Other than the baron’s anxiety, the banquet ended quite normally. The two nobles exchanged the gifts they had brought, and the baron served the alcohol that could only be tasted in this region.
“Prepare thoroughly. Don’t let them find any fault!”
“Master. What if they try to swindle us when paying with the silver coins?”
It was a common trick nobles often used, like giving silver coins with less silver content or poorly made silver coins.
Naturally, experienced merchants or money changers were put on standby during the transaction to prepare for things like this.
They checked the quality of the silver coins and whether any deception was being attempted.
“Just accept them, you fool. Don’t try to check. It might cause unnecessary trouble.”
The baron was able to create and offer supplies after much preparation. It seemed like he hadn’t even been this thorough when sending the tribute to the Sultan.
Johan’s army headed east as promised. The baron let out a sigh of relief. His carefulness had saved the fiefdom.
“Master. I checked the silver coins, but. . .”“Yes. How many fakes were mixed in?”
“They said there were none.”
“. . .What did you say?”
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The sight of the heavily armed army that suddenly appeared terrified not only Baron Ahab.
While heading to the mountain range, the chieftains of the three tribes were terrified at the sight of Johan’s army. Two of them tried to get out of the crisis by offering tribute, while the other tried to get out of the crisis by emptying the village and fleeing into the mountains.
Johan moved without looting or burning down the village.
“Something’s strange.”
Unless he was a fool, Johan had no choice but to notice. Iselia, who was riding next to him, tilted her head and asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“Iselia. Don’t you think the people here are. . . too afraid of me?”
“That’s only natural, and it’s something to be proud of. My dear.”
Iselia was proud as if it was her own business. The fact that the pagan knights in the far east were afraid just by hearing their name. It’s something that any knight would dream of and be proud of.
“. . .I guess I picked the wrong person to talk to.”
“My dear?”
“Caenerna. What do you think?”
Iselia frowned next to him. Caenerna pondered with a thoughtful expression and said.
“It’s true that they were overly scared.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Even if you brought a heavily armed army, that’s a bit. . . strange.”
Caenerna agreed with Johan’s opinion.
No matter how many armed forces you bring, there is a limit to the fear that can be shown.
But the chiefs here were a bit too much.
The chieftain of the last tribe had even come trembling and brought his own children to offer to Johan.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to ask the person concerned?”
Caenerna pointed her slender finger from inside the robe sleeve. It was the direction where Vaytar, who was captured, and his slaves were.
“That’s right. Bring him!”
Vaytar, who was suddenly called out, was taken aback by the duke’s question.
‘𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?’
Come to think of it, that could be the case. Vaytar didn’t know how he was called in the distant west either.
“Aren’t you being questioned by His Highness the Duke, you pagan b*stard!”
As Vaytar was lost in thought, he was immediately shouted at. Vaytar couldn’t help but flinch. No matter how brave a sailor he was, he couldn’t help but feel weak when he was surrounded by dozens of hostile warriors’ gazes.
“Y-Your Highness, that’s. . .”
Vaytar, who was originally stubborn, couldn’t bring himself to speak. He couldn’t decide if it was okay to say, ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯’ in front of the duke.
“I told you to hurry up and speak!”
‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 it. . .!’
Due to the urging of the mercenary next to him, Vaytar finally opened his mouth. His Highness the Duke is called the demon, and many people believe it.
Then, the surroundings became quiet.
Some clenched their teeth to hold back their laughter. No matter how close they were to Johan, they couldn’t laugh in the presence of their lord being insulted.
“. . .You can laugh.”
When Johan gave permission, Suetlg burst into laughter first. The other mercenaries also laughed boisterously and said.
“Well, in the eyes of the pagans, His Highness the Duke must look like a demon!”
“Isn’t this a great thing?”
The mercenaries, warriors, and even the knights were very pleased. The expression demon was insulting, but it was a different story if the other party was a pagan.
How much did they scare the enemies for such a rumor to spread?
“What’s with that complicated expression?”
“If you’re just sitting still and suddenly called a demon, anyone would make that expression. Caenerna-gong.”
“On the positive side, we’ll be in a more advantageous position in future negotiations, won’t we?”
“. . .I’m worried that they’ll be too scared and do something unnecessary.”
Johan regretted that he should have taken some time to loosen up the chieftains who were so scared. Caenerna said firmly.
“If you did, they would have been even more scared.”
“. . . . . .”
“I don’t think you have to worry too much. . . Is fear a bad thing? Rather, it will keep them from doing anything reckless.”
Caenerna said, tapping the armrest with her finger. It was quite a positive remark, but it made sense.
“Yeah. So what if I’m a demon? It’s fine if the negotiation is easy.”
“His Highness the demon is going out!”
“Make way, you pagans! Before His Highness the demon sends you to hell!”
“. . .Call the priests and monks and have the soldiers pray.”
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The people around called this huge mountain range blocking the land ‘Black Mountains’. At first, it was because of the unique color of the bedrock occupying the mountain, but now the reason was a little different.
“An army of pilgrims is coming? And it’s led by a nobleman?”
“Yes!”
“Isn’t this an opportunity!”
“It’s a heavily armed western knight. Do you think we can really fight and win?”
“That’s nonsense. Who said we’re fighting?”
The rogues who occupied this mountain range wore a piece of black cloth to indicate their status. The group of rogues, or rather, the tribe that settled in the mountains, was almost the same.
