I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 315 A Messy Situation

The raindrops, as big as beans, were pattering against the roof tiles and the stone bricks of the street, washing away the purplish-red blood clots in the cracks between the stones.

Ye Ao and Barbarossa squatted under the eaves of a house, watching the first rain of summer. The damp air was filled with the smell of earth and rust. Rain dripped from the eaves, forming curtains of water that blurred their vision.

"This rain came just in time."

Ye Ao stretched out his rough palm and caught the water dripping from the eaves. There was a centipede-like scar on his palm that looked bluish-white in the rain.

"Two days later, the stench of corpses would have already filled the tavern."

Barbarossa was whittling a piece of pine wood with his dagger, wood chips flying with the raindrops. He glanced sideways at Ye Ao but didn't respond to his words.

Something's not right. How could this kid be so artistic? Is it someone else impersonating him... or has his account been hacked?
But the next second, the kid reverted to his true nature.

"Damn! This lousy rain has soaked my pants!"

Ye Ao suddenly shook his hand, stood up cursing, kicked away a piece of broken tile at his feet, tugged at his rain-soaked collar, and looked irritated.

"Damn it, my legs are going to go numb if I squat any longer!"

Barbarossa was taken aback, then burst into laughter, twirled the dagger in his hand, and tucked it back into his waistband.

"That's more like it! What were you trying to prove with that pretentious act? I almost thought you were possessed by some kind of demon!"

Ye Ao glanced at him sideways, grinning to reveal a set of big white teeth.

"What? Can't I express my feelings occasionally? Do I have to be like you every day, constantly spouting 'cut him' or 'kill him'?"

Barbarossa scoffed.

"Come on, the last time you recited poetry was 'The bright moonlight before my bed, two pairs of shoes on the floor.'"

"That's poetry too..."

The two were laughing and joking around when several gunshots rang out from the rain, interrupting their friendly interaction.

The two turned to look in the direction from which the gunshots came.

"It's not far... Let's go take a look!"

"Wait a minute, I remember that's Old Zhang's outpost, and it's raining now. Would the Minisians launch a major attack at this time?"

Barbarossa blocked the arrogant man's path.

"Maybe a few bored bastards are just shooting at bottles?"

That makes sense, Ye Ao thought, and squatted down again.

It didn't rain last night, but the Minisians didn't attack either. Logically, the players should have calmed down too, since they had been fighting all day yesterday, and even the players should be a little tired.

However, while the new players who had just entered the city were tired, the veteran players who had been watching the show all day were not tired at all; in fact, they were even eager to try it out.

While the new players were being handed over the west gate to discuss and assign positions, thirty or forty veteran players picked up their weapons and headed out as dusk fell.

The city of Tavitsky is now in a state of chaos and turmoil.

The Bagnian mercenaries who had previously burned, killed, and looted in the city have all died in the city, either killed by Minisian soldiers or by players who happened to pass by and didn't like them.

Those who shouldn't have died either realized something was wrong early on and left Tavitsky before the Minisian army blocked the city gates, or they hid in some house and dared not go out.

The original inhabitants of Tavitsky also suffered heavy losses in this man-made disaster.

The day after the night of turmoil, the wealthy were almost all packing their bags, taking their wives, children, servants, and nannies with them, and fleeing in droves.

Many ordinary people weren't stupid either. Seeing the rich people running away, they quickly packed their bags and followed them out.

The players did not stop these escapees, even though many of them were confused and rushed towards the west gate. The veteran players who were watching the show on the city wall that day had no interest in stopping them.

Whether they are rich or poor, it's up to them to leave or not. Players have no interest in robbing their scrap metal. No matter how much money you have, reputation is the key. Lowering your reputation for a little gold and silver is a foolish thing to do, like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon.

Of course, most players are normal people, but there are still a few who, either to record videos or simply for fun, intercept carriages at the city gate, open their packages and chests, and see what's inside.

The common people of Minicia don't have much money, so naturally they don't have anything worth the players' attention... They just have some broken metal items like bottles, jars, iron pots, and bedding, which they carry on their backs, making it obvious that they are all poor.

