Baker had obviously wronged Woolley. No matter how bad Woolley was, he would not resort to such means to get rid of Hubble, although he had the need to do so. In his opinion, assassinating his opponent and putting him to death would not only show his incompetence, but also be too despicable. If you want to make a living in this world, you naturally need to be despicable, but that doesn't mean Woolley is willing to be despicable to this extent.
The three people who assassinated Baker were all from Crow Valley, and Hubble's assassination and injury seemed like a comedy.
Under Woolley's "tyrannical power" and the unclear situation, Hubble has done a good job as the public security officer in the past two days. Every day, he would walk around the canal protection site and give six to eight speeches. The purpose of the speeches was naturally to encourage the townspeople to work hard and contribute more to the safety of Salt Marsh Town. After each speech, Hubble would talk to the townspeople in a friendly manner and answer their questions. Although this attitude made the townspeople who knew him a little uncomfortable, everyone's favorability towards Hubble slowly increased.
After two days, Hubble found that it was certainly a nice feeling to be surrounded by the smiling faces of the townspeople, so he worked even harder. He thought that he was doing nothing anyway, so he might as well gain some fulfillment from receiving gratitude, praise and admiration.
But he never expected that he would be targeted as soon as his second speech of the day began.
Who? Of course, it was the three guys from Crow Valley. The leader was called Johnson, who was brave and powerful. He was a small leader of the Crow Bandits. Although he just turned 20 this year, he had been secretly in love with Nivea for several years.
Johnson came to find Nivea because he knew that Nivea came to Saltmarsh Town. He was as concerned about Nivea's safety as Bird was, so he was naturally very worried about Nivea's delay in returning. So, he decided to take two confidants with him to Saltmarsh Town to find Nivea.
When the three men galloped to the row of "pickled corpses", Johnson was frightened, not because of the corpses, but because he knew that something had happened to Bird, and he also vaguely felt that something had happened to Nivea - Saltmarsh Town was able to capture and kill so many brothers in Crow Valley in one fell swoop, and there was no Bird's body here, so Bird must have been captured alive, and Nivea had been silent since she sneaked in, so naturally she was in danger.
Johnson decided to go into town to rescue Nivea. Although he knew nothing about Nivea's current situation, it did not affect his decision.
After Johnson and his two cronies settled the horses, they disguised themselves as townspeople and sneaked into the town. After wandering around for a long time, they came to the construction site where Hubble was. They saw a large group of townspeople gathered in a circle and looked at Hubble, who was standing on a big rock and preaching loudly. After a slight hesitation, they also joined the circle.
At that time, Hubble was giving a speech with the momentum of commanding the whole country: "...My wish is to quickly drive back all the invading enemies, my wish is to make Salt Marsh Town shine again, my wish is to witness the resurgence of Salt Marsh Town with everyone. I believe that these will eventually come true, just like we will eventually wipe out all those damned bandits..."
Just as Johnson was getting angry at Hubble's "vicious language", the townspeople suddenly cheered.
“We will definitely do it!”
"With the guidance of the Lord Archon, Salt Marsh Town will surely rise!"
When he heard this, Johnson narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, so you are the Archon - obviously, Johnson, who had never met Woolley or Hubble, had misunderstood.
Since the Archon was right in front of him, Johnson had an idea, although it was a bit simple and crude - he had the same idea as Nivea, to kidnap the "Archon" in front of him and force him to release Nivea. As for Bird, he just mentioned him in passing to prevent someone from saying that Johnson was not loyal in the future.
Johnson immediately dragged the two trusted aides away from the spot. After a quick discussion, Johnson squeezed back into the crowd and drew out his dagger, while his two trusted aides quietly took out their daggers, ready to fight.
Hubble, completely unaware of this, continued to talk incessantly for a long time. Then he smiled and was helped down the boulder by his followers. He then smiled and walked towards the townspeople who had gathered around him.
Then Johnson moved, and his two cronies also moved.
