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Chapter 279 "Taking a Boat"
There were dozens of military crossbows. These crossbows were not something an ordinary army could equip. Only the elites of the Empire's main battle legions or the Imperial Guards were equipped with them.
These crossbows were fired using a mechanical noose and were capable of piercing a soldier's armor within 20 steps. Known as the "Armor Piercing Arrow", each crossbow was not cheap to make. Only someone of Du Wei's status could equip his bodyguards with such a lethal weapon. These prairie people were just a motley crew. Not to mention armor, it was rare for them to even have a piece of leather armor on board. Most of them were only wearing leather robes.
Moreover, Du Wei was even more ruthless. He secretly ordered his men to modify the arrowheads of these crossbows. The arrowheads were designed into a triangular shape. This way, even if the arrow did not hit a vital point, the person who was shot would still bleed badly. Moreover, it would be very difficult to suture the wound afterwards.
Du Wei's order to kill without restraint, the Tulip Family's bodyguards would not be lenient.
After a round of crossbow fire, half of the prairie people had fallen. Seeing the enemy firing their crossbows and their companions being shot, the Prairie soldiers turned from fear to resistance. They finally understood that the Roland people were going to be ruthless!
The prairie people howled loudly. Most of these prairie people were fierce people. Seeing that they were helpless, they brandished their scimitars and rushed towards the Tulip Family's bodyguards. At this time, most of them had made up their minds. Only by fighting to the death would they have a chance to survive.
It was a pity that the Tulip Family's bodyguards had enough time to fire a second volley of arrows at a distance of about twenty steps.
After the second volley of crossbows, less than half of the grassland people were left standing. Most of the people who were shot had fallen. Even if they were not dead, they were bleeding and groaning.
The bodyguards threw away their crossbows and pulled out their swords to rush towards the remaining prairie people.
Although these prairie people were fierce, they were not a regular army. They were just a motley crew. How could they fight against Du Wei's bodyguards? Many of these guards were official Imperial Warriors. Even if they were dealing with ordinary soldiers, they could take on several of them!
Thirty guards rushed into the crowd of prairie people and swung their swords, not leaving any leeway. These grasslanders originally wanted to rely on their ferocity to fight for a chance of survival, but they soon despaired. The Tulip Family's guards cut through the crowd as if they were chopping melons and vegetables.
In less than ten minutes, there was not a single prairie man standing on the deck!
None of the thirty guards died, but all of them were covered in blood. Du Wei was still standing on the second deck, squinting his eyes with a gentle expression on his face.
The river transport official had never seen such a bloody scene in his life. After all, he was just an official in a small town. When had he ever seen so many people die in front of him? Not to mention, the Tulip Family's guards were like madmen. Their attacks were ruthless. Just now, he saw with his own eyes two severed prairie men's arms flying over. Some of the flesh and blood splashed on the railing of the second deck.
The river transport official's face was pale and he wanted to vomit. Duwei, on the other hand, seemed to have a happy expression.
Some of these Tulip Family's guards were veterans who had experienced the battle of Anglia City. Many people stood on the city wall and saw the savagery of the prairie men. They cut off the heads of their dead comrades and made them into human skulls. How could these people be soft on the prairie men?
Blood flowed like a river on the deck. Broken arms and limbs were everywhere. Some of the grassland people who were still alive after being shot by the arrows were rolling on the ground in pain. At this moment, they no longer cared about the pain. Some of them were already screaming and begging for mercy.
But these guards were very loyal to Du Wei's orders! Several guards walked back and forth among the corpses with their swords. Whether they were alive or dead, each one of them was given a stab! Then the head was cut off!
The river transport official was scared out of his wits. He couldn't help but whisper: "Duke, Duke … … This, they are all dead. There is no need to … … no need to cut off their heads … …"
Du Wei didn't answer and only smiled. Old Smoke on the side coldly said: "Mr. River transport official, you don't know this, but this human skulls tower is the prairie's favorite custom! If you want to object, you can go down and ask my brothers. Many of them had their friends and brothers made into human skulls tower by the prairie men! "
When the river transport official heard this, he quickly shut his mouth.
At this time, the sound of something falling into the river was heard. Du Wei thought it was one of the prairie men who jumped into the river to escape, but someone immediately reported it.
