The team stopped at the intersection, and the villagers who had been arguing just now looked over.
"Bang!" The escorting mercenaries all jumped down from the carriage, distanced themselves and stood guard around.
The situation became a little difficult.
But fortunately, before anything else happened, a huge crowd rushed over from the other side.
The leader was an old man with only a chin beard, and Uncle Mario immediately became relaxed when he saw the look on his face.
"Old village chief!" he called out, the relief evident in his tone. Henry and the other five of them, who were together for the first time, had not yet reacted. The eight mercenaries behind them who were familiar with all this had already packed up their weapons when they saw the village chief and his party approaching, and returned to the vicinity of the convoy.
"Please follow me." The team he led were mostly strong men, many of whom had wooden sticks tied around their waists. The village chief spoke concisely and to the point, and everyone who understood him stopped asking any more questions and followed him forward.
The regular arrival of caravans like Mario and others is very important for this kind of village. After all, it is located on a remote road and is very rugged, making ordinary trade inconvenient. This is an urgent necessity if the village wants to develop. Therefore, even though they are only a small caravan compared to this mixed village, every contact and accommodation arrangement is still handled by the village elders and chief, showing enough attention.
However, this time after their group arrived, the village elders and others arrived much faster than before.
Considering the way the villagers looked at them, anyone could guess that something had happened within the village.
"" The white-haired Luoan girl looked around cautiously. The other mercenaries who were escorting them all moved away from each other and did not get too close to the convoy.
With a higher level of civilization and the deliberate selection of merchants, mercenaries of the same level on the east coast have much higher professional qualities than people on the west coast. Although they are only at the green card level, Moro and his eight mercenaries know some basic common sense about team fighting.
Guards sticking close to the convoy may provide a certain sense of security to the layman, but this comes at the expense of giving up buffer space. Once the flank is attacked, the mercenaries will be easily forced into a blind corner and defeated one by one because they are too close to the carriage and cannot move freely.
A longer distance from the carriage not only ensures a certain amount of space for movement to avoid enemy attacks during battle, but can also serve as a cordon for defense in advance, triggering an alarm and starting to respond before the enemy really gets close to the protected target.
In the eyes of Mira, Henry, and even Filippo and others, this is basic common sense regarding formations in team battles. But don’t forget that they are all literate and have experienced many valuable books. For ordinary lower-level mercenaries, both education and books are luxury goods. It is already rare for them to be able to show such skills. , to ask for more is to impose things on others.
Fortunately, even though the villagers gave them uncomfortable glances along the way, they did not come closer under the majesty of the village chief and the guard of more than thirty people in total. So there were no interruptions along the way, and the group of people arrived at the mansion prepared for the caravan in the village smoothly.
The high courtyard walls are made of stones and earth. Compared with the exquisite brick and wood houses in Parnilla, it looks as simple as Mira's old home in the Ecasta Plain. Coupled with the unpleasant humidity at the foot of the mountain, centipedes and other poisonous insects were crawling on the moss at the corners of the earthen wall, which made people feel creepy.
But this seemed to be the only courtyard in the village large enough to accommodate the entire team. It was originally supposed to be used to raise livestock. The wooden structure of the stable on the south side of the yard has been removed and there is still half an earthen wall. Judging from the height, it should be raising medium-sized livestock such as pigs or sheep. Because After being abandoned for some reason, it was used as a storage place for firewood and other debris.
The three-story main house seems to be newly built at the back. Compared with the yard and the short long house to the south, it looks new and beautiful. Many decorative materials are obviously sold by Mario and the others, not only because of the exquisite The finish, as well as the exotic aesthetic, clearly stem from Parnilla's maritime trade.
Such a big house with a large yard is naturally the village chief's own residence. After briefly arranging for the group to move into the dilapidated south house, Mario and his group of businessmen were invited by the village chief to the main house for discussion.
Most people don't know exactly what happened. They only know that after waiting in this simple long house for a long hour, Mario and others came back with gloomy faces.
