Amy's first stop for debt collection was a small town called Talboa just north of Goddess Mountain.
Talboa has a small population and a small area. There is only one street in the whole town, and there are few fields around it. Even the trees are sparsely grown. It does not look like a livable place.
In fact, this town is very quiet, and it is located inland away from the war, so it is safe and secure. It is said that there should be quite a few people willing to settle here.
But that's not the case.
Talboa This place has been a famous backwater for hundreds of years.
This is mainly because the land here is relatively barren and the harvest from farming is quite low.
The reason why the land is barren is mainly because there are rich minerals underground.
In fact, most places rich in minerals are generally relatively wealthy, but Talboa is an exception.
Because although there are rich coal seams here, they are not worth mining...
It's not that people don't know the value of coal. People in the Pande Continent have already realized the huge role of coal as early as the end of Kingdom of Pendor. Coal is used in many places. Places with large coal seams usually become geomantic treasures that nobles compete for.
And when Talboa first discovered a large number of coal seams more than a hundred years ago, the nobles did exactly this.
At that time, a small-scale civil war broke out in order to compete for the dominance of this town, resulting in many deaths and injuries.
But in the end, he defeated all opponents and obtained the first generation Baron Leovann of this town, but almost went bankrupt...
Because the soil layer of Talboa is only half a meter thick, and below that is a very thick gravel layer - this is why the land is barren and cannot grow anything, the soil layer is too thin and has no fertility, and most crops except grass cannot grow well.
And the coal seams here are almost all buried under the gravel layer, buried relatively deep.
It doesn't matter if you just bury it deeper. You can actually dig the mine deeper. But the problem is that if you dig a deep well under the gravel layer, you will inevitably face accidents such as landslides and water seepage that may occur at any time.
Few people are willing to enter such a mine. The locals are definitely not willing to go into the mine anyway...
However, Baron Leovann paid a huge price to acquire this territory. Naturally, Baron Leovann was not willing to accept it, so he bought many slaves from Xingar, filled them with human lives, and finally built the mine.
In the first few days, a lot of good-quality coal was indeed successfully dug out of the mine, so the scale of the mine was expanded again - the initial cost was relatively high, and the scale must be increased, otherwise it would be difficult to make money back.
But after increasing the scale, when the second batch of coal was mined in large quantities, Baron Leovann suddenly suffered from angina and died on the spot...
Because the mined coal is mixed with a large amount of coal gangue, the gangue accounts for 80%, and the coal is less than 20%...
The coal seam below the gravel layer is like this. There are a lot of gangue, but it is difficult to distinguish them in the mines of this era. They are all black anyway.
There was no coal washing method in this era, and it was difficult to separate gangue and slag. Naturally, this kind of coal mine was destined to lose money, and even if it was mined, it would not be sold.
A baron was so angry that he died, and the news spread quickly to other places.
As a result, Talboa town suddenly changed from a fragrant steamed bun to a run-down place that no one cared about. Almost no one wanted to stay except business travelers passing by.
But this territory has been passed down by the Leofwan family to this day - this kind of place that once made the lord angry to death cannot be sold even if he wants to change hands, it is unlucky...
Besides, no matter how poor a place is, you still have to pay taxes to the king, and the tax official doesn't care whether you make a loss or a profit.
So today in the town of Talboa, the lord is still called Leofwan - this is their family name, and the family leaders of all generations have used the same name.
And now Talboa has a new industry.
The Leofwan family has been operating here for hundreds of years, and they have indeed found a way to make money.
This path actually comes from the gravel layer that they have always ignored or regarded as troublesome - the stone here itself can actually create a good industry, why risk your life to dig coal?
So now there are quarries everywhere in Talboa.
People here no longer have the idea of mining coal. They collect stones directly from the gravel layer and then sieve them into stones of various sizes.
Large stones will be made into large and medium-sized sculptures, other stones will be made into materials such as wall tiles and floor tiles, and small stones will be used to pave roads in various towns.
Although the profit from these stones is not too high, it is a stable, reliable and inexhaustible industry. The Leofwan family has recovered from the edge of bankruptcy.
Talboa, which has a large number of quarries and stone processing plants, has become a place where stonemasons gather.
