"It's here, ready to land!"

At the sound of Dreya's order, the sailors immediately got busy, and the Cangyun lowered its sails and slowly sailed into the dilapidated dock.

According to the coordinates provided by Reed, Raymond and his party successfully arrived at the town called Headington.

Viewed from the boat, it was a small town on the seafront, with houses of varying heights stretching against a hillside and a ring of low walls surrounding the town. There are few tall buildings in the town, and most of the houses have white facades and red or black roofs, which are quite peaceful in the warm afternoon sun.

But if you look closely, the whole town looks lifeless. Many of the houses have a dilapidated feel that they have fallen into disrepair. Just like the wharf they entered now, it was almost completely abandoned, with only a few wooden stakes left on the wooden plank road standing alone in the sea, and there were no large merchant ships on the wharf, only a dozen old fishing boats gently undulating with the waves.

However, at this time, there were quite a few people standing on the beach, except for some residents who came from nearby after seeing the Cangyun enter the port, there were also more than a dozen men wearing simple leather armor and hanging long swords at their waists, which should be the town's garrison. Looking at the surprised and slightly nervous expressions of these people, you know that no outsiders have come for a long time.

Entering the harbor, lowering the anchor, and getting on the ship's board, Dreaa commanded the sailors to skillfully complete a series of maneuvers. Subsequently, Raymond and the others finally set foot on the land of Veronica Continent.

As they walked onto the beach, the onlookers hurriedly backed away and made way for a semi-circular circle. The guards reached out and pressed the hilt of their swords in a look of vigilance.

However, in addition to the outdated equipment, these people obviously haven't had much training to see the movements, so Raymond naturally won't take them seriously.

Exchanging a look with Freddy, Raymond raised his voice and said, "Who's the mayor here? I have a letter for him." ”

The onlookers looked at each other, but no one spoke. After a while, the crowd in front of Raymond and the others parted on both sides, and a person walked out.

Unexpectedly, it was a woman who came. She was about 25 or 6 years old, quite tall, and in very good shape. This woman's face is slightly wider, not particularly beautiful, but this makes her facial features look very atmospheric, two slightly rich red lips, with a beauty mole with a surname under the right corner of the eye, there is an extremely seductive mature beauty.

It's just that at this moment, like the surrounding residents, she has quite vigilance and doubts in her eyes. Obviously, she didn't welcome the arrival of Raymond and his party.

"I'm Mayor of Headington, Charlotte. Who are you, where are you from?" The woman spoke. Her voice was nice, but her tone was less friendly.

Unexpectedly, the mayor of Headington was such a beautiful woman, and everyone couldn't help but be surprised, even Freddy, who had always looked indifferent, was slightly moved.

Seeing that everyone didn't speak, Charlotte frowned slightly: "Didn't you hear me?"

Raymond took out Reed's letter and handed it over, and said, "My name is Raymond, and it was Reed who introduced us here." ”

"You say Mr. Reed?" Charlotte immediately beamed at hearing Reed's name.

At the same time, the residents behind her also buzzed and turned their heads one after another.

After reading the letter quickly, Charlotte still seemed a little incredulous: "You... Was it really sent by Mr. Reed?"

Freddie said coldly, "Don't make a mistake, we're not his men. ”

Charlotte was stunned: "What the hell is going on?"

Raymond explained: "To put it simply, it seems that he can't come here for some reason, and it just so happens that we are planning to come to Veronica, so he suggested that we come to Headington. ”

When Charlotte heard this, she was disappointed. After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth: "Since you are not Mr. Reed's representative, then I'm sorry, I can't receive you here, please go back." ”

"What?" I didn't expect her to drive people away, and Raymond and the others looked at each other.

"Why?" said Rickett curiously.

Charlotte shook her head: "I am very grateful for your presence. But our problem is not something that ordinary people can solve, and since Mr. Reed can't help, then please leave. ”

"Are you worried that we won't be able to get Headington out of this predicament?" said Lutz, who had not spoken.

