"It's the refugees along the way," Guard Captain Cromwell answered. "The undead attack caused them to flee."
"Refugees?
Undead attack? "
Jared thought for a moment and understood what was going on. The other news he received was that Prince Stuart had led his troops all the way to Klimt, but there was no mention of the undead. However, the existence of the undead had become explosive news to the entire country a few days ago. Jared immediately understood what had happened after he put the facts together.
"Sid!
Arrange for the refugees to go to the nearby villages! "
Jarl waved at a baron in the distance and refused to let the refugees enter the city. In an instant, more than a thousand refugees could not even enter Sith's court.
Henry was stunned for a moment, but then he sighed. He was no longer a duke. Facing this Count, Henry really could not do anything.
Go to the village?
The nearest village to Sith's court could not accommodate so many people!
Moreover, the refugees were exhausted after such a long journey. The only reason they had not fallen behind was because of Becky's Holy Light Spell and Henry's coordination. However, no matter how good an arrow was, it would not be able to unleash its power without a bow. The refugees' stamina had been pushed to the limit, so Becky's Holy Light Spell was basically useless. Henry knew that if this continued, there would be casualties.
Fortunately, it was not a natural disaster. There was no shortage of food and clothing, and no one had starved to death. However, Henry could not accept that a noble, a feudal lord, could actually shut out his own people!
Henry looked at Princess Flora, who was standing beside Jarl. She was staring into the distance, as if she did not hear anything.
"How much food do the refugees have?"
Henry turned around and asked Sylvia. Sylvia had been in charge of the troop's supplies for the past few days.
"Enough for three days."
Henry nodded and whispered to Sylvia, "Many are not here, and I do not have a noble status. Her Royal Highness is not willing to help, so we can only rely on ourselves."
After saying that, he walked to the front of the refugee troop. For the first time, Henry spoke in a slightly louder voice than usual, "Now, among the men who are above 20 and below 40, and have no disabilities or illnesses, please step forward. I need your help."
Hearing this, the people in the troop did not even discuss. Without hesitation, the men immediately stepped forward and looked at Henry with reverence. Their tattered clothes and hopeful expressions formed a strong contrast.
The people in the team also heard Earl Garr's words, but before they had time to say anything, they heard Henry's request for the first time. For this leader that they admired so much, his invisible prestige had surpassed that of Earl Garr, who had always made them pale at the mention of his name.
There were nearly 2,000 refugees in the troop, and there were more than 100 who met Henry's requirements.
Before waiting for the people at the back to step forward, Henry nodded and said, "Alright, those who have stepped forward now, please follow me."
He turned to Sylvia and said, "I'm going to buy tents and food. The refugees will rest outside the city today. Tomorrow, we will go directly to Oditore."
"Buy?
There are so many people — "
Before Sylvia could finish, Henry took out a gold coin from his pouch. It was one of the 100 gold coins that were given to each person. He put it in Sylvia's hand.
"His Majesty Cleveland III once took out a gold coin and gave it to his prime minister when the plague spread throughout the country. He said, 'Take out all the gold coins in the treasury to save our people. Leave this gold coin and tell the nobles that our treasury is not empty yet.'"
Henry blinked his eyes, "I don't need to eat, so this gold coin is enough for me to live for a long time."
The scene suddenly became quiet.
Sylvia lowered her head and looked at the gold coin in her hand.
Bodinar's profile was engraved on the front of the gold coin. Under the sunlight, it emitted a bright golden light. But this was the last gold coin that Henry left for her. He was going to use the remaining 99 gold coins to buy supplies for the refugees!
All of a sudden, the whole team became extremely quiet. Everyone was staring at the gold coin lying quietly in Sylner's palm.
At this moment, Sylvia felt something in her heart was touched.
Along the way, Sylvia's impression of the nobles was that they were fake and pretentious. They were greedy and had an incomprehensible arrogance.
Bordeaux and the various nobles at Victoria's 300th Knight Day Banquet made Sylvia deeply disappointed in the term "nobles."
But she swore to the Moon Goddess that the gold coin in Sylvia's hand instantly changed her view of the word "nobles."
Dedication, sacrifice.
So indifferent.
Henry nodded and turned around to lead the selected men to the gates of Sith's court. However, he was suddenly stopped by Noda.
"Many of the gold coins are very heavy. I don't have a space ring, so it's tiring to carry them around."
Norda put on a cool look and casually threw out a leather bag. Henry reached out to catch it, but it felt heavy in his hand. The 'hua la hua la' sound also told the surrounding people what was inside.
"Rollier, please bless these people. I'll just drink a few pots of wine."
Daugen took out his money pouch from behind his waist and threw it over without looking at it.
"May the light bless these displaced people."
She took out a small leather pouch from her bishop's robe that was slightly pale from washing and handed it to Henry.
