Thorn Town, at the foot of the Cage Mountain in the Kingdom of Dawn.
A convoy of carriages slowly drove through the streets and stopped in front of the Lord's mansion.
"We're here. Get down here and be quick about it!" The man who looked like a steward waved the horsewhip in his hand and shouted, "If you want to live, you better know your place. Answer whatever the lord asks later. Do you understand?"
Most of the people who got down from the carriages were dressed in rags and had pale faces. Their hands were tied together by a hemp rope like a bunch of grasshoppers. There was no doubt that they were all slaves, the lowest kind.
Such a scene had recently become the norm in Thorn Town. Ever since the exploration team of Graycastle set up camp here, the town, which was usually deserted, had gradually become lively. Not only were there an endless stream of caravans, but also many emissaries sent by various lords. They either stayed or set up tents and barracks outside the town. In just over a month, the remote town seemed to have grown a lot bigger.
"Lord Marl, what do you think of these people?" Fulin Sheffield from Maplesong City was one of them. He rubbed his hands and looked at Marl Tokat, the great noble representative of the City of Glow, with a charming smile on his face. "They are healthy and have no defects. I personally selected them from the prison. Don't be fooled by their thin and weak appearance. They are actually fierce people. As long as you feed them, they will definitely meet your requirements. "
"Alright," Marl waved his hand impatiently. Although Fulin had the surname of the Lord of Maplesong, he knew that Fulin was not someone worth talking to. "It's not me who wants to buy the prisoners. It's the Lord next to me, Mr. Sean, the captain of the imperial guards of the King of Graycastle."
"I, I see." Old Fulin saluted again. "As soon as the Lord heard the call of the King of Dawn, he immediately decided to respond and ordered me to prepare for departure as soon as possible. Please forgive me for this oversight in such a hurry. "
"No problem." Sean walked to the front of the group of people and glanced at them one by one. Compared with the first few batches of prisoners sent by the King of Dawn, the quality of these prisoners was obviously much worse. But now that the Temple of the Cursed had entered the stage of full excavation, a large number of people were needed. Sui Xiong did not intend to make a fuss about this problem as long as it was useful.
Just as he walked to the center of the group, a prisoner suddenly knelt down in front of him. "Sir, I'm innocent. Please let me go!"
As both of his hands were tied to a long rope, he was stopped by the human wall before he could even finish his action. He could only kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.
"You're courting death!" The steward immediately gnashed his teeth in hatred. If it weren't for the presence of the other two masters, he would have already lashed out with his whip.
"What injustice?" Sean stopped in his tracks.
"I didn't kill anyone or rob anyone. I just stole and slaughtered my neighbor's chickens!" The prisoner answered hurriedly, "In Maplesong City, you'll only be sentenced to whipping or exile. You don't deserve to die, sir!"
"Is that so?" Sean looked at Old Fulin.
The latter quickly said, "Yes and no, Your Excellency. The day before we received the summons from the King of Dawn, the Earl of Sheffield made a small adjustment to the laws of the territory. In order to combat the increasingly rampant rats and underground crimes, all punishments have been raised by one level. Theft is no exception. "
"What?" The prisoner was stunned. "You're sentenced to death for stealing and slaughtering a few chickens?"
"What's so difficult to understand?" Old Fulin glanced at him contemptuously. "A war has just broken out in the kingdom. In order to eliminate the rebels, Maplesong City suffered a great loss. In addition, the number of refugees has skyrocketed. How can we suppress scums like you without heavy sentences? Today you steal a neighbor's chickens. Maybe one day your neighbor will starve to death because of this. What's the difference between this and murder? In my opinion, it's just a matter of course. "
"Your Excellency, I …"
The prisoner wanted to argue, but Sean interrupted him. "Since you're not innocent, take this labor as atonement." He paused for a moment and raised his voice. "I think you should already know that as long as you work for ten years, no matter what crime you've committed, you'll be pardoned. This is the promise made by Graycastle and the King of Dawn! Don't try to escape. This is your only chance! "
Old Fulin smiled as he signaled his subordinates to take all the prisoners away. "I knew that you would accept all of them. According to the agreement, one person is …"
"One gold royal, so that's a total of 106 gold royals, right?" Xiao En replied.
"Yes!" Old Fulin's eyes lit up.
"Go to the Lord's Mansion to get it. There will be someone there to receive you."
"Yes, I'll go!" Old Fulin said with a smile.
"Also," Sean suddenly said as Old Fulin turned around. "Don't let this happen again."
"You mean …" Old Fulin was slightly surprised.
"I don't care if the Lord of Maplesong City changed the law the day before. According to the agreement, the trader must tell the prisoner the purpose of the trip and the reward and punishment before departure. This kind of person doesn't realize that he's sentenced to death. Next time, I'll deduct part of the Golden Dragon. "Sean said.
He wasn't interested in acting as a judge. He didn't have much sympathy for the situation of these people. For him, the most important thing was to complete the task given by His Majesty. At the same time, he had to avoid the mercenary aristocrats and businessmen from ruining His Majesty's reputation.
"I … understand." Old Fulin bowed his head. "I'll pay attention next time."
Marl shrugged his shoulders after Old Fulin left. "You're really working hard."
"It's not hard to work for His Majesty."
"Is it?" Marl looked at the increasingly crowded town. "Even the purchase of death row prisoners has to be done so carefully. Should I say that His Majesty Wimbledon did it on purpose? Or is he naturally compassionate? According to my brother, His Majesty is almost the same age as me, but he's already the indisputable king of a country. The two should be opposed to each other. Now even his personal guard is so outstanding. I really want to meet him in person. "
"It's not difficult to meet the King of Graycastle with the identity of the three families," Sean said expressionlessly. Sean said expressionlessly, "Besides, if I were you, I wouldn't say these words in front of that guard."
"It doesn't matter. You don't like to be secretive, do you?" Marl spread out his hands.
Sean could see that this guy was a friendly person. He was indeed the second son of the Tokat family. He was quite similar to Oro Tokat, who was rumored to be enthusiastic and loyal.
The best way to deal with this kind of person was to ignore him.
He turned around and was about to go to the dump area where the First Army was stationed to have a look. Suddenly, a soldier ran up to him.
"Your Excellency, a stranger wants to see you. He claims to know the whereabouts of the 'treasure'."
Sean frowned. Since the news about the cursed treasure had spread, such a person would come to him every few days. However, so far, they were all swindlers who came for the bounty. "Didn't I say not to inform me before getting specific clues?"
"That person wants to see you," the soldier replied. "He also said that he's the last survivor of Hermes. In addition to the whereabouts of the treasure, he also knows the whereabouts of the church's exiles. We've got him under control."
"Hermes... the church?"
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