"My lord, if all this iron ore is smelted into iron, will we all have longswords like Lord Andrew's?" Will asked excitedly as they walked.
Although iron ore cannot be turned into iron for the time being, it does not affect their imagination.
Hearing Will's words, the others also looked at Ed with some anticipation.
"Yes, as long as we smelt all this iron ore into iron, not to mention longswords, all farm tools can be replaced with iron."
Ed's words excited Eric the most, who was at the back of the group. If the hoe was made of iron, his tilling speed would increase significantly.
He was already imagining himself working in the field with an iron hoe, easily digging through the hard clods of earth.
"Everyone be careful, there's movement ahead." Just as everyone was imagining the wonders of ironware, Andrew held his longsword across his chest, blocking the group behind him.
Everyone immediately became alert, and the atmosphere shifted from relaxed to somewhat tense.
A rustling sound came from the bushes ahead, and a strong red deer ran out. Immediately afterward, a group of people carrying wooden spears and dressed in linen followed.
This group of people were emaciated, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition, and most of them were men.
At this moment, these people also discovered Ed and his group, and the two groups faced off.
Some of the startled deer ran to the side, but for some reason, this one didn't go far. Perhaps it wanted to stay and watch the excitement.
"Who are you people?" Ed asked first.
They saw that each of the other men was wearing leather armor and carrying long bows and arrows, with the leader also carrying a longsword.
Especially the short sword in the young man's hand and its silver hilt—that was something only noblemen could use.
The group's morale had clearly weakened, and fear was spreading through everyone's hearts.
One of them, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward timidly and said, "Sir, we are serfs from the Green Kingdom, Yew Territory."
"What are you doing here? This is my territory now." Ed had a fairly good impression of the person who spoke.
Upon hearing Ed's words, the man's mood quickly worsened, and he continued angrily:
"Our lord has tripled the taxes, and many people in the village have starved to death. We can no longer survive. So we fled into the forest, but the lord still won't let us go and sent warriors to capture us. We had no choice but to keep running deeper into the forest, and after crossing several mountains, we finally escaped them. We didn't know we had just trespassed into your territory. We have no other choice but to beg you to take us in."
After speaking, the man secretly glanced at Ed, knowing that it would be difficult for them to survive in this vast forest.
Ed looked at them; the territory was short of people, and he planned to take them in.
But food is a problem. And what about the lord of the other territory? Will he cause trouble? Serfs are now the lord's private property.
Ed looked at Andrew, wanting to know his opinion. He believed these people weren't lying.
Andrew still gripped his longsword tightly; he did not lower his guard because of the other party's words.
Seeing Ed looking over, he said, "My lord, there's a problem. If we take them in, we might not have enough food, and there might be a conflict if the other lord comes looking for us later. But there's no need to worry too much. This forest is very large, and it's not easy to get here easily."
Ed thought about it and realized it made sense. This group of people were wandering around aimlessly and that's how they encountered him. Organizing warriors to attack, scouting ahead, and resupplying wouldn't be something that could be done in a short time.
Moreover, the people in the opposite territory may not even know about my side.
Ed raised his hand, signaling the guards not to be so tense and to put down their weapons.
Then he turned to the leader of the group and asked, "What's your name? How many people are there in your area? What's the situation in your territory?" Ed wanted to learn more about the outside world.
"The little man is called Cedar. There are more than 10 people here now, and some women and children behind him."
The man named Sugi rubbed his eyes, looking somewhat saddened.
Perhaps he was thinking of his comrades who had already died.