Are you calling me? Lorraine Hill reacted quickly.
Under the direct gaze of the man, the people around him dispersed unconsciously, revealing the two girls behind them.
Seeing the swordsman lady wearing silver exquisite armor, several other guards' eyes also lit up, but because of the armor that looked very valuable at first glance, they were a little slow. People who can use such armor are not
Idiot, if you resist, you may lose your life.
Most of these soldiers are ordinary people, but they have complete armor and weapons and can crush ordinary people.
"Excuse me, what's the matter?" Lorraine Hill stood in front of Lottie, took a few steps forward, and walked out of the crowd.
"Humph, where did you come from? What's the purpose of coming here?" He began to think of some excuse to capture this girl.
This is the territory of Viscount Moreau, and with his uncle as his great backer, what can't he do?
"I received the mission to escort the Roentgen caravan here." The girl explained simply. Her attention at the moment was not on the greedy guard captain, but on the soldiers in black behind him, which were very noteworthy.
These cloaked soldiers, whose strength is between sequence 3-4, are rare elites, and judging from their calm and calm appearance, they are not playboys under ordinary nobles.
"Oh, you think so? Come with me to the prison." He said proudly, as if he had everything under control.
He had used this kind of talk countless times in daily life. Anyway, those adventurers did not dare to offend Viscount Moreau, and in the end, he always got some benefits.
Although in Lorraine Hill's view, such an order was simply unreasonable and completely unjust, but looking at the anxious looks of the people around them, it seemed that they had no good solution.
"Sir, can you please accommodate me? The leader of our caravan, Ms. Charlene, is a friend of Mr. Moruo, and we have a very good relationship with each other. And this Miss Mecia is also the hero who escorted us here.
..." The temporary person in charge of the caravan had no choice but to step forward. As he spoke, he waved to the people around him and asked them to get a small bag of gold coins.
Looking at the gold coins handed over, the guard captain's eyes were full of greed, but because there were so many people around, he couldn't accept them directly.
"Do you want to bribe and confuse me just for this? I am Lord Mo Ruo's loyal guard." He grabbed the bag of gold coins and held it up high, as if he was disdainful.
"Of course I'm not bribing you. It's just that you and your brothers came out to search in the middle of the night and did your job really hard. We just want to donate some money to buy dinner for everyone. We also want to thank you and the many loyal guards for taking care of the Roentgen Chamber of Commerce."
The temporary person in charge quickly turned his head.
"snort."
The guard captain seemed quite satisfied with this, but looking at Lorraine Hill's beautiful face, he still couldn't move forward. Fortunately, a sergeant in black came forward and whispered in his ear
After saying a few words, he nodded reluctantly, handed the gold coin to the boy next to him, and then led the people away.
"For the sake of Roentgen Caravan being Mr. Moruo's friend, I won't pursue any of your details this time." After finishing speaking, the guard captain led a group of people out of the yard and continued to the next person on the street.
Go to the target.
Phew, the people in Roentgen's caravan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After leaving, when entering the next house to search, the guard captain asked the sergeant in confusion.
"Why did you dissuade me just now? Although you are under the command of the investigator, I still want to know the reason."
"Sir, that girl is not simple. She has at least Sequence 5 strength. If a conflict really arises, it will only take an instant to kill you and me." The sergeant replied concisely.
"How is it possible? Wasn't it said before that the girl only has Sequence 4?" It seems that he is not unaware, but has heard information about this girl Mecia before.
"Perhaps it's because they have advanced recently. You should have heard that some geniuses can always gain a lot after going through hardships and defeating powerful enemies."
"Before, when she was in Sequence 4, she defeated a Sequence 5 black bear. This is not something that ordinary people can do."
"Uh..." Regarding this, the captain could only remain silent, thinking to himself.
Why is such a beautiful girl so powerful? What a pity. These things flashed through my mind, and then I came back to my senses when my subordinates reported.
"Sir, we have checked this house and found nothing special." The guards searched for some oil and water, and then reported back with satisfaction.
"Well, let's go to the next one." He took the bag containing the coins and shook it slightly. Listening to the pleasant voice, he felt a little happier.
