April 23, 1788, in the common calendar of Galintia, Dremke province.
It was sunny and cloudless.
A strong Northland horse is pulling a four-wheeled flatbed cart on the not very wide avenue made of clay, lime and gravel. Such flatbed carts are very common in Dremke Province. Most of them are the main means of delivery for transporting food and sundries. Especially when transporting grain, it can carry a load of nearly three thousand catties. The sacks full of grain are piled high one by one, moving slowly on the road like a hill.
But now the flatbed cart is very empty, only a few sacks are piled up, there are two people on the cart, a young man is sitting on the front shaft of the cart with his head lowered and a long riding whip sticking out, seemingly sleeping but not sleeping. The Beidi horse pulling the cart walked fast and slow on the avenue, stopping from time to time to pull a few green weeds from the side of the road. Another man in gray and white shabby peasant clothes lay on the carriage, with a sack on his head and a big straw hat covering his face to block the sun, as if he was sleeping soundly.
This kind of scene is very common on this inter-provincial highway, which is not considered a national highway. It’s just that when a large vehicle comes across, the driver will shout loudly or curse a few words, and the young driver who is dozing off will wave his whip. Drive the Beidi horses pulling the cart to the side of the road so as to avoid the staggered carriages, and at the same time receive a few kind reminders or malicious lessons from the opposite coachman. But the young coachman didn't care, he would start to doze off again when there was no more car in front of him...
Lorist didn't fall asleep, he just lay on the flatbed car and enjoyed the warmth of the sun shining on his body. Staying in the dark granary for two months, coupled with the damp feeling of the rainy season, made him obsessed with the comfort of the sun on his body. For many years, I have no free time to enjoy this kind of sunshine. I think back when I was at Chenxi Academy, when I was free, my favorite thing was to move a recliner on the balcony and read a book while basking in the sun. It was really leisurely at that time...
Lorist's condition was not very good. The nearly half a year of healing had only healed the sword wounds on his chest and back, and stopped the bleeding and wounds inside his body. The overlapping of the two domains made the movements of Lorist and the Storm Juggernaut extremely slow, but the long sword of the Storm Juggernaut penetrated Lorist's chest, and the damage was not reduced because of the slow movement. The dou qi contained in the Storm Sword Master also rushed into Lorist's body slowly, destroying the meridians and dantian where the internal energy circulated in the body...
So Lorist is now a very weak ordinary person, or even worse than an ordinary person, unable to do heavy work or use his strength. The only thing that can be thankful is that Reddy is by his side. Since Reddy's practice of Pill Sea Entrainment and Lorist's Jinshuijue are in the same vein, during the first half of the year's healing process, Reddy fed Lorist various Healing potions healed the wounds, while using nutritional potions to suspend the life of the unconscious Lorist, and at the same time, using Danhai Yinqi to input internal force into Lorist's body, clearing the accumulated blood in the body and conditioning those who were injured by the Storm Swordsman. The broken meridians were destroyed by the fighting spirit. This was also the reason why Lorist could wake up so quickly.
The Sword Master of the Storm gave Lorist a sword, the long sword pierced through his chest from his chest to his back, coupled with the fighting spirit contained in the long sword, so the Sword Master of the Storm thought that Lorist was more seriously injured than him. And Lorist gave the Storm Sword Master a palm, although it shattered his entire sternum, but because the sword was struck first, Lorist withdrew part of his internal energy to protect his heart veins, so the blow he struck with his left palm Cun Jin only shattered the Storm Sword Master's breastbone, instead of crushing his heart, lungs and internal organs. This is why the Storm Sword Master was able to escape with force in the end. Otherwise, if the heart, lungs and internal organs were shattered, the Storm Sword Master would have mourned long ago, and Da Luo Jinxian would not be able to save his life.
It was also a serious injury, but Lorist's current situation was much more miserable than that of the Storm Sword Master. The Storm Juggernaut can safely live in seclusion in Morente City to heal his wounds, no matter whether it is healing potions or living environment, everything is the best. But Lorist wants to hide in Tibet, to avoid the search of the great sword master sent by the business alliance to assassinate him. I can't go back home, and I don't even dare to contact my family, for fear that it will be leaked.
There are many reasons for this result. If a kingdom has a national sword master, if the sword master is injured, if the kingdom does not have enough high-end combat power to protect it, at least the kingdom's army will be used to protect it. But now the Second Highness has lost his head for revenge, leading most of the entire kingdom's army to fight against the business alliance. Compared with the Commercial Alliance, the Antinac Kingdom is obviously at a disadvantage in terms of high-end combat power. The Great Swordsman of the Commercial Alliance couldn't defend against the Second Highness's soldiers on the battlefield, so it was a normal task to be sent to assassinate the seriously injured Lorist to eliminate the biggest threat to the Commercial Alliance.
Although Lorist was worried about the safety of Princess Sylvia, the four concubines and his children, he also knew very well that the most important thing now was to heal his injuries and restore the strength of the Juggernaut. No one dared to hurt their family members before they got their exact news. Otherwise, once Lorist recovers from his injuries and returns, the revenge will be bloody, and no one can bear the consequences.
