Chapter 211: People’s Hearts Yearn for Change (Part 1)

“Shall! Have you really decided to pay back that money for Cortez?” The girl who asked this question in front of him had platinum hair. But to see ahead more easily, she had cut her bangs short herself, slightly revealing her broad, flat forehead.

The hair on her temples was left very long, and the hair past her shoulders was usually tied into a ponytail high on the back of her head with a dark hair tie. Her rosy cheeks still had a bit of baby fat. Her dark blue eyes usually looked at the people around her with a gentle gaze, and her face always wore a tender smile.

Judging by the age shown on her face, her body was developing quite well. But her height was relatively tall for girls her age, and her physique was quite sturdy; one wondered if she was troubled by this herself.

The carefully tanned leather armor the girl was wearing now was painted until it was shiny. The stitching of the wool thread was very fine, with almost no loose threads showing, and brass studs were placed in key positions. She carried her favorite yew longbow on her back, the quiver at her waist hung slantingly, and matching it on the other side was a hand-and-a-half sword hidden in a scabbard.

However, judging by the calluses on her hands, she was far less familiar with using the hand-and-a-half sword than the longbow. But the quiver was not yet full of ordinary arrow fletchings, protesting to its master at all times.

“Yes! I owe him that. If he hadn’t taken on that debt, my corpse should be in a sack being sent back to my hometown by now.” The corners of his mouth twitched stiffly a few times, trying to force a smile, but ultimately failed. It seemed that the heavy topic and the painful experience were not something he could just get over simply because he wanted to.

That silver hair was gathered behind his ears without decoration, scattering like a lion’s mane. Long-term outdoor life had coated his skin with a nice bronze color. He was of medium build, and his rather sturdy limbs matched his current identity.

There were a few scars on his face: on the brow bone, the left cheek, and the corner of the mouth, but all this did not hinder his good looks. Instead, the existence of the scars added a sense of world-weariness to his young face. It made him appear more steady and mature, and made people feel more at ease when talking to him.

The only unique thing was his eye color, which was very special; it was an icy blue that almost overflowed with brightness. Anyone, including himself, when facing these eyes, would involuntarily sink deep into them.

“You have to think this through! That is a whole 300 Gold Coins! It’s enough to buy all my armor. With the strength of our small team, if you are lucky, you would probably need at least four years to save this amount of income. If you are unlucky and get injured or fail a mission, the repayment date will have to be pushed back further.” The speaker wore an ancient Dwarf helmet; although he had a big beard on his cheeks and lips, his expression revealed a bit of childishness, and his medium-brown eyes were quite lively. Aside from his surprisingly large nose and round, protruding cheekbones, his overall appearance actually showed a hint of elegance.

After saying what he wanted to say, he took out a silver hip flask from a pouch at his side on his own. He threw his head back and poured it into his mouth. Then he licked his lips and said: “Mmm! Mmm! Mmm! The wine in this Territory is really strong, not inferior to the ‘Crazy Water’ of my hometown at all. By the way, didn’t you say before that the other party didn’t need you to pay back the money? I’m afraid he knew that the price he would eventually have to pay was far more than these 300 Gold Coins! The other party probably didn’t want this matter to become too much of a burden on your mind. Or perhaps he didn’t want you to take unnecessary risks for the sake of this financial burden in your future adventures. I have quite a bit of experience in this area! Many Human youngsters like you, because they couldn’t control their longing for money and honor, chose to complete tasks beyond their ability, and finally never came out of the deep forests of the mountains!”

As he spoke, the bearded, bucket-shaped figure of about 4.5 feet seemed to suddenly become taller. Unfortunately, those two carrot-like legs, slightly shorter than his upper body, were covered by a metal-plated skirt, and only a pair of metal boots could be seen.

But the most striking thing was the Breastplate made of high-quality green steel worn by the Dwarf; even under the dim light, the metal texture still showed that it was forged steel. On this guy’s back was a steel-ribbed Teak Tower Shield, which was extremely rare on the market; with his height, it seemed he could completely hide behind this shield.

In his right hand, he carried a heavy Dwarf heavy axe—on the thick surface of the dark axe head, a raging flame was carved, and the pure metal axe handle was in a strange spiral shape, seemingly to facilitate the user’s grip.

That was a semi-exclusive weapon specially manufactured according to the physiological structure and exertion skills of Dwarves. It was precisely for this reason that only Dwarves could use it as a standard weapon in the army. If other races wanted to use it, they would often feel that its unique center of gravity change made it quite awkward to use.

