Lord Highlander

Standing on the north city wall, Suldak watched the hordes of beasts pouring into the Dodan Valley from the Invercargill Warcraft Forest, and realized that this beast tide had already formed.

In the early days, only the weakest animals in the Warcraft Forest ran into the Dodan Canyon, and some small predators such as forest wolves, jackals, bobcats, red foxes, etc. also followed these small animals and ran into the Dodan Canyon together.

In addition, some giant poisonous spiders that are bigger than rabbits also entered the Dodan Canyon in groups. They formed a white spider web in the woods at the foot of the mountain. These spider webs almost covered the trees inside. If you accidentally break into the spider web, you will be hunted and killed by these giant poisonous spiders. The sacs woven from white silk webs are hung on the branches of trees, and they look like white fruits from a distance.

"Aung San, how did you deal with those poisonous spiders before?" Suldak asked Aung San behind him.

"There is no need to deal with it now. Let them stay there until the beast tide is over. If they are still there, just set fire to the dead forest and they will leave..." Aung San said.

...

Herds of elk have already entered the Dodan Canyon, just on the grass between the canyons, gnawing on the turf there.

In addition to elk, there are more wild boars. They are almost everywhere. They can be seen in the jungle, in the grass, and in the bushes.

Their appetite is also very good, even tree roots and mulch can be eaten into their stomachs.

The few remaining water pools in the valley also became their bathing pools. A group of wild boars rushed into the pool at a speed of 70 miles, and rolled a few times casually, and the whole water pool became a muddy puddle. With a thick layer of mud, I left happily.

The remaining group of animals could only gather around the pool, drinking the stinking muddy water.

The vegetation in the Dodan Canyon is disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye...

According to Aung San, if these animals are not hunted, they will become the rations of ghost-striped red ants when the beast tide comes.

Moreover, with the arrival of the beast horde, the residents of Duodan Town hardly had any income in the past few months.

This time is the best time to hunt.

As the gate below the north city wall was slowly hoisted by the winch, four well-equipped cavalry squadrons walked out of the city gate. They carried five-shot crossbows with them, wore full-covered heavy armor, and carried knight swords and shields on their backs. .

Surdak and Aung San had different views on hunting these beasts in the valley.

Aung San believed that the north gate should be opened, allowing hunters in the town to enter the canyon to hunt.

But Suldak does not need those experienced hunters, he only needs cavalry who obey the command.

He asked these cavalry to penetrate quickly to the middle of the canyon, and more than 200 cavalry were lined up in Dodan Canyon, forming a network connecting the east and west of the canyon.

As the net slowly moved towards the north city wall, the beasts in the canyon, driven by the knights, all ran down the north city wall.

The cavalry rode on horses and shot and killed the beasts trying to rush out of their encirclement with continuous crossbows.

The entire canyon is like a huge fish pond, and these knights are like a net in the fish pond. As they continue to advance, all the large beasts in the canyon are forced to gather in the direction of the north city wall, and most of the small beasts They all got into the burrows, and many alert hunters hid in the woods on both sides of the canyon.

Herds of elk and wild boar also wanted to get into the forest at the foot of the mountain, but they were shot and killed by the cavalry guarding both sides of the canyon in advance.

When the cavalry net finally formed a siege under the north city wall, there were hundreds of elk and hundreds of wild boars in the net. At this time, it was not necessary to be precise in archery. As long as they collectively drew their bows and released arrows, arrows rained down one after another. , these elk and wild boars fell in pieces.

All the four-wheeled carriages that the town could muster came out to load and transport the prey back to the town.

Some greedy small carnivorous beasts also came out of the woods on both sides of the canyon, trying to steal some food in the canyon while taking advantage of the chaos, but were shot and killed by the real hunters on the four-wheeled carriage.

This is the first time that Surdak has conducted such a large-scale hunting.

The herds of large game that crowd the Dodan Canyon were hunted in great numbers right within the canyon.

The clerks of the leather shop and the butcher shop were almost guarding the entrance of the north city wall, where twenty wooden stakes were erected, each with an iron hook attached to it.

The elk, unloaded from the wagon, piled up like a hill.

