Chapter 543, Harsh Bone Tax
The next day, early morning.
The city of Purul is still shrouded in pre-dawn drowsiness.
Snowflakes were falling from the sky, and the city was silent.
A dirty corner.
On the snow-covered ground, a golden magic circle quickly traveled.
When the magic circle was completed, the light of the magic circle dimmed, and several figures appeared in the position of the magic circle.
"Ah, ghost, there is a ghost!"
The beggar huddled in the corner was attracted by the scene before him.
He rubbed his eyes, looked at the people who suddenly appeared, and let out a scream.
He turned around and ran away to the other end of the alley.
In his mouth, he kept shouting about ghosts and ghosts.
There were five people standing on the snow, tall and tall, wearing gray leather cloaks.
Through the leather cloak, you can see the armor and weapons inside.
Watching the beggar shouting and walking away.
Residents nearby began to curse and light candles.
One of them said: "Come on, let's get out of here without attracting other people's attention."
The five people nodded and left in the distance.
After walking a certain distance, one of them said: "Captain Bucker, what is the next plan?"
This five-person team is the investigation team sent by Silver Wing City.
The original plan was to have 10 people, but in order to narrow down the mission target, it was directly reduced to five people.
The Temple of Justice for three, the Church for two.
The Hall of Justice is led by Buckle, and the captain of the church is Saint Xu Haide.
Bucker took out a green-feathered parrot from his arms and put it on his shoulder, and said, "When it gets daylight, book a few rooms in the hotel first, and then go directly to the north to investigate the undead."
"Catch the thief, don't run away!" the parrot shouted as soon as he came out.
Click, click, click! !
Noisy voices were heard again from the surrounding residents, shouting that there was a thief.
Bucker pinched the parrot's mouth and said, "Let's go and find another place."
Several people moved to several locations.
Finally it was daybreak.
This silent city seemed to come alive instantly, and pedestrians began to appear on the streets.
Workers at work, shops open.
The city is noisy.
Rose Tavern.
The only store that looks relatively clean and also provides accommodation and food.
Pushing open the door, there was a somewhat bloated middle-aged man behind the bar.
"Is there a room?" Bucker stepped forward and asked the boss.
The boss looked up and then looked at the four people not far away.
"Yes, how many rooms do you want?"
"Three rooms, five days!" Bakker looked at the price list beside him and paid the corresponding price directly.
"Okay." The boss took the money and handed them a wooden sign with the room number written on it.
Bucker took it and ordered breakfast for five people.
After a simple bite, they turned around and left the store.
They just walked off the front foot.
The boss ran out sneakily and came to the 'Lao De Shuang' hotpot restaurant opposite.
…
Silver City's investigation team.
Wandered around the city.
This is not a big city, and is even a small border city.
It seems to be developing well.
Everywhere you can see people busy with various tasks. The beggar who shouted last night also appeared in the work team.
Several people went out along the north city gate, stepping on the snowy ground.
Start heading north.
Saint Xu Haide, walking in the middle of the procession.
Holding the Book of Lords in his hand, he looked at the map he generated on it.
While walking, identify the direction.
The whole world is covered in silvery white. Without a map in hand, it is really difficult to determine whether you are heading in the right direction.
Went until noon.
They finally saw a river whose surface was frozen.
On the other side of the river, a tall fortress was built.
"This is the dividing line between humans and orcs, and the area opposite belongs to the orcs." Bucker looked at the closed fortress and said.
Xu Haide frowned, why was this different from the information he had received.
What about the hordes of undead to the north?
Could it be that the heavy snow and the bones were the same color and they didn’t even see it?
"Captain Bucker, will there be any undead in this orc area?" Xu Haide said softly.
Bucker glanced at the tall city walls.
He said to his men: "Go and call the door."
One of the men nodded, stepped forward and shouted loudly: "We are the team from Silver Wing City. Whose fortress is this?"
The sound travels far in the open area.
Soon, horns appeared on the city wall, and then the head of the minotaur poked out.
Even though it was snowing heavily, these tauren still had their arms bare, revealing their red and shiny skin.
