14. The crisis of food shortage
Levi nodded and said, "I see, Mr. Dysh, can I now recruit some pikemen and have you teleport me outside?"
"Yes, yes, but before the portal is built, each alchemy warrior's teleportation will cost double their recruitment fee, little one, even so, do you still want me to teleport?"
Levi couldn't help but be stunned, but after a little consideration, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, Mr. Dich, please help me teleport." ”
"It seems that you understand very well the little one, and your situation is not very safe. The old magician smiled and shook his finger and said, "Since you have completed the advanced quest of the heart of the castle, why don't I give you a little reward?" Of course, the cost of teleportation cannot be reduced, but this small team of archers and two swordsmen can be regarded as my gifts. ”
Levi was very happy in his heart, but he wanted to be able to behave more steadily in front of the old magician, so he tried his best to resist the urge to jump, stood up very solemnly, and bowed to the old magician.
"Thank you very much for your generosity, Mr. Dich. ”
"Little one, this is the reward you deserve. Okay, so you're running out of time to stay in the Heart of the Castle today, and if nothing else, the Heart of the Castle will be temporarily deactivated. Do you need to teleport the alchemy warrior that was given to you?"
Levi immediately shook his head and said, "Not yet, I'll find an excuse to go to the forest once later, and then teleport the alchemy warrior to my side at that time, Mr. Dich, everything is please." ”
The old magician nodded, and then Levi felt a darkness in front of him, and the scene changed instantly, and the fresh air on the grassland suddenly became turbid, and there was an annoying smell of burnt paste.
He had returned to the camp and found himself sitting at the chair of the dining table, four pikemen in two groups, guarding the hole in the ground and the entrance to the hall, and there was a faint commotion outside.
Levi exhaled deeply, feeling a little tired from his body. Still, he pulled himself together and got up from his chair.
Seeing Levi stand up, one of the pikemen guarding the gate turned around and saluted Levi by tapping his breastplate.
"Lord of the City, just now Sir Grace took Warren and Martha to meet you, but we blocked you. Sir Grace said that if you have time today, be sure to meet them. ”
"Sir Grace, what will happen to him?" said Levi to himself, then straightened his leather armor and sword, and walked out the door.
Four pikemen followed Levi, their vigilant eyes scanning around from time to time, although the refugee camp should be very safe now, these alchemical creatures did not let up.
The camp was a bustling scene, the excitement of destroying demons had subsided after a morning, and the grief of losing loved ones and friends had come to dominate people's minds. The ruins of the burned-out houses were still smoking, and the charred black wood was pouring out from below, like arms of despair reaching out to the sky, some villagers staggered through the rubble, calling out the names of their relatives and friends, and several burly camp guards struggled to overturn the collapsed barn to salvage what was stored inside, but when the fresh air entered, the barn, which was still sparkling with fire, immediately burst into flames and crackled and burned.
The sunlight cast a bleak light and shadow on the ground through the thick fog, and the slender Sir Grace, carrying a silver fir longbow that never left his body, stood not far away with a solemn face, talking to Warren the Ranger beside him.
Martha, the female thief, was the first to see Levi come out of the house, and hurried up to meet him, and said in a very respectful tone, "Lord Levi, Sir Grace has something very important to discuss with you. ”
Levi nodded and said, "I see, Martha." You and Warren will go to the camp to check the damage first, and then organize people to strengthen the wooden walls and gates first, although the demon's attack has been crushed by us, but still not to be taken lightly. ”
The female thief bowed with the ranger, and then walked towards the burned gate of the camp, shouting orders along the way, and several strong men followed.
Looking at the backs of the two of them walking all the way, the expression on Levi's face became heavy, "Sir Grace, are you in such a hurry to find me, is there something wrong?"
"Mr. Levi, I'm afraid we're going to give up this place. Grace's face was also very unsightly, her eyebrows were tightly wrinkled, and her sharp eyes looked a little tired.
"Why? Is it another demon?" Levi was taken aback, although he had just told Martha to be wary of the demon's resurgence, it wasn't actually something that would happen easily. If there were regular demonic attacks here, there would never have been so many refugees, let alone a refugee camp of this size.
"No, Mr. Levi, it's more troublesome than discovering the devil's tracks. Grace's voice paused, and she looked around. The place where he and Levi were standing was deserted, and with four pikemen on guard, it was unlikely that anyone could hear their conversation. Still, Grace was cautious and kept her voice to a minimum.
"There are four warehouses in this camp where food is stored, and in last night's battle, three of them were hit by fireballs from the burners, and they were burned along with the food inside. Now only one of the smallest warehouses in the entire camp still has some food in stock, which can only last for three days at most. ”
"How can this be...... Levi suddenly felt a pain in his teeth, and the blood vessels on his forehead suddenly jumped. He had a premonition that there would be food problems in this refugee camp, but he did not expect the problems to come so quickly.
If there is nothing to eat, there will be a riot among the refugees, which Levi does not want. As a squire of the knights, he embraced the most standard knightly mottos.
"Sweep away the darkness, have mercy on the weak, and have nothing to fear. ”
There is no doubt that turning the sword at the unarmed refugees is something that Levi could not do. But the question of food was indeed extremely tricky, and the young knight's squire thought for a moment, frowning, and then said, "Sir Grace, is there only enough food for three days?
Grace smiled wryly back.
"Mr. Levi, I don't think you know that the ration distribution here has long been at the lowest level. In addition to serving as camp guards and barely filling their stomachs, the rations of ordinary villagers can only be said to maintain a state of not starving to death, and if they are reduced a little more, it is estimated that they will not even be able to barely sustain themselves. ”
"In that case, Sir Grace, I beg you to organize a few men to set up a sentry near the last granary, and make sure that the news of the imminent depletion of food is strictly blocked. As for the issue of rations, they should not be deducted, but should be supplied in larger quantities, so that ordinary villagers, like the camp guards, must be able to barely get enough to eat. ”
Grace was taken aback by Levi's words, and hurriedly said, "Mr. Levi, if you do this, I'm afraid that the remaining food will only be able to support a day and a half, and when all the food is eaten, what will I do?"
"I'll figure it out. Levi replied in the affirmative, then took two steps outside, turned back to Grace, and said, "I'm going out now, Sir Grace, and I have one thing to trouble you, and you can find a few villagers to clean up a relatively clean house to be used as a new storehouse." ”
A hint of confusion flashed in Grace's eyes, and he looked at Levi's back as he walked out of the camp, and a strange confidence appeared in his heart for no apparent reason, as if the young man would be able to solve the problem in front of him.
"It's really strange, at this time, where can you find food? Even the children of the old family can't do it...... Could it be that this is an excuse to sneak away?" Grace muttered to herself, then shook her head and shook the thought out of her head.
"Whatever, do as this kid says, even if he never returns, there will be nothing, and I will leave here with the rest of the food. But if he can really get food, then the family power behind him is too ......."