Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation Commas didn't tamper with the goods handed over at noon the next day. Perhaps he wanted Lollister to leave his territory as soon as possible, so he gave Sederkamp a huge surprise. The seven carts of grain and three carts of fine linen cloth that the viscount had provided for Lollister's caravan were delivered together with the carts. Sederkamp couldn't contain his joy as he couldn't find any long-distance carts in Funyata Town.
With ten more carts, Sederkamp didn't have to worry about the transportation of the goods. After a night of maintenance and preparation, Lollister set out on his journey north again on the morning of the 11th of February.
Three days later, Lollister's caravan arrived at Nadgaz, the border city between the Madras Principality and the Andinac Kingdom. They rested for a day before setting off again and entering the Madras Principality.
Compared to the Andinac Kingdom, the Madras Principality was in a much better state, be it in terms of people's livelihood or public security. This was all thanks to the Duke of Madras. During the empire's civil war, he only focused on self-preservation. He attacked anyone who invaded, and didn't attack even if there were no invaders. He just guarded the borders and strengthened the defences. This earned him the title of the Hedgehog Duke, and the Madras Principality suffered less damage during the civil war.
Lollister's caravan traveled from the southern border to the northern border of the Madras Principality. They only encountered two groups of bandits and a group of mounted gangsters in seven days. Of course, these ignorant fellows quickly regretted their plans on this caravan. By the time they reached the natural boundary between the Madras Duchy and the northern highlands, Lollister's caravan already had six carriages filled with spoils of war, as well as over 70 captives.
"My Lord, we'll reach the edge of the north after crossing the river. There's only about seven hundred kilometers left. We don't have to travel through the night. Even if we walk a hundred kilometers a day, we'll be able to reach the family territory in three months. " Sederkamp breathed a sigh of relief. At least he and Padt didn't delay Lollister's plans to inherit the title and family territory because they insisted on bringing a large number of supplies back.
The Mitobolo River in front of them was wide and calm, the clear water flowing quietly.
Across the Mitrobro River, one could see the terrain rising abruptly in the distance. Patches of verdant green dotted the endless mountains and hills.
The North was the hometown of the original owner of this body, Locke.
Laurist gazed into the distance. That would be his new home …
"I remember ten years ago, when I followed my family's caravan out of the Northern Lands, we crossed a rope bridge. The river under the bridge was turbulent, and it was nowhere as peaceful as this …"
"Sir, the bridge you're talking about is Hendry's rope bridge. It's upstream of the Mitubro River, more than a hundred miles away from here. After crossing the Hendry Bridge, one would arrive at the Fraser Castle, which was the territory of the Grand Duke of the North, Sir Luckins. Back then, you said that you didn't want to deal with this Grand Duke for the time being, so I chose to cross the river from here. This is one of the two crossings for crossing the Mitrobro River to and from the Northern Lands. After crossing the river, we will reach our family's territory after passing through seven more territories, "Sederkamp explained.
"Where is the ferry?" asked Loriste.
"It's not far ahead. That's Baron Shuras's territory. With so many waggons and horses, Baron Seuras will make a fortune in ferrying-money, "said Thurdkamp.
"You still have to pay what you have to pay. Let's go. Once we cross the river, we'll set up camp and rest for a day, "Laurist said.
… …
As a noble, it was free to pass through the territories of other lords. For example, as long as Laurist's caravan showed his family crest, it meant that this was a family caravan and not a caravan. Normally, he would not have to pay to pass through or pass through other lords' territories. However, crossing the river was different. Laurist also had to pay for the ferry.
Baron Seuras's ferry dock was not large, and there were only two ferries. There was a large sign erected on the dock, and on it were the actual prices of the various ferry fees: one imperial silver coin per person. One horse, ten imperial silver coins, a four-wheeled long-distance carriage filled with goods, one imperial old man's head gold coin, and so on. Even nobles did not have any free privileges or discounts. The only consideration was the right of way.
Laurist thought to himself, 'What right of way? Not many people wanted to cross the river. The boatmen on the two ferries had already let their goats go, and there was only one old man sitting on the boat repairing the oars.'
The arrival of the caravan caused the secluded ferry to become extraordinarily noisy, so much so that it alerted Baron Seuras. He led a small team of guards to the ferry and personally checked the caravan and the people who were going to cross the river. In the end, he received the ferry fare from Lollister, a bulging bag of gold coins, and was grinning from ear to ear. In a good mood, Baron Seuras specially ordered people to fetch a few bottles of fine wine from his manor castle. He set up tables and chairs at the ferry and very sincerely invited Laurist to come and have a taste.
