Chapter 2: Bandits

Riverbank Village is one of the nine villages under the domain of House Bracken. Due to its proximity to the Red Fork and the presence of several small handicraft workshops, the entire village is considered a famously wealthy one in the vicinity.

It is also the village that pays the highest amount of taxes to House Bracken.

Since it is a source of his own income, Arthur cannot afford to be negligent, at least not before he runs away.

He had the guards bring the Village Chief in.

Then, he sat on the main seat in the hall, preparing to fulfill his duties as a lord.

Let me also have a taste of being a medieval master.

According to the customs of Tesuweiluo Dalu, the commoners pay taxes and provide mandatory labor to the lord and Landed Knight, while the lord and Landed Knight provide services such as security and addressing the petitions of the populace for the commoners.

Larger nobles can also establish courts and appoint judges to try cases.

However, House Bracken is a very minor noble house, only slightly stronger than some Landed Knights, so naturally, they cannot afford to keep a judge.

Therefore, within the territory, Lord Arthur doubles as both judge and policeman.

And by convention, the King generally does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Seven Kingdoms.

It is very uncommon for someone like Naide to send Beili Tangdelien (Beric Dondarrion) to the Riverlands in the name of the King to capture The Mountain.

In reality, the local lord should first step forward to capture The Mountain, followed by the Warden of the Riverlands, Hoster Tully, sending men to capture him; only after these two layers of protection fail does it become the King's turn to step in.

Because Hoster is the liege lord of House Bracken, he should also fulfill the obligations between lord and commoner.

The same applies to the King, who is the liege of the liege.

For the peasants to skip two levels and go straight to King's Landing, it shows just how spineless the fish-house Tully is.

If it were the North of House Stark, the Vale of House Arryn, or the Westerlands of House Lannister, they could have just killed The Mountain immediately upon capturing him.

Soon, the guards returned, leading six villagers inside.

The villager in the lead was about forty years old and dressed somewhat decently; he looked to be the Village Chief.

Before Arthur could speak, the Village Chief was the first to loudly state his plea:

"Lord Arthur, you must send troops to help us catch that gang of damned bandits. That bunch of inhumane, wicked, god-forsaken demons—even the seven hells couldn't contain them."

Arthur sat upright and said with a serious, handsome face: "Speak slowly, there is no rush."

A middle-aged farmer beside the Village Chief shouted: "We can't afford to wait, my daughter was abducted by them."

The Village Chief turned back to glare at this unruly farmer, then turned around and replied: "Besides Tuoni's daughter and my wife, those roving bandits also stole most of our Silver Stags and copper coins, as well as some clothing and grain."

A young man with his left arm bandaged added: "And my axe, which I had just bought from Meiren Jishi."

"Why are you shouting in front of the Lord?" The Village Chief seemed very annoyed by the young man's interruption.

He also regretted bringing several victims to the lord's castle; not only would the farmers in their dirty clothes cause Lord Arthur's disgust, but it would also lower his own standing in front of the lord.

"Why can't I speak? Jiesi, you are just a farmer too, what are you acting so high and mighty for? If it weren't for Lord Arthur thinking highly of you, you'd still be digging for potatoes in the fields."

The young man was clearly not an honest sort; he immediately fought back and took the opportunity to butter up Arthur.

This flattery didn't land right, though; not to mention that the current Arthur is a transmigrator, the appointment of Village Chief Jiesi was also done by the original owner's father.

But to Village Chief Jiesi, these words sounded quite different.

Jiesi turned to the side and stared fiercely at the young man who had overstepped his bounds: "Wasn't it agreed that I would be the one to report the situation to the Lord? You interrupted first and you think you're in the right? Did your father, the one who cleans out cesspits, not teach you how to respect people?"

The young man did not show weakness, sticking out his neck, ready to start spraying insults.

Seeing that the situation was turning bad, Arthur immediately shouted: "Enough, silence!"

The young man glanced at Arthur and then turned his head away unwillingly; Village Chief Jiesi looked at the young man triumphantly before turning to face Arthur.

Arthur also felt a headache; he didn't know how this Village Chief's brain worked—his own wife had been abducted, yet he was still arguing with someone over trivial matters.

If they were any later, his wife might become an "overnight wife."

Clearing his throat, Arthur asked: "When did the bandits arrive at your village? How many were there? How was their equipment? In which direction did they flee afterward?"

A series of questions came from the Lord's mouth. Village Chief Jiesi was stunned for a moment before slowly recalling: "It was probably before dawn when the bandits came. They grabbed the money first, then the clothes, then they took my wife, and they also snatched quite a few odds and ends..."

"I am asking you how many there were, what their equipment was like, and in which direction they fled, not to listen to your nonsense."

Village Chief Jiesi's old face flushed red, and the young man beside him replied urgently:

"There were about twelve or thirteen of them. Only the two or three leaders wore armor; the others just had swords. Their equipment is definitely not as good as the Lord's soldiers. I estimate they ran toward the Gods Eye."

The old farmer who had interrupted earlier added: "Actually, they arrived much earlier than dawn; it's just that the Village Chief's house in the center of the village was the last to be robbed, which made him think the bandits came later."

"They ran toward the Gods Eye. Only a few were on horseback, so they shouldn't have gone far. If we chase them now, we can still catch them," another farmer added.

Arthur nodded, acknowledging the information provided by these people.

Seeing that the Lord was not very fierce, the few farmers grew bolder and began to clamor all at once.

"My Lord, please help us."

"That was our entire family's wealth."

"If we don't recover this grain, we won't have the money to pay taxes."

At this moment, a blue light screen appeared before Arthur's eyes:

【Task: Find the bandits and help the commoners recover their stolen property】

Hmm? There's actually a task panel.

Then Arthur knew how to play this system.

Finding the bandits and retrieving the property looted from the Riverbank Village farmers will not only increase experience but also improve his relationship with Riverbank Village.

In the future, when conscripting soldiers, he can recruit a few more.

And among the Mount and Blade recruits, the strongest are the old farmers holding manure forks.

They can not only force a frontal charge of heavy cavalry to a stop, but they also don't lose health, and they can start fighting the moment they pick up a manure fork.

Perhaps Arthur's future army will be these old farmers, so he must maintain a good relationship with them.

And House Bracken has thirty-five soldiers equipped with Chainmail; compared to a dozen or so bandits without armor and with mediocre weapons, the chances of winning are quite high.

Moreover, this is on my own territory, so I can also call upon the strong farmers nearby to help.

Some farmers who can shoot bows have combat power no worse than untrained bandits.

"Quiet."

The great hall fell silent in response.

Scanning the faces of these few farmers, Arthur said in a clear, loud voice amidst their expectant gazes:

"I will lead men to capture these lawless bandits right now."

PS: New author, new book, seeking collections, recommendations, and monthly votes!