Chapter 32: Inspection

Chapter 32: Inspection

The news quickly reached the Duke’s ears, and of course, it reached the Delegation’s ears.

The Duke appeared very magnanimous; his nephews had won cleanly and efficiently, so he didn’t need to lead men to settle the matter, which was a great joy.

The pride from finally seeing those kids grow up and be sent out to fight made the Duke beam with happiness.

Words also came from the Castle: they fought well and didn’t bring shame.

But some were scolded: next time something like this happened, they shouldn’t stand by idly and watch — such a shining opportunity to earn glory, and they didn’t rush to join in.

What was a small matter in the Duke’s eyes was a big deal to the Delegation.

The Northlanders’ lack of sophistication in commerce meant they never really cared about the coming and going of caravans.

If you had a Caravan coming to trade, it was a good thing — whoever among the Northlanders wanted to trade wasn’t stopped.

If no Caravans came, the Northlanders just did their own thing; it wasn’t like they cared much either way.

Besides, the items brought by the Delegation every three years had nothing to do with the caravans, and that supply was never short.

The caravans that came with the Delegation seemed more like private goods snuck in by Nobles, except these private goods brought high profits.

The caravans, which had long taken big advantages, secretly laughed at the Northlanders for being closed-off and ignorant many times.

But this time, they were startled by the sudden strike.

Those who came to the Northlands to build bonds naturally weren’t fools; they usually had the rule: be polite first, then strong if needed.

Politeness was a way to judge and protect their own pride and interests when the enemy’s strength was unclear.

Being respectful in public but messing around and investigating in private was sure to happen.

So, the families in the Delegation with ties to the caravans sent out Knights.

The Knights traveling with the Delegation were naturally elites; even if their combat skills were weak, they at least weren’t stupid, and most Knights were good at both fighting and thinking.

Otherwise, with daily messes to clean up, the Delegation might as well be wiped out.

From this perspective of being skilled in both ways, the Northlanders—famous for fighting—fell far short in intelligence and culture.

When the Delegation sent many experienced Knights to the scene, they found that team of Dragon Knights looking grim while searching all over.

This made the Delegation men very unhappy; it had nothing to do with them, and they were so freely searching, which messed up the scene and would hurt later inspections.

But now wasn’t the time for arguments; everyone quickly split up to search.

The more they looked, the more worried and scared they became.

They could tell all sword wounds came from one person.

Everyone was stunned inside, and one was so moved he kept whispering: “What a fast sword!”

“What a fast sword…”

A Knight found the Caravan manager, who was still lying on the ground afraid to get up, to ask questions.

As the manager started to stand, he heard in his ear: “Answer like this; lying down for a night won’t kill you.”

The manager…

…

Detailed news was soon sent back.

Though they kept the Caravan people lying down, they couldn’t just leave them cold and ignored.

So two small teams of Knights were sent to guard nearby.

They just hoped those Northlander savages would let it go tomorrow, since according to rumors, Northlanders didn’t hold grudges overnight.

The matter was easy to fix; which Territory didn’t have toll fees?

If the Northlands wanted to collect them, so be it—it wouldn’t make a difference.

After a night of refreshing sleep, Bran completed his daily training routine.

Then he slowly walked to the checkpoint with a bunch of Northlander men and women.

By now, he’d completely forgotten about those Caravan members still lying on the ground.

In fact, by Northlander nature, after a fight, they just went home; as for whether opponents stood or fell, that was their own problem.

If those scared Caravan people knew this, who knew what they might think?

A Delegation official stood quietly at the checkpoint, right by that table, looking calm and kind.

Only after seeing this child Bran sit down did he speak slowly: “Collecting import duties is the right of every Territory Noble. Yesterday, some tried to force their way through, challenging all Territory Nobles.”

Bran looked up at the man and smiled, his smile getting wider on his face.

He thought to himself: “Are there Nobles in the Northlands? Us Northlanders know ourselves well enough, you bunch of two-faced schemers.”

Facing Bran’s clear, scornful smile, the official stayed serious, stepped forward, looked down at Bran, and said: “But those challengers were killed on the spot by the adults. The rest are honest merchants who shouldn’t be blamed. So we hope you’ll collect the toll fee and let them go.”

The smile on Bran’s face slowly faded, and he reached out for Danny.

The official’s face changed fast; all reports from yesterday mentioned how this child pulled his Attendant’s hand as if scared, and then this female Warrior killed everyone who stood before her.

“Of course,” the official quickly said, “the caravan guards who started it will be punished by their traders, and their goods will be taken and given to you.”

But with his face going pale, he watched hopelessly as the small hand touched his Attendant’s palm.

Then the tall Northlander female Warrior bent down, picked up the child, and turned to leave…

In his daze, he heard the female Warrior’s voice, like fairy music: “Do what you said. Also, take the caravan taxes together and deliver them to the Mountain Villa gate.”

“Yes, yes…” Now he felt the chill as sweat soaked his back.

A Northlander Warrior next to him shoved a drawing into his hand.

He quickly explained that the caravan should enter the set area as planned.

Then he pointed at it impatiently and said: “Instructions are there; look yourself if not sure. Can you read?”

Seeing the official nod repeatedly, the Warrior grinned happily and patted his shoulder, not caring that the man sank lower under the pat.

Then he ran after the group.

…

He was talent, Bran thought, watching that guy chase after the team.

“You!” Bran pointed at him to come over, then asked: “Name?”

“Gazi.”

“Good name…” Bran praised and gave a thumbs-up.

“Of course!”

“For the next few days, the patrol of the business area is yours. Keep a close watch; if anyone disobeys…”

“Slash them.”