Blood tax

Chapter 5 First Encounter
"Please, please stay, sir." A strong man in chain armor came to Griffith hesitantly. "I'm the captain of the militia, may I ask you?"

"Griffith Brandon, apprentice knight, second-level squad leader," Griffith nodded calmly to the militia captain, "Where is the village chief?"

"I'm the village head, a brave apprentice knight," the village head with gray temples emerged from the crowd.The panic and nervous expression on his face had not faded, and he looked up and down at his reinforcements.

The village chief looked at Griffith's equipment and armor, and at the blue ribbon at the neckline.The battle of defeating the goblins just now was for everyone to see, the village chief looked up at Griffith with respect and gratitude: "Thank you for saving us, really... I really don't know how to thank you. ."

Just pay, I'm in a hurry... Griffith glanced at the village chief, then looked around.He swallowed the words that jumped to his lips, stepped forward and tapped his left chest: "Respected village chief, there is news in the town that more than [-] goblins will attack this village at any time. already known."

"Yes, Mr. Apprentice Knight, the boys in the village found their traces," the village chief nodded. "We are already armed and are waiting for the town's support."

"The town's militia will arrive tomorrow, and it will be difficult for you to get more reinforcements tonight," Griffith said. "Please gather the young people in the village to prepare fortifications. I request this battle as a non-commissioned officer of the kingdom's army. Command. Also, I need some weapons and food."

The village chief agreed to this request without difficulty, and brought the apprentice knight to a mansion in the middle of the village.The rescued villagers rushed to thank him and gave Griffith two large loaves of bread, milk and some bacon.A dozen villagers armed with wooden guns, hammers and axes gathered outside the house, looking nervously inside.

After walking for a long time, the apprentice knight took the food, swallowed the bacon in two mouthfuls, and then sat in the village chief's room with sweet milk and bread to eat.While eating, he drew a sketch with charcoal and gave it to the village chief.

"This is?" The village chief and the militia captain looked at the simple sketch, then looked up at the apprentice knight.

"After the attack just now was thwarted, the goblins should be quiet for a few hours before entering the night. That's the real dangerous time. We have to complete these works along the entrance road to the village within two hours," Georgie said. Reeves looked at the two seriously and said, "The amount of work is not large, but it is related to the lives of everyone in this village. I need all of you adults and children to work together and complete it immediately without any compromise."

Civil engineering is a proud tradition of our Bayeran army.Griffith drew it on the paper and briefly explained the main points of the project.

"Is it really useful to just set up wooden walls and earth barriers, or in the village?" the militia captain asked with some guilty conscience. "The walls of our village are not high."

"The core of the defense is not these wooden walls, they are just part of my plan." The apprentice knight said while eating quickly.

"Then what is the core?!" The village chief immediately took over the topic.

The apprentice knight raised his right hand and tapped his sturdy chest. The gauntlet struck the armor with a dull sound.

"I."

……

Just when the militia captain read the sketch and went out, the villagers gathered outside the house suddenly let out a burst of exclamations.

Before anyone could explain what happened, a tall and slender woman with an unusually beautiful appearance appeared at the door.She wore intricately decorated silver light armor and a dark green half-length cloak.Short swords and daggers hang from the slender and elastic waist, silver pendants are wrapped around the black boots, and behind the back is a beautiful recurve bow, the arms are made of yew wood, and the bow string close together.When she lifted the hood, two pointy ears appeared in her long, smooth black hair.

The villagers rioted even more.

"Elves?"

"Why did the elves come to our little place?"

The villagers exclaimed.As a mysterious and powerful race, elves occasionally appear in the big cities of the kingdom to trade, and the rest of the time they just hunt in the jungle, rarely appearing in small and medium-sized towns, let alone small villages.

"Noble lady, what can I do for you?" The village chief left Griffith, rubbed his hands, and ran in front of the beautiful Miss Elf.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm Galadia. Although our lifespan is longer than yours, I'm not old!" The elf archer lightly flicked her long black hair like a waterfall, and looked at it with her beautiful eyes. Turning to the village chief, he looked at Griffith, who was covered in blood and was eating, and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, I am here to perform a mission in this area, and by the way, I will tell you that more than 200 goblins are gathering in the forest." Ready to attack you."

"That's really, really nice, no, it's not good. Beautiful elf lady, the town told us that there will be reinforcements, but I didn't expect mere goblins to trouble you so noble..." The village chief thanked rambled. .