They were ferocious and rough, and they were the ones who resisted the Sultan’s rule, so all the nearby tribes feared them. When passing through the mountains, people either avoided them or passed by offering bribes.
“There are many newly captured pilgrims. These guys aren’t very expensive to sell as slaves, and they’re just a pain in the neck.”
“That’s right.”
Catching travelers passing through the mountains was a long-standing source of income for the rogues. They would take away their belongings and sell the travelers as slaves, so they had nothing to throw away.
However, these days, as the relationship with the surrounding area has deteriorated, there have been problems with the business of the rogues here. It had become difficult to sell slaves.
In the meantime, the nobleman leading the army of pilgrims seemed like a good trading partner.
As brothers of the same faith, won’t they pay a large sum of money?
“Prepare the swift warriors. I’ll confront the leader myself and get the ransom!”
“Yes!”
Ironically, the reason why the rogues could make such negotiations was because the other party was a nobleman.
Only a great nobleman who cares about honor and faith can pay the ransom of those who don’t matter.
A poor knight who just walks around with his own body couldn’t even negotiate like this.
“Just in case, let’s send out people around to check.”
“That’s a good idea. We need to know which nobleman it is in order to have an advantage in the negotiation.”
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As the huge mountain range blocking the view appeared just as the chieftains had said, Johan reorganized and prepared to cross the mountain range.
“. . .?”
While the temporary camp was being set up, he noticed strangers coming and going in the distance. At first, he thought they were travelers, but they didn’t look like travelers no matter how he looked at them.
“Is that the rogues scouting over there?”
“Should we go catch them?”
The centaurs spoke belligerently, but the rogues approached them first. Surprisingly, there were some among them who could speak Empire.
“I have a proposal for His Highness the Duke, the master here!”
“How dare you be so presumptuous. . .”
One of the centaurs flared up, but Johan stopped him.
Anyway, there’s no point in catching just one errand boy. If they were going to send someone here, they would have sent someone who could die.
The captains of the republic said coldly.
“You dare come to make a proposal to His Highness the Duke and send a petty errand boy. The leader should come in person!”
It was not a simple matter of pride, but a matter of honor. If the rogues dared to make a proposal and the Duke accepted it, that would be crossing the line.
The other party knew that and answered right away.
“If His Highness the Duke comes out to the middle with only his escort, we will act accordingly.”
The rogues weren’t stupid.
Even if the duke didn’t do anything against honor, the mercenaries following the duke could swing their swords at any time.
To avoid such a situation, they had to meet each other in the middle, not in the enemy camp. The duke wouldn’t do such a thing to his face.
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“What do you think will happen?”
“If he’s a nobleman, he’ll probably respond. Didn’t they even say that they came for the holy war?”
Lamar, one of the leaders of the rogues, was confident.
The greater the nobleman, the more likely he was to respond to such a deal. A duke wouldn’t just abandon the pilgrims like sheep.
Besides, from what he had heard about the surrounding area, he seemed to be quite devout. Thanks to that, the heretics were afraid of him as a demon, but Lamar just laughed at it.
He would be more grateful than an angel if he didn’t loot and kept his promise. He thought those guys were pretty cowardly, seeing that they called him a demon.
“Moving!”
“This is half of it. Things are going well!”
Lamar and his men waited for Johan to arrive at the midpoint with expectant expressions. Soon, as Johan and his escorts arrived, they paid their respects politely.
“Your Highness the Duke. We, humble and lowly rogues, dare to meet Your Highness!”
“Why did you call me?”
“Yes! Compared to Your Highness’s bountiful territory, it’s nothing, but we live on this mountain as our territory. But sometimes, rude travelers try to pass through our territory without paying a single penny.”
Lamar spoke politely but bluntly.
“Since the duke shares the same faith, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if Your Highness the Duke paid the ransom for them. . .?”
“Why should I?”
“Yes! We won’t charge you much. . . Huh?”
“Why should I pay?”
Johan asked with pure curiosity. Then, Lamar was taken aback. He had been bargaining or making deals, but he didn’t know anyone would ask, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘺?’
“Your Highness! You share the same faith!”
“I know. But why should I pay?”
“. . . . . .”
Lamar was speechless. He felt like he was looking at a human being who was doing something.
“Don’t you have any thoughts of atonement?”
“Is that so?”
“Huh. I see. The faith of Your Highness the Duke is only that much!”
As Lamar was about to turn around, Johan called out.
“Wait a minute.”
‘𝘈𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘵!’
Lamar turned his horse around, feeling the thrill of having a great nobleman. He pretended not to know and asked.
“What is it?”
“I have no intention of paying the ransom, but I have no intention of just letting them go.”
“What. . . What do you mean?”
“You said you’re the leader of the rogues?”
“. . .I’m not good enough, but I’m in that position.”
“Yeah. It’ll be advantageous to negotiate if we catch them all.”
“. . . . . .”
Only then did Lamar’s complexion change drastically as he understood what the duke meant.
Surprisingly, this duke was talking about catching his opponent at the negotiating table right now!
“Your Highness!! What is this dishonorable act that Your Highness the Duke is doing?! God is watching!”
“I know. I’m ashamed. I’ll make amends after I catch you all.”
“What kind of crazy b*stard is this?!”
Lamar quickly drew his weapon. Lamar’s men were also trying to take action in a hurry. Fortunately, the enemy’s numbers were not many. . .
At the moment of ‘huh’, the duke was already in front of him. As the duke, riding on a large black horse, swung his weapon, two of his men fell sideways like straw.
“!!!”
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