On the March

It was now the height of summer in July, and the Grand Duchy of Vera was experiencing its hottest time of the year.

Shortly after five o'clock in the morning, the sky began to lighten, quickly turning into a bright, azure blue.

On the vast meadows along the banks of the Blackwater River, herds of cattle and sheep are leisurely grazing on the tender, juicy grass.

These are farm animals from Wright County, driven early by their owners to this fertile pasture to enjoy the bountiful feast that nature has provided.

The busy summer harvest season is just around the corner, a crucial time for those who make a living from agriculture.

Not only must we hurry to harvest the ripe crops, but we must also ensure that the large livestock such as cattle and horses raised at home get enough nutrition and accumulate enough fat to cope with the long and arduous work ahead.

Therefore, every minute and every second is extremely precious and must not be wasted in the slightest.

At this very moment, two farmers were herding their livestock, chatting animatedly as they drove their flocks along.

They complained to each other about how stingy their landlord was—he wouldn't even give the sheep a bite to eat when they went out to graze early in the morning!

After venting his frustrations, one of them seemed still unsatisfied and continued to grumble indignantly, "Hmph, even though that old man only provides two meals a day, it's better than nothing, right? If it weren't for the fact that we have so little food at home that we can't even fill our stomachs, I wouldn't bother working so hard for him!"

Upon hearing this, his companion quickly reassured him. "Please don't think such things!"

These days, where can you find a good job where you don't have to worry about food?

Those Freemen on the south side of our village are perfect examples!

Just because they dared to disobey the order to pay grain tax, they were all caught by those fierce and brutal tax officials in the county!

Moreover, I heard from others that their entire family, young and old, were sold to other places to be slaves!

Ugh, what a wretched world! If things continue like this, I'm afraid those sons of bitches in the county will have to increase the tax burden even more this year!

We've already paid 60% of our taxes. If we pay even a tiny bit more, our whole family will starve to death!

"The situation is actually not too bad, but I heard that in the noble territory across the river from the neighboring village, due to food shortages, they have started to sell slaves and even abandoned newborn slaves on the riverbank to fend for themselves."

The younger brother, a fisherman, is now too afraid to go near the riverbank to fish, claiming he witnessed water ghosts firsthand!

"What a terrible world!"

I heard there's still fighting to the north, and military vessels frequently travel back and forth on the rivers here.

If we encounter these soldiers, we must immediately run for our lives, because those rude and unreasonable thugs are very likely to steal our livestock. If my animals are unfortunately robbed, the landlord will definitely force us to pay compensation!

"Oh, by the way, I heard that the eastern side of the river seems to have fallen into the hands of the rebels."

Rumor has it that they are recruiting a large number of people, and anyone who can work will be provided with food and lodging; if they perform well, they may even be allocated land to cultivate, but I don't know if it's true!

"How could that be? It's definitely fake news! Those so-called noble gentlemen are even more ruthless than landlords!"

"If you actually go and seek refuge with them, you'll be in big trouble! You'll only be treated like a lowly serf, and you can forget about getting any land!" The other person nodded in agreement, showing strong support for the viewpoint.

And so, the two of them fell into deep thought at the same time, and neither of them spoke for a moment.

Time ticked by, until finally the first person broke the silence, slowly saying, "Sigh... let's just endure it for now!"

The two sighed in unison, their hearts filled with helplessness and frustration. However, just as they were lost in their thoughts, one of them was suddenly drawn to something—not far behind them, at a bend in the river, countless wild ducks flew out from the dense reeds!

Look! I told you so, there are so many wild ducks hiding in the reeds of this bay! Maybe even hundreds!

"I'll go tell my brother later, let's come back here tonight to catch some wild duck eggs. If we're lucky, we might even catch a few big, lively ducks! We can take them to the market and sell them for a lot of grain!" The person speaking rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

But before he could finish speaking, his companion's expression suddenly changed, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

Without saying a word, the man grabbed him and ran wildly towards the outer bank of the river.

The person being dragged along was completely bewildered, but dared not ask any questions. He could only stagger along, wondering to himself: What on earth happened? Why did we suddenly have to run away? Just then, a deep and earth-shattering roar came from the bend in the river, like rolling thunder, making people's eardrums ache.

At this moment, he was still in a state of confusion and had not yet come to his senses, but his body moved involuntarily.

So the two of them ran off as fast as they could, disappearing from the riverbank in the blink of an eye.

Just as they were about to drive away the livestock that were leisurely grazing, something unexpected happened!

These normally docile and obedient animals suddenly became extremely panicked, as if they had been greatly frightened. They all took off running at full speed, far exceeding the speed of the two of them!

The person who had been dragged along finally couldn't contain his fear and confusion any longer and asked breathlessly, "What... what exactly is that thing?"

The other man, equally shaken and panting, stammered, "A... a soldier! A... a soldier on horseback!"

Before he could finish speaking, he pulled his companion into a nearby thicket of bushes and whispered a warning, "Don't make a sound!"

The person, who was terrified, quickly covered his mouth tightly with his hand, afraid of making even the slightest sound.

At this moment, they could only huddle quietly in the bushes, staring intently at the direction of the river bend, silently praying that they would not be discovered by those terrifying soldiers.

Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, a powerful and unstoppable Cavalry force suddenly appeared without warning!

Countless fluttering banners stretched as far as the eye could see, like a dense forest obscuring the sky; and countless Mala galloped in with heavy hooves, as if stirring up waves; at the same time, the billowing dust in the sky was like a thick curtain, completely obscuring people's vision and making it impossible to see the whole picture.

This massive Cavalry legion swept across the vast, boundless riverbank meadows on the west bank of the Blackwater River with overwhelming force, like a surging, unstoppable torrent.

Although the two farmers had witnessed large armies pass by before, the sight of such imposing and menacing elite Cavalry was truly eye-opening.

After all, such a rare sight was so awe-inspiring that it involuntarily instilled fear in them.

At that moment, the two men realized with utter terror a stark reality: the thicket where they were hiding was practically touching the riverbank meadow. If they were not careful, those fierce and powerful Cavalry might very well gallop right over their heads without a second thought...

The two men were as tense as bowstrings, not daring to even breathe, for fear of attracting the attention of the Cavalry.

They pressed themselves tightly to the ground, their eyes fixed on the Cavalry column in the distance, their hearts filled with fear.

Although they were very worried about being trampled into the bushes by the Cavalry, they knew even more that if they stood up and ran away, they would immediately become the Cavalry's target.

Therefore, the best course of action at this moment is to remain silent and pray that the Cavalry can pass through safely.