Chapter 281 Little Peeling
This is the third day after Antony’s decree was issued.
At first, the nobles thought it was an ordinary locust plague, until those fist-sized locusts flew to their territory following the governor's decree.
Panic began to spread.
The nobles knew that slashing anyone with a knife would kill them, and cracking the skulls of the dead would make them lie back in their graves.
But the locusts, the overwhelming locusts, how can we kill them all?
Judra doesn’t know the answer to this, and has no time to think about it at the moment.
He is currently in his bedroom in Ironforge, taking care of his second wife.
Just two months ago, Judra celebrated her birthday and officially turned 40 years old.
Time has inevitably left its mark on his face.
Compared to before, there were more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the hair on his temples had turned gray, and the skin on his cheeks was slightly drooping, making his face look a bit sad.
But at this moment, he had a smile on his face, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding the hand of his wife who was lying on the bed.
His second wife is not a noble, but the daughter of a merchant in Ironforge Town, and her name is also very common "Lily".
Lily has black hair and an oval-shaped face, and she has a three-point resemblance to Denise when she smiles.
Although her face was a little pale, Lily still showed a shy smile. She knew what Judra liked: "Master, you don't have to accompany me like this."
"Now the entire Iron Furnace collar needs your care."
Judra gently stroked the bulge on the thin quilt: "Now the entire Iron Furnace collar is not as important as you."
Losing a child in middle age is a very sad event, and Judra has not forgotten her son Barney, who was killed by Cerberon.
He admitted that he had some selfish motives for marrying Lily, but as a lord and the head of the Wharton family, he also had the obligation to reproduce children so that the Wharton family would not become extinct.
Lily was a little nervous: "Sorry, Master, I shouldn't have gone out without permission."
She was getting older and her fetus had settled down. She felt too bored staying in the castle, so she decided to go out and relax.
Unexpectedly, we encountered locusts that suddenly arrived. Although the number was small, it still caused panic among the crowd.
In panic, she was hit by someone, but luckily it did not affect the child in her belly.
“I will replace you with a better batch of guards.” Judra smiled and rubbed his wife’s hand: “Don’t think about anything, rest in peace and give birth to our child safely. This is the only thing you have to do."
There was a soft knock on the door, and the voice of the new soldier commander Tetu came: "Lord Baron, there are some things that need to be handled personally."
Judra frowned slightly, but Lily held his hand tightly and said, "It's okay, Lord Baron, go and do your work."
Standing up, he kissed Lily gently on the forehead. Della left the room, closed the door, and walked far away before asking: "What is it?"
"Please take a look." Tetu winked at the attendant next to him.
There was a smell of blood, and the retinue brought out a wooden plate with two lumps of vague flesh and blood on it.
Judra looked disgusted and poked twice with his finger: "...What is this?"
"These are the chickens and ducks you ordered to raise before." Tetu said.
Hearing this, Judra was startled, rubbed his eyes, and looked carefully again.
Don't tell me, it still looks a bit like it, at least you can see it with a sharp mouth and a flat mouth.
But how did they become like this?
"It's a locust, sir." Tetu said with a grimace: "This chicken pecked a locust to death, but the locust body bit its neck; this duck swallowed three locusts. , and then the locusts come from within..."
"Okay, okay, I know you used to be a veterinarian, but you don't have to show off your knowledge all the time." Judra waved her hand, motioning for the retinue to take the plate down, and then let out a long sigh.
Judra, who has always disliked Raven, immediately kept an eye on the Eagle Territory after learning about the locust plague.
Because in the past five years, he has never seen Raven suffer a loss.
He did whatever Raven did. Not only did he buy a large number of chickens and ducks, he also built a fence on the edge of the territory.
But the chickens and ducks that Lei Wen bought in a big way were no match for Locust, which was a bit beyond his expectation.
"Raven, you sometimes make miscalculations."
After a little gloating, Judra frowned again.
Because his loss is not small.
If you take into account the gap in economic strength between him and Raven, his losses are even more serious.
I walked all the way to the study and looked out through the window. I could see locusts everywhere, on the walls, in the woods, and in the fields. They were like cloves in the soup. They were not many, but they were extremely eye-catching. .
Although it has not yet reached a large scale, it will surely happen sooner or later.
He thought about the chickens and ducks on the tray again - what will it look like when the locust plague really breaks out?
