abnabooks Chapter 304 Taking Down Red Sand
Chapter 304 Taking Down Red Sand
Chapter 308 Taking Down Red Sand
Baron Serik of the Red Sands stood at the edge of the oasis, squinting at the northern horizon.
There was nothing there but yellow sand and desert.
He had been standing there for two hours, and the servants dared not urge him on. They simply held up a faded sunshade behind him to shield him from the scorching midday sun.
"Sir, why don't you go back and rest first? The sentry will report when Viscount Chiffon arrives."
Serik ignored him.
He has been enduring this damned sand for twenty-seven years.
Chisha Territory is not large. The Nansha River meanders from upstream, passing through an oasis of about ten square kilometers, giving this desert the last bit of life.
The Barons of Red Sands throughout history have barely managed to keep their territory from falling apart thanks to this river and oasis.
However, Red Sand Territory has an advantage that most eastern territories do not have: it is adjacent to the Demon Spirit Empire.
Five days' journey eastward, crossing several large sand dunes, leads to the western border of the Demon Spirit Empire.
Yes.
There is a scorching desert in between, which is the territory of the Demon Spirit Empire, but no one has gone to cultivate and develop it.
Because crops cannot grow in the desert, and even camels have too little grass, but the desert has another value: it is full of monsters.
The desert is home to a wide variety of monsters, including sandworms, scorpions, rock-armored lizards, and giant sand pythons, ranging in level from beginner to advanced.
The skin, claws, internal organs, teeth, and venom sacs of these monsters are all excellent materials for alchemy and magical equipment.
Adventurers from the Eastern Territory flock to the Red Sand Territory year-round, using it as a base to hunt monsters deep in the desert and then bring the materials back to the Red Rock Territory to sell for money.
When there are more people, business will come.
Tents were pitched along the edge of the oasis, and campfires of adventurers were everywhere.
The tavern was noisy, the blacksmith's furnace burned from morning till night, and a few prostitutes ate snacks at the entrance of the stone house, flirting with passing adventurers.
Although Red Sand Territory is poor, it can still live a slightly more comfortable life by serving the needs of these adventurers.
Toll fees, drinks, prostitutes' fees, supplies, equipment repairs, and other miscellaneous expenses add up to dozens of gold coins each month.
Although this amount of money is insignificant to the Great Territory, it is vital to the Red Sand Territory, since the land here cannot grow many crops.
However, three years ago, everything changed.
The lord of Seric, the Viscount of Red Rock, granted a piece of land in the upper reaches of the South Sands River to the Baron of Yellowstone.
That land belongs to Red Rock Territory, and it's Red Rock Viscount's prerogative to grant it to whomever he wants; it's none of Serik's business.
But the first thing the Yellowstone Baron did after receiving his fiefdom was to build a dam on the upper reaches of the South Sands River!
The reclamation of Huangshi Territory required a large amount of irrigation water, so a wall was built to block it, and the water supply to Chisha Territory was cut off.
What's left of the Nansha River?
A sparse, thin stream seeped out from the spillway at the bottom of the dam, and by the time it reached Chi Sha Ling, it was already as murky as mud soup.
That little bit of water was barely enough for the people to drink their daily needs.
Want to irrigate the land? Dream on.
What's even more ruthless is that Baron Yellowstone also abolished tolls. Adventurers are shrewd; they go wherever it's most profitable.
Saving a few copper coins could buy a meal of dry rations!
So the taverns in Red Sand Territory closed, the blacksmith shops shut down, the prostitutes all ran away, and the oasis suddenly became quiet.
Like a ship with its bottom hollowed out, Chisha Territory sank silently.
How can this be?!
Serik went to the lord to appeal.
Viscount Red Rock received him in the Fountain Garden, where Serik knelt and recounted how the South Sand River had been cut off.
They said Huangshiling was so unruly and that Chishaling was on the verge of collapse.
The aloof Viscount Red Rock remained indifferent. After listening to the accusations, he uttered a sentence that Serik would never forget: "Yellowstone is also my vassal. You two should settle your own affairs."
Solve it yourself?
Upon returning to Red Sand Territory, Serik remained silent for an entire night in a stone house called Red Sand Castle.
The next day, he gathered all the able-bodied men in his territory who could fight, a total of twelve extraordinary soldiers.
knight?
