The bright silver moon was as large as a copper basin. It hung in the dark blue sky and shone its silver moonlight on the world …
It was already very late at night. Standing on the high rooftop of the Rock Castle, looking down at the quiet valley and the sleeping front and back city in the distance, Laurist felt relaxed and happy. His irritation gradually calmed down as the night wind blew.
It had been seven years. Time passed so quickly. Back then, when he organized the convoy north from the Dawn Academy, he never dreamed that this day would come. The remote territory of his family had undergone earth-shattering changes under the efforts of him and his companions. The wasteland of the past was now a paradise filled with hope.
Along the way, Laurist could not remember how many trials and tribulations he had experienced. He only realized that the enemies he was facing were getting stronger and stronger. Last time, the second prince was just a useless king. The so-called army of a hundred thousand was annihilated in one battle, and even the second prince himself was captured by Laurist for sending a master swordsman to assassinate him. He was sent to the Andinac Kingdom to be executed by the second prince.
Now, he was facing a complete kingdom. Although this kingdom was founded by pirates, it had become an independent slave kingdom after nearly a hundred years of development. They had their own army and countless ferocious slave-catching teams. When these slave-catching teams were combined, they were an armed force that could not be underestimated.
Laurist had read the confessions of the captives, especially the interrogation records of the master swordsman who had been nailed to death. The master swordsman had said that the attack on Syrovas Island this time had united the forces of all the great slave owners and slave merchants in the Haneabada Kingdom. They had sent eighty slave-catching teams, with the smallest having dozens of people and the largest having five or six hundred people. The total force was more than 24,000 people, and nearly 500 ships had been dispatched …
Somehow, the great slave owners and slave merchants of the Haneabada Kingdom heard that Sirovas Island was recruiting 50,000 to 60,000 refugees as laborers for large-scale development and construction. They even sent their men to the island to pretend to be smugglers to investigate, and when they found out that the situation was true, they joined forces to act.
However, they had underestimated the strength of the garrison on the island. When they occupied the entire island, they discovered that they had lost more than 80 ships and nearly 10,000 soldiers. Some of the slave traders were regretting that the price they had paid for this operation was too high and not worth it. Although they had captured so many slaves, not many were distributed to each family. The slave hunters that were lost were the elite armed forces in their master's hands.
For example, the master of this captive swordsman, Duke Gouffman, was a famous slave owner in the Haneabada Kingdom. This time, he had sent five slave-catching teams of nearly two thousand people. However, they were intercepted at sea and two of their ships were burned. After they landed, two of the slave-catching teams were destroyed, leaving only about a thousand people.
After occupying Ciracas Island, they found that they only received slightly more than 4,000 slaves. This number did not make up for the losses they had suffered. That was why the Great Swordsman decided to send the slaves away first. He and the slave hunters would stay for a few more days to search for the fleeing residents in the forest. Then, when Bodefinger's reinforcements arrived, none of them would be able to return …
"My lord …" Shi Huard called out softly from behind.
Laurist did not turn around, "Are you done with your evening lessons?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Mm, go and rest first. Don't worry about me. The three allies would come tomorrow and the day after, but would Baron Filim bring his precious daughter this time? If he does, I'll give you three days off and let you take your fiancée around … "
"My lord!" Shi Huard was thin-skinned and a little shy.
"Haha …" Laurist laughed, "Right, get the kitchen to make me something to eat and bring me a bottle of wine from the study. Then, you can go to sleep."
"Yes, my lord."
Shi Huard moved quickly. After a while, he brought two servants to the rooftop to set up the tables and chairs, as well as the food and wine. Perhaps to take revenge for Laurist's teasing, this fellow had the kitchen bring up a huge smoked goose …
The moon was beautiful that night, and Laurist was in the mood to drink some wine with some appetizers. This huge smoked goose on the table was a bit of a killjoy. Eating the smoked goose until his mouth was covered in oil, and then singing to the moon with fruit wine, this scene did not seem to fit …
"This brat …" Laurist muttered. Without touching the smoked goose, he poured a glass of fruit wine and held it in his hand. He stood on the rooftop and looked at the scenery in the distance. As he slowly drank, he recalled the information about the Haneabada Kingdom in his mind.
The Haneabada Archipelago was located southwest of Sirovas Island. With the speed of a medium-sized armed merchant ship, it would take them eleven days to reach it. If it was the Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn, it would take about seven or eight days.
