Chapter 158 - 124: High-Level Knight’s Breathing Technique, Emerson Family (2)

Chapter 158: Chapter 124: High-Level Knight’s Breathing Technique, Emerson Family (2) Marshall nodded with a smile, and Thor was also smiling.


The group immediately expanded again.


Morris rode over to Thor’s side.


"Thor!"


Morris spoke softly, his expression somewhat complex.


The impact of that day was still present.


"Brother Morris!"


Thor said with a smile as well.


And then, nothing else happened.


The group left the castle in a grand procession, heading towards Pat City.


Pat City was about fifteen hundred miles away from Dressrosa Town, and even for the Knight Order, it would take about twelve to thirteen days to reach.


Along the way, they had to pass through the territories of several Counts.


Fortunately, compared to the Northern Province, the Frost Moon Province had wide roads and a stable environment. The greatest threat along the way was only some not-so-powerful Demon Beasts, making the journey much smoother.


Ten days quickly passed.


The group was getting closer and closer to Pat City.


The journey was smooth, with only one encounter with a Cyan Grey Wolf attack, a result of Thor not actively avoiding it.


Other than that, everything went extremely well.


The whole team appeared particularly relaxed.


And over the ten-day journey, Morris, Thor, and Marshall became increasingly familiar with each other.


As they chatted,


Marshall looked at the map before raising his head to speak with solemnity.


"Young Master Thor, ahead is the territory of the Emerson Family. We may need to pay some Gold Coins, I’ll handle it later."


Saying this, Marshall appeared somewhat grave.


"Emerson Family?"


Thor raised his eyebrows in curiosity at the familiar family name.


As for what Marshall said about paying some Gold Coins.


It was common practice for merchant caravans to pay Gold Coins when passing through territories of noble families of the same rank. Only when passing through lower-ranking noble territories, they wouldn’t need to pay.


They had already paid quite a bit along the way.


This was a characteristic of the Frost Moon Province.


Unlike the Northern Province, the Frost Moon Province had been developed for hundreds of years, and the benefits were already entrenched. To the nobility, the best benefits, of course, were to set up tolls.


Almost every noble territory had one.


But this kind of roadblock only targeted nobles of the same and lower ranks, and it didn’t have any binding force on high-level nobles, nor would it collect Gold Coins from them.


Along the way, Thor truly understood the difficulties of trade routes in this era.


He also understood why, up to now, only a few could engage in business within the entire Tulip Kingdom, most of which were the Royal Court, Dukes, and Marquis Families. Among the Count families, only the Assad Family was involved.


In such a situation, let alone Barons and Viscounts, even Counts might not know how much their costs would increase on the journey, making it impossible to open up trade routes.


Thor was even somewhat grateful that the Northern Province had yet to be fully developed, and it was difficult for some noble lords, even those who had developed for a dozen years, to set up tolls. Otherwise, his trade route plans might not even begin, not to mention his trade ideas. Even holding an auction might not be possible.


Shaking his head, Thor found his thoughts intertwined.


Meanwhile, Marshall spurred his horse forward to negotiate.


About half an hour later.


Marshall returned with a somewhat gloomy expression.


"Uncle Marshall, what’s the matter?"


Seeing Marshall’s troubled expression, Thor couldn’t help but ask curiously.


"Is it those Emerson bastards wanting to charge extra Gold Coins?"


Morris seemed to understand better what was happening and spoke with clenched teeth.


"Yes, Young Master Thor, they said their expenses for clearing the surrounding Demon Beasts have substantially increased, and they now require five Silver Coins for each cart, which is a fifty percent increase compared to before."


Marshall nodded and then explained to Thor.


At this moment, their caravan had over two hundred carts, and each cart required an additional twenty Silver Coins. Two hundred carts meant an additional four thousand Silver Coins, equating to forty Gold Coins—a considerable amount of value.


"These damn bastards."


"They’re practically vampires."


Morris’s face darkened as he listened to Marshall’s words.


And Thor couldn’t help but frown as well.


He knew that his family and the Emerson Family didn’t get along well, even could be considered mortal enemies.


But experiencing this blatant feeling for the first time was quite a revelation.


With things so transparent here, one could only imagine elsewhere.


Thor’s mind furrowed in contemplation.


"Young Master Morris, Young Master Thor, let’s go!!"


"We should leave here as soon as possible!"


Marshall shook his head, refraining from continuing and instead called for the two of them to set off.


Although there would be no apparent issues in the Frost Moon Province, this was, after all, the territory of the Emerson Family, and leaving as soon as possible was the most correct choice.


"Alright!"


Thor nodded and agreed.


Morris, though still somewhat angry, had no choice but to suppress it.


The group continued their journey, heading towards Pat City.


Three days later.


The group successfully passed through the Emerson territory, and Pat City appeared before their eyes.


And just after they left the Emerson territory.


In the center of the territory.


Inside Emerson Castle.


"My lord, the descendants of the Dressrosa Family dared to appear in our family’s territory, how can you let them leave so easily?"


"They have taken Kolon’s territory."


A beautiful woman spoke with a frown.


"Madam, that was Kolon’s loss, not taken by others."


"And this is regular trade. If we stopped it, no merchant caravan would want to pass through our territory next time."


Count Emerson spoke with a certain helplessness, shaking his head with a sigh.


He felt somewhat helpless with his wife.


Although he was a Count, the beautiful woman was from a Marquis Family, and even he had to treat her with due respect.


"Kolon did not lose; it was that despicable Dressrosa descendant who forcefully occupied it while Kolon was away."


The beautiful woman spoke in a dissatisfied tone.


Count Emerson’s mouth twitched slightly, and he shook his head.


He didn’t continue to speak.


Damn it, just leaving the territory.


Damn the despicable Dressrosa descendant occupying it.


Even though the Emerson Family and the Dressrosa Family were not on good terms, the Dressrosa Family’s reputation was indeed trustworthy.


Such words could only fool a three-year-old child.


No one knew better than Count Emerson what kind of person his son was.


Moreover, even the Northern Province acknowledged it; could there still be a problem?


But he also knew that arguing with the beautiful woman was futile. He had no intention of providing any redemption money to that wastrel; if she wanted it, the beautiful woman would have to find a way on her own.


Directly intercepting the Dressrosa Family’s caravan was even more out of the question; extorting a bit was acceptable, but doing anything more would ruin Emerson’s reputation.


Then, as he said, the trade routes would shut down, which would be detrimental for the Emerson Family and not something he was willing to accept.


And as the beautiful woman observed Count Emerson’s silence, her face turned somewhat sullen.