Imperial Crown.

Chapter 331: It’s your own fault and you won’t survive

A country road in the western part of Tiehua District.

The sky was gloomy and a drizzle of rain kept falling.

For tourists strolling around, this might be a wonderful sight.

You can hear the crisp sound of raindrops hitting the leaves, the faint croaking of frogs in the silent rain, and the clear bird calls that occasionally sound and echo in the valley.

But for the soldiers escorting logistical supplies to the front-line troops, it was a completely different story.

David is one of them.

As the child of a serf in an unknown village in the South Gordon River Region, it was the first time for him to travel such a long distance.

The leather boots on my feet had been soaked by the rain. They were covered with mud on the outside and filled with rain water on the inside. They made a puffing sound with every step I took.

It took him much more effort than usual to pull his boot out of the mud instead of leaving it there.

David hated this situation and also hated the man-eating devil named Raven.

If he hadn't started the war, he wouldn't have to leave his hometown and walk in such a bad place.

"Everyone, cheer up! Hurry up! There's a village ahead. Let's go there to rest!"

The knight in front shouted loudly, and the voice made David feel a little bit of desire.

village!

A hot stove, a soft bed, and a pot of freshly cooked soup and bread.

The road under my feet doesn't seem so difficult to walk on.

However, as the son of a farmer, the closer he got to the village, the more strange things seemed to him.

Why haven’t the farmlands on both sides of the road been harvested yet?
The golden ears of wheat are about to bury their heads in the ground.

The rain at this time is the most annoying. If the crops are not harvested early, most of them will rot in the fields.

I didn't dwell on this issue for too long, because the village I had been longing for finally arrived.

The Knight went to the two-story wooden building of the village chief, and the soldiers were divided into the homes of the villagers.

The 10-member team was received by a kind old lady who was wearing a long linen dress that had been washed yellow and a headscarf.

"Poor you, come in and sit down." The old woman smiled and let them in: "Wait a moment, I will make soup for you."

David and his comrades walked into the house.

As a fellow Eivor, the layout here reminded him of home.

The same empty house, loess ground, and a black burning stove.

The firewood was a little wet, and smoke came out when it was put into the stove, but fortunately heat was also generated.

David took off his leather armor, put his leather boots by the fire to dry, stretched out his wrinkled feet and put them in front of the fire, enjoying the warm feeling.

Ten pairs of stinky feet were roasted in front of the stove. The smell was so strong that it made people cover their noses, but David didn't care about that at the moment.

so comfy!

The cold and wet feet were gradually dried, and the coldness in the bones was dissipated. The sour and refreshing feeling made people want to moan.

"what……"

David adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable and was about to fall into a sleepy sleep.

At this moment, the comrades around him suddenly became chaotic. David straightened up, looked up, and his eyes were suddenly wide open.

Someone brought in a huge pot of stew.

But the point is not the food, but the person who delivers it.

The person who just received them was obviously an old lady, but the one who came out now was a very plump woman.

Her skin was a little rough and dark, but to David, who came from a serf family, this was not a flaw. Instead, it was a symbol of vitality.

On that oval face, the features were regular and generous, the eyelashes were long, the eyes seemed to be able to speak, the plump lips were open, and the voice was full of energy:
"Everyone come and have something to eat."

Her slender fingers placed the big pot of stew on the table, and then served it out bowl by bowl. When she lowered her head, the fullness of her chest was almost visible, and the body fragrance emanating from her body made David's heart beat faster.

The young woman served the prepared stew to the soldiers one by one. Some of them dared to touch her hand. She didn't get angry, but just giggled, with dimples showing.

David was even bolder and simply grabbed her palm and kneaded it carefully.

So soft and hot, even hotter than this bowl of stew.

The young woman withdrew her hand without leaving a trace.

David stared at her as he put his mouth to the bowl and took a sip.

It was warm and had a slight burnt smell, but what else could one expect on a rainy day in a country cottage?

"I say, why are there only women here? Where are the men?" David asked.

