PFC Chapter 31 Historical Anecdotes on the Return Journey
Chapter 31 Historical Anecdotes on the Return Journey
In the early spring evening, a cold wind swept across the wilderness, carrying the damp chill from the lake.
More than two hundred villagers from Duanpo Village are silently moving towards the village along the uneven dirt road on the lake shore.
The line stretched out incredibly long, and the silence was terrifying.
Apart from the howling wind, the only sounds in the wilderness were the dragging, chaotic footsteps; there was no sign of life.
The man hung his head, his face full of dejection and resentment;
The women's eyes were filled with deep worry, and they could only suppress their sobs.
Rogge, Gode, and Virgil hung far at the back of the group.
The three outsiders deliberately avoided the suffocatingly low-pressure area ahead.
Recalling the fight with Geese, even Roger felt deeply resentful.
"Speaking of which, that guy named Old Quay, what a pity about his fight!" Virgil sighed, his tone full of regret for Old Quay:
"Just when he was about to gain the upper hand and win, his sword suddenly broke! If the sword hadn't broken, Old Kui would likely have won!"
"Indeed! If this were a weapon forged by our Mertenheim craftsmen, it would never have broken like this!"
Gold turned to Roger: "Roger, you just said that sword came from the Vanskerry Islands, right?"
Roger nodded and remained silent, listening quietly as they continued.
Upon confirmation, Gold's face revealed undisguised mockery:
"Those sea worms' stuff is all unreliable, it's all a pile of junk! Only these villagers who have never seen anything good before treat the Vanskerry people's defective products as treasures!"
"In Mertenheim, even the work of an apprentice would be better than this junk!"
After criticizing Vanscare, Gold turned his attention to the fight with Geese:
"And that guy Geese, he looks like a small mountain, but he's actually quite clumsy. He's all looks and no substance!"
He stormed onto the stage, radiating an aura of superiority, only to be beaten black and blue, and ultimately had to be stopped and rescued by the villagers. What a disgrace!
After saying this, Virgil shook his head and retorted:
"That's not how you put it... Geese did his best, but he was just too clumsy, and the woman was able to outmaneuver him!"
They were completely dominated from the start, with no hope of winning whatsoever, and that's when the villagers finally conceded defeat.
"It's just that the woman was too agile. Giss's reaction speed was simply not enough to keep up with her movements, and he couldn't even touch her..."
If he could catch her, with his physique, he'd fuck her until she shits!
He paused, then added, "But this kid is really stubborn. He gets knocked down again and again, but he always gets back up. I admire him for that kind of tenacity."
"Yes, he got up once in the middle and even tried to launch a sneak attack, breaking the other person's longsword in half!"
That female warrior was so angry; if the cavalry commander hadn't been watching her, she probably would have stabbed her twice...
Upon hearing the mention of Giss's sword-slaying technique, Gold immediately perked up and whispered to the two of them:
"Gis cut down other people's swords with the armed swords we forged!"
I heard it all when I was passing by. Several villagers were surrounding Gis, asking him repeatedly where the sword came from, without even considering that he was injured…”
Upon hearing this, Virgil's eyes lit up instantly:
"So, does that mean our blacksmith shop has already made a name for itself in Broken Amber Village?"
"Is business about to come knocking?"
"Business is coming!" Roger murmured, his gaze sweeping across the line ahead and landing on the tall, limping figure, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.
In this decisive battle that determined the fate of the village, Duanpo Village ultimately lost.
Geese lost her first match to the opponent's "Little Valkyrie"!
Duanpo Village lost the entire duel and everything stipulated in the contract:
They had to give up the large tracts of fertile tidal flats that the village had cultivated for generations.
The fishing rights in the most fertile lake and bay fishing areas must be handed over.
Even during this year's grain harvest, we will have to pay an extra 10% of the additional income in taxes for Gangde Village!
Duanpo Village lost almost half of its fortune!
Meanwhile, the "Little Valkyrie" of Gondo Village completely rose to power by stepping over Broken Amber Village!
Now, he has single-handedly defeated three opponents, earning himself a resounding reputation.
Little Valkyrie Aino!
Things rarely go as planned, and the absurdity of fate often hinges on a single thought.
It's all about the interests of the lower classes fighting for survival, and Rogge can't judge who's good or bad.
Even though Old Yar of Duanpo Village took them in and Aunt Slin often helped them, Roger did everything he could and even gave Gis his most precious "experience candy"!
Old Jarrolf had hoped to fight his way out with Geis's brute strength, but he forgot that the kid was just a "militia" recruit after all!
There was truly no one left to use in Broken Amber Village, so much so that Old Yar had no choice but to draw out Gis, the "lower-middle card"!
Even though his strength far surpasses that of ordinary people, his overall abilities are still completely outclassed by Aino!
The gap in combat power between the two sides was over a thousand points. With only eight points in agility, Geese was completely dominated by his opponent from the moment he stepped onto the field, unable to even touch the hem of his clothes.
No matter how high your attack power is, if you can't hit it, you just can't hit it.
In fact, the inevitable defeat of Duanpo Village was foreshadowed from the very beginning.
This was never just about Gis's wins or losses; it was about Broken Village falling behind Gonde Village in every aspect.
Their weapons were inadequate, and their "elite" fighters were far inferior.
If it weren't for Old Yar's explosive performance in the first match, which allowed him to win the crucial first game, Duanpo Village would never have been able to corner Gangde Village at one point.
