The First Magic World War-Chapter 268 - : The only ones left are the Westwind Knights.
Chapter 268: The only ones left are the Westwind Knights.
The residents of Iya Town soon learned what it meant to be heavily taxed after their hometown was occupied by the troops from the Fars Empire.
The governor, Neyman, was a relatively conscientious official. He had hoped to appease the invaders with a sum of money to make them leave while also sending messages to nearby cities, hoping they would dispatch troops to drive away these “invaders.”
However, he had not anticipated that the Westwind Knights, upon entering Iya Town, would capture a group of young and strong individuals, insisting on taking them back to the Fars Empire.
Neyman had no choice but to try and persuade them, only to find that the leader of the Knighthood was quite reasonable and agreed to ransom the youths for a poll tax.
The tax was not steep—only one drachma per head.
The currency of the Black Phoenix Dynasty, the drachma, differed from that of Fars, Byron, and Inglima; their base currency was a bimetallic coin minted together with gold and silver, denominated according to the ratio of these two metals.
Approximately 3.2 drachmas were equivalent to one Fu Er.
The Black Phoenix Dynasty also had paper money, which had an equivalent purchasing power to the gold and silver coins, but Charles insisted on receiving the gold and silver drachmas instead of paper currency.
The residents of Iya Town naturally refused to let their sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands be taken away by the People of Fars and enthusiastically paid the taxes to ransom the captured youths.
After collecting the first taxes, Charles began capturing children throughout the town. Having dealt with him before, Neyman knew Charles wasn’t “cruel” and again tried to persuade him to spare these poor children. Charles still demanded one drachma per child as tax.
After the children, Charles tried to capture women, elders, livestock, and furniture, causing turmoil for about a week. Unbeknownst to all the residents, he completed the maze-ification of Iya Town.
When the local armies from several nearby cities came to the rescue, Charles did not hesitate to retreat. Shortly after his retreat, the wealth of the nobles, wealthy merchants, and farm owners of Iya Town vanished without a trace, and the town’s food storage mysteriously decreased by seventy percent.
Charles had just sent the amassed wealth and food to Machu Picchu when he sensed that the connection between Iya Town and the other mazes had been severed.
He knew that maze-ification was not invincible; he had only maze-ified cities that lacked a Transcendent, so this was the first time someone had managed to break the maze-ification and restore Iya Town to normal.
Although surprised, Charles did not linger; now that he was well-supplied and had a clear direction, he promptly set out for Interlaken City.
This march went smoothly, and Charles soon returned to the front line.
Chloe arrived at Iya Town ten days after Charles. Wherever he went, cries of anguish filled the air, and rumors spread that Charles could tax hundreds of times a day, having pillaged the city’s wealth thoroughly.
However, as a member of the Royal Family, Chloe only had contact with the nobility and already had a horrible impression of Charles’s plundering tactics, which left nothing behind. Thus, he believed this rumor without doubt.
Enraged, Chloe immediately led his troops in pursuit, but this time, he was unable to catch up with Charles.
Charles, finding a gap in the battle lines of the two armies, slipped away calmly and finally returned to Interlaken City, several months later.
The small city was the same as when he had left it, because Charles had attracted such great attention, and the front lines were embroiled in ongoing fierce battles, miraculously the small city had not experienced further warfare, and even several hundred residents had returned.
The residents, of course, could not find their old homes anymore. They were allotted houses by Italo Calvino, a quick-handed scribe temporarily appointed by Charles, who was inexperienced in warfare but specialized in handling documents, and he even designed a set of techniques for distributing the houses, focusing on one method in particular—drawing lots!
When Charles returned, everything in Interlaken City was in perfect order.
He had just rested for two days when Krel Brittany, accompanied by Ebner Sumei, came to visit. Charles was quite surprised and hurriedly welcomed the two into the city, asking, “Mr. Brittany and Mr. Sumei, what brings you here? Has the frontline war ended?”
Krel Brittany sighed and said, “The frontline war has not yet ended, but Brittany’s offensive has.”
Ebner stated, “Byron did not withdraw his troops; instead, he kept reinforcing them, forcing the Empire to also increase its troops in Ferlanden. Originally, we feigned an attack on the South Serif to draw Byron’s forces and split them, but this strategic goal has completely failed. Therefore, the Purple Goldfinch Knights and Maple Leaf Knighthood must leave and continue to participate in the war in Ferlanden.”
Charles had not expected this news and could not help asking, “What about South Serif?”
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Krel Brittany answered, “We can only abandon it.”
Seeing Charles somewhat reluctant, Ebner said, “It’s strategy! We can recover South Serif sooner or later.”
Charles wanted to ask about the Behemoth Duchy, but his rationality prevented him from voicing this question. This matter was beyond Krel Brittany and Ebner Sumei’s control. He pondered for a moment, then asked, “May I request to stay in South Serif?”
Krel Brittany shook his head and said, “Your position is too low to hold a military governorship. Even I am not qualified to be a lord, so you shouldn’t even think about it.”
Although Ebner also doubted what Charles could do after the departure of the Purple Goldfinch and Maple Leaf main forces, he knew that Charles wanted to stay in South Serif to keep the war away from the Behemoth Duchy.
After all, the Behemoth Duchy was Charles’ homeland. It was natural for him not to want his homeland ravaged by war.
He smiled and said, “However, there are other ways.”
“For instance, just like in Behemoth, I and Krel Brittany can appoint you as the municipal official of several major cities in South Serif.”
Charles felt slightly less upset. He was not solely concerned for the Behemoth Duchy; he also wanted no more warfare in South Serif. Although he did not know to what extent he could make a difference, doing something was better than doing nothing, wasn’t it?
Krel Brittany patted Charles on the shoulder and said, “After we leave, we will need some supplies. Someone will go to Silver Pigeon Fort. I will always remember this friendship, so I won’t say more than necessary.”
Charles nodded and said, “I will prepare the supplies.”
The two did not say who the supplies were to be given to, but everyone, including Ebner, was well aware of the intended destination of the supplies.
Krel Brittany smiled softly and said, “Don’t be so discouraged. Although we didn’t achieve our strategy, we haven’t lost the battle.”
“Additionally, the other knighthoods have disbanded throughout the war…”
Krel Brittany blinked and said with a smile, “From now on, in the Behemoth Duchy and the South Serif Territory, only the Westwind Knights will remain.”
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