Old World, Empire, Ricker Territory, an ordinary village in the western part of Ricker Territory.
It was the middle of winter in January, and the ground was still covered in ice. The villagers hid in warm rooms during this season, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the aftertaste of the Winter Veil Festival. Every household had their doors tightly shut, and travelers could only see the smoke rising high from the chimneys.
Ricker Territory was rich. Even in winter, there were many militia teams spontaneously organizing patrols in the village.
Ricker Territory and Ivy Territory were the wealthiest provinces in the Empire, and the number of yeomen there was the highest. The peasants only had to pay taxes to the Emperor or the Kurfürst, and the local lords could only collect trade taxes and poll taxes. The yeomen cultivated their own land, and then sold their produce in the village market or the town market, earning profits and accumulating wealth.
However, because of this, the yeomen were not protected by the army of the nobles. This was not like the Brittany, where whenever the serfs were in danger, they only had to ask the knights for help, and the knights would usually take action unless there were special circumstances. This rule had not changed much since the founding of the country.
However, it was different in the Empire, especially in the rich Ricker Territory, where the nobles paid less attention to the life and death of the yeomen. Some of the nobles even hoped that the yeomen would all die, so that they could take over their land.
Under such circumstances, the yeomen had to arm themselves to protect themselves, or … hire an army to protect themselves.
Amidst the snowstorm, a Demon Hunter riding a skinny horse approached.
His face was unnaturally pale, and he carried two swords on his back. One was a two-handed steel sword, and the other was a thin silver sword. A short hand gun hung from his waist. He wore a set of brown scale armor and a tall pointed hat.
The demon hunter was obviously quite heavy. At least, his thin horse was a little unstable. In the snow, the demon hunter rode his thin horse to this ordinary village.
He looked a little anxious. When he arrived at the entrance of the village, the demon hunter immediately turned over and dismounted, splashing the snow on the ground.
"It's the demon hunter!"
"The demon hunter is here."
"Maybe we can leave that job to him."
The villagers were whispering, discussing the arrival of a Demon Hunter.
Compared to the Brittany, the Empire was more familiar with the demon hunters. The villagers hated the demon hunters for abusing their power and looking for traces of corruption and corruption, but they also hoped that the demon hunters could help them solve their various problems and worries. This made the villagers have mixed feelings about the demon hunters. When they needed them, they would be kind, but when they didn't need them, they couldn't wait to get the hell out of here.
The demon hunter traveled all year round, and he had always been looked down on and discriminated against.... This was a common occurrence for him. He didn't think too much about it, and just quickly walked towards the notice board in the village.
There were several notices pasted on the signboard. One of them was that someone in the town was buying pigs.
Emperor Karl-franz's recruitment drive.
Helmgard Was in need of cleaners of the sewers.
The demon hunter looked anxiously for a while and finally saw a bounty notice at the bottom.
"There are traces of Orcs 15 kilometers away from Rickwald Forest. It's highly likely that an Orc tribe is active. The village needs manpower to investigate the Orc tribe's activities. If you can bring back the head of the Orc King, the reward will be 30 gold marks."
"The reward will be 15 gold marks."
The demon hunter heaved a sigh of relief. He tore down the notice under the gaze of many villagers.
He found the village chief. The village chief was a middle-aged man with grizzled hair. He stood in front of the door of the largest house in the village. He wore thick woolen clothes and a soft hat, with many strips of cloth hanging down from his body.
"May I ask if you're the one who posted this notice?" The demon hunter came before the village chief and handed him the notice of the bounty.
"Yes, it's posted by the village. Do you want to do it?" The village chief shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have a good attitude towards the demon hunter, and he could only maintain a level of communication. "If you want to do it, I can send someone to guide you. If you don't want to do it, please put the notice back on the notice board."
"I'll do it," the demon hunter said hurriedly. "Since I've taken the notice, I'll accept the mission."
"But you still want to bargain?" The village chief shook his head. "Everyone says that demon hunters are greedy and that they're devils who eat people without spitting out their bones. Speak, devil. What do you want to negotiate? "
"15 gold marks is too little. Normally, such a mission would require at least 20 gold marks." The scar on the demon hunter's face made him look fierce, but his tone was soft. He tried to bargain with the village chief.
"That was the price in the past. This is the price now." The village chief's expression was calm. He said to the demon hunter, "15 gold marks isn't little. It's enough for you to spend for three months."
