"Grab my damn hand!"
Just as lade stumbled and fell, the thundering of hoofbeats didn't stop.
Explosivewolf leapt his horse over the tripwire and tried to extend his arm toward lade, hoping lade could use the leverage to swing himself up onto the horse.
But lade was a pampered noble young master with a bloated fra. Even though he managed to grasp the hand, he couldn't straighten his waist and could only be dragged along the ground for a short distance:
"Let go, let go!"
Seeing lade crying out in pain, Explosivewolf was afraid of tearing the fat man's arm off. With no other choice, he reined in his horse and stopped.
"Young master!"
Huss, who had been trying to maintain order, couldn't care about anything else. He rushed over and helped the tearful lade to his feet.
This shout also confird his identity to the townspeople.
Old David, who had planned to leave early but was blocked at the exit, gripped his pitchfork and tapped it on the ground. His tone remained humble:
"My lord, since you already know this town is about to face a threat, why are you keeping all of us trapped here!?"
"I..."
Just as lade was about to stamr out an excuse, Huss blocked his path and spoke first:
"Who do you think you're questioning!?"
"I didn't—"
Even though resentnt filled his heart, the hierarchy consciousness ford over many years had already solidified, leaving Old David without confidence when he spoke.
"My apologies, my lord. I just want to know the reason you're preventing us from leaving..."
Huss snorted coldly and quietly urged lade to quickly mount the horse.
But just as lade was about to use Explosivewolf's arm strength to swing onto the horse, the horse's legs suddenly buckled and it fell to the ground with a "thud"—
Perhaps he should have urged the young master to exercise more and eat less.
A farm horse's back truly couldn't bear the weight of both a grown warrior wearing full plate armor and carrying a greatsword, and a noble who weighed no less than the warrior.
Huss had no choice but to approach the fallen farm horse. He first looked at the tripwire firmly tied to the fences on both sides:
"Who authorized you to do this?"
The rotating guard was at a loss for words:
"Wasn't—wasn't it your order?"
"When did I ever give such an order!?"
"Just a while ago, you sent a rcenary. He said he was afraid soone might charge out on horseback and disrupt order, so he had us set up the trap in advance..."
Huss didn't rember giving this order.
Soone was deliberately causing trouble.
Who? Which rcenary?
"What did he look like?"
"Wearing full plate armor, filthy. Covered his head completely—definitely not soone from our town."
Huss turned back to look at Explosivewolf: "One of your n?"
Explosivewolf snorted coldly:
"If I'd given that fucking order, would I have nearly tripped myself?"
Huss suppressed his suspicions. After confirming the horse's front leg was broken, he quickly shouted:
"Have soone bring another horse!"
Then he morized the face of this peasant before him and unconsciously adjusted his glasses:
"You ask why I won't let you leave? Of course it's to protect you!
The young master specifically instructed that if we let you enter deep into the forest and get lost in the mist, who would be responsible for your safety?"
His breathing was even, allowing his montum to easily overwhelm Old David as he spoke with righteous conviction.
"On the contrary, it's you all—why didn't you obey the young master's prohibition and left your hos without permission?
You may not cherish your own lives, but you should at least cherish the young master's care for you!"
His words seed to have so logic—
If Old David hadn't witnessed lade fleeing with his own eyes.
So even though his tone still seed careful and cautious, he couldn't help but retort:
"Then why is the lord leaving the town? Isn't it to flee back to Longgold City?"
"Silence! Who gave you the gall to slander the young master? Guards, restrain him and throw him in jail to clear his head!"
"Father..."
George on the ox cart wanted to say sothing for his father, but his mother quickly covered his mouth:
"No, George. Don't say anything..."
She was just a woman.
She couldn't let her son suffer the sa fate as her husband.
Everyone knew that keeping silent was the recipe for survival in front of nobles.
The more you retorted, the more you resisted.
The more severe the punishnt would be.
And just as the guards restrained Old David's hands, he cried out:
"How could this be slander!? The facts are right in front of us. Are you going to throw all of us in jail?"
Huss furrowed his brow tightly.
He certainly knew he couldn't do that.
Silencing people was a common tactic of the nobility.
But just like a spring—if stretched to its limit, it would lose its elasticity.
Right now the entrance was already surrounded by townspeople. He couldn't impose punishnt on half the town's population—
Starberry Town was an isolated village.
The fact that no one dared cross Dawnmist Forest allowed the nobles to exploit their labor as much as possible without worrying about them fleeing the town.
But correspondingly, precisely because of its isolation, it was very difficult to bring in new households to generate revenue for the town.
If he casually killed or punished half the town's residents and pushed them to the brink, the entire territory would exist in na only.
With no one to plant starberries, how would Lord rle's business in Longgold City continue?
Obviously, he needed to change his strategy.
So Huss put on as much grace as possible and spoke in a gentler tone:
"First, I need to ask you all—exactly who fabricated these rumors, making you think the young master riding away on horseback was planning to flee?"
“Father Lynn said, ‘The orcs can distinguish directions in the mist and are heading toward the town's location.” This is clearly the truth!"
Father Lynn?
Huss narrowed his eyes slightly.
According to Catherine's account, Father Lynn, who was responsible for treating the wounded, was also at the scene and should have heard the news Black Snake brought.
So while Catherine was notifying him, Lynn had also spread the news throughout the entire town?
That troubleso old man.
"It's true that orcs are haunting the forest—otherwise we wouldn't have returned to town to build defensive fortifications—
But there's no evidence suggesting they can navigate through the mist.
Nor does it an we plan to abandon this town!
Starberry Town is the territory of Lord [rle Barrye]. As his most loyal servant, everything I do is to protect this land, including all of you!"
Huss spoke loudly,
"When we realized the territory might face danger, it was Young Master lade who imdiately expended that expensive ssage stone to send for help to distant Longgold City!
But just a while ago, the young master received word that reinforcents from Longgold City couldn't cross Dawnmist Forest. That's when he resolutely decided to cross the forest himself to et the reinforcents, wanting to bring you all more hope.
Think carefully—if we truly planned to abandon Starberry Town and abandon you all, why would I lead the guards to strengthen the defenses and stay behind?
But this courageous and lofty deed, in the eyes of you ignorant people, has beco a symbol of 'cowardice' and 'desertion'!
You foolish people are unworthy of everything the young master has sacrificed for you!"
Huss's statent was well-reasoned and his tone even more pained.
Old David, who had been sowhat indignant and resentful just monts ago, was instantly left speechless.
Of course he wouldn't believe these nobles were actually kindhearted enough to treat them, these territorial subjects, as human beings—
If they truly had such intentions, their taxes wouldn't be so exorbitant and their crops wouldn't be sold so cheaply.
But the loss of territory would absolutely bring no benefit to the nobles at all.
He gritted his teeth and confronted him:
"If that's the case, then why did that damn scoundrel rob us?
Wasn't it precisely because he saw that you lords planned to flee and wanted to profit from the chaos?"
"Which scoundrel?"
Huss had to admit there were far too many scoundrels under his command.
"That dwarf!"
Old David wasn't the only one who had been robbed.
The other people present also imdiately poured out their grievances:
"That scoundrel broke into my ho, demanding money at every turn, threatening to beat us if we didn't pay—he even said the noble lords had already planned to flee and had no ti to deal with these matters!"
"What, you were robbed too?"
"That damn scoundrel not only emptied my family's savings but also stole the starberry wine I brewed myself!"
Only then did Huss rember that among the three rcenaries the lord had hired, there was still one dwarf whose whereabouts were unknown.
So the current situation had escalated to this point because there was still this short-legged bastard stirring up trouble behind the scenes?
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