However, this place is still regarded as a remote place by people from other places - because there are almost only quarries and stone processing plants here, and the whole town is like a large factory area.
In addition, the soil layer is too thin, making it difficult for trees to grow and unable to block the wind and sand, so stone powder is everywhere when the wind blows.
Of course, this environment is not very good, so people who are unwilling or unable to engage in stone-related work will naturally not come here.
Nowadays, apart from the quarrymen, there are masons and their apprentices in this town, and there are not even many women.
Therefore, after Amy brought the female soldiers here, it quickly caused a sensation and the whole town was boiling.
Amy also did not expect that after she entered Talboa with a large group of well-equipped and murderous female soldiers, what she encountered was not the denial of liars or the protection of lords, but a large group of workers who were covered in gray but had shining eyes.
The quarrymen here probably don't see beautiful women all year round, and they are all quite hungry. They heard that a large group of female cavalrymen had arrived, so they put down their work and ran out in droves to see the beauties...
Amy At first, I thought these people were here for a group fight, so I almost ordered the female knights to lead the charge.
Fortunately, she discovered in time that these people were unarmed and only surrounded the troops for a few dozen meters before getting any closer, so no tragedy occurred.
But this experience of being watched is of course quite embarrassing - many quarrymen were even whistling, and there was endless play and discussion, and some bold ones asked loudly, "Pretty lady, would you like to get to know a strong man?"
This is of course an extremely rude move, especially for a noble girl like Amy.
Of course, it is quite normal for these quarry workers to behave like this - the quarry workers are not masons, they are not even civilians, but criminals or servants. Many of them committed crimes and were sent here to work as coolies. They are not a discerning or quality group in the first place.
But Amy was in a very bad mood at the moment - first the liar, and then the rude onlookers and provocations. She felt that the people in Talboa really didn't take her seriously.
So, when he saw Talboa Lord Baron Leovann, Amy's expression was quite ugly.
Today's generation of Baron Leovann is very young, only in their twenties, but they have two big jazz beards - the kind that extend all the way to the cheeks and curl into an arc on the side of the face.
His red hair was slicked with oil, and he looked like a playboy.
In fact, this is a very popular dress of Lion Knight Order recently. Baron Leovann is indeed a member of Lion Knight Order now, and he is also a squadron leader - a new member when the king added Lion Knight.
"Miss Amy, I recognize your flag... This is the flag used by your father and brother. Maybe you don't know, but your brother Andrew and I are good friends - I served in Royal City Guard two years ago."
A large number of troops came to his territory, so Baron Leovann naturally had to come forward to understand the situation. When he saw Amy, who looked not so good, he naturally realized that this was definitely not here to purchase stones, so he quickly started to build relationships.
"Baron Leovann, forget the polite words. I came here to find a knight named 'Lyons'. He owes me one hundred and fifty stonemasons."
Amy said with a gloomy face.
She would come here as her first stop, of course, because the scammer named Lyons had the most masonry contracts in his hands - even though he was trying to collect debts after being deceived, Amy still prioritized.
However, Leofwan's relationship building did have an effect - since he was his brother's friend, Amy did not take action directly.
If it were someone else who didn't have this connection, Amy might just let the female soldiers arrest him.
"Lyons? One hundred and fifty stonemasons?"
Leofwan was immediately confused. "There is no knight named Lyons in my territory... and one hundred and fifty stonemasons, that is equivalent to all the stonemasons in the entire Talboa...Amy, are you mistaken?"
A mason does not mean a person, but usually includes the mason's apprentice and family members.
One hundred and fifty stonemasons, in fact, there are nearly a thousand people--except for the quarry workers, there are only a thousand people in Talboa's stone processing plant.
"Oh? In other words, you plan to protect that liar..."
Amy thinks that Leofwan is probably cheating, because she has seen those contract documents, and they are all true. The name of the person who signed the contract is 'Lyons', and the territory signed is indeed Talboa.
"Liar? Amy... Why don't you tell me what happened? Why do I feel that the person you are looking for is not one of my men..."
Baron Leovann is still quite polite.
Of course, anyone who faces four hundred cavalry armed to the teeth must remain polite, even if these cavalry are all women.
