Heart of the Castle

Chapter 795 The Beastman Governor of Xifeng County
Since the Silver Frost Mountains and the Fault of the Sky block the cold wind whistling southward from the extreme northern ice sheet, the winter in Westwind County is usually not too cold, especially near the port city of Arius. Untouched by snowstorms, warm and sunny weather is common throughout the winter.Of course the snow will still fall, but it falls slowly in a very gentle way, silently turning the surrounding hills, grasslands and forests into a world covered in white.

The port of Arius, the port capital, does not freeze in winter. Usually at this time, merchant ships from the ancient Yahan, Nihongluo and Mughals dock in the port in an endless stream, transporting countless people and materials The market square and the streets and alleys have become muddy, and it is even necessary to send three times more people than usual to ensure that the streets of Aleus are clean and tidy, so that there will be no serious congestion and subsequent rubbish. crash accident.

However, this winter, the port city of Arius is very cold and lonely, and the weather is not beautiful. After several consecutive heavy snowfalls, although the climate is not as bitter and cold as the windy northern county, thick snow has also appeared. In the streets and alleys, the road paved with bluestone slabs is tightly covered.There is even a thin layer of ice on the breakwater in the port, and workers need to be dispatched in small boats to go there every day to smash the ice and defrost.

The old sailor Karada looked at the few small boats dotted in the huge port, with a look of disappointment on his weather-beaten face. He has been a sailor in the port city of Areius for more than 30 years, but such a cold winter is still his life. see only.

Except, of course, last winter.

Karada took out a sheepskin wine bag from his bosom, unscrewed the bag, and took a sip from it.The liquid in the wine sac was bitter, spicy and choking, and had a strong earthy smell, but it was not difficult for Karada to swallow it, because since the capital of Arius fell under the iron hooves of the demon army, The sailor's spirit has not been available for over a year.

Feeling a scorching heat rushing through his veins, Karada let out a mouthful of alcohol in satisfaction, and then walked out of the simple shack to keep out the cold wind, wrapping his oilcloth cloak as tightly as possible.

"Hey, old Karada, why don't you wait a little longer?" A voice from the nearby shack shouted.

"Yeah, maybe you can find a job after waiting a little longer. I don't believe those Yahan merchants will give up such a good business route." Another voice also said.

"Then you just wait a little longer." Karada roared back with the same loud voice, "Old Karada will not accompany you to suffer in the cold wind, in my opinion, the Yahan merchant is so cautious, at least You won’t come back until the situation calms down for a few months, and what you’ll probably be waiting for will be muddy, stingy scum.”

"Bah, bah, bah!" The hut was pushed away, and with a puff of smoke, a stubble-faced man rushed out, waving his fist at Karada with an ugly face, "What you waited for was Nihongluo stingy scum, all you have been waiting for all winter is stingy scum!"

Karada responded to him with a burst of laughter, and then strode out of the port along the deserted streets, and walked towards the market square where the smoke was already wafting.

It has been about three months since the port capital Arius was recaptured from the demons. At that time, Karada was sheltering in a refugee camp in the Bern Valley, relying on hunting and picking fruits to survive.When the messenger cavalry, holding the King Arthur's flag in their hands, galloped past the camp and shouted the news of the recovery of the port city of Arius, most of the refugees couldn't believe their ears at all.This news was not further confirmed until a brave refugee picked up the wooden board with the notice left by the messenger cavalry and handed it to the literate scholars in the camp.

Even though the crown and two swords representing Arthur's kingship were branded on the wooden board, the vast majority of people in the camp were still skeptical, and the voices who thought it was a conspiracy played by the devil were much louder than those who believed it was the truth. Several leaders of the refugee camp chose to refuse to believe, and even expelled some refugees who insisted that they should go to the port city of Arius to inquire about news.

Karada was one of the refugees who were expelled from the camp at that time. He was different from those cowards who wept bitterly and hoped to return to the camp. More than 30 years of sailor life had already tempered the tenacity of the man at sea. Now that the gate of the refugee camp is closed When it was closed tightly, he left the Bern Valley without looking back, carrying his extremely crude luggage on his shoulders.

The first batch of people who returned to the port city of Arius received the best treatment. They were allocated houses that had not been completely destroyed by the war, and they received enough rations and daily utensils. Get a better job.

But before that, they also experienced a huge shock.

Karada still clearly remembered the scene at that time, and he doubted whether he could completely forget that scene in his future life.

The port city of Arius was surrounded by raging flames, and the billowing smoke was like countless thick black fingers touching the light gray sky.The corpses of countless demons lay in the ruins of the walls, and occasionally the corpses of the sacrificed King Arthur soldiers in armor could be seen.The dark red and purple-black blood stains were intertwined, mixed with the scorched smell and pungent sulfur smell, which made people dizzy.

