CHAPTER 533: CHAPTER 282: A GROUP OF "VICTIMS" _4

But upon a cursory glance, he immediately noticed some irregularities.

"Your resident Toby has renounced his residency of Bengala Town.

Your resident Kenny has renounced his residency of Bengala Town.

Your resident Bedon has renounced his residency of Bengala Town.

[...]

Such a large number of residents had left the territory unexpectedly.

Normally, for Bengala Town, an influx of new residents was the norm and departures were very rare.

Once Earl Orkot focused his attention on the issue, he began to observe carefully and discovered that the phenomenon of residents leaving Bengala Town had been ongoing for as long as a month.

Even some mercenary teams were among the earliest departures.

Despite his confidence in his leadership, Earl Orkot always kept an eye on the more powerful mercenary teams within the territory to stay informed.

It turned out that some of the names matched those who had renounced their residency.

They, too, had left Bengala Town.

So, what exactly had happened?

Earl Orkot’s expression changed instantly.

Had he trusted Simmons too much?

"Lord, I pay my respects," Simmons’s voice rang from outside the Beast Cart, interrupting Earl Orkot’s train of thought.

Earl Orkot promptly ordered the Beast Cart to stop and, looking out the window, spoke gravely, "Get on."

Shortly thereafter, Simmons had boarded the cart.

The space inside Earl Orkot’s Beast Cart was roughly the size of a room.

It was fully furnished with a sofa, table, bookshelf, and other amenities.

When Simmons entered, Earl Orkot was seated in the central sofa, with two female slaves attending to him.

Upon seeing Simmons, the two female slaves tactfully retreated and stood by the sides, heads bowed in silence.

"So many people have left Bengala Town. What happened?" Earl Orkot asked straightforwardly, his gaze piercingly fixated on Simmons.

Simmons had prepared himself for this conversation and quickly began to speak as soon as Earl Orkot asked, "It’s because of Hope Village."

He then reported to Earl Orkot all the information he had gathered about Hope Village.

"As soon as I noticed the situation, I sent a message to you, Lord. Perhaps, because you had returned, the message failed to reach you in time," Simmons said, his head bowed, "Regardless, it is my fault as the Mayor."

After Earl Orkot spoke, his brows furrowed.

Hope Village?

The name did sound somewhat familiar.

"A territory has become quite famous recently, Hope Village, which has quickly risen nearly two thousand ranks. The speed of its ascent is incredible!"

"Our territory has started carrying goods from Hope Village, they are quite popular, and we’ve collected a good sum in taxes from it!"

"The things from Hope Village are really quite delicious."

"It seems there is such a territory not far from your area, Orkot. You are in for quite some competition!"

"..."

Conversations with other Territory Lords flashed through his mind.

He knew Hope Village as a prominent and rising star of late.

At the time, he hadn’t paid much attention when someone mentioned Hope Village was in his region.

Everyone was well aware that the Human Clan Kingdom was expansive, and accordingly, it was naturally divided into various zones based on different land plots.

Originally, Bengala Town was the region’s leading presence.

People and resources from the entire region naturally gravitated towards Bengala Town, and once it upgraded to a city, he would be the undisputed ’king’ of this region.

At the time, he scoffed at that person’s statement.

He had confidence in his territory because not just any place could be called the City of Craftsmen.

But now, after hearing Simmons’s words, he was no longer so sure.

What kind of territory could tempt residents, who were accustomed to the prosperity of Bengala Town, to turn their attention to a newly established Level 3 village?

While Earl Orkot pondered this, a noisy clamor came from outside.

"Let’s go, we’re heading out! Stick together! Do your best to arrive at Hope Village before nightfall."

A distant voice reached Earl Orkot’s ears.

Earl Orkot immediately lifted the curtain and saw outside a gathering of a few hundred people, men and women, young and old.

Earl Orkot: "..."

Simmons, noticing Earl Orkot’s silence, spoke quietly, "Every day people go to Hope Village, some return, some simply do not. Those who come back often bring their families along to leave again. Due to the high number and frequency, I did not feel it right to enforce measures and decided to wait for your return, Lord, to decide."

After listening to this, Earl Orkot glanced at Simmons and then said, "Don’t hold them back, if they want to leave, let them go!"

In a word, they were simply outclassed.

However, he would not sit idly by and let this continue.

He intended to visit Hope Village himself.

Then, Earl Orkot said to Simmons, "I’ll rest for a day, and then we set out for Hope Village. Arrange the travel party for me."

Simmons: "...Yes."

Simmons was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly went to make the arrangements.

He had not expected his Lord to personally make the trip.

But on second thought, it made sense, as the existence of Hope Village was clearly affecting Bengala Town’s long-term development.

In any region, there could only be one ’king.’

Between Bengala Town and Hope Village, who would prevail?

Although Simmons had a lot of confidence in Bengala Town, thinking about the news he had heard, he too began to feel uncertain about the mysterious Hope Village.

Soon after, Earl Orkot’s entourage directly entered Bengala Town, but the joy he had felt upon his return was now greatly diminished due to Hope Village.

At this moment, Earl Orkot was unaware that he was not the only ’victim’ of the residents’ exodus. There were others!