Chapter 220 The Enemy Has Surrendered

Swan strolled through the streets of Flower Town, where the snow had stopped falling overnight.

The roads had been cleared of snow, revealing the gravel paths beneath. Compared to the cobblestone streets she had seen in large cities, these gravel roads were quite primitive. However, for a small town, having a gravel road was a significant achievement. In any country, most small towns were primarily composed of dirt roads.

The patrol team smiled as they maintained order among the newly arrived serfs and began distributing clothing.

The clothes were thick cotton garments, with no signs of shoddy workmanship.

Soon, various households of serfs started delivering prepared food to the residential area, organized by the town officials, to provide for the new arrivals.

The portions were generous, consisting mainly of beans and black bread, but each person also received a type of shellfish.

She had learned that this was seafood, a delicacy bestowed by the sea upon Lord Liszt. Last night, she had tasted the seafood and found it quite palatable. It was said that Flower Town relied on seafood to ensure everyone lived a well-fed life. From the rosy faces of the common people, she knew this was true.

Compared to the pale faces of serfs in rural areas, those here were ruddy and healthy.

They all wore thick cotton clothes, worked with smiles on their faces, and even received a few copper coins as wages. Such a life was hard to believe could exist in a rural town.

Before long, she arrived at Wheat Village.

The village was filled with the sounds of roosters crowing, and she saw serfs taking leftover bread crumbs and wheat bran to feed the chickens, both big and small.

She also passed by a pig farm, which housed over a dozen fat pigs.

Everything indicated that this was a prosperous town—not just the castle or the town itself, but even the villages and hamlets were affluent.

"What a peaceful countryside."

She suddenly thought of her own hometown, another small town where villages like Wheat Village were even more dilapidated. The local lord imposed heavy taxes and excessive demands, leaving the serfs struggling to make ends meet. Her family was no exception, and her parents decided to marry her off to an old, crippled man in the village when she was only fifteen.

The old man was already in his fifties, with wrinkles deep enough to trap flies, and he looked as if he could pass away at any moment.

Gathering her courage, she ran away from home early the next morning. As she was about to leave the village, she heard the serfs heading to the fields singing a folk song from their hometown.

"My hometown is in this village, I am a native of this village, though the village may not be very big..."

At that moment, tears streamed down her face, but she was resolute and unrepentant.

Four years had passed.

So much had changed.

When she finally gained the ability to shape her own future, she heard that the Kingdom of Steel Ridge was about to go to war with the Kingdom of Eagles. She set out on her journey back home, intending to take her family away.

However, upon returning, she found her hometown in ruins.

Her hometown had not been destroyed by war but by a group of mercenaries who had massacred the villagers. Her parents' bodies had been gnawed on by wild dogs. But she also discovered a clue that her little sister was still alive. Thus, she pursued her trail from the Kingdom of Eagles to the Grand Duchy of Sapphire.

In this remote island town, she finally found her sister.

"Good morning, Captain Swan," a hesitant greeting pulled Swan out of her memories. She turned to see a young female slave.

She remembered her; the girl had fallen on the ship, and Swan had taken her to get a meal: "It's you."

The young slave had changed into a cotton coat, which was a bit too large but looked very warm. Her face had been washed, though still pale, her spirit had returned.

After greeting in Snake Script, she immediately switched to Wind Speech, her tone becoming lively: "Captain Swan, are you one of the important people in Flower Town?"

Swan asked, "Do you like Flower Town?"

"Yes, yes, I like Flower Town. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are kind people, and I met Onega. She's just like me, a serf who came from another continent by ship. She's already training with a knight to learn combat skills. Do you know what combat skills are? Oh, someone like you must have trained in combat skills."

"Can female slaves train in combat skills?"

"Yes, Onega asked her instructor, Lord Rom, and he said all girls can attend the classes. In a few days, I can start training in combat skills too. Yes, I want to be as strong as Captain Swan."

"Do you not miss your home?"

"Home?" A hint of confusion appeared on the young slave's face, and she lowered her head, as if recalling something, "But Lya doesn't have a home anymore."

But soon, she lifted her head again: "Mr. and Mrs. Brown said Lya should consider Flower Town as her home."

Swan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "Then consider this place your home."

...

Eating breakfast, Liszt habitually summoned the Smoke Task.

Although he tried to reduce his reliance on the Smoke Task, it was genuinely useful, and he couldn't help but think about it every day.

If there was a chance to seize control of fate, he would certainly grasp it tightly.

An opportunity left unused was a wasted opportunity.

However, this time, the Smoke Task underwent a long-awaited change. The ethereal Snake Script no longer displayed the familiar phrases but instead showed a script that had only appeared once before.

"The task has changed."

Immediately, a new Smoke Task was issued.

"Task: In the snow-covered Flower Town, workers sweat daily but lack sufficient hot water for washing, making them susceptible to colds. The lord should address this issue by building separate bathhouses for men and women. Reward: New variety of Flame Mushrooms."

The monkey hadn't been purchased yet.

The task was clearly incomplete, but it had now changed.

Liszt recalled the mission from *Philip, Descendant of the Sun’s Diary*. He had failed to facilitate the formation of a contractual father-son relationship between Philip and Jesse, and it remained unfulfilled to this day. However, he searched Philip’s cobbler shop and obtained the diary, which was supposed to be the reward, in advance, causing the mission to change.

This time, it was likely for the same reason that the mission had changed again.

"The smoke mission indicates that the task has changed, not failed. Does this mean the thief's reward is already in place?"

He considered a possibility: Swan might already have someone in her heart.

But he felt it was too soon, and he had been quite conflicted about the female mercenary who could use invisibility. Her value was undeniable; just the ability to turn invisible made her worth recruiting. However, there were also potential threats and risks. Killing nobles and having an unknown background were red flags for him.

So he had prepared for a long-term strategy, never expecting her to defect so quickly.

It even made him sigh, "Ah, I thought you’d be the boss at the end of the level, but you turned out to be just a cutscene. Is it because Little Swan is nervous, or am I Old Li just too charming?" He picked up the new "invention" by Mrs. Abby, a steamed bun, spread some beef sauce and mustard on it, and took a bite.

It was rather dry and hard.

Not as soft and fluffy as real steamed buns; it needed improvement.

"Regardless of whether Swan has someone in her heart, we’ll continue with the original plan. We need to accelerate the investigation into her background... and the construction of the two bathhouses must begin immediately. I’ve just designed a hot spring bathtub, and the smoke mission has kept up with the times, prompting me to build the bathhouses."

The bathhouses were definitely necessary, as the mission reward was a new variety of fire mushroom, which would undoubtedly be an enhanced version of the magic potion fire mushroom.