The obvious negative emotions on the face of the businessman uncle who has always been smiling due to his professional relationship shows how serious the situation is. Without anyone asking, he began to convey the situation one by one so that everyone in the team could understand. The current situation.
"Didn't it rain heavily a few days ago?" He said: "The disasters here are more serious than what we encountered on the way here. Because it is located at the foot of the mountain, the heavy rain caused A flash flood broke out. It happened to be the grain harvest season recently. The grain was grown in the large flat valley below, and most of it was washed away, and the rest was soaked in the water and rotted."
"Although most of the vegetables grown on the mountainside have survived, they have been beaten down by the heavy rain and look miserable, and people can't fill their stomachs with vegetables alone."
"In other words, our trip here is probably in vain. As it is now, the villagers have no intention of buying our products." Mario sighed, and the remaining merchants also looked gloomy. .
The reason why they are willing to take such a rugged road to this mixed village is that there is no one in the market here, and they can occupy all the shares. As long as you select the goods carefully and select some things that are usually difficult for villagers to get, you can sell everything every time.
For businessmen, the worst thing that can happen besides being robbed is that the goods are not selling well, and this is what they are encountering now.
But that's all. In the midst of the calm, our sage slowly spoke: "Isn't it more than that?"
He said this, and Mario was stunned for a moment and hesitated for a while before he said: "Yes, in fact, there are some foods among the goods we are carrying, which are dry goods such as dried meat that can be stored for a long time. And the villagers They just want to use their vegetables to replace those with us.”
"It was damaged by the rain. Even if we carried it in a backpack to a nearby village to sell it, no one wanted it. They wanted us to barter for it."
"Isn't this cheating?" Filippo was a little angry, but Mario, as the person involved, comforted him in turn: "You have to understand that their life here is also very hard. A few months The crops grown with sweat and sweat were destroyed due to a few days of particularly bad weather, and there was no other way to make such a choice.”
"It's just that we have difficulties here too!"
"We are businessmen. We do business to support our families. We are not like the missionaries of the church who do good deeds and spread the faith." He said: "I would also like to help them if possible. But vegetables are not easy to transport. , large in size, low in value, and easy to rot.”
"The nearby mountain roads are rugged and difficult to navigate. Even if we had to barter them and sell them to people in other villages, by the time we get over, they would probably all be rotten and smelly."
"It's hard to do, it's hard to do!" Mario muttered as he kept rubbing his hands. Even though today was another Padrossi-style sunny day, many people were not in a bright mood. And as if to make things worse, there was a sudden noise outside. The group turned around and saw a dozen villagers noisily rushing in towards the village chief's house. .
"The villagers won't understand you." Henry said: "If you don't do what they want, in their eyes you are the one who drove them to a dead end."
"Yes" Mario responded, and the mercenaries who had just been sitting on chairs to rest while waiting quickly stood up again and were ready to be alert.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Not only everyone in the long house noticed the noisy sound, but the door of the three-story main house opened with a "clang", and a young man who was considered a big man among the people on the East Coast opened. He ran out screaming. Judging from his relatively better clothes, he should be a family member of the village chief, probably a son or grandson.
"Lord Tazito, please let us meet the village chief. Please listen to our opinions!" "Yes, yes." "Please come out, village chief!" The villagers are talkative, and the man named Tazito The strong man obviously does not have the advantage of patience. He took advantage of his height and strength and pushed the skinny farmer in the lead: "Go, go, get out, my grandpa doesn't have time to see you!"
"Village chief, please listen!"
"Get out of here!" Tazito continued to push, and the villagers, who were much smaller than him, were in a mess. For a time, it seemed that more than a dozen people were about to exit because of him pushing them alone.
"Village Chief, please come out!" "Village Chief!" "Village Chief!" But the villagers who reacted were more powerful in numbers, and they tried to rush inside again. Tazito, who was basically impatient, This time it exploded, and he pushed forward, then ran to the abandoned animal pen on one side and picked up a huge wooden stick used as firewood.