It must be said that they cooperated very well. When the three of them pounced on Hubble, Hubble only had time to be stunned for a moment before he was hit -
Johnson, who rushed forward first, stretched out his left arm and hugged Hubble's neck. He pressed the dagger in his right hand against Hubble's right cheek and shouted at the townspeople who had not yet reacted, "Don't come over here!"
The confidant who followed Johnson quickly stabbed Hubble in the thigh to prevent him from struggling and escaping.
The last member of the "hijacking trio" rushed forward and saw that his thigh had been robbed. After a slight hesitation, he turned the hilt of the sword and stabbed Hubble in the butt, to prevent this guy from struggling and escaping.
Hubble's screams immediately drowned out the voices of everyone present, and of course, successfully attracted the attention of everyone present.
Johnson exerted force with his left arm and immediately grabbed Hubble's neck. Then, he shouted murderously at the stunned townspeople, "Make way for me! Otherwise..."
Another roar of joy interrupted Johnson immediately - "Catch them and get the reward!"
Then, a large group of townspeople swarmed over. Johnson and his two companions had weapons, and so did they - hoes, shovels, and thick wooden sticks. In addition, they had more people and were more powerful.
Johnson was dumbfounded and thought to himself what was going on. Your governor's life is hanging by a thread in my hands, and you dare to rush forward?
I wonder how Johnson would feel if he knew that some of the townspeople were thinking that it was difficult to share time with so many people and so little money, so I wonder what he would think.
Johnson's two cronies were also dumbfounded, but before they could react, hoes, shovels and sticks had already hit them. The force and angles were so dense and chaotic that they were impossible to resist. After the first encounter, the two were knocked to the ground one after another.
Johnson quickly dragged Hubble back, threatening as he retreated: "I will kill anyone who comes over here again!"
He obviously underestimated the appeal of the rewards of the street cleaning operation to the townspeople, and overestimated the role of Hubble, so before he could step back three steps, three townspeople pounced on him from the right. Johnson subconsciously swung his dagger backhand to force the three guys away, but unexpectedly the three men pounced on him fiercely and knocked his arm back. Then, Hubble was in trouble - the penetrating wound on his cheek was caused by this pounce.
Just as Johnson was about to pull out the dagger, a hoe had already dug into his forehead fiercely. Before Johnson fell to the ground, he saw with his own eyes the guy who had killed him with the hoe dancing with joy, and shouting loudly: "Look, I dug this guy to death! No one else can take credit for it!"
Stealing credit? What kind of world is this Salt Marsh Town? Just as Johnson finished thinking this, he was hit hard on the head, shoulders, stomach, arms, and ankles. Fortunately, he could no longer feel the pain...
When he re-entered the cell where Bird was held, Woolley's face was stern and he didn't even respond to Nivea's greeting.
"The people of Crow Valley are very brave." Woolley glanced at Bird. "Today, a guy named Johnson led two people into the town, kidnapped the peace officer Hubble, and stabbed him seriously. What do you think I should do with you two?"
Nivea was shocked. Since Wu Lai could say Johnson's name, it was almost certain. She knew that Johnson had a crush on her. As soon as she heard it, she realized that Johnson had sneaked out of the valley and came to Saltmarsh Town because he was worried about her.
"How is he?" Nivea asked.
"They were beaten to death by the angry townspeople," Woolley answered. "The other two were badly injured. One of them might not survive until the evening. The other one was smarter and told some secrets in exchange for his life, and he succeeded."
"Secret?" Nivea was stunned and looked at Bird, wondering how could Johnson's men have access to valuable secrets?
Wu Lai looked at the two of them and said slowly, "Now I finally know where Crow Valley is."
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"What do you want?" Bird was shocked and immediately struggled to sit up.
"What else can I do? If someone is willing to lead the way, I will naturally join forces with the elite soldiers of Lunvington City and head to Crow Valley to kill people and bring peace to Salt Marsh Town." Wu Lai suddenly raised his voice. "Over the years, your Crow Bandits have caused trouble to Salt Marsh Town, and many townspeople have been killed and injured at your hands. I can finally give them an explanation."