"Who are you?" The tauren's dull voice came from above the city wall.
Xu Haide immediately stepped forward and showed a friendly smile, "We are from Silver Wing City and want to pass through the fortress..."
"Go away, don't disturb our sleep." The tauren suddenly interrupted them.
Xu Haide's smile froze, and the other people behind him were also stunned.
In Silver Wing City, whether it is the Hall of Justice or the Church, they are all figures walking sideways in the city.
People who are in Niu should respectfully call "Sir" when meeting people from both sides.
When have you ever been so angry?
As soon as he opened his mouth, he was scolded.
"What you said is a bit excessive. We just have something to do and we just went over to take a look." Xu Haide stopped his smile and said loudly.
The tauren don't care about this at all.
Still shouting loudly: "Stay in your own territory and don't come to our side."
"You..." Xu Haide just wanted to take a step forward and continue his reasoning.
But when he saw the bows and arrows protruding from the wall, he had to take his steps back.
He could only curse in a low voice, "rude humanoid beast."
Seeing the situation, Bucker realized that the fortress could not be passed, so he said: "Let's go, let's walk along the river and see if we can pass through other places."
Xu Haide nodded, then took his people and followed Bakr to the east along the river.
As they walked, their expressions became increasingly ugly.
Even outside the confines of the fortress.
On the other side of the river, there was still a group of tauren walking with them.
He stared at them intently.
It's like watching a thief.
They walked, the Minotaur walked, they stopped to eat, and the Minotaur stopped too.
What the hell...
They were not allowed to pass through this river. More than a dozen pairs of bull's eyes stared at them.
It seemed like these people would steal some of the orcs' treasures if they didn't keep an eye on them for a moment.
Time passed little by little.
Until the afternoon, they still had nothing to gain.
Not to mention seeing skeletons, not even beasts or anything like that.
Instead, he was stared at by the tauren.
I feel so uncomfortable.
It's like eating a fly.
"Let's go back!" Bucker said helplessly.
Several people nodded, turned around and started walking back until it was time for them to leave.
Looking back, the tauren was still standing there watching.
He looked worried.
"These tauren must be mentally ill!" someone cursed.
"It feels like some of them are aimed at humans, and we may have come at the wrong time," said Buckle.
"It's a day's work in vain."
Several people were chattering and speeding up their return.
…
Return to the Rose Tavern.
The faces of several people were very ugly.
At the end of the day, not to mention the cold, I didn't get any information at all.
Moreover, at the location of the border fortress, it was even more popular among the Minotaurs.
I can't explain it to them at all.
They just planned to go over to investigate some things, but the tauren not only refused to let them go, but also stared at them as if they were prisoners.
The two groups of people were walking across a river.
The tauren also made some provocative sounds from time to time.
boom! !
Xu Haide punched the table and cursed angrily: "Those damn beasts did it on purpose. They were obviously blocking us and didn't intend to let us pass."
Regarding the matter of the undead in the north, Xu Haide has always advocated investigation.
This is also his chance to compete for the position of archbishop.
Now that he finally had the opportunity to conduct this investigation, he came with absolute confidence.
However, they were blocked by those tauren.
"Don't worry, we still have time. Let's buy a few horses and go directly around to avoid those tauren." Bucker suggested.
There is a living fortress so close. It can be said that the possibility of undead existence is very low.
But this time their mission is to investigate the matter of the undead. Even if they have speculations in their minds, they must investigate carefully.
"Okay, let's leave early tomorrow."
Bucker thought for a while and said, "No, leave two people in the city to gather information, and the rest will go out of the city to continue looking for the movements of the undead."
"Okay, let's settle it."
After several people discussed the countermeasures, they started to eat.
The owner of the bar next to him was deep in thought while wiping the table.
…
The next day, early in the morning.
Xu Haide frowned and walked back.
Buck looked at his expression and asked, "What's going on?"
Xu Haide said doubtfully: "Yesterday, I saw a stable selling horses. I went there this morning and they were all sold out."
"Who bought it? Such a coincidence?"
"The boss said that it was bought by a caravan. He said that all the horses in the caravan were sick and died. They were in urgent need of horses to transport the goods. All the horses in the city were bought." Xu Haide said.
