Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

Chapter 452: How the Governors-General's Districts Gained Money Without Paying the Bills

In a quiet little village in Yoda, the sun was lazily shining on the scattered huts and winding paths, and occasionally the barking of dogs and the crowing of chickens could be heard in front of the farmhouses.

At a moment without any warning, a cloud of dust rose up from the distant horizon and the sound of horse hooves could be heard faintly.

"The cavalry is coming!"

I don't know who uttered the first cry of surprise.

This shout was like dropping a huge rock into a calm lake, causing countless villagers to panic. Because in those days, a large number of horseback riders were either soldiers or conscripts for tax collection, or even worse, bandits passing through from other places.

Those villagers who lived a little farther away from the village had fear in their terrified eyes. They spread their legs and ran out of the village desperately.

Those villagers who were closer to the village did not even bother to organize the farm tools in their hands, and rushed into the village in panic, looking for a place to hide.

For a moment, the whole small village seemed to be swept by a gust of wind. The chickens and ducks were frightened and ran around in panic. The chickens and dogs in the pens were in chaos, and the whole village fell into chaos.

When the cavalry finally arrived at the village, the village, which was once full of life, suddenly became as quiet as a dead wasteland. The ground was full of debris discarded by the villagers when they fled in panic, old wooden barrels rolled against the wall, and the vegetables in the baskets were scattered everywhere.

Just then, an old lady came slowly around the corner, leaning on a cane. Her face was covered with wrinkles of the years, and her eyes revealed a calmness that came from having experienced many vicissitudes of life.

"Where has this person gone..."

However, when she saw the majestic and aggressive cavalry, she immediately panicked, stopped, turned around and wanted to return the same way.

"Wait a moment!"

A loud and urgent shout interrupted their steps.

The cavalryman dismounted, walked quickly to the old lady, and blocked her way with his hand. He had a serious expression on his face, but there was a hint of kindness in his eyes.

"Sir, what are you doing..."

The old lady was a little panicked, and her voice trembled a little, but she still managed to remain calm.

"Old man, we are not bandits, but we have an urgent matter to do."

The cavalryman explained subconsciously, and then asked:

"Old man, who is in charge of this village?"

The old lady calmed herself down and replied tremblingly:

"In the past, this village was under the jurisdiction of Count Bayrot, and later it was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of the Bayrot Governorate."

"Is there any military base nearby?"

"There is a thousand-man garrison three or four miles north of here."

The cavalryman frowned slightly, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes, and he said:

"Oh, okay, you should hide quickly, the Midlan people are coming, and there will be a war here soon!"

When the old lady heard this, her eyes widened with disbelief:

"Ah? Midlanders? How could this be?"

"Of course, because we are Midlanders."

The old lady was even more shocked, and looked at him warily with wide eyes:

"Since you are from Midland, why did you come to inform us?"

The cavalryman smiled bitterly helplessly:

"I am from Mitlan, but I don't want you to get hurt! The situation here is a bit complicated. Now our army has to hurry on its way and can't protect you, so you have to hide quickly!"

The old lady opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to start.

The cavalryman patted her on the shoulder when he saw her.

"Old man, please hurry up, time is running out and we can't delay any longer!"

"Ugh……"

The old lady sighed helplessly, turned around and walked away slowly, muttering:

"The way this world is..."

The Midland cavalryman returned to his horse and mounted it. He paused for a moment, as if thinking about something. After a while, he shouted loudly:

"Dear villagers, don't be afraid! I am from Mitlan, and our army has no grudge against you! There is an emergency right now, and our team has urgent matters to deal with, so there will be no conflict with you. You should hide quickly, don't panic, and come out after we leave!"

After a while, under the secret gaze of the villagers, the entire cavalry team heard the sound of horse hooves again and left with a cloud of dust.

On the avenue not far from the village, John's army was marching in unison, like a long steel dragon, moving in an orderly manner towards the direction of the imperial capital.

The morning sun shone on them, their armor gleaming coldly under the light, and every step they took was filled with majestic momentum.

John lay in the coffin and looked at the system map. Although he was in unbearable pain all over and his body was extremely weak due to the previous trauma, he could clearly feel that his whole body was slowly recovering, just like the dry earth welcoming the spring rain. Every cell was quietly rejuvenating, and the wounds were healing at an astonishing speed.

"Hundreds of years from now, people will give me the whole bottle."

John thought to himself with a smile.

The army's situation was still optimistic. They continued to capture several towns and collected enough food to support them to the imperial capital. The surrounding Yoda troops were just roaming around without fighting. They just gathered but did not attack, and John had to send cavalry to defeat them every time.

But what reassured him was that these Yoda troops were nothing like the ones John had seen before. Whether in terms of weapons and equipment or the quality of the soldiers, they were not what you see on a normal battlefield. They looked more like the militia in the Lana Kingdom. And their origins were also varied, they could be called the Yoda version of the good soldiers.

At this moment, the team in front had arrived at what the locals called the Thousand-Man Team’s base, but it was empty at this time, and the entire base was filled with an atmosphere of desolation and silence.

The scouts rode cautiously into the camp, searching every corner with vigilant eyes.

They walked around the camp several times but didn't see a single ghost. The camp, which should have been filled with the hustle and bustle of soldiers, was now eerily quiet, with only the whirring sound of the wind blowing through the shabby tents.

"Caught one."

Just then, a sound was heard from the toilet, and then an old man was caught by a scout.

"Ah?" Looking at this old man who looked like a farmer, a scout frowned and asked:

"This is where the army is stationed."

"correct."

"Then why is there no one here?"

The scout continued to question, his eyes fixed on the old man.

"No one has been here for a long time, almost a year. I live here because I have no other place to live."

The old man explained slowly.

"What about that person?"

The scout did not give up and asked again.

"It seems that he went to the west to fight the Midlanders. The emperor asked the governor here to recruit soldiers, and the governor directly sent local soldiers over. As for the military pay given to him by the emperor, it is estimated that he also used it himself."

"And now the governor has started recruiting soldiers again, sending cavalry everywhere to arrest people. All the beggars in the city have been taken to the barracks. I ran fast and was not caught. I had no place to hide and could only run here. After all, no one would guess that someone was evading conscription in the barracks."

The old man smiled bitterly, with a glimmer of cunning in his eyes.

"You are really good."

The scout shook his head helplessly.