"You dare!" Bird clenched his fist angrily, completely ignoring the fact that the wound on his leg was already bursting with blood.
"You can try. I'm here just to inform you two. Please cherish this rare time together. After dinner, I will detain you two separately." Wu Lai said, "You two can continue to keep the secret, but I have to go to Crow Valley to earn military merits. I'm sorry I can't accompany you."
After saying that, Wu Lai stepped back and took a step forward. Just after he took two steps, Nivea's voice came over.
"Lord Wu Lai, I will tell you everything you want to know. Please spare Crow Valley." Nivea said anxiously.
Wu Lai was delighted, but his expression remained calm. He did not turn around in a hurry, but said coldly: "I have already grasped the location of Crow Valley. You want me to give up this great achievement, unless you have more achievements for me to take. You have to know that the military merits of Assyria are calculated by the number of heads..."
…
That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Wu Lai had someone move a few chairs to the rooftop of the official residence. His original intention was to enjoy the moon and chat with Gulu and Sibanok to relieve the fatigue of the day. Unexpectedly, as the three of them talked, the topic turned to the governance of Salt Marsh Town.
"Master, Lunvington will not let you be the only voice in Saltmarsh Town." Siban Oak said, "If it were somewhere else, it might be okay, but not here. This is the core production area of the salt industry and also a place of profit. If you are too strong, those people in Lunvington will worry that you will dilute their interests."
"That's not right. With Wu Lai's abilities, if he can let go and display them, within two years, Salt Marsh Town will surely be several times stronger than it is now. By then, the town will be prosperous and various incomes will increase. Won't they be able to get more?" Guru asked with a frown.
Sibanok smiled and shook his head, saying, "Master Gulu, the salt production on paper is declining year by year, but that's only on paper. In reality, it's not the case. The salt industry in Salt Marsh Town has been completely controlled by them. Although the price of salt is not high, it is like a rich mine of gold and silver with huge reserves, and it can even be said to be inexhaustible. So what they really care about is how to guard this rich mine and prevent others from interfering. Whether the town is prosperous or not has no effect on their income."
"So that's how it is." Gulu nodded and asked, "Based on this, as long as Wu Lai doesn't interfere in the salt industry, then there should be no problem with what he can do in Salt Marsh Town. After all, he is the governor approved by the Supreme Noble Council. Within the scope of Salt Marsh Town, he has the right to make changes that are beneficial to the people's livelihood, right?"
Wu Lai laughed and waved his hand at Xiban Ok: "Teacher Xiban, you should answer it. I just need to rest for a while."
"Okay, Master." Sibanok stroked his beard. "Master Gulu, Master Wu Lai does have these rights, but the people behind Master Wu Lai are obviously not on the same side as the group of people who control the salt industry. Therefore, they will definitely try their best to prevent Master Wu Lai from intervening in the salt industry. The most effective way to hinder him is to constantly create trouble for Master Wu Lai, making him overwhelmed and overwhelmed, and then slowly sidelining him, making his power exist in name only and unable to touch the salt field. So no matter what Master does now, they will find a way to hinder it. However, they obviously underestimated Master, because our Master does not play by the rules."
"Speaking of cards, let's play a few rounds sometime when we have time," Wu Lai interrupted with a smile, "I haven't played for a while, and I'm almost rusty."
"That's not right. You are trying to change the subject. Why? Don't you want me to know your next move?" Guru asked with a smile.
"What else can we do? It's nothing more than following the routine." Wu Lai stretched lazily. "The street cleaning operation has taken effect, and the city fortification plan is also progressing well. It is my habit to take one step at a time. However, we must be forward-looking in doing things, so I might as well make some arrangements during this period. As for salt production, I am not interested in getting involved now."
"Arrangement? What kind of arrangement?" Guru showed interest.
"Salt Marsh Town will definitely grow stronger under my leadership, so many things need to be arranged according to the layout after it grows stronger, such as the allocation of officials." Wu Lai laughed, "Everyone will soon be able to find freshness again."