"If what the commander said is true, not only will we help you, but we will also ask for a grain of food. We will do our best to help you and send the food to the front line. Compared to us, the fearlessness of the front line They need them more." Patram replied solemnly.
The traditional customs of the Leatherman Kingdom have destined this country to rarely produce cowards.
The tribe in front of them maintains a relatively complete structure and has a large number of young men, which shows that they have a special mission.
Raising food for the frontline troops is their most important task.
The Leatherman Kingdom has a relatively high latitude, and the interior is dominated by plateaus and mountains. The weather is dry and cold, and it can only harvest one season of food a year. The rest is supplemented by vegetables and grazing.
This structural model makes them relatively less resistant to disasters.
In good years, they were barely self-sufficient.
Once they encounter a disaster, not limited to natural disasters, but also military disasters like the current one, there will be a huge shortage of food.
In the past, when they were simply fighting against the Kingdom of Seychelles, due to the desperate reasons, the merchants of the Kingdom of Sesk would spare no effort to provide assistance. They would not only sell large amounts of food in their own kingdoms, but also find ways to transport low-priced grains from other kingdoms.
But this time the nomads invaded, even most of Faerûn was alarmed. With the Kingdom of Sesk in danger, there was naturally no way to supply the Kingdom of Leatherman regardless of the cost.
In desperation, the Leatherman Kingdom could only turn its attention to the Imbutu Kingdom, which was separated from the giant valley by a bay.
It's just that neither of them is very reliable.
Although the Great Valley is a druid regime, the dominant belief is also the earth mother Shantia.
Different from the earth priests of the Golden Wheat Sheaf Monastery in the Misty Valley, they belong to another branch of the believers of the Earth Goddess. They believe in the primitive nature of Shantia, respect the original way of nature, and only obtain from nature. They consider themselves to be the real priests of Shantia.
They nicknamed the priests who devoted themselves to farming and served believers in towns, cities and civilized areas as town priests.
Although their relationship with the more civilized pastors was not hostile, and sometimes could even be called cordial and cordial, the differences between the two sides were still quite large on some points of view. When the two met, they often fell into lengthy arguments. Leading to an unhappy breakup in the end.
Druids view the city disciples as newly minted upstarts, while the more civilized clerics believe that the age of druids has passed. Although druids still have their value in the wild lands, what the rising nations need is A more organized and professional faith controlled by more reasonable and rational clergy.
As a result, although the Giant Valley has extremely fertile land, the cultivated area is very sparse. Those small settlements, villages and towns maintain the relatively primitive and conservative lifestyle of the Druids - through small hunting, cultivating small open pastures and harvesting from the forest. Collect dead branches to survive.
It is worth mentioning that this life custom originated from druids, not elves. Ninety-nine percent of the population in the giant valley are humans. Let alone elves, even half-elves are very rare.
When people think of forests, the first thing that comes to mind is elves.
This is clearly demonstrated in the valley. Although most of the elves in the Great Forest of Cormanthor have joined the retreat, there are few pure elven villages and communities there.
But the impact of the elves on there is permanent - living customs, life philosophy, a large number of half-elves, etc. This will not change with the elves' retreat.
In the two forests in the giant valley, apart from scattered stone marks of ancient elves found in the depths, no other traces of elven civilization can be found. It is said that these two forests suffered disasters against elves in ancient times. , resulting in the death of a large number of elves, and the rest were forced to leave this place. It was not until two thousand years ago that humans moved here in large numbers, and this place became lively again.
All in all, if some people migrate here to draw nutrients from the two forests and become self-sufficient, there will be no problem.
But it is completely wishful thinking to collect a large amount of food from here to supply the front line.
As for Imbutu, which is across the Oriental Gulf, this country is often jokingly called the forgotten country. Its lack of characteristics is the biggest feature of this country.
They are surrounded by impassable mountains to the west and north, and surrounded by the Sea of Fallen Stars to the south and east.
This makes them relatively isolated. They have no strong foreign enemies and a serious lack of enterprising spirit. Convenient shipping makes their trade prosperous, no less than that of the Kingdom of Sambia.
It's just that their system of using holy warriors as the ruling class makes them far less aggressive than the Kingdom of Sambia. Since the founding of the country, they have adhered to the tradition of non-interference and let neighboring countries handle their own affairs, unless such mutual non-intervention occurs. The intervention policy seriously affected Imbutu's own people.
This is also an important reason why Jugu can maintain the Druid political system. If there is a country like the Kingdom of Sambia as a neighbor, even if Jugu is not destroyed, it must develop a stronger political system to protect itself.
This policy made the Imbutu Kingdom an excellent trading partner, but also its worst ally in wartime.
The food transport team from the Kingdom of Cormyr has arrived. So far, this country has not made an effective response to Tukan's invasion. It has neither sent its own reinforcements nor raised large-scale military supplies to support the Leatherman Kingdom. measures.
This is also related to the fact that the Butu Kingdom has a weak heart and insufficient strength. They have no powerful foreign enemies, but there is never a shortage of small enemies.
