Not long ago, the seemingly invincible elite mercenary group was annihilated. In a battle that no one had ever seen before, the mercenaries fell one after another like harvested wheat.
A group of heavily armed soldiers came out of the woods and began to clean up the battlefield and count the bodies.
The refugees were poor people living at the bottom of society. At best, they were just free people who struggled to make a living. These uneducated people could not tell the difference between the soldiers' equipment and those of the nobles' army. They were all wearing the same expensive steel armor and holding swords in their hands (although they did not use those swords at all). They were just as ferocious and terrifying.
The refugees who had fled into the depths of the camp due to the explosion had nowhere to go. They were quickly found by the soldiers of unknown origins from the caves and tattered tents and brought to the square where they had gathered earlier. The soldiers did not use violence on the civilians, but these frightened people were still trembling in fear. They were not any more at ease than when the mercenaries had used their swords and knives to kill them.
For most people in this era, bandits, mercenaries, and soldiers were the same. In fact, these three roles could be interchanged at any time.
Joan shrank into the crowd and carefully lowered her presence. She did not know where these soldiers came from, but they were well-equipped and moved in an orderly manner. Obviously, they were the troops of a noble. Why would a noble suddenly come to wipe out a mercenary group? It was hard to say. Anyway, she was sure that they were not here to save a group of 'untouchables'.
Perhaps they were going to do the same thing as the mercenaries before — capture some slaves and bring them back. Although the orthodox nobles would rarely do such things themselves, in the barbaric and chaotic Southern Region, there were still nobles who deviated from the orthodoxy.
The unusually tall man should be the leader of these people. He was commanding another Knight and a girl who looked like she was of elven descent. All the soldiers around him were in awe of him. After assigning tasks, the tall man came over.
The refugees huddled together in fear. Many of them had scratches and bruises from being pushed and fallen. Gawain could not tell which one of them was the 'leader' of the refugee group. He stood beside the crowd and said loudly, "I am the lord of this land. You don't have to be afraid. I am here to protect you. Are all of you here?! Are there any missing or injured people who can't move? "
The refugees were shocked by Gwen's loud voice and his identity as a Lord. Their first reaction was to step back and look at each other. No one dared to speak.
Gwen frowned. At this time, the priest Wright had already wiped the blood on his hands from casting the Silence spell and came to Gwen's side.
"Holy Light above! Look at the condition of these poor people! " The burly priest exclaimed and drew a sacred symbol in front of his chest. Then, he opened his hands and chanted. A hazy yet holy radiance appeared in the air in all directions. As Wright chanted the specific words of the Prayer of the Holy Light, the faint light gradually formed a divine spell that could restore energy in a large area and heal minor injuries. "May the Holy Light heal you."
Except for when they were punished, the poor people rarely had the chance to get close to real divine spells or magic. A large-scale "Minor Holy Light Spell" was only the most basic level one divine spell, but it was still enough to make these people feel awe and even a slight commotion.
After casting this basic theurgy, Leit found that some of the refugees were seriously injured. The weak theurgy had no effect on them, so he pulled them out of the group one by one and treated them individually.
A black-haired, thin girl was more seriously injured than the others. Her injury had worsened for more than a day. One of her arms and shoulder had been bitten by some kind of beast with sharp teeth. It had hurt her bones and muscles, and it had developed an infection in this harsh environment. Compared to this injury, the new bloody wound on her face was not worth mentioning.
"You're in luck." Wright purified the infected wound on Joan's arm with the Holy Light. "Look, look, it's starting to fester. In a few days, you'll have a high fever, and I'm afraid you won't be able to keep your life!"
Joan could feel that her injury was healing at an incredible speed. Standing next to her, the nobleman who called himself the lord had turned his attention to her. Joan heard him say, "Is the wound on your arm caused by those mercenaries?"
"… It was bitten by a beast." Joan suppressed her nervousness and answered fearfully.
"What about the wound on your face?"
