Faramar Village was located on a mound. Below the mound was a small river. When Laurist arrived with more than a hundred men, the residents of Faramar Village were already waiting.
Padt rode a mule he found in White Bird Town and shouted, "Open the gate. The lord of Cilovas Island, Count Norton, has arrived. Come out and welcome him!"
No one in the village paid any attention to him. Padt shouted three times in a row. Finally, the head of a big man appeared on the wall of the village. The big man held a longbow in his hand and shouted, "This is Falama Village. We are the second prince's men. This is not your lord's territory. Get lost, or we'll let you have a taste of our longbow … "
Pat was furious. There was no way he could ride a mule alone and break through the closed gate of the village, right? He angrily rode back on the mule and reported the Falama Village's reply to Lollister, who was waiting at the bottom of the hill.
Laurist sat in a luxuriously decorated carriage. This was one of the spoils from yesterday's attack on Wanghai Manor. There were only three carriages and six horses in the entire manor. One was for passengers, and two were for goods. Apart from the two pack horses pulling Laurist's carriage, the other four horses had temporarily become Freya's and Josk's mounts.
"My lord, should we just charge in?" Freya asked.
Laurist shook his head. This Faramar Village was not Wanghai Manor. He had heard Hikde explain it in detail yesterday. The original village was called Little River Village, located next to a small river under the mound. After the second prince was ordered to return to Cilovas Island, the only thing he started building was Faramar Village.
Back then, most of the people who followed the second prince to Syrovas Island were his trusted aides. They also brought their families with them, and there were more than four thousand of them. Many of them had followed the second prince to war, and some of them were old or seriously injured, so they wanted to settle down. Thus, the second prince moved the villagers of Little River Village to another place and ordered his advisor, Faramar, who was proficient in architecture, to build a place for these meritorious soldiers to settle down.
As it turned out, it was overkill to entrust this matter to this advisor named Falama. Falama's mind was still thinking about the fortress castle. He first abandoned the original site of the Little River Village, thinking that it was unsafe and not well-protected. Then, he moved the newly built village to the mound and prepared to build the village on the scale of the fortress castle.
If it weren't for the Second Prince's sudden impulse to look at the construction site under construction, he wouldn't have found out that Falama was going to build a small fortress castle. According to calculations, it would take four years to complete. The second prince was so angry that he grabbed Falama and asked, "Who is building a fortress here to defend against?" He immediately removed Falama's name from his staff.
Falama had left the island of Cirvas, but the construction site had already started. Following the principle of not wasting anything, the second prince reluctantly approved the original design of the fortress castle, but made a lot of cuts during the construction. For example, the stone wall of the village was changed to a wall made of logs and mud bricks. Later, the village was finally completed, and everyone asked the second prince to give it a name. The second prince said that since it was Falama's design, let's call it Falama Village.
So Falama Village became the place where the second prince settled his men, and even the surrounding plains were included in the scope of the village and fully developed. This was the most suitable place for farming on the island of Cirvas, with a total of more than six thousand acres of farmland. After the second prince left the island of Cirvas and returned to the capital to take power, there were still more than four hundred households and more than thirteen hundred people in Falama Village who didn't want to leave. They still occupied the farmland here and refused to pay taxes.
Hikard told Loriste that there were currently more than three hundred veterans in Falama Village. Most of them had been on the battlefield and had seen blood. They were all veterans who had experienced life and death in the civil war of the empire. Basically, they had all awakened combat energy, and more than a hundred of them had the strength of Silver rank. If it weren't for the fact that they were all over forty or fifty years old and their physical condition had begun to decline, the second prince wouldn't have been willing to let them retire and return to the fields.
Loriste looked at the people he brought: Josk, Farreya, two Gold Knights, Ell, Pat, Jim, Dorcas, ten Black Iron rank guards, and sixteen sailors who had disembarked. There were four Silver-tier Knights, Jim and Dorcas, ten Iron-tier guards, and sixteen marines that had disembarked from the ship. There was a small team in Ocean View Manor, and there were only six marines here, five Bronze-tier and one Iron-tier. There was also a Bronze-tier Schwartz by his side. Fatty Shi didn't come. He gathered Hugo's father, Hikard, and the others at the town hall to study how to develop this new territory.
Following him to Falama Village was also a hundred members of the White Bird Town garrison led by the lame Victor. They were dressed in plain clothes and held spears. They were just here to watch the show, and they weren't even qualified to be cannon fodder. Bringing them to attack Falama Village would be a dream.
