Chapter 8 Months of the Demons (Part 1)
To develop the territory well, it must take root from here. If the land is bad it can be reclaimed, if the territory is too small if can be expanded, but all talk is useless if the people left.
If the piece of land could be abandoned at any time, then who would want to purchase it? Who would be willing to invest?
After the assistant minister left, Roland called Carter, his chief knight.
“Assemble your men, go and find some local guards, hunters or farmers, they must have lived here for more than five years, and experienced the Months of the Demons. It would be even better if there’s someone who has fought it”
The knight saluted and left. Roland rubbed his forehead, and continued to look at the aggregated data.
The main exports of the Border town were minerals and animal fur, while the bulk imports were food items. Everything would be transported through Longsong stronghold or directly through the Chishui River in Willow town. There were all kinds of minerals, iron, copper, sulfur, crystal, ruby, sapphire, etc…… It was completely beyond the concept of associated minerals. He thought of what Anna once said, the mining area on the northern slope had reportedly used to be an unknown monster’s underground lair, and until now, the bottom of the mine and the number of forks it had was still unknown.
。
The minerals weren’t paid with the kingdom’s gold royals, instead they were priced according to the foodstuff that arrived. It stands to reason that since the gems could be regarded as a luxury, that in the last five years the Border town could save a large surplus of grains, but in the end there was no surplus.
In other words, the annual output of mining of the Border town was only enough to supply the rations for two thousand people a year. Before the prince arrived here, the Border town was governed by a duke who also took charge of Longsong stronghold. Melting the ore could still be apprehensible. From their point of view, they could save food and had a warning for the monsters.
The fur trade was part of the local’s own proceeds, they went into the west of the forest, hunted some birds and other animals, and sold them to either the Longsong stronghold or to the residents of the small town of Willowleaf. Because of this, no transaction was made in the Border town and so no tax could be collected.
Roland thought. Since he came, it can’t go on like this; the minerals must no longer be priced according to food. The branch of the Chishui river runs through the entire kingdom, and its flow wasn’t blocked. There was a distributary for transportation, so even if we could no longer buy food from the Longsong stronghold, there were still other places that could provide them.
The prerequisite was that he had to be able to fend off those damn monsters here in the Border town.
Carter worked quickly, on the next day he had already found two guards and a local hunter, “These two men are from the Border town patrol, they are the ones with the responsibility to light the fire beacon every year. This hunter said that he had crossed arms with the demons, and even returned with a demon beast head, which he had personally cut off with his own hands.”
The three people bowed simultaneously.
Roland nodded, and permitted them to stand. One of them stepped forward to speak.
“Your honor…… Respected prince…… Your highness”, the first guard who was called up, was too nervous to even speak clearly, “Brian and I are…… Are the people, uh…… When it begins to snow, we…… We will go to the north slope of the mining area…… To the Beacon Tower。 There it’s the first possible.….. it is the first point where the movements of the demons can be seen, if they cross over in great numbers…… We will conceal ourselves in the forest…… Ignite the flames, and from the narrow…… Narrow road we will withdraw to the boat that we prepared beforehand…… then we leave.”
“Since the both of you were together, let your partner to answer it.” Roland covered his face and shook his head, “The demon beasts, can they be killed? ”
The other guard was also very nervous, but at least he didn’t stammer, “Your Highness, it should be possible. They used to be just ordinary animals in the forest. Although they became mad and ferocious through the influence of evil, they could still be killed. During every Months of the Demons, Longsong stronghold will dispatch their t cavalry to wipe out the remnants of demon monster between the land from the stronghold to the Border town. ”
“How long does the Months of the Demon last?”
“Generally between two to three months…… it depends on the sun, “said Brian.
“Depends on the sun?” Roland asked doubtfully.
“Yes,” the guard explained, “Your Highness came to this town not long ago, so you do not know of this. In the Border town, once the snow begins to fall, it will not stop until the sun shines again. Only then will the snowing stop.”
“So when the snow melts, it is the mark that the Months of the Demon has ended?” Roland recalled the past. At least it wasn’t like this in Graycastle, basically the next day it ends to snow, also the sun seems to be different .
“It is exactly like this, the longest Months of the Demon I experienced was two years ago, it lasted nearly four months, and many people couldn’t hold on.”
“Why is that? Shouldn’t the grain reserves in Longsong stronghold be large enough?” Roland asked.