"It was whipped by their whips."
"… Don't be afraid. These mercenaries can't hurt you anymore." Gwen comforted the scarred girl. "How many of you are there? Are you all here? "
The image of Tom flashed across Joan's mind. She bit her lip, not knowing whether to speak or not.
"You don't have to worry. I've already told you that I'm the lord here. This land belongs to the Cecil family. You're under the protection of my army." Gwen smiled. "The Cecil family is committed to restoring order in this land. We're looking for and collecting the homeless scattered in this area."
At this point, he raised his head and raised his voice. "It's not just you. If you know of any other refugee settlements, you can tell me as well. As long as you abide by the laws set by Cecil, I'll allow every homeless person to live on this land. As for those who provide information on the refugees, they'll be rewarded with extra rewards!"
There was a slight commotion in the crowd. They had never heard of a nobleman opening the door to allow homeless people to live on his territory. Most people's first reaction was surprise and disbelief. Some even suspected that this was some kind of trap. However, the "extra rewards" attracted their attention. Joan could feel the crowd behind her shaking. These "companions" who had been hungry for so long did not have much willpower. She heard someone speak.
"My Lord, My Lord, most of us are refugees from Condor Hill," a dark-skinned, skinny man said bravely. "There was a flood. The land, houses, and food were all destroyed. My Lord closed the castle gate and told us to wait for death outside. Some of us escaped. Do you really want us refugees to live on your land?"
"As long as you abide by the laws of this land and act according to my rules, it will be fine," Gawain said with certainty. "And you can rest assured that Cecil's laws are definitely more benevolent than the laws you originally had to obey."
"Then …"
The skinny man was about to say something when a sudden noise came from the woods. Knight Philip came back from patrolling the woods with a dozen soldiers. Two of the soldiers were escorting a limping young man with a red nose.
"My Lord!" Knight Philip reported in a loud voice. "We found a man in the woods. He may be a refugee. He attacked us with a bow and arrow, but he did not hurt anyone. We caught him."
Joan's heart skipped a beat. She looked up in horror and saw Tom being held by two soldiers at the edge of the woods.
One of the soldiers had a familiar hunting bow, which was passed down from her father, hanging from a buckle on his waist.
In a flash, she figured out what had happened. Tom said that he was going to look for mushrooms, but he still took the bow and arrow secretly. She was afraid that he was going to take the risk of hunting in the woods. He did not hunt any prey, nor was he eaten by the hungry beasts in the woods. Instead, he fell into a worse situation. This reckless fool had attacked the lord's Knight and his soldiers with a bow and arrow!
Joan felt the world spinning around her. She was about to collapse. Leit, who had just finished healing her, was startled. "Holy light! Is there something wrong with my Healing Spell?! "
The young man at the edge of the woods also saw his sister and the situation inside and outside the camp. He did not know what had happened and exclaimed, "Sister? What happened here? "
"Do you know each other?" Gwen waved his hand and signaled Knight Philip to let the thin young man go. "Why did he attack my men?"
"Tom! You're in big trouble! " Joan grabbed Tom's arm and almost pinched his flesh off. "You attacked the lord's soldiers!"
"I … I thought they were bandits …" Tom looked frightened. "I heard them talking about what to do with the body …"
Gwen's mouth twitched. He finally understood the situation.
"It seems to be a misunderstanding." He looked at the confiscated hunting bow. This kind of inferior bow could only be used to deal with the beasts in the woods. It was not even a toy for Cecil, who had enchanted armor, or a Knight like Philip. "Philip, who was attacked?"
A magic-powered infantryman stood up and said, "Sir, it was me. But I'm fine!"
"Sir, it seems to be a misunderstanding," Philip said. "Knight should be tolerant. I don't think it's necessary to hold this young man responsible. As long as he remembers the lesson and doesn't act so impulsively in the future, it's fine."
Gawain was getting more and more fond of Philip's character of not knowing what he was doing when he played the role of the supporting actor …
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