No.
Red Sand couldn't afford to adopt monsters, so he could only ride camels, which were grumpy and would spit at the roadside at the drop of a hat.
But Serik had no other choice.
Twelve camels, twelve soldiers, and himself—they marched in a grand procession toward Huangshiling.
For the survival of their families, a great war broke out!
Charge!
However, Baron Yellowstone had fifteen extraordinary soldiers and one real knight, the kind who rode a sand giant lizard.
The monitor lizard is covered in hard scales and charges like a runaway carriage.
Four of Seric's twelve soldiers ran away the moment they saw the giant lizard, and the remaining eight broke formation with a single charge.
We lost!
Since then, the water level of the Nansha River has never risen again, the oasis is shrinking, and the poplars on the edge are beginning to die.
The people fled one after another, and even the serfs were unwilling to stay. Seeing all this, Serik knew in his heart that the Red Sand Territory was finished.
The territory that once had more than two thousand people now has less than five hundred left, mostly the elderly, the weak, the sick and disabled who can no longer move, or those who simply have nowhere else to go.
So Serik began to think about his escape route.
Selling titles and fiefs is the most realistic option. Get some money, buy a shop in a big town, and live a peaceful and wealthy life.
But who would want to take over such a godforsaken place? Just when he thought everything was over, a turning point appeared.
One afternoon about two weeks ago, Serik was eating a wheat cake in his stone house when his servant suddenly reported that the lord had arrived!
When Serik ran out, he froze.
A scorpion-tailed flying lion descended from the clouds, carrying a Star-level knight on its back, clad in golden armor, with a roaring lion emblem branded on its chest.
Amidst the rising dust, a troop of people followed on the ground, including Viscount Red Rock riding a horned camel.
Viscount Hongyan, his lord, that high and mighty Viscount Hongyan who wouldn't even give him a second glance.
He followed behind the Golden Lion Knight with a beaming smile, his posture as respectful as a little follower.
The Golden Lion Knight did not descend; he looked down at Serik from his vantage point.
"Baron Red Sand, Earl of Golden Lion has sent me to discuss the land exchange with you. Viscount Chiffon of the North is willing to exchange your Red Sand territory for Viscount Cold Mountain."
"Hanshan has 200,000 people and hundreds of square kilometers of mature wheat fields. You only need to bring your family and belongings to take up your post."
Serik thought he'd misheard. A viscountry? Two hundred thousand inhabitants? A ripe wheat field? He opened his mouth, instinctively asking, "Why?"
The Golden Lion Knight frowned and looked impatiently at Viscount Red Rock.
Viscount Red Rock shuddered, rushed over in two steps, grabbed a hand, and slapped Serik hard across the face.
Snapped!
The force was so great that Serik rolled several times on the ground, his head buzzing.
Viscount Red Rock glared at him with a look of utter disappointment, his voice low: "Earl Golden Lion told you to change, so just change. Why all the 'whys'?"
Serik covered his swollen, pig-like face and didn't dare ask any more questions.
The Golden Lion Knight was quite satisfied. Before leaving, he tossed him a parting remark: "Viscount Richard Chiffon will be arriving soon to exchange land deeds with you. You must serve him carefully."
It will be here soon!
These words kept Serik awake for several nights, not from nervousness, but from excitement.
He counted the days almost every day, and every day he would walk to the edge of the oasis to look at the northern horizon.
Just as he was feeling dejected, the attendant suddenly shouted, pointing to the northern sky: "My lord, look!"
Serik squinted and looked over. At first, he saw nothing but a blurry line where the yellow sand met the blue sky.
Then several tiny points of light appeared on that line, growing larger and brighter, like shooting stars falling from the sky, or like stars burning in the daytime.
unicorn!?
Serik stared blankly as those magnificent creatures descended from the sky and landed on the open ground at the edge of the oasis.
The young man leading the group was handsome and composed, wearing a dark blue trench coat with a storm cloud pattern embroidered in gold thread on the collar.
He glanced around the desert without any expression of disgust, simply nodding slightly as if confirming something.
Serik took a deep breath, straightened his faded old robe, and hurried to meet him.
"Baron Serik of Red Sand Territory welcomes His Excellency Viscount Chiffon." After saying this, he took out the Red Sand Territory land deed and respectfully presented it with both hands.
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