The Haneabada Archipelago looked like an octopus baring its fangs and brandishing its claws on the map. The name Haneabada was originally the name of an octopus demon god that liked to stir up trouble on the sea. Legend had it that this octopus demon god had once stolen a precious ornament from the Blood Moon Goddess Sufina, which angered the Blood Moon Goddess. Seizing the opportunity when the octopus demon god came out of the sea for a breath of fresh air, the Blood Moon Goddess summoned her husband, the Sun God, the God of Light, and the God of War, and her sister, the Silver Moon Goddess Daphne. The three gods cast a spell together and turned the octopus demon god that dared to steal the goddess' ornament into this octopus-shaped archipelago …
This myth and legend told people a very profound truth. A woman in a violent rage was unreasonable, so no one could provoke a woman. Women could only be coaxed and not angered. Otherwise, no one could guess the consequences. For example, the octopus demon god might have thought that he would fight with the Blood Moon Goddess for the ornament, but he did not expect that she would directly call for help and turn him into an archipelago …
The Haneabada Archipelago, far away from the Galinthea continent, had always been regarded as an uncivilized place. It was remote, desolate, and had no special products. It was not until the pirates built a country here and vigorously developed the slave trade that the people of the Galinthea continent slowly changed their view of the Haneabada Archipelago as a barren land.
If the area of the Haneabada Archipelago was added up, it would be larger than the territory of the Norton Family. It was just that half of the area of the Haneabada Archipelago was long and narrow islands. From the map, it did look like the tentacles of an octopus.
The Haneabada Kingdom, which had a history of more than 80 years, had a total population of more than 500,000. Slaves accounted for more than 400,000 of these 500,000 people. It was not known if the tens of thousands of pirates had done too many wicked things and suffered retribution. Their descendants have multiplied for so many years to exceed 100,000.
There are also geniuses in the wilderness. In Laurist's view, the second king of the Haneabada Kingdom was such a genius. Originally, the kingdom established by the pirates was elected. Everyone had the final say on who was the king, but the second king successfully changed it to a hereditary system, so that his family firmly occupied this position.
After the king was elected by the pirates, he changed the pirates' habit of living by plundering. He gave the long and narrow archipelago around the main island to the pirate leaders under him as fiefdoms and gave them slaves to open up wastelands on these islands. He incorporated ordinary pirates to form the royal army, so that ordinary pirates could also live a carefree life. He also declared that he would no longer plunder the Golden Coastline coastal countries, eased relations, opened trade routes, and vigorously developed the slave trade. Finally, this joke-like kingdom began to develop steadily.
It was happy to be a citizen of the Haneabada Kingdom, but this happiness was built in the blood and tears of the slaves. They were born with no worries about food and clothing, which was the high welfare left by the second king to the descendants of the pirates. But if they want to live a good life, they either go to the king's soldiers or learn skills.
The Haneabada Kingdom has two standing armies, one is the 28,000 royal guards, and the other is the royal patrol fleet with 24 large and medium-sized armed merchant ships. Both forces are directly under the royal family and are under the direct command of the king. The nobles of the Haneabada Kingdom are big slave owners. The private armed forces in their hands are basically the descendants of the pirates under their ancestors. As for the slave catching teams below, they are made up of the desperadoes, deserters, mercenaries, and criminals they recruited in the Galinthea Continent.
The Haneabada Kingdom has two major cities, one is Hamidas City, the capital city in the center of the main island, and the other is the largest slave trading market in Galinthea, the port city of Nubit Port.
Although they have their own houses in the capital city of Hamidas City, the nobles of the Haneabada Kingdom are more accustomed to living in Nubit Port, which is their paradise. Here they drove the slaves to build luxurious and luxurious houses and enjoyed a life of debauchery on the bones of the slaves.
As a seaport city, Nubit Port can not only purchase specialties and fashion items from all over the Galinthea Continent. It is also more convenient for the great slave owners of the Haneabada Kingdom to command their slave traders and slave catching teams to sail to the poor or war-torn areas of the Galinthea Continent and deliver a steady stream of slaves to the Haneabada Kingdom …
Buckingham has a strong confidence in the combat power of his family's armed forces. It is difficult to find an elite combat power that can stand shoulder to shoulder with him in the Galinthea Continent. This time, Buckingham is going to bring Bofinger's two heavy armor regiments, the single-wheeled steel crossbow regiment, Yuri's scout battalion, and Ovicis's Stone Carriage Battalion, as well as two guard battalions, for a total of more than 37,000 people. He believed that as long as these 37,000 soldiers and horses set foot on the Haneabada Archipelago, they would be able to sweep through the entire kingdom and hang those black-hearted slave owners and slave merchants on the gallows, not to mention destroying the Haneabada Kingdom.
