The carriage drove slowly through the city gate, and faced a row of gallows, with several corpses hanging on them, some even with missing limbs, and a wooden sign with charges written on their chests.
Rohr also didn't expect that such a primitive, barbaric, and cruel 'tradition' would still be maintained here. He couldn't help but frowned and asked in a low voice:
"Are these resistance members?"
"No……"
Jeanne shook her head and explained:
"They are just civilians who cannot afford to pay taxes..."
"For the current principality, the resistance organization is nothing. Only failure to pay taxes is a capital crime."
Luo Er was slightly startled, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Want to get out of the car and take a walk? Can you let me show you the real Principality of Maud?"
Jeanne suggested again.
Rolle hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
So the two jumped out of the carriage and walked side by side on the street.
Compared with Sweet Frost City, the area of Gaoshan Castle is much larger, and there are many more people on the street, but most of them are skinny, ragged, and dirty, and it is difficult to tell whether they are refugees or not.
There were not many shops visible on the street, and most of the people looked like they were idle, squatting casually on the street, their eyes full of numbness, silently looking at Rolle and Jeanne.
Some people cast greedy glances at Jeanne, but after seeing Roll next to them, they quickly turned away and whispered a few curse words.
Sewage and all kinds of garbage are flowing all over the streets, filled with a disgusting stench.
There were also some skinny children who deliberately bumped into Luo Er, trying to take the opportunity to take away the banknotes in his pocket.
Luo Er quickly dodged and gave way.
Before the two of them walked out of a street, they met five "little" thieves who had a plan.
One of them was unlucky. He happened to be seen by a patrolling soldier. He jumped up and slipped the little one into the nearby garbage pile. He then turned back and showed a flattering smile to Roel.
, and said something in a gibbering voice.
"He said you can hire him as a guard so that no one in the city dares to harass you."
Jeanne translated from the side.
"Refuse for me."
Roll replied.
Jeanne spoke a few words to the soldier in native dialect, but the soldier did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he bowed respectfully and stepped aside.
"You may not believe it, but this is the second largest city in the entire Fertile Valley."
Jeanne took on the role of guide and continued to introduce:
"It was once prosperous and glorious, and it was a beautiful place that everyone longed for, but now, it is not as good as Tianshuang Town back then..."
Luo Er originally thought that Tianshuang City was bad enough and backward, but at least it was relatively clean and tidy overall. There were normal shops on the streets, schools provided education, and the security was pretty good. There were no such people doing private work on the street.
Soldier.
I never imagined that this so-called second largest city could be so miserable.
The two of them then walked down another street and happened to witness a case of riding a horse and wounding someone.
The rider on the horse was a well-dressed fat man, and the person who was knocked down was a middle-aged woman carrying a sack, like a porter, who was lying on the ground, coughing up blood, and her internal organs were obviously injured.
Soon patrolling soldiers came over, but instead of arresting the murderer, they kicked the woman roughly and told her to get out of the way and not occupy the road.
The woman climbed up tremblingly, coughing violently while dragging the bloody sack on the ground.
The fat man rode a horse and left proudly under the escort of the soldiers.
"That man is from the United Kingdom."
Jeanne said again.
Luo Er took a deep breath, calmed down, and asked:
"The Principality of Maud is also considered a part of the United Kingdom, right? Is this how they treat you?"
Jeanne smiled bitterly, shook her head, and explained:
"You should also know that the Fertile Valley has been a vassal of the Alien Alliance hundreds of years ago. When the aliens were driven out of the mainland and retreated to the North Sea Islands, it was ceded to the United Kingdom and the current Principality of Mod was established.
.”
"So we are just incidental trophies. In the eyes of the United Kingdom, we are no different from livestock or objects."
Luo Er couldn't help but sigh in a low voice, expressing deep sympathy for this.
I can only express sympathy.
If the geographical location here was not so sensitive, if the empire and the barbarians were not so strong, and if the people of this world were more peace-loving, the fate of the Fertile Valley might not be so tragic.
It's a pity that this place is so unfortunate, as if it was cursed by an evil god.
The situation here can no longer be saved by one person or organization. I am afraid that only gods can save it.
However, in this world, there are no good gods, only evil gods...
The two continued shopping for a while, and suddenly heard a series of screams and cries coming from an alley next to them.
They rushed over and saw a stooped middle-aged man holding a little girl of several years old tightly, enduring the punches and kicks of several soldiers, and kept begging.
The little girl trembled and cried, her voice a little hoarse.
There were some people watching, but no one stepped forward to help or dissuade. Everyone had an indifferent expression on their face, and some even had a sneer of gloating on their lips.
"If he can't pay the taxes, these people will take his daughter away."
Jeanne translated in a low voice.
Rohr clenched his fists slightly...
"Tell them to stop."
Rohr said quickly.
Jeanne took a step forward and shouted a few words.
The soldiers looked back one after another. When they saw Rohr, although there was an unhappy expression on their faces, they still stopped.
Roll took out a 10 East note from his pocket and asked:
"Is it enough?"
Jeanne nodded.
He then threw the banknotes in front of the soldiers.
The other party picked it up quickly, and his original discomfort turned into a smile. He said some flattering words that he couldn't understand, nodded and bowed, and left the alley.
"You can't help them like this..."
Jeanne reminded her in a low voice.
Roll shrugged and sighed:
"But that's all I can do."
After all, he was still unable to achieve true indifference and numbness, turning a blind eye to all the tragedies in front of him.
The guide Zaza quickly ran over, helped the poor father up, and quickly returned to Rohr.
"Mr. Rohr, thank you for your kindness, but we'd better leave now, otherwise we will be in bigger trouble soon."
Of course, Luo Er knew what the so-called bigger trouble was. He nodded and quickly left the alley.
This place cannot bear even a little kindness.
Behind him, the father and daughter were kneeling on the ground, worshiping deeply towards his back.