The butcher shop assistant dragged the elk and wild boar carcasses under the wooden stakes, hung them up one after another, first peeled off the leather, then peeled off the internal organs, put all the intestines and stomachs into large wooden barrels, and transported them to the river on the east side of the town For further cleaning.

The liver, lungs, and viscera had no time to deal with them, so they were cut into cubes and thrown into a large iron pot to squeeze out the fat.

The remaining good meat will be disassembled into four hams and two ribs, placed on the chopping board, directly coated with a layer of heavy salt, and hung in rows in a wooden shed.

Dismemberment and pickling require a lot of hands.

Aung San is very prestigious among the aborigines in Dodan Town, and many of these aborigines are half-baked hunters, so they have no problem handling these prey.

This kind of hunting was carried out for three consecutive days before the groups of elk and wild boars were hunted in sevens and eights. Although many animals still flooded into the Dodan Canyon, large groups of herbivores no longer entered the Dodan Canyon.

As ferocious beasts such as Northlander bears, moonblade fire wolves, and ghost leopards gradually appeared in the canyon, the hunters in Dodan Town did not dare to go out alone.

Only some mercenary groups in the small town dared to go hunting.

In just three days, Surdak's cavalry battalion killed nearly a thousand wild boars and more than 600 elk. All the prey were pickled with salt and hung in a cool wooden shed.

With five or six cases of ghost leopards wounding people in the canyon one after another, the number of people going out to hunt has decreased significantly.

Suldak leaned on the wall with both hands, looking at the beasts in the canyon.

At this time, only Andrew, Samira, and Gulitum dared to go out to hunt in the city. They were looking for those monsters in the valley to hunt and kill them.

"How long will it take for the Invercargill Warcraft Forest to recover? Three years, or five years?" Suldak asked Aung San behind him.

As an aborigine in Duodan Town, Aung San had experienced three beast tides, and his parents died in the second beast tide in his life.

Aung San looked towards the distance of the canyon, and said indifferently:

"It won't be so long. After this beast tide is over, there will be bigger and more herds migrating from the north, and Invercargill will recover soon."

His skin was bronzed in the sun, and his broad forehead was particularly oily.

Suldak turned to look at the slums behind the northern city wall. Many aborigines had hunted some small animals such as rex rabbits and guinea pigs outside the city. Rows of gray furs were drying in front of the rows of wooden houses, and there were rows of The sausages were lined up to dry, and these aborigines were given some animal oil. Almost all the residents of the small town ate meat at home.

"Is this how you make money before every beast tide?" Suldak asked Aung San.

Aung San shook his head and said: "Last time when there was a wave of beasts, the town of Dodan found a way to hunt for a license. Only by purchasing a license can you participate in the hunt. Trading houses and mercenary unions hunted monsters in the Dodan Canyon. People like me The aborigines were not eligible to leave the city in previous years."

Aung San's eyes followed Suldak's and fell on the wooden shed in the slum area of ​​Duodan Town. Looking at the food drying on the roof, he said with emotion:

"But this year is different, we aborigines can also participate in hunting..."

He repeated: "Yes, this year is different."

He didn't know that there was more faith in his eyes at this moment...

...

The city of Wilkes at dusk is exceptionally beautiful, with the burning sun sinking into the clouds on the horizon.

Golding Manor is holding a big ball tonight. The people who come to the ball are the nobles of Wilkes City. The inner courtyard of the manor is decorated with lights and festoons. Many nobles have arrived early, and some nobles gathered in front of the cold dining table. , Chatting with wine glasses, some other nobles stood by the garden pool, admiring the exquisite gardening and sculptures.

This is the daily life of the upper-class Wilkes nobles, with balls, salons, and occasionally riding horses in the manor outside the city.

Magic caravans are constantly parked in the open space in the courtyard in front of the manor.

A gorgeous magic caravan drove slowly and stopped at the gate of the manor.

The entourage of Wilkes City Consul Florian stepped out of the carriage and whispered a few words to the guard at the gate.

As the consul of Wilkes City, Count Florian seldom participated in such balls, lest he be tainted with the color of local nobles. The Count who came to Bena City has greater political ambitions However, Wilkes in the Bailin plane is just a small platform in his life.

What he needs to attend is to pass through the portal, the dance held by the nobles and celebrities of a higher level in the city of Bena.