Judra can begin to understand why Anthony divides the power instead of coordinating the overall situation himself.
Looking at the governor's decree on the desk, Judra rolled her eyes and sighed.
He has read the above content. Raven has become the temporary manager of Alert Area 3, the five northwest counties.
Although he didn't want to admit it, Judra knew that in the entire five northwest counties, there was actually no better candidate than Raven.
And he must keep up with Raven's footsteps.
The two territories are adjacent to each other. If Raven can help him, at the very least, he should not add insult to injury.
Take out the pen and paper, Judra leaned on the desk and wrote:
Dear Lords of Eagle Territory, Snow Maple Territory and Hollow Territory, Sheriff of Snow Maple County Your Excellency, Sir Raven Otta Griffiths, the Superintendent of Security Area 3 appointed by His Excellency the Governor.
Your loyal and humble
"Uh..." After writing this, Judra frowned because she was disgusted by herself, but she still had to continue writing.
But some people write much more cheerfully than Judra.
"Dear, come here and read it for me." Mrs. Doreen mentioned the letter she had just finished writing and greeted her female clerk.
While the clerk picked up the letter and looked at it carefully, Doreen hugged her 5-year-old son Roman and wiped away his tears: "What, who bullied you?"
Roman inherited his father's green pupils. He wiped his mouth with his young hands and said aggrievedly: "My Knight Gack was eaten by locusts!"
"Knight Gack" is a straw and Goblin dummy woven from wood, produced at the Eagle Town Arena, Roman's favorite playmate.
"Oh, my poor little guy." Doreen patted her son on the back: "Knight Gark will be back, and we won't have to worry about locusts soon."
< br>"Really?" Roman's eyes glowed.
“Of course it’s true.”
After rubbing her son's head, Doreen looked at her female clerk: "How is it."
The female clerk's mouth opened and closed, and after a while she said: "Are you really prepared to write like this?"< br>
In fact, from this clerk's point of view, Doreen's writing style is quite excellent, and her choice of words and sentences are extremely delicate. She not only expresses her desire to seek refuge in the Eagle Territory, but also implicitly conveys her passionate love. And worship is buried between the lines.
But the problem is that this is an official document, not a love letter.
Doreen asked, "What's the problem?"
The female clerk looked at Doreen's firm gaze and shook her head: "Uh, this... no!"
"Then send it out, now, immediately, immediately." Doreen ordered: "Then immediately Order all the troops and let the Dio knights stay in the castle. I We will set off the day after tomorrow at the latest.”
This locust plague has just begun, and sporadic locusts have already caused a lot of damage. If the number swells again, it will reach the point where no one can even go out. Communication with the outside world may be completely cut off.
The son is underage, and Doreen herself is a woman.
Once the gravel collar becomes an isolated island, Doreen has no confidence in convincing her knights.
That's why she wrote this frivolously worded letter, just to arouse Raven's protective desire and let her in.
At least there, Doreen doesn't have to worry about safety.
News always spreads quickly and slowly, and not all nobles can receive the governor's decree at the first time.
For example, the current Viscount of Hippok County and Binziman Territory is only 21 years old.
Under the cloudless sky, the air is hot.
Taile Street in Binziman City was crowded with people. On the outside was a circle of city defense troops holding weapons, in the middle were several layers of citizens, and on the innermost layer were the soldiers responsible for protecting the Viscount.
The soldiers formed a circle. In the middle of the circle, there was an execution platform made of logs. Dirty and bloody, old and new were overlapped, and flies were patrolling back and forth.
The Viscount was sitting beside the execution platform.
His flaxen hair was as messy as a bird's nest. Even with a single ponytail tied behind his head, he still looked extremely unorganized.
A pair of eyes, one white and one red, the white one looked like a prosthetic eye, and the red one looked like it had been punched hard by someone, as if it was filled with blood.
After casually slapping a flying locust to pieces, the young Viscount yawned out of boredom.
A tall man with a beard separated from the crowd and walked up to the Viscount, bowed his head and saluted: "Your Majesty the Viscount..."
"Huh...?"
"Uh, Mr. Little Peeling."
After hearing the word "Little Peeling", the Viscount smiled: "Tell me, Dalton, what's the matter."
The corner of Dalton's mouth twitched: "The death row prisoner was found to have committed suicide in prison this morning."
"Oh, that's really a tragedy." Little Peeling sighed: "He was originally He deserves a fair execution."
