Chapter Fifty-Three: Forced Pull

  Yehe Town changed owners, which is not unusual. However, it was actually occupied by the regular army of Byzantium, which is rare.

  Xia Ya was slightly puzzled, but didn't pursue the matter further. After all, this affair had nothing much to do with her. No matter who the occupant changed to, Ye Huo Town would still be Ye Huo Town.

  But when Xia Ya walked under the city wall and saw those guards wearing Byzantine infantry-style leather armor, he was stunned.

  These guys are the mercenaries who occupied this place before! The last time Shaya came here a few days ago, these people were still warriors of the mercenary group. Because Shaya was going to enter the town, one of them even collected the last copper coin from Shaya as tax.

  For those who took money from their own pockets, Xia Ya remembered it very clearly!

  How did these guys transform into Byzantine Empire officials in just a few days?

  Xia Ya was in a daze when he suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes coming from the road behind him.

  A small squad of Byzantine Empire's mounted patrol cavalry came galloping, seemingly having completed their patrol in the vicinity. More than a dozen cavalrymen wearing light cuirasses and holding axes on horseback marched proudly into the city gate, each with an air of strictness and discipline that only regular army soldiers would have. These were qualities that mercenary troops lacked.

  Wearing ordinary clothes, Xia Ya entered the city without drawing anyone's attention. It wasn't until he walked into Wildfire Town that he discovered the difference between Wildfire Town and its usual self.

  The streets have become much more desolate, and in the square at the city gate, which was originally a horse market, where merchants from all over the world used to gather, now it is clearly deserted, with few people in sight.

  The streets no longer see the bustling scene of merchants gathering as before, and it looks deserted. Even many wine shops and inns by the road have closed their doors and stopped doing business.

  In the village, there were occasionally small teams of Byzantine infantry patrolling. These Byzantine infantrymen wore military boots and walked with a crisp, rhythmic sound, exuding an aura of menace.

  The black market seems to have also cooled down, with only a third of the usual number of stalls remaining on the streets, and many shops have closed their doors.

  Xia Ya was puzzled - did the Byzantines want to destroy Wildfire Town? Although this place had been occupied by officials before, it had never been so dilapidated.

  Xia Ya was quite dissatisfied. He had brought a large sum of money to spend lavishly, but found the store to be deserted and couldn't help feeling greatly disappointed. Even when he walked past the black market, he glanced at the store where he had signed the contract to buy the demon beast cub, only to find that it was closed and no longer in business.

  After walking through the black street and turning a corner, I arrived at that Xia Ya's dreamy cosmetics street. At a glance, Tu Bao's heart suddenly lit up:

  In the past, Lipstick Street was a place where horses and flowers bloomed together, with red sleeves waving from every floor. Walking down Lipstick Street, you could smell that sweet and fragrant scent from far away. But now, looking around, the streets are empty and deserted, with only a gust of wind blowing up a few withered leaves, and occasionally a scrawny stray dog running by, its skin stretched taut over its bones...

  Woman? You'd better find a mother dog!

  Xia Ya got angry.

  A man came with great enthusiasm and ended up with this result, which would make anyone unhappy. What's more, he had been a virgin for over ten years?

  Xia Ya walked two streets and found a tavern he had frequented many times before, striding in with big steps. The tavern was only half open, but although it was still operating when he entered, the spacious hall was cold and empty, with only two or three tables of people seated.

  A tall, thin man with only one eye stood in front of the counter, wiping a wine glass with a dry cloth. He looked up as Xia Ya entered and nodded slightly, his hoarse voice chuckling: "Little Xia Ya's here? It's been ages since you last came to buy wine."

  This store was where Xiaya used to come frequently, not just because the dark wheat wine here is the cheapest in town, but most importantly: the one-eyed man behind the bar had been Xiaya's love rival for three years - before Xiaya came of age.

  Because... this one-eyed guy is Sofia's husband.

  Of course, this one-eyed man wouldn't know what Xia Ya had in mind, and now Xia Ya didn't hold any hostility towards him either. He sat down casually and tossed a gold coin onto the counter.

  One-eyed picked it up and took a look, one eye glanced at Xia Ya, grabbed the gold coin and bit it hard in his mouth, before grinning and revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth: "Has the little hunter struck it rich?"

  He turned around and pulled out a bottle of top-grade Longtong wine: "Here, this is the best, it's all yours."

  Xia Ya had never tasted such good wine, bit open the bottle cap and took a swig, let out a comfortable sigh, before saying in a low voice: "Hey, what's going on in the town? How did those mercenaries all become Byzantines?"

  He looked cautiously at the store entrance, then smiled: "Don't you know? Those mercenaries were originally Byzantines. They disguised themselves as mercenaries and occupied the town to serve as vanguards for the Byzantine Empire's army. More than ten days ago, a Byzantine legion arrived here, hmm, probably two days after your last departure. The Byzantine army occupied the town, and the mercenaries in the town were indeed in cahoots with them, changing their equipment and declaring that the town belonged to the Byzantine Empire, even posting notices under the city wall.

  "What's going on with business in Kecheng Village? It's all so bleak!" Xia Ya frowned: "How dare they do this? Aren't they afraid the villagers will drive them out?"

  It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Years ago, a gang of thieves who didn't know their place took over the town, relying on their own strength to act recklessly and collect heavy taxes - as a result, the people of Wildfire Town wouldn't stand for it.

  For most people in Wildfire Town, it doesn't matter who occupies the town or becomes the administrator, as long as they don't cut off our source of wealth.

