Port of Linsk.

This important port of the Far North Barbarians is at its busiest hour.

The blizzard finally stopped, and the clear blue sky and the rising sun in the east heralded the beginning of a sunny day, which is rare at the end of this winter.

Barbarian men dressed in messy animal skins emerge from the stone huts next to the harbor and, under the command of the harbor steward, either go to the snow-clearing roads or carry supplies to nearby warehouses for a meager salary.

The port of Linsk was a seaport with rolling snowy mountains to the north and west and relatively plain hills and snowfields to the south, and the barbarians built a fortress near the port to protect it.

Despite its centuries-old history, the Terrans who actually mastered the fortress and harbor did not intend to build it into a truly prosperous and beautiful harbor, but only as a transit point for the barbarians to support and plunder.

So, apart from the fact that the Linsk Fortress still had the appearance of a city, the barbarian settlements on the outskirts of the fortress were completely slums, and were inhabited by barbarian porters, vagrants, small fishermen, craftsmen, and women.

Relying on these tens of thousands of cheap laborers, the Terran state plundered a huge amount of wealth from here every year, far exceeding the support they gave to the barbarians.

Due to the bad weather, a large amount of grain, forage, and weapons from the southern countries were piled up in the warehouse area next to the port and could not be transported, and the severe cold climate even caused the sea water around the port to freeze, and the ships could not approach or transport away the wood, ore and animal skins that were also hoarded in the port area.

"Open all the warehouses, we have to load 3,000 snow camels today!"

The fat second deacon of the port, Orlansk, yelled at his barbarians, wishing to whip the slackers a few times with the whip in his hand.

Barbarians are known for their strength and hard work, but these barbarians, who have lived in the port of Linsk for generations, have long lost the tenacity and toughness of the nomadic tribes, and have also been tainted with many bad habits of the human race, and will not work hard like real slaves.

Ollansk cursed these lazy creatures in his heart, but he didn't dare to really offend them.

You must know that although the barbarians are the servants of the human race, they are quite united, and if the leather whip in his hand is really drawn, the consequences will be quite serious.

Once a strike caused and the supplies in the warehouse could not be delivered, it was still a trivial matter for him to lose this lucrative job.

Therefore, the deacon, who weighs more than two hundred pounds, can only be moved by affection and temptation: "Think of your fellow men who fought against the beasts, they are still suffering from hunger, uh... When you're done today, you'll get two pounds more of rye per person!"

The former obviously could not stimulate the nerves of the laborers, but the temptation of two pounds of rye was obviously not resisted, and the hundreds of barbarians were all in high spirits, and their movements suddenly quickened considerably.

Clearing the snow in front of the warehouse, pushing open the wooden gates, snow camels were led from the corrals and began to load the most urgently needed food from the front.

The raging blizzard cut off the main road to the west, and the only road to the south was barely passable, and many convoys were stranded in the port area for seven or eight days and were desperate to return.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, Orlansk would be able to transport all the supplies in his inventory at once, so that he could rest comfortably in the Linsk fortress for a while, without having to deal with the barbarians in this filthy port.

"Hurry!

While he was busy directing his men, a long procession entered the port area from the south.

Ollansk was quick to find out, and as a result, the size of the team was huge, with thousands of snow camels and hundreds of heavily armed escort warriors showing its size.

And the most striking thing is the Frost Giant War Golem following the team, such a big guy, it's hard not to pay attention.

Which legion's baggage team is this?Valen?Oransk was a little surprised, but he was annoyed by the fact that the other party had brought all the frost giants into the port area.

"Stop, stop!" he ignored the mud on the ground, and rushed towards the other party with agility that did not match his body.

Running wildly, he finally stopped the other party on the outskirts of the warehouse area: "Where are you team, how did you bring the frost giants in?"

One of the leading barbarian warriors jumped off the snow camel and said in a rough voice: "We are from Valen, and a few days ago one of our convoys was attacked by a dastardly sneak attack and lost all its supplies. ”

I see!Oransk understood, that's why this convoy was so large, and there were frost giants with him to protect it.

"Now Valen is in dire need of three hundred heads of food, arrows, and mane oil, fill our snow camels at once, and we will soon be back!" continued the barbarian warrior.

