Star Forge Titan

There was a coffin in the crowd, and inside it lay a middle-aged man whose face looked extremely old due to overwork.

His name is Owen. He is as ordinary as a roadside stone, nothing special about him. Even the edges and corners he should have had have been worn away by the hardships of life.

But it was this ordinary stone that stood in the way of the terrifying ogre bandit group today.

Although the stone itself shattered in a very short time, the ogre and his minions were also tripped up.

Although it was only a brief obstruction as insignificant as a stumble, it bought everyone at Oasis Farm precious time to escape.

Whether it is out of public interest or private interest, or both.

As a result, an ordinary farmer named Owen became the hero of the entire Oasis Farm that day.

At least, in the opinion of Alvin who heard the whole story afterwards, that ordinary farmer was even braver than many extraordinary people. Human courage is a precious existence that shines brighter than gold!

The funeral process was not complicated, and Oasis Farm, which had just experienced a disaster, did not have much spare energy.

Moreover, even on ordinary days, ordinary residents of the Silent Desert never have the ability or qualifications to hold any grand ceremony.

Long-term suffering and harsh environment have made the high-ranking city-state nobles and themselves think so.

According to the custom of the quiet desert area, Owen lay in a wooden coffin made of poplar trees. His body was washed by his relatives and wrapped in white linen.

Although it was just relatively cheap, undyed coarse linen, it at least made Owen, who was tragically beheaded, look more respectable than he actually was.

The closed coffin was placed in the burial pit dug by everyone. Lucas, who had just woken up from a coma and looked pale, was supported by someone and came closer. The young man who had escaped death knelt on the ground trembling, stretched out his hands, scooped up the first handful of sand and slowly sprinkled it down.

Then, people took turns sprinkling a handful of sand, and when all relatives and friends had said their goodbyes, the coffin was completely buried.

Apart from a poplar sapling planted in front of the tomb as a memorial, there was no music, no mass, and no other farewell ceremony.

Owen's funeral, the funeral of an ordinary farmer in the quiet desert, ended simply and peacefully.

Ivan and his other teammates were also present, but as guests they were farther away.

"That's a brave man," Andrea murmured.

Hearing his words, the orc Gaoshan knocked his chest according to tribal custom.

"May the desert winds carry his soul to the skies above."

At this moment, even the most lively Lilim did not behave as lively as usual. The sentimental halfling female thief even had slightly red eyes after hearing the whole thing.

Although the half-elf wizard Kalani didn't say anything, he also made a complex gesture of blessing with his hands in the elven way.

A solemn atmosphere enveloped everyone's heart, but the solemn atmosphere did not last long.

A somewhat sharp voice quickly broke the solemnity.

"What are you still standing there for?"

Jamba came over panting, followed by several followers who served as guards.

"Get to work! Don't you think about who brings the sweet rain? Who brings the fertile land? It is the great Witch King who gives you all this!"

The fat farmer jumped onto a rock and shouted loudly with a red face.

At this moment, even the most honest farmer couldn't help but look at the person in charge of Oasis Farm with hidden anger in his eyes.

As if noticing this, Jamba couldn't help swallowing his saliva, then he sighed in a fake manner and continued:

"I know you're feeling bad right now."

"But what happened today will definitely affect the harvest. If His Majesty the Great Wizard King punishes everyone to pay more grain taxes, I don't mind. The worst that can happen is I'll lose my salary for the second half of the year. But aren't you all afraid of starving to death?"

After hearing what the farm manager said, the farmers who had just shown dissatisfaction and anger could not help but look at each other.

Although Jamba's remarks were very harsh, they were completely unable to refute them.

Finally, amid sighs and low complaints, the crowd gradually dispersed. They were going to repair the damaged fruit trees and farmland, hoping to minimize the losses.

You know, although the farmers are responsible for everything from planting to harvesting the crops on the Oasis Farm, at least 50% of it must be paid as taxes because the ownership of the farm land belongs to the Witch King.

