Chapter 29 Camps in the Buffer Zone
Gradually, there were more trees on both sides of the road. Walking on the halfway up the mountain, there was an endless sea of forest below. Gervis and his party were about to reach the westernmost part of his territory.
There are two roads from the territory of Gervis to the territory of Viscount Lanny. One road is relatively long, but the road is flat and wide and is considered a highway. Many vassals in the territory of Alice will take the flatter road when buying coal mines.
The other route is the one that Gervis is taking now. Although it is closer, because it requires crossing the mountains, the road is narrow and steep, and few people pass by here.
"Sir, we will reach the buffer zone after turning the foot of this mountain." The guard who shouted at this moment was already walking in the front. Because few people walked on this road, a lot of half-person-high weeds had grown there. If there was no one leading the way, the people in short shirts would be hooked by the sharp leaves of the weeds from time to time, scratching their skin.
The road halfway up the mountain is not long, only about one mile. This is because it is at the end of the mountain range. If it is the middle section of the mountain range, it would be at least a thousand meters high and extremely steep, and there would be no road for people to pass through.
The reason why Gervis wanted to take this mountain road was not because he was in a hurry, but to stand on a high place to see what was happening in the buffer zone and how Viscount Lanny was developing in the buffer zone.
The carriage and the guards driving the horses stayed beside the road. Now there were only four people in Gervis's group. After turning the corner the guards mentioned, the view in front of them suddenly became clear. In front of Gervis and his group was an endless sea of forests, with only one road winding through the forest.
"What's that place over there?" At this moment, there was an inconsistent blank area in the mainly green forest. The area was quite large. In the middle of the blank area stood a camp, which was quite abrupt. People could be seen walking around in the camp.
"My lord, that is within the buffer zone of your territory. Two months ago, when we came here for patrol, that camp did not exist. But since last month, Benny has stopped taking us here for patrol!"
The guards also saw the camp and were very surprised. How could such a large camp appear in the buffer zone in just one or two months? Moreover, it was their own buffer zone. As the guards stationed there, they had never heard of any order from Winterfell to build a camp in the buffer zone.
"How do you know it's within our buffer zone?" Gervis asked as he only had a vague understanding of his territory.
"Sir, look at that road. The edge of your territory is at that bend. There is a boundary marker there. Benny takes us there every month during patrol. That camp is so close to the buffer zone. It must be within your buffer zone." The guard pointed to the winding road through the vast forest and answered Gervis' question in a very affirmative tone.
"Oh." Gervis nodded, and it was confirmed that Viscount Lanny had crossed the line. Standing on the hillside, you can see that the camp is quite large. Although it is far away, you can still vaguely see the figures inside. After a rough count, there are at least hundreds of people inside.
Although the camp's walls are made of logs, it can be seen that a lot of thought was put into their construction. The camp is square, with a wooden tower about twice as high as the wall at each corner. There are also apparently supports inside the wall so that people can stand on top of the wall for patrol and guard, because Gervis clearly saw several people patrolling on the wooden wall. The entire camp has only one gate facing the avenue, and the distance from the camp gate to the avenue is about one kilometer.
"Let's go down and take a look!" Because of the distance, this is all that can be observed from the mountain, so Gervis commanded a few people to go and take a closer look.
After seeing the camp, Gervis was 100% sure that there must be something good there discovered by Viscount Lanny. If it was a coal mine, it would be difficult to make back the money spent on bribing Benny and building the camp.
Not to mention, breaking the unspoken rules and risking a conflict with Earl Jones by crossing the boundary and mining privately within the buffer zone on the Jones family's side.
…
After walking for nearly ten minutes, Gervis and his companions finally reached the main road. In front of them was the border of his territory, where a large stone tablet stood.
Gervis approached the base of the stone tablet, on which was written the words "Earldom of Jones" in large letters. This tablet was erected by the family of Earl Jones to demarcate the boundaries of the entire Earldom and the territories of other nobles.
This world does not have an accurate map, so often, when lords divide their territories, they use mountains, forests, and rivers as dividing lines. But in plains, they will set up stone tablets on the roads to mark them.
Standing at this stone tablet at this moment, Gervis and others could no longer see Viscount Lanny's camp. It was surrounded by dense forests and towering trees, blocking all views.
Gervis led the way and continued walking along the avenue. After walking about a few hundred meters, he saw a small trail entrance next to the road ahead. This small trail entrance was the only road leading to the camp.