Brian’s face got a little angry, “They have enough. But Reynolds, the municipal administration officer who is responsible declared that the output of ore was only enough to purchase food for three months, for the fourth month, a new batch of ore had to be delivered. But the Months of the Demons hadn’t ended, so we couldn’t leave the fortress.”
“So that was what happened…… I understand.”
They were simply fools that alienated the people. If Longsong stronghold treated the people who were living in the frontiers with kindness like the warmth of the spring wind, they would most likely want to stay and not leave, but at the moment it seems that the group of people in control of Longsong stronghold were not of the good kind. Roland beckoned the last person to come forward and answer, while putting this one’s name in his heart.
The third person looked courageous and strong, with a height of 6-feet he made Roland feel great pressure. Fortunately, he came forward and dropped to his knees.
“You said you killed a demon before?”
“Yes, your honor.” His voice was low and hoarse, “One of the wild boar species, one of the wolf species.”
“Species?” Roland repeated, “What do you mean?”
“This is the name of the demonic beast, your highness. The fiercer the animal was before the variation, the more difficult it would be to deal with after the variation. They would have the advantageous points of their body further strengthened. For the wild boar, its back fur would become extremely tough. It would be difficult to hurt it with a crossbow, even if it was within a range of 50 yards. For the wolf species, they become more cunning, and their running speed is amazing, in order to kill it, a trap has to be set up in advance.”
“The trong would become stronger and the fast even faster.” Roland nodded, “But they are still animals.”
“They are, but they aren’t even the most terriying kind of enemy.” The hunter spoke till this point and had to swallow his saliva before he was able to continue talking, “The worst one is the mixed species.”
“They are truly the devil’s incarnate, only hell is able to create such a horrifying monster. I have seen an hybrid. It did not only possess beast-like strong limbs, on its back there was even a pair of huge wings, and was able to fly short distances. It always knew where I was, no matter how much I tried to hide, it could always find me. It was not hunting the prey, your highness, it was just toying with the prey.” Liehu lifted his clothes, showing a large scar that extended from the abdomen to the chest. “I lost my consciousness and fell into the Chishui River, I was lucky to survive.”
“There is such a monster?” Roland felt that this world was becoming more and more like a fantasy. A strong wall may block all ordinary kinds of demonic beasts, but if they could fly, what should he do? “Mixed species should be very rare, right?”
Chapter 8 Months of the Demons (Part 1)
To develop the territory well, it must take root from here. If the land is bad it can be reclaimed, if the territory is too small if can be expanded, but all talk is useless if the people left.
If the piece of land could be abandoned at any time, then who would want to purchase it? Who would be willing to invest?
After the assistant minister left, Roland called Carter, his chief knight.
“Assemble your men, go and find some local guards, hunters or farmers, they must have lived here for more than five years, and experienced the Months of the Demons. It would be even better if there’s someone who has fought it”
The knight saluted and left. Roland rubbed his forehead, and continued to look at the aggregated data.
The main exports of the Border town were minerals and animal fur, while the bulk imports were food items. Everything would be transported through Longsong stronghold or directly through the Chishui River in Willow town. There were all kinds of minerals, iron, copper, sulfur, crystal, ruby, sapphire, etc…… It was completely beyond the concept of associated minerals. He thought of what Anna once said, the mining area on the northern slope had reportedly used to be an unknown monster’s underground lair, and until now, the bottom of the mine and the number of forks it had was still unknown.
。
The minerals weren’t paid with the kingdom’s gold royals, instead they were priced according to the foodstuff that arrived. It stands to reason that since the gems could be regarded as a luxury, that in the last five years the Border town could save a large surplus of grains, but in the end there was no surplus.
In other words, the annual output of mining of the Border town was only enough to supply the rations for two thousand people a year. Before the prince arrived here, the Border town was governed by a duke who also took charge of Longsong stronghold. Melting the ore could still be apprehensible. From their point of view, they could save food and had a warning for the monsters.
The fur trade was part of the local’s own proceeds, they went into the west of the forest, hunted some birds and other animals, and sold them to either the Longsong stronghold or to the residents of the small town of Willowleaf. Because of this, no transaction was made in the Border town and so no tax could be collected.
Roland thought. Since he came, it can’t go on like this; the minerals must no longer be priced according to food. The branch of the Chishui river runs through the entire kingdom, and its flow wasn’t blocked. There was a distributary for transportation, so even if we could no longer buy food from the Longsong stronghold, there were still other places that could provide them.
The prerequisite was that he had to be able to fend off those damn monsters here in the Border town.
