svetikya Chapter 167 Border Village
Chapter 167 Border Village
"Old sir, could you buy some hay and beans?" Near the border, Loon led two horses to a village.
"Is there a veterinarian for large livestock in the village?"
Loon never expected that the biggest problem he would encounter while traveling disguised as a knight would be feeding and watering his warhorse.
He himself was fine with it—he just hunted some wild animals, mixed them with life dust, and that was enough for him to get by.
But warhorses are precious and fragile creatures.
It has been almost half a month since the wizard Anselor was captured.
At first, Loon simply let the two warhorses graze on wild grass in the wild.
But starting the day before yesterday, the two warhorses began to show signs of illness—they had fevers, were weak, and had diarrhea, as if they were sick.
After this, Loen fed the two warhorses some life powder, hoping to dispel the disease by strengthening the horses' own vitality.
Unfortunately, this life-giving dust could only replenish the lost life force, making the warhorse appear healthy—but it was of no use against the disease.
Similarly, as a wizard, Loon was also helpless against the disease.
Based on his limited experience from his previous life, Loon believed that the reason the warhorse had a problem was because the hay it had been looking for had been "too fresh" for some time, which caused it to have diarrhea.
In this situation, the best approach would naturally be to provide the warhorse with some hay and beans to supplement its 'nutrition'.
So, Luo Ang, who had originally avoided villages and settlements, took the initiative to find a village.
From a distance, this village appeared to be more prosperous than the villages Loon had passed through near Chashan Ridge—there was something resembling a watchtower outside the village, and a wall made of logs surrounding it.
But upon closer inspection, Loong was shocked to discover that the atmosphere in the village was not good.
The militiamen on the watchtower were extremely cautious in their attitude towards outsiders, their hostility was barely concealed, and the gates of the wall were tightly closed.
On the gate, there were still some marks of swords and knives. The road in front of the gate was even more chaotic on both sides, with various cart tracks and hoofprints extending into the fields next to it, trampling the seedlings that had already grown into pieces.
On the village wall, an old man, supported by someone, leaned over the wall, looking down at Loen.
The old man's face was full of sorrow and fear, while the young man next to him looked full of resentment.
"This is your esteemed knight." The old man adopted a senior's demeanor, but made no intention of asking anyone to open the door.
"Our grain and fodder, along with our cattle and sheep, have all been confiscated from Hongsha Village."
"Right now, we don't know how to go on living."
"Sir Knight, please have mercy and look elsewhere."
After speaking, the old man coughed a few more times.
Upon hearing this, Luo Ang was also taken aback.
He had originally thought that the fact that these border villages could build watchtowers and walls proved that the border lord was a relatively "kind" lord who could allow these villagers some freedom, which was why these villages could build their walls—for a village, having a wall and not having a wall are completely different concepts.
Judging from their current appearance, the border lord is even more ferocious than the nobles of Iron Sword Territory...
Luo Ang glanced around.
After the old man explained the situation, he saw more details in the surrounding world.
—There are some frames erected between the fields.
Judging from the remaining marks on the shelves, these shelves must have been where the farmers in the village piled up haystacks.
Normally, there would be stacks of hay on those shelves now.
But now, the shelves that should have been piled with haystacks are only covered with scattered hay, and the haystacks have been ruthlessly kicked over—some of the haystack shelves have been dismantled, the 'firewood' inside has been taken away, leaving only some 'fresh'-looking branches that are difficult to burn.
This is not a requisition.
This is clearly robbery.
Looting that reached three feet off the ground!
Seeing that even the hay and firewood from the haystacks had been taken away, Luo Ang had no doubt about the old man's words!
Such a situation could only be caused by the "levies" of those nobles—as for looting... what bandit would carry away all those haystacks?
Even the most ruthless robbers only burned the haystacks, instead of carrying them away.
To achieve this, besides being sufficiently cruel, what's needed most is "human resources".
Aside from nobles and the military, there is absolutely no organization that could "carefully" take away all those haystacks.
However, this kind of "taxation" that is three feet above the ground doesn't match the fact that the village is surrounded by walls. Luo Ang could tell that the "militia" on the watchtower were the village's own militia, not soldiers sent by the nobles.
Moreover, this is a border region, and the people in any border area are known for their "fierce" character.
Such a "powerful village" with walls and watchtowers can be considered a force to a certain extent, and they are absolutely capable of "armed resistance against taxes".
"It can't be that an army has come to collect taxes," Luo Ang guessed, then asked directly.
"Sir, what has happened to your village?"
When he asked the question, Luo Ang took out two silver coins and threw them onto the wall, where they landed 'just right' in front of the old man.
"Or, sir, could you tell me where around here I can buy hay or medicine for livestock?" Loon patted the two warhorses beside him.
"Sir, I swear, I had absolutely no malicious intent."
"And I will absolutely not tell anyone else what the old man told me!" While staring at the old man, Luo Ang also made other plans.
If he was unwilling to tell him about another place, then Loon would have no choice but to follow the messy cart tracks and hoofprints to find out where the "tax collection team" had gone.
That team must contain what Loen needs.
After throwing up two silver coins, the old man disappeared behind the wall—and there was no sound from the wall.
After waiting a while longer and still receiving no response from the village, Luo Ang decided not to make things difficult for the villagers any further. He turned around, took his warhorse, and prepared to leave.
As for those two silver coins—just two silver coins, consider them compensation for the mental distress caused to the villagers.
"My esteemed knight, please wait a moment."
Luo Ang had only taken a few steps when the old man poked his head out from the wall once again.