Laurist felt that it was a real pain in the ass. A ferry carried a four-wheeled carriage and a few people at a time. Four boatmen rowed desperately, and a round trip would take an hour. His caravan had nearly a hundred carriages, six hundred horses, and more than five hundred people. How long would it take to cross the river with these two ferries? There were only eight boatmen, and they would also get tired and need to eat, sleep, and rest. At this rate, it would take at least six or seven days for the entire caravan to cross the river.
Baron Seuras felt very apologetic. After all, he had received so many ferry fees. However, his territory only had these two ferries and these few boatmen, so he could only express his helplessness.
Laurist asked, "Are there any ropes?"
Baron Seuras nodded. There were many ropes. Because his territory was by the river, there were many reeds growing there. Every year, Baron Seuras would order people to harvest a large batch of reeds and use them to weave straw mats and ropes. This was a specialty of his territory, and every year, it would increase Baron Seuras' income by two or three gold coins.
Laurist had Baron Seuras send people to transport a lot of ropes. First, he connected the ropes and tied them to the bow and stern of the two ferries. Then, he ordered people to make four large wheels on both sides of the river and use the ropes to pull the ferries. Not only did this save the boatmen's energy, but the ferries only needed two boatmen to ensure the stability and docking of the ferry. It also greatly reduced the round-trip time from one hour to less than half an hour, and sped up the caravan's crossing.
Even so, it was already the evening of the second day when Laurist stepped onto the ferry as the last member of the caravan. Sederkamp, who had come with the boat to welcome him, looked at Baron Seuras, who had come to see Laurist off and was waving his hand nonstop. He said indignantly, "Our caravan has allowed Baron Seuras to earn nearly a hundred and fifty imperial gold coins. No wonder he's so attentive, coming to see us off even though it's almost dark. "
Laurist also waved at Baron Seuras a few times. Last night, he had accepted Baron Seuras's invitation and brought Ovikis to the baron's manor as a guest. The former bandit, Big Beard, was extremely touched. In truth, Laurist had only brought him along because Josk had brought Padt and Sederkamp across the river to set up camp. Only Redi, Ovikis, and Laurist were left. After receiving the invitation, Laurist thought that it would be more reassuring to let Redi watch the caravan cross the river, so he brought Big Beard to the banquet.
Laurist had brought Baron Seuras a half-body plate armor with golden patterns as a gift. This was a spoil of war from the bandits they had encountered on the road. He didn't know which unlucky noble the Horse Gang had robbed it from, but the Horse Gang Leader wore it proudly. Because it was too beautiful and dazzling, Josk had set his eyes on it and shot an arrow through the throat, taking the bandit leader's life. This beautiful plate armor ended up in Laurist's hands just like that.
Laurist guessed that this half-body plate armor had been custom-made by some horse spirit as a coming of age gift for a male descendant of a noble family. That was why the plate armor hadn't been engraved with the family crest yet. It was very suitable as a gift. In any case, Laurist didn't like the extravagant style of this half-body plate armor. Wearing it into battle was like shouting at the enemy, "Hurry up and attack me! Hurry up and shoot me with arrows!" This kind of suicidal method was not Laurist's cup of tea.
Baron Seuras liked Laurist's gift very much, to the point where he couldn't bear to part with it. After the banquet, Big Beard Ovikis took the initiative to leave the pier and help Redi arrange for the caravan to cross the river overnight. Baron Seuras invited Laurist to his study to admire the dozen or so bottles of aged wine he had collected.
In the study, Baron Seuras expressed his gratitude to Laurist once again. He said that in the past three to four months, many caravans of the northern lords had wanted to cross the river from the ferry in his territory. However, due to the limited capacity, many caravans were unwilling to wait and went to the Hendry Bridge to cross the river. This caused him to lose a lot of ferry fees. Now that the ferry at the pier had been improved by Laurist, its efficiency had almost doubled. He believed that it would attract many northern family caravans to cross the river from here.
Laurist found it strange. He didn't want to deal with Duke Lujins, which was why he chose this route to avoid the Northern Duke's territory. Then why did the other northern family caravans choose to cross the river from here?
"Didn't they say that the crossing fee at the Hendry Bridge is half of the ferry fee here, Baron Seuras? Why did the northern family caravans choose to cross the river from here? "Laurist asked.