It is said that other city-states paid even more, with 60% of the harvest having to be handed over to the city-states.

This part of the tax was mainly collected by the city-state nobles and the managers they sent.

Unlike other kingdoms, the ruler of the city-state in the Silent Desert is only the Witch King.

The so-called city-state nobles, while not having fiefs, also need to form an administrative cabinet and participate in various tasks to ensure that they have certain privileges while serving the Witch King.

Although the power of the city-state nobles can be inherited to a certain extent if they do not make mistakes.

But these powers come entirely from the Witch-King and can be taken away at any time.

In a sense, they are slaves of the Witch King, just like the farmers who are almost serfs in the Silent Desert.

Peeling off the surface of luxurious life, there is no essential difference between the two.

Especially when it comes to paying blood tax, everyone is in the same state of slavery.

The sad thing is that although they are all enslaved, some people still think they are superior to others.

Managers like Jamba, who were sent out of the city by the city-state nobles, were not actually even members of the aristocratic system.

The title of "farmer" is simply a job title, and does not mean that he actually owns this oasis. At best, he is a petty bureaucrat or a low-level government official.

Their only responsibility was to ensure that the Oasis Farm delivered sufficient and timely produce. If the amount paid exceeded the annual estimate, they would be rewarded by the city-state's nobility and promoted to a higher position.

Therefore, these farmers often asked farmers to pay higher taxes than the original high taxes so that they could be promoted faster.

It was precisely for this reason that Jamba insisted that the farmers return to resume production immediately even though he knew that this might anger them.

Otherwise, his work evaluation grade this year will be lowered, and the city-state nobles may even question his work ability.

Oh, this job is so hard, I have so much to do...

Jamba sighed, feeling only a wave of irritation.

He completely failed to realize that the people who actually worked the hardest were the farmers who worked their butts off to grow their crops.

But this guy who can only talk is still angry about his poor performance this year.

If he hadn't considered the presence of outsiders like the adventure team, he would even find a random excuse to whip the peasants as usual, intimidating others and venting his anger.

This fat, pig-like, lackey-like bureaucrat stood in the shade of the tree with a stern face as if it was a matter of course, and from time to time he scolded the farmers to get back to work.

"How could he do this? There was just a funeral here!"

Lilith, who saw this scene from afar, immediately showed a gnashing expression.

Although she was no longer a newcomer to the Silent Desert, she still found this difficult to understand.

Obviously, someone died, and the deceased's relatives and friends should mourn his passing properly, but that guy actually did this!

"In fact, even without that stupid pig, the farmers have to get back to work immediately. Otherwise..."

Andre shook his head and said nothing more. Being older, he had seen more than Lilith and understood the underlying reasons better.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Lilim asked unwillingly.

"It's better not to, because it might make things worse."

Andre looked seriously at the halfling who had just reached adulthood, and his tone was unusually stern.

"Why? Is it because of the mission certificate? Captain, when did you become this kind of person?" Lilith puffed up her cheeks, obviously very dissatisfied with this.

The so-called mission certificate, whose full name is "Certificate of Completion of Commissioned Mission", is a formal written document signed by the mission issuer to confirm that the commission has been completed after the adventurers complete the mission.

After returning to the guild, the adventurer with the voucher can use it to collect the money that the client deposited with the guild in advance when issuing the commission directly from the front desk.

"of course not."

Andre shook his head. Before he could explain further, Ivan suddenly spoke:

"Because the problem isn't about one or two people with bad attitudes."

"..." Lilim's eyes showed some confusion.

"Exploitation and being exploited, the reasons behind this can be very complex, but they can also be very simple."

The black-haired boy's gaze suddenly seemed very deep, like a bottomless pool of cold water.

Raising his hand and pointing to the cloudless sky, Alvin stopped talking.

According to what he saw and heard during this period, the political system in the Silent Desert was extremely deformed, almost a cruel and incomplete semi-feudal and semi-slave system.

The key to all this is the five Witch Kings whose territories cover 80 percent of the habitable area of ​​the Silent Desert.