It was the sheriff who had been below. Seeing such a bloody massacre, he was scared out of his wits. His legs went soft and he fell into the river.
Du Wei smiled disdainfully. While ordering his men to rescue the sheriff, he patted the shoulder of the river transport official next to him: "Well, the smell of blood here is too pungent. Let's talk inside the cabin."
"No … … There's no need." The river transport official took a few deep breaths and then solemnly said: "My Lord, after this incident … … Hmm, there are still two or three prairie merchant groups in town. These prairie people are the most united. Once they hear the news here, I'm afraid they will make a scene … … "
Du Wei raised his eyebrows and faintly smiled: "Oh? Is that so? "
Then Du Wei loudly called Old Smoke: "You personally take half of your brothers and follow this river transport official to town. Assist him in dealing with this matter. If any prairie people dare to make trouble, you know what to do."
"I know." Old Smoke's voice was so cold that it made the river transport official shiver: "If anyone makes trouble, we'll just kill them!"
"Very good, go." Du Wei nodded.
The river transport official suddenly felt like his legs were a thousand pounds heavy. He couldn't help but pray that the prairie merchants would be well-behaved. Otherwise … … Today in this town, I'm afraid something big will happen! If the Duke of the Tulip Family's men were to kill several prairie merchant groups in one breath, then … … Goddess of Light bless, let these prairie barbarians know what's good for them … …
•
Du-Wei's men were very efficient in their work. In less than an hour, all the heads of the prairie people were chopped off. Du-Wei then ordered his men to erect several tall wooden stakes on top of the pier. Using the sharp wooden stakes, the heads of the prairie people were impaled on top of the stakes and turned into several human head brackets.
This incident had already spread throughout the port and the town. All the onlookers were frightened by this bloody scene. No one thought that this noble would be so cruel and merciless. Hundreds of people were killed just like that! Not only did he kill them, he even chopped off their heads and hung them on the pier as a demonstration!
Many people were inquiring about Du Wei's background. Those who were close enough to see the Tulip Family flag hanging on Du Wei's ship immediately understood. No wonder! Perhaps only this young Duke would dare to do such a thing to these prairie barbarians.
And the river transport official's prayer seemed to have worked. Originally, when the other two or three prairie merchant groups heard the news, some of them wanted to pull out their swords and fight to the death. But then they saw Old Smoke come over with a group of fully armed and murderous guards. Many of the guards' armor were still stained with blood, so they deliberately didn't wipe it off.
Dozens of bloody and murderous men lined up and surrounded them. The prairie people had always bullied the weak and feared the strong. When they heard that a merchant group of more than a hundred people had been wiped out, and the other party was the Duke of the Tulip Family, the prairie people immediately lost the will to resist. They obediently stayed in their own camp, not daring to cause any trouble. Some even quietly sent people to the pier to inquire about the news. When they came back, they said that there were hundreds of human heads on the pier. Speaking of that scene, the prairie barbarians' faces all changed color. Their courage was shattered and they absolutely didn't dare to cause any trouble.
After Du Wei's massacre, the prairie barbarians in Ming Fan port no longer dared to cause any trouble. And such a scene inspired the courage of many of the Empire's merchant groups. Occasionally, they would argue with the prairie barbarians, but they still dared to argue loudly. Often at the end of their argument, they would point at the pier and shout: "Last time, a whole hundred heads were chopped off and hung there! Do you want to be the one hundred and first?! "
When these words were said, the prairie barbarians no longer dared to act helpless.
After such an incident, Ming Fan port's security improved. The people of the town, the river transport workers at the pier, and the merchant group were all grateful to the Duke of the Tulip Family. Although they all felt that the Duke was ruthless and cruel to the point of making people fearful. But the more it was like this, the more they were in awe of the Duke.
•
After killing so many people, Du Wei couldn't just leave immediately. He ordered people to clean up the corpses and used river water to wash the blood off the boat. With such a busy schedule, half a day passed. Moreover, he was the one who did it. If he just left, the river transport official here would be in trouble. After all, Du Wei wasn't the kind of person who didn't care about the consequences. After he was done, there was no need to ruin someone else's career. After the river transport official wrote the report, Du Wei looked at it and personally signed his name at the bottom. This way, when the matter was reported, the officials at the top saw his signature and knew what to do. No one would dare to make things difficult for the river transport official.
