Chapter 442 The Law of Pasture
"Catastrophe OL" official website forum, wasteland development exchange section.
Too handsome to sleep with: "Brothers! Big news! A swordsman with a big sword came to Wheatfield Village! He also brought a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old!"
This player has no name: "Get out, isn't it just a mercenary? There were weirdos sneaking in every day before. This is not breaking news."
Lighter: "+1, you can bite the lighter if you have no work."
Too handsome to sleep: "Fuck! I'm serious! That guy is awesome, he flattened more than 20 logs with just one sword strike! But he doesn't know how to build a house, not even to lay the foundation first! In the end, I guided him to do it, hehe."
The pig that can climb trees: "Then what?"
Handsome and unable to sleep: "Then he thought he was embarrassed to take advantage of me, so he taught me the technique of cutting wood! It seems to be called Sword Qi! It is different from the "Qi" of the Dragon God Sect, his sword Qi is not only sharper but also more precise! It's just that I'm stupid and don't have it. Learn."
Gou Shi: "What the hell?!"
Hulu's baby: "Still a master???"
When they heard that this NPC knew martial arts secrets, all the sand sculpture players couldn't sit still. They suddenly changed their rebellious expressions and started begging for help.
The player named [Too Handsome Can’t Sleep] didn’t show off, and vividly described how he met the weirdo carrying the big sword, how he triggered the hidden mission, and then how he triggered the NPC’s gratitude, etc.
This handsome man who couldn't sleep also mentioned that the swordsman carrying a big sword seemed to be planning to build a hotel. Such a large project obviously could not be completed in one day.
In other words——
This task can still be done!
After hearing this, all the players felt like they had found a treasure, and they rushed into the game one after another and went to Maitian Village to practice.
However, unfortunately, the swordsman was too indifferent and ignored everyone. Most people were disappointed.
On the other hand, his apprentice named Urien is more talkative and can chat with anyone who speaks human language. It's just that this young man is also a rookie himself. He can neither trigger hidden tasks nor teach the so-called "martial arts secrets", so he was quickly abandoned by real players.
Most of the players are going for the swordsman named Gunter!
"It's day, I made a special trip to take a teleportation array, why did he ignore me?"
"Are you an undead? He doesn't talk to the undead!"
"Gan! Racism! Negative review! "
"What kind of race are you undead... you are a corpse!"
"I suggest you just help him with the work! This guy seems to be very social and doesn't like to owe favors! If you just help him, he might teach you!"
“It’s too troublesome. I’m not a professional player and have no interest in doing that stuff. Can I just give him the ghost coins?”
"You can try it and see if he can beat you up!"
They first cleared away all the stones and tree roots on the ground, and then leveled the ground. This work has to be done very carefully. If the foundation is uneven, the house will be built crookedly.
Then the next step is cutting down trees.
Twenty pieces of wood were obviously not enough. They needed to cut down more trees and pull the wood to a sawmill by the river to process it into a suitable shape.
In any case, it is obviously not possible to chop with a sword. No matter how precise the control of power is, the person using the sword must fully understand the shape of the chop.
Obviously the great swordsman did not have this concept.
By the way, in the past, if the villagers of Wheatfield Village wanted to do this work, they had to bribe the lord’s forester with some dried meat and wine, or promise to help him repair the fence, in order to persuade him to turn a blind eye.
But now, they only need to declare to the Salvation Army people what they will use the wood for, and not sell it, and then they can carry an ax into the forest to work.
The above is just the first step. Next, they have to dig clay by the river, get some licorice or straw, mix it into the clay, add water, step on it with their feet or rub it with their hands until it becomes sticky and thick... and becomes a clay that can be used to paste walls.
After all the preparation work is completed, you can start laying the foundation with stones, using thick wood to build load-bearing columns, and building the main frame of the house.
According to players' aesthetics, a medieval hotel must have at least two floors. The first floor is the tavern for adventurers, and the second floor is where the hotel is located.
In addition, there are stables and warehouses, and even cellars for storing wine... No matter whether someone who plans to open an inn has thought about it or not, they have all thought about it for the NPC!
At the same time, the edge of Maitian Village.
Gaunt, who was carrying a big sword on his back, looked at the undead busy in his hotel - oh no, the Holy Spirits. He was so stunned that he couldn't speak for a moment.