"Mere goblins? Goblins are very dangerous, so don't underestimate them," Galadia said earnestly, looking down at the village chief who was a head shorter than herself, "Besides, I'm not here to help deal with my brother. Breen's."

Griffith sat at the dining table and watched the elf and the village chief speak.This good-looking girl had a serious expression when she spoke, but her tone was filled with excitement and happiness that could not be concealed, like a deer jumping in the forest trying to pose arrogantly.Her every move exudes elegance and comfort.Griffith looked at Miss Elf in a trance, and in his heart began to envy the village chief who could talk to her.

"To sum up, I need a clean hut to rest for a while, and clean water, milk, oatmeal, to be cooked! I'll pay your currency as a fee," Galadia asked in a string of requests Ended the conversation with the village chief, "Hey, soldier, can you wash yourself and come find me?"

me?Griffith couldn't help pointing to his face.

"Well, it's you!"

……

After cleaning his clothes and armor with well water and scrubbing himself carefully, Griffith looked carefully left and right at a water tank.The 17-year-old boy's immature temperament could hardly be seen on his angular face, and his short black hair was slightly curly. Although it was not very handsome, it was at least pleasing to the eye.

"Are you a Beyonder?" A clear voice sounded from behind, startling the apprentice knight.

"I saw your battle just now. You can feel a subtle aura of power on your body. You should be a Beyonder candidate in Sequence 9!" He tilted his head and looked at the apprentice knight looking around, "What is the most powerful creature you have ever dealt with?"

"Have you dealt with it?" Griffith thought for a while. "I've been stabbed by trolls, beaten by trolls, and have ribs broken by Beamon..."

"Hahaha! Isn't this all about being beaten, beaten and beaten!" Galadia laughed until her brows and eyes turned into crescent moons, "You had your ribs broken by Beamon, so why are you still alive? "

"It was just wiped by the wind pressure..."

"Hmm, the Iron Eagle Medal, it doesn't seem to have any amazing achievements," the beautiful elf jumped down from the eaves dexterously, and glanced at the light blue ribbon on the apprentice knight's collar, "I encountered Beamon... ...do you have battlefield syndrome?"

Soldiers returning from the bloody battlefields of the East will be haunted by horrific memories of the past.It's not a shameful thing for a veteran, it's even a badge of honor like a scar.On a hellish battlefield, a guy who is always happy will be suspected of being insane.

In this world, madness is even scarier than death.

"Occasionally trembling hands and nightmares," Griffith whispered. "No loss of control."

"It's alright, um, alright," Galadia nodded, "The quality of the boys trained by the assault cavalry and the Junior Non-commissioned Officer School is not bad~ Although you are not a big hero, but as a starting stage, it is still in my hands. within the acceptable range.”

Ordinary soldier is really sorry for you... Griffith muttered in his heart, while looking at Miss Elf's clothing and equipment, he found that it was full of emblems, unrecognizable accessories and lights that he did not recognize.

This is an elf noble with enchanted equipment, and there are not a few.

"So, Goblin, do you understand?" Galadia looked away from the apprentice knight and looked into his eyes, "What? What's the matter with your confused eyes? Well, let me tell you."

"I followed the goblins for a while and determined that they will attack tonight," Galadia walked towards the entrance of the village with the apprentice knight, "I need to search for their lair, and protecting this village is not my task. In fact, I can't resist hundreds of goblins. When the goblins attack, I will look for an opportunity to leave."

Why is everyone thinking about going to the lair...

Griffith looked at the elf in surprise: "There are some militiamen in the village, and I'm here too. With your assistance, it's not unrealistic to rely on the village wall to resist more than 200 goblins."

"It's not just goblin goblins," Galadia walked towards the entrance of the village, until she came to the wooden gate, "Goblin shamans and goblin warriors will appear in a group of this size. It's a high-level unit among them. After adding them, these two boards can't stand it."

"Please wait, if the enemy really has such strength, isn't it too dangerous for you to go deeper into their lair?" Griffith asked incredulously.

"With this village and you attracting their attention, there won't be too many left-behind troops in the lair. I'm sure to sneak in to complete the mission and escape! So~ I hope you can persevere as long as possible." Galadia said , "How? Are you afraid? I can consider taking you to attack the lair instead of staying here to die. Your chances of surviving in the dark night are close to zero."

That doesn't sound right... Griffith turned around and stepped forward to face Galadia, looking into her eyes.

The elf met the apprentice knight's gaze without fear.

