A small farming village in the outer suburbs of Tiegebao.
"My lord, please be kind to me. My old wife is terminally ill, and she needs only this little food to survive!"
Under the eaves of a dilapidated house, a thin old farmer with white hair and tattered linen clothes knelt on the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs.
I saw him using a pair of dry arms to tightly hug the thigh of a fat middle-aged man in a brocade robe in front of him.
She burst into tears and said: "Seeing that the villain's two sons both died of illness while building the castle for the city lord, let's leave this stutter for the villain..."
"Go away, you bitch!"
On the other side, the fat middle-aged man in a brocade robe kicked the stooped old farmer in front of him to the side of the fence with a look of disgust, and snorted coldly: "If you dare to do this again,
If you cry in front of your Majesty, I will burn your doghouse directly!"
Having said this, the fat middle-aged man in brocade robes directed the two soldiers with fierce faces beside him to carry away the two bags of wheat that had just been found from the old farmer's house, and joked: "Old man, you have to blame
Just blame your two stupid sons for not putting up with it."
After that, the fat middle-aged man in a beautiful brocade robe, surrounded by a group of soldiers, walked towards the courtyard gate surrounded by a broken fence with a sneer.
However, just after the obese man had taken a few steps, the old farmer who still refused to give up and his tattered clothes were covered with mud struggled to get up from under the fence. He suppressed the pain in his body and staggered to block the obese man again.
in front of.
Due to the threat just made by the other party, this time, the old farmer, who was almost unsteady on his feet, did not speak. Instead, he remained motionless with a firm face, staring at the bag of wheat carried on the shoulders of the soldiers on the side, obviously in a silent struggle.
.
For a moment, there was a stark contrast between the solitary, skinny old farmer, the fat middle-aged man in front of him, and the tall and strong soldiers, which made people feel sad.
"The bastard actually stood in front of me again!"
I saw the fat man's face darken, and a blazing fireball instantly floated above his fat hand. In an instant, the flames rose, reflecting a ferocious face.
But just when the obese middle-aged man was about to kill him, not far away, a pair of thin young women who had just returned from picking wild vegetables outside caught his attention.
"Old man, are those two your daughters?"
After extinguishing the fireball on his palm, a look of vulgarity appeared on the face of the obese middle-aged man and he said: "It just so happens that my master's mansion is short of two maids, and you want food, then the matter is very simple.
, as long as you hand your daughter into my hands, the food will be returned to you immediately."
Licking his chapped lips, the obese middle-aged man added: "In this way, you get the food, and I get the maid. There is simply no better way to get the best of both worlds!"
After that, the fat middle-aged man excitedly ordered two tall soldiers to come forward without waiting for the old farmer to answer. In the blink of an eye, the pair of thin young women with confused faces were tightly restrained.
"Father...Father!"
In an instant, the straw basket filled with wild vegetables fell to the ground, and the two young women screamed in terror and despair, constantly irritating the old farmer's eardrums.
Seeing that the other party actually wanted to kidnap his only remaining two daughters, the old farmer's cloudy eyes immediately turned red, and his old face, which had originally looked like begging, froze on the spot.
I saw his old feet wrapped in old straw sandals, slowly and secretly exerting force, causing the soil at the heel to begin to move slightly, obviously preparing to use this withered body to fight to the death with the opponent.
There is no doubt that even if there is no possibility of winning, the old farmer will fight to the death to get a piece of his opponent's flesh.
Directly opposite, all this was clearly seen by the middle-aged fat man. He was a second-level peak powerhouse and could easily kill such an old guy who didn't even have an energy vortex.
"If you don't eat the toast, you'll have to drink the wine as a penalty. Since you want to die so much, I will grant your wish!"
The fire magic energy particles in the air were trembling, just as the murderous aura on the middle-aged obese man's face became extremely strong.
As a gust of wind passed by, two slender female figures suddenly appeared in front of everyone present.
