Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Although Boris had never been to school, he was not foolish. He knew very well that since no one from the village had gone to Harbor City, those two aristocrats on horseback would certainly not let the matter drop so easily.

Because of this, Boris had spent the past few nights with his pillow being a bag of dry food.

Right now, inside the house, by the door, the packed dry food and clothes were placed there.

He had prepared to flee at any moment, ready to run into the woods on the island and hide until the danger had passed if his wife brought back bad news.

But who would have thought that those two aristocrats would come again today, this time without any guards, and only wanting to purchase dry wood?

And they offered a price for the dry wood that a peasant couldn't even dream of.

Boris was tempted, but he stayed cautious and didn't go to sell it himself; instead, he had his wife sell it.

The six silver coins he received for the dry wood were now in his breast pocket, right against his skin, the hard feeling of the silver coins against his ribs reminding Boris that he was not dreaming.

A large amount of dry wood had been bought that couldn't simply be carried away by the two aristocrats—and of course, it was unimaginable for them to do such menial work themselves. So, the aristocrats wanted to hire several carts from the village to transport the wood back to Harbor City.

This made many people in the village hesitate. It was one thing to sell firewood in the village, but quite another to follow the aristocrats to Harbor City.

Seeing no one volunteering, the two aristocrats offered an unimaginable price for this job and only wanted to hire five carts, no more.

Boris was tempted again. His family owned a cart... and a mule... but still, he was afraid and dared not go.
Enjoy new chapters from empire

In the end, the two aristocrats hired two carts from nearby Hongsong Manor, where Lord Kalman even sent his personal servant to drive them.

Seeing that even Lord Kalman was not afraid, some of the men in the village became more interested.

Two bold peasants and an old cripple who had once been treated by Lord Kalman mustered up the courage, brought out their own carts, made up the required five carts, and set off for Harbor City with loads of dry wood.

Boris looked down on those three villagers; he did not believe in pies falling from the sky and was certain that the aristocrats were only buying the wood as a ruse to lure people away.

Watching the carts disappear at the end of the road, Boris thought, "I'm the smart one, not greedy, I'll take the bait and run. Hmph, those three fools, I doubt they'll come back."

Yet, he felt both relieved and anxious, as if there was a thorn in his heart, making him itch in a way he couldn't scratch. He couldn't help thinking, "What if this time it really was a pie falling from the sky... What if... I mean, what if it was? What if the aristocrats were not deceiving us?"

So for the entire afternoon, Boris was restless, uneasy in his own home, hoping for either good news or bad news.

He didn't even know what he was waiting for.

As dusk fell, he heard the creaking sound of carts on the road.

Boris was eager to know what had happened but remained cautious, having his womenfolk go out to gather information.

The women had their own exclusive channels of information, and they were very efficient.

Boris stayed at home, ready to flee over the fence the instant Master came with soldiers to capture people.

"Is everyone back?" Boris gripped his wife's arm tightly and asked with glaring eyes.

"Ouch, you're hurting me," Maria shook off her husband's hand and answered, "Everyone's back, the old cripple, the two sons from the Kriv family at the west end of the village, all of them."

"Are you sure?" Boris asked incredulously.

"I saw them with my own eyes, didn't I? The old cripple couldn't have been more pleased. Both masters personally escorted them back and rewarded each with two Gold Coins... My God, I've never seen a Gold Coin before. They also gave them an extra bottle of fine wine and two bolts of red cloth," Maria stretched her arms wide and said, "Really good red cloth, so very nice, I've never seen anyone in the village wear such fine fabric..."

As his wife enthusiastically talked about the cloth she saw, Boris felt a chill in his chest as though he had lost something exceedingly important.

The joy from exchanging firewood for six silver coins became insignificant, swallowed by a much larger and heavier sense of defeat.

Boris felt his steps falter, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"What's wrong, my husband?" Maria noticed her husband's odd behavior and looked at him cautiously, her voice filled with concern.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Boris, in frustration, pulled out the six silver coins from his embrace and flung them to the ground. The young farmer tugged at his hair, hitting his chest and thighs hard: "Damn it! Damn it!!"

Maria hastily picked up the six silver coins from the dirt. Simple as she was, she vaguely understood what was happening and hugged Boris to stop him from beating himself: "My husband, don't be like this. We still have six silver coins, right? When do such good fortunes fall from the sky? I don't need the red cloth, these six silver coins are enough for me, I am content..."

Yet, Boris continued to repetitively express his annoyance: "Damn it, damn it."

It quickly became completely dark outside.

Lamp oil was expensive, and nightlife was a luxury in those times, so once it got dark, the farmers would all rest.

Boris, who usually snored as soon as his head hit the pillow, was unusually silent tonight.

Maria lay in bed, listening to her husband's heavy breathing, knowing he clearly hadn't fallen asleep.

She purposefully changed the subject and asked, "Hey, my husband, why do you think Master Kalman also sent a large carriage along? The Kalman family sure has a lot of money."

Boris was irritable, and upon hearing his wife's question, the man who considered himself the smartest in Tri-leaf Village figured out why. He answered impatiently, "The Kalman family has been raided, don't you know? The slaves from Hongsong Manor were all taken by Master Vineta. Ha, now Master Kalman has no money either... Okay, let's just sleep, sleep."

Maria gropingly held her husband's hand, softly saying, "We don't need to envy others, isn't it great that we have a house to live in and food to eat? And didn't we get six silver coins for free today? When have we ever had so much money? I have you, and that's enough for me, what use is that red cloth anyway?"

Boris grunted and said nothing.

"Those two masters from Vineta said they want to hire people to repair roads in Harbor City, though this time they'll only pay two silver coin pieces a day, but they include meals," Maria prattled on, her voice getting quieter until it turned into the mutterings of someone half asleep, half awake: "... it's still... really nice red cloth..."

Boris pulled away from his wife's hand and turned over, facing away from her in anger.