After that, these guards searched from house to house, saying they were looking for things and suspicious people, but they also used it to extort money and got a lot of benefits. Perhaps this is why they took it so seriously.
"Sir, is there something inappropriate about this behavior?"
On the bell tower of the small town, two officers dressed in black stood, one of whom was obviously older and had a higher position.
"It's nothing. You have just graduated from the Royal Academy. You are not familiar with these things now. You will gradually get used to them in the future." The experienced officer moved his eyes slightly and replied slowly.
"Soldiers are not saints. If you want them to be obedient, you have to give them some benefits, no matter where these benefits come from."
"But, we are the investigators of the empire, so..." The young officer next to him was a little shaken.
"Yes, that's right. We are the eyes and swords of the emperor, specializing in eliminating pests in the empire." The old man smiled at the newcomer next to him who was confused, and then waved his hand.
"Is this what you want to say?"
"Yes, my lord."
"But, have you ever thought about what pests are? In other words, who are the pests of the empire, and who are the ones we want to protect?" The old man spoke again.
"Don't tell me that they are the people who are paying." He pointed at the ordinary people who had their doors knocked on one after another in the night and asked to be inspected by the soldiers.
"Well, isn't it? These are citizens of the empire. They have done nothing wrong." The young officer looked at a mother who had just walked out of the courtyard, with her child in her arms.
"No, no, no." The old man shook his head.
"They are just crops, or wheat in the field."
"Do you know what wheat is? Yes, they are food, firewood, and important things."
"And these guards are the ones who help us harvest wheat. They are our allies and our own people. You have to understand this difference."
“When the emperor issues an order, who takes the order and executes it? When the war horn sounds, who leads the troops forward. When the majesty of the royal family is insulted, who holds the long sword to punish those disrespectful people.
?”
"It is these nobles who became the royal family, these families who made oaths and covenants in ancient times. And they are the backbone and support of the empire."
"The people are ignorant, greedy, and ruthless. Don't look at how cooperative they are now. If you don't have a sword and armor in your hands, they won't give you a penny."
"If there are no guards guarding you, they will break into your home and steal your things. If they are not punished and taught a lesson, these people will dare to disobey any order."
"Do you think that if you treat them well, they will remember you and thank you? No, they will complain even more. Why don't you give more? Everyone has given, but why don't you stop giving to me?"
"They will betray you for a little profit, break their oaths and agreements, and hide everywhere, just because they have borrowed money from you."
"If one day he pays back the money, he will still be laughed at by the people around him. Wouldn't he be a fool?"
"So I said, these civilians are crops in the fields. You have to take good care of them and prune them frequently so that they can stay normal. Otherwise, they will become tangled and cluttered."
"As for those pests, they don't do good crops. They not only have different intentions, but also encourage others to be like them. If these people are allowed to expand, they will be like locusts passing through the border, leaving you with no harvest." This experienced person
The prosecutor commented on those revolutionary parties.
"Although Viscount Moreau lost something important this time, we just took this opportunity to search from house to house to clear out the hidden pests."
"Now, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir, I understand." In response to this, the confusion in the young officer's eyes dissipated and turned into firmness and indifference.
They are soldiers loyal to the Emperor and will surely maintain the unity and greatness of the Empire.
————————
After the initial noise and surprise of the search at night, everything slowly calmed down. Although people whispered and complained about the harshness of the guards and the knocking of ropes, when faced with the gleaming spears and sword blades,
Still very rational and restrained and did not resist.
"search!"
The door of another small house opened, and several soldiers poured in.
"You look unfamiliar, where are you from?" These guards are all locals, so they are naturally familiar with the local situation.
In the small yard, in addition to the head of the household and his wife, there were two young men. Judging from their appearance, they did not look like farmers working in the fields.
"We are adventurers from Iron Hill City. Recently I heard that there are a lot of monsters here that need to be dealt with, so we came here." The two of them said a reasonable explanation.
"Is that so?" Several soldiers briefly looked at the two of them, and then asked them to take out the adventurer badges and have a look.
"Here." The two of them obediently took out the badges from inside their collars and shrugged, indicating that they were a little innocent.
