Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

The construction of the wall around Gray Rock Town was completed quickly; with the help of cement, it was almost finished in less than three days.

With their manpower freed up, Leon and Bray returned to their daily training and hunting missions, except for leaving some men behind to handle the follow-up work.

That day it was Bray's turn to lead the hunting party to explore the woodlands to the east, searching for new water sources and potential hunting grounds.

As the sun began to set, a young hunter caught up from the back of the group, panting heavily. His face showed a hint of tension, and his eyes revealed doubt and unease.

"Boss, a few people are coming from the north... from the north. They look like refugees, some big and some small. And... it looks like someone's chasing them!"

Bray's face darkened, and he immediately gestured for silence. He then led his men to quietly climb a nearby earthen slope and looked north through the bushes.

On the forest path, four or five people were seen fleeing in a disheveled state.

The most conspicuous figure was an old man with gray hair, carrying an old wooden box on his back. He was being half-supported and half-dragged by a young man, and they were running around in a stumbling manner.

A woman was holding the hand of a little girl who looked about seven or eight years old. The girl's face was pale with fright, but she bit her lip and held back her tears.

Their clothes weren't exactly ragged, but they were covered in mud and bits of grass. The wooden box and the faint smell of herbs on them made Bray frown—they didn't seem like ordinary refugees.

Immediately afterwards, more than ten soldiers dressed in uniform dark gray uniforms and carrying long swords chased after them from behind. Their movements were clearly well-trained, and the group surrounded the old man and his companions in a semi-encircling formation.

Leading the group was a middle-aged knight riding a chestnut warhorse and wearing chainmail. His face was stern, and his eyes were fixed on the fleeing old man ahead.

"Dr. Herbert." The knight's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a clear, cold, businesslike quality as it cut through the clearing: "Stop running. This is the lady's order; you must go back. Stop now to avoid further suffering."

The old man trembled, turned around, his face a mixture of fear, exhaustion, and a deep sense of powerlessness: "Go back? Go back to be buried with the young master? I, an old man, can't cure that disease! Captain Gavin, please, spare my whole family!"

"I have no choice." Sir Gavin seemed somewhat helpless, but finally said seriously, "The lady wants to see you. Either you leave on your own, or I'll take you away."

Upon hearing this, the young man beside Herbert suddenly stepped in front of him, clutching a scythe in his hand, and said with a slight tremor, "Father has done his best! The young master's illness is not..."

"Take it down." Gavin seemed to have run out of patience and waved his hand to interrupt.

Two soldiers immediately stepped forward.

Seeing this, Bray knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. He gestured for one of his men to go back and report, and the man, upon hearing this, immediately slid down the slope like a lynx, using the trees as cover, and ran towards the camp at top speed.

Bray slowly took the composite bow from his back, nocked the string, and held his breath. The next moment, his eyes sharpened like an eagle's…

"bite--!"

The carbon arrow sank deep into the mud at the soldier's feet!

"Who goes there!"

……

On the other side, the hunter who was delivering the message hadn't even reached the wall when he started shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Report! Report! My lord! There's a group of people from the north, they seem to be from another noble lord, they've come to our side to arrest people!"

The sound was loud and was immediately heard by Leon, who was training. Without hesitation, he quickly brought the messenger to Lynn.

At that moment, Lynn was squatting in the field observing the tiny potato seedlings that were just starting to sprout. The message brought back by the hunter gave him a brief understanding of the situation.

"Earl Lehman's men?" Lynn listened to the hunter's description of the knight's uniform and the soldier's equipment, and quickly searched his limited knowledge of nobility.

Among the forces in the Southern Territory, the well-equipped private army, with its dark gray color scheme, is likely under the command of the powerful Earl Lehman. This earl has a decent reputation, but he dotes on his only son.

"How many people are on the other side? What is their attitude?" Lynn pressed.

"Twelve or thirteen people. The knight in charge seemed cold-hearted. They... seemed to be saying that they had to take that old man named Herbert back to report." The hunter tried his best to describe his observations.

Lynn instantly grasped the crux of the matter. It wasn't a property dispute, but rather the enraged nobles over a medical malpractice incident. That "Dr. Herbert" would likely face dire consequences upon his return.

"Doctor...the cure...is working!"

A thought struck Lynn. He immediately ordered, "Leon! Gather all the able-bodied guards, grab any usable weapons, and come with me immediately!"

He pointed to the somewhat timid hunter: "You lead the way for us."

"Sir, should we start a conflict? The other side sounds like they're not to be trifled with." Leon quickly gathered his men and asked in a deep voice.

"Not necessarily." A sharp glint flashed in Lynn's eyes. "We'll try to mediate. I think if this negotiation succeeds, we can get a large amount of supplies for our people! Weapons and food, too!"

"Oh, right! Let's go horseback riding!"

Lynn dared not delay for a moment. He had a premonition that if the negotiations were successful this time, not only would they gain supplies, but Grayrock Town might even gain the friendship of an earl!

……

Bray was in a panic. As a commoner, he would never dare to confront a noble knight like this.

The other party wasn't some aristocratic lord who could talk things out peacefully; one wrong move and he could lose his life here.

"My patience is limited. If your master doesn't show up soon, don't blame me for showing no mercy to your lord!"

Knight Gavin's thick eyebrows furrowed, and his tone was already quite impatient.

The commoners in front of him dared to attack his own soldiers; under any other count, they would have been executed long ago.

"The Lord has arrived!"

When Lynn arrived, the scene was in a tense standoff.

The Herbert family was surrounded. The old man tightly protected his granddaughter behind him, while his son Aidan, holding a herb-gathering hoe, glared angrily at the approaching soldiers.

The knight captain named Gavin sat upright on his horse, his face as hard as a rock. But Lynn keenly noticed that his hand holding the reins was not pressed down on the hilt of his sword, but raised, signaling the soldiers to maintain the encirclement rather than to attack immediately.

"Captain Gavin." Lynn stepped forward, his calm voice breaking the silence.

Leon, accompanied by his guards, quickly deployed a loose defensive arc behind him, and one of the guards raised the simple flag of Grayrock Town high.

Captain Gavin's sharp gaze swept over, lingering for a moment on Lynn's face, his clothes, and the unfamiliar flag.

He nodded slightly, his manners impeccable yet distant: "And you are?"

"Lord of Grayrock Town, Viscount Lynn Cole." Lynn glanced discreetly at the charcoal arrow stuck in the ground. "First of all, I apologize for my men's reckless attack; it was a misunderstanding."

After a pause, Lynn continued, "Secondly, I'm here to discuss a deal with Captain Gavin... or rather, with Earl Lehman..."

Lynn smiled slightly.