I saw that both of them were wearing a set of light blue knight's casual clothes, with a knight's sword at their waist, and even the long hair neatly tied up on their heads was exactly the same.
However, the taller female knight's pretty face is dotted with a bit of charm, and the cold temperament exuding from her whole body gives people a feeling of being inaccessible, quite like a royal sister.
The other female knight, who was slightly shorter, blinked her smart starry eyes, which vaguely revealed a hint of willfulness and arrogance, giving her the air of a noble lady.
Needless to say, these two people are Tina, the leader of the Blue Rose Knights, and her sister Tia.
"Lord Jim, stop when it suits you."
Looking at the fat middle-aged man coldly, Tina frowned and said: "Your Excellency is just a grain collection officer under the Marquis. It seems that you have no power to deal with the free farmers in the Marquis' territory at will, right?"
"Who did I think was so short-sighted? It turned out to be my dear Captain Tina... Your Excellency."
Angrily dispelling the deadly fireball in his hand, the obese middle-aged man in a brocade robe first looked up and down Tina's uneven body without any scruples.
Then, he snorted disdainfully and said: "It's true that I am just a grain collector under the Marquis, but you are just a watchdog raised by the Marquis. Without the charity from the Marquis, I'm afraid you, the so-called
The Knights have long been disbanded and disappeared, right?"
"A watchdog in need of help actually jumps out to interfere with people's business. It's really strange these days."
After saying that, the middle-aged fat man known as Lord Jim started laughing with the soldiers around him.
"Jim, don't bully others too much!"
Before Tina could reply, Tia took a step forward, put her hand on the hilt of her sword and said: "As far as I know, the free farmers in this village have completed the land directly owned by the Marquis and paid the full amount on time.
You have collected grain, and what you are collecting now is the grain from the free farmers’ own allotments, right?”
"So what?"
Lord Jim sneered, and his fat face covered with slender flesh had a look of indifference.
Then he argued sophistically: "The land under direct control is the territory of the Marquis. Could it be that the allotment of these slaves is not the territory of the Marquis? As the grain collection officer of the Marquis, I collect the grain produced in the Marquis' territory, and also
Is there anything worth questioning?"
"You are totally arrogant!"
I saw a furious look on Tiya's little face, and said tit for tat: "From the moment His Majesty the Hero King established the Cold Flame Kingdom, the first kingdom law promulgated was to abolish serfdom and ensure the freedom of free farmers.
Power, don’t you know this?”
"I don't know any kingdom laws."
Still raising his eyebrows nonchalantly, Lord Jim said with a look of surprise on his fat face: "Dear sister, the leader, you don't know that the Marquis has the judicial power of this land, right? It's really true.
A young and brainless young lady."
After saying that, Lord Jim glanced at Tia's flat chest with disgust, and laughed loudly with the surrounding soldiers again.
"You're such a dog-like scoundrel..."
Hearing this, Tia was furious and was about to draw her sword, but was stopped by Tina who was standing beside her.
"The other party is the Marquis's loyal dogleg, and it is not appropriate to conflict with him."
First, she whispered something to Tia in her ear. Tina took a step forward and said loudly: "Lord Jim, even the local judicial power cannot override the laws of the kingdom. I think you should know this better than anyone else."
clear."
After a pause, Tiya raised her eyebrows slightly and continued: "Once this matter reaches the Tiegebao Tribunal, after word spreads, it will probably only tarnish the reputation of the Marquis. This must be something you don't want to see.
Bar?"
"Hey, when it comes to talking nonsense, the head of the regiment is indeed unrivaled."
Lord Jim snorted disdainfully again. While waving his hand to signal the soldiers to put down the grain and the two young women, Lord Jim slowly squatted in front of the old farmer and said with a fierce look on his face: "Old man, this time your fortune is good. I will."
Sir, let’s see if you will have such good luck next time.”
"Your two daughters will be in my hands sooner or later."