So although the Dwarf heavy axe was classified as an exotic weapon on the Continent, it was still the favorite of many Dwarf warriors. In fact, even among Dwarf warriors, most used the Dwarf heavy axe as a two-handed military weapon. And some Dwarf warriors who specialized in this path could turn it into a one-handed weapon in their hands through their talent and sweat. The appearance of charging forward with a shield in one hand and an axe in the other could be said to be very majestic!

The biggest problem now was whether this fellow in front of him really had such ability, or was just putting on a show. You had to know that on his shiny calfskin belt at his waist, there were also Javelins, throwing axes, small throwing hammers, and a series of other throwing items.

After all, these throwing weapons were also suitable sharp weapons for close combat in many situations. Although the damage was slightly insufficient as a main weapon, it was still quite good for interspersed attacks after Tower Shield defense. Because it was hard to imagine that this Dwarf with such short arms would also be good at throwing. Because this type of attack method not only required sufficient strength but also a considerable distance for exerting force.

However, that cold-faced greatsword man quite respected the opinion of the Dwarf in front of him. He solemnly assured: “In this regard, Hodeheke, you do not need to worry; I will not put the whole team in danger because of my momentary lack of calm. Did you just mean that the debt owed to Big Brother Cortez has high interest?”

“Of course! Do you think everyone is as affectionate and righteous as the Big Brother Cortez you met before? You kid are actually quite lucky; not long after your debut, you met a leader with such responsibility. And you learned a good set of greatsword swordsmanship from him. And not long after disbanding, you met our team, which has a good structure. Tell me, is your luck good or not?” The Dwarf Hodeheke, while putting the hip flask back to his waist, did not forget to praise himself.

“No! I think that gentleman who saved me would not treat that money as a usurious loan!” Hearing this, the young warrior could not help but argue.

“Have you met that creditor? Do you understand his character? How can you be sure that the other party would not add conditions to the debt? When you received treatment, you were in a coma due to severe injuries, so I’m afraid you didn’t meet him!” The Dwarf immediately showed an expression of “I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice.” Although this Dwarf didn’t really eat rice.

“Of course I have met him; in fact, you all saw him a few days ago. He is the Knight who rode a golden warhorse and hunted down the Black Dragon in the sky. After I woke up, I sat in a covered cart and followed their team to the next town.” A hint of pride could not help but appear in the young man’s eyes.

The Dwarf Hodeheke was taken aback by the other party’s statement just now; he began to rejoice that he had already drunk the wine down. Otherwise, he would have sprayed it out—that would not only waste a mouthful of good wine but might also dirty his well-maintained beautiful beard.

“Judging by the size of that Black Dragon, it was at least an Ancient Dragon, right? To be able to beat it until it scurried away with its head in its hands, he should at least be a Silver Rank Legendary Knight! A big shot like that saved you, would he still charge money?” The Dwarf Hodeheke adjusted his helmet, his tone clearly showing disbelief!

The other party’s performance made the young Swordsman in front of him immediately flush red and want to refute. Fortunately, a neutral voice came from under a hood nearby: “Although people of high status are unlikely to be troubled by money, the Gold Coins in their hands are also earned through their own efforts. So the concept of equivalent exchange can be said to be deeply rooted among them. Things like saving people without asking for a return are probably hard to encounter. Moreover, what saves people is often Divine Arts, which comes from the grace of gods, and it cannot be casually turned into a form of charity.”

“What Xifonia said is correct! The Noble masters I have seen are also greedier than one another. Hodeheke, although your adventure experience is very rich, your understanding of our Human society is still a bit too little.” The white-haired girl archer immediately chimed in from the side. Her eyes looking at the young warrior were like a rippling pool of autumn water—although the waves were faint, they were dense as if they couldn’t melt away.

Hearing the two people’s statements, the young warrior’s face quickly returned to normal. Still retaining a bit of boyish nature, his emotional changes were like the clouds in the sky, without a fixed shape. It could be said that they came quickly and went quickly. So in front of outsiders, especially those he was not familiar with, that frosty expression that kept people a thousand miles away was the best disguise. It also saved him a lot of trouble.

Beside him, Xifonia’s appearance was close to that of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, young but not childish. With a hair accessory pinned on one side, carefully combed pale golden long straight hair, silver-blue pupils reflecting a metallic luster, and light skin showing no traces of sun exposure, he looked like someone who had nothing to do with hardship, often making him mistaken for a descendant of a Human Noble family.

But different from real Humans, under his black cloak with gold threads, he hid a pair of dragonfly-like wings; when needed, this gorgeous cloak could be conveniently gathered into a scarf and draped at his side—he was actually a Wind Fairy. But he had been mingling in Human society for nearly a hundred years. Although the few teammates in front of him did not know about this situation.