"You ungrateful guy, I'll beat you to death!" The strong man held the thick wooden stick in his hands and raised it high. The skinny farmer raised his hands to protect his head and closed his eyes in fear, but the stick always remained. None fell.
"Don't cause trouble."
Henry held the wooden stick with one hand, and Tazito's face turned red but he couldn't move him even half a minute. Everyone in the longhouse was stunned. Although the distance from the door to the middle of the yard was indeed not long, none of them noticed when the sage ran over.
"You mercenary-" Tazito raised his head and met Henry's calm gray-blue eyes.
"So high--" The villagers nearby finally noticed the sage's existence, and the people from the east coast were like children in front of him. The human instinct to be xenophobic towards strange individuals kicked in, and although Henry came to help them, everyone turned around and backed away to distance themselves.
"Tch, let's go!" a younger villager yelled angrily. The sage's tall figure and fully armed appearance were very intimidating. The villagers who took the opportunity of the merchants' arrival to cause trouble chose to retreat temporarily. The village chief's grandson, Tazito, spat, glanced at Henry and said "mind your own business" and then ran towards the main house with long strides.
"" Mira glanced at Henry, and the sage shrugged. The group of people in the longhouse looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.
The air was very heavy, and the feeling of staying in the longhouse all morning was a perfect example of the Lamani idiom "every day is like a year." And just as Mario expected, no one cared about the goods they had worked so hard to transport.
The longhouse was gloomy and gloomy, and no one said a word.
The heaviness of the atmosphere was a bit unbearable, and perhaps for this reason, while everyone was resting after lunch, Margaret quietly slipped out.
She was not ignorant of the tense atmosphere. It was almost common sense to observe people in the circle of nobles. Therefore, it was impossible for Margaret not to know how much attention an outsider like her would attract when walking in the village.
And she still chose to do this. In addition to knowing that she would not attract too many people's attention because she looked like an inconspicuous little mercenary from the outside, she also wanted to actually take a look.
Not from other people's mouths, but by seeing and talking with your own eyes to understand the situation of these villagers.
It may be said that this is an idea that only a naive noble lady has, but at least it is much better than those who are convinced by hearsay.
"Can not be done!"
"But, this is the only way to do it, isn't it!"
Margaret's choice was correct. She had only gone out a short distance when the quarrel ahead attracted her attention. The petite curly-haired client approached gently, but as soon as she came over, she heard a woman crying loudly: "No, she is our child."
It was an open space with a simple fence on all sides and nothing but an old wooden table. It looked like the family's front yard.
"I know, do you think I am willing? We have three other children!" The man who made a loud voice blushed. The little girl in his hand was only about seven or eight years old, full of Looking at her parents' quarrel with a confused face, she seemed a little frightened and speechless.
It only took Margaret a minute to understand what they were arguing about, because the next second the girl's mother cried and shouted in a voice that was close to a scream: "Do you know the consequences of selling to those scum? , you know how you can still do this!"
"" She was silent.
"Then what do you want me to do! The crops are all dead, and the ones that are not dead can only be left there to rot. The vegetables are sold but no one wants them. There is no money to exchange for food. There are still five people in the family to support! "The man roared loudly, and the blood vessels near his temples on his dark face bulged.
"" Margaret put her hands into her arms, she was hesitating.
"You, you don't deserve to be a human being!" the woman shouted, jumping up and down in anger. She looked at the ground left and right, found a stick, and planned to beat her husband.
The noble lady couldn't help it anymore.
"That, that!"
She ran over and came to the family through the gap in the simple fence.
"I, I can buy those vegetables." She said, and then took out the money from her arms.
After all, Margaret was still new to the world.
"You?" The male host was stunned for a moment. His peasant brain, which had never read any adventure novels, could not imagine such an unprecedented scene, so that his brain short-circuited for a moment.
A little girl mercenary?
Dirty little girl mercenary?
Clutching a bulging money bag?
Is mercenary such an easy and profitable industry?
He froze, and what happened in the next second made him regret why he was thinking so slowly.