They... what are they doing?
Unlike the master who was at a loss, Urien standing aside said excitedly.
"They seem to be helping us build a hotel!"
Of course Gunter knew that they were building a hotel, but he didn't know why they were doing this.
Previously, he specifically asked a "highlander" about the steps to build a house, and he originally planned to do this work himself.
Fortunately, I didn’t do it.
When he saw these guys, he realized that something that sounded easy was actually so troublesome to do! ?
This is simply not a project that can be completed by one person.
In comparison, it would be easier for him to cut a huge stone into the shape of a house...
At this time, a farmer came over.
Gaunt remembered that his name was Old Hank, and he also lived nearby. Because they had talked before, the two of them were familiar with each other.
Hence before the farmer could speak, Gunter pointed at the skeletons busy on the construction site not far away and couldn't help but ask.
How to express enthusiasm?
Gaunt was stunned for a moment.
He has been to countless places, but this is the first time he has seen someone who can express enthusiasm in this way... uh, the Holy Spirit?
He has recently begun to accept this setting - the "holy spirit" of Wheatfield Village is different from the lonely ghosts with incomplete souls and the puppets controlled by the necromancer.
They have souls!
Looking at Gunter, who had not spoken for a long time, Old Hank scratched the back of his head and spoke with some embarrassment.
"By the way, my ancestor said that he wanted to learn swordsmanship."
Gunt: "...learn swordsmanship?"
Old Hank grinned.
"Yes! They said they can protect us if they know how to use swordsmanship... If it's not troublesome, please teach them when you have time. If it's troublesome, forget it!"
Gaunt glanced at the hotel not far away that was being built at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then looked at Urien who was full of expectations, but he couldn't say no.
Anyway, teaching one person is still teaching, teaching two people is still teaching, there is not much difference to him, and these Holy Spirits are not like guys who would use his sword skills to do evil.
They are all very kind souls.
Compared to the Dragon God Sect's sword skills, which have many practitioners, the Sword Saint Sect he founded is considered a niche emerging sect, with not many people practicing it.
He is actually very happy if someone is willing to learn.
Gunt nodded and agreed to Old Hank.
"It's not troublesome...but, who is your ancestor?"
Old Hank was stunned when he heard this, but he didn't think about this problem, and it took him a long time to speak.
"I don't know..." Things seem to be getting a little troublesome...
… ...
Towards the end of May, the prosperous Maitian Village has added a small hotel with stables and wine cellars after the lumberyard and brick kiln.
The hotel is run by a man with a big sword on his back, but he really doesn’t know how to run a business and is always in a hurry when settling accounts.
But fortunately, the enthusiastic "ancestral spirits" would help him, and even taught his adopted son Urien to learn arithmetic and many things besides swordsmanship.
In exchange, he would teach the ancestors of Maitian Village how to swordsmanship in his spare time, and the backyard of the hotel became his "sword hall".
Later, not only the "ancestors", but also the mercenaries or adventurers passing by would occasionally peek and learn a few tricks.
This swordsman named Gaunt never stops.
By the way, the "ancestors" of Maitian Village can also speak, but they need to communicate through a crystal ball with language magic attached...
At first, Gaunt frowned and thought about the secrets involved. However, as time passed, he found that although the saint and her followers were strange, they were not bad people, and he was relieved.
Perception is built up bit by bit.
Once a consensus is formed and spreads, every traveler passing through Maitian Village will acquiesce that the Holy Spirit in Maitian Village is different from the undead in other places.
Over time, the entire Quemu Territory will become a site for the activities of players in the cemetery.
Of course, this is not a bad thing for the locals. After all, the undead in the necropolis are much kinder than other undead.
Not only will they not harm anyone, they will even go to the depths of the Twilight Forest to clear out the lairs of monsters or bandits after receiving missions from friendly forces, and do high-risk jobs that adventurers are reluctant to take on.
The great swordsman named Gaunt is just an episode in the daily life of the villagers in Wheatfield Village. Apart from this mercenary carrying a great sword, there are people with various stories written on their faces who wander over from other parts of the Twilight Province every day.
According to the news brought by the refugees, Griffin Cliff Castle finally fell. The Weavert family all fulfilled their vows and became the first Earl family to be exterminated in this catastrophe.
The despicable people jumped off the crumbling ship early, but the loyal people were eventually buried in the sea.
