Due to Bluefeather's invasion of Askilin, the flames of war didn't stop during the winter.
Flames of war rose all over Askilin. Countless citizens braved the cold and fled their homes in carriages in an attempt to avoid the war.
So, the moment the snow stopped, countless refugees appeared on the roads of the three southern prefectures. They carried bags of all sizes and rode on carriages in an attempt to leave the territory occupied by the invaders.
The checkpoint Maqic set up on the mountain path began to earn a lot of money. The fees he charged for the checkpoint were astronomical.
He charged one silver coin per person and one gold coin per carriage. Even though they were Askilin coins, the exchange rate was about two to one compared to the Aueran thales and gold crowns. Two silver coins could be exchanged for a kingdom's silver thale, and the same went for gold coins.
However, those who were able to pack their belongings and escape with their families in a carriage in this cold winter weather were mostly wealthy people. They could still afford to cross the border.
They didn't really care about the fees. Instead, they were more than willing to pay the soldiers for being polite and not harassing their families or robbing them of their belongings. Some of them were even willing to pay a high price for a meal of hot food.
This gave Ma Kezi another opportunity to earn some extra money. He simply teamed up with the village elder to set up a big tent next to the road as a temporary roadside restaurant. They split the profits 80: 20 and hired a few people from the village to work as cooks and maids. Then, they ruthlessly cut off the rich people who passed by. The things they sold were twice as expensive as the ones in the town...
"Sir, I don't understand why these people would want to escape. Don't they know that even if they escape to Swan Castle, they will only be able to roam free for a period of time? When the other two second-rate corps arrive, Bluefeather Corps might even attack Swan Castle.
When Askilin falls, won't these people still have to wait for their deaths in Swan Castle? "Myjack asked Claude.
Claude, Myjack, Gum and the other two stood at the edge of the protruding cliff and looked down at the crowd of vehicles and people who were paying the toll at the checkpoint. Even the huge tent of the restaurant by the road was filled with people resting. From time to time, some familiar faces would greet them loudly and ask for a bottle of expensive wine to drink as they chatted.
"Actually, most of the townspeople won't run. Those who run are mainly afraid that we will settle accounts with them after autumn.
The three southern prefectures were the most famous mining and military areas in the Askilin Duchy. These people were more or less related to these industries, or rather, they had a great deal of interest.
Now that we have occupied the three counties in the south, we don't have the time to clear out the mines and military industries. After all, we don't have enough troops. The Blue Feather Army is busy conquering more territory.
If these people don't run now, when the situation stabilizes, the kingdom will send people to clean up the mines and military industries. By then, they'll be charged with all sorts of crimes and might even be sentenced to forced labor. So, knowing the consequences, it's only natural for them to run. They'll live freely for as long as they can. Perhaps they can even escape to another nation.
Not to mention, these people are in cahoots with the powerful figures of Askilin. They'll probably run to Swan Castle with the hope of reclaiming their lost lands. When that happens, their industries and interests will return to them, "Claude explained.
"Then why should we let them go? We can just arrest them," Myjack asked.
"Hehe, why would we arrest them? We didn't receive any orders.
In addition, cleaning up and reorganizing their industries is the job of the Kingdom's Internal Affairs Department. If our army intervenes, it will only be an arduous and unrewarding task. This case will be brought before His Majesty, and none of the generals above are willing to bring trouble upon themselves.
Besides, their escape will bring us some extra income. Isn't that great? "Claude was well aware of that. The kingdom's army was only in charge of fighting battles. They were strictly forbidden from interfering with the duties of other departments. That was something Ledefonk had mentioned several times during the meetings.
"Let's go. Carry your guns and go check out the forest behind Squirrel Village. The village chief has mentioned a few times that wolves howl in the middle of the night.
Let's go patrol and see if there are any wolf packs near the village.
If there are, we'll have to get rid of them to prevent the soldiers patrolling outside from getting into danger. "Claude turned around and left the cliff. There was nothing else to see down there.
Snow covered the forest and wild beasts lacked food. Claude was well aware of that when he was in Whitestag.
The snow in the forest was thick. Claude led Myjack and Gum around and found a few lines of wolf paw prints.
It seemed that it wasn't a wolf pack, but an old wolf or a lone wolf that had been chased out of the pack had come to Squirrel Village to look for food. He had to find a chance to kill it, or the soldiers standing guard at the village entrance at night would likely be attacked by the hungry lone wolf.
When Claude returned to camp, he found a soldier waiting for him.
"Lieutenant Claude, we intercepted a carriage with a lady and her two maids at the crossroads," the soldier reported.
"Hmm, so what?" Claude asked, wondering what Mazik was up to this time.
"It's like this, Lieutenant Claude. We found this in the carriage," the soldier said as he handed Claude a package.
Claude opened the bag and his expression turned serious. Inside were two dismantled aubass mark 3 muskets. He picked up one of the parts and looked at it. It was obvious that the person who dismantled the muskets was a veteran. The parts were dismantled in perfect condition without any signs of violence being used.
"Tell Sergeant Mazik to bring me the carriage and the three women. I want to interrogate them about where they got those two muskets," Claude ordered.
"Yes, Lieutenant Claude. I'll get it done right away." The soldier saluted and left.
