When they arrived at the outpost, the guards who stayed behind were not surprised to see Hodge and Hera coming, and Harlow must have informed them in advance.

Led by the guards, the two met Harlow.

Harlow rarely wore the black iron armor that was different from ordinary armor in the room of his outpost, facing a bronze mirror, with a basin of warm water in his hand, and a knife to fix his messy beard.

When Hodge came in, Harlow also dropped the last stab, picked up the towel in the basin and covered his face, inhaled the heat from the towel into his lungs fiercely, and when he put down the hot towel and turned to look at Hodge, the whole person became different from before.

It seems...... More energetic, more handsome.

For an uncle who is nearly fifty years old, these two adjectives mean that the charm is crazy.

"Not bad. Hodge looked at him, from head to toe, nodded in appreciation, "This should be the demeanor of a legendary knight." ”

"Things seem to be going well? I walked all the way and saw no signs of fighting. ”

Harlow's eyes darkened slightly, and he shook his head and sighed, "It's that there was no fight, but it can't be considered smooth, after all, the most loyal subordinates have lost their trust in me, no matter how you think about it, this matter can't be described as smooth." ”

"Who? ”

"Who else could it be. Harlow smiled wryly, "He rebuked me to my face, saying that I had lost my knight's creed, betrayed the one to whom I swore allegiance, and was no longer worthy to call myself a knight, let alone a legend of the North." ”

"Layton—it's not hard to imagine. Hodge thought back to what he had learned of Layton these days, and this man was indeed the best player in the knight's loyalty, "But in my experience, brain-dead is usually only temporary, and I think he will understand your approach soon, after all, this is the best outcome for Blackstone." ”

"Perhaps. ”

"Why, you seem to regret it?" Hodge glanced at him.

Harlow shook his head: "It's sad, but it's regretful—never." The Knight's Creed has prevented me from saving Yasu, and I don't want to make Blackstone a second Yasu because of the Knight's Creed. ”

"If a third of the knights in the world could be like you, the world would be a lot better than it is now. Hodge said, "Alright, let's put the matter of Leyton aside, I'll talk to him when I have time, and now we'll have to deal with more important things right away, after all, my promise to the townsfolk is only until sunset, and I need to give them the answer they want." ”

"Is the person I'm going to see ready to see me?"

"That's your own problem, the Guard's job doesn't include helping you enlighten the prisoners. Harlow missed, walked to the doorway, and said to Hodge behind him, "Come with me." ”

......

The dungeon is built underground, with no windows, so naturally no light can penetrate it.

Rhodes had become accustomed to complete darkness these days, and the sudden appearance of a few candles made him subconsciously cover his eyes with his hands.

With a twist of the key, followed by a click, the iron door of his cell was pushed open, and three men walked up to him.

Rhodes squinted his eyes and discerned the person in front of him, and it took him a long time to identify the person in the middle.

"It's you. He whispered.

Hodge turned to Harlow: "Let's talk alone?"

Harlow nodded, walked out of the cell, closed the iron door, and waited at the entrance to the dungeon.

"See you again. Hodge bowed slightly, "Lord Rhodes." ”

Rhodes raised his hand self-deprecatingly, a thick chain between his hands imprisoning his movements, "Now I'm no longer Your Excellency, as you can see, just a prisoner. ”

Half of his face was pressed against the damp walls of the dungeon, squinting at Hodge, and said, "I heard unusual movement on the ground, what's going on in town, why did you suddenly come to see me?"

"There was just a riot in the town and people surrounded the council chamber. Hodge handed the candle flame to Hera and sat down next to Rhodes, "but I've calmed it down for the time being." ”

"Riots, is it because of the increase in taxes on bars and Red Street?"

Hodge hummed softly, and continued, "By noon today, a low-quality beer at the bar had been sold for the price of two silver coins. ”

"It's an exaggeration, this price, in other words, I have to go to the street to make trouble. Rhodes turned his head, looked into Hodge's eyes, and said, "Tell me, is this also in your plan, or is this idea of taxation not Crane's at all, but yours?"

Hodge didn't say anything, just looked at him with a smile.

"Sure enough...... Rhodes said regretfully, "I was the one who suggested that Pollitt bring you in to solve the murder of the merchant, and now that I think about it, it was the worst decision I've ever made." ”

"Don't think so, you should know that Pollit is not the material to be the mayor of the town, maybe Blackstone will be a different town under my leadership?"

"So your purpose has always been this. Rhodes understood, "But I still have a question. ”

"Say it. "Hodge was quite patient at this point.

"If you dare to incite this riot, you will naturally be prepared to quell it in a corresponding way, which is not difficult for me to understand. But...... Why do you think you can settle the conflict between the council chamber and the miners?" Rhodes looked at him earnestly, "I've dealt with these guys for decades, and I know very well what kind of monsters they are, and if they just change the tax rate back and refund the tax, they will be asked to pay an additional price for humiliating them, and this price is not acceptable to the current council room." ”

"What would you do?"

"Actually, it's not as complicated as you think, I will indeed change the tax rate back to the original and make up for their losses with certain preferential treatment, but I don't plan to return the gold that has fallen into the council chamber, after all, there are many places in a new Blackstone town that need money. ”

"How is this possible?"

"It's possible that Simmons and Kennan will be the first to step up, and with them to speak, the miners' attitude will be softened to a certain extent. ”

Simmons and Kenan were the beginning of the mining tax dispute, and it was from the moment Hodge and Devany forced the two to submit that the Chamber and the miners were officially at odds with each other.

