Pulling himself together, Raymond held his mother's arm and pulled his younger brother on the road again. Following the direction pointed by the giant in golden armor, the family of three walked for more than an hour.
It was noon, and there was a noise coming from the front. Raymond carefully hid behind the big tree and looked, and then he was so frightened that he shrank his neck.
There is a war going on in the forest! A group of hundreds of human soldiers are fighting a tribe of beastmen.
This is actually not surprising. In this dark world, war is always inevitable.
What really surprised Raymond was that the human army was actually suppressing the beastmen. These human troops had no fear at all when facing the beastmen. On the contrary, they were even more ruthless and violent than the beastmen. They wore
Cuirass, elite soldiers holding spears and halberds advanced collectively, groups of crossbowmen fired arrows continuously, hundreds of swordsmen under the command of sergeants bravely fought the beastmen head-on, and there were even many knights and knights
The retinues participated.
"For the lady! For Earl Lane! For Countess Surya!"
The beastman tribe was beaten to the point of scurrying away. The horned beasts and inferior horned beasts retreated continuously. The human swordsmen advanced step by step. Under the protection of spearmen and halberdiers, they slaughtered the beastmen. Soon the beastmen's losses exceeded
Thirty percent, with the addition of several knights and more than a dozen knights' retinues, the morale of the beastmen has fallen to the bottom.
"Bertrand! Deal with the Beast King!" the leading knight in the human army shouted.
"Yes!" A sergeant wearing a green tights, chainmail and smock shouted loudly. He was wearing a green three-cornered hat with a beautiful white feather. Hearing the knight's words
After the order, the sergeant reacted immediately. He took out two arrows from the quiver behind him, and then pulled them apart forcefully.
A big bow was drawn into a full moon.
He wants to shoot here? He is at least 150 steps away from the beast king! Raymond opened his mouth wide. The effective shooting range of a normal serf archer is actually about 30 to 80 steps.
"Whoops!" The arrow pierced the forest, and the Beast King, who was directing the resistance of the Beastmen tribe, raised his head. His left eye was directly penetrated by the arrow, and he screamed back in crazy pain.
"Whoops!" An arrow pierced its right eye, and the newly selected beast king finally wailed and fell to the ground.
"Nice!" The morale of the beastmen collapsed. Several knights got on their horses and charged on horseback. A dozen knights' followers followed them. The knights' charge beat the beastmen to pieces, and then they were divided and annihilated.
"What a strong army..." Raymond swallowed, and he was a little lucky in his heart. If the army of Holy Grail Knight Count Lane was so strong, then at least the security of the territory could be guaranteed, and the serfs did not have to worry about security and banditry issues.
Out of caution and caution, Raymond's family waited for a while until the army cleared the battlefield and left before the family continued their action.
The road down here was much easier to walk. It could accommodate four horses walking abreast, and the solid dirt road was paved from inside the forest. Raymond swore that this kind of road was the best road he had ever walked.
The bread has been eaten. Fortunately, this kind of road is not difficult to walk. Even the old mother who is almost unable to walk can barely move. Thomas behind is pulling Raymond's clothes. They are exhausted.
There were guards and sentries built on the road. According to the instructions of the golden-armored giant before, Raymond only said that he was a refugee, and did not say where he came from or which principality he came from.
The serfs remained on guard.
Sure enough, the guards did not make things difficult for them. After careful examination and interrogation, they confirmed that they were both human beings and escaped serfs, and then let them into the guard post.
Dozens of people stood densely outside the guard post. It was obvious that most of them were escaped serfs. A few were businessmen complaining. There were also a few people who didn't look like businessmen, but they didn't look like serfs either. When they crossed the border, they acted exactly like the guards.
do the request.
"Your name is Raymond? Are they all your family?" A sergeant carried a crossbow behind his back, a sword hanging on his waist, and was wearing chainmail and a robe.
It looks great! Raymond was deeply envious when he saw it.
Being promoted to sergeant and becoming a free citizen was the lifelong dream of serfs.
"Yes, yes, I am Raymond, this is my brother, and this is my mother. We are from the north and cannot survive anymore. We fled here. Please take care of us poor people! Please!
"Raymond quickly bent down and smiled flatteringly at the sergeant.
"Are they from the north again? Why are there so many escaped slaves from the north recently?" The sergeant was a little surprised. He looked at the desolate appearance of the family and said with a smile: "We encountered a lot of difficulties on the road, right? Look at you guys.