"All the men, including my husband, were conscripted." The young woman did not hide it.

"No wonder no one is picking up the crops in your fields." David lowered his voice: "If we pick up the crops in your fields for your family..."

The young woman smiled and said, "Then I can let you take over my husband's duties."

These words immediately made David's heart burn.

They are a logistics unit and it is impossible for them to stay here, but they can still say some nice words and get some benefits.

Suddenly there was a sound of knocking on the table accompanied by shouting.

"Then, can I get some advance payment?" David continued, "I heard that women in the Tiehua District are particularly good at dancing."

"Then you have to beat the rhythm for me." The young woman did not refuse.

The soldiers began to tap the table rhythmically.

The young woman began to dance.

Her dress fluttered, and the buttons on her chest seemed to be loose, jumping up and down with her movements, as if they were about to fall out.

David clapped the table with his left hand, held the bowl in his right hand and slurped the stew into his mouth, his eyes occasionally falling on the young woman's chest, waist and buttocks.

Gradually become addicted to it.

Maybe it's because my eyes were moving too fast and my head was a little dizzy.

thump.

The head of a person next to him fell on the table.

"Hey, you didn't even drink, why are you pretending to be dizzy?" David teased, but suddenly found that his tongue was numb.

Even as he spoke, two more people fell down, and one of them rolled under the table and knocked over a wooden bowl with his arm, spilling the hot stew all over him.

This is so wrong.

"No!" David tried to stand up while holding onto the table:
"The dish... is poisonous!!!"

But he still slipped under the table.

With a clang, the bowl in David's hand fell to the ground. He felt his breathing becoming difficult and the scene in front of him began to blur.

"Why……"

The young woman still had a smile on her face: "Go ask my husband."

These were the last words David heard, and then he fainted.

All 10 members of the team fainted in the house. The old woman who was at the beginning came out and together with the young woman pulled the legs of these people and carried them outside.

Every household is doing similar things.

A whole logistics team of 500 people disappeared silently. Even the leading knight was stripped of his armor and pulled out of the village chief's house.

The skinny village chief cut off the knight's head with his own hands.

Even in the rain, the scarlet blood was still conspicuous.

The young woman imitated the village chief, placed David's head on the wooden block used for chopping wood, and picked up the sharpened axe in the corner.

This was her first time doing this kind of work.

The village chief came over and asked: "Do you need help?"

"No, someone has to do this." The young woman rolled up her sleeves, which had scars from burns.

That was the memorial left for her by Faraday's army.

The young woman raised the axe high and chopped down hard.

With a thud, the axe blade fell on the wooden block, and David's head flew out with a puff of blood.

The drizzle gradually became heavier.

In the heavy rain, the sound of drums was heard continuously.

……

Five days later, heavy rain came.

Sigh! Under the high wall, Marquis Faraday was in his tent, staring blankly at a pile of documents.

His fat face was stretched so tight that the blue bags under his eyes looked like two fat worms.

It has been 10 days since Raven arrived.

From the moment he arrived, Marquis Faraday seemed to be under some kind of curse, with bad news coming one after another.

First of all, the rain.

From the second day after Raven arrived, heavy rain continued.

The earthen hill was soaked in mud and the attack on the Wall of Sighs had to be suspended.

Faraday had no way of organizing a large-scale attack in such weather.

He could only watch as Lei Wen slowly set up the camp and reinforce the fortifications, while also having to be on guard against harassment from Lei Wen Fengwang's troops at all times.

The second point is the loss of personnel. I don’t know what happened, but the teams sent out to collect grain and serfs have suffered a lot of losses recently, and many people have not been heard from since they were sent out.

Up to now, more than 2000 soldiers have been lost, including 6 knights.

The third point is similar to the second point, which is...

"Sir!" A knight pushed open the curtain of the tent, bringing in the damp and cool air:

"We know the whereabouts of those missing. They were indeed tragic, but we also caught the murderer!"

"Oh?" Marquis Faraday raised his head, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

The third problem he faced was poor logistics.