"But the execution platform can't be empty, right?"
As he spoke, Little Skin's eyes wandered among the onlookers, like a butcher choosing. Lamb to the slaughter.
Drawing a circle in the air with his wrist, Xiaopipi pointed at a girl who looked about 16 or 7 years old: "That's her."
With a scream, soldiers immediately swarmed up and controlled the girl and took her over.
Dalton swallowed: "But, sir, this man has not committed a crime."
"No?" Little Peeling blinked: "Oh, I remembered it. "
He took off a gold ring from his left hand, stuffed it into the girl's pocket, took it out and waved it in front of Dalton's eyes:
"She stole it. My ring!”
Little Peeling waved his hand, and his voice was calm but unmistakable: "Put this person up."
"No, Master Little Peeling, please let me go, my mother is still waiting for me..."
But Xiao Peipi didn't seem to hear it, and his soldiers showed no mercy at all. They pulled the girl to the stage, tore her clothes to pieces, and exposed her body to the sun.
Little Peipi jumped onto the execution platform with a thud and took a rustling iron barrel from the hands of the soldiers.
There was half a bucket of locusts with their wings removed, and they were trying to climb up along the smooth side of the bucket.
The girl was trembling on the cross. She no longer cared about shame, and only had the fear of death in her heart.
Two lines of bitter tears flowed from the corners of my eyes.
"Be good, don't cry." Little Peipi licked her cheek with his scarlet tongue: "It will be over soon."
He lifted the iron bucket and printed it on the girl's belly , the executioner skillfully used chains to secure the iron bucket.
"No...no!!" The girl's face turned pale, and she began to feel locusts crawling on her belly.
"You will like it." Little Peipi smiled slightly, picked up the torch next to it, and placed it at the end of the iron bucket.
Bang
Under the scorching flames, the locusts in the barrel exploded completely, causing the entire iron barrel to shake. However, they had no way to escape, so they could only crawl as far as they could. Find the softest spot.
“No, no, ah——”
The girl’s eyes widened, and fierce screams erupted from her mouth, and there were constant biting and cutting sounds from the barrel. There was a sound, and blood seeped out from the edge of the iron barrel.
Her limbs began to twitch wildly, and even though her skin was torn and the chains rattled, she still couldn't escape the restraints.
Little Peipi's breathing began to quicken, and an excited and exciting look burst out in his eyes. The rustling in the barrel suddenly began to decrease, and the barrel that had been falling slightly began to rise slowly.
The screams gradually became weaker, and black and red sticky blood flowed from the corner of the girl's mouth and dripped to the ground.
The flesh between her chest and abdomen suddenly began to bulge with ridges, and even the outline of a locust could be seen.
"Ah..."
The chest suddenly rose, the girl opened her mouth and let out a frightening hissing sound.
The next moment, with a pop, her full throat suddenly exploded, and a swarm of locusts poured out of it, taking away the last of her life.
The locusts crawled all over the head and began to gnaw at the tender lips and tongue. Some even crawled onto her face, clawing out the eyes that were staring into death and biting them to pieces.
“Hahaha——” Little Peipi threw down the torch, laughed and clapped his hands, as if he had seen the most beautiful scenery in the world.
At this moment, the messenger squeezed through the crowd: "Sir Little Peeling, the governor's decree."
"Read it." Without looking back, Little Peeling took out a short sword from his waist and cut the girl's body. The plumpest and softest pieces of meat were placed on a silver plate handed over by the soldiers.
He ate with gusto at first, but when the messenger read "Alert Area No. 3", his expression became serious. He put down the plate, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, stretched out his hand and said: "Here Me."
Taking the document from the soldier's hand, Little Skin jumped down from the execution platform, walked to his table, and read every word.
"Leaven...hehe." Little Peeling stretched out his fingers to rub his temples, his eyes, one red and one white, showed clear dissatisfaction.
Indeed, Xiao Peipi can understand that since this position is to be established, only Raven is the most suitable person in the entire northwest five counties.
Understandability is one thing, acceptance is another.
In his opinion, Raven is like a monkey in heat, always showing off his charm and abilities at inappropriate times.
What is "a role model for the younger generation of nobles in Nord Province", "the youngest third-level magician in Nord Province", "a genius politician and business wizard."
Listen It's almost mind-blowing.
Raven has received so much praise just because the Fox family is helping him praise him.