  But if you dare to come and cause trouble? Hmph, in the Wildfire Town, there are no good people. Pick out any two at random, they're all desperate fugitives who are good at fighting!

  As a result, the thieves' gang from last time thought they had entered a flock of sheep that could be slaughtered at will. After provoking the people of Wildfire Town, they suddenly discovered that they were not in a flock of sheep, but in a wolf's den! In less than half a day, hundreds of people gathered in Wildfire Town, and everyone was a desperate fugitive. A massacre killed those thieves' gang directly. The leader of the thieves' gang was even hung on a big tree outside the town to expose his corpse for a month, and finally only half of the skeleton was left after being eaten by crows!

  From then on, no one dared to make trouble in Wildfire Town again.

  Do you want to take over Ye Huo Town? Fine, you can be the administrator if you like. But let's just mind our own business and not interfere with each other!

  To put it this way, if all the people in Ye Huo Town were arrested and hanged, there would definitely be innocent people wrongly accused. But if half of them were killed and the other half spared, there would absolutely be some who escaped punishment.

  Take, for example, the one-eyed owner of this wine shop. This guy is not a good sort. There's a deep scar on his neck, carved by a knife that cut his throat, which is why he speaks in such a hoarse voice. Moreover, Shaya heard that he is neither an Othinian nor a Byzantian.

  This one-eyed man was not from the mainland, but from the Lantis Kingdom on the western sea of the mainland, that "pirate kingdom". The one-eyed man usually liked to wrap a headscarf around his head, this kind of headscarf is called "pirate scarf", which is a unique decoration for people from Lantis.

  You say, would a good citizen have a knife scar on his neck?

  ※※※

  "Now everyone's business is gone, and no one in town has any reaction?" Xia Ya didn't understand.

  "Of course, there's a reaction, but what can be done? The one-eyed man sneered coldly: "This time, an entire legion has been deployed and stationed in the south of the town. A regular army legion, not something we can resist head-on. And you don't know, do you? It seems that war is about to break out between Byzantium and Odin! On the first day the Byzantines occupied this place, their troops took to the streets for patrols, declaring martial law. Many shops were temporarily closed because they were identified as selling military contraband. They didn't even loot the stores, which already counts as being well-behaved."

  "What... about Rouge Street?" Xia Ya asked with great embarrassment, bringing up what she most wanted to know.

  "Damn it! These Byzantine bastards have taken away all the girls from Rouge Street, as if they're conscripting prostitutes. Unbelievable! They've got needs just because they're soldiers? What about us?! It's infuriating!"

  Xia Ya despised this guy deeply in her heart.

  You've already got a beauty like Aunt Sofia, and you're still thinking about flirting with the ladies on Lipstick Street... How shameless!

  After drinking half a bottle of wine, Xia Ya threw the bottle onto the counter: "Leave the rest here, I'll drink it next time! You're not allowed to steal it!"

  Du Yan scolded with a smile and watched Xia Ya leave.

  Out of the tavern, Xia Ya's heart was filled with boredom. Whether it was Byzantium or Odin, they were all just fighting and had nothing to do with him. He wasn't a citizen of either Byzantium or Odin. Now that Byzantium had occupied Wildfire Town and ruined his plans to buy spring, he actually felt more goodwill towards the Odin Empire.

  Xin stepped walked to the north edge of the town square, preparing to leave the city and go home. Just as he arrived at the square, he saw a stage set up in one corner, with several military officers standing on top, shouting loudly through megaphones, surrounded by about a hundred people watching from below.

  "Thirty coppers! Thirty coppers a month! And free meals too! All found, all fed!! Such work isn't easy to find, I tell you!!" The officer bellowed loudly: "Anyone who wants the job, step forward! Quick, quick! Opportunity is rare!!"

  Under the table, a team of Byzantine infantrymen stood with swords and shields to maintain order, and from time to time, several guys in the crowd walked up to sign up.

  But most people just watched with a cold smile.

  It turned out to be Lamin Fu Ding... Xia Ya couldn't help but laugh.

  Look at those who signed up, most of them are thieves or scammers from the towns who can't even get a meal. The rest of the people in Wildfire Town are mostly big-time robbers, who would do this hard labor for just thirty copper coins a month?

  That officer shouted for half a day, and according to the plan, he was supposed to recruit 100 people, but only recruited more than a dozen. He couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart! Moreover, these dozen or so recruits looked frail and weak, and it's likely that they would be unable to pass muster even if brought back. His anxiety turned into malicious thoughts.

  Damn it, can't you just come? Can't I just drag you here?! Anyway, this isn't Byzantine territory and these people aren't Byzantines...

  He gave his subordinates a few eye signals, and the men immediately understood. Who in the army didn't know about this kind of forced recruitment? A batch of infantrymen drew their swords and rushed into the crowd like wolves and tigers, starting to make trouble.

  The crowd suddenly dispersed in an uproar, those Byzantine soldiers pushed and pulled, dragging each other, the scene was instantly chaotic.

  Xia Ya was just passing by, but unexpectedly, that officer standing on the platform looked far and wide, caught sight of Xia Ya at a glance, raised his hand and pointed: "There! That guy looks sturdy! Bring him over, bring him over!!"

  (Um, asking, is there anyone willing to guest star as the one-eyed person? Sophia's husband... Hehe, sign up in the book review section yourself~)

  Still... seeking, pushing, recommending, voting!!)

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