"Can you give me more?" The demon hunter tried to bargain. "In winter, weapons become cold, and Muskets aren't easy to use. I'll have to take a lot of risks in the forest. This is for the safety of the village. I need more money for adequate preparation and equipment maintenance."
The village chief looked at the demon hunter. He looked at the demon hunter's body, equipment, and scars before nodding. "Okay, considering that you'll have to risk your life to deal with the Orcs in the forest, the village can give you three gold marks. But you have to leave before sunset tomorrow."
"Deal … and." The demon hunter nodded in agreement. He wanted to say something but stopped.
"What's the matter?" The village chief turned around and asked, "Do you have any other requests?"
"I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon …" The demon hunter was embarrassed. He was hungry and had spent all his money. He only had a few pieces of black bread left. He wanted to pay on credit.
"What's your name?" the village chief asked suddenly.
"I'm Eiber, from Helmgard," the demon hunter said.
"Mister Eiber … how can you complete your mission if you don't have enough to eat? I'll get the inn in the village to prepare some food for you. The cost will be deducted from your commission."
"Okay!" Eiber was grateful for the village chief's understanding. He nodded gratefully and said, "Thank you very much."
"You don't have to thank me. Just don't arrest me as a heretic or a believer of Chaos." The village chief turned around and was about to return to his house.
At this moment, the sound of galloping horses was heard at the village entrance. The village chief turned around, feeling dizzy.
The experienced Demon Hunter Eiber immediately realized that a great noble had appeared.
At the entrance of the village, a group of noble knights riding on tall horses entered the village. The leading noble was riding on a pure-blooded Elven warhorse. He was wearing a Brittany noble silk robe and a white fox fur coat. He held a war hammer with lightning surging around it, and the badge of a Knight of the Holy Grail hung in front of his chest.
Next to him were two Rikian Praetorian Knights in silver full-body armor.
An iron cross, a skull, and a laurel crown. These three symbols were enough to make the guards of any place in the Empire let them pass.
Sure enough, the village chief who had a cold and indifferent expression immediately changed. His mouth was wide open, and his face was full of flattery and worship. He jogged over with his wooden crutch and knelt in the snow. "You are very, very, very welcome! The Emperor's Praetorian Guards! Welcome to Naughty Smile Village. "
"Greetings, village chief. We've been ordered by the Emperor to escort the guests to Helmgard. We'll be staying here for the night. Clean up your two best houses." A Rikian Praetorian Guard said arrogantly. He took out two gold marks with Karl-franz's face and threw them in front of the village chief. "Hurry up."
"Yes!" The village chief answered loudly. He took the gold coins with excitement and ran all the way through the snow, shouting at the top of his lungs, "The Rikian Praetorian Guards are here! The Rikian Praetorian Guards have come to our Naughty Smile Village with the Emperor's mission! "
"Wow!" It was as if the entire village was celebrating Midsummer Festival. All the villagers came out in full force. More than three hundred villagers were fighting to surround the two Rick Praetorian Guards. They surrounded the group of people, cheering and greeting them. Many villagers even knelt down and tried to offer some exquisite handicrafts.
The two Rikian Praetorian Guards just smiled and waved. They conveyed the Emperor's will and comforted the villagers about their production. At the same time, they asked the villagers if the nobles had collected taxes.
The status of the Rikian Praetorian Guards in the Empire was similar to that of the Knights of the Holy Grail. They were one of the core forces of the Empire. At the same time, they also had the power to monitor all places and directly send news to the Emperor's ears. Since their establishment, they had followed the Emperor to fight against evil. This had won them the respect and love of the civilians.
"At least on the surface, the people here seem to be doing well," the guard said to Laing, who was walking beside him.
After the Winter Veil Festival, Laing, who was already thirty-one years old, became more and more mature after getting married. He had lost some of the impulsiveness and sharpness of a young man, and more of the steadiness of a true noble.
"I'm surprised that you would give money to the villagers." Laing smirked. "When I was in Nord, the knights were lucky to be able to live in peasant houses."
"Ludwig the Savior taught us that everyone has the right to be paid for their labor, at least in the southern part of the Empire, Rick and Ivy." The one who spoke was actually a recruit. His name was Rudolf Lichtenstein, and he was the eldest son of the Duke of Lichtenstein's family. He was sent to serve in the Rick Guards.
