Chapter 143 140. Lujiao Village
"Master, are you still reading the report on the underground city?"
Inside the carriage, the maid Lillian picked up a piece of fruit from the plate and tasted it, then picked up another one and fed it to Fal, whose eyes were always on the documents.
Farr replied without even looking up:
“It’s not from the dungeon. After the demonic tide, the intelligence submitted by Dumbwind Town was scant and perfunctory.
I have read it all, but there is not much useful information. I still need to investigate it myself after taking office.
As for what I am reading now, it is a report on the recent demon espionage activities."
"Demon espionage?" Lillian tilted her head in confusion, "Does the guild leader also have to take care of this?"
“Generally speaking, it is left to the nobles and the church to handle, but under the current circumstances, who can be sure?
If a war really breaks out someday, it is not impossible to send out quests to recruit adventurers to the battlefield."
Another fruit was stuffed into Fal's mouth, and Lillian asked, "So what are these demon spies doing recently?"
"Nothing has been done yet," Fal threw aside the report he had just read. "These are all reports of spies being found in the wild, or being caught when they left the city. The demons seem to be moving spies from inside the city to outside the city recently. I don't know what they are planning."
Although I don’t know what the demons want to do, this is obviously not a meaningless transfer.
This kind of large-scale mobilization can be discovered by catching one or two spies like we are doing now. After that, the nobles will strengthen the inspections in and out of the city, and the church will increase the number of troops patrolling outside the city.
The final result will inevitably lead to a large number of spies being caught.
So what do they want to gain by making such a huge sacrifice?
It was obvious that this demon was preparing for some big move, so it was no wonder that his father, the president, wanted to assign a diamond-level guard to him before he set out.
But he refused this.
Lying on the cushion in the carriage, Fal was quietly pondering the intelligence at hand, but suddenly he heard some noise coming from the team behind him.
"What happened?" Farr asked outside the car.
A guard's voice came from outside the car: "Branch President, there is a bucket in the back car that was damaged by the bump, and all the water inside has leaked out."
This guard obviously understood a lot. Fal hadn't even officially taken office yet, but he was already appointed as branch president. Unfortunately, Fal didn't buy it.
As for the bucket being damaged, although it is definitely due to problems with the quality of the bucket, it is actually a normal phenomenon.
You can't expect the road conditions to be good outside the city, and the big car behind you doesn't have a shock-absorbing array like Far's exclusive car, so you won't feel uncomfortable sitting in it and reading documents.
All in all, it was a minor accident and nothing serious.
When we set out, we brought two buckets of water.
Moreover, the route we chose is populated along the way, so there is no need to worry about running out of supplies. It will be fine even if we continue walking this way.
But just to be safe -
"Where is the nearest supply point?"
The guard's voice came from outside: "If you just want to refill your water tank, you will pass by a village with a well this afternoon."
"Then just replenish there and then continue on your journey," Farr ordered.
"yes."
…
In the afternoon, the convoy arrived at the small village marked on the map - Lujiao Village.
However, the scene that came into view made Farr frown slightly.
Many villagers gathered at the entrance of the village. They gathered together, arguing about something excitedly. Their voices could be heard from far away, and were full of anxiety and anger.
When the villagers saw this well-equipped convoy bearing the Adventurer's Guild emblem, the discussion did not subside but became even more intense.
"Master, the atmosphere is not right." Lillian leaned close to Fal's ear and said, "The way they look at us... is not very friendly."
Farr rolled his eyes. How could he not see that?
"Stop the car," Farr ordered briefly.
The carriage stopped at the open space at the entrance of the village.
Fal straightened his robe and walked over with Lillian and two guards.
As they approached, the noisy villagers suddenly quieted down a lot, but the wary and suspicious looks did not disappear.
An old man who looked like the village chief came up hesitantly, surrounded by several middle-aged villagers.
"Honorable... Sir," the old man performed a very unstandard greeting, "I wonder what brings you to our Lujiao Village? If you need drinking water, there is an old well in the center of the village, please use it. But...but our village is in trouble now, I am afraid I can't entertain you well."
The old man spoke very carefully, fearing that he might anger the person in front of him.
You don't need much knowledge to know that Farr's car is so luxurious that he must be a big shot who cannot be messed with.
Farr said calmly: "We are members of the Adventurer's Guild. We are passing by here and do need to drink some water. We apologize for disturbing you."
He glanced at the worried faces of the villagers around him and changed the subject, "However, I see that you all seem to have encountered quite a bit of trouble? I wonder what is troubling you, perhaps we can help?"
"Help?" A sturdy man couldn't help but interrupt, his voice filled with grief and indignation, "You big shots from the city, what else do you care about us except collecting taxes? My fields! My life! It was almost harvest time, and overnight, it's all gone!"
Stupid guy, just for this sentence, even if Far killed him, no one would be able to say anything.
But Farr noticed that his words resonated with many villagers, and many of them lowered their heads and wiped away tears.
"Shut up, Hawke!" The village chief yelled, but the wrinkles on his face deepened. "Sir, please forgive this poor man for his unreasonable behavior. He was so anxious that he lost his mind."
Farr waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, let's talk about what happened first."
The village chief sighed:
"Your Excellency may not know that today, a large area of the best wheat fields near the mountains and forests to the west and north of our village suffered some kind of disaster.
Overnight, most of the wheat seedlings died!
It's not an insect pest, nor is it an ordinary wilt disease. The stalk... is black and brittle, and it crumbles into powder if touched!
And...and people who were near the field said they smelled a strange smell, and some even felt dizzy and nauseous.
We have been farming for generations, but we have never seen a disease like this!"
Farr frowned; this description seemed familiar to him.
"Can you take us to see it?" Farr's expression became serious.
The village chief nodded, and the group walked through the village and headed towards the fields outside the village.
The closer you get to the west of the village, the more obvious the smell of corruption mixed with a pungent sweet and fishy smell becomes.
Lillian wrinkled her delicate nose and quietly cast a weak spell to purify the breath on herself and Fal.
The scene before me was shocking.
The wheat fields, which should have been golden, now seemed to be touched by the invisible hand of death.
Large fields of wheat appeared strangely burnt and yellow, with leaves curled and brittle, devoid of life.
It is in stark contrast to the still healthy fields in the distance.
Farr squatted down, and despite the guards' attempts to stop him, he carefully picked up a bit of blackened soil and a piece of dead leaf debris with his fingertips.
Feeling the burning sensation at his fingertips, Farr found the source of this familiar feeling.
"Corruption potion?"
(End of this chapter)
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