People in this chapter: (Iris Harlengoth), (Hart), (Marko).

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Chapter 020: (Farmer's Story)

Scientist Mar stroked his beard and rummaged through the memories of that time.

Iris and Hart didn't say anything more, and they stood quietly with expectant expressions on their faces, waiting for the story to begin.

"From as long as I can remember, I know that there is a war going on. The word 'peace' was only heard in the troubadour's songs and in the stories my mother told me. "Holy King Philip, I don't know if he really existed, but I know that in the past, wars between lords were not so frequent or so cruel. ”

"When I was a child, for almost ten years, the same people came to the village to recruit soldiers, and every year on a fixed day, they would come to the village on white horses and carrying shining swords on their backs. At the same time came the young man who had left the village at this time last year, and returned to the village with a bag of dinar after a year of service. ”

In Iris's memory, he clearly remembered that every time Scholar Marsci told him a story, he used the name of the character or a certain title, which was a relatively free and flexible and objective way to tell the story.

But this time he was in the first person. This direct expression, whether or not Mal Scientist is really a character in the story, makes Iris feel that it is like Marc Scientific's own experience or what he has seen and heard with his own eyes.

The past surged into the old man's chest like a rushing wave, surging and rolling in his mind like a flood. "At that time, the knight who came to the conscription was a very kind man, and his beard was always only slightly stubble, and when he was happy, he would bring some candy and give it to the children in the village, and he would also catch the unlucky guy who did not dodge, and shave his belly with stubble, and then in the midst of the children's giggles, he would also smile heartily......"

"Master Marco," Iris couldn't help but interrupt the old man's story, and he asked with some confusion, "Are you telling your own story?"

"Yes," Cr. Mar nodded slowly, "if you find this story boring and don't want to listen to it, we can change the story." The white beard that brushed his face made the old man's appearance even more respectable.

"No, that's not what I meant. Iris blushed and kept explaining, "I'm just curious...... Go on! I promise not to interrupt you again. ”

Bachelor Mar breathed a sigh of relief, then continued, "...... He didn't come until I was fourteen years old, the day of the draft. I ran to ask the men, and they didn't speak, but one of them drew his sword and slammed it into the ground. ”

At this point, Scholar Mar's complexion changed slightly, and he became slightly vicissitudes and sadness. "It was also in that year that military service was no longer a year, and it was no longer as simple as just standing guard for lords and lords. Until then, fighting was not so cruel to us, and only one or two people in the village had not come back alive for more than a decade. But after that, everything changed. ”

"The lords are increasingly frantically taxing and levying troops, and almost every household is drained. Bandits of pirates, bandits, robbers, and even archers from the mountains to the far east sprang up around the village. They do the same thing as the lords, they ask for money, food, and people. ”

"Are these archers Kujits?" said a curious Iris seemed to have forgotten the promise he had just made.

"Yes," said the old man's face did not show reproach, he was accustomed to the questions they asked out of curiosity when he was telling his own story. He continued, "I don't want to join them, I just want to live my life, hoping for a good harvest and being able to eat every day." ”

"You're right!" said Hart's voice this time.

"No way," said Crème Marsci, with a slight sigh, "that anyone, with a knife, can put it around our necks and force us to take out what they want, even the worst rations." ”

"And then?" said Hart, desperate to know the end of the story.

"The old village chief has approached the lord many times for these things, but the last time, he has been there for a long time. A few days later, he returned with the bandits - his head was picked at the tip of a gun. The bandits ransacked the whole village, gold, food, women, livestock, cloth, and even our clothes. The sad memory swept through the old man's heart like lightning at once, and at the same time awakened a very violent and sharp pain, like a wound that had already formed a scar and was burned by a red-hot iron.

Iris looked at the old man's expression immersed in pain, and his kind and fragile heart suddenly tightened as if it had been eaten by a poisonous bee. He couldn't bear to let the old man continue to be sad about the memories of the past, but he wanted to hear the whole story.

After a moment of silence, Cr. Marco continued, "I can only remember that night I barely slept because of the cold, and because of the crying that came from every house in the village. I told myself that I was already lucky. Last month, the lord of the enemy country visited the neighboring village, taking all the belongings and the lives of all the villagers. "Sorrow carves more wounds into the old man's heart than the sword marks on the warrior's shield.