There is a precedent for this. Two hundred years ago, the sword masters of the two kingdoms faced each other in a duel. One of the sword masters was assassinated by the enemy kingdom. The sword master escaped and his family was killed. Half a year later, the Juggernaut recovered from his injuries and began to take revenge. Nearly 70,000 people from the king's family of the hostile kingdom and all related nobles and the great sword master's family were slaughtered. Even the sword master of the enemy country stood by and refused to intervene to stop it.
The sword master said, compare your heart with your heart, if my family members are killed because of me, I will also take revenge like this. I advised His Majesty not to let them carry out such a stupid action, but they didn't listen, and after the assassination failed, they became angry and killed the Juggernaut's family. This is their own death, and there is nothing I can do.
The heads of the six giants of the business alliance and the six major chambers of commerce are much more sober than the king two hundred years ago. It is an undeniable fact that Norton Lorist, the Grand Duke of the Northland, is a sword master. Since he and the Juggernaut of the Storm both suffered losses, it is no wonder that they took the opportunity to eliminate the biggest threat to the business alliance. The kingdom of Antinac and the business alliance have become sworn enemies, and it is justifiable and natural to attack the Juggernaut who is wounded by the enemy. .
It doesn't matter if the assassination fails, Lorist will not care about the assassination of the Juggernaut himself after he recovers from his injuries. But Lorist's family and relatives must not be touched. In order to avoid unpredictable consequences, even the high-level officials of the Norton family and the family knights were not allowed to touch. This is to prevent Lorist from finding an excuse to retaliate. Everyone has family members and subordinates, and the six giants of the business alliance don't want the six major chambers of commerce to be uprooted and copied. In such a personal act of revenge for blood feud, even the Storm Sword Master would not stand with the Big Six.
If he could successfully assassinate Lorist, who was seriously injured, then there would be nothing to worry about. Not to mention killing Lorist's relatives, it wouldn't matter if a dozen or so great sword masters teamed up to bloodbath the Norton family. Therefore, the most critical problem for Norrist now is to find a place that is ignored by the great sword masters of the business alliance to ensure his safety. After recovering from his injuries and recovering his strength, naturally no assassin dares to appear in front of him.
After the rainy season, various territories in Dremke Province began to harvest winter wheat, and at the same time began to pay the Norton family a 10% field tithe, that is, to pay 10% of the winter wheat harvest. The winter wheat was transported to Kebo City by people sent by various lords, and Kebo City stored the winter wheat as a military food reserve for the family's armed forces.
In addition to the tithe tax on the field, the Norton family also opened a grain purchase point in Kebo City at the same time, buying grain from various lords in Dremke Province at a price that was 10% cheaper than the market price. This is a monopoly business. Other grain merchants cannot purchase grain from these lords themselves. They can only conduct grain transactions through the purchasing point set up by the Norton family in Kebo City. Once in and out, the Norton family earned 30% of the profit. There is no way, in troubled times, food is a strategic material, and it is impossible for the Norton family to give up control of food.
Just when the lords of Dremke Province sent people to Kebo City to pay the tithes for the winter wheat fields, Lorist and Reddy changed into worn-out peasant clothes, and went to Kebo City Guards Battalion Commander Sherikov as a An old four-wheeled flatbed cart they had prepared left Kebo City unknowingly among the farmers who drove the grain carts to deliver winter wheat, and no one knew where they were going.
In the past few days after waking up, Lorist has already learned most of the situation of the war against the alliance from Reddy. After all, he stayed in the imperial capital to protect Lorist and recuperate from his injuries for nearly three months. I know roughly. From the second Highness's comeback, the decision to vow to fight with the Commercial Alliance, to Jost's Chaser Legion and the Tiger Ross' Flying Tiger Legion descended from heaven, defeating the Commercial Alliance's armed forces, and then to the Second Highness's surprise night attack to obtain A decisive victory successfully recaptured the provinces of Armenia and Marivia, approaching the plains of Faliqiu.
There is also the Marquis Krillos, the envoy of the business alliance, whose fate Reddy has also heard about in the imperial capital. It is said that the Second Highness hated the Marquis of Krillos deeply, not only broke his limbs, abolished his golden-rank fighting spirit, but also treated him as a liar, and glued a chicken and duck on him. and bird feathers, leaving the little white face, and then tied him on the back of an old horse and put him back.
It is worth noting that His Royal Highness did not apply honey on the body of Marquis Keriros, because although honey is sticky and can stick to things, it can be washed off by water. His Royal Highness ordered his servants to paint the naked body of Marquis Krillos with raw lacquer. Now even Lorist was secretly speechless when he heard it. Raw lacquer is highly toxic and has an allergic effect on the skin. If it is accidentally touched, it will make the contact area itchy and swollen. In Galintia, it is generally used in the construction or decoration industry as a primer for those woods to prevent insects from damaging buildings and furniture.
