A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Kass is a squad leader from Tweelur City.

In Aaron Landis, whether it is the city guard guarding the city or the army on the battlefield, the most basic thing is the squad. A squad is equipped with about a dozen to twenty soldiers. The captain of the squad is called the team leader. .

In the city of Tweilur, a team leader like him can be said to be unknown, and he has to nod and bow to his superiors every day.

However, relying on nepotism, he embraced the lap of the city gate guard, and no longer had to work hard to guard the city gate or patrol the streets every day. The city lord is a very strict person, and he is also very strict with his subordinates. He prohibits soldiers from disturbing the people at will. There is absolutely no gain in doing these things.

Now, the chief of the city gate guard has handed over the taxation of some surrounding villages and towns to him.

This is a lot of trouble, especially since they, the soldiers, have to behave with their tail between their legs in the city. Once they leave the city and go to a small village, they can be arrogant and domineering. After all, the power to collect taxes is in his hands, so these idiots don't dare to say anything.

Due to the minor earthquake a while ago, the Tweilur area suffered minor damage, so the tax revenue situation in the past two months was not very good. The captain of the city gate of Cass' thigh is also in a bad mood. Recently, he has been urging Cass to collect the taxes in the area he is responsible for as soon as possible.

Of course, Thigh's instructions must be fulfilled with all his heart. Without saying a word, Team Kas led his team to start collecting taxes in the villages and towns he was responsible for.

As for the amount of tax collected, it mainly depends on Cass's mood.

If you are in a good mood, you will only be charged a little more than the stipulated tax for alcohol. If you are in a bad mood, you will be charged double the amount.

Of course, the extra money will naturally line his own pockets. Anyway, as long as he pays the full amount of taxes, he will not interfere with other things.

After all, this is also a commonly known agreement.

Let's just say that this small village where Cass is currently collecting taxes. He originally thought that there would be nothing to collect from the place, so he planned to collect less, but the people here were ignorant and angered him.

Wasn't it just that he saw that the little girl who served him tea was quite juicy, so he touched her, and ended up screaming and pouring hot water on himself.

OK!

Disobedient, right?

He was originally too lazy to do anything, but now that he was angry, Cass rudely doubled the tax.

The village chief said tremblingly that the village was too poor and had been hit by a disaster not long ago, so he really couldn't afford to pay so much. He begged him to reduce the tax, but he didn't bother to say more and just asked the soldiers to arrest all the young girls in the village and planned to pay them. Sold to offset taxes, the girl who just poured water on him was naturally the first to bear the brunt.

At this time, the whole village was alarmed. The families of the girls who were arrested were begging desperately, holding their children tightly and refusing to let go. Many people were kneeling on the ground begging to the soldiers.

Some soldiers had unbearable expressions on their faces and looked at Cass. They were scolded severely by Cass and had to toughen their hearts to drag the girls away.

In the midst of the chaos, Cass, who was standing with his hands folded, sneered as he looked at the lowly civilians kneeling down to beg for mercy. He completely failed to notice that the faces of the middle-aged men in the village had turned violent and looked unkind. Stare at him.

The nearby villages are close to the mountains, and many people make a living by hunting. Their folk customs are more rugged and their bodies stronger than those in other flatland towns. If they could survive, even if they were just making a living, these men would be honest. However, they suffered a disaster a while ago, and it was when life was difficult. These soldiers did not care about their lives and wanted to forcibly kill their relatives. After selling, they are already on the verge of breaking out.

The cries grew louder and louder. An old woman who was holding her daughter tightly was kicked away by a soldier and fell to the ground. Her arms were scratched with blood by stones, and the young girl who was dragged away was also screaming. The ground cried.

Among the crowd, a strong man dressed as a hunter could no longer hide the ferocity in his eyes. He took a step forward and reached for the hunting bow he was carrying behind his back.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came, breaking the noise here.

Everyone subconsciously looked over there and saw a blond boy trotting on horseback from the other side of the road.