In order to prevent the Jones family from discovering what happened in the camp, Viscount Lanny bribed Benny to turn a blind eye.
However, they had also done a lot to conceal their presence. Caravans traveling along this road, as well as convoys carrying coal, would often pass by. If the camp was built very conspicuously, it would be discovered by passers-by sooner or later even without Benny's report.
The entrance to the trail is only one meter wide, barely wide enough for people and horses to walk through, and it is winding and tortuous. If you don't go deep into it, no one would dare to believe that there is a large camp inside, and you would never discover the secrets inside.
If Gervis and others had not observed the mountain beforehand, it would have been impossible for them to determine the exact location of the camp.
After turning from the main road into the small path, the same guard was still leading the way, with Gervis walking in the middle.
At this moment, everyone began to be alert and cautious. This place was already in the Dark Forest, not the Bigvis territory. It was very necessary to guard against the wild beasts in the forest and the secret sentries that might be stationed in Viscount Lanny's camp.
After walking in the narrow and long path for about ten minutes, they finally saw the end of the path and saw a vast expanse of space ahead.
If other people accidentally walked in, they would definitely feel as if they were in another world. No one would have thought that after walking along this path, there would be a completely different world inside.
"Sir, they seem to have discovered us?" When Gervis and others stood at the exit of the trail, Viscount Lanny's camp was more than two hundred meters away.
At this moment in the camp, the watchtower closest to Gervis and his companions had already discovered them, and the bronze bell on the watchtower used to issue the alarm was clanging.
"Since I'm here, I'm not planning on observing secretly. Let's go up and take a look!" Gervis was not surprised. Since Viscount Lanny attached so much importance to this place, the camp was built like a fortress, and the guards there must be very vigilant. Although they didn't encounter any secret sentries on the road, with just over two hundred meters of open space in front of them, any living creature that broke in would definitely be discovered at the first time.
"Sir, how about I go up and try it out first. It's too dangerous for you to go up like this." At this moment, the three guards were a little hesitant. There were only four of them in total, and the activities of Viscount Lanny's camp were not open to the public. If Gervis went forward, in case of any danger, he would not have time to run away.
"It's okay, just don't get too close. I don't think Viscount Lanny would dare to attack a noble." Gervis shook his head and rejected the guard's suggestion.
It wasn't that Gervis wanted to be a hero, but the original owner's memory told him that no one would dare to blatantly kill a lord with a title, especially someone like Gervis, who was nominally the husband of Countess Alice.
If Viscount Lanny and his men dared to kill Gervis openly, then no one in this camp would see next spring, including their families, and even if Viscount Lanny did not die in the end, he would lose his title.
In order to maintain their rule, the nobles enacted many laws, some of which were aimed at common people and some at nobles.
The nobles in this world are noble and inviolable. Even if they are fellow nobles, if an innocent noble is killed, that noble will be punished accordingly. The lightest punishment is stripping of the title, and the worst is life in exchange for life.
If the two sides belong to hostile countries, even if the nobles are captured during the war, they will be treated well. After the war, they only need to pay enough ransom, and they can still return to their territory intact. Of course, the premise is that there is no blood feud.
If Viscount Lanny wanted to kill Gervis, he had only two choices. The first was to have absolute strength and not be afraid of being held accountable by Count Alice or the king after killing Gervis. Obviously, a small viscount did not have such strength anyway.
Then there is only the second way, which is also the method commonly used by the nobles, that is assassination.
Where there are nobles, there are interests, and where there are interests, there are conflicts. If you want to kill a noble and escape punishment, you can only use assassination to accomplish it.
This is the reason why many nobles like to train death warriors.
Many people in the castle knew about Gervis's schedule for today, and Thomas had also seen Viscount Lanny's envelope, which was still in the study. If Gervis really met with an accident or disappeared, the first person to be blamed would be Viscount Lanny.
Not to mention that Gervis had left someone waiting in the territory.
This is the confidence of Gervis. He believes that Viscount Lanny is only after money and would never dare to touch a hair on his head.
"Stop. Who are you? If you come any closer, don't blame us for being rude." As Gervis and his companions got closer and closer to the camp gate, the five or six meter high wooden wall was already filled with well-equipped soldiers, and several of them had their bows fully drawn. Among these soldiers, a big man in iron armor was obviously their leader, and it was he who made the loud shout.
(End of this chapter)
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