Henry bent down slightly and took the small pouch with both hands. Although the pouch was not eye-catching, Henry knew that it contained magical waves.
There were three high-quality magic crystals that were worth more than 300 gold coins.
Sylvia reached for the pouch on her back, but was stopped by Henry.
"Keep it. When you marry Many, use it as a dowry."
Henry blinked his gray eyes. "I'll be the notary. You won't mind, right?"
Sylvia's heart was instantly disturbed by the word "marriage" that Henry mentioned. Her breathing quickened because Sylvia could not help but imagine herself and Many standing in front of everyone, receiving blessings and getting married.
Stunned, before Sylvia could say anything, she realized that Henry was already far away. He held the money pouch in his hand and walked calmly at the front. Behind him were the men who were shocked by Henry's actions and did not know what to say.
The group of refugees did not enter the city because they were stopped by a noble with a high position outside the city. They had no home to return to.
The group of refugees did not move. Because they saw a true noble. He walked forward and protected these civilians who did not know him. He did not rest at all. At this time, he and his companions took out their own money to buy the supplies that the count who rejected them should have been responsible for.
Henry led the crowd past Garl and Flora, paid the tax, and walked steadily into the city. He did not care about the gloomy Count at all.
Nobles had their own bottom line and pride. Henry did not even bother to look at Count, who did not deserve to be called a noble.
He did not deserve it.
Among the refugees who stopped in front of the gate of Sith's court, someone bowed down and clumsily made a deep bow towards Henry's back. Then came the second one, the third one. Gradually, almost two thousand people all bowed down to show their respect.
Among them, there were farmers in rough clothes, old men with white hair, and young boys who had just grown a beard. However, at this moment, they all bowed down on their own.
Henry was wearing leather armor and cloak that he did not wash because of the long journey. He walked past Garl, who was dressed in luxurious clothes. However, at this moment, there was no need to say who the true noble was.
"Hmph!"
Garl felt a little embarrassed. He snorted coldly and waved his hand. He brought his men and escorted the princess to a luxurious carriage that was carefully prepared. The carriage slowly drove towards Count's mansion.
Looking back at the refugees who stopped outside the city, Garl spat out two words in disdain.
"Peasants!"
Sylvia calmed down and sighed. She looked at the Royal Guards who followed Princess Flora into Sith's court. She helplessly said to the mercenaries beside her, "The Royal Guards have left. We might have to work a little harder. Let's do as Henry says."
The few of them looked at the tall city wall and turned around to let the refugees set up camp.
Sylvia patiently explained to the refugees why they could not enter the city. These farmers were not scoundrels. They did not show any disgust towards the mercenaries who had protected them along the way. Instead, they showed understanding and expressed that there was no problem. Most of them took out the food that they had saved along the way, hoping that the beautiful elf would sit down and rest.
The people had seen what these mercenaries did. They would be nice to whoever was nice to them. In fact, the people did not have high expectations. It was just that the ruling class was too greedy.
While Sylvia was busy, a carriage was coincidentally heading towards the city gate.
The carriage was decorated with gold and silver. It was indescribably luxurious, but it also had a sense of absurdity that made people not know whether to laugh or cry. It was as if the owner of the carriage was afraid that no one would know how rich he was. Other than the gold and silver ornaments, there was also a level seven elk head hanging on the side of the carriage. This kind of ornament was usually hung in the main hall to show off one's personal taste and strength.
However, what made people puzzled was that this simple and expensive ornament was actually adorned with all sorts of jewels on its long antlers …
Even if you had a lot of money, you shouldn't waste it like this!
It was ugly built with money.
This was the only evaluation that anyone with a normal sense of aesthetics would have for this carriage.
The carriage was slowly headed towards the east gate under the protection of eight fully armed private guards. Its extremely luxurious appearance caused the pedestrians to make way for it. However, when it passed by the huge group of refugees, the carriage's speed was slowed down because the crowd was blocking the way.
The guards were holding a ceremonial spear and tried to drive the crowd away, but the effect was not obvious.
"What's going on?"
A lazy and vague voice asked from inside the carriage.
"Master … We don't know where so many refugees came from. The road is blocked. We can only wait …"
"Oh …"
A corner of the curtain on the side of the carriage was gently lifted and then casually closed. But in less than a second, the curtain was suddenly lifted!
The hand that was holding the curtain seemed to tremble twice, and then quickly closed it again.
Inside the carriage was Birkins who escaped from Sibor.
His fat body filled the carriage's sofa, but there was a coquettish woman on his belly. Her thin and revealing clothes were torn apart by Birkins's big hands. What should and shouldn't be exposed were all exposed.
She was riding on the fat man's body, and her plump body was moving with all her might. From time to time, she would moan twice in a low voice. No one knew if it was real or not.
