Astartes of the Bear School Chapter 997

Chapter 997 979. Toll station on the river

 A simple and narrow wooden bridge connects the two sides of the Pontar River.

An outpost was set up with wooden piles on a central ford in the middle of the river.

This is obviously a civilian passage, and the outpost is a toll station where merchants and vendors who want to cross the river must pay tolls.

 After this toll station, you will find the territory of Redania, one of the four northern kingdoms.

 Hence this toll station also collects tariffs part-time.

 The smell of the river water is very strong, because the water flow here is slow, so the dirty sediments are piled nearby.

 There is a layer of green algae on the river surface, which is the result of eutrophication of the water body.

 But the 'nutrition' of nature smells like old feces in the human nasal cavity.

Dead water birds, dead fish, and even dead water ghosts. The corpses of these things floated up and down in the floating waves of green algae.

As if Geralt's obedient behavior of paying the fee made him a little dissatisfied, he made a roaring sound in his throat, then tilted his head and spit out a mouthful of phlegm, rolling his eyes.

The emblem of Redania is a red shield with a spread-winged white eagle wearing a crown and holding a scepter. Therefore, unlike the common blue and white colors in Temeria, the official colors here are red and white.

The soldiers' breastplates and cotton armor are all red and white.

The soldiers stationed at the toll booth were like ordinary people, treating the witcher like a leper, as if the cat's eyes would be contagious to him.

Geralt has long been accustomed to these scenes, so he sat on the horse very calmly, waiting for the Redanian soldier in front of him to finish counting the coins in the money bag.

 But their attitude is much better than that of the villagers.

Geralt on the horse frowned slightly.

So they just tilted their heads and spit when the witcher passed by, as if to expel bad luck, or blew their noses, and then wiped their cotton armor randomly twice with the hand they blew their noses.

"But you must be going to Novigrad to find work, right? The great priests of the Eternal Fire may forget to collect your business tax, so you must pay a deposit here first."

“The coins are not trimmed, there are two people and two horses, and no goods are brought, so there is no need to pay trade tax. Well, bah.”

　　It seems that the phlegm-filled mouth is mumbling some unclean oral habits.

 There was no incident when Geralt and Lan crossed the bridge.

"Don't be too greedy. I can give you five more silver coins and buy you a drink. But don't mention any **** business tax deposit."

After the sound of Carrot's horse's hooves trampling on the wooden bridge, a huge figure that should never appear in the common sense walked over the small bridge awkwardly.

From time to time, it would hit the pillars of the wooden bridge and make a "dong" sound.

“Okay, white-haired man.” Rosacea put the end of the halberd on the ground, held the long pole in his arms, and turned the small money bag upside down in his hand to shake it clean.

But they dared to do this when Geralt was passing by first.

“I've been up and down the Pontar River hundreds of times, man.”

Because the soldiers guarding the toll booth are well-informed and know that the witchers are just passing by and will not stay for a long time and will not work here.

"Novigrad is a free city. Even if I have to work there, the taxes I pay have nothing to do with Redania, right?"

A Redanian soldier whose rosacea has developed into a fat nose was checking the bag of money that Geralt threw to him.

Expect the soldiers of the toll station to charge the rules honestly, it is better to expect the eternal fire to really expel monsters.

Geralt knew exactly how to deal with these people.

The rosacea in front of him was obviously an old man. He knew that he couldn't fool Geralt, so he curled his lips and prepared to do as he asked.

However, when Rosacea put away the tolls he received and reached out towards Geralt to receive the five silver coins, a huge shadow covered the witcher from behind.

The Qilin, which is two and a half meters tall at the shoulders, is equipped with a magic harness saddle, and Lan En in a cloak is sitting on it.

 The height alone is more than three and a half meters.

Whether it is Qilin or Lan En, their bodies are by no means simple and abnormally tall and thin, but have strong and healthy muscles.

 In such a state of equal enlargement, the difference in body size becomes even more terrifying.

It was obvious that Qilin was just taking a leisurely stroll to catch up with Geralt from behind, but the shadow covering the past was like a slowly approaching darkness.

Lan En drove the unicorn past Geralt. On the road he passed, the Redanian soldiers' throats rolled up and down, their mouths open but speechless.

 “Aren't you done yet, Geralt?”

Geralt sat on the carrot and looked down at the rosacea toll collector, while Lan, who was passing by Geralt, looked down at him.

Lan En walked over as if nothing had happened, while Rosacea, who was still extending his hand towards Geralt, froze there, dangling one hand that neither dared to extend nor to withdraw.

