Chapter 279 New Start Up

Iron furnace fort.

This small fortress city on the edge of the kingdom is as calm as usual.

The changes from the top do not seem to have affected the large and small workshops and shops in the city. Those smelting workshops and casting yards are still running in full swing, and the ore from the mountains will be refined into metal to make weapons and equipment, which is a busy scene.

On both sides of the street covered with black and gray, most of the shops are open, but there are few guests. It is rare to see mercenary adventurers who usually go in and out of them, but the pubs and bars in the city are booming.

The mercenary adventurers who came here either entered the dark place to hunt Warcraft monsters or worked hard for various workshops and mines. They were well-informed and had a keen sense of smell and had long felt the undercurrent lurking under the calm surface of the iron furnace castle.

It's just that for them, the most important thing is to earn money to support their families, eat, drink and have fun. No one wants to step into the turbid whirlpool, so they prefer to watch coldly at this time.

A middle-aged mercenary sitting in front of the window sill of the pub watched a team of thunder beast warriors passing through the street through the glass window. The ferocious face of the bear warrior and the heavy crossbow behind him made him swallow quietly, with a trace of awe in his eyes.

The prestige of Sal's thunder beast warriors has been known by many people. In the war in the north, they have made great achievements.

Don't look at the ordinary barbarian warriors patrolling on the street, but the heavy crossbow they have can easily shoot a low-level warrior.

A few days ago, next to the pub, two drunken adventurers tried to attack passers-by and were directly shot by the patrol. You know, both adventurers had the strength of a first-class warrior, and they were killed on the spot without even touching the side of the patrol soldiers.

This makes everyone in awe. Many guys who like to drink should pay attention to controlling their drinking capacity to avoid confusion.

"Look at their pride..." Another werewolf mercenary sitting next to him said disdainfully, "I see how long they can live in the Iron Furnace Fort. I heard that the workshop owners and merchants are ready to unite and make an autonomy request to the kingdom to break away from the Saar territory."

This news is now spreading everywhere in the Iron Furnace Castle. Although I don't know whether it is true or not, everyone understands that this must be for Leon, the lord of Sal, who has just entered the Iron Furnace Castle.

According to the normal situation, it is extremely difficult for a city to seek autonomy, but the situation of the iron furnace castle is relatively special, and all forces have interests.

If they are offend off by the new lord, it is completely possible to unite and put pressure on the kingdom.

"You don't think about autonomy. How can the kingdom set such a precedent? Those guys think too highly of themselves!" The middle-aged mercenary lowered his voice and sneered, "It's nothing more than giving the new lord a horse, or testing."

Although the iron furnace castle has the interests of all parties, for those big forces, this interest is nothing more than that, and it is not impossible to sacrifice.

It's just that as the local master, it is their fundamental interests. When the situation changes, they are naturally ready to make plans.

Pang!

The wolf mercenary was about to say something more when the door of the pub was suddenly pushed open.

Everyone's eyes in the pub turned around, and a tough tiger warrior strode in.

The warrior was wearing black armor, the silver thunder beast badge glittered on his chest, and the double-edged tomahawk hanging behind him was exposed.

He went straight to the front of the counter, and the tiger's eyes scanned coldly.

The mercenaries he swept were all awe-inspiring. The pub was so quiet that the needle could be heard, and some adventurers with ghosts in their hearts even quietly grabbed their weapons.

But the thunder beast warrior didn't come to trouble anyone. He turned around and nailed a piece of parchment several feet long on the wall next to the table.

This position was originally used by the gircon military to post notices, such as announcing orders, issuing missions or chasing fugitives.

After the nail, the samurai turned around and left without saying a word.

Lord Sal issued a notice for the first time!

The mercenary adventurers immediately understood. Several of the nearest guys got up and came forward and read it aloud on the parchment.

This is a recruitment order from the Count of Leon, Lord of Sal.

The new Salling is ready to expand the Thunder Beast Corps and recruit warriors, warriors and knight officers within the whole territory. The treatment is twice that of the regular army of the kingdom. It is required to be loyal to Salling and Count Leon, young and suitable for innocence, etc.

Such recruitment orders are very common. Local lords regularly issue recruitment orders in order to increase their strength. Mercenaries and adventurers have already seen a lot.

However, the treatment conditions issued on this recruitment order have attracted many people - twice as much as the Kingdom's regular army!