"Leofwan, I don't care if you know my brother or not, this is what the agreement says - Talboa Administrator, Oath Knight Lyons, subordinate to Baron Leovann..."
Amy took out a transfer agreement from the saddle bag and threw it over. "See for yourself!"
Leofwan swallowed, picked up the agreement and looked at it, then frowned deeply.
"Amy, I know who this Lyons is... but this guy is not my subordinate at all, he is not even from the Lionheart Kingdom! This bastard actually plans to sell my property to you!"
As he said that, Leofwan gritted his teeth and seemed to be making up his mind. "Let's do this, I will take you to find him, follow me!"
Seeing this, Leofwan is also a victim.
Amy is still reasonable. In fact, she now vaguely feels that this scam may not be aimed at herself, but maybe it is aimed at Leofwan.
Vulpine Town.
This is a large town belonging to Lion Lake City, and it is also close to the inland sea of Shihu Lake.
Vulpine Town is a prosperous and prosperous place. There is a large commercial street in the center of the town, with pubs and hotels everywhere.
At this time, Leofwan took Amy into Vulpine Town's largest tavern.
This pub is no longer called Adventurer Tavern, it's called 'Vulpine Inn'.
Business in the tavern was very good, and the seats were full of drinkers.
"Are you sure that Lyons is here?"
Amy led eight female knights and surrounded Baron Leovann like prisoners into the tavern.
The smell of alcohol and sweat that hit her face made her cough - so she looked at Leofwan with an even more unkind look.
"Make sure. See if it's that person... He is indeed a noble, but he is a Raven Territory noble! I can remember him because of his work..."
Leofwan pointed at a tall man in the tavern.
That was indeed the Lyons that Amy had seen. He was tall, handsome, and good-looking. Amy did remember it.
But the guy was not on the drinking side - he was standing at the bar, wiping glasses.
"Bartender? A nobleman actually works as a bartender here?"
Amy looked at Lyons in disbelief, then at Leofwan: "Raven Territory are nobles so worthless?"
"Ahem... I also asked something like this. He used to be from Silver Mist Ranger Corps. It is said that he had a relationship with their Grand Commander wife, so he was convicted of adultery and his aristocratic status was stripped away. He fled here from Raven Territory, otherwise he would have been cut off and fed to the dogs..."
Leofwan explained with a strange expression.
"You know it clearly... This makes me have to suspect that you and him are in the same group..."
Amy glanced at Leofwan and motioned for him to step forward and catch that Lyons: "Go and catch him, and I will believe that you have nothing to do with this matter. Otherwise, I will have to take away the masons, and you can decide on your own."
"Wait, Amy..."
Leofwan stopped him and then exited the tavern. "I hate that guy more than you do, because he is using my property to deceive you. This obviously wants to get me into trouble... but I can't arrest people here."
"Why? You are Lion Knight, Leofwan. When did Lion Knight become so timid when arresting someone?"
Amy's brows were already furrowed.
"Because this tavern is Alanric Prince's property. And..."
Leofwan pointed at the Fleur-de-lis coat of arms on Amy: "If no one instigated it, how could a guy like Lyons, who is a fugitive on the surface, dare to lie to you in this way! And he didn't run away after he lied to you?"
This is true. Lyons is a fugitive from the Raven Kingdom. He finally escaped to the Lionheart Kingdom. Now he has offended two major lords. I'm afraid it will be difficult to survive.
But he didn't run away, but still worked as a bartender here?
"On the surface? Then what is his identity?"
Amy also realized that this Lyons has a background.
"He is now the intelligence officer of Alanric Prince."
Leofwan gritted his teeth and said, "He was indeed appointed as Talboa administrator by Alanric Prince, but that was because Alanric was trying to force me to serve him - so I drove him away... I think he will use Talboa's masons to deceive you this time, probably because of this incident..."
"In other words...Alanric is looking for trouble?"
Amy nodded indifferently. "So what Prince? No matter who it is, the debt owed to me must be repaid..."
No matter what, Amy is always Princess, and she really doesn't care about Alanric Prince's identity.
So Amy led the female knights directly into the tavern door and pointed at Lyons: "Clear the place! Everyone get out! Tie up this liar!"
However, just when Amy was arresting people, a strange smile appeared on Baron Leovann's face outside the tavern.