Although it is still unclear what exactly happened in history?

But the five Witch-Kings, oh, now four, these four living Witch-Kings are undoubtedly the core of the Silent Desert's ruling system.

Those so-called city-state nobles and small bureaucrats like Jamba who are loyal to the nobles are nothing more than those thick or thin curved vines hanging on the towering trees.

Once the broad and sturdy branches of the big tree are lost, it is impossible for the vines to continue to cling to the heights.

As for the big tree itself, it needs to continuously absorb nutrients from the soil in order to maintain its long-term existence.

Ordinary people are like the soil that constantly absorbs nutrients.

"..." Lilith was confused at first, then looked stunned.

She is a smart girl, and Ivan's meaning is very straightforward, especially considering that there are city-state nobles standing behind Jamba.

The halfling female thief bit her lip.

Behind Jamba stood the city-state nobles, and behind the city-state nobles stood the people...

"Although it's easy to crush that villain, we can't stay here forever." Andre patted his young teammate on the shoulder.

"Furthermore, even if no one avenges the villagers after this Jamba is crushed, more Jambas will only arrive. There might only be one way to truly solve this problem, but it's not something a few adventurers can accomplish."

"Besides, compared to those bastards who don't treat farmers as human beings and are only interested in climbing the social ladder, Jamba, haha, this fat guy is even considered one of the less extreme farmers."

Although his comment was not too extreme, Andre's smile was indeed a true sneer.

Even though he didn't have much passion left in his heart, it didn't mean he thought this was the right thing to do.

"The Silent Desert has been stagnant for too long, and the Fist of Freedom is here to change all that."

The orc Gaoshan's eyes were bright and his tone was extremely firm.

"I suggest you speak less." The half-elf wizard Kalani suddenly interrupted him.

"Too many Fist Fighters have died in the Bloody Seven Days. You're not even a replacement."

"What did you say!"

Even though it was a familiar teammate, Gao Shan could not tolerate such words. Anger immediately appeared on his face with a sense of wilderness. The Fist of Freedom was a noble existence like a guiding light to him.

But the orcs' anger did not last long, and the half-elf wizard, who was accustomed to keeping silent, would not say such hurtful words for no reason.

Accompanied by the rumbling sound coming from afar, the scene that came into view made Gao Shan's anger slowly turn into astonishment.

"Why is it the Desert Scimitar group?"

Looking ahead, a group of fully armed cavalry were rapidly approaching the location of the Oasis Farm on Tatooine.

At first people were panicked, but when they saw a pure black flag with a blue lotus and a desert scimitar painted on it, the panic became even stronger, followed by obvious tension and anxiety.

The flag symbolizes that this cavalry is a direct unit loyal to the second sorcerer king Menes - the Desert Scimitar.

These cavalrymen, dressed in white linen robes and equipped with half-length light armor and skilled in wielding scimitars, were all brave and skilled in fighting, often appearing on the bloody battlefields to eliminate bandits around the city-states. Every time they killed bandits, they would terrify them.

If that were the case, the farmers, as the protected people, should respect these cavalrymen.

What really makes them nervous and uneasy is that the Desert Scimitars are also responsible for boosting the rioters in the oases around the city-state.

In the city-states where bandits were regularly eliminated, the so-called "rioters" were mostly ordinary peasants who were forced to rebel due to excessive oppression.

Even so, once the desert scimitar appears, all the "rioters" whose calluses on their hands were caused by farm tools will be slaughtered, even babies who have just turned one month old will not be spared.

How can farmers not feel nervous about this?

Chapter 24 Borrowing a Head

"Are these the bandits who attacked the farm?"

Looking at the bandits strung together with ropes, the Desert Scimitar's leading officer asked indifferently:

"Yes, sir, these are the ones who attacked the farm!"

Bayim nodded and bowed, answering quickly, looking like a piece of fermented white dough being kneaded and kneaded.

There were about sixty cavalrymen who came to Oasis Farm this time, consisting of two standard combat teams of Desert Scimitar.