They're all commoners; expecting a Tier 1 Geese to defeat a Tier 3 Eno is simply a pipe dream.
This kind of miracle of the weak defeating the strong... unless you buy plate armor, rely on your family's connections, or even use drugs!
What Roger least wanted to believe was why Geese wouldn't eat the "experience candy" he gave her!
He had personally experienced the powerful buff of "Experience Candy" and knew all too well how potent its effects were.
If Gis had just eaten it, he wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state, being beaten down the whole time without even a chance to fight back.
The procession moved slowly, with Giss limping ahead, covered in injuries, but no one came forward to help him.
Roger watched his retreating figure, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Previously, he had gone to "donate medicine" with all his heart, and had painstakingly explained the effects and usage of the medicine, but Giss "did not take it seriously".
Although he was inevitably a little unhappy, Roger didn't take it too seriously.
Giving medicine is his way of showing his appreciation; whether he takes it or not is his choice. You can't force him to take it.
He also reflected on his actions, realizing that he had been too hasty.
No normal person would easily swallow medicine of unknown origin...
On second thought, what does the outcome of Broken Amber Village have to do with Roger?
He has done everything he wanted to do and everything he could do, and that's enough for him to have a clear conscience.
From now on, they'll make money and get rich as they please, and no one can stop them.
……
Geese, who was walking at the front of the group, felt that his injuries were not painful enough, so much so that he started to have all sorts of wild thoughts.
He limped forward.
The physical injuries were nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling of suffocation and shame before my eyes.
He has let down the hopes of the entire village.
From the moment he entered the game until his defeat, he couldn't even grab onto Aino's shirt...
He looked like a clumsy fool back then!
Completely outmaneuvered, he could only watch helplessly as half a sword was pressed against his throat, feeling the villagers' desperate and silent gaze.
The surrounding silence was like an impenetrable net, completely enveloping Gis.
Gis felt his mind was becoming increasingly hazy, and he seemed to hear voices carried on the whistling wind:
"Gis... all that height for nothing."
"The mudflats are gone, and the lake bay has been handed over. Our family depends on that lake for our livelihood. How are we going to survive this whole year?"
"We have to pay an extra 10% in taxes! This is trying to kill us!"
"Old Jarl is still lying in bed, unconscious. The first game he fought tooth and nail to win cost Giss everything..."
Gis shook his groggy head. All the noise disappeared, and he could vaguely hear some clear sobbing sounds around him...
"Their Duanpo Village is going to be conscripted forty men next week to defend against pirates. That's an outrageous number, almost 20% of the village's able-bodied men..."
"Speaking of which, those Vanscare bastards are really no good!"
Gold spat on the ground, almost landing on Roger's instep, and Roger gave him an annoyed look.
"Rogge, do you know that more than half a century ago, these mad dogs lost their employer and turned on our Eisenberg Island!"
"They looted all of our ancestors' granaries, burned countless villages to the ground, and raped countless women. These beasts even killed infants in their swaddling clothes!"
Roger, walking to the side with a look of shock and curiosity, quickly chimed in:
"Those robbers were scoundrels! What happened to them afterwards?"
He wasn't very familiar with the history of this continent, so he simply listened attentively, occasionally adding his own comment:
"And then?" "What happened next?" "What was the final outcome?"
Virgil, who knew a lot, immediately took over the conversation:
"It was the Knights of Dawn from Barkley's own territory! Those Knights of Dawn drove the pirates back into the sea!"
"Later... our Eisenberg Island officially became a province of the Barkley Empire, named Eisenberg-Montana."
He paused, then looked at Roger. "I've talked to you before, haven't I?"
We in Mertenheim weren't always called Mertenheim!
"I said it, I remember! So how did you become Mertenheim?" Roger nodded quickly and followed up with the question.
"That's because of our legendary lord, Lord Maurice von Mertenheim!" Gold's voice was full of awe and longing.
"He single-handedly built our Mertenheim military system, developed our forging industry, and transformed a disorganized populace into an iron army capable of facing off against the Serpent Cult's forces!"
"The Serpent Cult?" Even though he already knew a little about it, he still asked the question.
He wanted to know if there was a significant difference between what others knew and what he knew.
"Yes, the Snake Worship Cult!"
Virgil's face instantly darkened, and even his tone became extremely serious:
"That was an extremely evil and enormous force... no, it should be said that it was an evil 'nation' spanning the entire continent!"
"I've heard that it's a complete theocratic militaristic organization that has been aggressively expanding its influence all over the world, bringing massacres wherever it goes! It frequently sacrifices hundreds or thousands of living people to the evil god they worship..."
"Among their high priests, there are many women who wield great power, and each one of them is ruthless..."
Virgil waved his hand. "I don't know much more. Just know that the Serpent Cult is terrifying."
"If we ordinary people encounter them, don't think about anything, just run. You'd better hope you can escape..."
Gold continued, "Back then, the Serpent Cult's army launched a full-scale invasion of our Eisenmontana, and those bastards from the Barkley Empire refused to provide even a single soldier in support!"
It was Lord Maurice who led all our soldiers and civilians to withstand the fierce attack of the Serpent Cult and shatter their invasion!
"We sacrificed so many lives to resist the invasion!"
"Later, under the leadership of the hero Maurice, we officially declared our independence from the Barkley Empire, and he named our newborn nation after his own surname, 'Mettenheim'!"
The two mercenaries took turns explaining the continent's history, which Rogge was unfamiliar with...