It’s really not easy to escape here like this!”
"Yes! Yes! Madam bless you! Madam bless you!" Raymond said quickly.
"Okay, you'll be fine if you escape here. We are from the Chalon Forest Patrol Camp. Don't worry, it's safe here. Outsiders like you are also welcome. As long as you work hard and work hard, you don't have to worry about not having enough to eat."
The sergeant continued: "But if you dare to break the law, the only outcome is to be hanged!"
After saying that, the sergeant waved his hand: "Take them down to check and clean them up!"
"Yes!" Infantrymen from several infantry regiments took Raymond and others down. They roughly grabbed the family, cut their messy hair short with knives and scissors, and then took them to take a bath and change their clothes.
Ordinary burlap clothes.
Raymond and others were deeply afraid of being killed, so they could only silently follow everyone's arrangements.
There are so many people, really so many people, at least dozens of people waiting!
The serfs noticed merchants escorting goods through the guard posts. They were not inspected in this way, but they were required to pay taxes.
The sergeant asked the infantrymen to check and confirm that Raymond's family did not have any weird spots or extra limbs on their bodies, and that they were generally in good health.
Each person received a bowl of gruel, then lined up and walked around while eating.
"What are we doing?" Raymond asked the man in front of him who didn't look like a serf.
"Waiting for the bus, ah, Tar's teeth! Why are there so many people now! It takes a long time to wait for the bus." The man in front complained: "I am not a runaway slave, but I have to wait for the bus with the runaway slaves!"
Raymond didn't dare to say anything more when he saw this.
After waiting for about an hour, they were finally in line. There were more than a dozen two-horse, four-wheeled, covered carts, each of which could seat eight people. Raymond and others also got on board.
"Okay, you can pass. Walk along the road. In about three hours, you will leave the forest and see the village. When you get there, ask about how to get to the prison. Of course, someone will show you the way. There are also people on the side of the road.
Sign." The sergeant nodded, indicating that Raymond and his family could leave.
It took several more hours, and in the afternoon, the family finally walked out of the forest. The carriage unloaded the people and then returned immediately.
The scenery outside the forest stunned the whole family. The lush fields were covered with farmland. Clear water channels guided the water from the Chinon River. Tall waterwheels were constantly turning along the creek. In the farmland, serfs were pulling their boats.
He was wearing his trousers and harvesting fields of winter wheat. The wide road was paved with stone slabs. People were coming and going on the road. A huge windmill was turning. Looking around, there were no lazy people in the countryside. This was completely different from the north.
The clear sound of bells resounded inside the village. A strong high wall was built outside the village using wood and stone. The wall was about three meters high, which was a height that made Raymond feel at ease.
At least it looks much more reassuring than the one-meter-high fences and fences in my original village.
The guards were energetic. They stood upright, wearing helmets, holding spears, and hanging breastplates, monitoring the distance. On the road, a handsome knight in gorgeous clothes rode a tall horse, triumphantly
from the avenue
He walked past, with two hares and a few pheasants hanging on the back of his horse, and he advanced in the crowd of several knights' retinue. Everyone was riding their horses, hanging prey, and talking loudly about the hunting.
What a harvest, praise the fairy in the lake.
Where the Lord Knight passed by, the serfs stopped what they were doing and bent down to pay their respects. It could be seen that these serfs truly admired and respected the Lord Knight. The Lord Knight felt good about himself, and he took off a horse from the back of his horse.
Pheasant, throw it to the ground: "I'll take pity on you! Whoever grabs it will get it!"
"Cluck cluck~" The pheasant was untied, fell to the ground, and ran around. Seeing this, many serfs put down their work and rushed up to grab the pheasant. After a strong serf grabbed it,
The other serfs gave up the fight, laughed and cursed this man's good luck, returned to their places, and continued their farm work.
If this was placed in their village, the serfs would have to fight for it. Raymond thought that the knights in the south seemed to be more approachable. If the serfs greeted them, they would nod in response. The serfs worked very hard, unlike in his own village.
They are all lazy and don't want to work. Anyway, whatever they collect in the end belongs to the lord.
Several carriages were advancing on the road, filled with grain. At the same time, some carriages were used to carry passengers. The coachmen were waiting at the gate of the town to solicit passengers. This kind of carriage was much more luxurious. It not only had a carriage, but was also painted.
It must be beautiful and colorful.
This is probably a seat for rich people, right? Business seems to be pretty good?