Lorist couldn't help but feel horrified when Marquis Krillos' body was covered in raw varnish and feathers, his fighting spirit was abolished, and his limbs were broken. Needless to say, the Marquis of Krillos has already been disabled by the Second Highness. From this, it can be seen how much the Second Highness hates the Commercial Alliance. If it were not for the arming of the Lorist and Norton families, the Second Highness would not only become a prisoner of the Commercial Alliance, but perhaps It will also become the biggest joke and poor thing in the mouths of all nobles in Galintia...
Apart from these news, Reddy is also ignorant of what happened next. He escaped from the imperial capital with Lorist, parted ways with Hughes Great Swordsman and the others, and sneaked into Kebo City to hide for more than two months. What happened to the family territory? The armed forces of the three armies are completely ignorant of the situation on the front line, and he can't inquire about it yet. For Reddy, those are meaningless and there is no need to pay attention to them. As long as Lorist's injury can recover and his strength can be recovered, then no matter what happens, he can come back. Even if the family is gone, he can still rebuild a new one.
When leaving Kebo City among the farmers who delivered food, Lorist and Reddy saw the commander of the Guards Battalion, Sherikov, reprimanding a group of patrolling cavalry at the gate of the city. My letter eagle has not flown back for more than half a month, and I don't know what happened. Moreover, the courier he sent to deliver the letter to the family territory was beaten unconscious on the road half a day away from the ferry, and he had all the money on him, but all the letters in the bag were searched through. Then a group of farmers on their way to Kebo City to deliver winter wheat found the poor courier lying on the side of the road and brought him back.
So Sherikov ordered the patrol team to strengthen their vigilance to prevent such pranks from happening again. People are fine and there is no shortage of money, but the letters they carry have been searched. Since there is no loss, Sherikov can only attribute this to some idiot. The pranks of high-ranking people.
In fact, both Lorist and Reddy understood Sherikov's intention of standing at the gate of the city to publicize this embarrassing incident. This was to remind them that Kebo City had also been monitored by those great sword masters. The disappearance of the eagle shows that the great sword masters of the business alliance are looking for Lorist's whereabouts through these two messaging systems, trying to find clues and find the place where Lorist is hiding and healing.
Lorist has already grown a full beard, and he looks like a sloppy farmer who is overwhelmed by life and worries about the last meal at home. Even people who know him can hardly find him in a short time It was the famous Grand Duke of the Northland. And Reddy shaved off his beard. When Lorist brought Reddy back from Bailu Lake to confirm that he had the level of a first-level swordsman, Reddy grew two mustaches in an attempt to make himself appear Old and dignified. Now that he has shaved his beard, he looks like a young farmer who is unwilling to be lonely and does not want to work in the fields. No one can connect him with the murderous big swordsman with the mustache next to Lorist.
It takes two or three days to travel from Kebo City to the Barony of Dina. This is because the Norton family has renovated the traffic and road facilities in the whole province. Otherwise, it would take at least six or seven days to get there by relying on the twists and turns of the road in the past. Baron Dina is located in the westernmost part of Dremke Province. The edge of the territory is the mountainous area, and the northern sea is outside the mountainous area.
Back then, Lorist spent a lot of thought dividing up the territory of the Barony of Dina, because he understood the aggressive and aggressive character of his lover, Aristoli, and was worried that his little lover would compete with Zhou Bian's. There was a dispute among the nobles in the territory, so Baron Dina was led to the edge of the mountain. It means that if Aridoli wants to expand the barony, she can develop into the mountainous area. It is an unclaimed land, and it is up to her to occupy as much as she can.
When the sun was about to set, the four-wheeled flatbed carriage that Lorist and Reddy were sitting in finally arrived at the Barony of Dina under the slow drag of the Northland horse.
"Don't go to the village over there, go directly to that big wooden castle." Lorist has been here twice, so he naturally knows where to go.
The wooden castle of the Barony of Dina is a big joke among the nobles of Dremke. The reason is that Miss Dina plans to build a big castle for her younger brother, the future Baron Dina. With the financial strength of the Dina family and Lorist's support, there is no problem in building this big castle. But Miss Dina, that is, Aristoli, was worried that the big castle she built would not suit her baby brother. At that time, Master Dina was studying at Nicole Academy.
So Aridoli came up with an idea, the big castle was built entirely of wood, so that the young master can modify it immediately if he is not satisfied when he comes back, and change it to stone after the shape is finalized. As a result, the wooden castle of Barony Dina became a joke among the nobles in the province of Dremke. But Miss Dina didn't care, she suddenly discovered her architectural talent, and spent a lot of time every year tossing about this wooden castle, often changing the castle's appearance every year.
Reddy drove the carriage into the wooden castle. Lorist found that the defense of the wooden castle was very loose. There was not even a single guard on the wooden city wall. Lorist might even wonder if something happened to the Barony of Dina.
Lorist was about to get out of the car when he suddenly saw three people coming out of the wooden hall in front. The one walking in front was a handsome middle-aged couple, and the one who saw off the guests at the back was Miss Dina, Aridoli .
Reddy became nervous all of a sudden, the posture and feeling of the middle-aged couple were obviously great sword masters, and his hand tightly held the sword handle hidden under the burlap bag. And at this moment, Aridoli looked over. As Lorist's lover, she immediately recognized the bearded Lorist.
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