A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Cass is a squad leader for Twiller City.

In Aaron Landis, whether it is the city guard guarding the city or the legion fighting on the battlefield, the most basic thing is the squad. A squad is equipped with about a dozen to twenty soldiers. The captain of the squad calls it the team rate. .

In the city of Twillur, the leader of such a team as he is can be said to be unknown, and he has to nod and bow to his boss every day.

However, relying on his nepotism, he hugged the long thigh of the city gate guard, so he didn't need to work hard every day to guard the city gate or patrol the streets.The Lord of the City is a very strict person, and he is also very strict with his subordinates. Soldiers are forbidden to disturb the people at will. It is completely useless to do these things.

But now, the chief guard of the city gate has handed over the taxation of some surrounding villages and towns to him.

This is a lucrative thing, especially when soldiers like them have to keep their tails between their legs in the city, and when they go out of the city to small villages and towns, they can act recklessly.After all, the power to collect taxes is in his hands, forgive these mud legs and dare not talk too much.

Due to the slight earthquake a while ago, the Twiller area suffered minor disasters, so the tax situation in the past two months has not been very good.Cass' thigh city gate guard is not in a good mood, and has been urging Cass to collect the taxes in the lot he is in charge of as soon as possible.

Of course, the thigh's orders must be done with all our heart, and Cass led his own team to collect taxes in the villages and towns he was in charge of without saying a word.

As for how much tax is collected, it mainly depends on Cass' mood.

If you are in a good mood, you will only be charged a little more than the stipulated tax for wine, and if you are in a bad mood, you will be charged double.

Of course, the extra part is naturally pocketed. Anyway, as long as the tax is paid in full, his thighs will not take too much care of other things.

After all, this is also a common name agreement.

For example, the small village where Cass is currently collecting taxes originally thought that there was nothing to be found here, so he planned to charge less, but the people here are ignorant, which angered him.

Didn't he just look at the little girl who served him tea, she looked quite juicy, touched it, and then screamed and poured hot water on herself.

Row!

Disobedient, right?

Originally too lazy to do too much, when he got angry, Cass directly doubled the tax.

The village chief tremblingly said that the village was too poor, and that there was a disaster not long ago, so he really couldn’t afford to pay so much. He begged him to reduce the tax, but he didn’t bother to say anything, and directly asked the soldiers to arrest all the young girls in the village, intending to send them to the village. Selling it to offset taxes, the girl who splashed water on him just now was naturally the first to bear the brunt.

At this moment, the whole village was shocked. The families of the arrested girls begged desperately, holding their children tightly and refusing to let go. Many people knelt on the ground and begged the soldiers.

Some soldiers showed unbearable expressions on their faces. They looked at Cass, and Cass reprimanded them severely, so they had to harden their hearts and forcibly drag the girls away.

In the midst of the turmoil, Cass, who was standing aside with his hands folded, sneered and looked at the group of lowly civilians who were kneeling and begging for mercy. Stare at him.

The nearby villages are close to the mountains, and many people live by hunting. Compared with other towns on flat land, the folk customs are tougher and their bodies are stronger.If they can live on, even if they are barely making ends meet, these men will be honest. However, a disaster happened a while ago, and it was a time when life was difficult. These soldiers, regardless of their lives, wanted to force their relatives Sold out, they are already on the verge of breaking out.

The cries became louder and louder. An old woman who was holding her daughter tightly was kicked away by the soldiers and fell to the ground. Her arm was scratched bloody by the stone. The young girl who was dragged away was also screaming. crying.

Among the crowd, a burly man dressed as a hunter could no longer hide the hostility in his eyes. He took a step forward and touched the hunting bow behind him.

At this moment, a sudden sound of horseshoes broke the noise here.

Everyone subconsciously looked over there, and saw a blond boy trotting over from the side of the road on a horse.

Running here and seeing them, the young man reined in his horse and stopped, looking towards them.

"What are you doing?"

