Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 68 Infernal Affairs

Early the next morning, Xia Houyan put on a civilian linen clothes, left the camp, and rushed to the south bank of the Lionheart River.

It is undoubtedly not a common phenomenon for a noble lord to personally spy on the news, but the Igor family, who has been working hard, obviously does not have so many rules:
Seeing the meaning of Mayor Joel, it is obvious that he intends to use every breathable labor force under his hand as livestock.

Although a group of guards headed by Alice Comstock, out of safety considerations, firmly opposed the act of letting the Lord spy on Katarina in person, but Xia Houyan himself actually wanted to go out for a walk;

There's no other reason: he doesn't want to be the only one who looks like a slobber in the midst of a construction boom.

Moreover, as long as their identities are not revealed, the small towns on the south bank of the Lionheart River are not considered dangerous——

Although the "Land of the Splitting Soul" is known as a no-man's land, it is not completely devoid of human settlements, but it is all concentrated along the Lionheart River in the northernmost part of the triangle-

In history, I don’t know which clever ghost found out, because the jurisdiction of the Grand Duchy of Houston only extends from Rock Creek City to the north bank of the Lionheart River, and the “Land of Soul Cracks” on the south bank of the Lionheart River is not assigned to the nobles. barren land;
Therefore, if a settlement is established on the south bank of the Lionheart River, there is actually no tax to be paid to any lord!

Of course, the imperial tax levied by the imperial government should still be paid, but judging from the frequency of the appearance of official tax officials in recent years, even the impeccable imperial tax department has probably already given up on this area, which is less than half a liter per day. Wasteland poverty-stricken areas without half a bed at night.

Therefore, since the offensive of the Demon Race has weakened, three or four small towns represented by "Huafang Town" have been lingering on the south bank of the Lionheart River—

Most of the permanent residents of these small towns are the original disaster victims, refugees, and refugees. In order to escape the heavy taxation of the major lords in the mainland, they came to this place to settle down.

Of course, the feudal system of the empire is not just as simple as exploiting the lords to support the lords;
As the highest guardian of the territory, the nobles still have to at least provide protection and support to the towns in the territory;
The lord and the lord are always a set of two-way relationships that compete with each other and help each other.

In the absence of legal lord rule, although the small towns on the south bank such as "Huafang Town" avoided a large amount of taxes, but due to the barrenness of the wasteland and the looting of bandits, the development level is far less than that of ordinary settlements in the central plains of the empire. .

It can be seen that there is no pie falling from the sky, and any income has a cost.

And Xiahouyan's destination today is the "Huafang Town" on the south bank of the Lionheart River. This riverside town is located at the northern center of the Soul Splitting Land. It is almost the largest human settlement in the coastal area, and even more so. According to Katerina's original route, the only way to enter the Land of Souls from the Grand Duchy of Houston;
If there is news of Katarina and the others anywhere nearby, it must be Huafang Town!
However, there was a little episode before he set off:

The original plan was that the Lord Lord and Master Laurie would go to Huafang Town together;
According to the plan of the craftsman team, the task in the next few days is to build two or three guard towers - different from the crudely built wooden fence walls, the quality requirements of the guard towers are much higher, and they need to be reinforced with a certain amount of steel structure;
Since the furnace of the territory has not been built yet, Master Laurie, who can weld metal by hand and can be called a humanoid electric welder, has to stay on the Phoenix Terrace to help the craftsman team-obviously, he is the nominal craftsman team. He was also completely regarded as a tool man by several master craftsmen under his hands.

Therefore, the companion of the Lord on this trip had to be replaced by another person...

"You asked me to take her with you?!" Xia Houyan roared while pinching his eyebrows.

His fingers pointed to Wilf, the elf slave who was sitting not far away and was fighting with the sewing needle.

"Is there a problem?" Master Laurie said meaninglessly. "Put a cloak on her to cover her hair, ears, and face, so it's not conspicuous at all."

"I'm here to purchase supplies and collect news, what's the use of bringing an elf rice bucket?" Xiahouyan said angrily.

"You don't understand this!" Master Laurie whispered in a low voice, "Didn't we talk about it before, this chick's identity is definitely not ordinary! Anyway, she can't help much by staying in the camp, it's not just a If you have a chance, let you walk and chat with her, and take the opportunity to touch her bottom!"

Out of concern for Master Laurie's character, Xia Houyan felt that the words "touch her bottom" had a different meaning?
"Are you short-circuited?" Xia Houyan sneered, "Now I don't even know her details or what kind of calculus she has in her heart, so I will take her on the road, in case I accidentally get hit by her. What if you get stabbed with a knife?"

Master Laurie rolled his eyes.

Obviously, in the master's view, it would be quite embarrassing for a second-order magician with a crowbar to be conned by a slender girl who has neither force nor magic.

However, security issues are no trivial matter after all. After some deliberation, several high-level officials in the territory finally decided to let the female swordsman Alice Comstock also go to Huafang Town with them. There is a captain of guards with superb sword skills. Make sure nothing goes wrong.

At present, the security risks of the camp are even more serious. The majority of the armed forces in the territory must stay near the Phoenix Terrace to prepare for the sudden attack of bandits and wild beasts. The lord, who is just going out to spy on some news, obviously cannot bring too many guards with him. .

Xia Houyan had no opinion on this.

——To be honest, if there is any danger, he still has several forbidden spells that he has always wanted to try, waiting to be used.

The previous promise of "no taboo spells when you leave the infected area" has long been thrown into the clouds by someone.

So, the lord, the captain of the guard, and an elf slave, this strange combination of a man and a woman, rode on horses and rushed to Huafang Town—as for the people in Shuangfengling who watched the three leave their backs, What kind of bizarre and exaggerated rumors and rumors will be spread, it is not within the consideration of the Xiahou high officials.

……

Huafang Town, a dark and dirty street corner.

"Where's the goods? Where's the goods I want?" a stubborn little man with a stubborn face asked anxiously.

Standing opposite him was a dashing young man with a lute on his back, dressed in a brocade robe and dressed as a minstrel.

"Don't worry, you pay first, and I will deliver!" The bard said with a smile.

The wretched dwarf swallowed, took out a purse from his arms, and hurriedly stuffed it into the bard's hand.

The troubadour did not open the purse, but only weighed it with his hands. After estimating the weight, he hung the purse on his belt.

Then, he took the lute from his back with his backhand, clenched the handle with both hands, rounded his arms, and knocked the horrified and inexplicable wretched dwarf to the ground with a single blow!
The troubadour is like a hardworking old farmer who hoes the ground. He bends down, swings his heavy lute, and smashes it on the head of the wretched little dwarf, until the other party is paralyzed on the ground and there is no movement. The dyed musical instrument, took out a silk handkerchief, and apologized while wiping the sweat:

"Sorry, I'm an undercover..."

He thought for a while, then looked up at the sky again.

"Damn, why haven't anyone from the Igor family come to me?" Karim Lodge, a first-class expatriate intelligence officer affiliated to the Grand Duchy of Rosario's Intelligence Service, brought up the scumbag that he had killed countless villains. The lute of life, murmured.

(End of this chapter)