Chapter 24 - Uninvited Guests
"A trial, huh…" Zwei looked ahead absentmindedly as he walked along the path through the village fields.
Previously, when he visited the Magic Academy System's Quest panel, he had found a new quest, in addition to the "Taking Shape" quest.
…
Quest: Basic Trial
Quest content: You already have the strength to ascend to the Basic rank. Do well in the Honing Tower!
Requirements: Complete the trial of the Honing Tower (1st Floor).
Remark: As completing the Honing Tower (1st Floor) is a long process, please be fully prepared before entering.
…
Zwei had already confirmed the appearance of a new dungeon called the Honing Tower on the Trial Gate panel. In addition, due to him clearing the Noisy Beach with an A-rank evaluation, he had unlocked a new dungeon called the Coral Sea Path.
However, he had already used up today's raid opportunity, so regardless of what dungeon appeared, it didn't have anything to do with him.
Nevertheless, the remark at the end still gave Zwei an uneasy feeling.
What does it mean by "a long process"? And how much preparation is considered sufficient?
After failing to figure things out, Zwei decided…that he should first head to the village for a good dinner.
Although the fruits he had were delicious and finding wild game wasn't a difficult task for him, he had grown tired of eating fruits and roast meat. Compared with these two options, dining at Alyssa's family's tavern was much better.
Sure enough, humans are social creatures. Even magicians cannot escape from human society.
Rumor had it that high-ranking magicians could create food out of thin air, with some even capable of surviving by ingesting the elementals in the air. However, in Zwei's opinion, these rumors were more likely myths than actual facts. After all, even Master Magicians needed to eat food to survive.
Eventually, Zwei crossed the fields and entered the village through a side entrance. However, he quickly found something amiss with the village's atmosphere.
Currently, a crowd of men thronged the village's main entrance while the village women were taking care of their children. Occasionally, however, these women would send worried glances at the main entrance. Their attention was so occupied that they didn't even notice Zwei's arrival.
Growing curious, Zwei climbed onto the roof of a thatched house and looked toward the village's entrance to see what was going on.
Currently, five heavily armed soldiers were confronting the village's men. After moving to a suitable distance, Zwei could make out the two sides' conversation.
The person speaking for the soldiers was a big man, nearly two meters tall. The man gave off an oppressive feeling just by standing there. On the other hand, representing the villagers was the village chief, a bald, old man with a white beard who was hunched over as he supported himself with a cane. From head to toe, the village chief measured no more than 140 centimeters. Just from their auras, the village chief was already at a severe disadvantage.
Although there was the saying of "there is strength in numbers," the soldiers were geared in half-length armor and held cast-iron spears. In contrast, the villagers were mostly armed with rusty hoes, rakes, hatchets, and the like. Even the few hunters among the villagers had only shoddy bows and arrows.
Meanwhile, based on what Zwei overheard, it seemed that the war at the frontlines had fallen into a tense situation. As a result, the local lord had sent these soldiers to collect taxes for war funds.
However, the villagers here lived humble lives. Except for a few wealthy families, the majority of the people living in this village couldn't spare even a single copper coin before the spring harvest. Faced with this predicament, the village chief had no choice but to beg the soldiers for more time.
"Elite soldiers? What nonsense is that?" The soldiers might be able to intimidate the ignorant villagers with their half-length armor, but they couldn't scare Zwei, who had visited many places on the mainland…or, at least, he had inherited the memories of a certain someone visiting these places. "Isn't that just the half-length armor of ordinary pikemen? Their weapons are also standard spears meant to be used in formations. If they were elite soldiers, they should have swords, at the very least. Isn't this too much of a downgrade?!"
Judging based on these soldiers' gear, these so-called tax officials were most likely just soldiers who had fled the battlefield.
As the countries in this world operated based on despotism, war deserters were generally hanged when discovered. They wouldn't even get a chance to face a court martial. Now, however, not only did these deserters not hide like rats, but they even pretended to be tax officials. It was obvious that something was going on behind the scenes.
Due to this inference, Zwei did not hurry to come forward. Instead, he lay on the roof and continued observing the situation.
The village had no money. Regardless of how much the other party pressed the issue, there was no way the village could pay the demanded tax. Hence, negotiations naturally fell through.
Looking at the village chief condescendingly, the big soldier declaimed, "Hmph. If you're not willing to pay the taxes, this means you're going against the lord! Very soon, a knight squadron will come to eradicate your small village. We'll make you an example for the other stubborn villages!"
"But, Lord Tax Collectors, our village really doesn't have any money…" the village chief protested, sweating profusely.
Even two or three individual knights could easily decimate their small village, what more a knight squadron?
"No money? Well, it's not like there are no other ways to solve this problem," the big soldier said as he rubbed his chin and faked a smile. The soldier might've been going for a kind smile, but it only served to make his face even more hideous. This was obvious just from the village chief's frightened trembling.
"W-What can we do?" However, despite his fears, the old man did not forget to strive for his village's survival.
"Old man, you should know that nobles have peculiar hobbies. Meanwhile, slaves just so happen to be the best thing for them to vent their hobbies on, so slaves can fetch quite a high price among nobles." At this point, the fake smile on the big soldier's face had transformed into a genuine one. However, the transformation only made him look even more hideous. "You just need to pick out several children from the village to serve as slaves for the nobles. Do that, and we'll offset your tax. How about it? Not only can you avoid paying taxes, but you can also reduce the number of people in the village. A simple method, right?"
"Shut your mouth!" The village chief aggressively struck his cane on the ground, his face wrinkling with anger. "I am the head of this village! How can I commit such an act of betrayal?!"
"Hey, old man." The big soldier's expression cooled down at the village chief's outburst. Leaning closer to the old man, he put on a cold smile as he spoke in a menacing tone, "I'm only showing you the way. Whether you want to walk through it is up to you. Now, hand over the tax money quickly! Otherwise, we won't continue being polite with you!"
"No! We will not betray our friends and family no matter what. Lord Tax Collector, just give us a few more days. Once the spring harvest is over…" The old man still tried to reason with the other party. However, the soldiers with ulterior motives instantly shot down his plea.
Smirking, the big soldier said, "Wait? We can afford to wait, but the soldiers on the frontlines can't! Brothers, take action!"