Chapter 41: Joy and Fear
It was like a sentence being pronounced; no one dared to speak in opposition, even those whose control over the scattered nails had weakened did not dare to speak.
"I will lift the restrictions on horse breeding; you may raise horses," Pegira continued.
"I permit you to plant trees, whether for firewood or to be crafted into weapons."
"I will grant the qualification to forge iron; I allow each village to have a blacksmith."
"And for these, you only need to pay the required taxes to obtain them."
With each decree Pegira announced, the expressions of the people below changed—from fear, to astonishment, then to delight, and finally to ecstasy.
"You are truly a benevolent lord, a great lord," someone couldn't help but kneel in worship.
With the first person taking the lead, the others followed suit, kneeling and praising loudly.
Pegira's expression remained unchanged; he merely raised his hand slightly.
The hall fell silent; some had seen Pegira's gesture and thus closed their mouths, while others' mouths still moved, but no sound came out.
"I need to form an eight-man personal guard; among them, four will be loyal, and I will appoint these four."
"The other four will be brave; I will hold a martial tournament outside the town, selecting the four bravest among the warriors who come to compete."
"Whether you are a slave or a commoner, a wanderer or an elite soldier, you may participate."
"For the following month, in York Territory, no guards will arrest vagrants; they may walk freely on the streets. I allow them to enter the villages and become my subjects."
"This is the grace I bestow upon them."
"After one month, my steward will register all individuals in the territory. After that, those unregistered will be considered vagrants."
"My guards will capture them, imprison them; they will face punishment. The guilty will be executed; the innocent will become slaves."
"This is my decree; you must obey."
After Pegira finished speaking, the hall was silent.
Slowly, someone realized they could speak again.
So he spoke.
"I will follow your will," he said humbly, kneeling on the ground.
"I will follow your will," voices echoed one after another.
"Very well, you may withdraw," Pegira said, closing his eyes and leaning back on the throne.
The people in the hall hesitated, exchanged glances with those around them, then slowly stood up, bowed to Pegira, and turned to leave.
Only after exiting the fortress and walking again under the Morning Star did they realize their undergarments were soaked with sweat.
There was no time to wipe it off; their steps turned from slow walking to running, as if some danger lurked behind them.
Only when their bodies heated up and boiled did their faces become excited.
This was a powerful lord; his mage could cast space-folding spells, magic that only grand mages could use.
This was a generous lord, allowing them to raise horses, use timber, and train blacksmiths.
They all knew that York Territory was coming alive.
And as they ran out of the lord's fortress, they saw Alton among the crowd who had no right to enter the fortress to meet the lord.
They couldn't help but reveal greedy smiles.
Although Alton didn't understand what had happened inside the fortress, the way these people looked at him was like wolves seeing a fat sheep.
Panting, Alton felt fear.
He saw Yara walking out and quickly ran up to stop her.
"Miss Yara," he squeezed out a somewhat flattering smile, "for the sake of our friendship, could you tell me what new decree the lord has issued?"
"Please believe me, although we cannot become family, I am very willing to help you."
He said, handing a yellow gemstone to Yara, his eyes filled with hope.
However, Yara looked at him as if he were a clown.
"Although you might understand what decree the lord issued once you return home, for the sake of our friendship..." she said, pinching the yellow gemstone between her index finger and thumb, taking out a handkerchief to wipe it.
"The lord allows us to plant trees, whether for firewood or to be crafted into weapons, and permits us to train blacksmiths and open blacksmith shops in the villages," she said, a bright smile appearing on her face.
"Truly a benevolent and generous lord, don't you agree, Mr. Alton?"
Yara smiled, then walked toward Terry as if passing by a stranger.
Alton stood dazed in place, then collapsed heavily.
"It seems this lord is benevolent," Terry saw the joy on Yara's face, looked behind her, and said, "But is there any bad news for Mr. Alton?"
"Haha, I didn't expect this greedy fellow to be so timid," Yara glanced back at the fainted Alton and laughed.
"The lord allows us to plant trees, whether for firewood or to be crafted into weapons," she said.
"Hah, no wonder Alton was so frightened," Terry withdrew her gaze from Alton. "Although it takes three to five years for quality oak to grow to harvestable size, now that we have the lord's permission, everyone doesn't have to hide their timber anymore."
"It seems this lord, though an elder, is much more decisive than Sir Helvin."
"Yes, the lord also allows us to raise horses and train blacksmiths," Yara said with a smile.
The iron tools accumulated in the family from the guards could now be used openly, and the blacksmiths trained in the family no longer needed to be concealed.
"This is truly good news for you," Terry felt the pressure.
Families living in the town were closer to the lord and naturally received a larger share of rights. But if the lord decentralized military power, the influential forces in the villages would be liberated.
"I suppose you're not in a hurry to return; perhaps we can have a good drink at the Leaky Jug Tavern and chat," Terry smiled.
"I'm certainly not in a hurry to return; I still need to talk with the Daniels family's eternal friend, Steward Piero," seeing the somewhat flattering smile on the other's face, Yara felt a comfortable shiver throughout her body.
"But he's still very busy now, so let's have a drink first," straightforward as she was, Yara wouldn't go too far.
Now that Alton was no longer valuable, Terry became her most suitable partner.
Although Piero was more important, his position as the only steward in York Territory made Yara even more cautious.
And cooperating with the Adams family might allow the Daniels to take the leading role.