Until the man's back disappeared, Chloe still stared at him as he said goodbye to the sharp air, and the smile and words penetrated deep into her heart.

Sister," Bank muttered a little confused.

At his age, he couldn't understand what had just happened at all, but he was simply shocked by the sudden and strong image of the stranger who had been with him for a month, and he was at a loss for the lonely back.

Chloe bit her lip and looked at the two children, but slowly stroked the hilt of her sword.

Morromok Town Central Square. It is the place where the whole town holds various annual events and gatherings, and at this time a large number of people stand here, and they are talking with their companions with puzzled looks.

"What's the matter with the mayor suddenly summoning everyone in the town?"

"I don't know," but it is said that an adult from above arrived in the town and went to the mayor early in the morning. ”

"It's the army! I see, it's the soldiers who are even more imposing than the personal guards of the Lord of Billes! Everyone wears red armor and rides tall and big horses!"

"The tax collector has also been approached, probably because it has something to do with tax collection.

"Sure enough, the people above came here to levy heavy taxes? Originally, they had already paid a lot of taxes, but the harvest had not been good in the past few years. My family still owes some "It's all the lord's kindness, and I never rushed it." ”

"My family too, I can't afford to pay the full tax, and if there is an additional levy on it, how should I live this day?"

The more the townspeople discussed, the more panicked they became.

As residents of remote border towns, they are already at the bottom of the country, struggling every day to make ends meet. If it weren't for the fact that the lords who ruled this area were more merciful and generous, and had not deceived the people for many years, such as expropriation and extortion, and had allowed the people to have a small amount of savings, then they would probably not even be able to maintain food and clothing in this war era when materials were scarce.

The days were hard, but compared to the rumored miserable situation in other places, Morromok was already very comfortable, so the inhabitants knew how to be grateful and optimistic, and also thanked the lord of the city of Les from the bottom of their hearts.

In the past, people came from the city of Lace. It will be welcomed from all over the town, and the aspiring young people in the town are looking forward to the day when they will be able to go to the city of Les and serve the lord of benevolence and prestige.

Although I don't know too much, the news that came out of Les City in bits and pieces also let the people in the town and even the people in other villages and towns within the territory know that the lord has resisted all kinds of pressure from above again and again in order to protect the peace of the territory. But this time, the boss seemed to have completely lost his patience and actually sent an army directly to the territory.

The fact that there were no people from the Lord of Les was not accompanied by the Lord of Les gave the townspeople of Morromok a very dangerous signal.

In an emotional atmosphere of trepidation, unease, worry, fear. The people waited as if they were about to be sent to the execution ground, and everyone had a pale look on their faces.

Finally, the mayor shows up.

The mayor of Morromok was an old balding old man, a carpenter in his youth, and his body went downhill as he got older.1 His back was slightly stiff, and his legs and feet were a little sick. When he walked into the square with his cane in full view, people noticed that his face was more ugly than everyone in the scene.

The reason is obvious, the mayor of the town has an officer in red armor and a blood-colored cloak on his back, his eyes are sharp and cold, exuding a strong aura of strength and authority, suppressing the elderly man like coercion.

This impression was reinforced by two teams of heavily armed sergeants following the mayor and the officer.

Although there were only twenty of these sergeants in total, the momentum that was obviously fought on the battlefield of life and death, as well as the indifferent and contemptuous eyes looking at the people, were so shocked that hundreds of people on the field couldn't help but breathe involuntarily.

There is no doubt about it. Each of them is a ruthless slayer, never flinching from the strength of the enemy, nor being merciful because of the weakness of the opponent, just like a bloodthirsty hungry wolf who will only tear the creatures in front of him to pieces with cruelty and ferocity.

There was a dead silence, and the people were silent and frightened as they watched the mayor and the officer walk up to the platform at the front of the square.

Uh, "Everyone in the town, every household has a representative here, right?" said the mayor with some reluctance, saying the opening remarks of the usual rally.

No one answered.

"It should have all arrived" Then let me introduce first, this is from the "Red Wolf Legion", an army directly under the command of our great man. The aristocratic prefect Angri. Lord Gu has come to convey to us the noble will of His Majesty the King. ”

The mayor's explanation confirmed the speculation in the minds of the people, causing the crowd to stir up slightly.