The woman's waist was very thin, but her breasts were too big. Along with the jolting of the carriage, her breasts swayed. Along the way, Birkins had a feast for his eyes and hands. But when the nouveau riche unintentionally lifted the curtain and looked outside, his body trembled and his legs tightened. He had surrendered his gun in advance!
The woman felt the change under her body. She immediately puffed out her chest and moaned a few times. Then, with a satisfied look, she leaned on the fat man's belly and said coquettishly, "Master … You're really amazing …"
"Amazing your head!"
Birkins seemed to have lost his soul. He suddenly raised his arm and flipped the woman over. The latter fell head first onto the floor with a thud.
When she looked at this rich man with a face full of grievance and confusion, she found that this fat man, who was usually surrounded by people, was actually pale. He took out a handkerchief and was trying hard to wipe the white sweat on his forehead.
"Master … What's wrong … Did I not serve you well enough …?"
Birkins didn't answer her. He frantically wiped his lower body with the handkerchief and pulled up his pants. Then, he used his sleeve to wipe his sweat. His head moved closer to the curtain and carefully lifted a corner of the curtain. His huge head moved closer to look outside for the third time.
Sylvia, who had her back to the carriage, felt something was wrong. She, who had already reached the seventh level, instinctively looked into the distance.
Birkins suddenly covered the curtain!
He reached out and pressed his hand on his heart, trying to suppress the fear that seeped into his bones.
She was here!
She was actually here!
That mercenary must be here too!
He must be looking for me!
Birkins tried his best to calm his breathing and said to the coachman, "Turn around, go back to the manor!"
"Master … It's getting dark … It's not easy to go back to the manor at night …"
"Go back to the manor!"
Birkins suddenly exploded. But his angry voice was shrill like a shrew, which sounded especially funny.
"Yes … Master!"
The coachman waved his whip, but it landed on empty ground. The loud crack of the whip made all the refugees near the carriage turn to look at him.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!
Turn the carriage around! "
The people silently dispersed. Looking at the luxurious carriage with gold and silver inlaid and the arrogant guards, these refugees knew that they couldn't afford to offend such a rich master. Although the poor commoners were dissatisfied with the shocking wealth, no one dared to say anything disrespectful.
It seemed that they only dared to vent their dissatisfaction by wantonly graffiti on the abandoned mud wall. To put it bluntly, the commoners were sometimes very timid, but sometimes they were very bold.
The carriage silently turned around, and with a lash of the coachman's whip, the carriage pulled by four large horses suddenly went back to the road it came from.
The galloping horses galloped on the narrow road, stirring up a cloud of dust. But after a few miles, the coachman saw a strange scene.
In the distance, a person was galloping, but the strange thing was — beside him, there was a rustic-looking horse carrying a little girl … following him?!
The coachman rubbed his eyes to make sure that he didn't see wrongly. That person really ran faster than the horse!
What was even more ridiculous was that although the horse looked like a rustic, its speed seemed to be faster than any pure-blooded horse he had ever seen!
In the blink of an eye, that person rushed in front of the coachman. Just when he was about ten meters away from the carriage, he suddenly stopped.
The horse carrying the little girl followed leisurely. When it saw that the person wearing black leather armor stopped, it also stopped and circled around him.
"Brother!
Why did you stop?
I can see the city now … "
The little girl's sweet voice was crisp and pleasant to the ears. But the person she called "brother" replied, "Salia, we met an acquaintance."
Birkins, who was originally sitting in the carriage, heard this question and answer, and his face suddenly turned pale!
His fat face trembled, and his lower body trembled continuously. Bean-sized beads of sweat flowed down his fat to his collar, but he didn't even have time to wipe it off.
Many people looked at the luxurious carriage in front of them with a faint smile, and gently hugged their shoulders.
"Birkins, come out and talk."
Many people didn't have X-ray vision. If Birkins was unlucky, it was because of his loyal and diligent coachman. After eavesdropping at Sibor, many people who were related to Birkins and Joy while following them, and this coachman was one of them!
Many people had received many assassination missions when they were mercenaries. When it came to remembering a person's appearance, many people could even be said to have a photographic memory. As long as they paid attention to the person, they would never mistake it!
With just a glance, many people immediately recognized that the person in the carriage was Birkins. Not to mention the symbolic nouveau riche carriage, the short and slightly wheezy breath in the carriage was obviously that of a fat person. Combining these points, many people didn't suspect anything at all, and directly stopped Birkins' carriage.
The sky gradually darkened, and there was no one else around. Many people didn't need to worry about anything.
"Protect the master!"
The coachman was not stupid. He immediately thought of something from the many people's impolite tone and Birkins's abnormal behavior just now. So he immediately shouted, and the guards rushed to the front.