"My lord, we're back." Roth and Yuri stood in front of Lollister.
Lollister heaved a sigh of relief, but his heart soon became heavy. The return of Ross and Yuri the Ferocious Tiger meant that the enemies on Syrovas Island had retreated. They did not occupy the island and fight with Bofinger and the others who came to reinforce them. However, the retreat of the enemies also meant that they had achieved their goal of plundering. The scene on Syrovas Island must have been terrible …
Taking a deep breath, Lollister still asked, "Tell me, what's the situation on the island?"
Roth and Yuri's expressions also became heavy …
"My lord, it's too tragic. Those slave traders and slave hunters from the Haneabada Kingdom are not human. They're a bunch of beasts! Almost everyone over fifty years old on the island was killed, and children younger than ten were not spared either. I even saw a few babies around one or two years old stabbed into spears by the roadside … "Yuri's voice was choked with sobs, full of grief and indignation.
Roth the Ferocious Tiger shook his head, as if unwilling to recall the tragic scene he had seen, "My Lord, Cirvas Island has become a hell, especially the square in the center of White Bird Town. It has become a slaughterhouse … Those slave traders chose the old, the disabled, and the weak to massacre them in the square. The ground has turned black, and corpses have piled up like mountains …
Everyone who saw this was furious. Before we returned, we cleared out more than four thousand corpses from the square. Among them, Josk found the corpses of White Bird Town's mayor, Father Hugo, and the accountant, Old Mike … "
Lollister clenched his fists tightly. During the empire's civil war, many people saw Syrovas Island as a place to hide from the chaos of war because it was far away at sea. As a result, they brought their families and settled there. Most of them were old people who hoped to spend their remaining years on the island. However, they did not expect that after avoiding the flames of war on the continent, they could not escape the vicious hands of the slave traders from the sea …
"Milord, White Bird Town's sheriff, Christon, led more than 50 people to hide in the abandoned sewers. They escaped from the slave traders and slave hunters and were rescued by us. In addition, when we attacked the Ocean View Manor, we also found Master Sid's eldest son, Delokova, and the others who were imprisoned. When they were exploring mineral resources on the island, they found smoke and fire outside, so they hurriedly rushed back. In the end, they fell into the hands of the slave hunters … "Urey reported.
"Wait …" Laurist was stunned. Attack Ocean Manor?
"When you arrived on the island, were there enemies on the island?"
"Yes, my lord, we also captured 14 ships, two of which are large armed merchant ships," Ross said.
"When we arrived at Syrovas Island, the sky was just beginning to brighten. We discovered that there were still fourteen ships parked on the southern beach of the island. Sunbarwood ordered the fleet to approach the ship, only to find that there was not a single person on the ship. Instead, it was filled with all sorts of junk. Then, we captured close to a hundred sailors in a few houses nearby.
According to the captives, there are more than a thousand enemies on the island. They are all sailors and slave hunters from these ships. The reason they are still on the island is that these sailors want to plunder some furniture or junk from the empty houses in White Bird Town and bring them back to sell for money. The slave hunters are searching for residents who have escaped or are hiding … "Urey added.
"There are people who have escaped?" Laurist was delighted. He thought of Fatty Shi and Jim …
However, Urey's next words greatly disappointed Laurist. "Of course there are. The sheriff and the others were hiding, but when we rescued them, they had been starving for a few days. If not for the old cowhide in the basement connected to the sewers, they would not have lasted for more than a month …
The people who have escaped are the villagers of the seven villages. For example, the captain of the garrison in Leaning Village led half of the villagers into the mountains. However, the old and weak in the village were all killed by the slave traders and slave hunters. They even burned the village and sent people into the mountains to capture them. They captured more than a hundred people and locked them up in Seaview Manor.
The captives said that they are led by a Great Swordsman and a Golden Knight. They are Duke Goufman's men. They are guarding Seaview Manor and will only return in ten days … "
"Great Swordsman?" Laurist's heart tightened. The Golden Knight and Duke Goufman were not that big of a deal. They were just big slave masters. However, with a Great Swordsman on the island, he was afraid that it would cause damage to the family's armed forces. If they used guerrilla tactics or attacked secretly, it would be troublesome.
"How did Bodefinger deal with it? Did the Great Swordsman cause us any harm? "Laurist asked hurriedly.
Ross the Ferocious Tiger curled his lips in disdain. "That cowardly Great Swordsman? What's the use of him? Bodefinger heard that there were four to five hundred people stationed at Seaview Manor, so he sent a large group of armored soldiers and a large group of single-wheeled steel ballistae over. It was only a thousand people, and he wanted to lure the Great Swordsman out. Who knew that a thousand people would make the Great Swordsman and the Golden Knight not dare to fight? They actually shut themselves in the manor and refused to come out even if they were beaten to death. They would rather hide in the manor like turtles.
