Like many modern Padrosi towns built in the past two hundred years, Scotti also reserved a larger square when it was first built, and reduced the icon in the center of the square to one-third of its original size. one.
On the East Coast, where heritage and heritage abound, this is the best way to identify a contemporary town in Raman. Neat house plans and wider spaces compared to smaller religious facilities are a microcosm of the gradual evolution of this thousand-year-old Eastern empire.
The status of divine power is no longer as high as it was in the past. Although it does still possess power, due to the improvement of living standards and various technological advances, people today are no longer as dependent on gods as they used to be.
And those conservatives who will inevitably jump out to sing the opposite when any changes occur in society - this time, naturally they are religious people - not surprisingly, the saying that "the glory of the gods has fallen, the hearts of the people will not be the same" is not unreasonable if you think about it carefully. Makes some sense.
When life is really terrible, and no matter how hard you try, you can't change the darkness and pain, theocracy and religion will grow because of this, because powerless people need to find a spiritual sustenance. And when society stabilizes and gradually develops to a certain level, people will begin to resist against the overly old religious rules and regulations that frequently restrict this and that.
If religious people are unwilling to carry out reforms to adapt to the current society due to their own interests and a series of other considerations, their status will gradually decline as we have seen.
To put it nicely, this is the human heart’s longing for freedom. To put it harshly, this is like burning a bridge across a river, betraying someone immediately when they are no longer needed. It is a ruthless behavior no different from an unfed wild wolf.
But this is the nature of human nature.
The snowflakes fell slowly, and the cold wind blowing from the other side of the street swirled, causing the farmers and herdsmen crowded in this huge square to tighten their clothes, rub their hands and breathe, and tremble continuously. .
Dirty and short, they were in sharp contrast to the tall Henry, who was wearing a black plush cloak. And this is when our Mr. Sage walked over, these poor people subconsciously felt that he should at least be The greatest reason for a knight.
"Master Knight! Help us." "Help us too!" "No, help us first, I still have children."
The sounds of one after another kept echoing, and the weather that dropped to below zero with falling snow was simply more terrifying than hell for residents of the south. The fact that the mayor of Scotti ignored this and neither provided them with shelter nor distributed food further made their situation even more difficult.
There were nearly a hundred poor people who were eager for someone to do something for them to change their situation, so when the sage came over, they immediately became excited.
After Henry explained that he was just a mercenary, the attitude of these people immediately changed 180 degrees.
Just like this icon that has lost its past glory, if you cannot benefit these poor people, they will naturally not be enthusiastic about you.
Utilitarian and snobbish, if Mira were to follow our Mr. Sage right now, she would definitely frown her pretty little eyebrows, but Mira was not there, so they split into two groups, and Mira went to the town. The mercenary union and Margaret stayed in the mayor's mansion, while the sage came to the outskirts alone.
The purpose is to get information.
Carrying the supplies given by other members of the team, the five of them who came to Scotty earlier were to warn the townspeople here. However, due to an unexpected combination of fate, Earth Dragon was guided by an unknown hero and fell into a cliff valley. Even if it was still "alive", it would take a long detour to escape from there. At the same time, a passing knight and his fiancée who encountered the earth dragon warned the mayor of the news early.
So all Henry and the others could do was to convey the general guess of the Earth Dragon's whereabouts to the mayor, and hope that he would send troops to attack them, defeat them one by one before other threats could come, and eliminate the nearby Earth Dragon.
After being rejected in this regard, only Margaret remained in the mayor's mansion trying to persuade him. The remaining Henry and Mira went separately to where the mercenary union and local residents were. On the one hand, the white-haired girl wanted to bring the news to the union branch with a rich intelligence network to see what they could do. On the Sage's side, it was to inquire about the whereabouts of Constantine and his group.
Two days have passed since they arrived in the small town of Scotti. Although the five of them came at a high speed, if Constantine and his party went well, they should have arrived in the surrounding area by now.