Another person from the church on the side said: "How about we go to the City Lord's Mansion to borrow some horses. No matter how good the City Lord's Mansion is, there will always be horses."
"No, our mission is to be carried out secretly. We cannot let people here know that we are here." Bucker immediately rejected this answer.
At this time, the owner of the tavern came over.
With a smile on his face, he said: "Oh, how many adults are going out?"
"Yes, does the boss know where I can buy horses for the journey?" Bucker asked.
The boss said, "Isn't there anything for sale in the stable at the east gate?"
"It's sold out over there. Is there any other place where I can buy it?"
"Are they sold? That's not easy to buy. Now the city has strict regulations. Except for the stables on the east side, horses are not allowed to be sold privately," the boss said.
"Yes, that's it."
"Where do you want to go? If not, I will arrange a guide for you. You can use his carriage to go there, but the price is a bit expensive."
Several people's eyes lit up after hearing this.
Thought it was a good idea to note that these guides knew what was going on here.
You can also ask if there are any undead at that time.
A few people communicated in low voices and immediately agreed, "Okay, boss, please help us arrange it. Money is not an issue."
"Okay, where to go?"
"We want to go north and visit the orc area."
"Oh, the orc area is not safe. I need to ask carefully if anyone is willing to go. It's hard to tell." The boss wiped the linen cloth on his hands, "Let's do this. I will give you news in the afternoon. If possible, tomorrow Let him take you there in the morning."
"Can."
The boss leaves.
After some discussion, they decided to leave the city and continue walking north.
Go check out the situation.
…
the other side.
At this time, Fang Hao had just gotten up.
After washing, I walked out of the room.
Just walked down the stairs.
Then he saw the gold-eating queen, Amanda, already sitting in the lobby on the first floor, waiting.
The undead do not need to sleep or rest, there is always enough time.
She just held the scepter in her hand and looked ahead silently.
Gives people a feeling of loneliness.
When she heard the sound of coming downstairs, Amanda looked up.
"Lord Fang Hao!" Amanda stood up and saluted.
Fang Hao felt that she was extra polite today.
"Morning, Amanda."
"Good morning, my lord."
Fang Hao walked down and sat down next to Amanda.
"Amanda, what's wrong?"
Amanda said directly: "Doking, I brought back the news about the 'Otis Cemetery' last night."
Duo Jin is the captain of the skeleton merchant.
Amanda used to be very concerned about the current situation of the 'Anli Yin'er Kingdom'.
Fang Hao asked Duo Jin to inquire about the situation there through the business alliance transaction.
It seems that some valuable information has been obtained now.
Otherwise, Amanda would not have come directly to find him.
"How's the situation over there?" Fang Hao poured himself a glass of water.
"Just as I guessed, the former kingdom of Angliin'er no longer exists. Otis completely treats ordinary people as slaves. The strict bone tax means that ordinary creatures will be forcibly transformed if they cannot live beyond the age of 30. Become an undead soldier and join the army." Amanda said.
Fang Hao frowned.
He knew about the bone tax.
It's really scary to not live to be 30 years old.
When a person reaches adulthood and has not lived for a few years, he will be transformed into a skeleton.
"Is the news accurate?" Fang Hao was a little skeptical.
"The skeleton merchant brought back the news. Moreover, Duo Jin also inquired with the goblins in the merchant alliance to confirm the reliability of the news."
Good guy, Odis, the King of Skeletons, is really a ruthless person.
People living on his side can't even survive past 30 years old.
But Fang Hao was also curious as to why Otis was so anxious to convert his troops.
Although there have been minor frictions between the living and the undead over the years, it has not reached the point where a power war has occurred.
Does he have any plans?
He must have a war plan for imposing such a harsh bone tax and hoarding troops.
"What do you mean? Amanda." Fang Hao looked at Amanda.
"I want to regain my former territory and establish a new kingdom of Angli Yin'er. Sir, I hope you can help me and save the descendants of the citizens of Angli Yin'er."
Amanda said, kneeling on one knee and speaking sincerely.
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