The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Sam's story had spread throughout the resistance, and everyone admired him greatly, especially when they saw the medals on his chest.

"Sam, can my mother also work in a gray-collar or white-collar job?"

Many soldiers surrounded Sam and asked him questions as they traveled along the mountain path.

"Sure, I heard that those in the western part of the city that are relatively close are already moving towards the gray and white-collar jobs, but we're too far away here, we probably won't make it to the gray and white-collar jobs, right?"

After saying that, Sam seemed to remember something and took out the letter that the governor had written to him from his pocket.

What's written on it?

The resistance fighters are mostly from the lower classes, so most of them are illiterate.

"If you get this medal like I did, the Governor will try his best to bring your whole family to the Gray and White Collar."

Sam looked closely at the last paragraph, which he hadn't been able to see clearly before because of his tears.

"Of course, it's okay if you don't get a medal. The governor always tries to bring some people back with him. If you have meritorious service, your mother can also get a settlement allowance."

"I heard that white-collar workers can eat meat every day, is that true?"

Sam smiled and said, "I haven't seen it, I don't know."

Sam is no longer the student who wrote "On Liberty" based on mere conjecture; now, Sam is even more convinced that there is no right to speak without investigation.

But this did not hinder the warriors' fantasies. In Saint Isa's description, the gray-collar workers could be described as a goddess's kingdom, where everyone had work to do, everyone could wear shoes, and everyone could eat meat.

The resistance fighters chose to believe in the saintess.

The resistance forces had already reached the mountain villages. According to intelligence from their inside source, Doug would soon organize a siege against the resistance, so the resistance forces had to move out of town after they finished resupplying.

Now they are no longer afraid of confronting the resistance forces head-on, but they still can't withstand the enemy's pursuit and encirclement based on their numerical superiority.

Like many northern villages today, this mountain village was desolate, barren, and lifeless, with many eyes peering at the resistance fighters from behind stone windows.

"Fellow villagers, do you have any surplus grain? If so, could you sell some to us? We are willing to pay 20% more than the market price."

Isa stepped forward and shouted in the middle of the empty village.

Although they had weapons, the resistance forces did not have much food, especially now that they were being chased.

Isa approached the village with a more tentative attitude. Ordinary people would certainly have no surplus food after being exploited at every level, but perhaps the village chief's family still had some. If they ran out of food, the resistance army might leave some behind.

The significance of doing this is more about distributing villages with food along the way to villages lacking food, saving as many as possible. Buying at a price higher than the market price is also a form of relief. Although the market price has been messed up by Dougcoin, some hard currencies can still be used.

In winter, it's not just food that's important; Isha also has things that can be bartered.

But as expected, no one paid any attention to Isa and the resistance.

Even a small pebble flew out of the stone window and hit Isha on the head.

Upon seeing this, the woman behind the stone window immediately rushed out in a panic, carrying her child, and knelt down before Isha, kowtowing.

Looking at the wounds on the woman's body, Isa already knew that there was no way the village could have any food left, and that Doug's army had probably already exploited the village.

If Doug's army had been half as proactive in pursuing the resistance as they were in exploiting the people, Isa might be in a sorry state right now, and might not even have had the chance to distribute food to the villagers along the way.

Isa fumbled in her handbag for a moment, took out a bottle of medicine, and handed it to the woman.

"Drink."

The woman's expression instantly turned to terror, but after looking at the child in her arms, she gritted her teeth and drank the medicine in one gulp. Then, heat began to emanate from her body, and the wounds healed and disappeared at a visible speed.

Isa is different now than before. After all, the current Isa really has holy water, although Linde prohibits the trading of this holy water and claims that it is just a special potion.

Seeing the precious medicine being used on a stranger, the soldiers felt no dissatisfaction. There were many such people in the North, and among them might even be their relatives.

Isn't the resistance fighting all this time for these people?

Of course, the main reason is that this saintess and the governor behind her are willing and allow to do this, and they do not mistreat the resistance fighters.

“I am the White Saintess, Isa Nebert. I have come here to fight against Doug Lars on the orders of Governor Lind and under the guidance of the goddess. Can you tell us when Doug Lars’s army came?”

As Isa spoke, she handed a piece of candy to the child in the woman's arms.

About two weeks ago.

The woman spoke as she trembled.

"Two weeks ago, other troops came here, entered our houses, and looted all our food and money."

The woman couldn't distinguish between Isa's resistance and Doug's army; she could only say they were other armies.

"Let me do it."

At that moment, a thin old man came out of a house and bowed to Isha; he was probably the village chief.

“Your Grace, Doug Lars’s army came two weeks ago. After descending the mountain, they headed southeast, presumably to continue raiding the next village.”

The village chief then gave Isa detailed information, such as how often the Dogg army would come, their recent movements, which other villages were nearby, and where she might encounter the Dogg army.

Layton, standing behind Isa, was stunned. Although it wasn't the first time, he was always deeply impressed by the power of the people.

The initial resistance forces basically followed the tactics of Lars' army, fighting in a chaotic and disorganized manner, and were routed. But things changed after Isa arrived. Isa was always able to obtain some key intelligence from the civilians.

They used this intelligence to constantly maneuver against Doug's army.

Even ordinary civilians would voluntarily help the resistance army by providing cover.

After listening, Isa nodded and looked at Layton.

Layton understood immediately and said, "Everyone! Unload the rations!"

The resistance fighters behind Layton immediately stood at attention and took out a bag of food from their backpacks.

"Thank you for the information. May the goddess bless you."

Isa bowed down to pray for the village, then led the resistance fighters away, leaving the stunned villagers behind.

"Grain, village chief, it really is grain!"

A villager picked up a bag left behind by a resistance soldier, opened it, and excitedly shouted to the village chief.

As the village chief watched the resistance fighters leave in an orderly fashion, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat. These people had initially come to buy food, and the village chief had even prepared himself to be exploited again, but he never expected that they would leave food behind in the end.

"Are they the resistance fighters against Doug Lars?"

"Wow, they're really good. I want to join them next time they come."

"Yeah, fuck that son of a bitch Doug."

The desolate village has finally seen a resurgence of human activity.

Although there was a shortage of food, the resistance army only needed enough to eat. Their purpose in seeking food along the way was to help the poor people.

When food ran out, they could rob the nobles and wealthy families. The resistance army showed no mercy to the nobles who preyed on the common people.

Of course, a shortage of food would cause some trouble, and it wouldn't be without any impact. However, thanks to Isa's extraordinary personal charm and her incredible luck in always managing to escape danger, this impact wouldn't cause much of a stir.

"Etc., etc!"

As soon as they came down the mountain, the resistance army was stopped by a group of people.

"Are they the resistance forces loyal to Grand Duke Lars?"

Many soldiers instinctively gripped their weapons.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was dressed as a businessman, Layton would have already ordered the firing.

"We are now loyal to Governor Lind."

Isa stepped forward and began negotiating with the merchant.

"Oh, same here, same here! I've finally found it! Please, please help us."

After saying this, the merchant took the lead and knelt down, and the other people dressed as merchants also knelt down in unison.

“We really can’t go on like this. That bastard nobleman in our town is charging us taxes three times. Not just three times, but all taxes are being charged three times!”

"Three times! Three times!"

The merchants behind them all burst into tears.

Because there was simply no money to be made from the common people, many nobles shifted their exploitation targets to small and medium-sized merchants.

It's unbelievable that they could drive small and medium-sized businessmen to defect to the enemy.

These merchants had no choice but to seek refuge with the resistance or do business with them. The resistance's reputation was even better than that of most nobles in Doug's territory.

The food that Isha needed has arrived.