The boy looked at them with a curious look on his face, as if he had never seen this scene before, so he thought it was very rare.

Cass, who originally wanted to warn the passerby not to meddle in other people's business, immediately ignored the boy's curious tone as if he was watching a play.

Although this young man is good-looking, no matter how good-looking he is, he is still a man, and he has no interest in it.And judging by the appearance of the young man, he was raised quite delicately, so the family should have some wealth.

"These guys refuse to pay taxes." He said casually, "It's just a bunch of troublemakers, you'd better leave it alone."

Cass just doesn't want to be meddling, but if this young man is really hot-blooded and wants to meddle in other people's affairs, he won't back down.

And judging by the boy's attire, he doesn't seem to be very powerful. He probably just has a little money at home. If the other party dares to do something, he will directly arrest this ignorant kid and beat him hard. The little devil's family has a lot of money.

"Is that so?"

The boy showed a look of sudden realization, then shook his head and sighed.

"The state stipulates taxes. Since you are protected by the state, you have to pay taxes according to the rules. How can you do things like tax resistance? This is against the laws of the state."

He seemed to be angry, and reprimanded him in a superior tone.That kind of tone is very similar to the nobleman who eats minced meat, with a hint of arrogance faintly revealed.

Then, he looked at Cass.

"They resisted the tax because you didn't do well and punished them properly. You are also responsible."

When the boy spoke, he had an obviously domineering tone, and this tone seemed to be normal.

Caston, who was suddenly reprimanded by a kid like this, was upset, and opened his mouth to curse back.

However, before he could speak, the young man on the horse seemed to raise his hand casually, brushing a strand of blond hair from his forehead behind his ears.

Cass stared suddenly.

When the boy brushed the blond hair that was hanging in front of his ears to the back of his ears, the bright sunlight illuminated the long flowing blond hair, and the refracted light reflected the emerald green on the boy's earlobe fresh and tender, making it extremely conspicuous.

Malachite... earrings?

Cass froze for a moment.

But his mind was working fast.

Although the blond boy was dressed in ordinary clothes, his tone of voice, his demeanor... most importantly, the earrings carved from malachite...

This is definitely not an ordinary person!

Definitely an aristocrat!

And they are not ordinary little nobles.

You know, even if ordinary nobles can get such precious gemstones as malachite, they would not dare to wear them casually——

The appearance of the precious gemstones that symbolize several major gods is almost always engraved in the hearts of the people of Aaronlandis.

Even if he couldn't wear it, he had secretly fantasized about it since he was a child, so Cass recognized it immediately.

Reminiscent of the young man's arrogance that seemed to be trying to hide but was obviously cultivated since childhood, and his condescending attitude of reprimanding others, Cass secretly guessed in his heart.

This seemingly plainly dressed boy was probably the playful youngest son of a noble family, who deliberately dressed like this and ran out.

After all, those young aristocrats read too many adventure novels, and fantasized about going out for adventure when they have nothing to do.

Thinking of this, Caston immediately became nervous.

He thought carefully about whether he was rude just now, and what was wrong with answering the boy.

At this moment, the young man glanced contemptuously at the circle of civilians, and spoke again.

"As the people of Aaron Landis, but resisting taxes, this kind of behavior is really shameful. You arrest them all and put them in prison. I will tell Uncle Canile..."

As if realizing that he had slipped his mouth, the boy coughed, as if trying to cover up something.

"...will tell the Lord of Twirul about their crimes and punish them severely."

Canille... Uncle?

The squad rate was dumbfounded.

Kanile, this is the name of the Lord of Tweilur!

This boy can actually call out his name, and call him so intimately?

this, this-

and many more.

What did the noble young master say?

Say you want to tell the city lord about this?

Cass was shocked.

No!

His superior, the city gate guard, turned a blind eye to the matter of the people below getting rich, but the city lord is an upright person, he handles things upright and treats people harshly. Once the city lord finds out about this matter, he will send someone to investigate ...

