Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 334: Checkpoint

"Stop."

When the caravan arrived at the checkpoint, a soldier lazily walked out of the hut's corridor carrying a fire/gun. He scratched his messy hair, tapped the harness of Allen's horse with the butt of his gun, and said, "Where are you going?"

Alan was still riding on his horse and patted the saber sheath hanging beside him. "Of course we have to go to Violet Harbor through the Wind Erosion Rift Valley. Otherwise, where else can we go?"

The soldier narrowed his eyes and looked at the knight badge on Ellen's chest. "Oh, so it's a knight. Your face is tight. You're not from Storm City, are you?" He said.

"Yes, I'm from Sur City."

"That's right. If you want it, you can pay the tax. One silver coin for each person." The soldier said carelessly and dug out his ears with his fingernails.

The tax on a silver coin is not cheap. In Sur City, this small amount of money is enough for an adult to live for a week. The Wind Erosion Rift Valley was barely within Storm City's territory, but it was already a very marginal area. It could be said that through the Rift Valley, there was no need to travel through the territory of Storm City. Such a tax was extremely high, and it could be said to be a very excessive matter.

Ellen shook his head. He didn't want to fight with Storm City here. He said to Wilick, "Pay your taxes."

"Wait, call everyone out. I have to count them clearly." Said the soldier.

Ellen took a money bag from Wilick and threw it to him. "There's no need to count. Here are a hundred silver coins, even the horses. We're in a hurry. Please remove the barricade."

The soldier glared at him, weighed his bag, and snorted to remove the barricade.

He thought that everything would be fine, but when the caravan passed by, the soldier suddenly stopped. Alan asked impatiently, "So what?"

"What are these?" The soldier knocked on the cargo in a carriage.

"That's the cloth we shipped to Violet Harbor."

"Goods?" The soldier snorted, "Since when did Sur City do business in Violet Harbor? Since it's a commodity, we still need to levy a business tax!"

William clenched his fists into a giggle, showing extreme anger. He was about to explode, but he reached out to Alan to stop him. The latter laughed instead of being angry and asked, "How can I collect this business tax?"

"10%, no! 30%, that's right, we want to levy 30% of the value of the goods as a business tax. Now, we need to unload your goods. We need to assess the value of the goods before we can pass the tax." The soldier shouted.

He saw that there were ten thousand gold coins in these ten carriages according to the normal market price. If it was thirty percent, there would be three thousand gold coins. Apart from handing over a portion to Storm City, he and the others could each get at least a hundred gold coins. That was a windfall!

"30%, your appetite isn't small." Alan said indifferently.

"That's what did you say?" The soldier shouted, "Cut the crap and get your men to unload the cargo. Don't waste my time."

Ellen said coldly, "Even if we ship this batch of cloth to Violet Harbor, the profits will not be as high as your taxes. Aren't you going too far?"

"Too much?" The soldier laughed and pointed his gun at Ellen. "Don't think that you're wearing a knight's badge and treat yourself as a noble lord. You're just a knight from the countryside. What does it have to do with me if you can't earn money? Cut the crap and get to work "

When the soldier finished speaking, he suddenly saw the barrel of the gun fall into Allen's hands. Then, the straight barrel of the gun was twisted by him, and his expression immediately changed. Alan clapped his hands and said, "Don't point your gun at me. It will make me misunderstand. I won't pay this so-called business tax. Now I only give you two options. One is to open the checkpoint, and the other is to let me flatten this place. Apart from that, there is no third possibility."

"Alright, this is the opposite!" The soldier shouted, "Brothers, quickly copy this guy. The poor ghosts of Sur City have rebelled."

Soldiers ran out of the wooden house one after another. Alan watched all of this coldly and gave William a look. Just as the two sides were about to make a move, someone suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

A middle-aged officer walked out of the room with a murderous aura. He glared at Alan and said, "Let them go."

Ellen looked at him in surprise, and the officer snorted, "Are you still not leaving? Do I have to give you a ride?"

"That's not necessary." Alan smiled and gestured. The caravan passed the checkpoint and disappeared into the shadows of the Rift Valley.

After they left, the soldier of the troublesome caravan handed the money bag to the officer and said, "Boss, let them go just like that?"

'"Then what do you want? Damn it, could you be brainless? There are so many of them. Moreover, those guards are obviously ruthless. Which side do you think will suffer if you make a move?" The officer slapped the back of his head and said, "There are only ten of us, three to four times as many as we are. Do it, do it, we can only wait for someone to collect our corpses."