Charlotte seemed to notice the tall orc, but she was only slightly surprised and didn't react much. Obviously, as Rickett said, in Veronica, there is far less hatred between humans and orcs than there is in Moji.

Charlotte said in a deep voice, "I understand that you want to use our town as a trading base, and we would welcome it in exchange for the past. But now, your presence will not only not help us, but will also implicate you. So, please leave. ”

"Because it's not just a business issue. ”

Her words reminded Raymond of Reed's advice before leaving, and he couldn't help but feel moved. This place is really weird, and it seems that the guy is not a good person, and he seems to have pushed me into a big trouble.

Thinking of this, he was about to ask, when suddenly a voice came from the boat: "Meow, young master, how long will you wait, people are about to faint." ”

As he spoke, a white shadow fell from the sky, but it was Baste, who had been waiting impatiently.

Jumping off the beach, Catwoman's feet sink into the sand. As soon as she stood still, her whole body trembled gently as if she had been electrified, and her face showed an extremely touched expression.

"Finally... Finally, people are finally stepping on the ground again!"

"Hey, you..."

Immediately after, with a commotion sound, a group of people emerged from the side of the Cangyun's ship, but it was the robbers. Although ordered to stay on the ship and wait for instructions, how could these lawless creatures be so obedient.

"Damn, I finally see land, brothers, come ashore. ”

Harlot shouted first, and the thieves began to scramble to the beach. The boat board was so crowded that some guys with anxious surnames even jumped directly into the sea, and for a while they plopped, like dumplings.

Unexpectedly, so many people suddenly appeared, and the residents of Headington were stunned to watch a group of fierce men rush onto the beach, completely unsure of how to react, and the guards were even more nervous and sweaty.

"These fools!" Freddie cursed in a low voice of rage.

"Aha, I finally came ashore, and I almost vomited Lao Tzu to death these days. At this time, Harlot, who was splashed with seawater, swaggered over.

"Hey, why are you still standing here, let's go into the city... Damn, what a pretty girl!" Suddenly, he saw Charlotte, and his eyes immediately froze in place.

Charlotte was surprised, "Who are these people?"

At this point, it is impossible to drive them back. Raymond had no choice but to say, "They're members of the caravan, uh... There are also some bodyguards. ”

This explanation is really bad enough, these evil guys, full of evil faces, don't look like good people, who would believe that they are in business?

Charlotte's reaction was unexpected, she actually showed a hint of joy: "You mean, these people are mercenaries of your caravan?"

"Ahh

Charlotte hesitated, then turned and walked back to the crowd to discuss with several middle-aged men. They kept whispering something, as if arguing about something, and it was clear that they didn't agree, but Charlotte's opinion was clearly the opposite of theirs.

For a moment, Charlotte seemed to finally convince those people. She walked back and said to Raymond, "Please forgive me for being rude. Now that you're here, let's go to town first. ”

Although they didn't know why her attitude suddenly changed, everyone was relieved that she didn't have to be driven back to the ship.

Raymond said: "By the way, what you said just now, about Beddington..."

"This is not the place to talk, I'll explain later. Charlotte said, making a gesture of please.

Raymond could only nod, and the group walked towards the town under the leadership of Charlotte.

Although it was a good sign to be accepted, the doubts and uneasiness in the eyes of the residents always haunted Raymond's mind as he passed by.

What's wrong with this place?

Once in Headington, everything he saw along the way reminded Raymond that the town was in decline.

Most of the shops along the street are closed, and even if they do, they only sell some necessities such as food and vegetables, or local seafood, and few shops dealing in other goods and goods, let alone magical items or luxury goods that represent the prosperity of a town.

In fact, as you can see along the way, there are not many residents in this town, but most of them are listless and poorly dressed. The man leaned against the door with a wary expression, while the woman and child peeked out from under the window and watched the uninvited guests.

