Sitting by the campfire, Sylutia listened to these people talk about the changes in Scorched Stone City in the past few years. Originally, she wanted to explore some questions from the pursuer captain, but unfortunately the other party was not strong enough, or maybe her knife was too fast, and he passed away before Sylutia could use medicine to stop the bleeding.
"Since the Anti people occupied this place, they first seized Viscount Xuefeng's Castle. First, they had constant banquets, and then they searched the rich areas in the west of the city one by one. The original nobles and rich people were searched and looted, and they had to pay a lot of money to avoid being imprisoned by them on various charges."
"During that time, I heard that Viscount Xuefeng also suffered a lot."
"But after that, Viscount Xuefeng took his family and Scholar Heide away from Scorched Stone City and went to a distant place."
"About half a year later, the new lord of Scorched Stone City was decided to be Somelin, the logistics officer in the original Anti army. He was cunning and cruel. He always used various excuses to raise taxes. Many people were miserable and were forced to flee Scorched Stone City."
"During that time, the permanent population of Scorched Stone City has decreased a lot."
"Seeing that the situation could not be maintained, he reluctantly agreed to reduce taxes. But soon he discovered the mine buried in the back mountain and began to find someone to dig out the mine and resume mining."
"After the mine was restored, although it could be used, it was extremely deep and winding, and the mining risks were very high. He could not bear to part with his direct descendant Anti Soldier, so he announced a series of strict laws in the city. If you make the slightest mistake, you will be caught mining in the mine."
"That's how we were captured by his soldiers and forced to go there to mine."
"Basically, people die every day inside, and the work is very tiring. Even if we dig out gems, we can only get some food. Under such circumstances, we have to find opportunities to escape."
"So many things have happened?" Sylutia sighed.
She doesn't understand why Somelin is so cruel and short-sighted. If this continues, Scorched Stone City will definitely gradually become depressed and there will be fewer and fewer people.
Without the population, the empty territory is of little use, and the "Royal Authority School" ritual cannot be used to condense Aspect Power. Moreover, without the population, there is no tax base, and the economy cannot develop.
Lords with a little knowledge and foresight would not be so harsh. Even if they were greedy for money, they would at least maintain their reputation on the surface. Many nobles still care about face.
After appeasing everyone, Sylutia took out the stored food and distributed it to everyone. Many of them were high-quality food biscuits distributed by the Association when she was at World of Shadows. Because she grew better herself, these were kept uneaten.
Just a small piece can fill the stomach, and the high-quality dry food biscuits quickly make these refugees full, and then sleep beside the campfire.
Sylutia did a little inventory and found that there were 31 refugees in total. There were originally 42 people when they escaped, and about 11 of them died on the road.
According to them, there are probably nearly 400 coolie miners in the mine. Even if they escape, they will be replaced soon.
After one night, Sylutia gave everyone breakfast and then asked them what their plans were.
"We don't dare to go to other cities because there are Anti people there and they will definitely want us."
"We can only go deep into the mountains. Maybe we can find a place in the mountains and settle down."
If there was only one person, it would be very dangerous to live in the mountains, but now there are 31 of them. With a little division of labor and cooperation, it may not be impossible to survive.
"In that case, let me help you find a suitable place and settle down first." Sylutia thought about it and decided to help.
After that, she spent about three days helping these people find a secret canyon deep in the mountains for them to build a settlement.
Because Sylutia had previously led the establishment of Lantern Town, she was very familiar with this small settlement of thirty people.
After completing the wells, shacks, and small plots of land cultivated in the forest, she also sprinkled a lot of "Sickle-Thorn Vine" seeds around the settlement and allowed them to ripen and grow.
Due to the obstruction of some vines, ordinary wild animals cannot get close to it, and the secret path through the thorn bushes is only known to the residents inside.
"Thank you Mr. Tia."
After the settlement was built, these people saluted the girl with great gratitude, and some were even so excited that they could not speak.
"If you have anything to do next, just tell us to do it." If this girl hadn't saved them, they would have either died that night or been captured back to the mine and tortured to death.
Not only can I survive now, but I can also have a safe place to live in the future. In the current chaotic country, there is probably no better place than this.
"Don't be so excited, there's not much I can do." Sylutia shook his head, and then thought of something.
She recruited the white horse Hyacinth Horse and let it live in this settlement first. Firstly, it could protect these people. Secondly, she would go to Scorched Stone City later. With this horse, it would be too conspicuous, and it would be difficult to move alone later.
"You stay here temporarily, I will come back later." He touched the white horse's forehead, Sylutia patted its neck, and asked it to stay here.
After giving everyone instructions, Sylutia put on his hood again and left.