The only ones that can interest players are the wealthy; their carriages are more luxurious when they flee, and there must be good stuff inside.

However, wealthy people rarely go out with only their own family members. Even when they flee, they take a large group of people with them, including servants, nannies, and bodyguards. Therefore, when several players intercept and attempt to search the carriage, conflicts will break out with the wealthy people, leading to bloodshed.

The player is violent and impatient, and will resort to knives over the slightest verbal dispute. No matter how many bodyguards the rich man has, they can't possibly be more capable of fighting than the former, and the latter will always win in a fight.

This makes any conflict a one-sided massacre.

The west gate was stained with blood and many people died, which should have deterred people from entering. However, the Minisian soldiers guarding the other three gates were even more inhuman.

Players search the carriages simply for fun, looking for attractive and interesting items. They might say a few lewd things or flirt a bit with the beautiful women inside, but they don't actually engage in any physical contact... They lack the physical inclination to actually do anything, so their flirtatious talk is enough.

The Minesian soldiers, on the other hand, not only stopped carriages but also civilians carrying scrap metal, extorting money, charging tolls and fees for leaving the city, all under the guise of "checking for spies."

They even took from the rich, and the amount was calculated based on the number of their possessions and carriages; if they didn't pay, they would forcibly rob them.

Besides robbery, they also plundered strong alkalis, sparing neither the rich nor the common people. Once they were free from the constraints of their officers, these under immense pressure, the Miniese soldiers would indulge themselves, and sometimes even the officers would lead the way.

This made it extremely difficult for those trying to escape Tavitsky, forcing them to turn back and run towards the west gate where the Bagnians were located. The situation was truly surreal; the worst thing the enemy players could do was kill to vent their anger, but the Minisian soldiers were different. They were brutal, ruthless, and committed all sorts of atrocities—kidnapping, rape, robbery—a typical feudal army.

To paraphrase a certain frog... joining the army is all about robbing money, food, and women!
So much so that even though the residents of Tavitsky knew that the west gate had been occupied by the Bagnians, they still rushed over there.

Basically, during the day when the Minisians and player reinforcements were locked in a fierce battle outside the city, almost everyone in Tavitskyi who could escape had fled.

The remaining majority of those who didn't run away were either foolish or simply unable to escape; their family property, small businesses, and shops were all in the city, and they were pitiful people who would rather be hacked to death by the chaotic soldiers than run away.

As night fell, reinforcements entered the city, and Tavitsky was still in chaos, which conveniently provided cover for the veteran players to leave.

Barbarossa and Ye Ao didn't go on the night operation.

The former didn't participate because he found it uninteresting, while the latter didn't go out because the reinforcements had just arrived, and he needed to arrange things, hold meetings with some people, and vote for a leader.

Ye Ao didn't participate. He didn't want to lead a large group of newbies into street fighting. Apart from Iron Will, he had never seen another commander who could keep new players so disciplined.

That night, Tavitsky City was bustling with activity. Some veteran players who had gone out for a stroll did something that caused gunfire to resound throughout the city all night. Many Minesian civilians also rushed towards the west gate, desperate to escape the city.

The players who took over the defense thought a major battle was about to break out, but nothing happened after waiting all night. Around 2 a.m., the veteran players who went out returned one after another. A few of them were missing, but they brought back three replica tiger crouching cannons and five barrels of gunpowder.

Apart from them, no outsiders knew what place they attacked or who they attacked to steal these three imitation tiger squat cannons, and that the three tiger squat cannons were made of different materials.

One door was made of cast iron, one of copper, and the last one was made of iron on the outside and copper on the inside.

It is clear that the Minieses were quite at a loss when trying to replicate the captured Chris version of the Tiger Crouching Cannon. Chris's Tiger Crouching Cannon was made of high-quality modern civilian steel, while the former obviously could not produce steel and could only try to replicate it using different materials.

Artillery may seem simple in structure, but if you don't invest enough in the technology tree, you simply can't build it. If you force it, the end result will be the same as the three Tiger Crouching Cannons that are made of different materials, have different shapes and weights.