Loriste didn't doubt that he would win if he brought Josk and the others to attack. However, this victory wouldn't feel good at all. In addition to the massacre, he was afraid that his guards and sailors would suffer heavy casualties. Loriste didn't want to lose his men in vain in a battle like this. Since he had time, he might as well play with these rebellious Falama villagers and treat it as a tactical lesson for Schward.
He waved at Viktor, and the lame captain limped over to him.
"Victor, is the water source of Falama Village from this small river below?" Loriste asked.
"Yes, my lord," Victor replied.
"Tell me the details."
"My lord, you can't cut off the water source. Falama Village was built according to the fortress castle. Firstly, the small river under the mound is close to the village, and it's within the defense range of their arrows. Secondly, there's a well in the village that connects to the river below, and there's a reservoir next to it. So, it's impossible to stop them from getting water from the small river." When Loriste asked about the water source of Falama Village, Victor knew what the lord was thinking. After all, he was also an officer of the Gale Legion, one of the three main legions of the former empire. He still had this bit of knowledge.
Laurist smiled. "Shihuard, ride a horse back to White Bird Town. Ask Shredder to put out an announcement and recruit a thousand strong men with digging tools. They'll be paid one silver coin a day, and their meals will be included."
Victor was shocked at the side. "My lord, are you trying to lure a thousand young men to attack the village as cannon fodder?"
Loriste curled his lips. "I'm not as cruel as you guys. The Norton Family never does such things. Order your garrison to prepare for camp. You'll know what I want to do when they come tomorrow. "
Schward whipped his horse and left.
At noon the next day, a large group of young men rushed over under the leadership of Fatty Shi and Father Hugo. For the residents of White Bird Town, one small silver coin a day was a good pay. If they worked for a year, they would get four Gold Fords.
"My lord, what do you want to do?" Fatty Shi asked.
"Well, I'm going to divert the small river under the mound over there. I'll start digging from there, and then dig a trench 300 meters around the mound. Let's see what the idiot up there will do without water."
Loriste said it easily, but Victor, who was beside him, felt dizzy. In the end, the lord's idea was to cut off the water source of Falama Village. However, it was different from what he imagined. He didn't want to block the small river under the village's arrows, but to divert the small river far away. This was a big project. A thousand young men would be paid 1,000 Gold Fords a day. Including food, it would cost at least 20 Gold Fords a day. In five days, it would be 100 Gold Fords, and in ten days, it would be 200 Gold Fords. This was too much of a bully. He was clearly using Gold Fords to crush the enemy …
For the sake of freedom, the villagers of Falama Village persevered with their pride even if their water source was cut off. They wouldn't bow to the evil lord who wanted to climb over their heads and bully them. However, ten days later, another thousand armed soldiers wearing the Norton Family's standard equipment arrived. They finally lost all hope.
"My lord, Nois has been ordered to report to you with a thousand guards." Nois stood at attention and saluted Loriste.
Two whale hunting ships with five hundred soldiers each finally arrived at Syrovas Island. They only set off two days after Loriste, but they were ten days slower than the Kingdom of Dawn's Flying Fish. The leader, Nois, was an old acquaintance. During the first wave of magical beasts, he was a garrison knight of the Beastmaster Citadel. He helped Loriste water the city and turned the sixth district's central town into an ice city.
This time, Loriste was preparing to form the third battalion of guards and the second battalion of marines on Syrovas Island. The one thousand guards that Nois brought this time were all veterans from the second battalion. In two months, the family would send over another one thousand new soldiers and recruit another one thousand local youths from Syrovas Island. Then, the third battalion would be full.
"How was the journey?" Loriste asked.
Nois smiled. "Many were seasick at first, but they got used to it after ten days or so. However, when we got off the ship in the morning and landed on land, a large number of them collapsed. They only recovered after resting for two hours."
"That's normal," Loriste said. "After staying on the ship for too long, it's the same on land. It feels like the ground is shaking. Haha."
"My lord, are you going to attack that village? Do you want us to go up? "Nois asked.
"It's fine. Look at the grass under the mound. It's all yellow and withered. They won't last more than a few days without water. I don't want the family's armed forces to be damaged, so I played with them. It'll be over soon. Rest for a few days. I'll leave the safety of Syrovas Island to you. "
"Yes, my lord. Don't worry. The third battalion of guards will not let you down." Nois saluted.