Now, Lollister was vexed. He wasn't sure how to get these 37,000 men to the main island without alerting the enemy. From the map, the bay of the Haneabada Archipelago is also long, which means that Nubit Port is in the innermost part of the bay. Outside the bay are several long and narrow islands, which become the natural outer barrier of Nubit Port.
If there were no people on these islands, then nothing would happen. Laurist could seal off the few small islands outside and lock up the ships in Nubit Port. However, these islands were the fiefs of a few major slave masters, and there were plenty of slaves working diligently on them. If they find out that Buckingham is coming with a fleet, then as long as the slaves light a bonfire and light a smoke signal, they will be able to pass the news to Nubit Port. At that time, the pirate ships will swarm out, and it will be fun.
At present, the best way was to first transfer the troops to Syrovas Island and make preparations to set sail for the expedition. When Ell and Tagger sent back information about the Haneabada Kingdom and had a precise understanding of the defenses there, they could set off for the expedition. Once the large army is ashore, he can teach them how to be good people in their next life.
Buckingham's mouth pulled into a sinister smile. He will never let go of the great slave owners and slave traders who attacked Syrovas Island, especially those slave hunters. They have done too many evil things, and it is time for them to receive retribution. It is not that retribution is not coming, but that the time has not come yet. Now that he has made up his mind to go to the Haneabada Kingdom, their retribution has arrived …
He hopes that Ell and Tagger can find the whereabouts of Fatty Shi, Jim, and the other family knights, and that they will not meet with any mishaps. Even if they become slaves, they will only need to endure for two months before he can go and rescue them.
Sigh … Buckingham sighed, raised his hand, and poured all the golden wine in the cup into his mouth. He had kept the news of Fatty Shi's capture a secret from his family so that they would not worry. Buckingham turned to look at the hillside on the left side of the castle. There were twelve large villas built on the upper two floors. They were the residences of the family's high-level managers and commander knights. Buckingham remembered very clearly that the first one on the top floor was Fatty Shi's home. Some time ago, Fatty Shi's father came to see his precious grandson and was still reluctant to leave. Sigh … How can I be willing to tell them this bad news …
A sword light entered Buckingham's eyes, and Buckingham's eyes narrowed. This sword light was already at the level of a first-level swordsman. How could it appear in the back garden of Fatty Shi's house, especially in the middle of the night …
Could it be that Fatty Shi's identity was recognized by the slave masters, and in order to coerce Fatty Shi to work for them, they sent people to infiltrate Boulder Castle to kidnap his family … A bad premonition rose in Buckingham's heart. Buckingham could not be bothered to take the stairs, and he directly leaped from the rooftop. He quickly climbed down the castle's outer wall, and sprinted towards Fatty Shi's house on the other side of the hill.
It seemed very normal. There was no movement in the house, and all that reached Buckingham's ears were normal, light snoring sounds. Occasionally, he could also hear Fatty Shi's precious son grinding his teeth and muttering …
Buckingham quietly moved towards the back garden, like a black shadow silently blending into the mottled shadows of the trees under the moonlight …
The sword light flashing in the back garden was just a person practicing the sword. The sword light was agile, and the sword aura was contained. Although the sword light covered the entire space, every bud or flower in the space continued to emit their fragrance, as if the sword light dancing between the delicate petals was just an illusion …
The control, accuracy, and stability of this swordsman was truly amazing. This was the difference between a Grandmaster Swordsman and a Gold-tier swordsman.
Buckingham walked out of the shade of the tree.
The swordsman suddenly became alert, and held his sword in a defensive position. He said in a low voice, "Who is it?"
"It's me," Buckingham said calmly.
"Uh … My Lord …" The swordsman shivered, and quickly kept his sword.
"Follow me," Buckingham said, and turned to leave.
"Phew …" The swordsman let out a long breath in frustration. The moon tonight was too beautiful, and he suddenly had the mood to practice the sword. Who knew that Buckingham would come back. He had hidden his promotion to a Grandmaster Swordsman from Buckingham for a while, and now that Buckingham had seen him practicing the sword, his realm would definitely not be hidden from Buckingham's eyes. It was over. Other than suffering, he would not be able to live a carefree life in the future. He would no longer be able to play with his cute grandson, and he would have to be ordered around by Buckingham …
At this moment, Buckingham was also cursing in his heart. Damn! There was no justice in this world! How could he have imagined that the coward who was afraid of death, the shameless old man who sacrificed his granddaughter for the sake of his life, the 3-star Gold-ranked swordsman that he had forced to sign a 10-year slave contract with, would actually become a Great Swordsman without a sound. What kind of goddamn luck did he have?