For the Kingdom of Lane, the "Hometown of Knights" has forever lost a legacy called loyalty. As for what will grow next, it depends on the fate of the people living on this land.
At least for now, it is not optimistic.
In order to please the "Claws of Eternal Hunger" in the void, it is not enough to chop off thousands of heads. "Executioner" Aka also has to kill more people.
Not only had to kill, he also had to change his tricks to encourage one group of people to kill another group of people, so that he could become stronger!
He has a hunger for power that seems to come from the depths of his soul, as if this is the only way his ugly soul can rise above the mortal world.
After taking Griffin Cliff, the Green Forest Army has completed the blockade of Twilight City and completely stopped Count Theron Gard and other cowards from escaping to the royal capital.
In fact, it is not entirely correct to say that they are cowards. After all, the real cowards ran away earlier, and they were the slower ones.
But now it doesn’t make any sense to say this.
Only God can decide their fate.
Just as the Green Forest Army was marching toward Twilight City in the sunset, the army of the Principality of Campbell was also advancing in the direction of Twilight City.
The rebel bandits who tried to stop them along the way were no match for this group of well-equipped and well-supplied militiamen!
However, when Eileen's army advanced to the Stillwater Beach area, they still encountered trouble.
According to the refugees from there, a group of rat men who fled from the Wanren Mountains to the Dusk Province occupied the place, and they were led by the Chosen One of "Gluttonous Rat" Gerald.
Although the combat effectiveness of those rat men is low, the three of them combined cannot defeat a single Lane person, let alone the fierce Campbell people.
However, there were too many of them. When millions of slave rats ran, the whole forest would tremble with fear.
Not only that, they can also dig tunnels, lay traps, and even use explosives and artillery stolen from the dwarves!
Campbell's militia finally met its match, and the high-morale Northern Relief Army finally began to suffer casualties.
However, this setback certainly cannot stop the principality. After all, the raging land enclosure movement in the rear provides a steady supply of troops to the front line.
· A few factories simply cannot consume so many landless farmers, not to mention the population from the Lion Kingdom and even the coast of the Whirlpool Sea as supplements.
The security problem outside Leiming City was alleviated almost immediately!
After all, those who cause trouble now do not need to be taken to prison, but are sent directly to the recruit camp, and will be shipped directly to the front line two weeks later.
Thanks to this, the pressure on the guards has also been reduced a lot, because now the army's recruiting officers are happy to serve them.
The happiest person is undoubtedly Horace, the owner of the textile factory.
In the past, he was lucky enough to survive thanks to the kindness of Irene Campbell. Now whoever dares to hinder his business, loyal soldiers will pull away those consumables like animals, so that these guys can use their energy in more worthy places.
In addition to ensuring the supply of troops, another good news for the Northern Rescue Army comes from diplomacy.
Archduke Edward, who was far behind, used his excellent diplomatic mediation skills to invite the dwarves from the Wanren Mountains.
After his envoy brought the tail of the ratman to the Castle of Hate in the Mountain Kingdom, and explained to the Justa family who ruled there the relationship between the Dusk Province and the Brass Pass, the Justa family signed a military agreement with the Campbell Principality after just a moment's thought.
The Mountain Kingdom will send 20,000 dwarf warriors to support Campbell's northern relief army.
Of course, they abide by the ancient covenant and will not intervene in human wars. They only provide dwarven artillery, and use dwarven tunnels and minecarts to transport supplies to the Campbells, as well as take action against Skaven guerrillas who attack the supply lines.
As the old enemy of the rat people, the dwarves are undoubtedly professional in "rat eradication". In order to effectively eliminate these guys who reproduce extremely quickly, they invented a series of efficient killing machines including but not limited to flamethrowers, organ cannons, etc.
After the Campbells obtained these equipment, they would certainly not use them only on the Skaven. Originally, the dwarves did not have any good impressions of Chaos, so it was just a matter of convenience to deal with those green turbans.
Famine?
Oppression by the nobility?
Perhaps their uprising was out of compulsion, but what does this have to do with the dwarves?
Dwarves will not break their oaths just because of such a trivial matter... Of course, hell dwarves are not considered dwarves.
In short, they have long disliked these guys who destroyed Greystone Town!
