The city of Bremen, once a sparsely populated city, suddenly flooded with troops with the arrival of the lords, and for a time there was a false prosperity in the taverns and markets.

Winters in Erathia were warmer than in Krulrod, and after the heavy snowfall, as the sun returned, the trees and rooftops ...... The snow is starting to melt everywhere.

One, two, three......

Stone sat in the room and looked at the drops of water falling from the eaves, counting them boredly. Accustomed to all kinds of disputes in the world, it is also a kind of happiness that the stone suddenly feels plain.

"I can't imagine that I have such a vicissitudes of life!" Stone shook his head and thought to himself.

"Stones! Stone! The girl shouted, her voice getting closer and closer, "Hey, stone, what are you doing there?" ”

"Count the drops!"

"Ah...... So boring! Let's go out for a walk! ”

"Just this day?" The stone pointed outward.

"What's going on with this day? Isn't that great? The sun was shining and the weather was not too cold. ”

"Turning snow! It's definitely muddy on the road! ”

"It's okay! I'm going crazy if I stay at home any longer! ”

"Good, good! You go call the boulder, and I'll get ready! ”

The girl's face suddenly turned slightly red, she wanted to speak again, looked at the stone, swallowed the words back, and responded: "Hmm......"

****

Outside Bremen, the three of them, Stone, Yaya and Boulder, walked with some difficulty in the already muddy snow. There is more and more mud sticking to my feet, and I can't shake it off. After the three of them left the city, they began to be a little out of breath after walking for a long time. However, the interest of the three of them did not diminish in the slightest, after all, compared to the city, the green under the snow made the surroundings much more lively. The three of them even played snowball throwing and had a lot of fun.

Behind the three, a sizable force followed. Become a lord, even if you go out to play, you don't dare to take any precautions, especially in a city that is still close to the border, danger can come at any time.

In the afternoon. Stone they struggled to climb up a jungle-covered hill. Exhausted and out of breath, the three sat in the open space at the top of the hill to rest.

The girl suddenly stood up quietly, walked back to a rock, picked up the snow on it, and made a ball. Seeing two people who didn't notice themselves. A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on her face. Raising the snowball in his hand, he was about to throw it. The corners of his eyes that were smiling seemed to catch a glimpse of something.

The girl turned her head to take a closer look, was stunned for a moment, and immediately shouted, "Stone." Come and see! There's a village there! A human village......"

The stone turned his head and said lazily, "Bremen City is originally a human city, and it is normal for human villages to have them!" But...... It's all abandoned villages! ”

"But there's someone in that village! You see, there's smoke! ”

"Smoke?" The stone jumped up from the ground, ran to the girl's side, and looked into the distance. In the snow-covered land, a small village was built not far from the mountain, and in the center of the village, curling smoke rose from the village.

"Where?" The boulder soon followed.

"There it is!"

"Didn't you move out? Or is it a new human? Stone muttered quietly.

"Stone, let's go take a look!"

- "See-through eyes! ”――

The stone looked down with magic, and there was nothing around, "Let's go!" ”

As he got closer, he realized that the small village was built next to a frozen river. The towering wooden gates and dense fences enclose the entire small village impenetrable. Unlike the walls and gates of a city, whether it is a fence or a wooden gate, a single fire spell is enough to destroy, but it is safe to resist the invading monsters.

Bang Bang Bang ......

The stone stepped forward and pounded the wooden door.

For a long time, a voice came from the wooden door, "Who?" ”

Shi hesitated for a moment and said, "I am the Lord of Bremen. ”

There was no response to the sound of the wooden door, and after a flurry of footsteps and noise, the wooden door creaked open, and dozens of men armed with wooden guns and forks appeared in front of the stone, including men, women, and children.

Shi was speechless for a while, not all the people in the village came. With these people, if you really fight, can resistance be useful?

An old man with a somewhat stiff figure walked out of the crowd tremblingly, and after quickly glancing at the three Shi and the troops behind him, he bowed and saluted, and said humbly: "I am the village chief of this village, I don't know the city lord, why did you come here?" ”

"Didn't you move away? How did you come back again? Stone asked curiously.

The old man's face was bitter, "Lord of the city, we did move away. It's just that there are many villages in the place where we moved to, because the village has a small population, we moved to the past, we were excluded and bullied, and the land allocated to us was difficult to make a living, so we had no choice but to move back! My lord, we have no choice but to ...... I hope you don't get ...... surprise," the old man lowered his head, tears streaming down his old face.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you!" The stone's words made the humans in front of him happy, "It's just that in the territory of our dungeon, you make it difficult for me to be a member of the human race!" ”

Seeing that things were taking a turn for the better, the old man hurriedly said: "Don't be embarrassed, adults, since we stay in the territory of adults, we are voluntarily joining the dungeon!" We will follow the instructions of the adults, pay the taxes for the adults, and serve the adults......"

"Pay taxes? …… How did Bremen manage you before? ”

"They...... Regardless of ours! As long as we pay our taxes on time! ”

"Hmm......" Stone muttered, "it's not impossible for you to stay here, but you still need to follow my rules......"

The hearts of the crowd immediately lifted, and the old man said a little nervously, "My lord, please say ......."

"Your presence cannot threaten the city of Bremen! Therefore, the armed forces in the village can only have spearmen and archers at most! And then there's ...... Wild forces, they have nothing to do with you, attacks are not allowed, if they attack your village, you can send a signal, and the city will send troops to support you! ”

"Uh-huh......," the old man replied, nodding, "as it should be!" ”

"And then there's paying taxes! How did you pay your taxes before? How much tax do I pay? ”

"My lord, we usually hand in one gold coin per person every two or three months!" After saying that, the old man stared at the stone.

"That's it! From then on, you will each hand in a gold coin every three months! ”

The old man's expression was relieved, and he let out a deep sigh, "Thank you, sir!" ”

"I have one more request - can we go into the village and have a look? Curious! ”

"It's a pleasure! Adult please! The old man bowed his waist slightly, and his hand was drawn forward, and his bearing was extraordinary.

The people of the village hurriedly made way for a road, stood on both sides and watched curiously, and the three of them followed the old man to the village.

The old man introduced as he walked, "Here are all houses where people live in the village, here is the vegetable garden, here is the farm, and that side is the place where the meeting is held......"

Although the village looks small from the outside, it looks very wide inside, and when the stones walk in the village, I feel extra peaceful in my heart, which is a different kind of comfort. (To be continued......)