"According to Lord Angri," the mayor continued, swallowing, his old eyes flashing with a complex, low color, "His Majesty has commanded us. It is necessary to contribute due strength to the unification of the Tianlan Kingdom and the sacred war of one continent, so that all families "men over the age of fourteen and under the age of fifty will follow the glorious Red Wolf Legion and fight for victory." ”

There was a moment of silence, and the people seemed to be unable to believe their ears, and it took a few moments to react, and suddenly there was a huge uproar.

"What did you say, Mayor!?"

"All men over the age of fourteen are to be drafted, so how can that!? just leave women and children at home?"

"I don't want to go to war, my wife has just given birth, and I haven't named my child yet

！”

"To participate in the war at this time is to send to death!"

The townspeople were very excited, and all the young and strong men over the age of fourteen were to be drafted, so what was left of the whole town? Let the women do the heavy farm work, and let the children carry bows and arrows up the hill to fight

！？

At the end of the day, everyone rejects this war in their hearts, and no matter how nice it sounds for the sake of the kingdom and in the name of the king, as long as you are not an idiot, you understand that it is a path to death. There is no one. A fool would be willing to leave his family behind and go to the hell of life and death to be cannon fodder for the so-called ambitious king!

The reaction of the population was fierce. Let the officer Angri beside the mayor. Gu Jian frowned slightly.

"Everyone, be quiet. Be quiet," the mayor tried his best to reassure, but his voice was utterly weak in the midst of the crowd's indignation.

"Draw your sword!" Seeing that the old guy couldn't control the scene, a cold voice spat out of Angri's mouth.

Qiang Qiang was silent, and the sergeant carried out the order meticulously. Qi Qi pulled out the bronze sword from his waist, and the sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard converged, instantly shaking the entire square.

The agitated and indignant people suddenly fell silent as if they had been splashed with cold snow, their expressions stiffened with horror, and they looked at the long sword with a dazzling light.

"You fools. How dare you question the decree of the Great King?"

Angli glanced at the audience. Raising his head slightly, he took a step forward and said indifferently, his words containing an irresistible power, hitting people's hearts like a hammer.

"Your Excellency, this is not the case, please be magnanimous and the mayor of the town is pale and sweaty, and pleads with the chief for the sake of all the townspeople.

"It seems that that weak and incompetent country lord has really bad management skills. Angri didn't pay any attention to the mayor's words, and still looked down coldly at everyone who was silent, "Cai actually asked you to attach to the abyss to let the fools forget." Who is the noble king you are supposed to worship, and he gestured lightly.

The elderly mayor, who was still about to say something, suddenly shook his whole body, his eyes widened, and he slowly looked into his chest, and saw a bloodstained sword tip.

A sergeant behind the mayor of the town, after receiving the commander's signal, did not hesitate to swing his sword and pierce the old man's body. There is no half-point fluctuation in the eyes.

The townsfolk were stunned at first, then a man screamed, and then his companions were killed and covered with their mouths.

"Great,, man," the old mayor slowly knelt on the ground, his cane in his hand snapped and fell, his hands gradually weakened, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and finally the whole person quietly fell to the side of the platform.

Seeing that the most respected elder in the town was killed in this way, some women couldn't help but smoke, and the little men showed angry expressions one by one. But he could only bow his head sadly and helplessly.

People clearly knew that although the number of people on the field was superior, if they really wanted to resist, they would definitely not be the opponent of these twenty elite sergeants plus a high-level cultivated swordsman officer. The gap between untrained ordinary civilians and elite soldiers who have experienced the baptism of the battlefield is too great

！

"Listen, now I'll take the place of your useless lords and mayors and tell you the truth that should be firmly imprinted in your hearts. After Angri instructed an old man to be killed, he continued coldly as if nothing had happened.

"You foolish people are lowly, insignificant" mediocre and almost worthless beings, and you can only attain noble glory by devoting yourself to the great mission of God

"Our great king is the only one of the strongest heroes in the history who has been recognized by the two supreme holy swords, and he is proud of the continent and unparalleled in the world! ”

"It is a lifetime of the fortunate opportunity of you fools to serve such a mighty king, knowing that before you, your humble ancestors, who were equally inactive, could not even be met with the time in which the king lived, and died like ants without meaning. ”

"If you have the opportunity, you must know how to cherish it. For the goal of the king's unification of the continent, God destined to dedicate everything to the historical mission, so that you, who were originally worthless, can shine with glory far beyond your own existence. ”

Under the sound of Angri's high-minded "teachings", people's fists clenched tighter and their teeth hurt more and more.

No matter how fanciful the officer's words were, they could only make them sick.