"Oh, oh, brave young man, I can understand your eagerness, but it's not that easy!" Orlansk wiped the sweat from his face, shook his hand, and said, "Look over there, there are more than a dozen convoys waiting to deliver supplies, you have to wait according to the rules, and it will be your turn when they are all gone." ”

"How long will we have to wait? We can wait, but Valen City can't wait!" The barbarian warrior was anxious when he heard this, and shouted loudly, "We have been here for three days and three nights, and it will take even longer to go back!"

Orlansk didn't care about the anger of the other party, he had been working in the port for so many years, and he was used to seeing these eager guys: "It's not my responsibility, unless you can get special permission from the commander of the fortress. ”

He stretched out his hand and pointed to the Linsk fortress not far away: "I only follow the orders of the commander!"

The barbarian warrior stared at him with anger in his eyes that could melt steel, but Orlansk looked at him without giving inch, and he was sure that this guy would not dare to do anything to him.

After a moment of confrontation, the momentum of the barbarian warrior quickly weakened, he looked left and right, lowered his head and leaned over to Oransk's side and whispered: "Your Excellency Deacon, please think of a way, we in Valen City really need this batch of supplies. ”

As he spoke, he quickly shoved a fur bag into Oransk's hand.

A smile appeared on Oransk's fat face, he didn't expect the big man in front of him to be so knowledgeable and knew how to get priority through bribery.

There is no doubt that this guy is much smarter than the captains of the original baggage teams in Valen City, well, it is better to be sneak attacked!

As the second deacon of the port, although Orlansk was in charge of dozens of warehouses, large and small, he did not have the ability or courage to embezzle the materials inside, which was the interests of the higher levels.

But he can profit from these convoys from different places through the card, and if he wants to get the best supplies, he wants to load and send them away as quickly as possible, no problem, as long as he is willing to spend some money!

Weighing the heavy money bag, even if he didn't open the bag, Orunsk could accurately judge that it was full of gold coins, the number of which was not less than two hundred, which was equivalent to half a year's salary.

"Okay! You've convinced me, I'll let you load in advance..."Oransk nodded and said, "Give me the letter of approval from the military department." ”

The port of Linsk is a military-controlled port, and the power is in the hands of the supreme commander of the fortress, and it is impossible for a convoy to move supplies at will after arriving at the port, and it is necessary to obtain a letter of confirmation and approval from the military department.

"We just came, and we haven't gone to the military headquarters of the fortress to exchange the approval letter..."The barbarian warrior smiled bitterly: "In this case, I will send someone to handle it immediately, and let our soldiers go to the warehouse to carry arrows and mane oil first, so that it will not affect the grain loading on your side." ”

"This is not in order!" Orlansk frowned, "I can help you load in advance, but I can't without a letter of approval..."

A piece of cold spar stuffed into his hand made His Excellency Deacon shut his mouth, this is a magic crystal that is more valuable than gold coins, and the quality is quite good!

It seems that the situation in Valen City is really bad! Orlansk smiled crookedly in his heart, the life or death of the barbarians has nothing to do with him, and the immediate benefits are real.

And the so-called rules are for people to break, anyway, as long as the supplies are sufficient, the fortress military headquarters will basically not veto the needs from the front.

"Okay! I'll make an exception today—" he said to the few barbarian retinue behind him, "Take them to the weapons warehouse and the mane oil warehouse, and let them load three hundred heads first!"

A snow camel is a standard load of about 500 pounds of supplies, and 300 heads is 150,000 pounds, and if it weren't for the effect of gold coins and spars, His Excellency Deacon would not have made such a generous exception.

"We are short of manpower, you have to do it yourself, and my people will be responsible for counting and leaving the warehouse. Ollansk turned back to the barbarian warriors and said, "Quickly let someone change the letter of approval, or you will not be able to leave after loading it." ”

"Good!" replied the barbarian warrior.

Hundreds of warriors entered the warehouse area with three hundred empty snow camels, and Oransk's men opened the arsenal and mane oil warehouse opposite the granary.

Bristle oil is an important war material in the north, it is made from the fat of the snow-maned pig, it can be eaten or used to maintain weapons, applied to the skin to protect against the cold, to treat frostbite, and even directly used as fire oil to attack the enemy when necessary.

As his men began to carry large jars of mane oil, the barbarian warrior took Oransk aside.

Ollansk was in a good mood, and the sneaky behavior of the other party made the cunning deacon smell the charm of money again.

"What more do you want?" Orlansk asked with a smile, his eyes narrowing into slits.

The barbarian warrior smiled too, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

(To be continued)