The three tiger-squatting cannons are extremely clumsy. What used to be a cannon that only required one person to carry and run, now requires two to three people working together to move quickly.

Although it seemed unreliable, the players became wary. Even if the Tiger Crouching Cannon could only fire a few times, if they were hit at close range, even if they were wearing heavy armor, they would die.

It just so happens that it rained the next day, which made the Minisians in Tavitsky City uninterested in attacking. The player took the opportunity to build a defensive line in the city and prepare to fight a defensive counterattack.

However, there is one problem that the players cannot solve at the moment... They only have enough food for three days, and they don't have enough gunpowder. In addition, they need to deal with the corpses of their companions. Whether they burn them or freeze them with ice, they need to do it as soon as possible, otherwise the corpses will rot and that won't be fun.

Ye Ao didn't want to get involved in this; that was something the newly elected leader needed to consider.

"Hehe, I'm so proud of you, someone's coming!"

While the two were bored, two players wearing raincoats ran from the end of the street.

"The Minicians have sent an envoy, and the commander wants you to come over."

"Why should I go there?"

"He said you're fierce and can scare people... Come on!"

……

The dawn in the Casro Mountains is always dominated by a somber indigo blue.

This super mountain range that divides Bagnia in two not only protects Bagnia but also shields the Kingdom of Minicia from invasions and cold from the west.

At the border between Baghnia and Minicia, the Casro Mountains have a small tail that extends into Minicia. Although it is not long, its height is enough to inspire awe.

Mia straddled Elsa's broad, hill-like back, the mountain wind whipping her cheeks from the sand, but she only gripped the rough, tough mane around Elsa's neck tighter.

The enormous white pig beneath me moved with astonishingly steady steps, each step sinking deep into the layers of humus and permafrost, producing a dull thud, like the slow, heavy heartbeat of a mountain range.

Behind her, a dense, silent mass of shadows moved in the thin light before dawn—the warriors of the Oka tribe. Dressed in the greyish-white robes bestowed upon them by Prince Chris, barefoot, they carried enormous bundles as they walked silently and steadily up the pathless hillside.

“Come on, Elsa, let’s go to the place that the beautiful people want us to go.”

Mia leaned down, her cheek pressed against Aisha's warm, thick ear, her voice fading in the wind.

"Stay away from those bad guys, don't let them find us."

She gently stroked the softest downy hair behind Aisha's ear with her fingers, and a series of deep, satisfied gurgling sounds immediately rolled out from deep in Aisha's throat, like a warm current surging from the depths of rocks. Her large head swayed slightly, rubbing against Mia's palm.

Mia was at work, doing her job, leading the mountain barbarians of the Oka tribe who were willing to serve her on a dangerous march.

The journey was far more difficult than the cold curve on the map. In order to avoid the main road that the Minnesota forces occupied like a venomous snake and the interception of the light cavalry, this peculiar army plunged into the most treacherous folds on the eastern foothills of the Casro Mountains.

The Casro Mountains cannot reach Tavitsky, but they can allow Mia to evade the layers of blockade and interception by the Kingdom of Minicia.

After five full days of trekking over a hundred kilometers through the rugged and treacherous Casro Mountains, Mia finally led this peculiar group of over a thousand mountain barbarians out of the shadow of the mountains and into the relatively flat lands of the southern part of the Kingdom of Minicia.

At this moment, it started to rain. The rain poured down on them, washing away the fatigue of the past few days, but also bringing new challenges... the muddy plains.

Now, they only need to march another thirty kilometers northeast to reach the city ravaged by war… Tavitsky. The air seemed to already faintly carry the scent of gunpowder and blood, mingled with the smell of earth.

Many barbarians followed Mia, some of whom were not pure members of the Oka tribe. They were followers that Mia recruited when she rode Aisha deep into the Casro Mountains.

Apart from themselves, no one else knew whether they were following Mia or Aisha.

Chris didn't intend to delve into the question. He simply felt that since Mia had this ability, he would grant her the task and authority, allowing her to promise to exchange the sacred beast's name and a generous amount of salt and iron for the help of the mountain barbarians.

(End of this chapter)