What is even more annoying is that Slater also falls in love with him inexplicably.
The re-emergence of the Griffith family began when Hyde went to the Eagle Territory.
God knows if Raven sold Gouzi to Hyde to get the first start-up capital.
“You annoying guy.” Xiao Pipi slapped the decree on the table.
The name "Little Skinner" comes from the famous "Flayed Duke" Cunningham in the history of the empire. This lord executed at least 4,300 dissidents in his life and subjected them to the cruel punishment of skinning.
The reason why people call themselves this is because Little Peeling regards this Grand Duke as an idol, and he is also implementing Grand Duke Cunningham's philosophy - the strong do not need friends, they only need to use fear and violence to make them People surrender.
That’s why Little Peeling hates Raven.
Leaven's methods are too soft, his body is too soft, and coupled with his handsome appearance, he is simply a sissy.
In Little Peel's view, if he could flatter the nobles without any bottom line like Raven, his achievements would only be higher, but he was unwilling to do that.
"Dalton!"
The knight separated from the crowd and came: "Little Skinner."
"Let the crowd disperse." Pointing to the girl's body on the execution platform, the little Peipei said: "Tell them, this is secretly talking about me. "
"Then go to my warehouse and get 1, no, 2 level 4 fire attribute magic cores. I will personally edit a book and use these two magic cores as a warning to Raven. The baron’s gift.”
Dalton was stunned.
Little Peeling urged: "Baron Raven has always been my idol. He is like a brother in my heart. Go quickly, don't delay."
Even though Little Peeling said so, but Dalton still didn't believe it.
Little Pipi, who likes excitement, once learned from Raven and built a gladiatorial arena. He invested more than 20,000 gold coins. However, it only lasted for 3 months and closed down because he could not make ends meet.
Xiao Peipi has always blamed Raven for the failure of this business venture.
But if Dalton has learned any lesson in the past few years, it is to never guess the Viscount’s thoughts, so he immediately nodded in agreement.
Little Peipi kept his word and immediately started writing a letter to Raven.
The text is in square and elegant Gaelan style, and the written content is also humble and respectful, showing his infinite admiration for Lei Wen.
Little Peipi wrote as he wrote, and a smile gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth.
This is not surrender, just a strategy. He wants Raven to think that he is completely harmless.
In this way, when the time comes, Raven can be stabbed hard when he is unprepared.
"The dagger coming from behind is the hardest to guard against."
......
On the afternoon of the same day, Eagle City, conference room.
Lei Wen has many civil servants.
Old Gordon sat on Raven's left hand side, followed by Kuman and Fili.
There is also a new face, Kolu - he is the political officer of Holorland. He is 44 years old this year. He has a square face, a serious posture, and a very aristocratic temperament.
The red bow tie on his chest is particularly conspicuous
He was the previous ruler of Holorland and the steward of the Vernon family, and had received an extremely good education.
There is also an old man with a white beard, Junason, in the corner.
This former refugee leader and now Eagle City clerk is responsible for recording the meeting.
"Lord Baron, this is a great event." Feili licked his lips: "The military power, financial power, and command power of the entire five northwest counties! God, I can't even imagine what a huge power this is."< br>
"Mr. Philip, as a subordinate of the Baron, I must remind you." Kolu straightened his tie: "The Baron called us here for discussion. Countermeasures, instead of listening to our false flattery."
Fili's face turned red and he looked a little embarrassed: "I am congratulating the Lord Baron. Isn't it a boast to show my loyalty? Is this also a mistake, Mr. Kou Lu? "
"I think sharing the burden for the Lord is true loyalty," Kou Lu retorted.
Before Fili could retort, Raven raised his hand and said, "Okay, loyalty can be expressed in many ways, but what I want now is your ability."
"Tell me, what should we do next?"
The conference room suddenly became quiet.
Fili thought for a while and said: "Lord Baron, I think you should take advantage of this opportunity to show your authority in this locust plague."
"I disagree with Feili. Sir's opinion." Kou Lu said immediately.
Faced with frequent interruptions, Fili was a little annoyed: "Then Mr. Kolu must have an idea?"
"Yes." Kolu didn't hesitate at all.
He is the last person among everyone present to enter Raven's inner circle, so he must speak shockingly and leave a deep impression on Baron Raven.
The power to manage the people's livelihood in Holorland is indeed not small, but what he wants is a title that can be passed down from generation to generation.
