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Tesolus's offer was extremely tempting. For people who could not afford enough food and could only fill their bellies with sour, astringent wild vegetables, having several dozen bags of grain to eat each month was enough to make them stake everything they had. As long as they obtained this grain, they could fill their bellies and never have to suffer from hunger again. Their children would no longer be emaciated, and the women would have enough milk to feed their newborns.
These mountain dwellers inhabited a region of dense, high-altitude jungles. The climate was humid, the environment was severe, and arable land was scarce. Most of the land was distributed across narrow strips in the valleys between the mountains.
This land was not only infertile but also extremely difficult to cultivate. Only these mountain people, who could traverse mountains and ridges as if they were walking on flat ground, could reach such places. Any other livestock forcibly dragged there would face an enormous risk of falling to their deaths in the valleys.
Therefore, such a place was never destined to develop agriculture. With only hunting and gathering to rely on, it was difficult to support a large population. This barren environment also shaped the fierce character of the local people. Since they depended on hunting for their livelihood, every man and woman among them was highly skilled with a bow.
When the Empire initially conquered the region, the locals posed a significant threat to the invading army. The fierce and cunning locals could always plunge into the forest before the troops could capture them. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they could vanish from sight in the blink of an eye.
Only after the Emperor declared that he would burn every forest until the mountain dwellers emerged of their own accord and after he burned down a mountain forest did these unruly people submit to the Empire’s rule.
Moreover, because of their ferocious temperament, they would stir up rebellions from time to time in the years since, so Norska Province had always harbored rebel forces of varying sizes. Although these were generally quickly exterminated, new ones would soon arise.
To the Empire, every mountain dweller was both dangerous and valuable. With a little training, they could become excellent infantrymen and the finest archers. Their fierce and hard-to-control nature would always cause trouble during marches, but when they turned their longbows on the enemy, they proved their worth. Their heavy arrows, dense as raindrops, could become anyone’s nightmare. Likewise, wielding two-handed great swords, they could strike terror into the hearts of their foes.
In Tesolus’s eyes, these relatively disciplined mountain dwellers were nothing less than a great host of excellent archers. However, considerable work was still needed to make them obey his commands.
"Listen well. We're leaving these bags of grain for you. You may use them to fill your bellies freely. It is no problem if you eat until you burst. Next, however, our horses will advance along the road at a slow trot. At the thirty-two-mile mark, there is a three-way fork in the road. You must chase after us on foot…” Tesolus slowly surveyed these enthusiastic mountain dwellers.
"If you reach that place before us, I will pay each of your warriors three gold denarii per month. If you arrive at the same time we do, you will receive two gold denarii. But if you wait until the tree’s shadow has moved three feet after we arrive, then you will receive only one denarius. After the shadow moves six feet, I will consider you unqualified, and you will only receive food, not a single coin.
"Of course, if you are unwilling, you may leave. Just remain here."
Just as Tesolus thought he had already proposed harsh conditions, he heard this group of people break into loud cheers.
"Since they provide food! Achi, did you hear that? They actually provide food!"
"Even if we don't make it in time, will they still provide food? Only a fool would pass up such a good deal!"
"Hurry up and pack! Throw away those rotten pelts! We’ll soon be eating our fill. We won't need these things. When we return to our hometown later, I’ll make those poor relatives call me Lord Ke Qijin. Then, right in front of them, I’ll eat three large loaves of bread and make them drop dead from envy!"
“Then I shall be Lord Achi! When the time comes, I will marry the daughter of the Ke Qika family. I'll give them ten bags of grain as a betrothal gift!"
With extreme enthusiasm, the mountain dwellers cast aside all their superfluous belongings. Having shouldered only their longbows, weapons, and necessary grain, some were already setting out eagerly. They scaled those steep cliffs and rugged peaks with the agility of apes. Like fish returning to the sea, they plunged into the forest and vanished from the mountain woodland at a speed that left the cavalry dumbfounded.
"Are these people transformed from monkeys? How did they climb up that mountain terrain?!"
Marcus watched in astonishment as the mountain dwellers receded into the distance. The terrain in this region was so treacherous that they would choose to bypass those mountain peaks if they were to march through it.
Yet this group of mountain people, relying on nothing but a leather thong, dared to scale 90-degree, sheer cliffs. Some women used tattered hides to bind their children to their backs and climbed no slower than the men. The slightly older children were even more agile, sometimes climbing faster than the adults.
"Do not be too astonished, Marcus. They have grown up in such an environment since childhood. We must set out quickly or else they may arrive ahead of us after crossing several mountains.”
"Of course, My Lord. They can't keep up with our warhorses' speed. We'll mock this band of barbarians at the finish line!"
Arka’s voice, loud as the grinding of metal, rang through the forest. One by one, the cavalrymen sheathed their weapons and began to advance toward the road beyond the jungle. Their horses remained there, guarded by fifty cavalrymen. Likewise, not a single cavalryman felt he would lose this contest.
They were the proudest and most powerful knights, and they knew their fine-bred warhorses were especially fast. When they rode across the plains, they were as swift as a gale, and no one could escape their pursuit.
"Move out! My lads! Don't lose to them!"
The warhorses' irritable neighs echoed along the road. The cavalrymen formed a shuttle-shaped formation and urged their warhorses into a light trot. Like a river of steel, they plunged into the dry riverbed in the blink of an eye and surged forward rapidly, intent on overwhelming everything in their path. They raised a long, earth-yellow dragon upon the dry road surface; dust and smoke rolled onward, stretching into the distance.
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