Chapter 31: New News

George left the Tavern and walked along the main road toward the outside of the town. Soon, he reached the location of the guard post he had come from. However, today the two guard posts were nowhere to be seen, likely destroyed in the battle of that night. The horse barriers on both sides of the road were different from last time, but it was clear they were not rushed work from these past few days. It seemed the town kept spare supplies of such items.

Due to a lack of manpower, Chief Kule could be seen personally leading people to patrol there. He stood straight by the road, turning his head to scan multiple directions outside the town. Since there seemed to be no caravans passing by, Tax Collector Simpson was squatting under a large tree by the road to cool off. He must have seen George, stood up, waved, and ran over.

As the saying goes, “Those who eat the ruler’s salary must share the ruler’s worries.” Chief Kule had not even fully healed from his injuries before starting his daily work, proving that power and responsibility are equal. In contrast, Tax Collector Simpson had been scared but suffered no real physical harm.

Perhaps in other places, the position of Tax Collector was much more popular than that of a Chief of Police. But in Nohan, the highest status always belonged to soldiers. Even among nobles, military nobles with the title of Knight held higher status than other lords of the same rank, not to mention those court nobles. Even George’s father, Viscount Bolerum, had grown up in blood and fire, crawling through piles of dead bodies. He only accepted the position of Secretary to His Grace the Duke after finally being promoted to the rank of Knight.

“Oh! Lord. What brings you here?” The Tax Collector ran over with his waist bent.

George replied casually, “Just taking a stroll. It seems there are no merchants passing by today.”

The Tax Collector explained, “You are not clear about our situation here. According to the travel time, fast caravans usually arrive at Greywood Town between afternoon and evening. Those that move slowly often camp halfway and, at that speed, mostly arrive after noon.”

So that’s how it is? No wonder there was such a long line when we arrived. Unlike cities that are busy all day long, small towns like this are greatly affected by trade routes. Usually, the movement of large groups of people is very regular.

“Is there a place outside the town with large stones or wooden posts?” George asked, hoping to find a spot for tomorrow’s training. Or rather, a place to test the effects of his new ability, Qi and Blood Separation.

“I am not very sure about that. Although I have been here for two years, I rarely leave the town, let alone go down the main road.” The Tax Collector looked a bit disappointed that he could not help, “But I think Mr. Kule should know.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Tax Collector ran off to Chief Kule and dragged him over. In contrast, Chief Kule was not as fawning as him. The latter was at least a soldier with some dignity, while the former was a small bureaucrat who wanted to climb up but had no idea how to start.

“Do you mean stone blocks or tree stumps? Let me think.” Kule lowered his head, resting his chin on his hand. It looked like he knew the place.

Suddenly, he looked up and pointed in a direction. “Walk in that direction. After you pass the fields and walk for a while, you should see them. I went there the year before last. If nothing has changed, there should be both tree stumps and stone blocks. If you go from here at a normal person’s speed, it will take about an hour or so. As for closer places, those things have mostly been taken back to the village as building materials. I am currently on duty and cannot take you there, but the place is actually easy to find.”

“Thank you.” Feeling that the other person clearly did not want much interaction, George simply expressed his thanks and hurried away.

Thanks to his sharp hearing, George clearly understood the Tax Collector’s complaints about the patrol behind him. George did not find this strange. The Tax Collector probably wanted to get some benefits from George. At the very least, he wanted to make a good impression to pave the way for possible operations later. He clearly thought that Chief Kule’s behavior had ruined his self-important performance.

But Chief Kule’s behavior was normal. No superior would like their direct subordinates to get too close to their vassals. No matter how humble the subordinate was, especially those in the army, this was certainly a small matter for a patrol chief like this. However, Greywood Town was the closest town to Bolerum Territory within the Duchy, and it was such a sensitive time right after the incident. Any matter that could cause suspicion from the intelligence network should be avoided as much as possible. If there were any rumors, George would be fine, but the situation for small figures like Kule would not be good.

Following the direction pointed out by Chief Kule, George ran at a steady pace. He carefully controlled his steps to walk on the ridges between fields, making sure not to step into the farmland.

This field showed a trend of changing from yellow to green from far to near the town, with scattered dark brown and gray-white spots. Looking out, the golden, full wheat grains bent the stalks slightly, as if nodding to the earth. Subconsciously, George compared it with the wheat in his own Territory and found that his own crops were growing even better.

