It was dark under the bridge, the visibility was poor, the river was cold, and Shire labored to the ugly, foul-smelling cave, where river trolls had smeared mud near the piers and smelled very fishy. Resisting the taste, Char reached into the water and felt about. The river was clear, but once it reached the mud nest of the river trolls, it became cloudy, showing how dirty it was.
He felt a large pile of coins or something, grabbed them vigorously, and brought them to the surface to see.
Char opened his eyes wide, a little hard to believe what he was seeing.
Gold coin! A hand full of gold coins.
A gold coin slipped out of his hand, fell into the water, splashed and drifted, and made Shire feel a pang of flesh. Money is life. It's hope.
Shire went to the shore, wet and cold from the wind, but he did not care so much as to sprinkle all the gold coins on the shore, and then went into the water again to find what was hidden in the river troll's den.
He got a lot of silver, coppers, and three necklaces.
There should be more in there, Shire through the dirty water blurred to see a cup or something, he reached out to touch, but caught something wet and soft, make him sick, he dared not imagine what it was, quickly away from this stinking devil hole under the bridge.
Besides, the river was cold in late autumn, and his body was freezing after he had stayed too long. He remembered that his mother had always told him not to go barefoot.
Char returned from the waist-deep river to the shore and counted what he had taken from the river troll's den.
11 gold coins, 35 silver coins, 25 copper coins.
He washed his hands in the water, wiped his eyes, and calmed his excitement. That's a lot of money.
Charles found his money bag from Valen in his backpack, poured out the money inside, and counted it all together.
I've got so much money... Char scratched his hair.
There were 19 gold coins, 86 silver coins, and 46 bronze coins, all of the Shire's current possessions.
The conversion of the Lohmanian currency was so complicated that Shire never quite remembered it. He probably knows that one gold coin is equal to 16 silver coins and one silver coin is equal to 24 copper coins. This complex system of conversion was not invented by the Loman people, but by the eastern Yamanai Empire, which once ruled a vast, multi-ethnic and imposing territory, and whose monetary system was copied by neighboring countries.
He knew that the gold coin was a large denomination, and that one gold coin could buy a pig, or sixty pounds of grain, enough for two months. Char's parents had sold him to human traffickers, and Char clearly remembered that he was worth 10 gold coins.
Silver coins are more common currency, 1 silver coin can buy a chicken, before the family can have about 30 silver coins a year.
The copper coin is the smallest unit, and one copper coin can buy a cabbage.
I'm rich! Charles, quite excited, swept all the money into his purse, carefully placed it in his knapsack, and then wrapped his black cloak around his waist and started again.
Crossing the stone bridge and leaving the river behind, Shire walked on for about three miles and soon came across some farmers.
The peasants looked frightened, and when they saw Shire in his strange dress, naked but with a cloth around his rear and a crossbow at his back, and noticed the weapon in his hand, they were frightened, and moved aside to make way for Shire lest he should kill them in his anger.
"Where are you going?" Char looked at the farmers, who were carrying baskets with pieces of killed chicken and salted pork, and lots of vegetables like radishes, Onions, and kale.
"We'll pay tribute to the river troll king. Oh, you, did you come from the stone bridge?" The farmer asked anxiously.
"Yes."
"Missed it?"
"It happened."
'Ah yeah! The farmer nodded, "You see it, isn't it very terrible!"
"I'll kill it."
The farmers exchanged puzzled looks and then questioned each other.
"How is this possible!
"The river Troll is so powerful, how can you possibly defeat it?"
"Don't be ridiculous! The first few who came to challenge were killed by it!"
"Well... Just kidding. There's not even blood on your sword."
They shouted and questioned Shire, looking at him with incredulity and derision, not believing it at all.
"You can see for yourselves." Shire knew that there was no proof, "his body is on the shore."
Seeing such a determined attitude of Shire, the villagers' doubts were also reduced, they looked at each other, and then humbly said to Shire: "Really? Did you really kill the river troll?"
"It's true." Char nodded.
"Don't listen to him." One of the elderly villagers shook his head. "We all know how powerful river trolls are. Their skin is so hard that swords can't break them and arrows can't get in."
"He had a crossbow with him. Maybe he killed him with one." Another noticed the wooden crossbow on Char's body.
"It's against the law! They were reminded that their eyes fell on the crossbow behind the shire, and suddenly looked terrible, "This is not illegal?" Be seen to be arrested!"
"Go, go, go."
"Never mind him."
The villagers carried their baskets and went on to the stone bridge without looking at the Shire again.
