Chapter 80
When the surrounding villagers saw him run away, they stirred up a commotion again, whispering among themselves, mostly criticizing the man.
The man who had spoken to Veris at the beginning turned around and said somewhat embarrassedly, "This man is a scoundrel from our village. He said he was going to the city to do business a while ago, but he came back in a panic not long ago, saying that there was a rebellion in Phoenix County and that the Lortheran army was about to come to Salem. He said he wanted to increase taxes and conscript soldiers, and he made it sound very convincing."
The villagers initially didn't believe it, but then someone who had returned from the city said with a strange expression that everyone in the city was talking about it, and it was probably true.
After feeling uneasy for several days, I suddenly saw people from the church and had to muster up the courage to go up and ask them.
After listening, Veris pondered for a moment before saying, "This matter is probably not unfounded. Phoenix County is quite far from here. How could news travel so fast? It only came here a few days ago. How could anyone know about it so quickly?"
"So, the Phoenix rebellion is also true?" someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask.
The young man nodded, reassuring the villagers: "The Lortheran army wouldn't have to pay for its own military expenses from the people. You can rest assured. We came from the capital and have never heard of any tax increase laws. If anyone is asking you to pay taxes, it's probably the lord of a nearby city."
His bluntness silenced the whispering crowd, and their faces darkened.
Even if it's not the Lortheran army, what can they do if the city lord insists they pay taxes?
The man who had spoken to Veris sighed, echoing the sentiments of the other villagers, and said, "There's really nothing we can do about it."
He perked up and said, "You two have come all the way from District 11, you must not have had much rest yet. Why don't you come to my house? My wife has prepared lunch and is waiting for me to come back."
Veris declined, saying, "How can we eat at someone else's house? We brought some food, and after a short rest, we'll head to the nearby town."
The man continued to persuade them, and those around them, seeing this, also said, "Kind pastor, why don't you stay and rest for a while before leaving, or tell us about the church's new ordinances, so that we won't be completely ignorant?"
After being persuaded like this, Veris had no choice but to agree. After all, a lot of villagers had gathered on the road. His heart sank slightly as he glanced at their faces.
The dragon remained silent beside him. Perhaps the rogue from before had noticed something, for it was now behaving itself, though it couldn't help but furrow its brow slightly and tug at Veris's sleeve.
Veris turned his head and met the dragon's gaze. The red vertical pupils vanished in an instant, turning back into human brown eyes.
The man and the dragon followed the villagers into the village, which didn't look very big.
In the distance, he saw a familiar figure—it was that scoundrel. When he realized that the villagers were escorting the two men into the village, he was terrified and immediately turned and ran. In no time, he disappeared into the shadows between the houses and was nowhere to be seen.
Veris followed the enthusiastic man to a bungalow. The aroma of food wafted from inside. Veris wasn't particularly hungry, and the dragon was even less interested. Instead, the dragon looked around, surveying the village.
The man called out his wife's name loudly. Soon, a woman with her hair tied up and freckles on her face came out of the house. She looked at Veris and Long somewhat awkwardly, and gave a faint smile: "Are you the pastor of the church...? Come in quickly, I just cooked some meat soup."
She stepped aside. Veris wore a polite smile. His slender body and handsome face did not appear aggressive. The dragon beside him was even more subdued, appearing somewhat timid to others, since this young man had barely spoken from beginning to end.
They entered the house one after the other. The house was not large. Next to the marble fireplace was a pot that was steaming and smelling delicious, and neatly stacked slices of bread were on a tray on the other side.
The marble fireplace faces the square window, with blinds hanging down and curtains half-drawn, which does not affect the light in the room, making the whole room very bright.
If it weren't for the slightly yellowed walls and the worn-out curtains, you might think this was a new home.
The man invited Veris and the dragon to sit at the long table and respectfully asked Veris his surname.
Veris casually replied, "You can just call me Hill, this is my friend, his name is Martin."
The dragon looked at Veris, somewhat puzzled as to why he had used the name Hill. However, its attention was quickly drawn to the large bowl the woman was bringing. It twitched its nose, lowered its head, and acted timidly.
Compared to the taciturn dragon, Veris was obviously easier to deal with. He chatted happily with the man, who asked him where he came from. He simply said that he was a member of an ordinary church and that he had stopped by the capital on his way north and had a very nice New Year.
The man was intrigued by this: "The capital? That's a place we all yearn for."
Veris smiled, took the cutlery the woman handed him, and said, "Of course, I've never seen such a magnificent city in my life. Mr. Lloyd, you must go and see it if you have the chance. I think you're still young, and you can't stay trapped in this field forever."
Upon hearing this, the man named Lloyd's smile became somewhat strained, and even cracked for a moment. He quickly turned his head and called out to his wife, who was serving soup, "Please hurry up, the guests are hungry!"
The woman with freckles on her face didn't even look up or respond. She just continued pouring the broth from her spoon. The sound of the liquid falling into the bowl was faint. Long glanced at the bowl in front of him and started eating without any politeness.
Lloyd glanced at the dragon who was engrossed in putting a spoon into his mouth and couldn't help but ask, "You two look very young. I wonder what brings you to Salem Cathedral?"
The woman brought over a large, steaming bowl.