As for the public security official, Du Wei couldn't be bothered to care about him. From today's performance, although the public security official's rank was low, he could be considered an official military officer of the empire! But when facing the prairie barbarians, he was weak and incompetent. In the end, the dignified imperial military officer was so scared that he fell into the river!
As a military officer, Du Wei wouldn't protect him if he was such an idiot! It was better if he was dismissed!
In this way, Du Wei stayed at Ming Fan port for another day before his ship set sail.
When leaving the pier, the other ships saw Du Wei's flag and immediately turned to make way for him. After entering the canal, the other merchant ships saw Du Wei's ship from afar and took the initiative to give way.
The sailors below reported to Du Wei. Only then did Du Wei find out that it was because of his massacre yesterday. These merchants of the empire, who had suffered enough at the hands of the prairie barbarians, felt satisfied. This was a sign of gratitude and respect from these merchant ships.
"Your order yesterday is different from what I know of your human customs."
On the deck, Queen Medusa and Du Wei stood side by side, facing the gentle wind. She asked her question in a low voice.
"Mm, go ahead." Du Wei smiled.
"From what I know, you humans mostly believe in the Radiant Goddess. The Radiant Goddess's teachings are mainly about forgiveness and benevolence. She doesn't advocate violence. Mm, I have also heard of a famous human philosopher saying that 'violence cannot solve all problems'. Isn't that right? But yesterday, you directly used the most violent and bloody method to solve the problem. I have this feeling that you are very different from the descriptions of human nature in the books that I know of. "
Du Wei muttered to himself for a while, then smiled and said, "Very well, respected Miss Nicole. Then let us continue our lesson today."
Looking around, he suddenly saw a small boat anchored on the shore not far away. This ship was different from the other merchant ships on this river. Looking from afar, the sails of the ship were brightly colored, and there were faint sounds of laughter coming from the ship. Furthermore, the ship was extremely full, and the people standing on the deck were not sailors, but a few women dressed in gorgeous clothes. Outside the cabin, there was a faint fragrance and the smell of wine drifting in the air.
"There is a ship over there." Du Wei pointed to the distance, then smiled and said, "Although you don't use your eyes to see, I know that with your spiritual force, you can roughly sense what it looks like, right?"
"Yes." Medusa replied.
"Then, let me tell you. That ship is not a proper place. To be more precise, it is a brothel on the river. The merchant ships that come and go and the sailors on the ships travel on the river all year round. Life on the ship is the most boring. These grown men have nowhere to vent their frustrations. After a long time, they will need to find some entertainment. This type of ship is the most popular on the river. "
After saying that, Du Wei inadvertently looked at the deck of his ship. As expected, several of the sailors could not help but look at that place. Looks of yearning appeared on their faces.
"Brothel?" Medusa frowned slightly. "What kind of place is a brothel? In the books that I know of, there is no mention of it. "
Du Wei laughed and said, "The books that you know of are all read by my fiancée. He he … … that little girl is so shy. How could she possibly read such things to you? Besides, most of the books that we humans read only talk about sanctimonious matters. This kind of thing is rarely recorded in the books. "
"No need to laugh at me. Just what is this place?"
"A brothel is a place where men go to find women." Du Wei said with a calm face. "Men always want to vent their desires, and these women rely on their bodies to make money. It is also a kind of exchange. "
"You mean … … Mating?" The word that came out of Medusa's mouth made Du Wei somewhat speechless. But he smiled bitterly and replied, "Yes … … Yes, it is mating."
Medusa's originally calm and indifferent face couldn't help but have a faint blush. This trace of redness was extremely rare on Medusa's face, which had always been as calm as an ancient well. Although her previous appearance was beautiful, it always made people feel that she lacked a bit of humanity. That kind of "inhumanly beautiful" appearance made people feel a bit breathless when they saw it.
But now, there is a trace of blush on her cheeks, which immediately increased her beauty. That kind of frightening edge has softened a lot.
She was originally the most stunning of beauties, comparable to Madam Lister's level of disaster. At this moment, such a shy appearance suddenly made Du Wei, who was close by, stare blankly.