When he ran here and saw them, the young man reined in his horse and stopped, looking towards them.

"What are you doing?"

The young man looked at them with curiosity on his face, as if he had never seen this scene before, so he found it very strange.

Cass, who originally wanted to warn the passerby not to meddle in his own business, immediately stopped caring when he heard the young man's curious tone, which was obviously like watching a play.

Although this young man is quite good-looking, no matter how good-looking he is, he is still a boy, and he has no interest in it. And judging from the young man's appearance, he was raised quite delicately, and his family should have some wealth.

"These guys refuse to pay taxes." He responded casually, "They are just a bunch of unruly people. You'd better leave them alone."

Cass just didn't want to be nosy, but if this boy was really hot-blooded and wanted to meddle in other people's business, he wouldn't back down.

And judging from the young man's attire, he doesn't look very powerful. He probably just has a little money in his family. If the other party dares to take action, he will directly arrest this ignorant little kid and give him a good beating. A sum of money from the kid's family.

"Is that so?"

The young man showed a look of realization, then shook his head and sighed.

"The state has stipulated taxes. Since you are protected by the state, you must pay taxes according to the rules. How can you do such a thing as resisting taxes? This is against national law."

He seemed angry and scolded in a condescending tone. That kind of tone is very similar to that of a noble who doesn't eat minced meat, and there is a hint of arrogance.

Then he looked at Cass.

"They resisted the tax because you didn't do enough and punished them properly. You are also responsible."

The young man spoke in an obviously domineering tone, and he seemed to be accustomed to this tone.

Castall was immediately upset when he was suddenly scolded by a kid like this, and he opened his mouth to scold him back.

However, before he could speak, the boy on the horse seemed to raise his hand casually and tuck a strand of blond hair from his forehead behind his ear.

Cass suddenly stared.

When the young man tucked the blond hair hanging in front of his ears behind his ears, the bright sunlight illuminated the long golden hair, and the refracted light made the emerald green on the young man's earlobe appear fresh and vivid, making it extremely conspicuous.

Malachite...earrings?

Cass was stunned for a moment.

But his mind was working rapidly.

Although this blond boy is dressed in ordinary clothes, his tone of voice, his style... and most importantly, those earrings carved from malachite...

This is definitely not an ordinary person!

Definitely a nobleman!

And he is not an ordinary little noble.

You know, even if ordinary nobles could get a precious gem like malachite, they would not dare to wear it casually——

The appearance of precious stones symbolizing several major gods is almost engraved in the minds of the people of Aaronandis.

Even if he couldn't wear it, he had been secretly fantasizing about it since he was a child, so Cass recognized it at a glance.

Thinking of this young man's arrogant look that he seemed to want to hide but was obviously developed since childhood, and his condescending attitude of scolding others, Cass secretly guessed in his heart.

This young man who seemed to be wearing ordinary clothes was probably the playful young son of a noble family, and he ran out dressed like this on purpose.

After all, those young aristocratic children read too many adventure novels and fantasized about going out on adventures and so on.

Thinking of this, Cast became nervous.

He thought carefully about whether he had been rude just now and what was wrong with his answer to the boy.

At this moment, the young man glanced contemptuously at the circle of civilians and spoke again.

"As a subject of Aaron Landis, you are resisting taxes. This kind of behavior is really shameful. You can arrest them all and put them in prison. I will tell Uncle Canile..."

As if he realized that he had let something slip, the young man coughed, as if he was trying to hide something.

"...will tell the Lord of Tweilur City their guilt and punish them severely."

Canile...uncle?

The team leader was stunned.

Kanile, this is the name of the Lord of Tweilur City!

This boy could actually call him by his name, and call him so intimately?

This, this, this—

etc.

What did this noble young master say?

You said you want to tell the city lord about this?

Cass felt a thrill in his heart.

no!

His boss, the city guard chief, turned a blind eye and didn't care about the people below him making money, but the city lord was an upright man, upright and strict with others. Once the city lord knew about this, he sent someone to investigate. …

"No, wait, this young master, that's not the case, that's not the case."

