Chapter 7: The Relics of the Sage

After a near-perfect victory, Mayfei's guards gradually became active, changing the sluggish situation along the way.

Exterminating the thieves allowed the entire team to obtain a large number of loot, among which there were a few scattered coins, which were worth about a thousand silver coins. There are also a few other, small quantities of jewelry, as well as gold and silver utensils. As for the worn and worn weapons and equipment on the thieves' group, they really can't find a few valuable pieces, and it seems that the life of this thieves group is not comfortable.

None of this was left behind, and he gave it to Matthew to dispose of as trophies and distribute them to his knights. For Mephie, the biggest gain of this battle was the more than 200 captives, a group of people who, if used properly, could help him solve many problems. As for those possessions, it is more suitable to use them to boost the morale of the guards.

Matthew, who had been struggling with this along the way, was secretly relieved to see this group of young men with great morale. At first, he wondered why Mayfield was willing to go after the thieves overnight, regardless of pay, but now it seems that this decision was undoubtedly a wise one, and the effect was very significant.

After arriving in Blue Water City, they didn't know what kind of situation was waiting for them. Can we put the army in order at this time, even in the face of an unknown situation?

After dealing with the leader of the thieves, Mayfield gave Matthew some money to send a few men to the town to buy more food and wine, and they had to feed more than two hundred captives along the way, and their surplus food alone was not enough.

Moreover, it has been more than half a month since he left the imperial capital, and they have been on the road non-stop for half a month. Just yesterday, they had a good victory, and they needed to be rewarded for this group of knights. Moreover, there are still some wounded in the mercenary group, and they can also take advantage of this to rest in place for two days before hitting the road.

Early the next morning, a guest came from outside Mayfei's tent, the female swordsman named Yin.

Because the female swordsman had helped them capture the leader of the thieves, the knights of the Guards were very enthusiastic about her compared to the group of mercenaries they made fun of. The guard in charge of the guard dragged and wanted to find a topic to talk to her, but unfortunately the female swordsman didn't speak and looked at him coldly. The knight immediately shut his mouth in amusement, and carefully stepped aside.

When he had exterminated the thieves before, he had seen the skills of this female swordsman with his own eyes, and she was no match for some ladies who were powerless. Even Matthew, the commander they called 'madman' behind her back, was full of praise for her skillful skills.

In the tent, Mei Fei slowly chewed and ate her breakfast while glancing at the visitors.

"What's the matter with coming to me at this time?" Seeing the female swordsman come in, Mei Fei opened the conversation first.

"You put it, that guy, go?"

"Yes. Mayfield did not shy away from admitting.

He naturally knew who the female swordsman was referring to. Of course, he was ready to let Victor go, but Mayfield never revealed the matter to anyone else. Mei Fei stopped his movements and frowned, he was more curious about how the female swordsman found out. Could it be that his group of bastard knights who are interested in it are stupid enough to even take out this kind of thing and get close to it?

"How do you know?"

"Yesterday, in the evening, I took a walk and saw it. The female swordsman Yin looked at the young nobleman, a little dissatisfied. After all, she caught the person, how could she let it go casually without her: "He is, bad guy." ”

"Bad guys have bad guys. Mayfei, however, uncharacteristically began to excuse the leader of the thieves: "And some people are not born bad. I've heard that he used to be a good guy when he was an officer. Even after becoming a thief, he will ask his subordinates to avoid hurting people as much as possible, don't you see that he also let the injured and captured mercenaries receive treatment. ”

"As far as I know, if they fall into the hands of other bands of thieves, these mercenaries may not be able to receive such care. Shouldn't you be grateful to him? Speaking of this, there was a hint of a witty smile on Mayfei's face.

"Ahem..."The female swordsman's expression softened, and she didn't know how to answer for a while.

"If that's the case, it doesn't seem like a problem for me to let him go. ”

Mayfield's series of words made the female swordswoman stunned for a while, and when she came back to her senses, she realized that she was only frightened by Mayfei's sophistry of inverted effects. Yin pursed his eyebrows and glared angrily at the nonsense aristocrat.

"Not true. You're fooling me. Yin continued: "He, I, caught him. ”

"That's right, Miss Yin also worked hard all night to catch him. Mei Fei nodded naturally and even muttered deliberately, and then beckoned to the servants who were serving on the side, and laughed teasingly: "Then this carefully cultivated beef tenderloin should be regarded as a thank you gift from me for the injured mercenaries." ”

I don't know if I didn't hear the prevarication in Mayfei's words, or if the really delicate food attracted attention, or if I knew that it would be useless to argue any longer. The female swordsman actually sat down at the table next to her, and the surprised eyes of the others took advantage of the breakfast that was brought to her.