With her cheeks flushed, Medusa furrowed her brows. Her expression was somewhat disgusted as she said in a low voice, "But … I heard that in your human books, one of the biggest differences between you and wild beasts is that you hold such matters as mating in high esteem. Beasts mate blindly and purely in heat. But you humans … … Often because of love, there will be physical contact. Isn't that the case? But if money can be used to mate … … Then what about love? I remember in your human books, money can't buy love. "
Hearing this, Du Wei seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
God, this Queen Medusa's innocence is really comparable to our family's stutterer!
"Well, my respected Miss Nicole, I have to say, you've been deceived by books again." Du Wei saw that Medusa was a little uncomfortable with his laughter, so he quickly said: "I remember I said before, humans are complicated. Then let me tell you, humans are the most duplicitous race in the world! Humans often set a very high moral standard, and then write these things in books to flaunt themselves … … But in the world, most people can't achieve that kind of seemingly high moral standard! The so-called saying one thing, doing another, is what it means. "
"You mean … … Lie?"
"Yes, it is lying." Du Wei didn't hide his answer: "Respected Miss Nicole, I know, you don't like to lie. But I also want to tell you clearly. Humans are a race that is good at lying. Moreover, most people would lie. Lying is one of the necessary skills to survive in the human world! If you want to integrate into this world and become a real human, then whether you are willing or not, you will have to learn how to lie sooner or later! Otherwise … … "After saying that, Du Wei smiled faintly:" No matter how strong you are, there will come a day when you will die a horrible death. In this world, those who cannot lie will find it hard to survive. "
Although those words were somewhat extreme, it had to be said that they were indeed words of wisdom. The human world had always been like that.
However, at this moment, Du Wei neglected an extremely important matter!
Queen Medusa was originally a very pure piece of white paper! There was still a large gap in her understanding of human nature. She was just like a newborn baby! Whatever you teach her, she will learn it!
Du Wei, this somewhat evil fellow, had instilled these dark 'truths' into this piece of white paper … … this was equivalent to creating Queen Medusa's' personality 'step by step!
Although Du Wei was smart, he was not a qualified educator. He had blindly told this piece of white paper about the evil and ugly dark things of the human world. In the future, how would Queen Medusa's personality be shaped by him? It was really interesting!
At this moment, Du Wei naturally did not think so much. He only smiled lightly and made a conclusion.
He pointed at the distant brothel boat and smiled: "Look at this brothel boat and think about how I killed so many people at the pier yesterday."
Pausing for a moment, Du Wei took a deep breath and said lightly: "Money cannot buy love, but it can buy women!! Violence cannot solve all problems, but it is often the most effective and direct way to solve them. "
Queen Medusa was deep in thought. The expression on her face made it difficult for people to guess what this Queen was thinking at this moment.
•
After two days on the river, the boat stopped at a small port on the way to replenish food and water. When the boat had just reached the shore, Du Wei was surprised to see that there were already local officials waiting at the port.
It turned out that the news of Du Wei causing a ruckus at Ming Fan Port had already spread out. On the mainland, there were fast horses spreading the news layer by layer. However, the boat moved slowly on the river. Before Du Wei arrived, the news had already spread.
The Duke's boat was docked here, so the local officials of the port town did not dare to be negligent. Originally, Du Wei was too lazy to pay attention to the flattery of these local officials. He just wanted to stay on the boat and not come out.
However, his subordinates reported that the town's local officials had an important matter to discuss with him. Du Wei reluctantly agreed to let the mayor in.
When the mayor saw Du Wei, he respectfully saluted and then spoke of a matter.
This matter was not too difficult to handle, but when he said it, he was very careful. He was afraid of angering the Duke.
"What did you say? Someone wants to take my boat to the imperial capital? "Du Wei smiled.
"Yes, it is the chief bishop of the Northern Diocese of the Radiant Shrines, Lord Maximos and his entourage." The mayor smiled bitterly: "My Lord, the matter is like this. Archbishop Maximos and his entourage are rushing from the Northern Diocese to the imperial capital to participate in the year-end celebration. Unfortunately, you also know that it is too difficult to find a boat in this damned season. Archbishop Maximos originally had his own ship, but unfortunately, that damned ship suddenly broke down, and the Archbishop's group was stuck on their journey. Now, they have already abandoned the ship and landed on the shore, and are on their way to our town. The order given to me is that no matter what, I am to take a boat from the dock within a day so that the archbishop can take it to the imperial capital. The archbishop's journey must not be delayed. Your Excellency the Duke, this order came directly from the governor's office in our province. You should know that our governor is a devout believer. "
"So you chose to board my boat?" Du Wei smiled faintly.