Karada remembered that he, like everyone else who saw this scene, uttered a mixture of surprise, joy and uneasiness. Most of them rushed to the ruins of Arius as fast as they could, hoping to be able to Help King Arthur's soldiers, whether it's carrying and treating the wounded, or assisting in the removal of demons, you name it.

The soldiers of the king's army who fell on the ground were particularly burly, but Karada didn't doubt anything at first, but secretly admired these people as worthy of being powerful fighters, presumably they were the elite troops under the command of the famous young regent.However, when he carried a breathing Wang Jun soldier on his back, perhaps because the connecting rubber buckle was broken, the soldier's full-face helmet suddenly fell off.

"Sorry, I'll just pick it up..." Karada's voice suddenly stopped, he stared straight at the warrior's gray-green skin and yellowed ferocious fangs, "Goddess of the Endless Ocean Selna , help us! It’s the orcs, it’s the orcs attacking Aryus!”

Almost at the same time, many similar voices sounded from all directions of the ruins. Many people discovered the true identity of the soldiers they were going to rescue and help, and immediately uttered cries full of panic and fear.

For the people of Xifeng County, the orc tribe living on the Moon Whisper Plain is probably more impressive than the abyssal demons. After all, the evil disaster only happens once in a hundred years-although it has only been ten years recently, the orcs' looting The army can be seen every year.Whenever the autumn wind began to bring a biting chill and the green grass on the grassland began to turn yellow, the port capital Arius always summoned the militia to deploy defenses, and spent a lot of gold coins to hire many Yahan and Mughal mercenaries to help defend the city wall.

Karada instinctively pulled out the dagger, trying to stab the injured orc into the eye socket. This was the only way to actually hurt the rough-skinned and thick-skinned roaring orc warrior.But before he was able to do so, a thick, powerful arm suddenly stretched out from the side, and firmly grasped the hand holding the short knife.

"Hey, little human shrimp, don't stab, the injured stick orc will be upset, and I'm even more upset."

Although the voice was rude and tyrannical, and had a strong orc accent, it was indeed the lingua franca of mankind.Karada turned his head, only to see an ugly orc face he had never seen in his life, and it was grinning and making a terrible expression.

Karada's strength is quite famous among the sailors who make a living at the Arius Wharf. He can grab two sacks of hundreds of kilograms with both hands, put them on his shoulders and run quickly.However, under the grasp of the orc, he felt as powerless as a child to resist.

The dagger fell from Karada's weak hands, the old sailor closed his eyes, and silently prayed to the goddess of the sea, Selna, hoping that after his death, his soul would have a place in Selna's palace of flowing water.However, Goddess Selna didn't seem to have time to talk to her devout followers today, because until Karada recited the prayer silently several times, the severe pain in her imagination still didn't land on her body.

"Human Xiami, are you praying to your god?" The orc said again in a rough voice, with some impatience in his tone, "Give up that weak belief, you see, the stick orc only I pray to God Gaugmaoya, so I am in good health and eat well!"

Karada opened his eyes angrily. He has lived in the port city of Arius since he was a child, and his ancestors have believed in the goddess of the sea. His father was invited to be a guest in the palace of flowing water, feasting on the delicacies of the ocean and drinking the wine brewed from coral.The old sailor made up his mind to sacrifice his life to safeguard his beliefs, but before he could curse out, a thicker arm appeared in front of him, and punched the orc flying away from him.

"Stupid thing!" The second orc's growling voice was even more ferocious, just like the howling of the wind, and it was mixed with bursts of smoky bad breath, "Karmos' bloody roar, the big Vakao has given the order, no Quasi-forcibly instilling the belief of God Gogmaoya into the human shrimp, that is disrespect to God!"

Karada looked at the orc who was thrown into the air with some trepidation. The guy was a full two meters tall, and his strong muscles brought him terrifying strange strength. He could move himself just by grabbing his arm. no.Even so, under the lightning-fast iron fist of the second orc, he flew out like a bundle of straw, and fell heavily under a broken wall.

If it was an ordinary human fighter who received this punch, even if he would not be killed on the spot, more than a dozen bones in his chest would be broken. Spit a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Hiss—ha!" the orc roared angrily, but he didn't rush towards the second orc, let alone vent his anger on Karada, but knocked twice on the armor on his chest with his fist, "I see, team leader, I'll take Azhu to Master Shaman for treatment."

The orc known as the team leader also knocked on the breastplate, "Azhu is seriously injured, and he is no longer a strong man after being seriously injured." He pointed out with a serious expression, "Master Shaman's treatment method is too heaven-defying, only strong Only those who suffer from it are eligible to bear it, and you have to take him to a human priest who is not so against the sky for treatment."