After all, you just need to follow the road slowly, and there is basically no possibility of getting lost.
These poor people in the central square of the town came from villages or scattered settlements near Scotti. Most of them were penniless and faced various problems in life due to the cooling, so they wanted to come to the town to trade and obtain food. and warm items, but couldn’t bring out anything of value.
More and more people in similar situations gathered like this. When the number exceeded a certain number, someone suddenly started to spread the hope that the nobles could be responsible for solving this problem for them. Naturally, there was a response.
The culture of the East Coast is quite different from that of the West Coast in this respect. It is increasingly true that the higher the level of civilization, the more fragile it becomes. In a small kingdom like Avenella, which is in chaos, ordinary poor people would not dare to make requests to noble lords like this, because if the nobles don't like it and just kill them on the street, no one will care.
Although this is also the case on the east coast, the noble in question will be condemned by the upper class and various scholars and philosophers. If exposed to the top, the larger lords may punish him.
The Padrosi people are extremely complacent about the so-called perfect law, but in the end it is nothing more than this.
After those who are willing to take advantage find loopholes and get through, it becomes a weapon for all classes to restrain each other.
But in the end, the people of the East Coast, who had the weapons of law and condemnation to fight against the nobility, were much happier than their counterparts on the West Coast. There is nothing wrong with the poor people seeking their own rights and interests, but there are more than 100 of them staying in the square like this, and the mayor leaves them alone because of a series of things that need to be dealt with, which also leaves other townspeople It caused a lot of trouble.
They are unwelcome here, and they know this better than anyone else, but their family is suffering from hunger and cold, and they don't know what else to do, so they can only stay here shamelessly. .
While our sage came to talk to them, a small group of people were roasting a frozen dragon lizard.
The sudden drop in temperature has brought disaster to these cold-blooded creatures. Living in the tropics has no resistance to such severe cold. The East Coast wolf lizard, which could have galloped through the forest for more than two meters, has become a prey of the poor. Chinese food.
However, although a considerable number of beasts froze to death, the real reason why the dragon lizards were able to survive was because of their unpleasant taste.
The dragon lizard's meat tastes very woody, and you can smell a fishy smell after peeling it off. Even after cooking, it still tastes sour and fishy.
The only way to deal with it is to simmer it in a big pot for a long time and add a lot of spices, so that it is completely cooked and loses its original taste, but then again, if they can really afford the spices, they don't have to Eat dragon lizard meat.
"I want to inquire about something." The smell of roasted dragon lizard meat came, and Henry said this - he knew that this was not an accident. If the dragon lizard's meat is not completely roasted, it will also contain trace amounts of toxins that can cause diarrhea. , these poor people obviously figured out this truth in their miserable life.
""No one paid attention to him. After hearing that he was not a noble man who could help them make decisions, this group of people turned a blind eye to the sage.
"" He took out the small leather wallet and shook it in his hand: "Clang——!" A metallic sound came out. This was not a very loud sound that should have disappeared in the roaring wind, but it did. Caught in the ears of all the poor.
"A silver coin for anyone who can give me meaningful news." Henry loosened the leather cord at the mouth of the bag and took out a silver coin with a daisy printed on it. The exquisite pattern and light itself proved it. It is the genuine article.
"Master Mercenary!" "Mr. Mercenary!" "Mr. Mercenary!" The poor people were excited: "I have news, I have news!" It was like a fish fished out of the sea by a fisherman. Instantly they began to jump for joy and struggle, and they all rushed towards the charmingly shining coin.
The sage half-squinted his eyes. Although he had seen it many times, the behavior of these ordinary poor people in this regard always made it difficult to sympathize with them.
On the one hand, they are indeed having a bad life, but on the other hand, most of these people have never considered relying on their own abilities to change the status quo. They always think about petty theft and do not start early without profit.
Although if you really want to say it, just as Filippo said in the previous quarrel and fight with Moreau, there is no way or method for them to work hard.
