A few more days passed, and it was time for a large number of caravans to pass through the town.

On this trade route, the bandits of Heren were more feared by merchants than the pirates of the Sea of Stars.

In the past, if a merchant dared to pass through here alone, the probability of being robbed by mountain thieves was 100%.

After a long time, there is a default rule here.

At the beginning of each month, a large number of merchants gather in Satoka in the north and Sulting in the south to pass through this area together in a selected area.

But it didn't come without a price, the bandits in the mountains only provided them with a safe road, and they also charged a lot of tolls when passing through the town of Hiren.

And the person in charge of collecting fees is naturally the agent of the town, of course, on the surface, it is called a toll tax.

On this day, the town was very lively, and the merchants who came and went left a large amount of gold coins in the money bags of several gentry, and at the end of the day, the income reached thousands of gold coins, which made several gentry happy.

They were talking about today's harvest with smiles on their faces, but the appearance of a group of heavily armed gray dwarves made their smiles quickly stop, and they looked at the Serge knights who led the team, with puzzled expressions: "My lord, is there something wrong?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the territory of the great Serre. Knight Dickie stared at the country lords with a cold expression: "It seems that several of our lords have not yet ordered the collection of toll taxes from merchants. ”

"This ...... This is certainly not the same. Beads of sweat dripped from Langator's forehead, and he saw that these people were not good, and secretly wondered why the eyeliner had not revealed the information beforehand, but at the moment he did not dare to play tricks with these brightly armored people, he took out a small money bag, filled it with a hundred or so gold coins, and handed it to the knight Dickey, and at the same time his eyes flashed, and the meaning of the words was different: "We only collect a part of it." ”

"Collect some of it? Who will collect it on your behalf? Who will allow you to collect it on your behalf?" Diqi did not take the money bag, but stared at the old man: "Civilian, you don't seem to understand the situation, this is illegal income, take it all!"

The last sentence was a loud order to the gray dwarves, and the gray dwarves responded and robbed the merchants of all the tolls left behind.

The old man's expression suddenly darkened, but he still tried to say to Dickey with a kind smile: "My lord, my lord, the thieves in the mountains will come down to rob, and when the time comes, they will use the money to fool them. ”

Only heard a crisp sound from a short contact, Langator's smile did not disappear, and his face was slapped with a five-finger sharp slap print, and the old folds were also scratched by the raised sharp tip of the chain mail, half of his face was stained red with blood, and the whole person fell to the side, and the roar of the sea tide echoed in his head.

Several country lords saw the fierceness of the knights, and their hands and feet gradually became cold, and their brains went blank.

Although most of the townspeople cowered, the excitement still attracted some of the townspeople, and Dickey sneered and looked down at the old man struggling on the ground:

"A lowly untouchable man dares to block the political axe and confiscate dirty money. Are the words just now threatening the noble Searle Knight?"

"My lord, he's confused!" Several country lords finally understood the situation a little, and stepped forward to intercede.

"Forget it, the magnanimous Searle knights have bypassed your faults for the time being. As he spoke, he looked around at the townsfolk and instructed the grey dwarves, "Divide the ill-gotten gains equally among the townspeople." ”

"Yes. A group of gray dwarves began to carry out the order, and the expressions of the country lords changed.

Not far away, three mages used their spells to spy on what was happening in the area.

"Guess what's going to happen next?" Rikita yawned and sat back in her chair, "It's safe to say that your bribes won't have any effect. ”

"That's for sure. Penny nodded in agreement, "These natives have never really been under Searle's rule and don't have any liking for us, so it's impossible to earn their favor with a little favor." ”

"Then why would you issue such an order. Hughes frowned: "I know it's useless......"

"Who said it didn't work. Penny raised an eyebrow.

"Uh......" Hughes was stunned, "You just said ......"

"Think about it, these townsfolk get the money, what will happen next?" Penny knocked on the table.

Rekita and Hughes began to frown at the same time, and soon, the expression of the female red robe became relaxed again, and then exhaled: "Huh~ Sean, I have to change my evaluation of you, you are not soft-hearted, but yin." ”

"Bad word? Penny had a strange expression: "I'm just thinking a little bit more." ”

"How do I feel that my intellect seems to be a little insufficient compared to yours......" Hughes said suddenly in anguish.

"It's not a matter of intelligence, it's that you don't think about these things very often, so it's a little dull. Penny's expression regained his composure: "It is impossible for the money to remain in the hands of the townspeople, and under the threat of the bandits and those country lords, the townspeople will definitely return the money they have received." ”

"So this has damaged the good relationship between them?" Hughes somewhat understood.

"The relationship between them is not good in the first place. Rekita added: "After a purge of Serre, most of the residents who remained are timid and fearful, and the bandit group that originally controlled this place has been exterminated, and the newly intervened bandit group and their agents have no good impression in the eyes of the townspeople here, but in their eyes, we are even more hateful." ”

"So, this would disturb the tendencies of the townsfolk to a certain extent, at least psychologically, reminding them that the people they now relied on were also not things. A sneer appeared at the corner of Penny's mouth: "And what we paid is just some gold coins." ”

More than a thousand gold coins is not a small amount, Rekita sneered, I don't know whether to approve or disapprove, but Hughes thought of the oversized denomination of the divine grace that Penny took out in Sanophon, and chose to keep his mouth shut.

......