Cass broke out in a cold sweat and quickly stepped forward to explain to the boy.

But the fact that he used the honorific made the boy glare unhappily.

"Don't scream, I'm not a young master, just a bard!"

Bah, how can a bard be as impressive as you?

Cass cursed in his heart. The young man denied it so firmly, which made him believe that this was the playful young master of some noble family.

He leaned forward and laughed with her.

"Yes, yes, this... bard, in fact, these Diao... no, these civilians have paid most of it, and there is still a little bit left. I am just scaring them to let them pay the tax." Just put it all together.”

He felt very depressed.

Originally, he wanted to teach these unruly people a lesson, but now he was unlucky enough to meet such an ignorant aristocratic child. Not only could he not teach them a lesson, but he also had to put in a good word for them.

"Actually, because of the earthquake that occurred nearby recently, it was not easy for their family to suffer a disaster." He smiled and said to the young man, "Look, you have to arrest them all for such a small thing and alert them. Are the words of the city lord too much?"

"Suffered a disaster?"

The young man blinked and thought for a moment.

He said, "Well, although it is against the law not to pay taxes, since we have been affected by the disaster, it can be considered excusable."

"Yes, yes, it was a disaster." Cass said quickly, "I just scared them, and they have already made up the remaining taxes. When you came over, I was about to let them go."

"That's it..."

The young man nodded slightly.

Cass smiled flatteringly at the boy and felt relaxed.

After he relaxed, his nervous and stiff mind began to work again.

He suddenly felt something was wrong again.

Even if a young nobleman from an aristocratic family disguises himself and goes out to play, the elders cannot safely let such an innocent young man who has no experience of the world go on the road alone.

There is not a single servant. This is impossible.

Cass thought this in his mind, then his thoughts changed and his eyes darkened. While he raised his head to look carefully at the earrings on the young man's ears, he raised his hand to grab the reins of the horse the young man was riding.

He opened his mouth to test a few more words, but suddenly, a cold wind rushed towards him.

I saw a sharp arrow shooting from a distance, and it passed between Cass's outstretched hand and the reins that were about to touch.

The tip of the arrow even cut through Cass's fingertips, and then with a pop, it pierced into the trees behind him.

Cass turned his head and suddenly broke into a cold sweat. He saw that most of the sharp arrow had not penetrated into the hard tree trunk, which showed the terrifying force.

If the arrow was aimed at his head, he would be dead at this moment.

When he turned around again, he saw a young man dressed as a bard galloping towards him from afar.

The young man was still holding a bow in his hand. It was obvious that the terrible arrow just now was shot by the young man.

"Insolent fellow!"

As soon as the black-haired young man arrived, he started scolding Cass.

"How dare you approach-"

He seemed to want to say a name, but swallowed it halfway.

He said, "You humble guy! Get back immediately!"

The young man's eyes seemed to be on the top of his head, looking down at them with a arrogant look.

However, when he turned around and saw the young man, his arrogant attitude immediately softened and he showed a flattering smile.

"Little master, you promised to wait for me, how can you leave first?"

He said nervously, "Fortunately, you're fine. If something happens, how do you want me to explain to...?"

When he saw Shulos suddenly coming out, a trace of astonishment flashed in Garlan's eyes.

When Shulos said this, he immediately reacted and pretended to be impatient.

"Okay, okay, I keep talking about it every day, like an old man, I'm so bored."

He pointed at Cass and said, "This guy is not bad. I think he is very loyal to his duties, and after all he is also a subordinate of Canile...the city lord. Why are you scaring him?"

The black-haired young man who was smiling at the boy changed back to his arrogant attitude when his eyes fell on Cass.

However, Cass didn't dare to say anything more.

He had some doubts just now, but when he saw that this young man with amazing archery skills was actually this young man's servant, he immediately had no doubts anymore.

He stood there with a low eyebrow, looking very honest.

