Berserk: The Prophet

Besides, these villagers are also the property of the higher-ups. If the higher-ups investigate, even if they survive, it's not worth having to compensate for such a loss.

Just then, old Charles, who had been standing silently to the side, slowly stepped forward. He looked at the cavalrymen of commoner origin and said earnestly, "Children, I know you are also acting under orders."

“But the situation is different now. We don’t know what the future holds for this land. We are all still people on this land. Why hurt our relationship over the past? Let’s return the things and let this matter go.”

The leading knight gritted his teeth, but finally waved his hand: "Put the things down, let's go!"

Although the cavalrymen were unwilling, they obediently unloaded the looted goods from the wagons and rode back to the city pulling the tax carts.

Seeing this, tax collector Stowwin tried to sneak away, but was caught by a sharp-eyed villager.

"Trying to run? Not so easy!" One-eyed Edgar stepped forward, grabbing Stuwin by the collar. "You've embezzled money and harmed people over the years. Today, you must give everyone an explanation!"

Stowman turned deathly pale, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, begging for mercy: "I was wrong, I'll tell you everything, please spare my life..."

Green found this laughable; this wasn't about knowing he was wrong, it was clearly about knowing he was about to die.

Stuwin stammered as he recounted the details of the money he had embezzled and the list of villagers he had falsely accused and impoverished, one by one, which enraged the surrounding villagers.

Edgar's one eye gleamed coldly. "That's all? You really think you can fool me?"

Several villagers were so angry they were trembling. They bent down and grabbed Stowman's hair, forcing his face up: "You've ruined my family! If you don't explain everything clearly today, I will never let you go!"

The noisy crowd resembled a pack of hungry wolves, with some even wanting to tear the tax collector apart. A cacophony of insults and curses rose and fell.

"Quiet!" Edgar's one eye swept across the crowd, his iron-like hand gripping Stuwin's neck, and he slammed him to the ground.

"Were you involved in the caravan robbery? If you don't tell the truth now, I'll nail you to the old locust tree at the village entrance!"

Urine trickled from the tax collector's trousers, meandering across the muddy ground. He trembled like a leaf: "My lord, spare me! I... I was only following the Earl's orders..."

Just as everyone was pressing Stuwin for answers, another commotion arose in the distance. It turned out that several young men from the village who knew how to ride horses had borrowed the groom Duble's horse and gone to a nearby town to gather information, and were now hurrying back.

One of the boys took the lead, panting as he shouted from afar, "Everyone, stop arguing! I've heard... it's not just our land that's been nationalized; several surrounding territories involved in the Grant Front are in the same situation! The royal family simply doesn't have the energy to deal with remote places like ours!"

The black-haired boy leading the way rode up to the crowd and suddenly pulled on the reins. The mud splashed up when the horse's front hooves kicked up hit Stuwin's face, startling him so much that his crotch was instantly soaked.

"Hey, you kid...you're always so reckless." The surrounding crowd also made way for him, it seemed that the black-haired boy had been like this for quite some time.

"The royal family has taken away the land deeds of the sixteen surrounding territories, and even the entire earldom!" The young man almost tripped as he dismounted, but he didn't bother to brush the dust off his knees.

“I happened to be near the city hall. I heard that the group of envoys didn’t even use the sealing wax from the Heraldry Bureau. They just stamped the imperial seal on it and threw it to the clerk.”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, and several elderly people suddenly broke into violent coughing fits. They knew better than anyone what this meant. In the past, the succession of lords required a three-month review by the Heraldry Academy, but now the royal family wasn't even going through the motions.

"You greedy bastard, you're the one who killed my father!!" The black-haired boy kicked the tax collector, Stuwin, to the ground.

The boy's face was flushed, his chest heaving violently, and he kept kicking Stuwin on the ground, cursing, "You bastard, today is your death day! I will avenge my father!"

Several villagers rushed forward to pull him back and advised, "Don't act impulsively. Let's figure things out first."

When Edgar heard the news that the royal family had taken over the land, a brief look of surprise and panic flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly filled with anger.

"Hmph, the royal family is too busy to take care of themselves, which gives us a good opportunity to deal with this bastard!" One-eyed Edgar had no intention of letting Stuwin off easily.

"Gorcas, is the information you received accurate?"

The black-haired boy, called Gorkas, puffed out his chest and said loudly, "Absolutely accurate! It was announced by the mayor himself!"

Old Charles sighed deeply, "The royal family's eagerness to acquire land suggests the situation on the Grant front is dire. Our little place... sigh..."

His cloudy eyes were filled with worry. Having lost two sons, he could understand the villagers' feelings at this moment.

Green scratched his head and said, "Regardless of the royal family, we must settle the score with Stuwin today. Every single one of the evil deeds he has committed over the years deserves a price to be paid."

The villagers echoed his sentiments, and anger spread through the crowd once again. All eyes turned to Stuwin, who was lying on the ground, trembling.

At that moment, a timid voice rang out from the crowd: "But if we kill him, what if the royal family investigates afterwards?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the impulsive anger of some villagers. They looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

The people who remained in the village were mostly the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled; they were either disabled veterans or elderly people and children.

...These people simply don't have the ability to oppose the royal family.

Edgar spat and said viciously, "What's there to be afraid of! The royal family is too busy taking care of themselves to bother with us. Even if they do pursue the matter, we have the evidence and we know that Stowland deserves what he got!"

As he spoke, he kicked Stuwin hard again.

Gorkas frowned, and after calming down, he seemed to be deep in thought: "I don't think we can just kill him like this. Now that the royal family has taken over the land, they might send someone to reorganize things later."

“We need to thoroughly investigate Stuwin’s crimes and hand them over to the people above so they can see the suffering we’ve endured and that it won’t seem like we’re being unreasonable.”

Old Charles nodded approvingly: "Golcas is right. We can't lose our composure. We have to think about the future of the village. Lock up Stuwin and have someone keep a close watch on him. Write down all the crimes he confessed to, make several copies. Keep one copy for ourselves and give one copy to the royals when they come."

The villagers discussed it in hushed tones and eventually agreed to the proposal.

Edgar sent two young, strong salt slaves forward, who dragged Stuwin up from the ground like a chick and headed towards the village warehouse.

As Stowman was dragged away, he cried out and begged for mercy in despair, but no villager cared about it at all.

The warehouse door slammed shut with a creak, the sound particularly jarring in the quiet village.

All we need now is to find someone literate and knowledgeable about the law to draft the charges against Stuyvesant.

However, these were matters for the village chief and the elders in the village, and the village returned to its former tranquility, allowing Green to breathe a sigh of relief.

...He didn't want to travel in the winter.