"Yes, or rather, only the southern part of the Empire is like this. In fact, there's a popular saying in the northern part of the Empire: 'You have to get used to being where you are born'. If you're born a peasant, you'll be a peasant for life. If you're born a noble, you'll be a noble for life. "
The two recruits were sent by Emperor Karl to escort Laing from Hemgat to the border between the two countries. Although they were only two knight recruits, Rudolf had eleven squires, and Wagner had five squires. In addition to Suria, Veronica, Teresa, and Suria's servants, it was a large group of knights.
"I always thought that only the Brittany had such a strict distinction between serfs and knights," Teresa, who was riding on a mixed-blood elven warhorse, asked curiously.
"It's not the same in different places, Madam Trovic." "Many nobles don't like this rule because it's a hindrance to their wealth. They've always been against His Majesty's teachings. But we have to thank the Savior. Without him, you wouldn't be able to walk on the street so openly." Teresa's face was filled with disdain. "But we have to thank the Savior. Without him, you wouldn't be able to walk on the street so openly."
The Empire's nobles were still prejudiced against wizards. They needed the power of wizards, but they also feared them. Neither Teresa nor Veronica were certified wizards by the Imperial Wizard Academy of the Empire.
That was why wizards wanted to be the chief wizard of the royal family. It was a symbol of status and identity. It represented the trust of the Emperor and the respect that wizards longed for.
Suria spoke, and the countess smiled. "He's a great Emperor. Without him, the old world would've been destroyed by the Chaos."
"I'm glad we've reached an agreement, Madam Suria." Rudolph smiled understandingly. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Eiber, the demon hunter, standing in front of the big house in the village. "My God, the minions of Chaos have spread here? I can't believe I see a demon hunter! "
"Oh! It's Abar! Long time no see! " Leon's eyes were the sharpest. When he saw the demon hunter, he smiled. The earl dismounted from his horse and walked to Abel. He patted his shoulder and said, "Mr. Abel, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Your Excellency. Nice to meet you." The Demon Hunter greeted him politely. He squeezed out a polite smile and shook Leon's hand.
"What are you doing in this village?" Rudolf, the guard of Rik, asked loudly. "Did you discover the heresy, or did you accept the commission?"
"I accepted the commission," Abar replied. Abell knew that the other party was of high status, and he was not a demon hunter under the jurisdiction of the church. The Church of Justice's Archbishop Vickmar had many demon hunters under his command. These demon hunters had the right to supervise the nobles of the empire, but Abell did not. He had joined the Demon Hunter Guild, a loose guild.
"Very well. Have a good time." Wagner did not want to talk too much with the demon hunter.
The nobles did not like demon hunters either.
"What kind of commission?" Instead, Ryan became interested.
"About …" Just as Eiber was about to talk about the commission, Leon noticed that Eiber's face was pale and his stomach was growling. Eiber was obviously still hungry. It seemed like he was having a hard time. Leon smiled and said, "This is not the place to talk. Let's talk about it in front of a warm fire and delicious food!"
"I agree!" Rudolf raised his hand, and the guard of Rik said loudly, "Let's go to the inn and see what's there to eat!"
Twenty minutes later, at the Butter and Beer Inn in Smirking Village, Laing, Suria, Rudolf, Abar, and Wagner were sitting by a warm fire. The wealth of the Knights was not something that the demon hunters could compare to. Laing took out tens of silver coins and ordered the inn owner to prepare a table of delicious dishes. There was fragrant meat soup, a basket of barley bread, delicious stew, and refreshing Butter and Beer.
"So … there are traces of an Orc tribe in the Rickwald Forest 15 kilometers away." Laing stroked his chin and asked Abar, "You accepted the commission from the villagers? Are you going to investigate the Orc tribe? You're alone, and this is a dangerous mission. Where are your companions? The one called Julle? "
"Julle went back to the Fortress at Horn of Tal for the winter … The Fortress is in a hidden corner of the Gray Mountains near Helmgard." Abar added, "I spent all my savings to repair my equipment. After the Winter Veil Festival, I came out to look for a commission. Otherwise, I would have starved to death."
"An Orc tribe?" Laing thought for a while and said, "Since we're here, let's help Karl-franz and his Rik!"
"Abar, I'll leave this matter to you. You'll investigate the Orc tribe deep in the forest and find a way to lure them out."
"This time, let's capture all the disgusting chaos creatures!"
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