We had no choice but to attack. This time, the Great Swordsman had no choice but to come out and say that as long as we let them live and gave them two ships, they would immediately leave Cirvas Island. We asked them to abandon their weapons and surrender, but the Great Swordsman threatened us and said that if we didn't let them go, he would start a massacre …
Then, Bodefinger waved his hand, and three hundred single-wheeled steel ballistae rained down arrows. The powerful Great Swordsman's right thigh was hit by an iron crossbow arrow, and he lay on the ground crying for his parents before surrendering. The Golden Knight led his men to resist for a long time, but in the end, I knocked him down and captured him. More than two hundred people didn't die and surrendered. "
Hearing this, Laurist was delighted. "You captured the Great Swordsman and the Golden Knight alive?"
"Yes, my lord." Ferocious Tiger Ross nodded: "We successfully recaptured Wanghai Manor and rescued more than 300 villagers from the manor, as well as the team of guards who accompanied Master Sid's son Delokova to explore the mountains. But only three of them are still alive. Seven died because of the resistance.
Then, Boddfinger ordered a battalion of armored soldiers to be equipped with the single-wheeled steel ballistae to be split into seven or eight squads to sweep through Syrovas Island. They wiped out and captured the remaining slave hunters and sailors, rescuing more than two hundred villagers and refugees who were hiding or fleeing.
My lord, we heard from the few surviving refugees that Shredder and Jim were captured by the slave traders … "
Laurist slumped back in his chair and slammed his fist weakly on the table. After a while, he said, "Those refugees didn't say how they were captured?"
Ross the Ferocious Tiger thought for a moment and said, "Those refugees said that Shredder and Jim rushed to the refugee camp with about 20 guards. They gathered a few of the people in charge of the refugee camp and asked the refugees to arm themselves for self-protection. If they don't have weapons, they can use farming tools. At the very least, they can use wooden sticks. Just as everyone was panicking, the Haneabada Kingdom's slave traders and slave hunters had already caught up. They also had this refugee camp as their main target.
Shredder and Jim put up a strong resistance with more than twenty guards. More than half of the guards died. Then, it seemed like a Great Swordsman came and captured them. Without them as their backbone, the refugees panicked. The slave traders and slave hunters killed many of the refugees who resisted, and a total of one to two thousand people died. In the end, everyone was forced to kneel on the ground before they were let go. The few of them took advantage of the chaos and ran into the forest from behind, so they weren't captured … "
Laurist sighed and asked, "How many people survived the disaster on Syrovas Island?"
This time, it was Yuri who answered, "We're not sure. It should be around six to seven hundred. Once the island was cleared, Boddinger asked us to report to my lord first. He also sent the Great Swordsman and the Golden Knight here for my lord to deal with. As for the rest of the captives, erm... because we were all angry at the terrible state of the island, after a short interrogation, we ordered the soldiers to erect a cross on the southern beach, and nailed them all to it, just as His Lordship commanded... "
There were more than a thousand captives, but Bofinger, who was usually steady, didn't hesitate to order them all to be crucified. One could imagine how tragic the scene on Syrovas Island was, to the point where all the family soldiers were willing to carry out this rather cruel order …
"By the way, my lord, Boddinger and the others requested an emergency replenishment of disinfectant powder and healing potions. Syrovas Island must immediately prepare for the epidemic. Those damn slave traders and slave hunters didn't even collect their own people's corpses. The island is full of corpses. The weather is hot now, and many of the corpses are rotting … "Yuri remembered something important.
"Shredder …"
"My lord, please give me your orders." Shredder stepped forward.
Laurist quickly wrote a warrant. "Immediately send someone to the medical headquarters in Monolith Castle. Order them to prepare large quantities of various medicinal ingredients for the epidemic. Also, send a few pharmacists with the ship to Syrovas Island. Tell them that they only have three days to prepare. Three days later, the Kingdom of Dawn's Flying Fish will set sail. They must see medicinal ingredients and pharmacists on board. "
"Yes, my lord. I'll immediately order the guards to pass on the order." Shredder hurriedly walked out. Soon, the sound of hurried horse hooves could be heard.
"My lord, what should we do next?" Yuri asked.
"When will Sunbarwood's fleet return?"
"Probably in a dozen or so days. This time, he'll bring back the villagers and residents who survived the disaster. Perhaps they've already set off," Yuri guessed.
"Yes, it should be the end of July when he returns. I hope that his fleet can make a few more trips in August and transport the heavy armor and crossbow troops here to Syrovas Island first. Next, it'll be Orvicis' Thunderbolt Battalion. Yuri, your scout battalion should also prepare to head to Syrovas Island with the Thunderbolt Battalion, "Laurist said.
