The drizzle continued, and Brent wiped away the mud splashed on his face for the third time. His expensive calfskin boots were already covered with mud.
The tax collector of Viscount Lothern Federation was full of complaints at this moment. "Damn wilderness... even the air smells of animal dung!"
Behind him were five warriors disguised as caravan guards, their armor linings already soaked by the rain.
"Move quickly!"
"If the gifts given to those Beasts get wet, haha, we won't end up well."
He glanced grimly at the outline of the wilderness in the rain.
The wooden box loaded on the truck was not trading goods at all, but was stamped with a gold lion fire seal <Scale-Earth Rift Road Tax Decree> - his owner, Ironthorn Viscount, was eager to use the tax revenue from this trade route to fill his financial deficit.
Lothern Federation is a union of many principalities and kingdoms.
Raymond Duchy, which is mainly a human citizen, is one of them.
Ironthorn Viscount is a noble lord of Raymond Duchy, and is famous for the abundance of Ironthorn Magic Plant in his territory.
Scale-Earth Rift Road This branch trade road located at Ser Wilderness was developed by his family and was assigned to him at the coming-of-age ceremony.
At first, Ironthorn Viscount didn't care about this branch line and left it alone.
However, in recent years, as his life has become increasingly extravagant, his children have grown up, and their children's lives have become increasingly extravagant, and the industries under his command have gradually been unable to support consumption.
Ironthorn Viscount spent some time carefully examining the current status of all industries under his command.
Then he unexpectedly discovered that Scale-Earth Rift Road, a branch of the trade route that he didn't pay much attention to, was unexpectedly prosperous, with many caravans coming and going, and it was full of money.
So he continued to send people to investigate and asked his men to disguise themselves as caravans and move on Scale-Earth Rift Road.
As the information was integrated, he discovered the truth.
It turned out that there was an unknown behind-the-scenes lord who unified the monster clans around Scale-Earth Rift Road, and under his governance and control, Scale-Earth Rift Road gradually developed.
After knowing the truth.
There are two choices before Ironthorn Viscount.
The first is to start a war to eradicate the increasingly powerful monster clan and let the merchants know who is the real master of Scale-Earth Rift Road.
The second is to pretend not to see it and let the lord behind the scenes continue to govern Scale-Earth Rift Road and make it prosperous and develop, and he can also make money by collecting road taxes from passing caravans.
Ironthorn Viscount chose the second one.
He discovered this two years ago, turned a blind eye, and allowed the monster clan to control Scale-Earth Rift Road for a whole year.
This is also the best way.
A steady stream of water and sustainable development.
But.
Because his most valued eldest son is obsessed with magic and is very talented.
It just so happened that Human Empire Holden, a top Magic Academy, opened its enrollment quota for studying abroad.
In order to send his eldest son to the Magic Academy in the empire for further education, under huge financial pressure and expectations for his heirs, Ironthorn Viscount began to squeeze out his own property and even sold off a lot of it.
Scale-Earth Rift Road also appeared in his field of vision again.
After a year of steady progress, he decided to squeeze the monsters and tax the monster clan.
There is an upper limit to the road tax stipulated by Lothern Federation. Although there are many caravans coming and going, they cannot bring much wealth to Ironthorn Viscount in the short term. But those monster clans are different. In theory, as long as he has this method, he can take away all the wealth in their hands, and there will be no legal protection.
Through your own connections and resources.
After confirming that the lord behind Scale-Earth Rift Road had nothing to do with Lothern Federation and had no deep background, Ironthorn Viscount sent a tax collector to prepare to negotiate with the monsters first.
It is best to be able to negotiate successfully.
If it fails, the Shangdao defenders will not be so easy to dispatch, but his role as Viscount for so many years is not in vain, he has his own private armed force.
It is also a good choice to let those ignorant and backward monsters feel the iron fist from the civilized world.
As for the lord behind the scenes who unified the monster clan.
Ironthorn Viscount didn't take it to heart.
Not daring to stand in front of the stage shows that he is still in his infancy. If it is a very powerful monster, it would be easier. He can directly apply for troops from Lothern Federation to suppress and eliminate it.
Dark lead clouds covered the surface, and the air was dark.
The Brent group of people sat in a disguised truck and gradually arrived at Scale-Earth Rift Road. After driving slowly along the road for about half an hour, they saw a tent on the side of the road.
