91 An Ultimatum to Hadrow

Shortly after the ultimatum was delivered to Dawn, the delegation arrives at Hadrow, consisting of Ystur, Woody of the Forest Guardians, Birdie another of the Forest Guardians, as well as several other Oulvgar.

Unlike when Kretea's and Iuostaph's group arrived in Dawn and were met with fear and curiosity, the people of Hadrow are much more hostile. Of the two towns, the Church has a much stronger influence in Hadrow than in Dawn, thus the people look down even more on Demons and monsters, extending to the Oulvgar as well.

Although there was previously trade between Hadrow and the Holy Oulvgar State, the people of Hadrow never liked them. Elizabeth had long known about the views of Hadrow's people so whenever someone was going to Hadrow for trade, she made sure the group was mostly Humans or Demons that can easily pass as a Human. But due to the small number of Humans, it was usually the players who got asked to do this. And it was due to this that Elizabeth managed to establish trade with Hadrow, even if just barely. Of course, she didn't know that it was Ystur's group that had gone to Hadrow. When she saw the two groups leave, she just assumed Astur had told them about Hadrow's nature, unfortunately, she didn't check.

Ystur and company are currently being barred from entering the town. The police won't allow them to move further and demand that they wait until daybreak. Many of the nearby citizens who live at the edge of town overhear the commotion and peak out their windows, upon seeing the large group of what they deem as undesirables, some spit in their direction, other more aggressive people go out of their way to leave their house and throw empty cans and bottles towards Ystur and the Oulvgar.

Despite the late hour of the night, the word spreads and people begin to gather at the road that connects the Sea of Trees and Hadrow. And before long, the Mayor of Hadrow and other Officials in charge of Hadrow's management arrive.

"Just what is this commotion so late at night?" the Mayor asks.

"Sir, it's those scum from the forest," a police officer says.

The Mayor turns his focus to Ystur and sneers, "What do you want? Disturbing our peace and bringing instability and unrest to our glorious Kingdom."

Ystur has a lot she wants to say, as do all the Oulvgar with her. If not for her constant reminding, telling them how Astur explicitly said not to start a fight, she's sure that all the people hurling insults at them would be dead right now. Right now, she only wants to get this matter done with, unwilling to stick around longer than need be.

Ystur takes out a parchment scroll, "We are here with an ultimatum for Hadrow," she then reads, "You have 50 hours to comply. You will surrender and come under our rule or we will annex this town by force. Should you come under the rule of the Holy Oulvgar State through surrender, you will be free from paying all taxes for the next 5 years, from then on it will increase up to 5% over the course of another 5 years. However, food production must be increased and is to be given to the State. Your positions will not change so long as you don't go against the Holy Oulvgar State, but a governor will be placed here to oversee all operations within the Town of Dawn and its territory. Any laws that suppress Demons, or as you call us, Mystics, must be removed. All property of the Church of Light is to be handed over to the State. Should you resist, all dissenters will be given a public execution upon annexation, assuming they are not killed during the annexation."

The people of Hadrow basically stopped listening after hearing how their surrender was demanded of them. From then on they increased the number of insults and curses coming from their mouths. And began to insult Astur, something that the Oulvgar would not stand for.

"You and your false God will burn underneath the Light of the true God!"

The Oulvgar can endure the personal insults towards them, but the moment the people of Hadrow began to insult their beloved Goddess, Astur, they could no longer remain calm. They immediately got into a combat position.

"You dare! I'll rip your tongue out and force it down your throat!" Woody shouts.

"You Humans are not even fit to become my faeces, that would be an insult to faeces," Birdie says.

"Everyone one just shut up! Mom explicitly told us not to fight, no matter what," Ystur says as she tosses the parchment towards the Mayor, "We'll be back once the allotted time is up to hear your decision."

The Mayor catches the parchment containing the written ultimatum, "No need to wait. I can already give you my answer. Hadrow will not surrender and you'll have to take it over our dead bodies," he says as he uses a lighter to burn the parchment.

"Your lives have been spared by the good graces of the Goddess. When we return I'll make sure you get to watch your home burn as your family is eaten alive right before your eyes," Birdie says.

Leaving various threats behind, Ystur and the Oulvgar retreat back to Aeternum while the townsfolk continue to insult them and throw whatever they can in their direction.

A nearby Official walks over to the Mayor, "Sir, are you sure this decision is a good idea? We're just a small border town of a Viscounty. Just because we have better fortifications than other towns our size doesn't mean we can simply pick a fight with anyone, especially a group that requires both the Kingdom and the Church to deal with."

"Nonsense. We've withstood a beast tide many times in the past, and this will be no different," the Mayor scoffs as he turns to leave.

The crowd soon disperses and as people return to their homes, the previous Official wanders off to a secluded alley and makes a call, "My Lord, Hadrow has removed all chances for negotiations and are preparing for battle. Here's what happened…"

Listening to the Official explain the previous events, the man on the phone sighs, "I guess she got the excuse she wanted. Since I already agreed to the matter there isn't much else to do. You should withdraw from Hadrow as quickly as you can."

"Understood."