Shire has a feeling of being insulted, the heart is very uncomfortable, frowning, looking back at the villagers away, helpless sigh, can only continue to move on.
After crossing the stone bridge, there was a footpath in the forest that had been trampled out.
The road was a tangle of weeds and wound its way into the distance until it should reach a village.
"Look, nobody believes you." Graddius did not know when he woke up again and laughed at Charles.
"It doesn't matter." Char shrugged. "When we walked around the country with our master, people looked at us like a disaster."
"A lot of people must have insulted you."
"Yes."
"And how did you react? You kill all the offending people?"
"We just... Go away, Master, let me get used to it."
"Stupid! Utter stupidity. You should kill the fools who despise you with your spells, so that they will Revere you and bow before you. You have much more power than men, and you should enslave them and gain their loyalty and value, and strong men like you should rule the land."
"It is the duty of the Lord to rule." Char didn't know how to answer. "We're just demon hunters."
"Why can't demon hunters rule?"
"We're not aristocrats."
"What determines nobility, birth, blood? I know the rules of your game. There is no such thing as a noble man sowing his seed everywhere and throwing out thousands of new nobles."
"They have families... They have their own lineage, with deeds, contracts and seals in their hands, and they rule according to the law." Char touched his chin, where stubble was growing. "We've been doing this for centuries."
"You will drown in this puddle of conventional paste."
Char was angry.
"Even if you had broken some 'rule' of hell, didn't you get sent here?"
This broke Graddius's heart, and he retreated into a corner and fell silent.
Char took a deep breath, the air around him was very fresh, and there were large clouds in the sky, dividing the sun very faintly, so that one could not tell whether it was morning or afternoon. It was cold. He had just crossed the river, wet and freezing, and he hoped to have a place to buy clothes when he got to the village.
He sensed that someone was following him.
Who said that about me? He looked back quickly and saw the villagers before him.
The peasants changed their attitude, still carrying the full basket, but their attitude was deferential, and they could no longer see any disrespect. When they saw Shire turning back, they bent down to him humbly.
"My Lord." One of them, a gray-haired farmer with a round nose, stepped forward, took off his straw hat, held it in his hand, and saluted shyly, "Forgive me."
"Forgive you for what?" Char did not understand his meaning, and then came back to himself, "Oh - you saw the body of the river troll."
"You are very good." The farmer quickly complimented.
Shire looked at their scared, cowering eyes, his heart was not taste.
"It's nothing." He was as nice as he could be. "River trolls cause a lot of trouble."
"..." The farmer's eyes turned red and he wiped his tears. "You don't know that you have done a great good... We haven't been able to go out into the forest since the river troll took over the bridge. When he's hungry, he robs villages and kills people and animals. '
"And the Lord? No guards?" 'asked Shire.
"Oh God. The Lord doesn't have to cut down trees and get firewood. His men said to us, 'Don't you go into the forest, then' - is that human speech?"
"The forest must be very important to you."
"We used to make a lot of money by selling wood, but now every year people are drowning in the water to carry wood across the river... Together, we sent a messenger to the grand master of the Grey Tree Hall for help, but people were stopped on the way, beaten, and starved for two days before they returned... Said it would discredit the Lord... What is this?"
"Then you can go into the twilight forest." Shire comforted them.
"You've done us a great service! What is your name?" "Asked the farmer.
"Shire."
"You're a mercenary? An adventurer?"
They walked along the road to the village, chatting aimlessly as they walked.
"I have a special mission." Shire was vague.
'You are the King's envoy! The farmer said in surprise.
"No, I don't work for His Majesty." The king had been ignoring government for some time, while sending out his secret emissaries to maintain his rule.
"So you are a member of the Hundred." They were awed. "Great."
"Nor..." Shire had probably heard of the Hundred, a gang of outlaws with a core of up to a hundred men, who were traveling in Upper Loman and were very powerful.
They were highwaymen who set fire to the road, but by robbing the rich and giving to the poor, they won favor among the people, Etienne hated them, so the Shire also did not like these people.
The farmers guessed Shire's identity all over again. A member of the Thieves' Guild? The Blood Brotherhood killer? Adventurous aristocrats? Or elves disguised as humans? The more I say, the more outrageous.
"Demon Hunter?" The farmer finally guessed a reliable answer.
Shire was still hesitant to admit it, but the older farmer among them said, "No way. The demon hunters are a gang of robbers, murderers, and thieves. How can they help us destroy the trolls?"
"That's right."
"That makes sense."
"A demon hunter is a gangster." Others echoed.
Charles's face stiffened, and Graddius burst into a wild laugh.