Chapter 124 The End of a Long Road of Blood and Sweat
On the edge of the territory of Jeanne d'Arc, Duke of Kush, there is a place called Wild Boar Ridge. Crossing the Wild Boar Ridge is the Wild Spider Forest.

It was a sparsely populated area, not only was the land barren, but there was also the risk of being attacked by giant spiders.

If it weren't for the nearby Mount Mayo mine, almost no one would live nearby.

Today, the long-dilapidated Wild Boar Ridge Mountain Trail welcomed a group of new travelers.

The azure blue sky drew a thin line above the canyon, and under the milky white clouds, several goshawks were circling.

Walking in the front were thirty soldiers wearing black cloaks, under which were shining silver breastplates. The short swords at their waists struck against the iron armor, making clanging sounds.

Many of them not only wore red and blue thin belts, but also had patchwork bags hanging around their waists. They looked dusty and exhausted, like beggars who had robbed an armory.

Three brigades of Guards soldiers, holding the sun flag representing the Pope, walked in the front.

Behind them were the citizens of the Papal States, wearing uniform gray and white robes. The senators, holding their canes, followed silently behind the citizens.

Although these people's footsteps were chaotic, there was an unexpected order and neatness in their march.

At their sides were wheels turning, and oak and leather panels were hung on one side of the ten carts.

The carts and oak leather panels were covered in scars, including scratches, holes, and signs of corrosion from liquids.

The soldiers walking on both sides of the carriages were holding very strange iron-clad long sticks in their hands, and no one knew what they were used for.

Although there are not many residents near Boar Ridge, there are still militia brotherhoods and hunters.

Along the way, scattered militiamen or hunters could often be seen looking at the Papal States' convoy from the hilltops on both sides.

"We have finally left the Wild Spider Forest. The long road of blood and sweat has come to an end." Looking at the increasingly open valley in front of him, Horn could not help but sigh.

Jeanne looked at the long road ahead and sighed, "Yes, I've finally finished it."

帝国历1444年10月2日出发，到如今10月31日，用时29天，走完了450里路。

Twelve hundred villagers climbed over the high mountains, seized the pass and built bridges, tricked away the mercenaries who were surrounding them, ran across the King's Road, crossed the Blackbone Swamp and the Wild Spider Forest, and finally arrived here.

Ahead is Mount Maillot, and 45 miles southwest of the town of Mount Maillot is Fort Jeanne d'Arc.

That is the end of this journey.

It was only 29 days, but Horn felt like it was a long time.

He even felt as if he was in another world, especially when they came from the narrow and steep mountain path to the flat plain.

The road was lined with flowers and birds were singing softly. There was no danger of pursuit and no danger of being spooked by the wind.

It seems like everything has changed, and yet it seems like nothing has changed.

"Is there any new news from Sissi and Carrie?" Horn asked Jeanne in front of him while riding on his horse.

"not yet."

A day ago, before crossing the Cross-Borne Ridge, Horn had already sent Sissi and Carrie to notify the Ruoan Party and the White Mountain Hermitage respectively.

According to the news and progress sent back, Sissi contacted the White Mountain Hermitage, but Carrie had a small problem with identity verification.

This means that Horn and others may need to stay in the town of Mount Mayo for one night, waiting for the two men to confirm their identities with Jeanne d'Arc before sending someone to pick them up.

The nearby lord notified the people in the town, but the townspeople were afraid and unwilling to let Horn and others enter the town, so they had to camp outside the town.

Not allowing armed men to enter towns is a truth that the people of this world have learned through countless lessons of blood and tears.

Horn raised his head and looked towards the small town at the foot of the mountain in the distance.

The spire of the chapel stood against the sky, and on the mountain road, miners were coming and going like ants.

They pushed wheelbarrows to transport the ore, which was turned into blocks of iron ore at the iron smelting factory at the foot of the mountain.

The mountains surrounding the town are planted with raw materials for iron smelting potions.

It would be better to stay here for one night, Horn thought to himself.