Obviously, the decline of commerce has left many residents unemployed, and no one is working, which has exacerbated the slump of the town, thus causing the entire town to decline. It was an absolute blow to a trade-making town like Headington.

However, the town is in a pretty good location. Near the sea, there is an excellent natural harbor, although there is no wharf, but the "Cangyun" can still easily sail to the shore without fear of running aground. Coupled with the fact that there are no mountains outside the town, it can be said that there are great opportunities for development by sea and land, so how did it come to this point?

Although Raymond was puzzled, Charlotte didn't say a word, so he didn't want to ask. I can only wait until I settle down, and then I can inquire slowly.

At this time, the crowd walked to the square in the center of the town. It can be seen that this was originally a very lively and prosperous area, but now it is also a place where people go to the ground, and the only thing left is the tall statue in the center.

"Hey, who's that?" asked Bath, pointing curiously at the statue.

The statue depicts a tall man with knotted muscles, his lower body half squatting, his waist slightly bent, his hands half open and half closed, doing a wrestling starting motion. With such a statue in the square in the center of town, it's no wonder that Baste is surprised.

"That's my great-grandfather, his name is Billy, and that's what he built this town. Charlotte explained.

"Headington was originally a small fishing village, but in my great-grandfather's time, he united nearby villages and fishing villages to build the town. Originally, it was called Headington, but it was later renamed Headington. ”

A middle-aged man behind Charlotte said, "Lord Billy is an invincible wrestler who defeated the wild tribe that was originally entrenched here, so that the town can be successfully established. It is to commemorate his exploits that we erected this statue. ”

This man's name is Morini, and he is also a figure with a head and face in the town. In the matter of accepting Raymond and the others, he was the first to nod outside Charlotte.

The secret path turned out to be like this, and Raymond and the others nodded one after another. For some reason, they suddenly had a lot of respect for the statue.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased somewhat, Rikitt wasted no time in asking, "By the way, where are you going to take us?"

"To the east of the town," Morini said, "there is a pavilion that was originally built to accommodate caravans from all over the world, but it has been vacant for a long time. There's plenty of space there for all of you. ”

"When you get there, please get some rest. We'll talk about the rest later. Charlotte also said.

All the way from Modina, after so many days of rough waves, everyone was very tired, and what they wanted most now was a hot meal, and a soft and stable bed.

Therefore, when the two men said this, the crowd cheered.

Soon, they arrived at the premises that Morini had spoken of. It is a complex of many houses, and the main building is a three-story bungalow, although it is very dilapidated, but you can still see the beauty of the past.

According to Morini, this group of buildings was used to receive caravans when Headington was still in its prime. The rows of low-rise houses were used by ordinary caravanserans, while the three-story building was a hostel for the leaders of large caravanserais.

In addition, for the convenience of the caravan, even the warehouse, the livestock shed for feeding the horses and other supporting buildings are also readily available. This shows Beddington's dependence on business.

However, it was an old thing, so when Raymond and his party entered, what appeared in front of them was a house that resembled a haunted house. The floor was covered with dust, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, the furniture was covered with white cloth to keep it from dust, and a few rats could be seen scurrying on the ground from time to time.

At this time, the group of thieves who were taken to ordinary houses also kept complaining, and it was obvious that the situation over there was not optimistic.

"Young master, do we really want to live here?" lamented Bath.

Raymond glanced at her: "If you don't want to, go sleep on the Cangyun." ”

Catwoman stuck out her tongue and didn't dare to say more.

Morini reluctantly said, "I'm sorry, this place has been deserted for too long, so... But as long as you clean it, the conditions are still very good. ”

"You're overthinking, we don't care about that. Lutz said in a deep voice.

This is true, no matter how bad the conditions are, they are much better than the northern wilderness. Of course, this is for a few of them guys from the Orc Empire.

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