"How? You've insulted them. ”

"Don't forget, they are merchants, and as merchants, insults are never a reason to be angry, only insults that have no harvest can cause anger, and what I use to make up for them is enough to quell any anger. Hodge said.

"I think this thing must be heavy. ”

"Yes, enough to drive the two of them crazy. Hodge didn't say exactly what he had given the two of them, but the description was enough to show that it was anything but unusual.

"But you should know that the words of the two of them alone are not enough. ”

"Of course not. Hodge shook his head, "After they spoke, Taura and the Defoe Society immediately chimed in, and the subordinate chambers of commerce belonging to these two chambers of commerce will all join, and maybe there will be chambers of commerce against it, but there is no need to care, the end result is that Blackstone Town is back to normal operations." ”

"Taura and Defoe?"

Hodge glanced at him and whispered, "Both Carter and Gauld owe me a favor, quite a favor. ”

"Looks like I'm underestimating you, you're fully prepared. Rhodes felt inexplicably relaxed, perhaps because he had been in Blackstone for a long time, and before he knew it, he had made this mining town his second home, and it was always a relief to hear that his hometown was fine.

"So what are you waiting for? Use me to quell the anger of the people, you need someone with enough status, and it just so happens that I, a prisoner, can come in handy, don't I?"

Hodge looked directly into Rhodes' eyes, taking in all the emotions in his eyes, and was silent for a while, before suddenly grinning.

"If you will—"

"There is a second option. ”

......

Hodge stood in the middle of the makeshift platform, looking down at the dense crowd, it was almost dusk, and the sunset in the north had no afterglow, only a faint light, which spread from a corner of the town.

He wasn't alone, behind him were two guards pinning a man to the execution platform, while Harlow was waiting quietly with an unsheathed sword in both hands.

Hodge smiled, and just as he was about to speak, his body shook suddenly.

He was a little surprised, at this moment, he could really feel that his body was getting hot, not only his forehead and cheeks, but also the discomfort of the whole body that came into contact with his clothes.

Hell, at this time, he has never had a fever since he came to this world, but he happened to have a vigorous generalized hyperthermia at such a critical time.

He dripped a few cold sweats, and did not show the physical discomfort on his face, at least ...... Now is not the time to rest.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he cried out, "not long ago I begged you to give me some time, and I will give you a satisfactory answer. Now I've figured out the full circumstances of the incident, and I've figured out what caused the bars and Red Street to go up in taxes. ”

"That's him. He gave up half of his position so that everyone in the audience could see the man who was being pressed by the soldiers on the execution platform.

"His name is Crane, and he is the treasurer of Blackstone, and it is this man who has slandered the mayor and shamelessly raised the town's taxes just to fill his own pocket!"

The townsfolk and the criminals looked at each other, and in each other's eyes there was disbelief and anger.

"He's the treasurer of Blackstone, which means the council chamber is also at fault, and we've made a huge mistake that has traumatized you, and on behalf of the mayor, I say to you — I'm sorry!" Hodge bowed deeply.

The people below couldn't believe their eyes, you must know that the current Hodge is a big man who represents Blackstone Town, even if he does something wrong, but in the face of ordinary people, there has never been a big man who has bent his noble waist.

"Only by having the courage to admit mistakes can we be qualified to make up for them. Hodge stretched out his arms and shouted: "From now on, everything will be the same as before, we will compensate for the injustice you have suffered, and we will also compensate for your suppressed anger!"

"And the culprit. He turned behind him and said quietly, "He will be right here, taking his share of responsibility." ”

Hodge walked to Crane's side, and at this time, Crane's was finally completely stuffed with strips of cloth and cloth, and he couldn't say anything at all, only staring at Hodge with his eyes, full of puzzlement and shock.

His eyes couldn't have been clearer than what he wanted to say.

"Why?"

"It's not the same as we agreed, you promised me to keep me as the treasurer!"

Hodge leaned down and whispered in Crane's ear, "I'm sorry, I've thought about it for a while and found that I still can't tolerate the existence of a betrayer, who knows if you'll betray me like you betrayed Rhodes?"

He smiled: "It's a little funny to say this from my mouth, after all, I am also one of the betrayers." ”

"But perhaps because of this, I can't tolerate another betrayer standing by my side. ”

"So, please die. ”

After he finished his last sentence, he stood up and nodded at Harlow, while he took a few steps back and said in a loud voice to Crane, "Crane, in the name of Lord Pollit, the owner of Blackstone, hereby declares that you will be sentenced to death. ”

Harlow raised his sword and swung it neatly, and Crane died with reluctance and anger in his eyes.

The audience was silent for a long time, and suddenly burst into applause.

Then, a tidal wave of applause swept across the platform, and the townsfolk and criminals searched everywhere for what they could find, and kept throwing them at Crane's corpse, venting their anger and the pleasure of watching the great man from above be slain.

Hodge turned and left the platform with Harlow.

"When I dismantle this table, I don't know how long it will take to clean it to get rid of the stench from the wooden board. Harlow looked back at the platform that was littered with debris and sighed.

"The mess is now all about better cleaning. ”

Hodge's breathing became heavy, his head felt a little dizzy, and his whole body felt like he was being placed on an iron plate.

"Start ...... Today"

Harlow didn't notice, he didn't notice it himself, his vision began to blur, and he gradually lost control of his body, and when Harlow didn't react, he fell straight to the ground in front of him like a puppet with a broken string, making a dull sound.

And before that, he finally said the last half of the sentence.

“...... Blackstone will have a new lease of life. ”