Powell and Johnson didn't know what kind of situation the Buche family was facing, but they were absolutely not allowed to pay 100% of the tax. Both of them took out all the money to purchase, and they couldn't pay taxes even if they wanted to.
Infiltrating the Banshee Fort by detour became the only option. The two had to hurry up, otherwise the daily interest rate of loan sharks could wipe out all their efforts.
The Butcher tax police knew that it was impossible to block all passages, so they controlled all the vehicles in the villages and towns along the way. There is no tax voucher with magic effect, and merchants can't even rent an ox cart.
If you want to smuggle, you must rely on two legs.
But even walking is difficult. In order to collect taxes, the Buche family’s tax police patrols continuously.
From Dense Mist Town to Shitan Town and then to Banshee Fort, two people can be tossed to death for a hundred kilometers. Had it not been for Dudu in the air to warn them, they would have been caught.
Over a hundred kilometers of field roads, in order to avoid the tax police, the two of them couldn't enter the village or town when they stayed and rested. They had to solve it in the wilderness.
Usually the two of them respect the Butcher family in Banshee Fort, and feel that they are a model of the nobility of the Northland. Patriarch Friedman Bucher is a mainstay against the monsters of the Black Forest and a hero who cannot be slandered.
right now... ..
"Damn Friedman, how could he be so despicable for money? We are all devoted to him, don't we just take some funds as a capital to start a small business? Everyone does this, so why don't we make some money? ?"
The two went all the way and cursed all the way, and their hearts were fierce.
Originally, the carriage had to travel for at most two days. Powell and Johnson had to walk for ten days and had to drag a heavy suitcase. When they arrived outside Banshee Fort, both of them lost a lap.
"I've never been so embarrassed and exhausted. Don't let me find a chance, or I will retaliate against the damned Buche family. This anti-human tax must be abolished."
It's too hard to hide along the way. Johnson didn't talk about his love and loyalty to the nobles anymore. He was crying blood in his heart when he thought about the daily interest he had paid because of the time wasted.
When you arrive at Banshee Fort, you will have to undergo an inspection when you enter the city gate. The sorcerer of the Butcher family was in charge of guarding, and almost made the two people's hard work come to a halt in the end.
Relying on Johnson's illusion, he barely passed the level. Both of them were exhausted when they entered the city, but they still insisted on going to the wizard's tower in the city first, and sold the goods before they felt relieved.
Only when he entered the city, the situation was even more wrong.
"Powell, do you feel that the market is depressed a lot?"
On the way to the Wizard’s Tower, Johnson felt that the streets in the city were quite deserted. The only pedestrians are also hurried, but the guards and sheriffs who maintain order can be seen everywhere.
There are always small merchants and hawkers in the streets and alleys, but now they disappear without a trace.
The beggar refugees are a sight of the city. As long as the sheriff is not paying attention, they will sneak out and do some begging and stealing. I can't see it now.
The few shops in the market were unpopular. The owner shrank behind the door and looked left and right. When a stranger appeared, he would have to keep his eyes on it, as if he was ready to close at any time.
Powell and Johnson couldn't help speeding up their pace, hurriedly walking a few steps. The two reached the wizard's tower in Banshee Fort, and they ran into a group of people before they even entered.
The leader was Enissa, who showed an angry face under the princess palace, and rushed out very quickly. Behind her were many entourages from the Principality of Oss, many of them holding sword hilts or holding staffs tightly, none of them had a good face.
Knowing that the two hapless guys were not good, they hurried to hide. Even the always-noisy beep closed his mouth and probed his head behind the owner's shoulder.
Only Enisa stared at Powell when she came out, and paid particular attention to the wooden suitcase she was carrying. She only glanced at it, and asked in a cold voice, "Cold Wind City got it? What kind of product? How much?"
Powell is just a spy, facing a group of superiors in the Principality of Oss, he dared not answer. He honestly said that the box contained magic materials from Coldwind City. As for the price...
Powell turned to look at Johnson, and the two exchanged a lot of information in an instant. In the end, Johnson gritted his teeth and offered a price: "Your Royal Highness, if you need it, five thousand gold coins are fine."
Enissa said'um', and strode forward and left. An entourage walked out behind her, took out a bag full of magic gems, weighed it in her hand, threw it to Johnson, and took the wooden suitcase by the way.
The whole process takes less than a minute, and the goods that have been transported so hard have changed hands.
When the princess and her party left, Powell and Johnson breathed a sigh of relief.
The two hurriedly opened the bag of gems and cheered loudly after a moment-the gems in the bag should be worth six thousand gold coins, which was more than they expected.
"Great, great, this time I didn't make a trip in vain and made a lot of money. I said don't buy any iron, buying and selling magic items is the most profitable." Johnson smiled happily.
The two were in a good mood. Powell urged: "Walk around and pay off the usury. The daily interest is only fifty gold coins. I can't stand it."
The loan shark is borrowed from the wizard of the Wizard Tower, and the collateral is Johnson's illusion hut. The two continued to enter the tower and found the loan shark who opened a spell shop, and they had to pay off their accounts.
Seeing the two come back with a smile, the wizard in the spell shop was also very surprised, and first asked them what they had bought in Coldwind City? I sigh again that they can avoid the search of the tax police, and finally...
"What about the goods?"
"I met Princess Enisa when I just came in. She bought the goods generously without counter-offering, and added a lot."
"How much gold does she pay you?"
"A gem worth about six thousand gold coins."
"Only six thousand? According to the type and quantity of your purchase, I can pay ten thousand gold coins."
What... ... ? !
Powell and Johnson were overjoyed, but at the same time they were dumbfounded.
The wizard in the shop also thumped his chest and his feet, "You two fools, don't you realize something is wrong when you enter the city? The city is preparing for a battle, haven't you noticed?"
The two hapless guys were even more dazed, only Dudu poked out his head and muttered: "The situation was so strange at the time, I found something wrong. But I just didn't say anything."
Powell hurriedly explained: "We encountered a lot of trouble on our way back, tired to death, so I wanted to quickly sell the goods for money. Her Royal Highness is willing to buy, we will naturally sell. Why is the city prepared for war?"
The shop wizard sighed and shook his head, "You two have left for more than half a month, and a lot of things have happened in Banshee Castle. The Buche family wants to collect heavy taxes on the business road, and other nobles in the city strongly oppose it.
The exiles of the Principality of Oss also had a lot of transactions with the north, and business profit was an important income for them, and they were also very disgusted with taxation.
The wizards in the city also don't like to collect taxes, because this directly pushes up the price of spellcasting materials.
But there are contradictions between the various forces. For example, Her Royal Highness hopes to negotiate a quota of magic goods with the wizarding group in the city, but the wizarding group has just rejected her.
In addition, dozens of cities in the Northland were extremely embarrassed by Victor Hugo's merchandise dumping, which consumed a large amount of precious metals. Not only did food prices rise, but there was also a huge financial gap.
Now the winter is when there is a shortage of food, a series of problems have exploded one after another. The atmosphere in the city suddenly became tense. It is said that this is all caused by Victor Hugo, and this guy will do us a lot if he doesn't fight. "