Together, the Tuspur Mountains and the Gutu Mountains, which are even larger than the land area of Imbutu, are various monster hatcheries. Every year, a large number of monsters emerge from here and sweep across the entire Imbutu from the interior.
The neighbor to the north, the Kingdom of Darauma, has a new king named Garros*Dragon Nightmare this year, defeating the Witch King Zhengyi who has been causing trouble here for more than ten years.
This is a great news for the Kingdom of Darauma, which has been in dire straits for many years, but not for their neighbor the Kingdom of Imbutu.
The defeated monster army under the command of the Witch King Zhengyi poured into the Kingdom of Imbutu in an organized and organized manner, colluding with the local monster forces to cause harm to the interior of this ancient kingdom.
They had now lost control of much of the interior, and royal decree could only be maintained in the walled harbor cities.
These densely populated cities have no way of being self-sufficient in food and must rely on the support of the inland plains. Their famines are foreseeable, not to mention squeezing out excess food to supply the Leatherman Kingdom.
"Empty words." Gavin has rich experience in dealing with these straightforward and heroic people, and said straightforwardly, "Our fleet is not far from the dock. You can board the ship to inspect the food first, and then make a decision. But along the way, The roads are controlled by the brothers of the Sword Brotherhood, and it is unknown whether they will let you pass."
"If they want to stop us, they must have this ability." Patlem burst out with a huge roar that did not match his short stature, "The Fang Team assembles."
Following the order, a large number of Leathermen poured out from various camps.
Most of them wear animal skin clothing or leather armor, and a very small number of them are as open-chested as the fang leader. Without exception, they all have magic tattoos on their chests and backs, but the tattoos are not exactly the same. Among them, the Tigers and bears are common.
The weapons in their hands are also different, mostly axes, spears and two-handed swords, and a small number of bows and arrows.
They formed a relatively loose formation, in small groups, led by the fang captains with magic tattoos on their bodies.
Dozens of fangs gathered together to form the entire fang team. They were all in their early 100s, but the members were of different ages.
There are young people who have young faces and have not yet grown beards.
There are also old people with gray hair and old age.
There were even a dozen able-bodied women.
The number of young people who are truly in their prime of life is less than one-third.
These Leathermen used practical actions to explain what it means to be a soldier.
Except for those who are truly old, weak, sick and disabled, all the remaining members responded to the call.
At the same time, four more Leatherman witches wearing masks appeared quietly behind the first witch.
The witch moved her lips several times, but did not make any sound.
The fang leader clearly showed a listening look. A few minutes later, he loudly ordered again, "Everyone, change the weapons in your hands to wooden sticks. If there is a conflict later, try to cause as little killing as possible."
"Leader Fang, isn't this unnecessary? Once our fearless man activates his rage, it will be difficult to control his emotions and actions even at ordinary times, let alone on the battlefield. How will we control the casualties?"
"Don't tell us that you won't even be able to use Fury later?"
The Leatherman soldiers exchanged their weapons for wooden sticks and laughed.
"When you use Berserk later, you must be cautious. We cannot use it until it endangers the lives of our own people." Patram, the fang leader, added.
"Leader Fang, why don't you just let us tie our hands?"
"You talk a lot. If you are more verbose, Leader Fang will really do it."
"To deal with these street gangsters who are hiding behind the city and armor, do we still need to use our fearless ones to activate their rage?"
"That's right, to deal with these cowards, we don't even need wooden sticks. We can beat them with just two fists."
These Leathermen were chatting, laughing, and full of arrogance. They did not take the Sword Brotherhood of Uxmail City into their eyes at all.
Surrounded by this team of Leatherman Fangs, Gavin and the others walked along the original road towards the port of Uxmail City.
Compared with formal city organizations, these market gangs have one unified characteristic, that is, they are sensitive to information and extremely efficient in action, because this is the basis for their survival.
The Sword and Thorn Brotherhood was no exception. Gavin stepped into the Leatherman's temporary camp, and the news spread to the ears of the senior leaders of the Sword and Thorn Brotherhood.
"What? Did the other party directly contact those uncivilized Leatherman barbarians?" Duis, the eldest brother who stabbed the three brothers with a sword, crushed the wine glass in his hand and stood up with a change of color.
The other party doesn't play according to common sense at all.
Under normal circumstances, they should send someone to find a way to contact them, check each other out, and try to solve the problem through negotiation.
Even if it is an abnormal situation, it is just to show off your strong muscles and tell them that you are not easy to mess with, and then negotiate with them.
The only contact with the Leathermans from the outside was beyond their expectations.
"Brother, what should we do now? Those Leathermen are rough, unreasonable and extremely clingy. If the other party reaches an agreement with them, will our people block it or not?" Brady, the second leader of the Sword Brotherhood, said He asked, also fidgeting uneasily.
He has been dealing with those Leathermen a lot recently, and basically has no good memories. Many things don't make sense with these barbarians.
