On the Seven Towers

"Master Xiao, the situation is very bad. I'm afraid we are trapped. Almost all the slave camps have been breached, and the slaves have been released." Cohen stood on the tower, looked around for a long time and said to Xiao Chen.

"How many strong slaves are there in this market?" Xiao Chen asked.

"I'm afraid there must be more than 3,000." He pointed to the west of the city and said, "The gate to Suero has been captured, and many people have gathered there. The gate out of the town on the other side is also blocked. There are still many groups of thugs in the village sweeping back and forth to the camps of each family."

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes, pointed to a strong fortress near the center of the village, and asked, "What is that fortress? It seems to be relatively quiet around."

"That is the fortress of the Juan family. It is the most heavily defended building in the entire village. It is probably the only village that has not been captured yet. Old Juan had a leg chopped off in the last slave riot, so he was particularly careful about saving his life. I guess the slave traders close to him may have hidden inside." Cohen replied.

"Just now, several groups of people tried to attack the fortress, but they were all repelled by the archers inside. Now the slaves are busy grabbing money, and I guess no one will go head-on." Kalanda said.

"Maybe taking refuge inside is also an option..." Cohen suggested carefully.

"No. I don't recommend this." Roger immediately retorted, "My suggestion is to find a wall with few people and break through directly."

"But it's easy to have casualties. Isn't the fortress closer and safer? We just need to hold on until the surrounding lords bring their troops over..." Cohen asked back.

"But how long will it take for the reinforcements to arrive? Are you really sure?" Roger asked. Cohen was speechless for a moment. Everyone knew that the lords were not willing to do such a loss-making thing as quelling the rebellion, and they would definitely shirk the issue of sending troops. And the Suero City Defense Force was thankful that they could protect themselves. If they really hid in the fortress, the possibility of being besieged and starving to death was really not small.

"That fortress is a dead end. Now the slaves are fighting on their own. In order to survive, they will always gather together. When people gather together, they will have a leader. Once they elect a leader and gather their men, it will not be difficult to capture the fortress. We don't have much time. If we want to leave, we must leave early and take advantage of the chaos." Luo Ling said, looking at the wall in the distance. After this, both Cohen and Roger looked at her with more surprise. It was the first time for them to find that this woman in a robe seemed to have a lot of insight.

Xiao Chen kept his head down and listened to their discussion in silence. At this time, he suddenly asked: "Luo Ling, there are many benefits for us in the outer city of Suero, right?"

"Three-quarters of our industry is in the outer city. Why, you can't bear to part with these bottles and jars? It should be important to save your life now, right?" She retracted her gaze and walked in front of Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen looked up, looked at Luo Ling and said, "That's all your hard work, and it's also the help we need for development. If it's all gone, how much time will it take to start from scratch? Moreover, Li Jia, Lao Chen, and Xi Luo should all be active in the outer city today. What if they don't have time to withdraw when the slaves plunder the outer city?"

"You want to stop this riot?" Luo Ling's eyes were full of surprise. She understood the meaning of Xiao Chen's eyes and understood his persistence. She knew that Xiao Chen was a bold and careful guy. Although he did things in a rough way, he did have his own reasons. So she nodded and said, "Tell me about it."

Xiao Chen drew out the Spark Sword and drew circles on the wooden floor of the clock tower. The forces represented by each circle were written on the edge. "Look, things have developed to this point, and it is clear what each party wants. The slaves want to get rid of their identities and gain freedom, and of course it would be best if they could make some money. Those slave traders who are still alive probably just want to save their lives, and it would be better if the property losses are smaller. People in and outside the city of Suero hope that the slaves will not go over to rob them. The kingdoms and lords hope that the riots will be quelled as soon as possible to save them some trouble. Right?"

"Yes, then what?" Luo Ling asked.

"Originally, this riot would probably end in a loss for all. For example, among the slaves, there will be some masters like Ralph. These masters will control the slave team in the next few hours and turn ordinary slaves into cannon fodder to attract attention. In the end, most of the slaves will be killed by the encirclement army, and only a few masters will escape with treasures." Xiao Chen drew another small circle in the circle representing the slaves, representing the masters and leaders. Then he crossed out the big circle of slaves with a horizontal line.

Although the others didn't know what cannon fodder was, they all understood what Xiao Chen meant.

"Then, all the slave traders here will probably die; many people in Suero will lose their homes and property; there will be many refugees and famine in the kingdom, and even more towns will be looted." Xiao Chen continued to draw a horizontal line on the circles representing slave traders, Suero merchants and surrounding lords, "Everyone is in trouble."