The servants looked at the swaggering young lady who sat down in her seat in amazement, and in fact this transgression was a bit rude and offensive to Mayfei, who was the lord. After all, as a commoner, you can't dine at the same table with nobles without permission. But the master of these things, Mei Fei, didn't care, and it was not their turn to ask.

Mei Fei on the side looked at Miss Yin, who was already competing with barbecue, and thought about it.

He could see that this black-haired female swordsman, who claimed to be a mercenary but had qualities that many mercenaries did not have, was by no means an ordinary person. If it was those mercenaries who usually came out to run their lives, how could they dare to question a nobleman with a territory like this? In fact, not to mention ordinary mercenaries, even Amman, who was the leader of the mercenary group, would never dare to make any accusations against him.

And according to this young lady's usual behavior, such as the habit of wiping her hands with precious silk before and after meals. Only the daughter of a big family would do this as a matter of course. You must know that ordinary people don't have the chance to get this kind of wealth disease.

Thinking of this, Mei Fei's eyes swept over the strange short sword hanging from the female swordsman's waist, and with a movement in her heart, she said to Yin, who was fiddling with silver tableware, "Miss Yin, the shape of the short sword in your hand seems to be very chic. Is this the case with the short swords used by the Orientals? ”

The swordswoman shook her head and did not stop moving, as if her eyes were only on the food on the plate.

Mei Fei put down the knife in her hand, picked up a napkin and wiped her hands, "Miss Yin, can you show me this short sword in your hand?" ”

Speaking of this, he also paused deliberately, and looked at the female swordsman who stopped his movements because of hesitation. Sensing that the other party was silent, Mei Fei laughed as if teasing: "Are you afraid that I will take it for myself?" ”

After listening to this, the female swordsman frowned, took off the short sword and handed it over: "Don't be afraid, take it." ”

Mei Fei reached out and took the short sword, and then several ancient inscriptions on the scabbard caught his eye, attracting his attention.

The inscriptions were very old, and he could be sure that they did not belong to this era. Because he has studied ancient characters, he also has some understanding of this, and usually the more complex the glyphs, the older the era.

Then he slowly drew his dagger. Gently rubbing his hand back and forth on it, there are some strange lines on the blade, the texture is slightly cool, neither copper nor iron, and it is very light to play. Previously, in the battle to exterminate the bandits, although separated by a long distance. But when she saw Yin using it, Mei Fei vaguely felt that this short sword seemed to have a special power. But now that the short sword is in his hand, he can't feel any fluctuations, as if it is deliberately hidden by something.

Long before the Age of Mythology, some of the artifacts used by powerful creatures during their lifetimes were able to retain some of their master's abilities. After that, if they had not been destroyed in the long years and wars. And after a long period of time, they were discovered or handed down, and then by chance they learned how to exert their power.

Moreover, this kind of power is different from ordinary enchantment, it is only blessed by magic power, or it relies on the interaction of magic technology and magic materials, and it is not the supporting power generated by special materials after artificial forging. Compared to the first three, they are even rarer and magical. And although they do not necessarily have the ability to communicate with the outside world, they can be regarded as living substances to some extent.

All of these ancient, miraculous, and powerful artifacts are known as 'relics of the Sages'.

They don't necessarily possess unrivaled power, but they are definitely priceless 'antiques', and what makes them even more awe-inspiring is that individual 'relics of saints' are worshipped as holy spirits by religious forces. Having it is even equivalent to being able to directly control certain religious forces.

No joke is that it would be surprising that a person who holds such a sacred thing can build a small country on his own.

Mayfei didn't feel any of the magic flowing from the swordswoman's odd-shaped dagger. Although the entire sword body can't be seen to be made of any material, it is obviously not a magic material, and it is even more impossible for any magic technology to exist in it. I didn't find any special support on the dagger. But he was sure that he was right, and that this strange dagger was a 'relic of the Sage'.

Mei Fei, take a look at it for a moment. I have never been able to see the origin of this dagger. He slowly inserted the dagger back into its scabbard, then handed it back to Tone, and kindly reminded him.

"Miss Yin. In the future, it is best not to show this short sword too much in front of others. ”

The swordswoman took the dagger, carefully put it back, and nodded.

And at this time, three more people came into the tent. These three are Tamu, the merchant, and Aman, the mercenary leader, and Matthew. In fact, they had been outside the tent for a while, but because they heard someone talking inside, the three of them did not choose to go in at the first time.