The road from the South Gordon River Region to the Iron Birch Region is difficult to travel, so logistical supplies are basically a slow and steady process.

A total of about 20000 people and 43 logistics teams continuously transport supplies here.

In the past half month, nine logistics teams have gone missing, with a total of more than 9 people.

No one can be seen alive, and no body can be seen dead.

The loss of personnel is secondary, as those guys were not able to go to the battlefield anyway, but the loss of materials gave Faraday a headache.

10 crossbows, 12000 sets of cotton clothing for the winter, and a full 300 million pounds of food.

"Tell me more about it," said Faraday.

"Yes!" The knight saluted and said, "We were ordered to gather information along the way. When we passed a village, we stopped in to rest, and they actually poisoned us!"

"Fortunately, we were alert enough to detect it and killed the rebels on the spot. We also arrested a few tongues."

"One of the girls is pretty. Would you like to interrogate her yourself?"

Faraday immediately said: "Bring it up!"

The knight had already prepared to offer his contribution. He clapped his hands, and immediately someone came in, escorting a young woman.

The young woman was still wearing peasant clothes, and although she had taken a bath beforehand in order to please Faraday, her slightly rough and dark skin could not be faked.

The clothes were a little torn, half-covering and half-exposing her plump body, and there were traces of burns on her bound arms.

She was the young woman who chopped off David's head.

Of course, Faraday didn't know this.

He licked his lips, lust rising in his eyes.

The girls he usually plays with are all very delicate, and this style is rare; moreover, he hasn't touched a woman in the military camp for a long time.

After waving his hand to let others go out, Faraday walked up to the young woman, pinched her chin, and asked casually:
"You are the one who killed my soldiers?"

He thought the young woman would tremble and beg for mercy, but he didn't expect that the young woman was not afraid at all, and stared at him with her big watery eyes:
"I didn't kill any of your soldiers, I just slaughtered a bunch of animals!"

"Watch your attitude, woman." Faraday applied a little force to his fingers. "Although I have a kind heart, I am not a weak nobleman who can be bullied."

"Why are you killing my soldiers?"

"I have already told those beasts under your command." The young woman's forehead was covered with sweat because of the pain, but her tone was still very tough:
"Since they don't understand, I'll tell you again."

"Because we hate you!"

"You came to our hometown, stole our food, captured our fathers, husbands and sons, plundered our property and humiliated our women! I am just fighting back!"

Faraday frowned; he didn't like hearing these arguments.

Serfs were originally the property of the nobles, so it was only natural for them to help the soldiers vent their anger.

He decided to educate this village woman:
"But you must remember that you are Eivor's people, and we are also Eivor's army."

"We are fighting against the demon Raven for Eivor!"

"Raven's army also once collected food and serfs. Why don't you hate him but hate us?"

"Fuck you, Eivor people!" The young woman struggled hard, bleeding from her wrist, but she was unable to move.

"Raven's army is a thousand, ten thousand times better than yours!!"

"They did collect serfs, but my husband, as the only son in the family, was not confiscated; in our village, none of the men who served in Raven's army died, and they even sent money home!"

"You took away my husband, other men in our village, and even boys aged 13 or 4. In just 8 days, we received more than a dozen reports of death, but we couldn't even see their bodies!!"

"Moreover, Raven's army did not break into our home and steal our remaining copper coins; they did not press a woman like me to the bed and roast my hands with oil lamps for fun!!"

"I didn't even give my 9-year-old daughter to..."

At this point, the young woman was like a mad lioness, her eyes were full of anger and hatred, her eye sockets were almost torn apart.

At this point, Faraday no longer had any desire to have fun.

He couldn't accept that his team's reputation in the land of Eivor was even worse than Raven's.

"No, you're lying!"

"With just your village, if everyone is ordinary, it's impossible to kill so many people!"

"You are Raven's spies, spies who have been lurking for a long time, right?!"

The young woman seemed to have heard the funniest thing in the world and started laughing until she was out of breath.

She stabbed Lord Faraday with her knife-like eyes:

"You think we're the only ones doing this?"