The young man glanced at him, as if he was impatient to talk to Cass, and threw a dozen Aaron silver coins to him.

"Okay, you have nothing to do here. This is considered as the medical expenses for my injury. You can go."

Cass caught the silver coin and was elated. He also had money, struck up a conversation with a noble, and was praised by him. He was in a great mood, and the villagers were completely forgotten by him. He nodded and bowed, and took the group of soldiers with him. They left.

Halfway there, he secretly looked back.

He saw that someone in the group of civilians seemed to have stepped forward to talk to the blond boy, but the boy didn't even look at the group of civilians. He held his head proudly, turned his horse's head and walked away.

The black-haired young man followed closely behind the young man and paid no attention to the group of civilians.

Seeing this, Cass no longer had any doubts and led the soldiers on the road back to the city.

A man stepped forward and helped the old man.

The old man was the civilian who just stepped forward to talk to Garlan, but was ignored. The man glanced angrily at the two people who had already left on horseback, his face full of anger.

"Everyone of them is the same. They don't take us seriously at all. The same goes for that noble young master -"

"Shut up, what do you know?"

The old man shouted.

He remembered the blond boy's deep look before he left, a pair of eyes as clean as the bright sunny sky.

He sighed: "That young master is saving us..."

"Huh? Save us? Just like him?"

"You can't see it, so the leader doesn't see it either."

"But if he wants to help us, can't he just order those soldiers to stop?"

"Idiot, if he had done that, he could have saved us at that time, but the leader's anger would have been vented on us. Once he leaves, we will suffer in the end."

After the old man finished speaking, he looked up at the back of the blond boy who was about to disappear in the distance, and murmured: "I don't know which aristocratic young master he is. He is kind-hearted and so smart... The gods will definitely bless him."

At this moment, the two people who had left were talking while riding horses.

"I said you performed well as an arrogant and self-righteous willful young master~"

"You've shown your bitch very well, too."

"Hahahahaha, after all, acting is somewhat of my job - but that's just acting, it's completely different from my nature."

Schloss carefully asserted his character.

"...I thought you would leave."

"Well, let's put it this way, I was watching from behind. If you had picked up the sword and rushed forward, I would have turned around and run away, staying far away from you to avoid being implicated."

Shulos paused and curled his lips.

"But it's really not worth it. The silver coins you gave me are gone, and you have to pay for more. Alas, I can't have a big meal."

"I'll pay you back."

Suddenly remembering something, Garlan sighed.

"But then we won't be able to enter the city."

As soon as he entered the city, if he bumped into that group of soldiers, his secret would be exposed.

"There is no other way. Let's go directly to Mount Tweilur. After we finish seeing it, we will go directly to other cities. Then you can treat me to a meal."

"Okay~"

Garlan laughed, very happily.

"Hey, it's a pity that this way, the beauties in Tweilur City won't be able to appreciate the grace of Aaron Landis, the most handsome bard."

Shulos raised his hand and smoothed the black hair hanging down by his cheeks, and said with regret.

"... Just be happy with yourself."

In the midst of this conversation, two horses were galloping in the wind.

By the time night fell, the two of them had already set foot on the Tweilur Mountains.

It is worthy of being a famous scenic spot, with lush woods, greenery everywhere, and clear mountain springs flowing in it. When the night wind passes by, the dense canopy of trees makes a rustling sound.

Even in the night, the scenery is extremely beautiful.

While Garlan was riding along the mountain path, he suddenly caught sight of something passing by out of the corner of his eye.

He turned around and saw that there was a dense forest. Under the bright moonlight, there was nothing quietly there.

"What's wrong?"

Shulos asked when he saw him slowing down.

"I seem to see a white shadow in the woods over there..."

Shulos looked over.

"Nothing?"

The bard is extremely confident in his eyesight, and he can see everything clearly even in the dark.

At this time he looked into the forest, but there was nothing there except trees.

"Well, I probably saw it wrong."

Garlan withdrew his gaze.

It's probably just the white light refracted by the moonlight.

he thinks.