When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1065: Something Has Happened at Longbow Fortress?
The ruts were filled with murky water, like shattered silver mirrors reflecting the broken clouds against the azure sky.

After several twists and turns during their journey from Xialucheng by boat, the Holy Alliance support team successfully arrived at Dawn Island on time.

Besides Jeanne herself, there were more than a dozen wizards from Black Serpent Bay, more than thirty alchemists from the Holy Alliance, and seven or eight full-time priests of the Holy Fathers.

In addition to the logistics personnel, Jeanne also brought with her about twenty officers, including Michel Ney of the Holy Armored Guard and Sochette of the Iron Fist Order.

Of course, there were also more than a dozen Kush Knights protecting Vivian, including Perini, one of the three brothers of the Alco family.

In addition, there were two large carts of clockwork guns and seeds of divine favor, along with some retired veterans for protection.

In total, their group numbered over a hundred people.

The level of weaponry and the elite status of these soldiers clearly indicate that they are not the kind of small merchants who can be easily robbed.

Of course, there were some blind bandits and knights on the road who tried to rob or coerce them, but they were all taken down with a single shot.

Jeanne's group had been walking all day since they disembarked at the dock, and they were all looking a little tired.

Seeing the smoke rising in the distance, Jeanne asked the guide, "What's that ahead?"

"Ahead is Brook Creek Town. After passing the town, it's another day's journey, and you'll be able to see the towers of Longbow Keep." The guide was a lame local hunter with his trousers rolled up to his knees.

As for Bradak, he went ahead and informed the city council of the arrival of the Holy Alliance envoys.

However, Jeanne specifically instructed Bradak to conceal her arrival.

I walked a few steps forward and reached the edge of the town.

Let Nale rein in the horse, and you'll see that the boundary marker at the town entrance has been pushed askew and is about to collapse.

In addition to recording the local town name and prominent families, the words "Death, Tax Collector, Death" were brushed on the side in blood-red ink.

On the fields outside the town, a dozen or so refugees huddled in the shade of trees and under thatched huts, all of them pale and emaciated.

Upon seeing Jeanne's group, they shrank into the shadows like frightened wild dogs.

Grandmother Vivian sat in the carriage at the back, lifted the curtain to peek out, and gently tapped her withered fingers on her knees.

A city is not just the city itself, but also includes the surrounding farmland and villages, as well as scattered satellite towns.

These satellite towns are often small, ranging from a hundred or so people to a thousand.

They often gathered near ferry crossings and bridges, partly to provide services to passing caravans and partly to guard these key roads.

Brook Creek Town, right before our eyes, is one of them.

With the guide leading the way, Jeanne simply dismounted and followed, and the group soon arrived at the inn on the edge of town.

The town wasn't curious about strangers, having seen plenty of merchants coming and going.

It was only when I saw the demeanor and weaponry of these escorts that I secretly felt alarmed. Which city councilor had dispatched these elite mercenaries?

"Please wait a moment, everyone. We don't have enough rooms at the hotel, and we're trying to make arrangements," the guide called out as he limped out, heading towards Perini, who was in charge of arranging the itinerary.

Perini nodded: "As soon as possible, we can add some money."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Perini was first taken to a nearby tavern.

Jeanne came to Vivian's side as she staggered out of the carriage and helped her up: "Grandmother, would you like some beer? The water here isn't clean, and it'll take a while to boil."

"No need, beer isn't for me, I'm too old for that." The old lady picked up her cane and straightened herself up.

Soon, Perini brought a leather flask of distilled spirits to his grandmother: "Grandmother, here's your spirits."

Jeanne blinked, the smell of alcohol emanating from her grandmother's drinking making her eyes sting and ache.

The old grandmother wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth with a silk handkerchief, her eyes shining, showing no signs of drunkenness.

She said with a touch of nostalgia, "This kind of distilled fruit wine can only be found on Dawn Island, and it's made from low-quality green grapes."

So it's usually fermented and distilled, then sold to the north. My father gave me this wine when I was nine years old.

A nine-year-old girl drinking distilled spirits? How on earth did you Norn people manage to produce the largest population in the Empire?

"Little girl, would you like to accompany this old woman for a walk and stretch your legs?"

Knowing that her grandmother had been traveling by carriage all day and had difficulty walking, Jeanne immediately helped her walk to a nearby location.

The two men, accompanied by Perini and other guards, walked along the dirt road made of sand and mud, proceeding forward along the street.

Like most towns in the Kingdom of Leia, Brook Creek Town uses half-timbered houses with pointed gables.

However, compared to the long eaves and small windows of the Holy Alliance, the eaves here are shorter and the windows are larger.

On both sides of the street, amidst the collapsed ruins and wasteland groves, are shops of all sizes.

Aside from a small amount of agriculture and handicrafts, Brook Creek's main function was to provide services for traveling merchants and soldiers hired to guard the area.

The town is filled with tool shops, restaurants, taverns, gambling dens, and so on...

Even before nightfall, you can see prostitutes swaying their hips, soliciting customers in the shadows of the street or by the windows.

There were noticeably more customers on the streets today than usual. The portly merchants went up to the second floor, while the lean vendors stayed on the first floor.

Beside the house, where decadent music was playing, one could see gray tents on the wasteland and refugee children with blank stares.

"Are there this many vendors in Brook Creek on a normal day?" The old woman suddenly beckoned to the children and took out some candy and cookies from her bosom.

An older-looking boy looked at the candy with longing: "There are so many merchants today, usually there aren't this many people."

"Where did these merchants come from? Why are they gathered here?"

"Many of them came back from Longbow Fortress, why they gathered... I don't know."

The old grandmother called over a soldier and distributed the candy.

She didn't even need to turn around to point at Jeanne again; she had already heard Jeanne's serious voice say, "Investigate why they've gathered here."

Several hooded Cheka officers nodded and quickly disappeared into the alleyway.

The old lady smiled; she simply enjoyed interacting with intelligent people.

Looking at her own players like Perini and Enrico, the grandmother felt both exhausted and helpless.

He's smart, but his intelligence is misplaced.

When Jeanne returned to her hotel and got the hot water, she received the answer.

"The night before last, several members of the 45-person guild were assassinated, and even Representative Xia Bo was nearly killed, forcing him to send his wife and children to the countryside."

The entire Longbow Keep believed that the Council of Sixteen was resisting the arrival of the Holy Alliance. To prove their innocence, the Council of Sixteen launched an operation to investigate spies.

The 45-player guild has issued a curfew, prohibiting some merchants from entering.

Fortunately, this purge of spies will only last three days, and the blockade and investigation will end tomorrow at noon.

"What do you think, Your Excellency?" Perini asked, having come specifically on his grandmother's orders.

Jeanne remained silent, immersing her feet in the scalding hot water. After a moment, she slowly spoke, "Why is it 'forbidden to enter the city' instead of 'allowed to enter but not allowed to leave'? We only have one day anyway."

"I don't know, they didn't give me an explanation. I asked the guide and the hotel, and they didn't know either."

Which businessmen were turned away?

"Apart from grain and liquor merchants, almost all of them..."

"What about the iron ingots? I remember there used to be a royal armory at Longbow Fortress, used specifically for repairing and storing weapons, right?"

"It seems the iron merchants weren't allowed in either, but Xia Bo, who was nominated for the counter-espionage committee, should be one of the Holy Alliance's own people. So, he should be doing alright right now, right?"

“Hard to say.” Jeanne pulled her foot out of the tub, dried it with a coarse cloth, and stood up, slipping on her shoes. “Call Sochette and Michel over.”

(End of this chapter)