Although Edwin van Cleef was young, and had not yet crossed the line between youth and middle age of thirty, as a steward of the Mason's Guild, his soul had suffered setbacks countless times, countless times, over and over again.
This was not the first time Edwin had tasted the arrogance and stinginess of the nobles.
Perhaps he had spent a lot of money on a priceless stone sculpture, but refused to pay the rest because a butler said "His Lordship does not like it". In reality, the rest of the money was pocketed by someone, and the stonemason who had paid for the expensive materials fell into bankruptcy.
When a request from the nobles came again, there was no way to refuse.
Work, or be persecuted to death.
King Laing was wise and great. He was like the sun, giving light to the people.
But there were places in the world where the sun could not shine, and the golden signboard of the nobles was the perfect prop. The nobles could wantonly exploit the people of the lower classes without paying any price.
Edwin's extremely sensitive ears could still hear the voice coming from behind him.
"All citizens with valid tickets, listen up. Everyone is only allowed to bring no more than ten pounds of personal belongings. Do not worry, everyone will be given enough bread and water every day from the time the ship sets sail to Southshore. In addition, the king has already prepared enough food for everyone in Southshore … "
Who did not have some beloved items?
Limiting the amount of belongings they could bring was a helpless measure to transport more citizens.
Everyone understood and understood.
In this chaotic time of war, everyone was already very grateful to Duque and King Laing for such an excellent escape plan in the face of the crazy orcs.
But when Edwin saw the personal belongings of the navy officers being thrown out of the hold like trash, just to accommodate the hound favored by the nobles. When he saw that only the beautiful maids who were willing to be toyed with by the nobles could board the ship, and the old maids were heartlessly abandoned, crying their hearts out on the dock …
Edwin van Cleef still clenched his fists tightly, not even noticing that his nails dug deep into his palms and bled.
The nobles … were almost the masters of fate. Edwin had been pushed into the abyss of despair time and time again under the unreasonable manipulation of fate.
That was until he met Duke Marcus, the Miracle Child who rose to the top of the kingdom's hierarchy with his astonishing talent, courage, and wisdom.
He saw another clean stream in the kingdom other than Anduin Lothar. Unlike Lothar, he could be of use under Duque, and unknowingly, he had greater hopes for Duque.
Would Duque finally grasp the power of Stormwind and sweep away the filthy aristocratic wind?
He shouldn't be fantasizing, but Edwin couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Duque was in a high position.
Edwin was still too young. His thoughts were practically written all over his face. Among Duque's subordinates, Makarov was never a talented fighter. However, as the leader of the mercenaries, the oldest Makarov had the most experience in dealing with people and observing their body language.
Makarov saw through Edwin's thoughts in an instant.
As he marveled at Duque's supernatural 'prophecy' ability, Makarov moved his mouth close to Van Cleef's ear and spoke in a voice that only Van Cleef could hear. "Master also said that 'Fate will punish the weak, incompetent, and filthy'."
Edwin Van Cleef shuddered. Is Master Marcus hinting at something?
He turned his head abruptly. Makarov, the old but shrewd Count, had a 'I didn't say anything' look on his face.
Edwin suddenly had a feeling that Duque had prepared some sort of backup plan. Was he going to wipe out all the filthy and despicable nobles? What was he going to do? Was he going to act under the king's nose when the orcs were invading?
After all, no matter how wise and great Clayon was, he had never touched the interests of these nobles, let alone punished them.
Everything Laing did was to improve the lives of the people outside of the traditional circle of interests of the nobles.
But Master Duque, he …
Edwin's mind was a mess. He knew that he was the backbone of Duque's faction, and Makarov was Duque's mouthpiece. There was no need for Makarov to lie to him.
Did Duque see through his thoughts and want his complete loyalty?
What kind of joke is this? What value do I have that the great Sea King would place so much importance on me?
Van Cleef's head was about to explode.
The only thing he knew was that if anything happened to these nobles during this escape, it would definitely have something to do with Duque. After sharing a shocking secret, the thrill of entering the core of Duque's power was like a strong wine being poured into his veins, giving Edwin a sense of excitement.
Perhaps Duke Marcus really was the hero in his heart who could lead the people onto the path of greatness.
Time passed quickly, and two hours later, the preparations for departure were finally completed.
In fact, Van Cleef's ship was the first to set sail.
A transport ship modified from a civilian merchant ship could not compare to a real warship in terms of speed or direction.
Less than half an hour into the voyage, Van Cleef saw the warships loaded with nobles and expensive valuables easily overtake their transport ships, disappearing into the horizon in the short span of an hour.
Van Cleef sneered as he watched the warships that had removed all the naval flags of Stormwind, leaving only the Lion Flag in place of the noble family's insignia.
Night fell. The curtain of night receded, but danger was approaching the nobles in the early morning.
After the morning mist dissipated, the Bloodsails that blotted out the sun could be seen in the distance.
The private sailor in charge of the lookout was indescribably shocked. He couldn't react in time, and was stunned for a few seconds before he rang the alarm.
"Clang clang clang."
"Not good! Not good! It's the Bloodsail Pirates! "
The Bloodsail Pirates were a group of pirates formed by the rebel army led by Duke Varelle. Their headquarters were in Stranglethorn Vale. As a group of pirates that used to be part of the navy, the Bloodsail Pirates were extremely powerful.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that even if the nobles left the navy behind, they might not be able to fight against the Bloodsail Pirates, not to mention that they had courted death by chasing all the navy off the ship.
Fear and uneasiness swept through the entire fleet like a freezing wind in a very short time.
Countless nobles were awakened from their dreams by the alarm bell, and everyone's eyes were hazy. But after hearing the name of the Bloodsail Pirates, everyone's sleepiness was blown away.
"Impossible!!"
This was the first reaction of all the nobles.
Once they put on their clothes with the help of their maids and stepped out of the cabin onto the deck, their expressions froze in fear.
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