The old witcher clearly looked at Rosacea standing next to his horse's head, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.

 Then he didn't say anything about the five silver coins, and followed Lan En out of the toll station.

After the two people left, the toll station that fell into silence for a while slowly became noisy again.

The pedestrians blocking the bridge outside were trying to speed up the crossing, while the Redanian soldiers at the toll booth seemed to have just woken up. "Is that a giant on a horse?"

 “Bullshit giant, this is a civilized place, not a wilderness!”

“But not a giant, what size? Still walking with the freak witcher?”

 The soldiers were noisy, not only out of curiosity, but also to vent the pressure accumulated unconsciously under the huge figure just now.

But the veteran with rosacea seemed to be stunned for a moment when he heard the word "freak witcher", obviously thinking of something.

That is a legend that although it has not been around for a long time, it has an unimaginable influence.

The bard's ballad says that the protagonist of the story is a tall and brave demon hunter who is extraordinary.

Ignoring the chirping of the other people in the toll booth, Rosacea leaned his halberd against the wall, and then sneaked into the soldiers' lounge of the toll booth without alerting anyone.

 Not long after, a dove flapped its wings and flew away into the distance.

The matter of the toll station on the Pontar River was not even considered by Lan En and Geralt for more than ten minutes.

 Compared to ordinary people in this magical medieval world, demon hunters have extraordinary knowledge and experience.

Even when Lan En was an ordinary demon hunter, he could already handle such trivial matters with ease.

Geralt just bounced on his horse and teased the young man.

“I should really go with you more often in the future. Less than twenty times, the customs clearance fee saved is enough for one of my missions.”

Lan En turned around on Qilin's back, held the brim of his hood towards Geralt, and made a gesture of thanks after a performance, signaling that he was welcome.

 After arriving in Redania, the environment of this place is at least much better than that of Velen.

The land of Velen is low-lying, so the water from the Pontal River silted it up into swamps and wetlands, from which monsters and miasmas were born.

But the large piece of land where Novigrad is located is the delta where the Pontar River flows into the ocean.

Although it is closer to the ocean, the annoying humidity is worse than that of Waylon.

 Shrubs, trees, and turf grow on the loess with suitable humidity.

 Leave the road and walk less than twenty steps to the side, and you will enter the undeveloped forest.

 Lush, deep and dark.

But as they approached Novigrad along the road, after riding for a while, they both raised their eyes and looked ahead at the road.

"The world has become more chaotic." Geralt's voice was as calm as ever, "The remnants of that war are still tormenting many people today."

Lan En lowered his head and did not speak. He just patted Qilin's neck, making this noble and elegant ancient dragon speed up his pace a little.

 Ahead of the road, a noisy sound came out.

In the sound were the joyful and cruel laughter of men and women, the frightened neighing of the donkey pulling the cart, and the screams.

Geralt also urged Carrot to follow.

What happened before the eyes of the two witchers was obvious.

 A wooden cart had its axle broken due to being caught in a trap. The goods on the cart were scattered all over the floor, and the wooden cart was crookedly stuck in the pit.

The donkey pulling the cart screamed and kicked its legs in fear because of the blood, but the harness tied it to the broken cart.

The owner of the donkey cart, or the original owner, was sitting paralyzed in the mud.

The corpse of a young man dressed as a waiter was lying in front of him. The blood flowing from his body made the muddy ground even wetter and smellier.

The people who laid the trap and took possession of the vehicle's cargo were obvious deserters.

They wore Redanian's red and white cotton armor.

He only wore iron protective gear on his gloves, elbows, and knees, and his chest was simply tied to a large iron plate.

But unlike the soldiers at the toll booth, these people looked more dirty and embarrassed, and the armor on their bodies seemed too old even compared to mass-produced military supplies.

This kind of wear and tear will definitely satisfy the requirements for replacement even under the hands of the stingiest quartermaster.

 There were six or seven people in total, both men and women, all dressed in this way.

By the time Geralt and Lan arrived near the scene, they happened to see a leading man pulling a little girl out from behind the car owner who was slumped on the mud.

 A little girl about thirteen or fourteen years old, or a handsome boy?

 Obviously, these people don't care much about gender.

The leading man's mouth was full of rotten teeth, which were yellow to black.

As soon as he caught the child, his nose was runny and he tore the child's clothes with a smile.

He kept shouting: It's time for you to meet a real man.

 His companions around him were cheering as if watching the fun, and some even started to untie their belts.

 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end