost could be called quite large.

“Sir in front, do you need help?” Anason asked the man in front who looked a bit like a drunkard. Of course, he did not stop his steps but continued to walk forward.

Anason was not originally an impression of a man who was willing to help others. However, on such a happy day, he did not mind performing good deeds for others who only needed a small effort. Who knew if this person would be his future customer! As a traveling repairman, making the owner remember him a bit more would make it easier to attract business in the future.

Perhaps in the past Anason would not have had such concerns, but now his life pressure was becoming greater and greater. Originally, with the development of Bolerum Territory and the continuous increase in population, his business should have been getting better and better. Unfortunately, the number of people coming here to make a living also increased, and with the competition, business became not as good as usual. Those young people did not have his craft, but their prices were lower. This made the sound in Anason’s bag less frequent than before.

Although there was a bit of extra oil, this unmarried person, in order not to suffer a too desolate situation in his old age, now even bought equipment and played on the edge of his old trade in Poitou. So now wanting to get to know more people was normal.

However, when Anason got closer, the man turned around and raised a short sword hidden in a short stick by his side. The cold light of the flowing-like sword body shimmering in the light shocked Anason’s pupils to contract non-stop.

If it were a few years ago, Anason might have died here. But now he was quite different from the craftsman of the past who only had solid muscles and nimble hands. Facing the sudden attack, after getting through the initial moment of chaos, he kicked his solid legs backward and narrowly escaped.

However, the pain in his chest told Anason that he was injured. The opponent’s sharp blade had cut through his outer clothes and the Paper Armor hidden under the loose clothes.

Suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes. He drew a short knife from his boot with his other hand, slashed upwards diagonally, and just blocked the opponent’s next thrusting sword. Then he hooked it to the right and knocked it away.

The man’s expression could be said to be as ugly as eating poop. Perhaps in his view, the sword he was confident of just now, which was dodged by this old hunchback at the very beginning, was an accident. But the follow-up attack was lightly flicked away by the other party with a reverse hand, how could he not feel surprised!

Unfortunately, the most taboo thing in a life-and-death struggle is being soft-hearted. Anason, who had never truly seen blood, actually forgot to pursue the victory. This gave the man opposite enough time to react. The opponent used a fighting style close to dual-wielding, swinging that wrought iron staff towards Anason.

The latter had to raise his knife again to block. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the man waved his hand with his right hand, seemingly preparing to end Anason’s life there.

Facing that horizontal slash, Anason quickly lay his body backward, controlling his body to fall directly to the ground. Then he rolled on the ground continuously. This was one of the most skilled skills of Rogues: rolling. Of course, to use it well, one not only needs skill but also long-term practice.

After pulling away a distance with what looked like a clumsy action, Anason took something off his belt and threw it fiercely at the man in front.

“Clang! Clang!” With the sound of two metal balls hitting the stone ground, Anason’s trip rope successfully hit the opponent. Unfortunately, although it restricted the opponent’s movement, it did not make the opponent fall.

At the same time, Anason lunged forward and rolled. He waved his short knife in his hand, swinging it wildly as if without any rules. But this seemingly ruleless attack never missed the opponent’s three routes. At the same time, the hooked stick on his left arm became a fulcrum for his defense. For a moment, he successfully restricted the opponent’s short sword.

Taking advantage of the unexpected and attacking the unprepared, he used his own advantages to make up for the gap between the two. Anason’s biggest problem was his hunchback, which made him, who was not short in height originally, seem to be at a disadvantage when facing the opponent head-on. But this occupational disease was almost a common practice for tailors and jewelers of this era, after all, the price of bending over in the workshop all day was like this.

So, using such conditions to specialize in attacking the opponent’s lower body made Anason achieve results quickly. Although he was not a knee destroyer like Guo Xiaosi, Anason did leave a deep wound on the opponent’s knee.

With the influence of such pain, the opponent’s body naturally hesitated. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Anason leaned forward first, then extended his left hand to support his body, and then made an inverted “cartwheel” action. Then his legs quickly and amazingly flipped from bottom to top in an arc, kicking hard on the opponent’s chin.

After knocking the opponent to the ground with this attack, Anason lunged forward fiercely, hitting the opponent’s head with his round knife handle. The unbearable pain tore all thoughts and perceptions to shreds. Soon, the man knew nothing.

Having settled the battle, Anason immediately dragged his injured body to the “Foam and Sausage” Tavern. After all, the distance between the place where the fight happened and there was not considered far. In fact, his home was near the “Foam and Sausage” Tavern, and just now he was on his way home. Most importantly, it should be closed now.

Standing outside the Tavern, Anason knocked hard on the already closed door: “Old Tom, Old Tom, open the door quickly! I have prepared something good for you.”

This sound traveled far in the quiet night. Not long after, there was a sound behind the Tavern door.

“Creak—” After the sound, Old Tom poked his head out and asked, “What happened, Anason?”

Anason lowered his voice: “Plan Number Fourteen!”

Then Anason, not even caring about his injuries, dragged the man like a corpse into the Tavern with Old Tom in a sneaky manner. After that, he slammed the door shut with a “Bang!”

Poitou City, immersed in gray-white fog, looked a bit haggard. Before the city gates opened, a squadron of patrol cavalry rushed out towards the outside of the city. The residents who were occasionally woken up by the sound of horse hooves stuck their heads out of the windows to curiously watch the cavalry team riding away in a cloud of dust. They seemed to want to know what happened, but unfortunately, no one gave them an answer.

The blood from the battlefield last night had not completely congealed, dyeing the wet road with a sticky red layer. But now that place was blocked by a squadron of Guard soldiers. Occasionally, early-rising residents would curiously poke their heads over to seek the secrets inside, but they were immediately scolded away by the soldiers.

Soon, everything here was cleaned up under the washing of clear water. The traces of the original battle were given quite complete cover by professional personnel. Similarly, soon, several even more than a dozen related rumors would be used to disturb the hearing and vision.

Of course, this only worked for ordinary citizens full of curiosity. But this was already enough. The primary task was to prevent large-scale panic. When George first planned, he never thought that such a practice could fool the enemy who was still hidden somewhere unknown.

Strictly speaking, since the meeting on that day, Bolerum Territory began to become loose on the outside and tight on the inside. Although everything on the surface still proceeded according to the daily track, the secret agents in the dark became exceptionally busy.

Anason and Old Tom both belonged to the lower-level personnel developed by the intelligence department of Bolerum Territory. The former, as a repairman, walked around the streets all day, which was convenient for gathering news. The latter’s Tavern was even more a gathering place for intelligence and rumors, of course, it needed to be reasonably utilized.