-

However, in the afternoon of the next day, there was some commotion in the village due to the arrival of the "messenger".

The patriarch's house was built next to the village square, and Mo Shi happened to be in the courtyard at that time, so he could clearly see the stranger riding a "two-horned horse" from the end of the road to the east on the snow and ice.

At first, Moshi was more interested in the mounts of the visitors: a four-legged creature with short limbs and a low neck like a deer or horse, with short horns on either side of its forehead and a thick coat of brown hair, and its hooves evolved to be broad and thick to facilitate walking on snow.

There are also artiodactyls in the village that are used for riding or pulling carts. The animals were closer to the "cows" in Moshi's memory, but they were much larger, with no horns and huge hooves. In fact, Bluebird also translates them directly as "broad-billed cows".

The two-horned horse came to a halt in the middle of the village, and its owner tightened its reins.

Its owner is a male orc dressed in fur.

The orc seemed to be in a hurry. His clothes are simple, but he is also noticeably more elaborate and ornate than the local villagers.

The villagers who remained in the village soon flocked to the center of the square.

The man was on a horse, and someone brought him a jug of water to drink.

He then took out a roll of leather paper from inside his coat.

"God bless, the Supreme Monarch will see from you. At the behest of the great King of Manlon, the tax collectors of the Duke of Firesparrow and the black dogs of the kingdom are about to visit this place. ”

He unfolded the scroll of paper in his hand, on which were densely written and burned with bright red seals. The figure of that seal appears to be a large bird.

The crowd boiled, and all kinds of voices mingled.

The man answered a few questions, but the villagers continued to rush towards the center.

He tugged at the reins, and the two-horned horse raised its front legs and neighed loudly.

After the villagers were a little quieter, the messenger said in a loud voice, "Your Excellency Tax Collector is now working in Changto Town, and it is expected that you will be here in three days, so please be sure to prepare your taxes." ”

With that, the messenger urged his mount and headed for the other villages in the south.

"Three days later...... Three days later......" When the crowd dispersed, Mo Shi heard some discussions, "But there should be another month to go, and this season is actually taxed in advance!"

"Maybe it's because the war is urgent......

"So what? What if the herd doesn't pass through here for three days, and can we conjure up whatever the Duke and the King need? ”

"Don't say it, don't you want to die?!"

"I ......"

A deep sigh followed.

-

The days of three days from now are fast approaching.

In the past three days, Mo Shi has seen Duna once, and the girl follows her father and mother to the house of the patriarch Maika, and begs to borrow some tax goods that can be paid for taxes.

However, according to Maika, there are not many giant beasts passing through the seaside forest this winter, and the number of hunters caught is not much, and each household has no extra storage.

They still returned empty-handed.

The tax collector's black procession arrived at Dongge Village on a gloomy evening with light snow.

At that time, Mo Shi was groggily asleep in the house, and the blue bird was singing (or playing) some old songs to him. But he was soon woken up by the commotion outside the house.

He found that the patriarch's family was not in the house. So he went to the door, opened it, and stood inside the threshold and looked out.

Many fires were lit in the square, and people gathered there.

Soldiers in black armor set up leather tents, and a male orc with a flipping paper and a quill in his hand sat under the eaves of the tent, which seemed to be the "tax collector" referred to by the messengers and villagers. The villagers dragged the beast to him with wooden planks or carts drawn by oxen.

Those prey were inspected by several officers and reported to the tax collector.

The body of the giant beast that had been inspected and registered was thrown onto a wooden cart pulled by a two-horned horse. During this harsh winter, the corpses are almost completely frozen in outdoor temperatures and do not decay.

This tax collection ceremony seems to have been going on for some time.

Broken snow kept falling on the fire.

People whispered.

Mo Shi changed into his boots, which were now filled with the insoles that Gina had sewn for him, and it was very warm. He walked outside the courtyard and went to the vicinity of the square.

He wandered around the crowd and saw Du Bai and Du Na crouching to the side. Duna hugged her brother tightly. Their parents stood by their own taxes: they were two giant beasts, and some of the stumps and fur of the beasts.

Clearly, Dubbins was not able to collect the required taxes.

Mo Shi walked towards them with a long staff.

He stood beside the family and placed his hand gently on the girl's shoulder.

He looked into the middle of the square.

Standing here, you can clearly see the grim expression of the tax collector as he checks the documents, and the cup of hot wine that is constantly being filled in his hand, the patriarch of Dongge Village, McCarbi, who is respectfully half-kneeling, also a few meters away from the tax collector, and the helmets of those officers and soldiers of the convoy are cast into the faces of fierce dogs—as if a faint foreshadowing of the brutality of the Reign of Terror.

Dongge Village is a small village, and families come forward with tax goods.

Soon, the tax officer's deputy shouted the names of the Dubbins.

"Dubbins, very family member, come before the tax collector and give thanks for the protection of the king and duke—"

Everyone present knew that the Dubbins did not have enough tax items.

There was silence in the square at this time.

In front of everyone's gaze, Gina picked up Duna and Duber, who were squatting on the ground and shivering.

The four of them walked towards the center of the square.

-

It wasn't until he watched the Dubbins family step out of the circle and stand in front of the tax collector with a heavy wooden plank in tow that Mo Shi suddenly felt uneasy. The uneasiness made him almost panic.

He tried to squeeze in front of the crowd.

Moshi struggled his way through the crowd of tall orcs that smelled of beasts, using his cane to open the gaps he could pass through, trying to put his feet on the snow that had been flattened into ice. When the people looked back and saw that it was him, a stranger, they made way for him.

Mo Shi finally came to a place with a clear line of sight.

He held the bluebird to calm his breathing, and tried to straighten his sore legs. The panting and heartbeat were so loud that he was an outlier among the people around him.

Mo Shi saw the tax collector stand up, step out of the tent, and paced around the tax goods twice. The canine's face took on a heavy and unhappy look.

"Your family of four has only handed over two intact beasts and a few fragments. "Is this your loyalty to the Duke and His Majesty?" said the tax collector, "Do you think that you will be able to get away with it?"

The black guard raised his spear.

Dubbins immediately fell to his knees.

He prostrated himself in front of the tax collector and touched the tips of his fine boots with his fingers.

The people of Dongge Village never wear shoes.

And the tax collector has a nice pair of leather boots.

Dobbins asks for his forgiveness and tells the story of the prey being taken by the beast on a snowy night.

"Besides, my lordship, as you know, the date of this tax collection has been brought forward by more than two weeks - if you give me some more time, just a little time, I promise to deliver enough behemoths......"

"There is a war going on in the north, and the king protects you good people. The army needed supplies, so taxes had to be levied in advance, and this was the edict of His Majesty the King. ”

The tax collector's deputy brought the file for him.

He looked at the scroll twice, then raised his leg and kicked Dubbins away.

A low bark came from the bottom of his throat.

"Shameless man, your family owes a great beast in the autumn, and now instead of making up for it, you are going to owe it again? Do you still beg for mercy from the Duke and the King here today? The weak are not qualified to make demands, they are not entitled to live, and your disrespect is a waste of His Majesty's grace. ”

The tax collector waved his robe, turned and walked back to the eaves of the tent, and stood at the table.

"In accordance with the provisions of the Divine Law," declared the tax collector, holding a paper, "I hereby request the execution of one of you on behalf of the King's loyal servant, the great Duke of Firefinch. ”