It's not far from Scorched Stone City. She can reach it in a day even on foot. Besides, as Transcendent, her speed is far beyond that of ordinary people.
On the way, Sylutia thought about the familiar people in Scorched Stone City, probably Mailin of the Adventurers Guild. I wonder if Lei is still in Scorched Stone City. He may still be here, or he may have gone to study and travel somewhere else.
In order to avoid being discovered, Sylutia put on a set of simple linen clothes and dyed her hair black. Then she recalled the thief's diary she read in her early years and the "Stealth Art" technique. With her current vision and rank, it is easy to master this low-level ability.
[Stealth Art Lv.2](Mist Shadow): Blurs one's body shape, making it less likely to be noticed and making it difficult for others to hit during battle.
With this assistance, I can barely suppress my Aspect Power aura to around "First Order".
As for her identity, she quickly thought of it, saying that she was a herb collector who lived in the countryside and came to the city to sell the herbs she collected. However, considering that the guards might not believe it, Sylutia also prepared a "Illusion Pupil" potion, whose effect was similar to the "Illusion Spell Eye" that Comia used back then.
In the evening, Sylutia came to Scorched Stone City's city gate.
Looking up at this familiar door, I can still vividly remember the farewell scene of Lady Falan and Scholar Heide three years ago. I don't want to think that things have changed after a few years.
Sylutia sighed slightly in his heart, then lowered his head and followed everyone into the city gate.
"What are you here for?" Seeing the girl wearing a hood, the Anti guard guarding the door stopped her and asked.
"I'm here to sell the herbs I collected." Sylutia opened the basket he was holding, revealing the various herbs collected inside.
After a brief inspection, it was found that it was indeed correct, but the guard still grabbed a handful of herbs and placed them on the table nearby.
"We need to check these, so go in."
The loss of some common herbs was not a big problem for Sylutia, but she still lowered her head and did not protest, so as not to attract the attention of the guards.
After that, she and the passers-by walked into the city. They were far away from the city gate, and only then did the people accompanying them complain about the guards just now.
"These guys are like wild dogs that have never eaten meat. They want to loot everything." In front of them was an uncle selling fruit.
"Isn't it? These Anti people have no education at all." The aunt next to her also complained.
"In the past when Regas Kingdom was here, I had never heard of any nobles who would allow their subordinates to seize things that came into the city. Now who dares to come to Scorched Stone City to do business, except for those of us who live in the surrounding villages and cannot go far away."
"Just watch. There will be fewer and fewer people in this city in the future. In a few years, I will save some money and move to distant relatives. I will never stay here again."
"Where can we move to? Now they are occupied by Anti people. I heard that other countries are also at war." The uncle sighed.
Listening to the whispered discussion of the residents in his ears, Sylutia did not interrupt at will, but walked slowly through the street, and finally stopped in front of the Adventurers Guild.
Compared to the past, this place is much deserted. Although we can still see some adventurers, most of them are "First Order" and no "second-level" characters have appeared.
Sylutia thought for a while and walked in with the basket.
She first went to the bulletin board and looked at the recent task list. As usual, there were tasks such as cleaning up dangerous beasts and finding rare medicinal materials, but the number was obviously much smaller.
But compared to the past, there are many more wanted tasks now. The most conspicuous ones are the wanted notices for Prince Jabs and Princess Musa, followed by some dangerous criminals.
It seems that during the transition period between the two countries, many cases of property loss and theft occurred. Think about it. During that time, the official power was restrained by the war, and no one cared about the activities of those thieves. As long as it was not stolen into the homes of the nobles, no one would pursue it at all.
Then Sylutia saw a newly posted notice at the bottom.
"Wanted Criminal (★★)"; This person was wearing a dark gray hooded robe. He might be an assassin, and his movements were strange. He killed the guards of Scorched Stone City and let go of the workers who escaped from the mine.
Uh... are you talking about yourself? Sylutia looked at the hooded portrait on it. It seemed that except for the general description of the clothes, there was nothing like him.
The soldiers fled in a panic yesterday, so there was no chance to take a closer look and take note of them. Besides, she was still wearing a veil at the time, so it was impossible to distinguish their appearance.
The reward was five gold coins. After the whereabouts report was confirmed, one gold coin was awarded. Sylutia silently recited the above reward, feeling a little dumbfounded.
Is it so little? No, for ordinary people in Surface World, this is indeed a lot. She shook her head and threw away the price system developed in the Woodland, trying to restore the past price concept.
However, this kind of notice would definitely not confirm her identity. She felt at ease and walked towards the inside of the Adventurers Guild, where she already saw a familiar face.
The counter girl Mailin was still sitting there, explaining the mission situation to an adventure team.