Just when Loriste breathed a sigh of relief for the arrival of Nois with a thousand guards, the Falama Village was filled with an atmosphere of a decisive death. One hundred and twenty-eight veterans in their forties and fifties put on their old leather armor and picked up their swords and spears again. They tragically drank the last jar of strong alcohol they brewed and walked towards the village gate in a single file. Among them, there was no lack of old people who were still holding onto crutches. Their relatives stood on both sides of the village road, silently crying as they watched the veterans leave.
These one hundred and twenty-eight veterans were all the Silver rank warriors in Farama Village. They would shout the name of the second prince, Ogseiro, and launch a suicidal charge towards the Norton Family's armed forces. They believed that their deaths would make Count Norton feel fear and shock, and cause the second prince's wrath. Thus, they would fight for a way out for their relatives.
The village gate opened, and the one hundred and twenty-eight veterans rushed out with the determination to die on the battlefield. Uh, that road was a little far. Loriste had people dig a trench 300 meters away, which meant that these brave old warriors had to run 300 meters first and then jump over the trench to rush into the Norton Family's armed forces, fulfilling their wish to die on the battlefield. This seemed a little unfair to the veterans who were holding onto crutches at the back.
The commotion in Farama Village naturally attracted the attention of the Norton Family's armed forces. However, when Loriste saw the veterans start to charge when they were about a hundred meters away, and the longswords in their hands lit up with white light, he was overjoyed. He quickly ordered, "Family soldiers, fall back a hundred meters. All Silver Knights and above, come over here. Joske, you are not allowed to shoot. Listen carefully, I want to capture them alive. These old men with Silver Combat Energy are the best labor force for hard labor, so don't hit them too hard. Otherwise, whoever dies will have to go and help him cut the mountain!"
Everyone laughed. When the family developed the Black Clay Swamp, they flattened two mountains in the Blade Peak Mountain Range. Which Silver-ranker had not gone there to do hard labor? Using a sword to cut rocks was much more efficient than using a chisel.
After all, they were old. After running three hundred meters and leaping over a two to three meter wide trench, their vigor was almost gone. The 128 veterans were all lying on the ground, and Loriste alone had knocked out almost half of them. He even impatiently leaped over the trench and disarmed the few old men who were panting with crutches.
There were no tragic scenes of dying on the battlefield. All the old men were bundled up like dumplings. Loriste impatiently urged the family soldiers to bring water to these old men to quench their thirst. These veterans were like treasures in Loriste's eyes …
The Farama Village surrendered, and they hung up the common white flag. All the villagers, old and young, walked out. The first thing they did was to find water to drink to their heart's content.
After they had their fill of water, Lollister announced their punishment to the villagers who were filled with despair and indignation: forced labor. Since they did not pay taxes for five years, regardless of their gender, age, or gender, they would all have to serve five years of labor as punishment. After five years, they would be free, and they could go wherever they wanted.
A surprised old man could not help but ask, "My Lord, are you not going to hang us, tear our families apart, and sell them as slaves?"
Loriste's face darkened. "The Norton Family does not have slaves, nor do we do slave business. The punishment for a mistake is labor. You will only be hanged if your crime is too great or if you have harmed someone's life. As long as you work in peace, we will not break up your families. However, you must remember that if you resist or slack off, you will implicate your families, and they will suffer with you. "
After settling the Farama Village, the journey to the imperial capital was nearing. Loriste decided to bring five hundred soldiers from the Guards Battalion. Fatty Shi was left on Syrovas Island to be in charge of population registration, the establishment of the camp for the Third Guards Battalion and the future Second Marines Battalion, as well as the initial development of Syrovas Island.
Loriste originally wanted Jim to be the commander of the Third Guards Battalion, but he had followed him for so long that it was time to let him go. Nois was experienced and prudent. He became the commander of the Second Marines Battalion, recruiting suitable sailors on Syrovas Island. However, unexpectedly, Pat fell in love. He was chasing after the beauty from the White Bird Restaurant, Martha, who had been scared to tears by him, and was unwilling to go to the imperial capital.
Loriste could only wish him success, and that he would return with the beauty soon. Jim and Pat were swapped positions, and Pat became the commander of the 3rd Imperial Guards Battalion that was about to be formed.
…
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