"Of course we have to stop it, we have to stop it." Felican, the third leader of the Sword Assassin Brotherhood, said with high fighting spirit, "This is not just a dispute over loading and unloading, it is also a battle over the dominance of Usmail. This time we take the initiative to give in. Okay, what should we do next time a similar dispute arises?
The war of Tukan's invasion has just begun, and more and more Leathermen will come.
If we can't even suppress these hundreds of Leathermen, how can we resist the invasion of more Leathermen and defend our city?
Leatherman's berserkers are indeed powerful, but those brave men will stay at the forefront of the war, and there is no way they can come to Uxmail, which is five hundred kilometers away.
They must be a group of cowards afraid of fighting, so let me personally tear off their disguise and completely frighten them. "
"What Felican said makes sense." Brady nodded involuntarily. "These Leathermen believe in force. It is completely unreasonable to reason with them. We can only prove to them that we have something more powerful than them." Only with force can they be willing to sit down and listen to what we have to say."
"It's not just a problem with these Leathermen." Duis frowned, "There are also these foreign Cormyrs. If the two sides unite..."
Before they could reach a unified opinion, another messenger rushed in and said, "The two sides have reached an agreement. The Leathermen have entered the city, about a hundred of them."
"We can't wait any longer." Felican pushed away his chair and stood up, saying loudly, "There are only a hundred people, but there are five hundred of our brothers in the city now, and the flood can submerge them. I am willing to lead the team myself. "
"The matter has come to this, we can only fight hard." Duis gritted his teeth and said, "When you take action later, try to be more restrained and don't cause too many casualties. Those ruthless Leatherman witches are famous To protect the shortcomings, if a powerful witch is sent to intervene, it will be troublesome."
"Don't worry, brother, I'll do the work. I promise to keep the fire under control." Felican promised, patting his chest.
As the senior leaders of the Sword Assassination Brotherhood agreed on countermeasures, countless members of the Sword Assassination Brotherhood poured out of the streets and alleys and gathered on the main road of Uxmail City.
There is only one main road in this small town, which is the only way to the port area. The dirt road that has just been watered by an autumn rain is very muddy. Human and animal excrement and muddy water are mixed together after being stepped on by countless big feet. , it is difficult to distinguish each other.
"There's going to be a fight, there's going to be a fight. The Brotherhood of Swords and the Leathermen are going to fight."
"Haha, I knew that this day would come sooner or later. The people of the Sword Assassination Brotherhood act in a domineering style and try to control all walks of life in Usmail City. We must swallow our anger. Those rough Leathermen will not Coddle them."
"It's good to fight. In recent years, the Sword Assassination Brotherhood has been so arrogant that we can't even breathe. Someone really needs to fight them."
"You mean those Leathermen are going to win?"
"It must be the case. Leatherman's berserker warriors are the best in the world. How can a group of rogue bandits from Imbutu from the Sword and Thorn Brotherhood be their opponents?"
"If those powerful Leatherman berserkers come, this is indeed the case, but a group of refugees, the real berserkers, are only a dozen or so shirtless, and the rest are a group of old and weak people who are just trying to make up for the numbers. , I’m afraid it will be difficult to gain favor against the Sword Assassination Brotherhood, which has a large number of people.”
"In this kind of street fighting, no matter how many people you have, it is useless. There are only a dozen people at the front, and the courage to fight is particularly important.
Thirty years ago, when the three brothers of the Sword Assassination Brotherhood first came to our Usmail, they used six short knives to cut from the west city pier to the east city entrance, and then back from the east city entrance. Hundreds of people from Usmail's Tiger Gang were chopped to pieces, laying the foundation for the Sword and Thorn Brotherhood in Usmail City.
What did they rely on in the first place?
As for the bloody bravery that is not afraid of death, in this area, I am afraid that no one can compare with the Leathermen. Even those ordinary Leathermen are said to be as tough as those berserkers on the battlefield. "
"Isn't your statement inconsistent? The three brothers of the Sword Assassination Brotherhood were already so tough thirty years ago. How could they be any worse now? Especially when they have countless brothers? How could they lose to these so easily? The old and sick Leatherman.”
"Hehe... The strength of the three Jianci brothers may be stronger now than it was thirty years ago, but the courage in their hearts may not really be higher than it was thirty years ago."
"Why do you say that?"
"This is not simple. Thirty years ago, they had nothing but three humble lives and six daggers in their hands. If they wanted to gain glory and wealth and gain a foothold in a strange land, they had to risk their lives. In exchange for blood, when people are extremely poor, they will have no scruples.
But what now?
They have been dominating the city of Uxmail for many years, extracting countless benefits and value from us. They have already made themselves fat and strong. They now have too many things, wealth, women, prestige... …
Once people have concerns, their courage will easily melt away. Do you think they will still risk their lives now?
And what do those Leatherman War refugees from the backwoods have now?
The current situation has returned to that of thirty years ago, but the identities have changed. The Sword Thorn Brotherhood has become the former Tiger Gang, and the Leathermen have become the Three Sword Thorn Brothers. "
"That seems to be the case."
(End of chapter)