Professionals moved much faster than ordinary people. After running for about fifteen minutes, George found the location mentioned by Chief Kule. The large stones on the ground seemed half-buried in the grass, with a few smaller ones nearby. Unfortunately, they were too close together to be used as obstacles for turning practice. Could they be used as plum blossom posts? Unfortunately, there were too few of them, though the different angles did add some difficulty. As for the tree stumps, there was only one, and it was to the east.

“Never mind, let’s go back first.” George felt a bit disappointed with this location.

But when George returned to the square, he did not see Adventurers running around everywhere, which meant the recruitment of new recruits was already finished. Stepping into the camp, he indeed found new faces. Sergeant Anson was arranging their posts separately.

Knight Val spotted George returning immediately and quickly ran over to grab George’s hand. Bending down, he whispered in his ear, “Come with me, hurry up!”

Without waiting for George to react, he dragged him away, heading straight for George’s carriage.

“Ilena, you guard outside. No one is allowed to approach unless it is my order or your Young Master’s order. Except for Mr. Bart!” After giving orders to the little maid who was still confused, he immediately pulled George into the carriage, closed the door, and pulled up the curtains.

“Okay, do you remember what we discussed when we left the Mayor’s house the day after the attack?” Before George could sit down, Knight Val asked.

“When we left the Mayor’s house?” George reacted very quickly; this could only mean his previous guess was on the right track. This immediately startled George, and he quickly thought, “How did they get news so fast?”

With this doubt, George asked Mr. Val for confirmation, “Is it really news about that matter?”

“Absolutely! Although there is no direct evidence, this morning the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Lucia and the Kingdom of Coruz arrived outside the Chamber of Council one after another, waiting to request an audience with the Grand Duke.” While speaking, Knight Val even ran his fingers through his hair, “We just had that guess, and within a few days, the suspicious ones started acting like this. It cannot be a coincidence.”

Hearing this news, George did not reply immediately. He calmed down to think about all the possibilities related to this: “Framing? Impossible so fast. Although the news of the incident here must have reached Karada through the temple, due to the very small amount of information transmitted, the information Karada received might just be vague. At this time, foreign ambassadors actually obtained more accurate information. Who would not suspect something fishy is going on…”

“What is it exactly!” George muttered to himself, while sweat continuously poured from his head. Seeing George in this state, Knight Val sat aside as if nothing happened. He probably intended to let George think for himself.

“Drop! Drop!” The sound was so faint it was almost inaudible to the ear. This was the sound of George’s sweat, flowing down his cheeks to his chin, and then dripping onto the carpet.

‘It seems I still lack experience!’ George thought and rethought but could not figure out the key point. Whether before or after his transmigration, George had never truly dealt with diplomatic affairs. Just listening to people brag and chat would never lead to progress. Since he could not think of it, George shook his head to clear his mind. At the same time, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat on his forehead.

He looked up and asked, “Mr. Val, do you have any further news?”

“Heh—heh—not yet. Two days ago, I used a magic item to contact a few friends. I hoped they would keep an eye on some news from the Kingdom of Lucia and the Kingdom of Coruz. I did not expect one of them to give us such a big gift today. Although the specific news is still inside the Chamber of Council, this kind of thing cannot be hidden. By tomorrow night at the latest, the nobles of Karada will be discussing the purpose of those two ambassadors.” Knight Val did not give a definite answer, but George believed he was not hiding anything from him in this matter, because there was no need.

“Anyway, we can basically confirm that this matter is related to those two countries.” George did not know how to describe his current mood. Was it the relief of putting down a huge stone, or the unease after falling? After all, before there was further evidence, both George and Knight Val and others held onto a bit of luck, hoping this matter would not become so complicated. But now that the dust has settled and it is confirmed to be the worst case, he actually felt a bit relaxed.

George proposed his suggestion: “I think we should just wait slowly. If anyone asks anything, we will answer truthfully without adding any of our own guesses.”

“That is indeed the safest method. Try to keep the storm away from us. Wait until those elders make their decisions before we make our own plans.” Knight Val seemed to agree with George’s decision, but then changed the subject, “But if Lord Viscount has any other requests, we will follow his orders.”

George shrugged, “Of course.”

“Then let’s put this matter aside for now. Now let’s talk about your recruitment of new recruits this morning?” Knight Val’s expression became a bit serious.