In the seemingly glorious words, what really made them jealous and chilling was the origin and mission of the "Red Wolf Legion" revealed by Angli intentionally or unintentionally.

This powerful army directly under the king was specially assigned from the front to collect and squeeze the people's supplies and recruit young and strong "special" troops! According to the "special laws and regulations in wartime" authorized by the king, it can handle and even suppress all forms of resistance.

The king was merciful and magnanimous, and said that if any of you were unable to do so, he would pay the "tax on the kingdom" instead. Angri said to the end, telling everyone a number that was difficult to pay.

"By the afternoon, all men of school age must assemble with the necessary supplies or pay the 'national tax' to my men. And if anyone dares to disobey,

Angri slowly and coldly swept through the room.

"Anyone who is guilty of desertion" or "treason" will be executed, and the offender and his associates will be executed. ”

Every word, there was a sound on the ground, which made the hearts of all the townspeople cold. The remains of the old mayor on the platform looked like some terrifying symbol. Wake up to those present.

Don't want to obey, don't want to obey. But "what can we do if we are weak and powerless?"

In the crowd, Sheriff Jacon thought with great sadness that even the strongest Sister Chloe in the town had no power to resist in the face of such a strong and arrogant fellow.

There were twenty-one of them, and on the outskirts of the town was a whole squadron of Red Wolves with more than ten times the number of troops stationed here! they could slaughter the whole town at any time if they wanted.

There is no way to resist, and there is no way to escape. Unless it's all in the direction of the Karkarov Mountains. But if you really want to escape, no matter how you can survive in the dangerous wilderness, what will happen to your family, and what will happen to your "related" neighbors?

Jaken sadly thought about how he would explain all this to his wife and children at home and arrange the aftermath.

At this moment, there was a steady and clear footstep behind me.

Step, step, step unhurriedly. Stable and steady, from far to near, resounding in a dead silence in the field.

Naturally, the people turned their heads to look. I saw a young man with a bandage on his face, only revealing a pitch-black left eye, and a slightly messy black hair, strolling over.

"It's him," people suddenly thought. Immediately, there were some strange emotions in my heart, I don't know if it was the atmosphere on the scene, or if the suspicious manhood of this suspicious man who had lived in Chloe's house for a month was originally unusual, and it had firmly attracted everyone's attention at this time.

"Huh?" Angri, who was speaking on the stage, enjoyed the pleasure of looking down on all beings, but was interrupted by such a strange person who came suddenly, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Fool, how dare you be late at such a time?"

It was natural for him to mistake the black-haired young man for a man from a family who had come belatedly.

Chongyang didn't speak, calmly walked into the crowd, and kept walking towards the platform, while all the townsfolk invariably made a way for him.

This natural group reaction was further misinterpreted by Angri, who thought that the silent bandage man might be another important figure in the town.

"Come to the stage and be punished for your rude offense. ”

He said in an irresistibly commanding tone, and the hearts of the people were chilled again, and they clearly foresaw what would happen to the black-haired youth.

"Hey, don't" Because of Chloe's relationship, Jaken is a person who is more familiar with this bandage man, and he can't bear to see the other party die like the mayor, so he can't help but scream, but he hurriedly swallows back halfway through the call.

Chongyang didn't stop, he walked straight through the crowd, walked to the platform, and glanced at the old mayor who was killed on the ground.

"Get down on your knees and repent of your sins. Maybe I can be a little more tolerant. Angli said proudly in front of him, behind him were twenty armored sergeants with swords in their hands and their faces full of indifference.

rumble

The sound of a huge explosion suddenly shook everyone's eardrums, and in the midst of the scattered green fireworks, a figure in a blood-colored cloak spun and flew out like a cannonball, smashed through a corner of the platform, smashed so hard that it rolled on the ground and rolled more than a dozen times, and slid for a long distance of nearly twenty meters.

People's retinas still had a sudden blazing shadow remaining, and it wasn't until they instinctively looked at the extremely embarrassed figure that they realized that it was the red wolf officer who was still showing off his might a second ago.

On the platform, Chongyang squatted down. Flatten his body for the old mayor, who he didn't know very well, and then gently stroked and closed the old man's eyes.

Until he finishes this series of movements. The twenty sergeants, who were shocked, came to their senses and surrounded him from all sides, their faces full of horror and vigilance.

Chongyang stood up, raised his hand, and grasped the sharp and shiny Qinglong knife.

"That's the only one? ”