Chapter 149: A Small Mountain Village

The city of Venades is the largest commercial and trading city of the Principality of Madras, and it is also the largest distribution center for goods, mainly due to the geographical location of the city of Venades, which is located in the center of the traffic convergence in all directions, leading to the Kingdom of Antinac to the south, the Northland to the north, the Principality of Fakr and the Principality of Sabaji to the east, and the capital of the Principality of Madras, the administrative center of the city of Shalisco to the west. With easy access to roads, the city of Fanades is known as the commercial flower of the Principality of Madras.

Lorist and his squad of archers spent five days and nights, traveling nearly a thousand miles non-stop, to the city of Venades.

Now I had to stay in the city of Venades for two days, one was to inquire about the news, and the other was to rest the horsepower, and for five days in a row, I drove two hundred miles a day, and these Northland horses as archers' mounts were almost at the limit.

In the southern suburbs of the city of Vanades, a small caravan camp was rented, and the archers were settled, and Pete was in charge of the chores, and Lorist took Pat and five guards into the city, and they needed to find a good hotel to stay in.

The last time Lorist returned to the Northland with Ovikis and his convoy, they had only rested for a day outside of Vanades, and Sedcamp went into the city to replenish some food and grass supplies and hurried on the road. This is the first time for Lorist to enter the city, compared with the commercial city of Moronte City, where he has lived for ten years, although Vannades City is not big, but the strong commercial atmosphere is comparable, although the streets are narrow, but dense shops, shoulder to shoulder crowds, and the continuous shouting seems to make Lorist return to the familiar City of Morent.

Perfume Beauty Hotel, located on South Street in Vannades City, is a famous high-end hotel, and it is also the most favorite place for nobles and big businessmen.

Lorist booked four suites in the wing, took a shower, sent two guards to inform Pete of his lodgings in the city, then took Pat and four of the guards downstairs, took up two tables in the lobby of the hotel and ordered, and listened to the conversation of the diners around him while enjoying dinner.

After listening for a long time, Lorist was disappointed, although the merchants who dined here talked about the blockade of the road to the Kingdom of Andinac, most of them complained and speculated about when the blockade would be lifted, and the rest were about the diversion and the trade of goods in their hands, etc.

While eating and listening, he occasionally looked up and found Pat, who was sitting opposite, staring at somewhere behind him. Lorist was stunned, looked back, and smiled.

Behind him is a small living room like a corridor, which is full of women dressed up in fancy clothes, from time to time there are guests of the hotel to enter, choose the woman they like, negotiate the price, and then take the woman back to the hotel room to spend the Spring Festival together.

If you want, you can choose one and leave before eleven o'clock in the evening. Lorist looked at the huge hourglass placed on the counter in the lobby of the hotel, and said, "It's only seven o'clock, and if you want to choose, there are still four hours, so there's plenty of time......

Pat's face flushed: "No, I'm just looking, seeing and seeing......"

"Really?"

"No, I'm going to stay by my side......" Pat shook his head resolutely.

"It's safe here, we're just a group of traders, and no one knows me. And as a businessman, when you go to the hotel, you don't look for a woman, but it is more eye-catching, you look at the four of them, and you look at women with straight eyes. If you don't want to find a woman, hang out with me, and I'd like to buy some detailed maps of the road ahead. Each of the four of them gave a Kingford and told them to find a woman themselves, so that our group could look normal. Lorist said.

Pat turned around and gave each of the four guards at the other table a gold coin, a surprise that made the four guards blush with excitement. Pat told them not to leak their mouths, and to let the women go before eleven o'clock in the evening. The four guards nodded vigorously, but Lorist was still embarrassed to choose a woman right away.

With Pat with them, the two left the hotel, visited two night markets, and bought two travelogues and a few maps at the bookstore. To Lorist's surprise, in the bookstore there was a map of the fortifications of the fortress castle of Liechda for sale. The owner of the bookstore said disapprovingly that some time ago the Grand Duke of Madras ordered the border and roads to be blocked, denying the entry of displaced people. All of a sudden, the fortress castle in Liechdan became a hot topic, and many people who like to talk about it on paper came to buy a copy and invited a few friends to talk about how to defend and how to conquer, which is a normal thing.

"This map of the city defense was reprinted directly from the dock room, and it is currently selling very well, so why don't you have a copy of it, sir?" the bookstore owner sold.