The mayor's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears. He almost knelt down: "My Lord … … I am already at my wit's end. It was unknown which damned bastard had given this order to those fellows at the docks in advance. As a result, when the few merchant ships that were originally moored at the docks heard the news, they were afraid of being caught and immediately lifted their anchors and ran away! The remaining boats are too small. The archbishop brought a lot of entourage and luggage, I'm afraid the small boats won't be able to fit them all … … Now, the only big boat here is you … … "
At this point, the mayor grumbled: "Those black-hearted merchants, they actually refused to let the archbishop board the boat and ran away. These disrespectful bastards, the next time they come here, I will definitely teach them a lesson."
Hearing this, Duwei immediately understood that those merchants who ran away naturally wouldn't be willing to take the bishop and his entourage!
The boat was full of goods. The archbishop and his entourage must have a lot of people! If they wanted to board the boat, they would have to move their own goods out to make room for the archbishop and his entourage. In this way, the merchants would of course suffer losses. Merchants value profits the most. In the face of profits, who would care about God? Furthermore, the people from the Hallowed Halls would definitely not pay any compensation. To them, devotion to God was a matter of course.
Du Wei was also not a petty person. Although he did not have a good impression of the Shrines, he did not want to offend the Shrines.
The archbishop of a diocese was already considered a very powerful figure among the Light Shrines of the Roland Continent. The Light Shrines of the Roland Continent divided the Roland Continent into eight dioceses. Each diocese had an archbishop and four archbishops who were responsible for all the religious affairs of the diocese, including collecting taxes, appeasing the believers, managing the Shrines' property, preaching the teachings and so on.
Speaking of which, it was almost equivalent to a "governor" under the Shrines.
Moreover, the territory under the archbishop's control was much larger than that of the Empire's governor. After all, a governor was only in charge of a province. According to the division of the Shrines of the Empire, more than forty provinces were divided into eight dioceses, which was equivalent to a diocese covering three to five provinces.
More importantly, these Shrines not only controlled the collection of taxes and the property under the Shrines' name … they also had their own military power.
The Shrines of the Holy Order were stationed in each diocese. Each diocese had about a few thousand Knight.
With their own finances and military power, what was the difference between an "archbishop" and the Empire's governor? Moreover, they had more power and status than the Empire's governor.
Most importantly, according to the tradition of the Light Shrines, the archbishop of each diocese was the true core of the Shrines. After every Pope passed away, if a new Pope was to be appointed, one of the eight bishops of the Empire's dioceses would be chosen to succeed the Pope.
During the selection, the public standard was to list the achievements of each archbishop during their term of office in the local diocese, including the income of taxes, the enlightenment of believers, the number of new believers, and so on.
In other words, this archbishop who requested to take his ship back to the Empire. No matter what his political achievements were or what his status in the Shrines was. At least in name, he was also one of the future Pope's successors.
Just this name alone was enough to make people revere him.
For such people, although Du Wei was not willing to deal with them, he did not want to offend them either. Therefore, he thought about it and agreed to the mayor's request, "Alright, anyway, I still have a lot of empty seats on my ship. When will this archbishop arrive?"
"It should be tomorrow morning." The mayor breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "After Archbishop Maximos' ship broke down, they have abandoned the ship and went ashore. They are riding a carriage and will definitely arrive here tomorrow morning."
"Then, I will stay here for a day and wait for the archbishop to arrive."
After sending the mayor away, Du Wei sighed.
After all, the mayor had already asked him. If he were to refuse, this matter would definitely reach the ears of the archbishop. There was no need to be a sinner.
Besides, although he was afraid of the Shrines, at least now Hussain, the most wanted criminal, was not by his side. He had no reason to be afraid.
As long as … … Du Wei touched his head.
He was already used to having long hair. Long and thick hair covered the small demon horn on his head. Moreover, Du Wei had specially designed a hairstyle for himself, making the hair on his head thicker.
Moreover, he could just wear a mage's robe and a mage's hat tomorrow! Hmph, an archbishop can't possibly pull off my hat to check my hair.
(Vomiting blood for monthly votes!!!)
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