You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 20 The Great Thief and the Dragon

The hunters lacked the courage to fight the lord to the death, and their fighting force numbered only a dozen or so.

The number of guards in Sig Town is much higher than that.

The hunter hoped to intimidate the lord with force, express his stance, and make the latter back down.

As long as the lord dares not enter the mountains, they can continue to live their old way of life.

But Roman's attitude was very firm.

The hunter had no choice but to submit.

Because he doesn't even need to send troops to attack the hunters; he only needs to blockade the mountains and cut off all barter between Sig Town and the hunters, and the hunters' quality of life will plummet.

In this era, it is difficult to meet all the needs of life by simply hunting.

The mountain strongholds established by hunters simultaneously engaged in multiple harvesting methods, including picking berries and mushrooms, farming, and hunting.

They regularly transported furs, mountain goods, and wild game to Sige Town or found merchants to exchange for grain, cloth, and ironware, which were then transported to the mountains.

As agricultural officer, More was unable to collect taxes from them.

Hunters, relying on the resources of the mountains, enjoy a quality of life far superior to that of the farmers in Sige Town. The land in the mountains cannot grow much grain, but Moer doesn't take away half of the harvest, so they are basically free from worries about food and clothing—this kind of life can be considered quite affluent.

The resources consumed by the hunters were only a small fraction of what Moore consumed, so there was no need for him to risk a fight with them.

Otherwise, no matter who wins, it will be a lose-lose situation.

Now, a lord and two well-trained knights have completely changed this situation.

Roman demanded that all hunters evacuate the mountain stronghold and move to Sig Town within a month.

This requirement put the hunters in a difficult position.

Roman didn't care about their feelings. The resources in the mountains could only support the few dozen people in the village, but after they moved out, the wealth they created would increase many times over.

He will need a large population next, and is even prepared to buy slaves.

Then, Roman asked Dogg about the details of the mountain bandits. Compared to Moor, he had lived in the mountains since childhood and knew more about those people.

Hunters are hunters, while dangerous thugs generally have their own separate residences.

As we live together for a long time, we naturally keep in touch and learn about each other's basic situations.

Due to factors such as information blockage, long distances, and Moore's failure to report, the true identities of these people did not become known to the outside world.

The residents of Sig Town rarely encounter dangerous individuals.

Dog didn't hide anything. He said directly, "The dirty doctor is called Garin. We hunters and the people of Sig Town respect him. He is knowledgeable and can cure diseases, but no one knows his background."

“Jett, a deserter from the battlefield, had nowhere to go after deserting, so he came here.”

"He betrayed the knight Dick, who is said to have killed the nobleman he served and was wanted by the nobles. Somehow he ended up wandering here."

“You should have heard of the notorious thief Borg… He also killed a nobleman and stole all his wealth, distributing it to the commoners. But after he left, those commoners were all hanged by another nobleman. You'd better not get involved with the notorious thief Borg, because he is very dangerous…”

Just then, a faint roar of a beast came from deep within the mountains, interrupting Dota's words.

“Warcraft…” Dota’s expression turned solemn as he looked toward the deep mountains.

Powerful beasts are magical creatures, because these beasts possess terrifying destructive power and are practically the embodiment of nature in the forests and mountains.

Even large groups of hunters can suffer heavy casualties when encountering monsters.

However, correspondingly, monsters will also bleed or become seriously injured. This is a conflict that both sides must try their best to avoid.

These powerful beasts rarely attack human settlements.

Of course, there are also some omnivorous animals that can damage crops in the fields.

Although humans have encroached on a portion of nature, they haven't driven the magical beasts into a corner. They still have a large living space in this wilderness, and since this is the outer edge of the mountains, the magical beasts all have fixed territories.

Dota felt uneasy upon hearing the roar, and Roman frowned as well, then continued to ask, "Where's the other one? There shouldn't be more than just these people."

Dota hesitated when he heard Roman's question.

He didn't really want to talk about it, but Roman looked straight at him.

He was an archer with a very focused gaze that exuded a sense of pressure, making Dota somewhat nervous.

