Berserk: The Prophet

Chapter 311 Return to Wyndham

Autumn was nearing its end, and the Midlands had reaped a bountiful harvest. The truce had long since expired. A new legal war between Midlands and Juda had been raging for about a month.

The griffin emblem had been erased, the armor was deliberately neglected, and after several battles in the other world, it looked worn and aged.

Grimm and the knights had passed the area of ​​the Tower of Judgment and were heading north towards Windam, the capital of Midland. However, it was now dusk, and they needed a place to rest.

It's a familiar town. I remember doing dirty work for that bastard Kadi here, and it wasn't a pleasant memory.

Green frowned, hesitating whether to enter the city, when the knight beside him spoke up: "Sir, let's go into the city. It's not safe outside the city, and we also need to replenish our supplies."

After a moment's thought, Green nodded and led the group toward the town.

They are now a group of adventurers, also known as mercenaries. They registered with the mercenary guild on the border a month ago, but this time they are using their real names, as are the soldiers under their command.

With war about to break out on the border, mercenaries have become active again, and many new mercenary groups formed by wealthy merchants and nobles are in dire need of manpower.

Therefore, the registration is not detailed enough. Moreover, mercenaries are no different from bandits when there is no war.

Ordinary towns usually don't bother with them, since in this era of constant war, there are always all sorts of mercenaries moving around.

But the royal city of Wyndham was different; Green was thinking about how to get away with it.

About two weeks ago, some monks and pilgrims were traveling with them and were exempted from the city tax. It seems I can ask the tavern owner if there are any jobs nearby that require a guard to go to Wyndam.

Otherwise, you'll have to register with the Merchant Guild and pretend to do business in the Royal City. It's troublesome, but usually a reliable and feasible solution. It just means you'll have to store the equipment in your inventory again.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always feel that after the little dragon grew bigger, its own space also grew bigger, more than enough to hold all the equipment of these people.

It's been a while since I used the Wyndam accent; I guess I'll have to practice a lot tonight. A month ago, he almost forgot his Midland accent; it's been just too long since he'd been to the Midlands.

I always felt that the Kingdom of Midland was not as wealthy as Juda, with too many people looking pale and thin, and even monks who went on pilgrimages were sometimes attacked.

Fortunately, it is said that General Yuris the White Dragon has started recruiting new members, and many noble sons are rushing to Wyndam.

However, those newly recruited knights were all surrounded by many guards; those who could join the White Dragon Knights all came from wealthy families. They were almost at Windam. Jacob had spent two days inquiring in taverns and concluded that the nobles probably wouldn't be hiring guards now.

"Sigh, I guess I'm going to have to make another trip."

Green sighed. Armed entry into the city was such a hassle. It was much easier to get by with Barkley. This world of Swordwind was a mess!

Fortunately, hanging out with Cardi wasn't a waste of time; he had plenty of strength and resources.

After several days of fruitless efforts, Green led his men to another town, this time to disguise themselves as mercenaries who wanted to retire.

When they reached deserted areas along the way, they switched to chainmail, light plate armor, and some plate armor, which were common for mercenaries. These were all rather worn and battle-damaged items.

These things are incredibly easy to obtain; you can get them by killing a wave of bandits and pirates.

Of course, the high rewards of a life of risking one's life come with a price. In his quest for quick riches, Green caught and beat up rogue knights, losing three of his own. Through this experience, he discovered that summoned soldiers also gained Soul Points from killing enemies, although each soldier typically only had 1 Soul Point.

Fortunately, his pockets are full again. He opened a dye house in Crest, the capital of Barkley. The businesses he established in the four megacities can earn a net profit of 1000 dinars per week, which adds up to 4,000 dinars per week for all four businesses.

It's more than enough to support these people; there's even a surplus for Green. After deducting wages and other expenses, he still has 8,000 dinars left over each month.

Sure enough, in this feudal society, it's easier to make money from the rich!

By selling mercenary equipment in other towns and joining a merchant guild, Green and his group perfectly disguised themselves as a group of merchants who had retired from their trade.

They only purchased handcarts; the mules and horses were from the rogue riders they had previously captured.

The shadow of the murder of Princess Midland five years ago seems to have long since passed, and the road to Wyndam appears peaceful and prosperous.

Green still vaguely remembered the five silver coins he bribed the guards when he entered the city. His group sold wheat and bread with low profit margins but high sales volume.

Without a doubt, expensive and unpalatable multigrain bread like Swordwind was not on Green's radar. They only sold premium wheat and wheat bread from the system, delicious and inexpensive, which would likely sell well even in Wyndam.

Regarding these supplies, we must mention the new 10-pull event added by the system. It costs 100 Soul Points for 10 draws, and eight out of ten draws are white-card supplies: 40 bread, 20 wheat, 10 dried meat, 10 smoked fish...

With the addition of those miscellaneous spoils, Green's space was almost completely filled.

As for those two green cards, they belonged to 20 elderly farmers from Pande...

Green didn't choose to summon it; it's too unfair. The soul points collected from killing a hundred people are only exchanged for these supplies and old farmers. Something just feels off.

The carriage was bulging with slats. The group was preparing to enter the city. After showing the relevant town guild certificates, the guards accepted the bribe, did a simple inspection of the carriage, and then let them pass.

What awaited Green was the tax collectors of Wyndam. The tax collectors assessed the value of the goods and then collected 1% of the value of the goods as tax on behalf of the royal family, as well as the special tax on food from the church, which was called the tithe. They withheld one-tenth of the goods, which can be said to be extremely greedy.

The cart was piled high with bread and wheat, but the tax collectors took a full 20% of it. Green's lips twitched. Although he didn't lack these things now, the way these tax collectors were eating was really unsightly.

Unfortunately, they were, after all, "merchants who had retired from the business," rather than lords leading a knightly order.

The tax collector's gleaming leather boots rolled over the fallen wheat as he hastily scribbled his name on the parchment with an oily quill: "Alright, stop dawdling, next team."

After finishing everything in the city, night fell, and Green led his team to a run-down tavern. The air was thick with the sour smell of ale, and he deliberately chose a corner seat to listen to the mercenaries at the next table discussing the war.

"I heard that General White Dragon is preparing to go on another expedition after this autumn hunt. His Majesty the King's beloved daughter, Sharluth, has entered into a marriage agreement with Adonis, the son of Yuris, to strengthen the royal bloodline."

"But aren't they cousins?"

"Hey, this is exactly the kind of thing you do to strengthen the royal bloodline. There used to be ridiculous things like fathers marrying their daughters. Aren't these nobles strange? They'll do anything..."

"...Shh, watch your words."

They all seem like trivial things...

Green finished his not-so-delicious ale, placed the earthenware cup on the wooden table, and went out.

It was evening when the brothel started serving customers. Green remembered that it wasn't far from there. He wondered if the girl was still there and how she was doing now.