Now, Griffith realizes that he has two options - 1. Request and Galadia to take him away. 2. Stick to the village.

Why is this elf telling me this?Griffith rejected the elf's proposal without hesitation in his heart.If the enemy really has such a scale, his leaving again means that the village will not have any reinforcements, and it is a high probability that the goblins will be completely slaughtered.

It is one thing to strive for a good treatment when accepting a task, but the massacre of more than 100 human compatriots is to step on the bottom line of intolerability.

"Such a temptation isn't cute at all, Miss Galadia," Griffith shook his head. "I'm not going to sit back and watch this village be destroyed by goblins. It's unheard of, and I wouldn't let it in my life. It will happen right in front of you. If there are strong goblins among the incoming enemies, let them try the courage of the Eagle Banner soldiers."

"Where did you get the eagle flag now? Can you beat the high-ranking goblin with more than 200 subordinates?" Galadia's eyes widened.

"I'll do my duty until the last minute," Griffith replied unwaveringly.

Galadia shook her head slightly: "But you still can't hold back if you have the courage!"

"I need information," Griffith said. "Please tell me what you know about goblins."

"Okay~" Galadia sighed, and drew a sketch of the shape of a goblin on the ground with a branch, and said while gesticulating:
"Goblins are ferocious and timid creatures. Common imps or warriors are only slightly taller than human children, but stronger. Most of them are agile."

Next, she drew a goblin that was three times as tall:
"This is a goblin warrior, a rare high-level goblin like a goblin shaman. The former has the strength and stamina of an enemy warrior, and the latter is a spellcaster who is good at planning and poison."

"How's the spellcasting ability?" Griffith recorded it in his notebook while listening. "The spellcaster who is covered in battle is difficult to deal with. If the opponent is a big threat, I will kill it first."

"Very ordinary, their magic affinity is not strong, their configuration is neither fast nor accurate, but the poison is very slippery," the elf drew another image of a small shaman, "Shaman in the goblin colony Your status is more like the role of a spiritual leader and counselor, and will not throw fireballs at you from a distance."

"do you have anything else?"

"Goblin Hero," Galadia rubbed her head, not knowing how to draw it, she simply drew a guy who was bigger than a goblin warrior, "Having unique martial skills or abilities, this is no longer us. There are Beyonders we can deal with, if we encounter them, we’d better run for our lives. What are you asking the villagers to do?”

When the two were talking, the villagers had already brought in a lot of wood and building materials according to Griffith's simple arrangement.Griffith briefly explained his defense plan. When the torches were lit after the sun went down, the villagers could work together to finish it soon.

"Emmm..." After hearing the simple plan of the apprentice knight, Galadia fell into deep thought.

"Lord Ranger, is there anything wrong with us doing this?" Seeing this, the village chief who was directing the construction couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing, let's continue," Galadia folded her arms around her chest, "You guys are quite fast."

The village chief obviously recognized the elves very much, and was greatly encouraged after Griffith's plan was instructed by Galadia, and immediately encouraged the young people in the village to work harder.

"This fortification is not too complicated, it will probably be completed soon," the elf looked at the working villagers and continued to say to the apprentice knight, "Goblin has a strong ability to learn, and the individuals who survived the battle will The experience is quickly shared with the same kind. They take the reproduction and maintenance of the population as the highest goal. If they can plunder enough materials, they will not invest too much force in the solid defense. At least the record of more than ten years ago is like this ."

"a decade ago?"

"Yes, about 17 years ago." Galadia thought for a while, "It is not unheard of for goblins to massacre villages. They once caused terrible riots in the eastern continent and were finally suppressed by the coalition forces. Their ethnic groups They were erased from the map and never appeared again until recently. However, after such a long time, the goblins that appear now are not the same group as the goblins of the past, and there may be differences in their habits."

"So……"

"I'll stay and have a look~" The corners of the elf's mouth were slightly raised, "Your answer just now is considered qualified. I don't know how long it will take to find my target when I enter their lair. If the goblin brigade comes back at this time, I will The book is out. If I can use up a little of the goblins’ power here, I have a better chance of success in my next action. I have decided, apprentice knight, I will stay here tonight to help you.”

Griffith nodded in surprise, then asked, "What's the book?"

"It's nothing," Galadia added, "but you have to help me get to the goblin's lair after the attack has been repelled."

"Happy!" Griffith replied quickly, "As long as we can last until the day, we can get support from the town. Tonight, my tactics are divided into..."

(End of this chapter)