“It is true that the Baron has gained great power this time, but power corresponds to responsibility.”
“Everyone here has enjoyed the taste of power, and you all know that no one will divide it equally. own authority.”
"Governor Anthony's actions are enough to show that the scale of the locust plague is beyond control, and he has to shirk part of the responsibility."
At this point, Kolu bowed to Raven and said, "My lord, Baron, please forgive me. I speak out."
"The locust plague is so severe that even the governor cannot withstand it. No matter how much you do, it will not help. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. So it’s okay not to exercise this authority."
Leaven nodded lightly, What Koru said was what he was thinking.
Fili was a little anxious when he saw Raven agreeing with Kolu.
Everyone present, except for old Gordon, he is the oldest one. Now that he is suppressed by a newcomer, he can't help but feel a little aggrieved.
After thinking for a moment, Feili said: "Lord Baron, I think that although Mr. Kolu's words have some truth, they are not entirely correct."
"Now the division of warning zones has been completed. It’s a foregone conclusion. If you don’t exercise your authority, you can treat it as if the decree doesn’t exist. If you don’t do anything, , not only will you be suspected of disobedience, but you will also be ridiculed for your cowardice. "
"Furthermore, power expires. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity must be seized. "
“So, you might as well give a few orders that are beneficial and cost-effective.”
After hearing what Feili said, Lei Wen chuckled: "You two are right."
"But there is a question, that is, what kind of government order is beneficial but not costly? ”
Fili was stunned for a moment, he hadn’t thought of that step yet.
And Kolu didn’t tease Fili anymore.
He is here to express himself, not to make enemies. Since he has received praise from the Baron, there is no need to go too far.
Lei Wen continued: "If you can't figure it out, just wait and think about it."
"I called you here today. In addition to discussing countermeasures, there is also an order for you to execute."
"It seems now , the locust plague is much more serious than we previously expected. "
"So when you go back, you must immediately organize people to harvest the food in the territory, and it must be completed before the locust plague officially arrives."
Fili, Cuman, and Kou Lu all had expressions on their faces. It was a sigh of relief, but they all nodded.
It is now early July, and the main crop in Raven's territory is spring wheat, which is still about 20 days away from maturity.
When harvesting at this time, at least 30-50% of the yield will be lost.
But even so, it is much better than a locust plague breaking out and gnawing away the fields.
At this moment, Cuman's eyes lit up: "By the way, Lord Baron, this is a favor without any cost."
"There must be nobles who are short-sighted and want to do something." Don’t hesitate to harvest food in advance, or don’t think about it at all. Issuing this order can not only show your lofty vision, but also reflect your responsibility, without touching the interests of too many people!”
Upon hearing this, Raven and Old Gordon smiled at each other.
It seems that these officials under me are still somewhat capable.
The abilities of Fili and Cuman are slowly revealed, and the newcomer Kolu also has a good vision. Not to mention how talented he is, he is still a temporary choice.
Clearing his throat, Raven said: "Gordon, prepare a statement for me and release it simultaneously through the Mercenary Guild and the Skyhawk platform."
"Order, let the Northwest Five All the nobles in the county immediately began to harvest grain.”
"The armies of each noble family are still under their own command, and I will not interfere; but all nobles must announce and share the situation and trends of the locust plague at all times through the Sky Eagle platform and other methods."
Old Gordon wrote down these key points one by one, and finally pushed up his monocle and said: "Then I will draft this statement first."
Actually, there are many details that Lei Wen did not instruct. For example, the writing should be as humble and low-key as possible, but it should not appear that Lei Wen was really serious about it. Coward; you have to show responsibility, but you can't let others take advantage of it and force Raven to take responsibility.
But for many years, master and servant have a tacit understanding.
After talking about some more details, Raven announced the adjournment of the meeting and began to communicate with Denise on the Skyhawk platform.
"Dear Aunt Denise, is the journey going smoothly?"
A few seconds later, Denise's response came: "Enter Savery County immediately."
The corner of Raven's mouth It evoked a smile. Now that we are in Savery County, it is only a short distance away from Xuefeng County...
Wait!
The smile froze on his face, and Raven's brows furrowed tightly.
According to the established route, Denise should start from Hodges County, go all the way west, and return to Xuefeng County via Wilt and Shippok counties.
But how did she get to Savery County in the north?
Next, several messages from Lei Wen fell into disarray.
……
(End of this chapter)