"No, wait, this young master, it's not like this, it's not like this."

Cass was already in a cold sweat, and hurried forward to explain to the boy.

But when he used the honorific title, the boy stared unhappily.

"Don't bark, I'm not a young master, I'm just a bard!"

Bah, bards don't have the style like you.

Cass slandered in his heart, and the boy's resolute denial made him believe that this was the fun-loving young master from a noble family.

He leaned over and laughed along with him.

"Yes, yes, this... bard, actually, these tricksters... no, these civilians have paid most of the money, and there is still a little left. Just put it all together."

He was terribly aggrieved.

Originally, I wanted to teach these unruly people a good lesson, but now I am so unlucky to meet such an ignorant noble child, not only can't teach them, but I have to speak good words for them.

"Actually, it's not easy for their family to be hit by a disaster because of the recent earthquake nearby." He said to the young man with a smile, "Look, we have to catch up on such a small matter and make a public alarm." Isn’t the words of the city lord a bit too much?”

"A disaster?"

The boy blinked and thought about it.

He said, "Well, although not paying taxes is not in accordance with the law of the country, but since the disaster has been hit, it can be considered excusable."

"Yes, yes, it was a disaster." Cass said quickly, "I frightened them just now, and they have already paid the rest of the tax. When you came, I was planning to let them go."

"Is that so..."

The boy nodded slightly.

Cass smiled flatteringly at the boy, feeling relaxed.

After this relaxation, the tense and stiff brain started to rotate again.

He suddenly felt something was wrong again.

Even if the noble young master came out in disguise to play, the elders couldn't rest assured that this kind of innocent young master who had never experienced the world at first glance would go on the road alone.

Not a single servant, that's impossible.

Cass thought so in his heart, his thoughts turned, and his eyes darkened.While looking up at the earrings on the boy's ears, he raised his hand to grab the reins of the boy's horse.

He opened his mouth to test a few more words, but suddenly, a gust of cold wind came.

I saw a sharp arrow shooting from afar, and it inserted exactly between Cass' outstretched hand and the rein that was about to touch.

The point of the arrow even cut through Cass' fingertips, and then plunged into the trees behind him with a puff.

As soon as Cass turned his head, he was in a cold sweat, and saw that most of the sharp arrow had disappeared into the hard tree trunk, which showed the terrifying strength.

If the arrow had aimed at his head, he would be dead by now.

When he turned around again, he saw a young man also dressed as a bard galloping far away on a horse.

The young man was still holding a bow in his hand, obviously the young man shot that terrible arrow just now.

"Presumptuous guy!"

As soon as the black-haired young man arrived, he yelled at Cass.

"How dare you approach—"

He seemed to want to say a name, but swallowed it halfway through.

He said, "You lowly fellow! Retire immediately!"

The young man's eyes seemed to grow on the top of his head, looking down on them with a condescending look.

However, when he turned his head and saw the young man, his haughty attitude immediately softened, revealing a flattering smile.

"Little master, you agreed to wait for me, how can you go first?"

He said nervously, "Fortunately, you are fine. If there is an emergency, how do you ask me to explain to...?"

When he saw Shuros come out suddenly, a trace of astonishment flashed in Garlan's eyes.

At this moment, when Schulos said this, he immediately reacted and put on an impatient expression.

"It's okay, it's okay, I talk about it every day, just like an old man, it's so annoying."

He pointed to Cass and said, "This guy is not bad, I think he is quite dedicated, and he is also Kanile... the subordinate of the city lord, why are you scaring him?"

The black-haired young man who was smiling at the boy changed back to his haughty attitude when his eyes fell on Cass.

However, Cass didn't dare to say anything more.

He had some doubts just now, but when he saw that this young man with amazing archery skills turned out to be his servant, he immediately had no doubts.

He stood there with a low eyebrow and a pleasing eye, looking very honest.