Xifonia had cooperated with multiple Adventurer teams, which benefited both sides a lot, but usually, it ended without a conclusion as these Adventurers retired, disbanded, or were wiped out. However, every time, he was able to escape with his talent and ability. In other words, when encountering irresistible enemies, this one would shamelessly leave his teammates behind to cover the rear and slip away alone first.

However, the knowledge reserve left from his years of adventure was such that even the Dwarf Hodeheke could only look at his back. He further made his own inference: “I think the reason why that Legendary Knight proposed such a condition to save you was not necessarily without the idea of recruiting that Mr. Cortez. After all, these three hundred Gold Coins are not a small sum; even if they were put in the Merchant Guild to earn interest, it would be better than owing it to an Adventurer. First use this debt to temporarily restrict the target of recruitment within a certain range of activity. Then observe slowly; this is a common tactic used by many Lords in rising Territories. Even if it is later deemed unsuitable, there is not much loss—because that money can become a prepaid commission fee.”

The Dwarf Hodeheke, who had just been embarrassed, suddenly took a stab at the other party: “That is to say, you kid Caldecott and your Big Brother Cortez were played like this. And you are still grateful to him until now.”

Unexpectedly, the young Swordsman did not bicker with the Dwarf Hodeheke. Instead, he muttered to himself: “I didn’t expect that such a strong Knight would actually come to recruit Big Brother Cortez. My feeling was right, Big Brother is really excellent! I hope he can get a better future by that Knight’s side!”

This made the Dwarf Hodeheke feel like he had punched cotton—it was really suffocatingly uncomfortable. This also had a lot to do with his lack of deep understanding of Human society.

The idea of “learning literary and martial arts to sell to the imperial family” was a mainstream among Humans in any world. Just like a famous big boss who created a trading website before crossing over, who always hoped for the government to take over.

However, although the idea of joining a certain force existed in many people’s hearts, in this environment of feudalism, those Adventurers still had certain choices in their minds. The word “goods” in “selling to the emperor’s family” implies both choice and transaction.

If it were in the past, Caldecott, who worshipped his guide very much, might have felt a bit indignant about Knight Val’s approach. But after Knight Val completed such a feat two days ago, the impact on them, Adventurers who licked blood on the edge of a knife all day, was not ordinary.

An extremely strong sense of security and yearning in their hearts was irresistibly sprouting. In this world where everyone struggles to survive in the cracks, the yearning of ordinary people for the strong is not something that the originally relatively safe world could understand.

Although Knight Val’s reputation was great in the past, it had been silent for some years. Although it couldn’t be said that the Western Continent had talented people emerging in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years; there were still new objects of promotion, even if their performance seemed inferior to Knight Val back then. Generally speaking, it was a bit like an actor who was somewhat past his prime. And the battle intelligence of that time in Brandenburg was subject to a certain blockade and did not spread widely.

But after experiencing a new round of dragon slaying, his reputation would be re-established. The attraction to outsiders would make a qualitative leap. This was like a big shock of a certain outdated actor suddenly winning an Oscar Best Actor award.

The title of “a city that even a Legendary Dragon cannot break” would hang over Poitou for a long time to come—at least until Knight Val passed away. Because even after Hiren grew enough to make him retire, would he not stand up when the Territory’s survival was at stake? This would be something that everyone who wanted to harm Bolerum Territory would mutter about in their hearts.

This was like a country having its own nuclear umbrella; no matter who it spoke to, it could act a bit tougher. If before, Bolerum Territory only attracted some craftsmen to come for gold because of its relatively wealthy economic environment, then now it would attract all kinds of Freemen to settle.

If George led troops to lure the enemy and created a relatively safe external environment, then Knight Val’s act of slaying the dragon greatly improved the status of Bolerum Territory in the political map of the Western Continent. However, although George had plans for the future now, he had not considered this step yet.

Although the Dwarf was stubborn, he had no bad intentions. Failing to win the argument, he did not fuss over this matter. Instead, he gave his blessing: “Hope your wish can come true! This city looks quite prosperous; if you join it, the treatment in the future should be quite good. Next time we meet, he might already be a person above others!”

Caldecott said very firmly: “But even so, I still want to pay him back this money. Otherwise, I won’t feel comfortable in my heart. Because one day, I will be able to stand by his side and fight alongside him. Instead of being a burden to him like that time. Earning these three hundred Gold Coins will be my first goal.”

“But I think your first goal should be to enter the Red Iron Rank.” A voice that made Caldecott feel very familiar came from behind.