Otherwise, what if they rush over and are mistaken for bandits?
When you arrive at the town of Mayo Mountain, you can rest and do some shopping.

During this period of time, Horn and his men's supplies were almost exhausted, with only a limited amount of food left.

It’s almost November, and I need to buy some more clothes.

If everything goes well, after getting supplies here, they will go to Jeanne d'Arc to meet with Darnay, Duke of Kush. In the small town of Maillot, they can also collect some intelligence.

To be honest, Horn didn't know much about Duke Darnay.

However, the refugees, including Madeleine and Jeska, all had a good impression of the Duke of Darnay.

"What kind of person is this Duke of Darnay?" Horn muttered softly.

"The Duke of Kush is different from other lords." After hearing Horn's muttering, Madeleine introduced with a smile, "Because too many of his manors were occupied, he had to develop workshops to maintain them..."

Listening to Madeleine's narration, Horn nodded and began to recall the descriptions of Sissi, Madeleine and others.

Compared with normal lords, the Duke of Dane's income mainly comes from iron smelting and casting, including brewing and various agricultural and sideline products.

Duke Danay has been investing and building workshops and shops in various places since his grandfather, and he has basically not focused his energy on real estate.

Because he only had the title of Duke, but basically no real estate.

The farmers on his property had basically no complaints against him because he operated a subcontracting system.

He would subcontract the land to merchants, who would recruit refugees and pay them daily wages to cultivate the land.

Of course, if the workers fail to complete the farming tasks, the contractor will not pay them or will reduce their wages by half.

This resulted in more than 40,000 people living near Joan of Arc, of which nearly 30,000 were migrant laborers.

Due to the existence of the Labor Act and the Fugitive Slave Act, workers' wage security and personal safety were not very good.

However, the Duke of Darnay has a strong military force, and due to his special status, the public security environment is relatively good, so there are not many of these two security issues in the area of ​​Joan of Arc.

Migrant laborers here are rarely robbed or trafficked by bandits and robber knights, and merchants' wages are not delayed for too long.

Especially the people of Qianhe Valley, they can get a lot of preferential treatment when they go to court.

This is basically a holy place for refugees to work, the Sanhe Talent Market in Qianhe Valley.

But there are always pros and cons. When human resources are more abundant, workers' wages are generally lower.

The Duke of Kush had no way of resisting the Fugitive Slave Act, and if the "masters" of the refugees came running, he could only let the slave hunters take them away.

This place basically became a low-income area. When the refugees couldn't get enough food or got sick, they would go to Jeanne d'Arc to work as laborers for a period of time.

Because of this, he was often ridiculed by other lords as a vagrant lord and was excluded from aristocratic society.

The Duke of Darnay is 35 years old this year. He has several illegitimate children and has not yet married a noble wife worthy of his status.

You have to know that in this era, when a noble woman got married, the dowry was much higher than the bride price.

But even though Danai offered a dowry that was twice the market price, no good noble woman was interested in him, and he even met several fake noble scammers.

This behavior was even jokingly called high-price bidding by other nobles.

Judging from these remarks, Dane can really be regarded as a breath of fresh air among the lords.

But you can never know a person's heart by just looking at his face. Horn will not blindly follow rumors, but will investigate it himself.

These green-skinned insects had followed him all the way. Since Horn had brought them here, he naturally had to take care of them.

"Dear...guest." An old voice sounded. Horn raised his head and saw a hunchbacked old man standing in front of the crowd.

"Who are you?" Das drew his dagger and blocked the old man's way. "Stand back!"

Looking at the soldiers' sophisticated equipment and fierce aura, the hunchbacked old man swallowed and put on a flattering smile.

"I am Gregory, the mayor of Mayo."

Horn rode on his horse and said to Das, "Let him come over."

"I'm so sorry to have frightened you."

The hunchbacked old man immediately bowed and saluted, and as he passed by, he quietly stuffed two dinars into Das's patchwork bag.

"I'm here to welcome you into the camp."

(End of this chapter)