"A day later, another group of troops came to the village, and they were different from what we had seen before. Everyone in black armor claimed to be a believer in a god named Mei or something, and I didn't listen too seriously at the time, I was so hungry that I had to think of something to use to send these life-seeking guests. But when they finished speaking, they actually gave everyone a small bag of food, although it was not much, but the villagers who had been hungry for a day were still grateful to them. After that, they said that God's people would make an annual pilgrimage to the sea in the north. ”

"We filled our mouths with food and said yes. They put out bags of gold coins, saying that they were for the pilgrims' journey. Our village is not far from the sea, and the money is enough for my family to live for several years, if my head is not cut off, of course. I hesitated to walk over, and they immediately kindly shoved the money into my arms, and some of them took off their robes for me to cover myself, and got a wooden stick to defend myself. ”

"Almost everyone in the village joined, except for one person, who scolded us for selling our souls and bodies to false gods, to demons—before the word 'ghost' could be spoken, two short arrows had been firmly driven into his forehead and throat. For several years we have become accustomed to killing, numbly waiting for it to be over, and then embarking on a pilgrimage. ”

"The pilgrimage procession is full of villagers like me, with only one black knight as our commander and guide. One pilgrim told me that this was his second pilgrimage. After returning home last time, the Black Knight gave them a generous reward, three times the cost of the journey. He also told me that most of these pilgrims, like him, just wanted to earn some money and go home to live. As he spoke, the black knight who was walking in front fell from his horse, armed with an arrow and an axe. Arrows and axes rained down on all sides, and the people huddled together in fear fell in rows. I and a dozen other people knelt on the ground and raised sticks and gold coins above their heads. The soldiers who had laid us in ambush surrounded us, took our weapons and money with swiftness, and put their swords around my neck. ”

"I know they're waiting for the lord's orders. I raised my eyes, the lord's silver armor, I thought, if I sell it, it will be enough for the whole village to eat for a lifetime. He gracefully raised his hand and swiped it lightly in front of his neck......"

"What happened?" asked Iris eagerly. Now his heart is full of despair, anger, and hatred, but he is like a scorpion surrounded by fire, and he can only spin on himself.

"Then a band of knights in tall horses and steel armor rescued us—most of them—from the swords of those soldiers. ”

"Who are they?" Hart on the side almost blurted out.

"At that time, I did not know who these mighty knights were, only that they had a black eagle with wings carved into their armor," said Judge Marsci, "and I later learned that the mighty knight with the banner of the black eagle on a white background was Duke Barton Harongoth and the Knights of Sanction under his command. ”

"My grandfather's grandfather?" Iris poked in amazement as if he were half a piece of wood.

"Yes, Duke Barton Harongoth," said the old maester in a firm tone, "he is a great knight, and it is he who created the Knights of Sanction for the Harungus family, and it is he who led the valiant knights to extinguish the rebellion of the Karad Empire. ”

"Master Marko, aren't you more than a hundred years old now?"

"136 years old. ”

"You're not kidding, are you?" said Hart, his mouth open in surprise, his two little eyes wide.

The old man said with a serious face, "No scholar ever jokes with anyone. ”

"Oh! I can't believe it," Iris looked at the old man in front of him in surprise, his eyes a little more confused, "but you never told me...... Your age. ”

"That's because you never asked me. Scholar Mar replied kindly.

"I'm afraid you're the oldest living old man in all of Calradia. Hart said.

"Bachelors who are proficient in medicine and health care always outlive the average person," said Judge Mar patiently, "and the man who has lived the longest in this world is not me, but Master Luwin of Uxhall, who is 178 years old." ”

"I was so surprised to hear that. Hart looked incredulous, "How is it possible that a man can live so long, can he do magic? Is he able to steal other people's time with magic?"

Marco put his fingers under the necklace and picked up one chain after another. Others are short and have thick necks, so the necklace is very tight and you have to force to turn it. "It's magic crystal steel," he said as a dark gray metal chain turned to his throat, "and only one out of a hundred bachelors can wear this chain." It meant that I had learned what the city called the advanced occult of magic, and of course I took the name just to make it beautiful. It's a fascinating thing, but it's not practical, so it's rare for a bachelor to devote himself to it. ”

"You've studied magic, too?" asked Iris, looking surprised.

"I must admit that even I could not resist the temptation. Yes, I was a kid at the time, and what kid didn't secretly fantasize about discovering magical power in himself? Sooner or later, someone who learns advanced occult art can't help but want to perform magic on his own. ”

"Did you succeed then?"

"I ended up with the same fate as the thousand children before me, and the same as the thousand after me. "It's a pity that the so-called magic doesn't work at all. ”

"I wish it was all true," Iris said, a little disappointed. "Master Marko, I had a dream that there were magicians and wizards in the east of the world, the place called the continent of Charlonay, where there were magicians and wizards......"

"There are indeed men in the world who call themselves magicians and wizards," the old maester told him, "and in the school I have a friend who can conjure a rose out of your ear, but in fact it is only a little trick of his skill, and he knows no magic like I do." ”

Still reluctant, Iris asked, "Why did that Master Lewyn live so long, and if it wasn't for magic, then what could it be?"

Master Marco replied in a deeper voice. "Magic may have been a great force in ancient times, but that era is lost forever. ”

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