Even for Padrosi, who prides himself on being rich, powerful and civilized, poor people will remain poor all their lives. Not only are they materially poor, but they are also spiritually barren and pitiful.
"Well, you come first." Henry casually named the person who liked it the most and asked him to talk.
"Yes, you are looking for someone, right?" This is a young man in his early twenties. He is a tall man among the Lamanites at over 1.7 meters, and he obviously has a cleverness suitable for his age. After contacting Henry's identity as the mercenary, he immediately guessed the purpose of the sage's inquiry.
"Yes, a group of businessmen, have you seen them?" Henry said slowly.
"I've seen it before, the merchant has a carriage!" The young man immediately gave him a positive reply, but the sage did not show any fluctuation. He just turned his head to the other party to show that he was listening.
"Uh, yes, it came from the north, from Parnilla, right, passing through the Bao Forest, merchants, and a group of mercenaries, ah, by the way, mercenaries. In addition to mercenaries, there are also knights. A group of knights." The young man continued: "I saw them heading towards the small town of Scotti. Master mercenary, they should be nearby. You should be able to see you in the next two days, no, today. companion."
As he said this, the smile on his face seemed to be sincerely happy for the sage, but his eyes were staring straight at the silver coins in Henry's hand.
"Well, when did you see them?" But the sage didn't end there. He asked the question again calmly.
"Uh-" The young man was stunned, and then his clever eyes turned and he immediately continued speaking quickly: "Time, that was yesterday. Yesterday I was still outside and didn't enter the town. Yesterday in the morning I woke up from the cold while camping in the forest early in the morning. I wanted to find some firewood. I saw them on the other side of the forest. They were camping far away on the edge of the forest on the other side. There were a few black tar trees next to them. I remember It’s very clear—”
He spoke quickly, describing many detailed details at the same time, staring directly at Henry, trying hard to widen his eyes to increase his persuasiveness.
"Yes." The sage responded lightly, and the young man immediately had a bright smile on his face, and his eyes were fixed on the silver coin again, as if it was already his property.
"Then, say what you just said backwards." Henry saw all this, and then spoke again, saying.
"Uh-" the young pauper choked.
For a long time, I couldn't say a word.
"Tsk, I'm afraid it's just made up!" "You're a cunning liar, you want to steal people's money. Ah! Master mercenary, don't listen to him, I know the news, I know the news!"
The voices were noisy one after another, and the sage glanced left and right, and finally his eyes fell on a young girl among them - her dress was many different from the others. Although she was also wearing cheap leather shoes, her calves and forearms were wrapped The thick strips of cloth fit the body better, and most importantly, there was a knife and a leather bag hanging on the waist.
"First of all, I have no news about them." Seeing Henry walking towards this side, the girl who was obviously a hunter said this.
"Well, I know when you arrived in town." The sage asked.
"Yesterday," she answered simply.
"Then have you noticed any strange sights in the forest recently? For example, some strange creatures that don't look like beasts are walking through the forest, and there is a large decrease in prey." Henry spoke calmly, and his words were like a cry. The thunder made the hunter girl open her eyes wide: "How do you know!"
"Those ghosts." She hugged her arms as if she felt a chill behind her: "I saw them yesterday. I had never seen them in the forest before during the hunting. Yesterday, it was like I suddenly didn't know what they were. Places pop up”
"Well, thank you." "Ding--" The noisy voice suddenly stopped, and Henry threw the silver coin to her.
"But I -" the girl froze on the spot, but the sage had already turned around and walked away. She immediately noticed the hungry eyes of the other poor people, so she flashed the scimitar on her waist.
"It seems like we can't stay here much longer." The hunter girl said this, turned around, grabbed her luggage, and walked further south without looking back.
Henry, who was slowly walking towards the mayor's mansion on the other side, said softly in a calm tone:
"This is."
"Is it a child's instinct?"