"The last one is... the cursed witch, Gweil..."

Unknown time.

The master thief Borg found the traitorous knight Dick.

Living alone in the mountains is incredibly difficult for ordinary people, and even extraordinary individuals cannot obtain a sufficiently stable source of food.

Even so, they remained hidden in this secluded mountain forest, living a life of seclusion and refusing to go out.

Dick was once a powerful knight-errant, possessing a fiefdom granted to him by a nobleman, until he killed his lord.

From that moment on, there was no place for Dick on this land.

Borg arrived at Dick's cabin and said to Dick, "A dragon has gone into the mountains."

Dick only glanced at him.

Borg muttered to himself, "That evil dragon shouldn't have come here! Why did it disturb the peace here!"

Dick remained silent.

Borg's voice grew increasingly fierce: "He won't let us stay here any longer. The dragon will send his minions to capture us. Those weak hunters won't resist; instead, they'll only embolden the dragon. Then, you, me, Jett, and the dirty doctor will no longer be able to stay here. And that poor little witch will be sold to the church. Dick, can you bear to see that little witch burned alive?"

Dick finally spoke: "What do you want from me?"

Borg's expression twisted with rage: "Let him die a violent death, before he disturbs the peace here!"

Dick sighed, “Your madness is growing stronger in the mountains, and your delusions will lead you to your own destruction.”

Borg said to himself, "Dick, let's do this together! Only in this way can we protect this only pure land. The nobleman will regard everything here as his treasure, but that treasure will never belong to him. He is just a plunderer and a robber. He does not deserve to have these things!"

Dick shook his head and said, "I won't help you."

Borg seemed not to hear him, and he shouted madly, "Together! Go kill the dragon! I want to make him bleed and see if the blood is crimson! Then distribute the dragon's treasure to everyone!"

Dick sighed again: "Why didn't you go to Jett, but came to me instead?"

Borg stared intently at Dick. But the latter was not afraid of this mad thief.

Dick heard Borg say, "That deserter is a coward; he won't support me!"

Dick said, "No, Jet is brave. He knows what he's doing, which is why he chose to come to the mountains... Borg, you should leave. I won't team up with you."

Borg suddenly flew into a rage: "We all have the blood of dragons on our hands. I fight for everyone on this land, and you stand idly by!"

Dick sighed, “Who are you fighting for? Are you going to kill Roman Riftarmor? Or are you going to kill that shadow that you can’t shake off? You can’t break free. You often dream about those people who died tragically. You feel like you strangled your mother with your own hands… You can’t sleep peacefully. You often wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares, and you’ve woken me up many times.”

Dick looked at his neighbor with pity: "Borg the thief, you've been insane for a long time."

Borg declared emphatically, "I'm not crazy! I know what I'm going to do!"

Dick asked, "So what do you want to do?"

Borg said coldly, "A monster riot! Nobles have been killed!"

Dick shook his head: "Do you think you can easily kill the offspring of the Rift Armor family? Even if you could, the wrath of the Rift Armor Grand Duke would raze the town of Sig... Borg, you are repeating the same mistake. You will kill everyone, and where will you run to this time?"

Borg muttered incoherently, "No! No! I won't run away anymore. I've finally figured it out. I'm going to kill Roman Riftarmor and that fat pig in Sig Town. I'm going to distribute all the dragon's food and gold coins to the poor who can't afford to eat. I'm going to give them all the land in Sig Town. Once they become the masters of this land, they'll follow me to kill other dragons! Kill all the dragons on this land! Once all those dragons are dead, all of them will be alright..."

Dick still shook his head.

Borg's manic demeanor suddenly calmed down.

He looked at Dick, waiting for his final response.

Dick silently gripped the rusty knight's longsword.

Borg turned and walked away.

Dick watched Borg's departing figure in silence.

Dick knew that no one could dissuade a master thief, especially when his mind was filled with crazy ideas.

He slowly pulled a blackened silver necklace from his pocket, stared at it for a moment, and finally held it in his hand, letting out a soft sigh.

(End of this chapter)