"These abominable red-robed mages!" Inside the mansion, Langator slammed the table, and the corners of his mouth were still bloodshot: "They are even more greedy than their predecessors. ”

"Come on, Langator, it's clear that they're not willing to put on show, look, these naïve guys are still trying to buy people's hearts, hehe, how many people do they think their hypocritical face can fool?" A country man laughed, thinking about the money bag in his hand: "Isn't this money in our hands?"

"Yes, yes, but we can't let that happen again. Langator covered his swollen face, and remembered the reluctance on the faces of the townspeople when they handed back the money—knowing that although only a few gold coins were distributed to each of them, they could withstand their labor for a month or two, and his heart was a little more uneasy: "Something must be done?"

"What measures, scare them again?" a middle-aged man sneered.

"They have to be given a real blow this time. Another gentleman said.

There was another creaking sound at the door, and a middle-aged gentleman walked in, and Langator coughed: "Salento, the eyeliner you sent didn't help. ”

"How do you monitor this kind of thing?" Salento spread his hands, "Who knows when they will suddenly get nervous, not to mention that the eyeliner I sent over has only been working for a few days." ”

"In short, Salento, you are responsible for this accident. Langator said with a frown.

"Okay, okay. Salento nodded helplessly, "I admit my negligence, but is it really that easy for a group of red-robed mages to monitor?"

"Anyway, I hope to trouble you to go up the mountain and deliver a letter to that adult. Langator groaned, took out a letter and handed it to Salento, and spoke again.

"Me?" Salento hesitated visibly, but nodded anyway, took the letter and turned out of the room.

"That's it, and let the adults on the mountain send someone to scare those children?" a middle-aged man frowned.

"I advise the people on the hill to stay put. Langator twisted his beard.

"What?!" several country men were surprised.

"Don't be surprised, friends, if the adults on the mountain really come down, then things will be complicated, in fact, as long as the status quo can be maintained, and when the adults on the mountain really control the surrounding area of the Helen region, it is only a matter of time before those red robes get out of the way or turn into vases. A determined smile appeared on the old man's wrinkled face: "They are trying to buy people's hearts, well, I'm not sure if their methods are useful, but I have a simple way to make all their efforts in vain." ”

"Really?" the group of country men looked in disbelief, and as the old man looked down and spoke, they gradually began to nod their heads, and a knowing smile appeared on their faces.

......

"Hold your ground, this old man is really cunning. ”

Deep in the bunker, taking the letter from the agent who had entered through the tunnel, Penny glanced at it and handed it to Rikita, "You can handle it, can't you?"

"Well, this is the first time I've done this, but I've learned it. Rekita nodded, and began to compare the handwriting on the letter, forging a new letter: "This old man's handwriting is really bad. ”

"You know, with this level of education in the countryside, a few literate people are not bad, and do you expect them to be able to write in Flamenco?" Penny shrugged.

The quill rustled the imitation handwriting on the inferior parchment, and after several copies were scrapped in succession, a qualified letter for help was concocted, and it was not difficult for the mage to disguise the letter that had been uncovered, so the freshly baked letter was brought out of the bunker by Salento.

"Next, it's the main drama. Rekita put down her quill and rubbed her wrist as she moved her fingers.

"Thank you. Penny nodded, took a wooden cup from the shelf next to him, poured a glass of water and handed it to the female red robe, Rekita was stunned for a moment, and then took it with some astonishment:

"Hmm...... Thanks a lot. She held the cup in both hands, but instead of drinking it immediately, she looked hesitant.

"You're welcome. The mage didn't notice Rekita's abnormality, but walked to the staircase and yawned: "You've been doing a lot of things these days, so don't let yourself be too nervous, don't you see Hughes just slept well?"

"He—he doesn't have to worry about anything......" Rekita pursed her lips and said with a hint of meanness, her voice falling to a smile.

......

To the north of Helen, a certain red-robed mage, busy defending against pirates, had little time to reminisce about the humiliation he had suffered in the provincial capital, until one day his men brought him a message that gave him time to reflect on the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of his southern neighbor.

"What? the garrison going to Hillen? stop them, and then find an excuse to lock them up. Hearing the report of his subordinates, the red-robed mage Marchi, who gritted his teeth, ordered.

"Yes. The intelligence officer bowed, and when he turned to go out, Marchi's eyes suddenly swept over the report, and he noticed a name, and his movements froze in an instant:

"Wait!!"

The intelligence officer was startled by this loud shout, turned back in horror, and just as he was about to ask, 'What do you command?', he saw his superior's face pale and extremely ugly:

"The leader of this garrison...... Is it Lannielou Ferrandlin?, the woman of Dalamos?" asked Marchi, his voice a little shaky.

"Yes, my lord......" The intelligence officer hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to report it truthfully.

"The order just now was withdrawn, and all the relevant cards in the territory were notified as quickly as possible that it was not allowed to stay. Marci wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and his eyelids jumped almost nervously: "In addition, inform those thieves in the mountains and tell them that a big fat sheep is passing by!"

"Yes!" the intelligence officer nodded in agreement.

"Be careful not to come forward in person, spread rumors, and the fewer people who know, the better. As soon as the intelligence officer stepped out the door, he heard March's addition, and he was a little confused.

Isn't it just a woman? How can you make your own adults so out of shape?

However, since it is the order of the boss, it is better to complete it carefully. He thought to himself.

Of course, he had just mixed up with a bureaucrat, and his transfer to this place was not very long......