The soldier rubbed his head and answered yes. '"Of course, we can't let them off so easily," the officer laughed sinisterly. "I don't think Lord Maud would be happy to hear that the poor men of Saul are going to trade with Violet Harbor. Go tell Dick that he has prey to take care of him. Of course, the final harvest will have to follow the usual rules."

"I'll do it now." The soldier smiled.

The officer summoned two more men and pointed towards the depths of the rift valley. The two soldiers left knowingly.

The rift valley was very quiet. The hot sunlight was blocked by the rocks on both sides, making the temperature in the valley look cool. Alan and Regis walked side by side. On the way, Regis would occasionally turn his head back. The youth asked curiously, "Looks like they are quite smart. They didn't do anything unnecessary."

"They almost did it. That officer saved their lives." Ellen frowned. "I knew that Sur City had always been weak, but I didn't expect Storm City to be so arrogant. A mere soldier at a border checkpoint would dare to be so presumptuous. Looks like Sur City has been squeezed by Sir Mord for a long time."

"But the current City Lord of Sur is not York or Ethan." Said Regis.

Ellen shook his head and smiled. "For someone like Maud, he doesn't believe that Sur City can rise. But very soon, he'll know that the city is different. When we get back, we'll have to think about how to handle our relationship with this neighbor."

"There's no need to be so troublesome. Just call him directly." Regis patted the sheath of the sword.

"That will happen sooner or later." Alan said.

It was already evening when the caravan walked out of the Rift Valley. After the caravan entered the wilderness, a figure emerged from the shadow of the exit of the Rift Valley. It was actually a soldier from Storm City. He used some gravel to draw an arrow pattern on the ground. The arrow pointed in the direction where the caravan had left. After doing all of this, he continued to follow behind the caravan with his cat on his waist.

Origin energy flowed through the blood vessels.

Every time they pass through the heart, part of it is absorbed by the evil eye. The evolved Alifido was still absorbing Alan's Origin Energy. Compared to when he was on Earth, the markings on Alifido's body were much clearer. Alan diverted his attention from it and recalled the second barrier. He tried to isolate the origin energy and seep it into his heart to strengthen the organ.

Although he did not know how useful it would be to break through the barrier at that time. But now, this was the only stupid method he could think of for the time being. As a result, the majority of the Origin Energy that he refined tonight was used in both Ali Feido and Strengthening the Heart. The increase in Origin Energy was not even 1%. Allen sighed as he opened his eyes and ended his Origin Energy training.

It was already midnight, and the caravan had set up camp at a suitable place. Behind the camp was a hill, barely a barrier. At the very least, if there were dangerous plants that would appear at night, the caravan would avoid the danger of being surrounded by enemies.

Alan uncovered the tent. The soldiers of the Mountain King outside the tent were on duty at night. Two faint campfires lit up a corner of the camp, outlining the blurry outline of the camp. Alan's heart skipped a beat and he turned to look at the hill behind him. On the hillside, Adele held her gun with her back to the camp, and the girl was looking up at the sky, as if she had not fallen asleep.

"Can't sleep?"

A moment later, Alan climbed up the hill and sat down beside Adele. The night breeze sent the fragrance of the girl into Alan's nose. Alan draped a coat over Adele to keep her from catching a cold. Even though he knew that Adele's constitution was not susceptible to illness.

Adele folded her clothes and looked at the night sky. "I wonder which of these stars is our earth."

Stars filled the sky.

Tonight, there were no clouds. This unknown planet also had its own moon and sun. Naturally, there was no lack of starlight. Countless stars converged into a Milky Way that stretched across the indigo night sky. It was magnificent and beautiful. "If it weren't for me, you might still be on Earth now," Ellen said softly.

"Why do you say that?"

"The current situation of losing contact with the earth and being lost in some unknown star system has something to do with me. Adele, actually "

Suddenly, Adele reached out and gently pressed her hand on Alan's mouth. The girl shook her head and said, "This is the path I chose. You don't have to blame yourself for it." Similarly, those who follow you have their own reasons, I think. We, who have come together because of our own choices, should have shared everything with you. Otherwise, why should we be your companions? "

"So, Ellen, all you have to do is lead us down. No matter what the destination is, we'll be happy to follow. That's all."

Alan smiled and raised his head, "Thank you."

Only then did Adele retract her hand, and then she gave another'eh '.

"What's the matter?" Alan looked at her.

"Is that fire?" The girl pointed at the wilderness under the night sky.

Alan looked in the direction of her fingers. In the wilderness in the distance, a little orange light was very conspicuous. A moment later, another point appeared. Then, a spark of flames appeared, spreading out in large patches, roughly estimated to be over a hundred points.

"Our troubles are coming." Alan jumped up and said.