Near the village, groups of children were playing under the leadership of a priest of the Goddess of Mercy. This priest of the Goddess of Mercy looked to be in his forties. Twenty or thirty children were pulling on her sleeves and skirts, surrounding her.
Turning in circles and playing games, the fields were full of laughter and laughter. The female pastor took the opportunity to teach the children to worship Ms. Saliya, and at the same time broke two flatbreads for the children to eat.
So many children! Can the people here afford to raise so many children? Raymond thought in surprise.
It was already afternoon, and it was getting closer to night. A gust of cold wind blew across the field, and Raymond shivered. The family was tired and hungry. They walked tiredly and gradually approached the village.
Raymond tried to say to a serf who was harvesting wheat on the roadside: "Hello, sir, how can I get to the prison?"
The serf's skin was wheat-colored due to frequent exposure to the sun. He was wearing a straw hat and the animal skin clothes on his body looked quite thick. At least Raymond felt very warm when he saw it, and the serf's figure also appeared to be quite strong.
His face looked rosy and healthy. When he saw someone asking for directions, he put down his sickle and said, "From your accent, are you from the north?"
"Well, we are from the north. Our family was hit by a disaster and we couldn't pay taxes, so we escaped here. I heard that life would be better in the south, so we wanted to find some work." Raymond forced a smile, he had
concealed.
"Oh, that's it. Welcome to Red Fish Village. Are there disasters in the north recently? Why are all the people coming recently from the north?" The serf didn't take it seriously. He first looked at the place where Raymond was hiding.
Thomas, who was holding the hem of his clothes behind him, looked at his old mother who was exhausted and could not stand still, and continued.
Then he said: "My name is Bono. It's really unfortunate. It's getting dark soon. You guys are rushing to Jean Town now. The city gate will be closed. You won't have time to enter the city. If you don't mind, you can stay at my house at night."
Rest in the firewood shed, and you can go into the city and go to the office early the next morning. There are signs on the road."
"I'm really grateful!" Raymond quickly thanked him.
Is the south so much richer than the north? Raymond noticed that the barns were filled with winter wheat, and the nearby houses were full of solid stone houses. Everyone's face was very good-looking, filled with the joy of the harvest, and every household raised chickens and ducks.
, you can see many cattle in the farmland, and some houses have goats. Bacon and smoked fish are hung outside the house. When dinner time comes, smoke rises from the chimneys of every house.
Quiet and peaceful village scenery.
The woodshed was neatly tidied, with piles of firewood stacked inside, as well as beds and blankets made of straw.
"Brother, brother, I'm so hungry!" Thomas whispered inappropriately.
Raymond looked at his bag in embarrassment. There was only half a piece of black bread left in it.
It looks like we are going to run out of food.
"You have traveled a long way from the north, right? It's been a long journey. Come on, let's have something to eat!" Bono came in with five pieces of black bread and a pot of soup: "Thank you, Count, thank you, Countess, thank you."
Madam, you are lucky to have escaped here."
"Oh! No! We can't eat it!" Raymond was startled and quickly waved his hands, five pieces of black bread, and a pot of soup made with vegetables and flour. These meals were enough for four or five days at their house!
"Hey? Why don't you eat?" Bono obviously didn't understand the situation. He strangely placed a bread basket, a pot of soup, and several wooden bowls and spoons in front of Raymond's family: "You have escaped so far, you should
You don’t have anything to eat, right? It doesn’t matter, I’m giving this to you. Eat it, I’m going to the city tomorrow too, and we’ll go together then.”
"No, everyone pays taxes to the lord. How can we eat your rations for several days? No, we can just deal with it." The old mother quickly shook her head. She was kind-hearted and knew that the serfs
How difficult it is to save some food rations.
Escape itself is their own fault, how can they implicate others?
"Huh?" Who knew Bono was even stranger? The serf first looked at Raymond and his old mother, then at Thomas who was already swallowing his saliva, and complained: "Wake up, when did this happen?
?”
"Your Excellency, Earl Lane, has been here for five years! Whose house will be short of some brown bread now?"
"???"
"There is a lot of black bread at home, and it gets moldy even if it is left there. Really, I plan to go to the city with you tomorrow to sell some vegetables. The children at home have been clamoring for meat. I guess the day of the Holy Grail is approaching,
It’s time to buy some meat.”
"??????"
"Okay, let's eat~ Yankees are very rare and strange." Bono couldn't help the expression on his face. He put down the things: "You guys eat first, I want to go back to see my five children~" (To be continued)