Looking at the two badges in the palm of my hand facing the torch, there were a few stains on the copper-colored metal, reflecting a faint light.
"It's true." The guard checked for a while and threw the two badges back, which were carefully caught by the two men.
Soon after, several soldiers who were inspecting the room also came out and reported to the team leader.
"Boss, it's normal inside." As he said this, he held a few pieces of sausage in his hand and took a bite, leaving a slight sheen on his mouth.
"It's indeed quite normal." The team leader looked at the pieces of sausage, smiled, and nodded slowly.
"Let's go."
After saying this, the soldiers greeted each other and started to go to the next house. Behind them, an accompanying sergeant in black glanced meaningfully at the yard, and then quickly followed.
The search continued, and the night gradually deepened, and it was the early morning when I was most exhausted.
The two investigators walked down the clock tower of the town, and several sergeants in black stepped forward and began to report the situation one by one.
....
"The most noteworthy ones above are these." As he spoke, the sergeant pressed a yellowed rough map on the wall of the clock tower, then raised a torch to illuminate it.
The map roughly depicts the outline of the small town and the distribution of streets. There are four circles drawn with red pen, which are very eye-catching.
"This house on North Street near the city wall has an old knight who is said to be a distant relative of this family and came to visit."
"In the 'Barrel Bar' near the market in the middle, there is a guest from the East. He has certificates and documents with him, but our soldiers don't know how to confirm the authenticity."
"In the courtyard where the Central Chamber of Commerce gathers, there are two girls with particularly good looks. One of them is the swordsman who escorted the Roentgen Chamber of Commerce. Their strength is very different from the people around them. It is not normal to appear in this small town.
"
"In a remote corner of the city in the east, there are two adventurers staying in a civilian home. Although they claim to be adventurers and come to deal with monsters, they are practicing the demon sequence, and the mark on the badge is from several years ago. During the mission
The records are quite sparse and a bit strange.”
As an adventurer, every time you complete a mission, the Adventurer Hall will have a corresponding mark engraved on it, which is a symbol of strength and honor.
"Most of the other foreign adventurers are weak, and some are injured. There is nothing unusual about them."
"According to our previous inspection, the person who stole Viscount Moreau's treasure must have at least Sequence 4 in order to avoid the guards and unlock the protective device." The sergeant analyzed calmly.
"Yes, this operation is much more rigorous than before."
"Then let's start taking action now." The experienced investigator covered the brim of his hat, then slowly stepped forward, picked up the handle of the knife at his waist, and pointed to the corner of the map.
"The first is these two people."
The handle of the saber has long been polished and is pointed at the right side of the map, which is the eastern corner of the city.
"Other targets have special features and are unlikely to carry out such covert actions, so these two seemingly normal adventurers are even more suspicious."
"Even if they're not the thieves, I think we'll gain something."
"Yes, sir!"
These sergeants from the center of the empire stood at attention immediately, and then, led by one of them, hurried to the east of the small town.
They moved quickly, their armor-wrapped cloaks fluttering in the night, like bats, as they quickly approached their intended target. However, when they were not far away, their speed suddenly slowed down again, becoming stealthy and silent.
Bang!
The dilapidated wooden door was kicked open directly, sawdust flew in the sound, and the sound of explosion suddenly woke up the surrounding people. Then, black sergeants holding sabers rushed into the small courtyard.
"You--" The head of the household was in the yard at the moment, looking at these men in black in surprise. Before he could ask questions, he felt a chill in his chest, and a sharp long knife stabbed directly through his chest.
"Ah, ah..." He opened his eyes wide and made an unknown sound with his long mouth. He felt that all the warmth had escaped from his chest, and everything became cold quickly.
The owner of the house slowly knelt on the ground, and then fell heavily. Everything in his field of vision began to blur, only the black military boots slowly enlarged in his eyes.
There was a sound of weapons clashing in the backyard, and then it quickly became quiet again.
"Damn it, let one of them get away."
"Don't worry, hehe, as long as the target is determined, they can't escape."
Listening to the low voice coming from in front of him, the homeowner's consciousness slowly fell into darkness until everything fell silent.