Roth's eyes lit up when he heard this. "My lord, you're going to the Haneabada Kingdom? I want to go too … "
Since Roth had guessed his plan, Laurist didn't hide his intentions. "The Norton Family has never been slapped in the face without retaliating. We won't just swallow our anger. This time, I'm going to destroy the Haneabada Kingdom. However, Roth, you can't go this time. You have to watch over the family's territory. "
"My lord, there are plenty of people watching over the family's territory. Look at Malek, Terman, Berunik … They can all do it …" Roth pushed out three of his companions.
"You're too late. Malek has already told me that he will replace Dolles to command the Single-Wheeled Crossbow Army." Laurist laughed.
"Er, my lord, Freya is fine too. When you go to war, Freya's injuries will have just healed. He can stay in the family's territory while recuperating. Besides, I won't bring the lancers with me. I'll just stay by your side as a bodyguard. Also, my lord, you know my training method. I can only improve quickly by fighting against experts. Apart from me, who else in the family can take on a level 1 swordsman's sword? Don't you think so, my lord? I heard that the Haneabada Kingdom has around ten swordsmen. I'll be able to take care of them … "
In order to follow Laurist to war, Roth had come up with all sorts of excuses. Yuri, who was at the side, was secretly happy. After all, Laurist had appointed him and the Scout Battalion to go out to battle. He interrupted and said, "Brother Ross, don't forget your own duty. You are the commander of two Lancer Divisions. How can you abandon your own division?"
Roth glared at him, "It's fine. My assistant, Vasimir, is very capable. It doesn't matter if I'm there or not."
He turned to Laurist and begged, "My lord …"
What a headache. Laurist waved his hand, "Alright, make your own arrangements. I'll think about it."
This meant that he agreed. Roth hugged Yuri excitedly and spun him around twice, "Yay …"
Yuri cursed and kicked him twice, but Roth did not care. After putting Yuri down, he remembered something, "Oh right, my lord, if we're going to the Haneabada Kingdom, we don't have enough ships. If we can't send all the troops in one go, it'll be very difficult to fight …"
Buckingham nodded, "I've thought about it. This time, El and Tagger's mission to Morent City is to borrow ships from the Peterson Chamber of Commerce and ask them to purchase old ships on our behalf. This is one way. Another way is to wait for the Flying Fish from the Kingdom of Dawn to return. I'll go with it to the Sad Ocean and commandeer all the ships we encounter. "
Yes, Laurist was determined to carry out the commandeering.
Roth was very happy, "My lord, I'll go with you."
Yuri said unhappily, "My lord, don't mind that pervert Roth. He even hugs men! I'll go with you to commandeer those ships. "
Laurist said, "Alright, commandeering other people's ships isn't something to be proud of. Let's stop arguing. We're not in a hurry. Three days later, the Flying Fish from the Kingdom of Dawn will first send the herbs and pharmacists to Syrovas Island. The round trip will take 14 to 15 days. I need to go back to Rock Castle and meet with the three allies for a few days. We can only set off for the Haneabada Kingdom after we've settled our affairs. You've just returned, rest for two days before you finish your work. Oh right, don't tell anyone about the expedition. I haven't told anyone about this plan yet. "
"Yes, my lord." Roth and Yuri stood at attention and saluted before walking out. Just as they reached the door, they returned.
"My lord … You haven't dealt with the Master Swordsman and the Golden Knight that we escorted here …" Yuri said.
"Yes, and the interrogation records we got from them while we were bored on the ship. Yuri, get someone to bring them to my lord," Roth reminded.
"There are interrogation records?" Laurist asked.
"Yes, my lord. We had nothing to do on the ship for the past few days, so we went to interrogate the Master Swordsman and the Golden Knight. The Master Swordsman even confessed that he peeked at his parents in bed when he was young," Roth replied.
Laurist laughed. It was obvious how pitiful the Master Swordsman was in the hands of these two. It was obvious that there was nothing to hide from them.
"Since there are interrogation records, it doesn't matter if I see them or not. Just deal with them like we did with the sailors last time. Crucify them, "Laurist ordered casually.
Roth and Yuri were both stunned.
"My lord, that's a Master Swordsman and a Golden Knight! The Master Swordsman even said that as long as we spare his life, he'll be willing to serve the Norton Family … "Yuri muttered.
"Hehe, thanks. The Norton Family doesn't need such a heartless person who doesn't treat his own kind as humans. So what if he's a Master Swordsman? His hands are stained with the blood of the innocent? Every man in the Norton Family is a hot-blooded man. I'm afraid it'll be a disgrace to the brave knights and soldiers of the Norton Family if we let a Master Swordsman who's no different from a beast serve the family! Go and give the order to crucify them for me! "
Laurist's disdain towards the Master Swordsman and the Golden Knight made Roth and Yuri's eyes shine. They straightened their backs and looked proud.
They answered almost in unison, "Yes, my lord!"
… …
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