The cedar tree paused for a moment and then continued:
"My lord, we don't know anything about the situation in our territory. All we know is that the lord keeps increasing taxes. We don't even have black bread to eat. Our village had several hundred people, but now there are only about 30 left here."
Most of them starved to death while they were in the village. Later, they fled to the mountains and forests, where some of them got lost and some died.
Shan Shu rubbed her eyes again, and a sense of sadness spread through the crowd.
Will's eyes also reddened; he was deeply moved because his parents had also starved to death.
Fortunately, the old lord did not raise taxes, allowing him and his sister to survive.
And the current lord is a kind person.
Will glanced at Ed secretly and prayed in his heart: "May you be healthy, thank you for your protection, and may your kindness protect more unfortunate people."
Ed was also somewhat saddened. "I can take you in, but you have no land to cultivate. You will work for me, and I will only provide you with some food. We'll talk about the rest in six months."
Sugi looked at the people behind him and, seeing that no one objected, turned to Ed and said, "Sir, we have no objections, as long as we don't starve to death."
"Adelaide, go and give them some bread."
"Ah! Master, we only have enough bread for ourselves." Adelaide felt sorry for them, but there wasn't much bread left!
She herself didn't eat much; she was quite competent as a logistics officer and didn't eat much.
Seeing Adelaide dawdling, Ed could only say again, "Go quickly."
The tone was not blaming, but rather urging.
Upon hearing Ed speak again, Adelaide could only slowly take several loaves of black bread and place them in the cedar's hand.
"Thank you, sir," Sugi said, taking the bread and distributing it to the others. There wasn't much bread, so it was impossible for everyone to have one; they had to share it.
Some people had barely received their share before they were already eating. Those who hadn't received any watched longingly, the sounds of them swallowing their saliva filling the air. Meanwhile, Sugishu still had two left.
Ed watched his actions; even in this situation, he could still think of the woman and child behind him. This man named Sugi was quite remarkable.
"Only those who can resist temptation can achieve great things. This cedar tree is worth nurturing," Ed thought to himself.
Oh, what about that red deer? We came here to hunt, how could we forget about it?
Ed looked to the side and saw a sturdy deer grazing in the distance, glancing over as it ate, looking every bit like a bystander.
"Eric, quietly hide behind that big tree over there and aim at the deer. When I say 'fire,' then release the arrow," Ed whispered.
Eric nodded and slowly moved behind the big tree. Despite his burly build, he moved with remarkable lightness of movement.
The others, including Shan Shu, were also puzzled by Ed's actions.
They were still quite far from the deer, and arrows would hardly be able to harm it. He had seen the warriors of their former territory use bows and arrows before. It was just that this burly man's bow and arrows were rather large.
Meanwhile, the sika deer, which was leisurely grazing, seemed to sense the danger.
"put"
Just as it was about to turn and run, an arrow whistled through the air.
"Pfft"
The powerful force penetrated its body.
"Go! Don't let it get away!" Ed commanded.
The other squad members quickly drew their bows and shot arrows, running towards the wounded deer.
The cedar trees and the others stared in disbelief; they couldn't even touch a deer.
Ed and his team solved it already? One arrow hit the mark, and the others quickly followed up with more arrows.
The final strike sealed the deal.
The whole process was completed in one go without any delays.
Ed looked at the lifeless deer lying on the ground and sighed inwardly:
"Real-world lessons tell us not to just watch the show."