At this time, Mayfei had just handed the short sword back to Yin. Tamm and Aman, on the other hand, looked at them with strange eyes.

They really couldn't figure it out, could it be that the noble young master had really taken a fancy to the female swordsman who was traveling with them? If not, how could they explain that they were so close when they came in, and judging from the plates on the table, the two of them seemed to be sitting together for breakfast just now...

However, the two of them were very knowledgeable, and they didn't mention why they were here. But Tamm and Amand still felt a little embarrassed, and for a moment the whole tent became unusually quiet.

Fortunately, at this moment, Matthew on the side stood up and broke the embarrassing atmosphere: "Young Master, I brought His Excellency Tamu and Head Aman. ”

Mayfield got up from her seat and explained to Tam and Aman, "According to the itinerary set yesterday, we will leave for Blue Water City in a while, Mr. Tam and Captain Aman, are you all ready?"

"Yes, my lord. Tam and Arman nodded before adding, "We're ready to go." ”

"Matthew, you should prepare too. Receiving the reply, Mayfield turned to the butler beside her. Matthew, on the other hand, nodded and walked out, urging the servants to pack their bags as he began to order the guards to be gathered.

"Not long ago, Your Majesty gave me the title of Blue Water City. Mayfi paused and looked at Tamm and Amand with a smile, "You've been there before, haven't you?" ”

"A few years ago, the trade route of the Chamber of Commerce passed through Blue Water City, and I happened to be involved a few times. Tamu took the lead in answering Mayfed's question, and Amand nodded when he saw this: "Lord Lord, the mercenary group went out of the country not long ago, and it happened to pass through Bishui City at that time. ”

Speaking of which, Aman also took a special look at the female swordsman. It was also when I returned from that trip that I met this skilled female swordsman.

"Yes. Mei Fei looked at the two heads with more interest: "In your opinion, how is Bishui City?"

Amar and Tamu glanced at each other and decided to tell the truth to the newly crowned lord so that he could be prepared before arriving in Blue Water City: "Since the garrison sent by the royal family took over, things have not been very good there. ”

"Oh. Mei Fei listened to the comments of the two, but smiled unexpectedly: "Why do you say that." ”

The female swordsman Yin, as if thinking of something unpleasant, suddenly furrowed her delicate eyebrows, and interjected in front of everyone: "They, very not, friendly. ”

"Yes. Amand agreed with the swordswoman, and continued: "The soldiers stay in the city forever, and wander all day long in taverns or casinos and brothels. And he has always turned a blind eye to the thieves entrenched in the surroundings of Bishui City and the security problems that can be seen everywhere. Of course, if this is all there is to it, it is nothing, but the problem is that they make it very difficult for the mercenaries and travelers who pass by, as well as the local people, and even collect the entrance tax or toll money from these people. ”

For these reasons, they were rated as poorly rated by the people as the thieves outside the city. Those people secretly compared them to the two big bullies in Blue Water City. ”

Speaking of this, Amand also glanced at the thief captives who were far away outside the camp, intentionally or unintentionally: "But in my opinion, they are not even comparable to thieves." Anyone who dared to resist them would be arrested and imprisoned. I even heard that a group of mercenaries were beaten to death a few months ago because they were angry..."

Mei Fei continued to ask, "Isn't there any punishment for these soldiers who have done evil, the commander of the garrison there?"

Seeing Amand shaking his head, this made Mei Fei gradually wrinkle his brows.

Tamm then offered his opinion: "The trade tax there is also much higher than in other places, and they have to collect an additional VAT in addition to the tax prescribed by His Majesty the Emperor. The high taxes not only scared away many chambers of commerce and merchants, but also made the goods produced in Bluewater City far less easy to buy than in other places. For example, when merchants bought grain from farmers, they had to pay a lower price than elsewhere to guarantee their profits. ”

"And I'm sure they won't pay this VAT to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Otherwise, how could they have been visiting casinos and brothels for long periods of time? ”

Mayfield nodded and didn't say anything more. He knew that Tam's special mention of these was in the hope that he would reduce the taxes in Bluewater City in the future. But in fact, what the merchant said was good news for him. This at least proves that the potential value of the commercial trade tax in Bluewater City is much higher than what he and the royal family have seen.

After all, he will continue to enforce this tax rate in the future, which will scare away many merchants in the Chamber of Commerce. He would also receive more than half of the business tax on the Chancellor's books, which would make his finances much more optimistic.

But no matter what, it seems that some changes are indeed necessary in Bluewater City, at least this group of garrisons that have caused public anger must be punished as they deserve.