"Well, then give me a copy too, and I'll figure out how to conquer this fortress when I go back. Lorist said.

"In fact, the fortress castle is dead, and the real defense depends on people. As long as the Iron Guard of our principality is present, this fortress castle will not be able to be conquered. The bookstore owner said proudly as he rolled up the map and handed it to Lorlist.

Lorist nodded, thoughtful.

After returning to the hotel, Lorist stayed in his room for two days to carefully study the topography of the fortress from the city of Vannades to the fortress of Liechdana, and asked the hotel attendant to find a guide who was familiar with the route to the Duchy of Fakr, and inquired in detail about the road to the Duchy of Fakr. Here he also instructed Pat and his guards to haunt the taverns and inns in the city, large and small, to inquire unobtrusively about the war readiness and logistical armament of the blockade of the border.

In the eyes of the innkeepers and other merchants, Lorist was just an ordinary nobleman from the kingdom of Redlis, worried about how he would get home.

On the third day, Lorist left his house and returned to the southern outskirts of the archers' camp.

In the evening, in the big tent, Lorist summoned Pete and Pat to arrange the rest of the trip.

“...... We set off tomorrow morning and head east along the road to the Duchy of Fakel. This area is a small area of mountains and rivers, and the terrain is complex, and I heard that there were robbers and bandits in the past. However, due to the blockade of the border, there are many caravans who divert this mountain road, and the Duchy of Madras has also sent a large garrison to be responsible for the security of this road, and it is said that there has been no news of robbers and bandits in the past month.

We should have been half a day's journey to the small mountain village, and we were told that there was a squadron of garrisons stationed in this small mountain village, because not far from the small mountain village was a fork in the road, which went south through a large forest and reached this hill, and under the hill there were two paths, one leading to the fortress of Liechdana, and the other was to climb over the hill to the Egret Lake.

We have two choices, one is to cross the Egret Lake, on the other side is the Kingdom of Antinac, but I don't know if to find the ferry, after all, we have more than 100 people and five carts are a little troublesome. Luckily, these trails are accessible to horse-drawn carriages. There is also a road that leads from the fortress of Liechdana.

You see, the fortress castle of Liechdana is built on the Leedon Mountain, the west is the Liedon Mountains to the sea, this road is not passable, the east slope of the Liechdana fortress castle is the traffic road connecting the two countries, about 500 meters away from the castle are three small stone mounds, the locals call it bread hill, the bare like three freshly baked round bread. Now I heard that a barracks had been built on it, and a large battalion of soldiers of the Iron Guard Regiment was stationed, and the fortress of Liechdan controlled the middle avenue on the left and right.

Below the bread hill is the Egret Lake, which is the natural dividing line between the Kingdom of Andinac and the Duchy of Madras, but except for the path I just pointed out over the hill to the lake, and then the coast is swamps and primeval forests, we did not know that there is a second path leading to the lake.

At present, guard towers and wooden fences have also been built on the 500-metre open space and avenue between Bread Hill and Lieden Mountain, and the border has been completely closed. The last time Pat inquired about the situation was that ten garrison crossbows were arranged in the barracks on the bread hill, and they were all formal garrison crossbows with a range of two or three hundred meters, just like those arranged in the fortress castle of Liechdana. Even if the watchtower and wooden fence in the middle are destroyed, the condescending crossfire from both sides can still block the passage of the avenue.

So we don't want to break through here until we have to, that means we have to pay a heavy price in casualties. When we arrive at this little mountain village at noon to-morrow, we will carefully check the density of the patrols, and see how wary they are of the fork in the road, and whether we can slip through without anyone knowing. If this is not possible, we will force our way through, reach the lake, abandon all miscellaneous vehicles, and swim across the lake with our mounts..."

......

At noon, Lorist arrived at the small mountain village with his men, and after showing the garrison the insignia of the Tebury family, he was allowed to enter the small mountain village to recuperate. In the open space in front of the small mountain village, three caravans are already resting, and they will set out on their journey after lunch.

Finding a vacant lot, Pete commanded the archers to start cooking in the pot, and the villagers of the small mountain village came to sell their home-brewed ale and food in an endless stream, and it seems that the Duchy of Madras's blockade of the border brought unexpected prosperity to this small mountain village, and the villagers of the small mountain village earned a lot of money from passing caravans by selling snacks and their own mountain goods and prey, and everyone had a satisfied smile on their faces.