The tax collector narrowed his eyes and waved his hand to let the convoy approach.
When the leader Lizardfolk opened the animal skin tent, Brent almost retreated due to the fishy smell.
This three-meter-tall creature with scales and claws looked at him with amber vertical pupils, and hissed with a forked tongue, "New face?"
Although he is obviously a monster, Common Tongue speaks quite skillfully, and his pronunciation of several words is accurate. Although there is still a bit of tongue, it sounds very clear and does not feel blurry.
Five human warriors stood silently behind them.
The tax collector puffed up his chest, showing no fear of the monster on his face.
He introduced himself in a high-profile and proud manner, "The people standing in front of you are tax collectors named Brent and Ironthorn Viscount."
The monsters looked at each other and didn't react.
Tax collectors? They don't understand the vocabulary.
Feeling ignored, Brent was a little embarrassed. As a tax collector, he always encountered flattering smiles when dealing with humans. How could he ever be so ignored?
He suppressed his anger, hummed softly, and explained again.
"The road under your feet belongs to Ironthorn Viscount."
"All passing caravans need to pay road tax for Ironthorn Viscount."
After a pause, the tax collector continued in a deep voice, "And you, the monsters who have made profits through transactions on the road, must also contribute your wealth to Ironthorn Viscount!"
His tone was very strong.
But Lizardfolk's tail was stronger and hit the tax collector directly on the chest, sending him flying out like a broken sack and falling into the muddy water, covered in dirt.
Lizardfolk leader didn't understand words like road tax.
But being sent here to trade with caravans proves that it has a good mind.
It understood what the tax collector meant - robbery!
If the Iron Dragon consul had not issued a strong order not to kill people at will, then instead of being slapped by the tail, a spear would have penetrated the heart of the human in front of him.
"You, you guys!"
The tax collector stood up staggeringly, his face turned pale.
Only then did several soldiers come to their senses.
They lacked experience in dealing with monsters, so they didn't expect these Lizardfolks to directly hurt people if they disagreed. Now they realized what they were doing, and immediately prepared a tight formation to protect the tax collectors behind them.
"Stupid and savage monsters! Do you want to die?!"
The tax collector coughed up a mouthful of blood and roared angrily.
And as he roared, the raincloth covering the truck lit up with two red lights, like a pair of eyes.
Tear! The raincloth is torn apart Shatter.
A humanoid metal creature with a shoulder height of six meters and its entire body made of steel appeared in the wind and rain. The rain fell on its cold steel body and shattered instantly.
It drew out a giant steel sword from its back, runes all over its body lit up, and its eyes swept over the Lizardfolks with a red light.
Alchemy Golem--the Fearless.
The tax collector is the real guard on this trip.
The Fearless's huge and heavy body stepped forward and stood at the front.
Lizardfolk all felt the danger, tensed their backs, and spit out long tongues from their mouths, hissing, and at a certain distance from the tent, some tall figures gradually emerged from the deeper shadows.
The heavily armored Ogres, carrying weapons, appeared in the tax collector's sight.
The red light in the Fearless's eyes became increasingly dazzling, and Ogre and Lizardfolk also tightened their grip on their weapons.
The tax collector took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
These damn monsters know no etiquette at all! Rude, barbaric, damn!
However, we cannot just start a war directly.
The Viscount hopes to solve the problem without bloodshed through negotiation. They are not monsters. Only at the last moment do they need to tear off the veil of hypocrisy and resort to violence.
The tax collector looked at the Lizardfolk leader who had wounded him before, and said in a cold voice, "Let your more senior leaders who can handle things behind the scenes come over. You stupid and despicable thing, you have no idea what you are doing! You cannot bear the responsibility of stirring up trouble!"
A violent light flashed in the eyes of the Lizardfolk leader who was insulted.
This kind of creature has always had a dark and evil character, warlike and ferocious, and is not a good person.
But when it saw the steel Giant standing in the wind and rain, it felt fearful and remembered some of the rules and regulations in the clan, so it had no choice but to suppress its murderous intention.
To be able to bring a Alchemy Golem here, this group of people is not simple, it is beyond the scope of its handling.
Lizardfolk The boss uses Communication Stone to contact the superior.
Ice-cold rain fell from the sky, and humans, monsters, and steel creations were all waiting silently in the rain.