Veris looked at Lloyd and smiled, "Mr. Lloyd, you have quite the curiosity. I might as well tell you that I come from a remote little church and stayed in the capital for a while. I had some extraordinary experiences. This trip to Salem Cathedral is just the ostensible purpose. The place I'm going to is the Duke's mansion."
"The Duke's mansion?" Lloyd's face showed a look of shock.
The dragon beside him had already quickly finished half of its bowl. Lloyd, shocked, couldn't help but glance at the silent young man. Several emotions flashed across his eyes in a lightning-fast manner; if Veris hadn't been watching him closely, he might have been completely fooled.
Veris continued, “I was ordered by the Archbishop to investigate whether the Duke’s mansion harbors any rebellious intentions. Although Salem borders the Kingdom of Lortheran, the Duke of Salem and Prince Phoenix have always been on good terms. Since Prince Phoenix dared to raise an army to declare independence, how could the Duke of Salem, as a friend of Prince Phoenix, not know about it?”
"If Duke Salem had harbored malicious intentions all along, assassins from the capital would soon descend upon the Duke's mansion and behead him."
Lloyd's face paled considerably, as if he had been frightened. He looked at the smiling young man with some apprehension, forcing himself to remain calm before feigning unease: "Sir, aren't you afraid the news will leak out if you say this?"
The young man sitting to the side shrugged nonchalantly: "Mr. Lloyd, this place is in a remote location, so far from the Duke's mansion. Even if the whole village knew, what difference would it make?"
Lloyd's expression hardened further, as if he was angry but trying to suppress it.
"I've finished eating."
The dragon finally spoke its first words. It put down its spoon and said, "Your meat soup is really interesting. Rat meat, mutton, rabbit meat, low-level magical beast meat, spider meat, and what else? Human? An arm or a calf? Sorry, I can't tell."
It spoke quickly, stood up, looked down at the shocked Lloyd, and then glanced at the pale-faced woman standing by the fireplace.
"And hallucinogenic drugs," it snorted.
Lloyd's expression changed, and he abruptly stood up, took a few steps back, and looked warily at Veris, who was still sitting upright.
“You discovered it a long time ago,” he said coldly.
Veris crossed his hands on his lap. On the table in front of him, a bowl of broth emitted a fragrant aroma, a mixture of many spices. He looked up and smiled slightly: "What I'm more interested in is, whose men are you? Alas, could it be that someone foresaw the future and laid a trap for us in this remote village?"
He looked at Lloyd's grim expression: "This is the route the Lortheran army will inevitably take. Someone in the army leaked the route... Where are the people you killed?"
Long picked up where he left off: "I can smell it, it's from the basement."
Lloyd would be a fool if he hadn't realized what was happening by now. Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside, and it sounded like there were quite a few people.
He stared intently at Veris, but when he saw the dragon, he couldn't help but shudder: This man, knowing full well that there was human flesh in that bowl of soup, actually ate it!
Are these two people really those weak and kind pastors?
Veris also heard the growing noise outside. He glanced at the blurry figure and wondered if the village was on the route the Lortheran army was bound to take, but the plan was to pass through here directly without resting. Had all the people in the village been replaced, or was only a portion of them replaced?
And that scoundrel who was yelling something.
Lloyd, seeing his men surround the house, felt a little relieved and then put on a smug look: "You won't get out of here."
After thinking for a moment, Veris looked up and said, "Are you afraid I'll tell Lortheran's army?"
“This is the Salem border. Just five miles south is the Kingdom of Lortheran. The Lortheran army will also pass through here. You people are… cut-off tails.”
He stood up and looked out the window: "The entire southern Salem is yours now."
“The Duke of Salem is quite something… no, you’re mercenaries.”
Seeing that Veris had guessed their identities in just a few words, Lloyd's smug expression vanished. He drew the short knife he had been hiding under his clothes, and with a flash of cold light, Long grabbed a bowl from the table and smashed it over.
Lloyd's expression changed.
The bowl hit him squarely, and the force of the impact knocked him to the ground.
Seeing that things were not going well, the people outside rushed in and approached the two outsiders.
Veris's smile faded. He raised his wrist, his five fingers coming together, and a point of pale golden light appeared. It then expanded, compressed, and stretched wildly. In front of the mercenaries disguised as villagers, the light dissipated, and a staff was held in a hand with distinct knuckles.
—He's a magician!
"Mages aren't good at close combat! Let's go!" someone shouted.
A group of people, already armed, charged forward. The room suddenly felt cramped. A magic circle appeared beneath Veris's feet, and Long punched one of the charging men. The man was hit and sent flying, knocking down several others in the process.
The young man was incredibly strong, and in an instant, everyone realized something.
However, during this brief delay, Veris's magic circle had already been formed.
The young man remained calm as a massive storm appeared, bypassing only him and the dragon at the center of the magic circle. The entire house was instantly destroyed by the storm, and the mercenaries wielding weapons were swept into the sky. Under the scorching sun, an unprecedented fear rose in their hearts.
A massive storm tore apart the entire stone house, destroying several adjacent rooms as well. Embers and embers from the fireplace mingled with broken furniture and various liquids, while sand and soil were ripped up from the ground. The murky storm reached a height of tens of meters.
Emerging from the bottom of the storm, Veris looked up at the mercenaries and sighed, "Who told you mages aren't good at melee combat?"
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Author's Note: There will be another chapter later! [Sprinkling flowers]
Xiao Wei: You've really messed with me.
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