Especially old Abel.

He seemed as if struck by lightning, completely stunned, frozen in place, while the warmth in his fingers cooled again.

He dared not meet the soldier's gaze, only helplessly looking behind him, his eyes scanning his neighbors beside him—

The widowed Kasha who had just lost her husband, the limping carpenter Tom, and the young Billy... It was like looking in a mirror, seeing his own expression on their faces.

Shock.

Despair.

And helplessness.

Murmurs spread through the crowd, then turned into protests and sobs.

A stalwart man stood up, but then bowed to the ground, fear in his eyes as he spoke.

"Please wait! Master, you want to turn this into a ranch, but... what about us?"

The soldier on horseback looked down at him and said.

"You are free, you can go wherever you like, be it as adventurers or to the city, as long as you don't beg in the town, do whatever you please."

Though the tenant farmers were the Lord's property, the lord here no longer needed so much land.

Nicely put, it's giving them back their freedom, but bluntly, it's letting them fend for themselves.

After all, isn't there the merciful Erin in Thunder City?

She could shelter refugees from Twilight Province, surely she wouldn't abandon her own people.

The soldier's face was full of mockery.

Though more than a month had passed, he hadn't forgotten how these farmers abandoned Lord Ges and fled.

The man's eyes on the ground were full of despair, yet he could do nothing, only choke on his words as he spoke.

"Master, we don't want freedom... Please let us continue to serve you! We can do other work, tend to these sheep, as long as we have something to eat, just don't drive us away from here..."

"Yes, Master!"

"Please, Master!"

Others also knelt down and pleaded, Abel too unconsciously knelt down, although instinctively he felt it was useless, as the armored cavalry clearly weren't there to negotiate.

And as he thought, the soldier on horseback merely snorted coldly, his tone full of humiliation as he said.

"Want to continue serving the master? Are you worthy? You should have expected this day when you abandoned him and fled, thank him for his mercy, at least he didn't hang you in the square like those goblins!"

Ges had long forgotten this matter, raising sheep was just to earn more money, after all, Thunder City's textile industry was booming, and wool had long been in short supply.

However, although he didn't bother remembering matters of servants, it didn't prevent his subordinates from remembering the humiliation of the time and keeping in mind to reclaim it from these tenant farmers.

Whoever dares to draw a sword against the strong is a hero, but it's clear that no one present was such a person.

Looking at the soulless tenant farmers, the soldier curled his lips in ridicule.

"Of course, if you could grow wool on your bodies, you could stay."

The surrounding soldiers burst into laughter, even their horses snorted, as if laughing.

Old Abel hung his head, like a dead man, unable to speak, his mind blank.

He could raise cows and pigs, but had never raised sheep.

What did it matter even if he could?

Caring for animals needs people, but not so many people, and eventually, the opportunity would be left to the agile and quick-witted young ones...

Besides, the wise Baron Ges wouldn't do such a careless job, especially regarding money matters.

The master had specially bought several slaves who knew how to herd sheep when importing those sheep from the eastern kingdom.

Those slaves cost next to nothing, just a few sheep...

After delivering the lord's orders, the soldiers on horseback began to drive the gathered crowd away.

In fact, they didn't even need to be driven away.

The seeds for spring sowing hadn't arrived, and these tenant farmers couldn't do anything but stare at the land in a daze.

At this moment, Abel finally vaguely realized who Edward's laws really protected.

His vision blurred, as if seeing familiar fields fenced in, sheep replacing crops, all his labor going up in smoke... including the gardens he secretly cultivated.

In the end, he didn't even know how he got home.

It wasn't until his worried-faced wife grabbed his arm with her rough hands, speaking in a tearful voice, that he was shaken from his dream filled with pickles.

"Abel, what will we do? If we lose the land, where else can we go?"

"I... don't know."

Abel let out a breath he was holding, finally exhaling it powerlessly, smiling bitterly.

"Maybe we go to Thunder City to find work? The adventurers in town say there's plenty of work there, as long as you're willing to work hard, you won't go hungry..."

He had been there a few times, it's a good place, just that everything costs money, and it's not cheap.

His wife, however, seemed not to hear, just holding his arm and rambling, as if he were the villain.

"How can they do this?! My father, my grandfather... our family has been farming for the Gess family for generations, how can they just say they don't want us..."

Abel gently patted his wife's shoulder and comforted her.

"At least... the master left us with these farm tools, and those pots and pans, he said we can dispose of the things on the land as we wish, as compensation to us."

He didn't know how much they could sell for, but they should fetch some copper coins.

At least Master Ges didn't take those things too.

"Who wants this junk!" His wife screamed hysterically, like a wounded beast wailing.

The children in the house dared not make a sound, they were all silent, just stealing glances at their father, who seemed to have aged overnight.

They didn't understand what had happened, only feeling as if suddenly, the whole sky had collapsed...

——

(Thanks to "Dog of the North" for the reward!!!)

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