With the support of the dwarves, the Northern Rescue Army, which had been stagnant due to the intervention of the ratmen, regained its fighting power and beat the teeth of those little mice and green hoods running around!
Of course, it is true that they have a lot of teeth, so it is still unknown whose hands Twilight City will eventually fall into...
…
Twilight City.
Different from the orderly and prosperous city of King Llane, the capital of the Twilight Province is currently enveloped in an atmosphere of depression and despair.
Under the city wall, countless refugees crowded together. Their faces were sallow and thin, and their eyes were numb, like withered grass forgotten by the world.
The soldiers on the city wall watched them indifferently, and on the grounds of preventing spies from the Green Forest Army from mixing in, no one was allowed to enter the city for any reason.
Except for the nobles they cannot afford to offend.
The air was filled with a stench of death and decay.
Part of it comes from the dead, and some comes from the living people...
It's hard to say which side has the upper hand.
"This is simply hell..." Standing next to a simple carriage, Leon paused for a long time and said in a daze.
Not long ago, Leon, who was an apprentice of the great sage Dosuak, arrived in the Kingdom of Llane and warned King Theoden de Valu that the corruption of Chaos was spreading in the province.
However, the great sage's wisdom was met with ridicule and doubts from the king and his courtiers.
The king ordered him to find concrete evidence, otherwise he would be punished for insulting the royal family. So, "accompanied" by the old butler Scrier, Leon traveled all the way and finally arrived at this city on the front line of war and famine.
According to the travelers he met along the way, it was the closest place to hell in the entire kingdom. And when he arrived here, the scene he saw confirmed what the travelers said... and even what they said was too conservative.
Leon was completely shocked.
He is a scholar who grew up in a high tower. Under the careful cultivation of the great sage, he has been exposed to many magics that magicians never have the chance to touch in their entire lives.
It is precisely because of this that he cannot imagine that such a thing will happen.
They have obviously communicated with the virtual realm outside the world, and can even use magic to make bread automatically fly to everyone's table. Why are there people who are not full?
Xuebang is part of the empire, and of course the Lion Kingdom is also part of the empire. Why doesn’t the emperor come and take care of it?
Even if the emperor cannot see it, what about the king?
He turned to the old housekeeper beside him, unable to control the trembling in his voice.
"Lord Sklair, open your eyes and take a look! Isn't this enough evidence that the corruption of Chaos is eroding this land?"
From the standpoint of a scholar, he believes that famine is unacceptable in the empire, and there is only one logical inference -
That is Chaos' doing!
However, after hearing Leon's accusation, the expression of the old butler Sklair did not change at all.
He just looked calmly at the crowd of people struggling to survive outside the city, seemed to sigh unbearably, and spoke slowly.
"Mr. Lyon... Whether it is famine or rebellion, it will happen in any kingdom. There may be many reasons for it, maybe the governor is incompetent, maybe the weather is bad, maybe the farmers are lazy... It does not prove that it is all related to chaos."
Lyon's eyes widened and he couldn't believe his ears. Is this still the common language of the empire that he is familiar with?
What is he talking about? !
"It's unbelievable... Is life so cheap in your eyes? What's the difference between your indifference and the apostles of chaos!" He pointed at a child on the roadside who was so hungry that he was only skin and bones, and his eyes fell on the forest not far away where the bark had been scraped clean, and he roared angrily.
This is a pretty serious accusation.
Sclair could have ignored him, or even sneered at him, but looking at this young child, he couldn't say anything too harsh.
Perhaps as he said, the world should not be like this, but the real world does not operate according to the logic imagined by students in the ivory tower.
He paused and persuaded in a gentle tone.
"Mr. Lyon, please forgive me. Your Majesty actually has no intention of punishing you, even if you may not understand, but he is actually a very kind monarch, especially to you."
He continued without waiting for the angry young man to speak.
"As long as you admit that you have made a mistake in your words and no longer insist on that illusory statement, your Majesty will not only forgive your offense, but also send you out of the country as a gift... I think you are here for this."
If the great sage really feels that there is the corruption of Chaos here, why didn't the old man himself come instead of sending a magic apprentice to convey the message?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t walk away from the high tower. He even went to Brass Pass not long ago, and halfway there he remembered the Kingdom of Lane next door.
Is this reasonable?