The guard at the gate of the manor saw that the person sitting in the magic caravan was actually the Consul Florian, and hurriedly let it go.

A servant guarding the gate hurriedly ran to the manor to inform the owner of the manor, Mr. Golding.

As the magic caravan slowly drove into the manor, Councilor Golding, who was entertaining other guests in the courtyard, also received a report from the servant, and hurriedly led his family out of the villa, and stood at the bottom of the steps to greet him.

The magic caravan stopped at the bottom of the steps, and Consul Florian stepped out of the car in a noble dress, stepped on the newly laid red carpet, and walked into the villa surrounded by a group of nobles.

The scene was very lively, and the nobles surrounded the consul of Florian.

The Consul of Florian danced in the company of Mrs. Golding, and then chatted with Mr. Golding for a few words before leaving in a hurry.

After Consul Florian left, Councilor Golding's face darkened.

He let his wife hang around among the guests, went into the study alone to write an urgent letter, and then let his cronies leave Wilkes City on fast horses.

...

'The military and political chief of Dodan is a member of the Luthor family'

Josh. Baron Golding sat on the sofa, holding the letter with no words in his hand, and was a little absent-minded for a while.

Councilor Golding's entourage sat aside, facing Josh. Baron Golding said: "Your Excellency means, don't have any conflicts with this Baron Suldak. If you feel that the business in Dodan Town can't continue, you can give up here, and someone from the family will come to take over here. everything."

"But if you want to continue to operate here, you must handle the relationship with Baron Suldak well. Although we don't need you to befriend him, don't annoy him." The follower said solemnly.

Then he changed into a relaxed demeanor and said, "Master Viscount just said this in the study, Josh, what do you think?"

"Of course I want to stay here. Dodan Town is located on the northern border. The resources here are far from comparable to other towns. It's just that the profits of the trading house will be cut off a lot in the future. This is really a bit unreconciled. ah!"

Josh. Baron Golding clenched his fist and smashed it into the palm of his other hand.

The senator of the senator nodded and said: "You can think of it this way. This Baron Suldak seems to be here for gold plating, and he will stay here for at most three years. Every garrison commander cannot The officials are all sons of nobles."

"Isn't it just some fines... Tomorrow, I will send someone to send it." Josh. Baron Golding lazily lay down on the sofa, and said with some depression.

The senator shook his head, and said, "I think you'd better go in person. It's best not to get angry at this time."

Josh. Baron Golding glanced at his subordinates and saw that his expression was very serious, so he could only snort softly and say:

"knew."

...

No one in the town expected that half a month after the Wilkes trading house was closed down, the trading house would pay the full amount of taxes for an unprecedented time.

In fact, there was only a receipt for the flattened bill of the City Guards Brigade sitting on Madam Luna's desk, and not a single copper was added to the town hall's coffers.

But even so, Mrs. Luna was relieved, because this was the biggest debt in the town hall.

At the same time, the fines paid by Manager Anthony and the waiters of the trading house were also placed in front of Mrs. Li Luna's desk. Mrs. Luna looked at the usually arrogant Baron Golding with some embarrassment, and said:

"In addition to fines, you also need to pay sixty-three silver coins for meals. If you want to save this money in the future, please remember to send someone to deliver meals to them!"

If it is normal, Josh. Lord Golding thought he would grab a handful of silver coins from his pocket and throw them in Lady Luna's face.

But now he could only hold back his anger and asked the housekeeper beside him to count out another stack of silver coins and place them on the table.

"What's the cost... Please finish talking together!"

Josh. Lord Golding managed to force a smile.

Mrs. Luna stared at Josh with some trepidation. Baron Golding continued: "No, your employees will be released before noon today. At the same time, the town hall agrees that your trading firm will continue to operate, but in advance, you will pay taxes every quarter, and there is a percentage of the tax. Twenty percent is cheap whole wheat flour, and ten percent is cotton cloth. The business needs to be supervised by the tax collector..."

Josh. Baron Golding turned pale with anger, and said in a hateful voice, "Just do as you say!"

After speaking, he turned around and left the mayor's office with the housekeeper.

(2/21) Well, everyone, happy weekend is over!