"Baron Raven has already issued a bounty. Each head of you filthy pigs can be exchanged for 5 gold coins. It's pure gold. No discounts!"

"A lot of your men have died recently, right? Don't worry, there will be more in the future!"

"Because of the evil things you did before, the entire Iron Birch Region is full of hunters who are eyeing you and hunting you!"

"Don't think you are great just because you have weapons in your hands. People are destined to sleep, eat and drink!"

Lord Faraday shuddered violently.

5 gold coins per head, which is an astronomical figure for serfs and is totally worth their lives.

Even for many nobles, it is not a small amount.

20 heads are equal to 100 gold coins, which is more than a knight’s annual income; 100 heads are equal to 500 gold coins, which is about the annual income of a baron’s family.

What's more, the armor and weapons on the soldiers have not been taken into account.

No wonder there have been so many casualties during this period!

Wait, now I have lost 6000 people. Earl Palmer hasn't informed me yet, but I'm afraid he has also lost a lot, probably more than people in total.

A bounty of 5 gold coins, where did Raven’s army get so many gold coins?
Oh, right, Boland Gold Mine!
Raven captured the Boland Gold Mine.

The damned Raven actually used Eivor's gold coins to bribe the Eivor people, turning the Iron Birch Region belonging to the Principality of Eivor into a nightmare quagmire for their Eivor army!
Absolutely ridiculous!

No wonder he was so late, probably because he was waiting for the team from Bolan Gold Mine to join him!
"You lowly people!" Faraday pointed at the young woman, the fat on his face trembling:
"For just five gold coins, you disregarded the interests of the principality and undermined the interests of the empire. You deserve such a tragic fate and deserve to die!"

"I'm giving you a choice now." Faraday panted: "Now, kowtow to me and confess your guilt, and I can spare your life, otherwise..."

"What else? Kill me?" The young woman laughed miserably:

"My family is dead anyway, so I just go and reunite with them."

"Or do you want those men to torture me? Do you think I still care about this now?"

"Also, I might as well tell you, Your Excellency the Marquis, that our village killed 272 of your soldiers, and all the gold coins we earned were handed over to the Mercenary Guild, and a bounty is placed on your heads!"

“Shut up!!!!” Marquis Faraday roared and slapped the young woman to the ground.

The young woman's cheeks were red and swollen, but she stared at Marquis Faraday with an unyielding look, then spat a mouthful of blood foam on his face.

Marquis Faraday wiped the blood foam from his face and roared:

"Someone, drag her out here. I'm going to chop her into pieces! Chop her into pieces!"

Soon a soldier dragged the young woman out.

There was a faint sound of swords entering flesh, but Faraday heard no screams.

In the wind, the curtains fluttered and let in cold air.

“Raven…Raven…” Marquis Faraday clenched his fists.
"I must kill you...Kill you!!!"

"A-choo--" In the camp, Raven sneezed violently:

"Huh, someone scolded me again?"

He shook his head and was about to have the curtains drawn when Weston ran in excitedly:

"Brother, good news!"

"Baron Pochi has sent another 300 heads of Eivor soldiers, including two extraordinary ones! They are clamoring to show off their achievements in person!"

An extraordinary human head is worth 250 gold coins.

"Then give him 2000 gold coins." Raven said with a smile, "I'll be gone soon. I have some official business to attend to."

"Okay, then you go ahead and get busy." Weisdong was about to leave, but he couldn't help his curiosity.

"Brother, is gold really that powerful? If it is so simple, why have I never heard of a war being won in this way?"

Raven stopped what he was doing, looked at Weisdon and said, "Gold coins are useful, but they're not that big."

"In fact, I didn't expect that a few gold coins could bring such a reward."

Weisdong was getting more and more confused: "What on earth is going on?"

"People's hearts are like water, and people's movements are like smoke." Raven sighed:
“The will of the people is something that cannot be seen or touched, but it is real.”

"To have the current situation, I can only say...

It is your own fault and you will not live! "

……

(End of this chapter)