Baron Seuras smiled proudly. "The Grand Duke of the Northern Region, Lord Lujins, is famous for his insatiable greed. The cost of crossing the river at Hendry Ford Bridge is only half of what I have here, but across the river is the Grand Duke's Felsted Castle. Duke Lujins has set up a strict checkpoint there. Although the nobles are exempted from taxes, if the Duke finds any goods in the caravan that he is interested in, he will forcibly confiscate them and only pay half the market price. The lucky ones will only lose one or two carriages, and the unlucky ones will have half of their caravans confiscated. This causes the northern nobles to complain, but they can't do anything to the Duke, so they would rather choose to cross the river from my small ferry. "
Laurist stood on the ferry, the cold wind blowing in his face making his mind feel exceptionally clear. He thought back to what Baron Seuras had said last night. Although the North was vast and had the Mitubro River as a natural barrier, there were only two main roads to the outside world. One was the Hendry Bridge that connected the two sides, but that was in the hands of the Duke of the North. The other was the Mitubro River that flowed in the middle of Baron Seuras's territory. However, this section of the river was extremely vast, and they could only rely on ferries and not bridges, which was very time-consuming.
The Mitubro River was considered a natural barrier in the North because the areas it flowed around the North were either steep cliffs, jagged rocks, or turbulent rapids. Other than the Mitubro River that flowed in the middle of Baron Seuras's territory, which was relatively calm and peaceful, it was impossible for boats to pass through the other parts of the river.
Laurist suspected that the North was vast and sparsely populated. It was difficult to attract refugees to reclaim the land, and the North was fully developed because the main roads were in the hands of private individuals. People like Duke Lujins and Baron Seuras had their eyes on the fees to cross the river. This was their inexhaustible source of income from the gold mine.
Even if Fatty Shi's caravan successfully reached the family's territory in the future, the main roads to the outside world were in the hands of other lords, and they could cut off the family's connections with the outside world at any time. That way, the family's territory would not be able to be fully developed and sustained. Just like the slogan that had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in his previous life, to get rich, one must first build roads. But how would the territory develop if the roads were blocked?
Perhaps after inheriting the family's territory, he would have to plan and open up a new main road to the outside world to prevent others from strangling him. Sigh, there was still a long way to go. Laurist looked at the mountains and rivers in the distance, feeling a faint sadness and a bellyful of worries as he sank into deep thought.
Because the crossing of the river had been delayed by a day, Laurist only led the caravan back to the family's territory on the 25th of February. He decided to use five days to run the remaining six or seven hundred kilometers and reach the family's territory before the 30th of February.
After setting foot in the North, Laurist realized that what Fatty Shi had said when he held a meeting of the family's knights to formulate a strategy for the North was not just hearsay. It was actually happening right in front of him.
He had only passed through three territories, but he had already encountered five territorial wars. There were conflicts between old nobles and new nobles, some summoning nearby lords to help them defend against invaders, some helping their good friends invade other people's territories, some old lords fighting with old lords because of old grudges, and some new lords fighting with new lords for various reasons. In short, it was a chaotic battle, and the sounds of fighting and killing could be heard everywhere.
It was precisely because the North was vast and sparsely populated that the battles between these lords were like village fights in Laurist's eyes. Usually, a lord would bring two or three family knights and a few dozen guards. They would then gather one or two hundred peasant soldiers to form a large army and launch a large-scale collective brawl against the opposing lord. The largest army Laurist had encountered only had four to five hundred people, and they were all peasant soldiers dressed in tattered clothes.
The funny thing was that this lord, who had a strong army and strong horses, had set his sights on Laurist's caravan. He had actually demanded that Laurist hand over half of his carriages as payment for the passage. Laurist would not ignore this obvious act of robbery. For the sake of the sacred right of free passage for nobles, Laurist had his guards launch a single attack and defeated the opposing army with zero casualties. That arrogant lord knelt in front of Laurist, tears and snot streaming down his face as he asked for redemption. In the end, he had to pay the price of fifty fine horses and four carriages filled with rations to regain his freedom.
In order to prevent the lords who had lost their heads from fighting from setting their sights on the caravan, Laurist had ordered his guards to be fully armed and ride on horseback to escort the caravan. As expected, there were no more flies that came to harass them. On the fourth day, the two armies of lords who were fighting in full swing had even purposely stopped fighting and opened up a path for the caravan to pass first.
On the fifth day, a boundless primordial forest and endless mountain ranges appeared in front of the caravan.
Thurcamp and Padt cheered, "Sir, we've arrived at our family's territory. That's the Dark Forest, and the tall mountain ranges in the distance are the Demonic Dragon Mountains. After passing through the Black Forest, we will reach the Morgen Hills. After passing through the Morgen Hills, the carriages will arrive at our family's manor in one day … "
It took half a day for the caravan to circle around the edge of the Dark Forest. The Morgen Hills appeared in front of them …
However, Thurcamp and Padt were stunned. At the opening of the Morgen Hills in front of them, there was a wall made of rocks. The flag on the wall did not have a roaring bear, but three golden circles …
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