Carter worked quickly, on the next day he had already found two guards and a local hunter, “These two men are from the Border town patrol, they are the ones with the responsibility to light the fire beacon every year. This hunter said that he had crossed arms with the demons, and even returned with a demon beast head, which he had personally cut off with his own hands.”
The three people bowed simultaneously.
Roland nodded, and permitted them to stand. One of them stepped forward to speak.
“Your honor…… Respected prince…… Your highness”, the first guard who was called up, was too nervous to even speak clearly, “Brian and I are…… Are the people, uh…… When it begins to snow, we…… We will go to the north slope of the mining area…… To the Beacon Tower。 There it’s the first possible.….. it is the first point where the movements of the demons can be seen, if they cross over in great numbers…… We will conceal ourselves in the forest…… Ignite the flames, and from the narrow…… Narrow road we will withdraw to the boat that we prepared beforehand…… then we leave.”
“Since the both of you were together, let your partner to answer it.” Roland covered his face and shook his head, “The demon beasts, can they be killed? ”
The other guard was also very nervous, but at least he didn’t stammer, “Your Highness, it should be possible. They used to be just ordinary animals in the forest. Although they became mad and ferocious through the influence of evil, they could still be killed. During every Months of the Demons, Longsong stronghold will dispatch their t cavalry to wipe out the remnants of demon monster between the land from the stronghold to the Border town. ”
“How long does the Months of the Demon last?”
“Generally between two to three months…… it depends on the sun, “said Brian.
“Depends on the sun?” Roland asked doubtfully.
“Yes,” the guard explained, “Your Highness came to this town not long ago, so you do not know of this. In the Border town, once the snow begins to fall, it will not stop until the sun shines again. Only then will the snowing stop.”
“So when the snow melts, it is the mark that the Months of the Demon has ended?” Roland recalled the past. At least it wasn’t like this in Graycastle, basically the next day it ends to snow, also the sun seems to be different .
“It is exactly like this, the longest Months of the Demon I experienced was two years ago, it lasted nearly four months, and many people couldn’t hold on.”
“Why is that? Shouldn’t the grain reserves in Longsong stronghold be large enough?” Roland asked.
Brian’s face got a little angry, “They have enough. But Reynolds, the municipal administration officer who is responsible declared that the output of ore was only enough to purchase food for three months, for the fourth month, a new batch of ore had to be delivered. But the Months of the Demons hadn’t ended, so we couldn’t leave the fortress.”
“So that was what happened…… I understand.”
They were simply fools that alienated the people. If Longsong stronghold treated the people who were living in the frontiers with kindness like the warmth of the spring wind, they would most likely want to stay and not leave, but at the moment it seems that the group of people in control of Longsong stronghold were not of the good kind. Roland beckoned the last person to come forward and answer, while putting this one’s name in his heart.
The third person looked courageous and strong, with a height of 6-feet he made Roland feel great pressure. Fortunately, he came forward and dropped to his knees.
“You said you killed a demon before?”
“Yes, your honor.” His voice was low and hoarse, “One of the wild boar species, one of the wolf species.”
“Species?” Roland repeated, “What do you mean?”
“This is the name of the demonic beast, your highness. The fiercer the animal was before the variation, the more difficult it would be to deal with after the variation. They would have the advantageous points of their body further strengthened. For the wild boar, its back fur would become extremely tough. It would be difficult to hurt it with a crossbow, even if it was within a range of 50 yards. For the wolf species, they become more cunning, and their running speed is amazing, in order to kill it, a trap has to be set up in advance.”
“The trong would become stronger and the fast even faster.” Roland nodded, “But they are still animals.”
“They are, but they aren’t even the most terriying kind of enemy.” The hunter spoke till this point and had to swallow his saliva before he was able to continue talking, “The worst one is the mixed species.”
“They are truly the devil’s incarnate, only hell is able to create such a horrifying monster. I have seen an hybrid. It did not only possess beast-like strong limbs, on its back there was even a pair of huge wings, and was able to fly short distances. It always knew where I was, no matter how much I tried to hide, it could always find me. It was not hunting the prey, your highness, it was just toying with the prey.” Liehu lifted his clothes, showing a large scar that extended from the abdomen to the chest. “I lost my consciousness and fell into the Chishui River, I was lucky to survive.”
“There is such a monster?” Roland felt that this world was becoming more and more like a fantasy. A strong wall may block all ordinary kinds of demonic beasts, but if they could fly, what should he do? “Mixed species should be very rare, right?”
