Volume 3: Chapter 178 – The Blade That Does Not Rot(1/3)
The Goblin King's advance guard, Gi Gi Orudo the ancient beast tamer, Gi Zu Ruo the mad lion, and Gi Ji Arsil the Assassin were advancing toward the south. They have made it their policy to meet together once a day.
Presently, they were not moving but were instead searching their surroundings as the king had instructed them.
"I wonder if the humans aren't going to send someone to hunt today too," Gi Zu said unhappily.
"You don't look happy," Gi Gi said as he stuffed his cheeks with the meat his tamed beast handed him.
"Do you have a problem with the king's orders?" Gi Jii glared sharply at Gi Zu.
"No, but there aren't a lot human villages here, so..."
"And the beasts also need to be—"
"The scouting too, no matter how many people we have—"
Gi Zu groaned as he watched Gi Gi and Gi Ji's eyes twinkling.
The kings orders were for the three of them to report on three different matters.
Gi Gi was to report on the condition of his beasts as well as the food, Gi Zu was to report on the condition of the human villages, and Gi Ji was to report on the geography of the area up ahead.
The goblins were skilled walkers, and they could reach the territory of the Kushain believers within 8 days, but the king had explicitly told them to slow down their pace and gather information.
Territories in the free cities weren't clearly defined, and soldiers had to patrol along the villages that were built along the borders.
The Kingdom of Germion had never gone past the borders of its western region. The western region may have boasted a population of over 10,000 humans and flourished under Gowen's rule, but its scope was limited only to the area from the western capital until the colonial city.
In the same vein, the territories connecting to the borders of Germion Kingdom were ruled by the small feudal lords of the free cities. People living in such lands could be a group of pioneers who reclaimed a land, cultivated it, and started living on it; they could be a group of settlers sent from a nearby village; they could also be the supporters of a noble who'd lost in a power struggle. There were all sorts of reasons, but in general, people who lived in the borders were usually people with little power.
Of course, if they're able to lead a group of pioneers, then they must have some degree of leadership; or if not, then perhaps a powerful sponsor. But regardless, the distance between the people and the feudal lord in such lands wasn't big.
Even the bigger pioneer groups would usually only have 300 people at most, so they were few enough in number that they could see each other everyday. And naturally, even if you don't like the person, if you see them everyday, you're bound to know them.
As such, emotions naturally form between the feudal lord and the people. Unlike the aristocrats in the big cities, aristocrats in the borders rarely treated their people harshly.
The people also have more power, as they are able to see the disposition of the next feudal lord. If the next feudal lord is too cruel, then there would be a trend to prefer a different one.
After 2 or 3 generations, the feudal lords living along the borders have finally started to become a little bigger. Growth meant more villages under them, as well as small feudal lords wanting to throw their lot with them, but there were also people who would want a growing feudal lord to fall before becoming trouble.