Not long after, the rumbling of the wheels could be heard, followed by the yells of the soldiers and the cries of the women.
"Myjack, take Gum and search the carriage below. Bring me anything suspicious," Claude said.
"Yes, Sir." Myjack brought Gum down the stairs.
Footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Mazik knocked on the door and entered. "Lieutenant Claude, I've brought them."
"Bring them in one by one. Call the messenger over and make a record of the interrogation."
"Yes, Sir."
The first to be brought in was the lady. She wore a thick leather coat, but it couldn't hide her voluptuous figure.
She was also wearing a translucent hat, revealing only her rosy lips and her delicate chin.
"Miss, please take off your hat," Claude reminded.
Her rosy lips cracked into an arc as she giggled. "You should call me Madam, young officer. But I'm still glad to hear you call me Miss. It reminds me of the carefree days before I got married …"
She took off her hat and revealed her face. Ma Keqi and the correspondent, who were taking notes, had a pig-like expression on their faces.
She was indeed beautiful. She had an aura that combined sexiness and elegance. The helpless expression on her face made it easy for men to want to protect her.
Claude stared at her expressionlessly. He didn't feel anything for beauties. He had seen plenty of them in his past life.
No matter how ugly a woman was, as long as she learned one of the four great arts of Asia, the art of disguise, she would be able to turn into a gorgeous beauty. None of them would be inferior to the one before him.
As a veteran, he had often encountered such situations. He would wake up one night to find that the beauty from last night had turned into an auntie.
Had it not been for the fact that he knew it was because she was undressing, he might have thought it was a mother who came to replace her daughter in the middle of the night.
He knocked on the table to wake the two pigs up. He pointed at the bag on the table and said, "Madam, please tell me your name and origin. Also, tell us how you got your hands on these two muskets."
Perhaps Claude's indifference to her appearance was a little inconceivable. She stared at Claude for a while and saw that he was still as businesslike as ever. She couldn't help but feel discouraged. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I am Baroness Sonia Vakusili. I come from Pacathia and am returning to Swan Castle to visit my sick father.
As for these two muskets, I bought them from someone else with a hefty sum of money. I didn't know that they were standard issue for your army. I thought they were two unique, privately-made muskets. "
Pacathia was the capital of Palo Alto, one of the three prefectures in the south. It was where the military industry was the most concentrated in Askilin.
The largest gunsmith workshop in Askilin was located there. There were also many other workshops and factories that produced assorted products.
Claude stood up with a smile and picked up a piece from the package on the table. "Baroness Vakusili, let's not beat around the bush. Without a certain level of firearms knowledge, one wouldn't be able to dismantle these two muskets so thoroughly. Look at this. It's quite difficult to dismantle a part like this without any damage. Most people would use a hammer to knock it off.
Unlike you, these two muskets don't have any marks on them.
I believe that when you bought them, you must have bought two complete muskets, and not a pile of parts like this … "
"You wouldn't say that if you knew who my father is," Madam Vakusili retorted.
The beautiful madam retorted bluntly, "My father is Librete Miloski. You should have heard of this name."
Libreid Miloski? Who is he?
Claude looked at Mazik and the reporter blankly, only to find that the two of them were equally confused.
"Ahem, Baroness Vakusili, who is your father?
We've never heard of him. "
Madam Vakusili's face flushed red from anger. She looked at Claude as if he was a country bumpkin. "My father is a renowned master gunsmith. He designed more than ten types of muskets, some of which are standard issue in the armies of many countries.
As his daughter, I've been learning how to dismantle muskets since I was young. Guns like yours aren't that difficult to dismantle. My maidservant easily dismantled them under my guidance. "
"Are you talking about Grandmaster Bord?"
Claude finally recalled that Bord was the most famous master gunsmith in Askilin. Before entering the three prefectures, the higher-ups had given him a list of names. When the troops encountered the people on the list, they had to treat them politely and send them to the higher-ups. The kingdom needed the people on the list to serve the kingdom.
It seemed that this Master Liboyd was ranked third or fourth on the list, and the higher-ups attached more importance to him.
But after conquering the three prefectures, it was discovered that many of the people on the list had gone to Swan Castle and weren't in their own homes. Bord was said to have gone to Swan Castle to treat his illness, which allowed him to escape the mandatory invitation of the kingdom's army.
If this Baroness Vakusili was the daughter of Master Liboyd, then the purpose of bringing the two Aubass Mark III firearms to Swan Castle was obvious. She wanted to continue researching and imitating this kind of accurate shooting firearm.
Even though Askilin had already introduced that … what was it called?
Right, it's called the Falheston Type 185 Precision Aiming Firearm, but in terms of performance, it's still a far cry from the Aubass Mark 3 standard firearms that the kingdom's army started to equip.
The reason she brought the two muskets with her was for Miloski, the master gunsmith, to continue his research. Perhaps it was because her father was personally interested in it.
"Baroness Vakusili, do you have any evidence to prove your relationship with Bord?
If you can't, I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here for a few days. We'll only let you go after we've investigated things in Pacathia.
Since you're carrying a national-issue musket, we can't help but suspect that you're a spy. Please forgive my rudeness, but it's my duty to keep you here. "Claude ended the interrogation decisively.