The young man glanced at him, seemed impatient to talk to Cass, and casually threw a dozen Aaron silver coins to him.

"Okay, it's none of your business here. This is the medical expenses for my injury to you. You can go."

Cass caught the silver coin and was elated.He also had the money, and he also talked to a nobleman, and was praised by the other party. He was in a good mood, and the group of villagers was completely forgotten by him. He nodded and bowed, and led the group of soldiers we are gone.

Halfway on the way, he secretly looked back again.

He saw that someone in the group of civilians seemed to come forward to talk to the blond boy, but the boy didn't even look at the group of civilians, held his head proudly, turned his horse's head and walked away on his own.

The black-haired youth followed closely behind the boy, ignoring the group of civilians.

Seeing this, Cass no longer had doubts, and led the soldiers on the road back to the city.

A man stepped forward and grabbed the old man.

The old man was the commoner who went up to talk to Garlan just now, but was ignored. The man cast a resentful glance at the two who had already left on horseback, his face was full of anger.

"Every one of them is the same, they don't take us seriously at all, and that noble young master also—"

"Shut up, what do you know?"

The old man shouted.

He thought of the blond boy's deep look before leaving, those eyes were as clean as the sunny sky.

He sighed: "That young master is saving us..."

"Huh? Save us? Just like him?"

"You can't see it, so the team leader didn't see it either."

"But if he wants to help us, can't he just order the soldiers to stop?"

"Idiot, if he did that, he could have saved us at the time, but the captain's anger would be directed at us, and once he leaves, we will suffer in the end."

After the old man finished speaking, he looked up at the back of the blond boy who was about to disappear in the distance, and murmured: "I don't know which noble young master it is, he has a good heart and is so intelligent...the gods will definitely bless him."

At this moment, the two who had already left were talking while riding forward.

"I said that you, a self-righteous and self-righteous young master, did a good job~"

"Your dog-legged appearance is also very good."

"Hahahahaha, after all, acting is more or less my job—however, it's just acting, which is completely different from my nature."

Schulos carefully affirmed his personality.

"...I thought you were going to leave."

"Well, let's put it this way, I was watching from behind. If you had raised your sword and rushed forward, I would have turned around and run away, so as not to be implicated."

Shulu paused for a moment, then pursed his lips.

"But it's really not worth it. The silver coins you gave me are gone, and I have to spend more. Hey~ I can't eat the big meal."

"I'll pay you back."

Thinking of something suddenly, Garlan sighed.

"But then we can't go into town."

As soon as you enter the city, if you collide with that group of soldiers, you will be exposed.

"There's no other way. Let's go directly to Mount Twillur. After we're done watching there, we'll go directly to other cities. At that time, you can treat me to another meal."

"Okay~"

Garlan laughed, very happily.

"Hey, it's a pity that in this way, the beauties in Twiller City won't be able to appreciate the demeanor of the most handsome bard in Aaron Landis."

Schulos raised his hand and stroked the black hair hanging down his cheeks, and said with regret.

"...Just be happy with yourself."

In the dialogue between you and me, two horses galloped in the wind.

By the time night fell, the two had already stepped into the area of ​​Mount Twillur.

It is indeed a famous scenic spot, with lush forests, greenery everywhere, and clear mountain springs flowing in it.When the night wind passed by, the dense canopy made a rustling sound.

Even at night, the scenery is extremely beautiful.

When Garlan was galloping forward on the mountain path, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something passing by out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head to look, and there was a dense forest, under the bright moonlight, there was nothing quietly.

"what happened?"

Seeing him slow down, Schulos asked.

"I seem to see a white shadow in the woods over there..."

Schloss looked over.

"Nothing at all?"

The bard is extremely confident in his vision, even in the dark, he can see everything clearly.

At this time he looked into the woods, but there was nothing but trees.

"Well, maybe I was wrong."

Garlan looked away.

Probably just the white light refracted by the moonlight.

he thinks.