"Acquisition? Please buy my house!" There was no obstruction around. The other people around Margaret could clearly see the money bag in her hand, and they naturally understood the words spoken by the noble lady. Hear it clearly.
"So how about ours!" "Ours!" "Please buy mine too!" "Ms. Mercenary!" "Ours!"
one by one.
Like accidentally poking a hornet's nest, the desperate peasants flooded in with an astonishing sound that put the heavy knights of Sivalier and the heavy infantry of the Laman Empire to shame.
"Buy us!"
"Buy mine!"
The wise man Laman once said: "Hope is the most beautiful and dangerous thing. Giving a group of desperate people a glimmer of hope is as dangerous as throwing sparks into a pot of oil."
meaning of this sentence.
Margaret understood that the price was a bit high.
"Buy me!" Many people were holding yellow vegetables in their hands and waving them desperately. People in front of them were crowded and people quickly filled the small open courtyard, while there were many people in the back waving their arms desperately. Jumping up to show her.
"I-I don't have that much money-" She panicked.
"Take it! Please buy it!"
Those pairs of eyes full of longing and hope were so terrifying that Margaret didn't dare to look directly at their expressions. She suddenly realized what a big mistake she had made.
She gave these people hope but could not satisfy them.
If you only help a small group of people, what will happen to the remaining people who are not helped?
She should have brought more money.
But how much is enough?
"Stop, stop, listen to me -" The small voice was not enough to stop the excitement of the villagers, and in the chaos, someone suddenly reached out a hand from the crowd and snatched away Dai Li. The money bag is in the hands of the noble lady.
"Ding, clang, clang--" What fell out were the golden Padrosi gold coins.
"Gold!!"
This shout caused the scene to fall into complete chaos. People were hurriedly squeezing each other's bodies and trying to bend down to pick it up. At first, they just pushed and punched whom, but the scene immediately turned into a melee. Margaret, who had not expected this to happen at all, panicked. She looked around and finally picked up her head and squatted down, but the villagers seemed not to let her go yet.
"How can a mercenary be so rich? She must have more!"
I don’t know who shouted this.
The villagers turned their heads in unison.
Even though these were civilians, even though they were all human beings, even though the noble lady was wearing armor and weapons, she felt extremely helpless.
It was as if I was in the middle of a forest, defenseless and surrounded by wolves.
"Don't do this—" She raised her hands in a vain attempt to stop her, her voice approaching pleading.
"Bang——Boom——" "Clang——Shua——"
The dazzling steel swords gleamed, and the cold light made the villagers avoid them. They all squeezed each other and leaned back to force the two gleaming swords away.
One black, one white, the back of the plate armor reflects the sunlight cast from the clear sky, which is so reassuring. After she relaxed, Margaret's little feet gave way and she collapsed directly on the muddy ground: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She kept apologizing to Mira and Henry, who were protecting her in front of her. They all adopted a defensive posture, and the sharp sword tips shone with cold light. The villagers who were very lively just now fell into complete silence.
"Can you walk?" Mira did not let down her guard, she asked without looking back. Margaret held on to the fence, but her feet were still weak.
"Miss, are you okay?" And as if things weren't bad enough, Filippo and Ferruccio, who were panting after realizing it, rushed over. The anxious young man rushed over to help Ma, who almost fell. Gretel, and then she shouted without thinking as usual.
It was a good thing that he didn't speak. Once he spoke, there was a slight improvement in the situation.
A sudden fall.
"Alas" Mira sighed, and Henry winked at her. The girl nodded, understanding the sage's intention, and retreated behind him.
"Miss?"
"noble!"
"She's a noble!"
"Those nobles don't care whether we live or die and still insist on collecting taxes!"
"I knew this was just a pretense of the nobles, giving alms and pretending to be caring!"
"Damn nobles, if it weren't for you we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Why are you pretending to be a good person now!"
In just a moment, the attitude of the villagers changed again.
"kill--"
"Kill them!!"
This time, it was outright hostility.