This swordsman was Ingelek. Years ago, when Buckingham organized a convoy to travel north, he had a conflict with the local tyrant Slov Slave Group in the Ametlin Port of the Duchy of Lulm. Buckingham single-handedly killed two Gold Swordsmen from the slave group. As a three-star Gold Swordsman, not only did Ingelek not come forward, but he also turned to escape. In the end, Buckingham caught up to him, and he took out all of his Qi manuals and money. He even forced him to give up his precious granddaughter and sign a ten-year slave contract before he let him go.
At that time, Fatty Shi was injured by this old man Ingelek, and he was bandaged like a dumpling. Buckingham was mischievous, and he assigned the old man's granddaughter to be Fatty Shi's maid. Who would have thought that the two of them would take a liking to each other and become a couple. For Fatty Shi's sake, Buckingham did not do anything to the old man.
After that, Buckingham returned from his family's territory to receive the convoy to the north, and he rewarded the meritorious personnel at the convoy camp outside the Andinac Kingdom's Nardgas City. Buckingham originally wanted to promote the old man to become a Gold Knight of the family, but the old man refused, saying that he would be fine staying by his granddaughter's side. At that time, Fatty Shi got his precious granddaughter pregnant, and swore that he would marry her as soon as he returned to the family's territory …
Buckingham felt that the old man had lived for too long and experienced too much. He did not have any ambitions, and only wanted to live a peaceful life. Buckingham did not think much of it, and simply let him go, letting him spend the rest of his life with his granddaughter. Buckingham did not expect the old man to give him a pleasant surprise, and he was now the first Grandmaster Swordsman of the family.
This time, Laurist definitely wouldn't let the old man go. He would squeeze the old man dry. In any case, whenever the old man saw Laurist, he would be like a mouse that saw a cat. He would tremble from the inside out. What puzzled Buckingham the most was, how did the old man become a Grandmaster Swordsman with his cowardice?
Returning to the castle's rooftop, Buckingham sat on a chair in an ostentatious manner. He poured himself a glass of wine and tasted it, letting Ingelek stand obediently in front of him.
"Tell me, when did you become a Grandmaster Swordsman?"
"M-My Lord, it's been more than a year, too long …" The old man began to feel afraid again.
"Why didn't you tell me …" Buckingham asked lazily.
"M-My Lord, y-you're not here …" The old man's voice trembled as he spoke.
Ugh … Buckingham himself did not remember. In any case, he was always running around, so he accepted the old man's words for now. However, he was still very depressed. "I say, why are you trembling? Am I that scary? It's not like I'll eat you. Besides, you're a Grandmaster Swordsman."
"No, no. I don't know why, Sir. Anyway, I'm afraid to see you."
"Forget it, Ingelek. Cut the crap. Since you're a Grandmaster Swordsman now, it's time for you to do something for the family," Buckingham said.
"M-My Lord, please let me go. I'm already so old," the old man begged.
"Piss off! Don't think I don't know that becoming a Grandmaster Swordsman is equivalent to having an extra 30 years of life. You're now comparable to a strong man. The family is currently facing a very serious situation, and I'm not happy with you. In a few days, I'll bring people to the Haneabada Kingdom because those b * tches of slave traders attacked our family's Silovas Island territory. Your precious grandson-in-law was also captured by them … "
"My Lord, what did you say?" This time, it was the old man's turn to be shocked. He no longer trembled in fear.
"That's why I said that I'll be going to the Haneabada Kingdom soon. I'll rescue Fatty Shi. Old man, help me out too. After a while, go to the Sad Ocean and requisition a batch of ships for me. We're still lacking ships to transport people. "
Since it was related to his precious granddaughter's happiness, the old man no longer refused. "Alright, my Lord, I promise to requisition enough ships."
"Alright, you can go back first. Keep Fatty Shi's matter a secret for now. Don't tell his wife. I'll let you know when it's time, "Buckingham said.
"Yes, my Lord." The old man turned around and left. When he reached the stairs, he remembered and turned back to ask, "Oh right, my Lord, how many ships do we need to requisition?"
"Hmm, we'll requisition a hundred ships first. If it's not enough, we'll have to gather more …" Buckingham replied.
"What, so many?" The old man was stunned. He stepped on the air and rolled down the stairs.
Buckingham shook his head and muttered, "With such mental fortitude, I really don't understand how he became a Grandmaster Swordsman …"
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