"But." He drew a small circle in the gap between the four large circles, "We are here. We have no deep contradictions with any of the four parties, but we are in the middle of them. More importantly, we have a certain combat power, which gives us a chance to solve this incident."

"Sir...but why did they listen to us?" Cohen asked puzzled.

Xiao Chen pointed at Cohen and asked: "Why did you listen to me and give up the treasure?"

"Because...I want to save my life?"

"There are many ways to save your life? Why did you choose to follow us in the end?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Because you are a magician and have powerful subordinates..."

"So it's the same for slaves." Xiao Chen shrugged.

"But there are so few of us, and there are so many of them!" Cohen still found it difficult to understand.

"No matter how much loose sand there is, it can't hit a fist." Luo Ling answered for Xiao Chen.

She looked at Xiao Chen and sighed: "Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen, I never thought you could be so courageous. I hope you are not trying to be a hero."

"The so-called heroes are sometimes just people with no way out."

"But you have a way out."

"Is that really a retreat? Thinking about our situation and the threats in this world, I feel that we have been forced to the edge of the cliff. The other side of the cliff is a little far away from us. Our choice is nothing more than to jump hard. Still helpless."

Luo Ling looked at his serious look and slowly smiled, "I forgot to tell you that there is no word helpless in my dictionary."

"I know, I know." Xiao Chen also smiled.

"However, there is still a small problem." Luo Ling pointed to the large circle of slaves. "The slaves are not yet a whole, and the leaders will not give up their positions easily."

"Then let us help them become a whole! Let's..." Xiao Chen stabbed the small circle representing the slave master with his sword, "Start solving the problem from here."

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On the edge of Suero outer city. Silver-leaf priest Roland and trainee priest Garno each rode a horse, looking at the slave city with black smoke and fire in the distance. Many businessmen, big and small, around them have begun to fear. People are carrying large and small bags of belongings and crowding out of the city. Some are going to the inner city, and more are rushing to the highway to escape to other towns for refuge.

The slave riot was so terrible that many old people still remember the riot many years ago. The outer city of Suero is actually a very large market with no city walls or towers. The city defense army will definitely only defend the inner city and fight. At that time, the people in the outer city will probably have to fend for themselves. In front of hundreds of thugs, a little martial arts is of no avail. So most people choose to walk.

The quiet figures of Roland and Roland stood out among the chaos. Many people would look at them in surprise when they passed by, but when they saw the priest robes they were wearing, they would respectfully and carefully move away. Behemoths like the Temple of Nature are sometimes more terrifying than rioting slaves.

"How far away are the Knights of the Wind from us?" Roland asked.

"According to the agreement, they should escort the baggage 'passing' just after noon. In another hour, it should be almost there." Gano was obviously a little uneasy. He couldn't help but asked: "Should I go to pick them up?"

"God will not bless you if you are impatient. You can expect great things if you calm down and think about it. In terms of your impatience, you are really like your father. The most important thing for us now is to observe the development of the situation."

"Yes. My lord."

"What you said to Miss Luo earlier was also about the same issue."

"I...I think that if a mage like her is trapped in the camp, unpredictable variables will increase." Gano whispered.

"You are worried about her safety."

"No, oh, no, she is also our partner. You said she is very important."

Priest Roland smiled, looked at him and said: "It is natural to pursue beautiful things, so there is nothing to be embarrassed about. However, as for Miss Luo Ling, you underestimate her. Not to mention her thoughts. Deep and unpredictable, who seems to be easier to deal with, the female mercenary Karanda or the male mage Xiao Chen? As for us, as long as the slaves start to riot, we will achieve it. Your own purpose. Now that the bread is in the oven, take it out and eat it when the time is up."

Gano's face turned red and he nodded silently.

"On the contrary, you went too far by scolding her for not buying slaves. Not to mention that she would doubt her intelligence afterwards, and even for your small goals, this is not a good thing. Who would like to scold themselves unreasonably? "

Garno groaned and couldn't answer, so he changed the topic and asked: "Looking at the current situation, there was a lot of fighting inside. Is it possible that too many people died?"

Roland said: "Nature is ruthless. This ruthlessness may be cruel to individuals, but it is a gift to the whole. It allows us to not get entangled in details and do something right. Mortals are short-sighted and cowardly. , they will be afraid of death and cry because of sympathy, but these are nothing in front of nature. The only difference between these people dying now or fifty years later is that they will give a gift to the God of Nature. A gift made of blood.”