Having said this, Lord Jim looked at the two thin young women who had just been released with a lewd look, and then he laughed loudly and left the small courtyard with his soldiers.
"The villain thanks Lady Tina, the villain thanks Lady Tiya!"
Seeing Lord Jim leave, the old farmer immediately relaxed. He immediately pulled his two daughters and knelt down in front of Tina and Tia. He burst into tears and said, "If you two don't come forward, I'm afraid I will have to do it."
The family was ruined..."
"There is no need to be polite, old gentleman."
Looking at the unbearable scene in front of her, Tina took Tiya and quickly helped the three of them up, and then said: "As a knight, it is our duty to protect the free farmers on this land.
"
Speaking of this, Tina couldn't help but shook her head.
Although as early as the founding of Leng Yan, His Majesty the King of Heroes abolished the serf system, making all Leng Yan's people become free farmers with no restrictions on their actions.
However, since the ownership of the land is still firmly in the hands of the nobles in various places, whether the people in various places are truly unrestrained still depends on the noble city lords in each place.
But despite this, for the first three hundred years, the land of Lengyan was peaceful, and there were almost no traditional nobles who violated the laws promulgated by His Majesty the Hero King.
It was not until the past three hundred years that due to the frequent wars around the kingdom, many new nobles who had accumulated military exploits and were granted territorial titles began to rise slowly and unknowingly.
Most of these new nobles, whose ancestors were originally free farmers, began to act more and more unscrupulously in their own fiefdoms after receiving the judicial power granted by the royal family.
They all covered these free farmers with the same status as their ancestors with their big hands that covered the sky.
No one thought that the many cruel methods used by these new nobles in the kingdom would make many traditional nobles feel inferior... The Iron Gate Castle where they are located is the most typical representative of this.
Not following the rules is also the main source of conflicts between the new aristocracy and the traditional aristocracy.
Due to the rapid rise of the new nobles, many traditional nobles felt threatened and began to desperately catch up.
With interests and powers overlapping, small-scale wars between the old and new nobles, either openly or secretly, began to take place one after another.
Over the past few hundred years, marriages, rebellions, assassinations, and even family annihilations were common occurrences throughout Lengyan. While many aristocratic families became stronger, they also naturally caused many aristocratic families to gradually decline.
As for Leng Yan's highest power center, the Leng Yan royal family, most of the kings turn a blind eye to this kind of aristocratic war where the palms and backs of their hands are full of flesh.
It was not until the 19th generation Cold Flame King, known as the King of Steel Arms, was crowned that the situation began to ease.
And this heroic Lengyan King is the old king of the hero who is in his twilight years and is currently in a coma.
Thinking of this, Tina lowered her eyebrows and sighed softly.
Having said that, the reason why Lord Jim acted so wantonly in the village just now was naturally because of the instruction of the Lord Marquis, the lord of Iron Gate Castle.
This was the reason why she was wary and did not directly teach the other party a lesson.
Because behind the opponent, stood the absolute master here, the Marquis.
As a radical figure loyal to the second prince and the new nobleman Leng Yan, the Marquis has done many despicable things.
The most important reason why such a nobleman with a long history of crimes was willing to contribute money to the Knights of the Blue Rose before was that he wanted to use the Knights of the Blue Rose to restore some of his own reputation.
As for Tina, who has never collaborated with the other party, why she still chooses to stay in this land also has her own difficulties.
On the one hand, it is to help the people on this land as much as possible like just now,
On the other hand, it's because their roots are right here...
"Sister...leader, what should we do?"
After sending the old farmer and his two daughters back to the dilapidated wooden house, Tiya walked out again with a frown on her face and said, "It won't be long before those hateful guys will come back again!"
"I can help you a little bit."
Shaking her head helplessly, Tina looked at the dilapidated and desolate environment around her, and sighed softly: "With our strength, we can only do this."
"Sister, do you think there will be a big man who will change this place?"
With her starry eyes twinkling, Tiya's pretty face was filled with anticipation.