After lunch and an hour's rest, Lorist ordered to pack up and prepare for departure, which meant that there was no chance to force a break through the fork in the road in front of him, guarded by a garrison squad, and everyone had to be ready for battle.

While the equipment was being arranged, there was a bustling noise at the gate of the small mountain village, and then a small group of swaggering garrisons walked in with seven or eight people dressed as tightly bound mercenaries.

Pat only glanced at the past, his face changed greatly, and he turned back to Lorlist's side: "My lord, it's not good, it's Reddy and Jim who caught them......"

"What? what are you talking about?" Lorist was stunned for a moment, and when he looked back, he saw that it was Reddy and Jim who were really surrounded by the crowd and were bound like rice dumplings, Jim's shoulder was still bleeding, and it seemed that he had been captured after a fierce fight, and the rest of the mercenaries were also dressed as wounded.

The squadron leader of the garrison stationed in the small mountain village came out of a wooden house with a curse, disheveled, and two red kiss marks could be seen on his open chest and neck, and it was evident that the arrival of the captives had disturbed his good deeds.

The squadron leader squeezed past the crowd, and after a few words with the escort captain, he ordered Reddy and Jim to be taken to a stone house that was used as a cell.

Lorist greeted him and asked curiously, "Hey, Captain, what's the matter with these captives?

"Fart slave ......" the squadron leader scolded, and then remembered that the one in front of him was a nobleman, although he was not a nobleman of the principality, but he was also a viscount no matter what, and his status as a squadron leader could not be compared. Hurriedly straightened his clothes: "Salute to you, Lord Viscount." These people were all caught smuggling into the territory of the Principality by smuggling into the territory of the Principality and violating the Grand Duke's ban on passage. ”

"What do you do with them, do you sell them to slave traders? I think they are very strong men, and they can be sold for a good price. Lorist said.

"Damn the aristocracy, and he doubles as a slave trader. The squadron leader scolded secretly and replied: "We don't do slave trading, and those who sneak across the border like this are caught and beheaded for public display after the interrogation at night.......

It was then that Lorist noticed that there were no less than thirty heads hanging from a large tree on the east side of the small mountain village......

"It's a pity, I still wanted to make a good price......" Lorist looked very sorry that the deal didn't work.

"I beg your pardon, Viscount, this is an order from the Grand Duke, and we can only obey it. I'd like to say goodbye first, and I wish you a smooth journey. The squadron leader saluted and left.

Lorist walked back with a gloomy face, and said to Pat and Pete, "Find a way, find an excuse to stay, find out the defenses of the small mountain village in the afternoon, and kill them in the evening, and rescue Reddy Jim and them." ”

Pete said, "My lord, why don't you do it now?"

Lorist shook his head: "There are too many people now, you see that there are five or six caravans around. We can't guarantee that messages won't be leaked. If we do it, the surrounding garrisons will soon be alerted and surround us, we only have a small group of men, but there is a large garrison in charge of this road, I don't want to trap nearly a hundred of you in order to save a few people.

If it were evening, there would be no caravans here, because it was only half a day's journey from Venades, and no one would spend the night here, either going or coming, and we could make sure that the garrisons from other places would not be alerted to take out the enemy here. ”

The house where the squadron leader went lived was one of the prettiest women in the small mountain village, a young widow. Originally, there were still many young people in the small mountain village who were courteous in front of her, but as soon as the squadron leader came, there was nothing to do with those young people.

I was disturbed by those smuggling mercenaries just now, and this time I just entered the alley and heard a knock on the door.

"What's going on again!" the squadron leader was furious, and the little brother who had been stabbing him just now was frightened and shrunk into a ball again.

"Captain, the Viscount you were talking to just now accidentally fell off his horse when he got on his horse and was about to set off, as if he had broken several bones, and they couldn't walk. The viscount fainted in pain, and his men had gone to Vannadez City to hire a pharmacist. Now they are going to set up tents and camp in the village. The men outside the door shouted loudly.

"Haha, that's great news, that damn slave trader Viscount has such bad luck times. Squadron Leader Da Le: "Tell them to camp in the village, and I'll go to visit Lord Viscount again in the evening, don't bother me if it's okay now!"

Lowered his head and said to the little widow with a spring face under him, "Baby, help me with your little mouth again......"

......