There is only one explanation. The great sage just wanted to train his apprentice, but this young man who had been in the ivory tower for a long time really didn't know how to be tactful.
If he could have said it another way, he would have gone back to deliver the mission now, and he would not have to drag himself along to follow him.
Sclair couldn't help but wonder, how did the Great Sage choose this guy?
Is there no other talent in Xuebang?
There is actually nothing wrong with what the old housekeeper said, and the king does think so. It is a pity that a certain magic apprentice does not think so.
Infuriated, he almost squeezed out this sentence through his teeth.
"Mr. Sklair, I'm afraid you may have misunderstood something. I came here not to complete the mission, but to save our world!"
Looking at the stunned Sklair, he said word by word.
"Compared with my safety, what is really worthy of concern...isn't it the people of the kingdom who are suffering in front of me?!"
This deafening voice made the surrounding guards speechless.
Sclair is the same.
But the experienced old butler was silent for just two seconds before responding to Leon's anger.
"Then, dear savior, did you bring food, or an army, or... just a mouth?"
Leon was stunned.
But after all, he is not just an angry and brainless person. On the contrary, his thinking is quite quick, and he found the loophole in this sentence in an instant.
"You are making excuses... What we are talking about is clearly your indifference! I will tell the great sage and the defenders of Brass Pass about the situation here! But this is the territory directly under the jurisdiction of your king. Your Majesty should take the lead in doing something!"
"Then please go and inform the Great Sage. I guess he definitely didn't predict what happened here, haha," Sklair smiled nonchalantly and said in a very soft voice, "But what I want to say is another thing... Mr. Lyon, is there a possibility that what we are seeing in front of us is 'preventing' chaos?"
Leon was stunned and did not understand the meaning of this sentence at all.
Sclair stopped looking at him and did not explain. He just turned his gaze to the people struggling to survive in the distance, as if looking at the cattle and sheep in the pasture.
Your Majesty is not unaware of this.
On the contrary, he knows everything.
In the distant First Era, people on this land often died because of their beliefs and territorial disputes, but after the First Era this problem no longer exists...replaced by plague and famine.
Is it because the lord is not worthy enough?
No.
Are people lazy?
Nor.
Is it because of the war at Brass Pass?
That is even more impossible.
The reason why people died was not for any other reason, but simply because the cultivated land here could no longer feed so many people.
The people here refer not only to the farmers in the fields, but also to the vassals who are constantly encroaching on the territory directly under His Majesty's jurisdiction, as well as the priests who are constantly expanding the parish lands in the name of Saint Sith.
It is time for a massive uprising.
They need to let the peasants who can't survive kill their lords, and then let the nobles and priests who still have martial virtue kill the rebellious peasants.
As long as nine out of ten people die, the land in Twilight Province will be enough for everyone to share, and the royal family will naturally be able to get back a part of it.
With the empire here, can it really turn a group of heretics upside down?
This is why the king acquiesced in allowing the nobles to leave their castles, and even allowed those wastes to hide in his palace.
Your Excellency has already made a list of these wastes. Once this farce is over, all the nobles, regardless of whether they are His Majesty's vassals or not, will have to shed their skins!
This is not the first time in the history of the Kingdom of Lane that this has happened. It is even the lesson that the royal family learned from the separation of the Principality of Campbell.
A weak Dusk Province is more beneficial to the kingdom, and only a weak Dusk Province belongs to the royal family.
This is also the reason why the Twilight Province has not become the "Twilight Principality" even though it has huge resources.
The only exception is the sending of troops by the Principality of Campbell, which has never happened before. After all, the Demon King of Thunder County dealt with them before.
But Sklair doesn’t think this is a big problem. His Majesty must have already thought of a countermeasure.
… Smart ranchers will set fire to their pastures at the appropriate time. The grass that grows back will not only be more delicious, but also more conducive to the continued prosperity of the pasture.”
Leon clenched his fists tightly.
"I can't understand..."
If this was not enough evidence of the invasion of Chaos, he really couldn't think of any other way to prove it to the king who was pretending to sleep.
Perhaps, he has to find the messenger of chaos...
Perhaps, he has to create "evidence" himself.
Looking at Leon, who seemed to have calmed down, Sklair nodded slightly, ending this meaningless discussion.
The young man is actually not a bad person, otherwise he wouldn't have the patience to help him.
“So you are a scholar, not a king.”