Seeing that orc helped his injured companion to leave, and thanked him in a rough voice, Karada opened his mouth wide. He didn't know what to say, and his whole body became stiff.Then there was a scene that made him feel that his thinking ability was not enough. There was a shout like a landslide and tsunami in the distance. After hearing it, the orc known as the team leader immediately raised his fist high, and from his fangs, A corresponding cry came from his mouth.

"Long live the Kingdom of Arthur! Long live the bloody Roaring Great Vaccao! Long live the Griffin Lord Levi Stone!"

The scene in front of him suddenly changed, causing Karada to wake up from his own thoughts, "Long live the Griffon Lord Leviston." The old sailor muttered in a low voice, then stretched out his hands, and pushed away the blackness that was as scorched in front of him. Then a gust of warm air mixed with the smell of low-quality shochu, barbecue and sweat came rushing towards him. At the same time, there were noisy and noisy voices, which made Karada smile from the heart.

In winter in the port city of Arius, the taverns selling spirits and simple food are always full.Many sailors who live on the wharf like to go to such a tavern to drink a large cup of hot shochu after a hard day's work. If they are lucky, they can also add a large plate of browned minced meat. Bread, that would keep them warm from their stomachs all the way to their bodies, whether tiredness and exertion were driven away.

Seeing Karada's figure, the fat boss standing behind the oil-stained counter wiping the cup raised an equally fat hand, "Oh, isn't this old Karada?" He greeted loudly, "How is today , Is there a new merchant ship arriving at the dock?"

"Too bad, not a single ship appeared." Karada replied loudly as he pushed his way through the crowd, "the same muddy wrecks that arrived at the pier this morning, those black-hearted miserly scum This time I'm afraid I'll lose all my money, the moldy food they brought, I'm afraid even a very hungry pig would not eat it!"

"After the evil disaster came last time, we didn't eat less expensive moldy food from Nihongluo." A drunken drinker raised a brass wine glass bigger than his head, and said inarticulately, "Old Kara Da... You haven't had a drink today, so you forgot all about it?"

Karada's complexion suddenly became gloomy, and his eyes suddenly burned red like coals, "I have never forgotten, never will." His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, with traces of With a terrifying trill, "My son got sick and died after eating those moldy grains."

The drunken drinker shuddered, most of the drunkenness was sober, "Sorry, I...I shouldn't have said that." He stood up, took off his hat and bowed, "Uh, if I buy you a drink Will the wine offend you?"

"Of course not." Karada patted his cheek with his hand, trying to make his tone seem cheerful, "Thank you very much, boss, let me have a glass of gray swallow wine without water."

The fat boss happily agreed, and found a pottery pot from the wooden shelf behind him, "This is a high-quality product imported from Yahan." He proudly showed the logo on the pot to the drinkers. "Our orc county magistrate was so in love with it that he bought a small half boat in one go. There are 180 cans!"

"Cheers to our orc sheriff master." A muffled shout erupted from the corner of the tavern.

"Yes, I wish Kalmos the Bloody Roaring Magistrate good health and a long life!" Someone responded with a strange cry. "May he continue to serve as the sheriff of Xifeng County, so that we can still be exempted from paying various exorbitant taxes!"

"Not to pay the atonement tax to those greedy lords!"

"Hey, this sentence makes no sense. Earth Temple and Storm Temple don't have any atonement tax! Even Guangyao Protestantism, which is said to be a newly emerging branch sect of Guangyao Temple, doesn't charge atonement tax." The old man with some status stood up and retorted in an unhappy tone, "After the repair of the Goddess of the Sea's Flowing Water Temple, it has been announced that the atonement tax and faith donations in the past have been exempted. It is said that the bishop who presided over the temple was too much Greed is what makes the tolerant Goddess Selna leave angrily and no longer respond to the prayers of believers."

"This is good news." Kadar thought, taking the glass full of spirits from the fat boss at the same time, "Maybe I should go to the Temple of Water this evening, because I have not had it for several weeks because of financial difficulties." Went to pray at the Goddess Statue."

The wooden door of the tavern was suddenly slammed open, and the cold air mixed with snowflakes blew in, making many guests near the door shiver. He closed his mouth in surprise.

It was a young man who rushed into the tavern, wearing the uniform of the servants of the sheriff's mansion, his face was pale, and his eyes almost protruded out of their sockets due to excitement and tension. "Come on, something big happened!" He held the door frame with his hands, and stammered, "Lord Kalmos County has ordered the entire city to be under martial law, and at the same time, the port is closed, and no ships are allowed to enter or leave!"

"What?" Shocked voices erupted in the tavern, and almost all the drinkers stood up, "Tell me, tell me, what happened?"

"Someone conspired to assassinate Lord Regent Leviston, but in the end, Queen Fleisher blocked the sword. It is said that Her Majesty was seriously injured, and her life and death are uncertain!"

(End of this chapter)