You should know that the treatment of the Kingdom's regular army is still quite good. Compared with the Kingdom of Mongolia, it pays attention to military achievements, and the salary of regular soldiers is not low.

Double the treatment is enough to make many people willing to give up their free but precarious adventure career and join the Thunder Beast Corps to save money to support their families.

The mercenary adventurers were surprised by Leon's handwriting, and the pub soon became lively. They whispered and negotiated in groups. Naturally, the topic was inseparable from this recruitment order.

The same situation appeared in every bar and pub in the Iron Furnace Castle, and it was quickly posted to the surrounding villages and towns, but there were more recruitment of craftsmen and workers.

At the same time, a secret party was being held at Carrington Manor on the eastern outskirts of Iron Furnace Fort.

Dozens of manors, large and small, are scattered on the open plains to the east and south of the iron furnace fort.

The owners of these estates are all small nobles or merchants in the city. They own or manage the property in the iron furnace castle, and they are all rich.

Although they can't buy a large area of land, as long as they pay a tax to the kingdom, there is still no problem in building a villa-style leisure manor.

Although the iron furnace castle is safe, due to the presence of many workshops and the crowded population, the environment is quite bad, especially the air is always filled with dust and scorched smell, which is very uncomfortable.

So most of the time, these rich people like to live in the suburban manor. They all have guards who don't have to worry about safety. If they encounter a beast disaster, they can quickly withdraw to the fortress.

Carrington Manor is the best among them. It has a hundred years of history. Its owner, the Viscount Carrington, has the background of the Senate and more than a dozen workshops and shops. It has a high reputation in the iron furnace castle.

This manor is heavily guarded today. There are guards on the road to the villa, and the grass slope in front of the villa is full of carriages.

In the conference room on the second floor, the smoke filled with smoke and the atmosphere was solemn.

More than 30 well-dressed noble gentlemen and businessmen sat around the long mahogany table, leaning against soft and comfortable soft chairs, smoking cigars and tasting rums, whispering to each other from time to time.

Behind each nobleman and merchant, there were several tough warriors, and the maids who delivered drinks, filled the small conference room.

"Gentlemen!" A middle-aged lion nobleman sitting on the throne stood up and shouted, "What are you still hesitating about? With our united strength to seek the autonomy of the Iron Furnace Fort, the success may be very high."

"Once successful, it is beneficial to everyone!"

This lion nobleman is the Viscount of Carrington, the owner of Carrington Manor. As a member of the Great Rhine family, he inherited the family's business and operated in the Iron Furnace Fort for more than 20 years. The last thing he wanted to see was a lord above his head.

It's like putting a string around his neck. Although it's not fatal, it's uncomfortable.

So he is the advocate and promoter of the iron furnace of autonomy, and the convener of today's meeting.

The dozens of people here are the representatives and spokespersons of various forces of the Iron Furnace Castle, and they all have their own interests in the Iron Furnace Castle.

Although they have many contradictions with each other, some of them are even enemies, but in the face of the common threat, everyone still sits together.

"It's not that simple..." An old fox aristocrat sitting next to him spit out a smoke ring and said lightly, "Our demand for autonomy is difficult to be recognized by the kingdom. After all, the young count has just arrived. So far, he has not done anything against our interests."

"If there is no appropriate reason, we can't get the real support from above."

The people sitting here can be said to have unlimited scenery in the iron furnace castle area, but they put them in the whole southwest province and even the Kingdom of Bemeng. They are actually small characters under the big forces. They have some power but can't decide their own fate.

Because of this, they especially cherish the power and wealth they have in their hands. Even if there are signs of danger, they should find ways to kill them.

But these people are smart. Each of them knows why Viscount Carrington is so active in this matter. The contradiction between Leon and the Rhine family is an open secret.

Therefore, their attitude is very ambiguous. They do not oppose the initiative of Viscount Carrington, but they are definitely not easy to take action.

This old fox! Viscount Carrington scolded secretly in his heart.

This old fox aristocrat is one of the biggest opponents of the Viscount Carrington in the Iron Furnace Fort. Although the power behind him is not as good as him, with his smart means, the viscount has suffered several times.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't avoid the other party on the issue of autonomy, the Viscount Carrington really didn't want to squeeze out a smile and his falsehood.

"This is just to show our attitude!" The viscount smiled confidently and said, "If we don't take specific actions, how can we make the count understand that if he doesn't show a little sincerity, he doesn't really want to take charge of the iron furnace castle."

(to be continued)