Chapter 129 - 44: [Shadow of the Heart of the Remains: Oak Knight and Greenka]

Chapter 129: Chapter 44: [Shadow of the Heart of the Remains: Oak Knight and Greenka]

"McKinney?" The thug and the young hooligans exchanged glances and burst into laughter. "McKinney is already dead!"

"Dead?" Old Duke looked at the gang thugs in confusion.

"The entire Silver Coin Gang is completely dead!" the thug roared, holding out a scarred palm. "Hurry up, you old donkey, hand over the toll!"

From a carriage in the rear, the faint CLANG of Nether Copper colliding could be heard. But Yaki, who was driving, reached into the cabin and gently waved his hand.

"Don’t be so hasty, young man. Is Dylan dead too?" Old Duke unhurriedly pushed the thug’s palm away with his horsewhip.

"Dylan? Dylan Wilbur?" The thug hesitated for a moment before drawing his short sword and arrogantly pointing it at Old Duke’s neck. "It’s no use! He’s not the boss anymore! Soon he won’t even be able to protect himself!"

"You’ve got quite the network, old man... but it’s useless." He sneered. "Greenka has changed a lot. Knowing a few washed-up former gang bosses is just delaying the inevitable! Do you think connections can help you dodge the toll?"

"Can’t they, young man?" Old Duke smiled. "Then, I wonder how Old Garrett, Broken Finger Miller, Iron Boot Martin, Little Jack II from under the bridge, Black Fist Kuri, the Marul Brothers, Old Kaen of the Hat Gang, Red-skinned Craftsman, Big Baker of the Weber Boys Gang, and Lady Rely of the Horseshoe Tavern are doing. Are all these old friends and pals of mine dead too?"

The gang thug’s mouth fell open, and his short sword dropped to the ground. He stared dumbfounded at Old Duke, looking like a hamster with a single-track mind lost in thought while trying to process too many things at once.

A moment later, he bowed respectfully to Old Duke’s caravan. "I am truly... very sorry, respected sir," he said humbly, as if he had suddenly transformed from a street ruffian and bully into a polite, outstanding young man. "Please forgive our ignorance and offense. If you are angry at my stupidity and rudeness, I beg you, use your horsewhip to teach me some lessons in hospitality." He held up the tail of the whip with both hands, closed his eyes, and waited for it to strike his face.

"I think it would be better to let your boss teach you about hospitality." Old Duke smiled and pulled his whip back. "Whose gang are you running with? I might just know them. I’ll have to mention this to them later; the quality of young people these days is really getting worse."

"No, no... honorable sir... my lord, there’s no need... no need to let him know," the gang thug stammered in reply. "My lord, you just need to give me two lashes. If I go back with whip marks... at least I’ll have an explanation for the boss."

"The education of young people is a complex subject, and it’s not my place to interfere. Perhaps it’s best to let your boss educate you after all," Old Duke said with a chuckle. He cracked his whip and drove the carriage forward, leading the caravan of Exile merchants slowly away.

The burly gang thug and the two young hooligans stood dumbly in place. They looked as terrified as an introverted, novice maid who had accidentally broken a glass at a Knight Clan’s formal banquet, bringing shame to the family name—standing helplessly before the shards, clutching the hem of her clothes, looking as if she were about to cry.

"Is this really still within the Empire?" Samael asked. He watched through the gap in the curtains as the dazed gang thugs grew further and further away, then slowly withdrew his gaze. "It’s completely different from what we saw before."

"To be precise, it’s a Knight Territory. At the beginning of the Ederic Empire’s founding, the Emperor of the Founding Country appointed the Four Knights. A Knight Lord holds a great deal of autonomy and can adjust the management of their own territory. They can even raise a certain number of private soldiers within permitted limits." Talia leaned against his shoulder armor, whittling a piece of wood with a small knife.

"The corruption in this area actually doesn’t have much to do with the Knight Territory. There’s plenty of corruption in other parts of the Empire as well," Yaki explained as he drove the carriage. "It’s just that the areas we passed through earlier were very close to the Imperial Foundry and under direct royal jurisdiction. Furthermore, a large number of high-ranking officers and elite soldiers are stationed there. Even a Provincial Governor must obey the senior officers of the Foundry."

"Does the size of the garrison affect the level of corruption in a local province?" Samael asked.

"Of course it does—though this kind of thing is limited to the warmongering Ederic Empire," Talia replied lazily.

"The Ederic Imperial Army maintains strict discipline. Furthermore, according to the conscription laws left by the Emperor of the Founding Country, recruits must be military nobles who have received a certain level of higher education, or children of respectable farming families whose agricultural land or flocks meet specific standards. Impoverished tenant farmers, hooligans, and ignorant playboys are not eligible to enlist. Moreover, to ensure agricultural productivity, stationed soldiers will work and train alongside local militia groups during the spring plowing season.

"This, like the Caster worship, is a tradition left behind by Emperor Ederic of the Founding Country. The Emperor built his foundation on a group of well-educated young men from Knight Clans with noble character and excellent qualities, much like the Four Knights. In an era torn by war, they relied on refined steel armor, swords, shields, and intricate, comprehensive tactics to defeat the many with the few, establishing the Empire. In the Empire’s ideology, a hundred strong, intelligent, and fully armed Professional Soldiers are vastly superior to ten thousand ragged, forcibly conscripted vagabonds and aggressive street thugs.

"In the Ederic Empire, which reveres war and expansion, being a soldier is akin to a minor noble status, and senior officers hold the equivalent of a peerage. The Empire’s citizens all consider it an honor to be fortunate enough to serve in the military. Near the Imperial Foundry, where the army has been stationed long-term, let alone gang bandits and hooligan thugs, even the wild beasts in the outskirts of the towns are probably too frightened by the unceasing, day-and-night pounding of metal hammers to dare approach."