From afar, he could see many people gathered at the square of the docks.
However, when Laurist rushed over, the gathered people only moved slightly, opening up the path in the middle and continuing to stand there numbly. However, there was a slight change in their gazes, which was curiosity and envy. From the tattered cloth wrapped around their naked bodies and the whip marks on their bodies, it was obvious that they were all slaves.
Laurist found it strange. What were the slave masters of Nubit Port trying to do by gathering so many slaves at the docks at this time?
However, Laurist had arrived a little late. The garrison troops that had been showing off their might at the docks saw the enemies charging at the docks, and had long since abandoned their armor and fled into the inner city of Nubit Port. The city gates had just closed.
Soon, heart-wrenching wails and a few plumes of burning black smoke attracted Laurist's attention. A large group of women and children, who seemed to be slaves, were wailing on the pier in the port area. They were so sorrowful that it seemed like they were about to explode. On the other side of the trestle were seventeen or eighteen speedboats with sharp bows and slender bodies. Sacks of supplies were piled up on the speedboats. However, the sacks on the dozen or so speedboats were all on fire.
With his sharp eyes, Loriste quickly understood the reason for the women and children's crying. It was because there were slaves rowing on both sides of the speedboats. Their hands and feet were locked with long iron chains, and their feet were shackled under the seats in front. Other than sitting in the rowing seats, they couldn't even stand up. Looking at the burning sacks beside them, they could only helplessly wait for death to come.
Some of the paddling slaves were crying, some looked relieved, and some were coughing non-stop from choking on the black smoke. However, the slave sitting at the very front was covered in wounds, and behind him were burning sacks. However, his expression did not change as he called out to his loved ones on the pier, telling them to be strong and live on optimistically …
Like a large bird, Laurist landed on the burning speedboat. As soon as he stepped on the deck, a thick smell of kerosene assaulted his nostrils. F * ck, these sacks were all sprinkled with kerosene. No wonder they were burning so fiercely. Without hesitation, Laurist picked up the pole he had picked up from the pier and tossed all the sacks on the speedboat into the sea. Cheers of surprise came from the pier behind him.
A few more figures landed on the burning speedboats. They were the family knights and soldiers who had rushed over. Seeing that Laurist was saving people, they hurried over to help.
The long swords of the clan knights flickered with white sword light as they easily cut off the iron chains that bound the slaves. After that, the slaves who had escaped from death returned to the pier and hugged their family members tightly...
"My lord, my lord …"
Laurist turned around and saw that it was the bruised man who had brought two children with him. He bent his knees and prostrated himself in front of Laurist. "Thank you, Sir, for saving our lives …"
Laurist took a step to the side and said, "Get up. You don't have to bow to me. The Norton Family has no slaves. You are free."
In Galinthea, bowing to the ground was the highest form of etiquette. It was usually performed to gods and ancestors. Other than that, the slaves of the Haneabada Kingdom mainly begged the slaves to bow to them. This was to satisfy their desire for power and vanity to control the lives and deaths of their slaves.
The man was stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief. "We are free?"
Laurist nodded. "Yes, you are free. However, you will still be under our custody for a while to prevent you from causing trouble for our operation. We are still at war. Once we eliminate the slave masters and slave merchants in the city, you will truly be free. "
The man straightened his body and hugged the two children beside him. He sobbed and said, "Free, we are free …"
Laurist looked at the man and his two children with interest. The older one was a boy, around eleven or twelve years old, and the younger one was a girl, only seven or eight years old. She was dressed like a boy, and her hair was cut in a messy way. Laurist thought that this might be a way to protect the girl.
"My lord, I have made a fool of myself." The man cried for a long time before he regained his senses. "Can you tell us your family's name? We will never forget your kindness. "
"We are the Norton Family of the North, the Roaring Bears," a guard beside Laurist replied proudly.
"North? Norton, Roaring Bears? " The burly man shuddered. "I know, you're here for revenge. No wonder your armor looks so familiar. Last time, the guards at the docks lost their lives over your breastplate. "
"Oh, what is your name?" Laurist raised his eyebrows, interested.
"My lord, my name is Kamen. I am from the Romon Empire," the man replied respectfully.
"Romon Empire? That's far enough. Get up. Tell me, how did you become a slave? "Laurist asked.
"Thank you, my lord." Kamen stood up. "My lord, I was once Count Bilop's apprentice attendant. The Count offended the prime minister and was stripped of his territory. He was even attacked by the army. Us attendants and guards were all sold to slave traders after we were captured. This happened nineteen years ago, and I was only fifteen at the time … "
"You awakened fighting spirit?"
"Yes, if not for it, I would not have lived until now. Only with fighting spirit was I valued, and now I have two children … "Kamen replied bitterly.
"Then why were you chained to that speedboat?" Laurist asked.
"Uh …" Kamen pointed at the Storm and the sunken ships in the distance. "My lord, is that also your family's ship?"
Laurist nodded.
"That's amazing. In just a short while, they sunk more than ten ships of the Wang family's patrol fleet. None of the remaining ships dared to go up, so the steward came up with an idea. They filled the rowing speedboats with flammable substances and set them on fire before rushing toward that ship. That's why they're looking for slaves with families like us. They want us to exchange our deaths for the safety of our families …"
Lollister felt a lingering fear. Fortunately, he had arrived quickly, causing the enemy to fail at the last moment. Otherwise, if twenty to thirty boats had turned into fire boats and charged at the Storm, the Storm might have suffered a huge loss …
"Go to a camp and search all the ships in the port. Detain all the people on the ships and interrogate them. Kill anyone who resists!" Laurist ordered the guards beside him.
"My lord, the people from the Wang Family's patrol fleet have followed the docks into the inner city. There's no one on their ships," Kamen said.
"Aren't there people on other merchant ships? That's why they have to disembark for inspection." Laurist was very satisfied. The two hundred ships anchored in Nubit Port were all his spoils. Just the value of these ships added up to a million gold fords.
"By the way, Kamen, you mentioned that the docks' guards lost their lives over our armor. What happened?"
"My lord, did the slave hunters attack your territory three months ago?" Kamen asked.
"Yes, they attacked one of our islands," Laurist replied.
"My lord, your territory's guards are very powerful," Kamen complimented. Kamen flattered him: "I remember that the guards at the docks also sent more than twenty people, but only three of them returned. Although they robbed some money, it seems that they only took this breastplate from your dead soldiers. After returning, the three of them argued endlessly about who owned the breastplate. Because they drank too much, they got into a fight. In the end, two of them died and one was injured. The injured one didn't live for more than two days before dying from blood loss. The breastplate was taken away by the captain of the guards.
At the time, I went to clean up the scene with a few slaves, so I have a deep impression of the breastplate. When I saw that your family's soldiers were wearing the same type of armor, I knew you were here for revenge. But my lord, you seem to have captured a lot of people last time. There were tens of thousands of slaves on the ships. We were all guessing where they came from. "
"Only a small portion of those people are our subjects. Most of them are refugees that we recruited to develop and build our territory. Because we recruited too many refugees, the slave owners and slave merchants started to target our family's territory. By the way, Kamen, many of our family's soldiers were captured. Do you know where they are being held? "Laurist asked.
"My lord, let me think. I think I've heard someone mention it before." Kamen thought hard.
"Barry, Barry, come here." Kamen turned around and called out to the slaves behind him.
A sixteen or seventeen year old skinny slave walked over timidly. "Uncle Kamen, did you call me?"
"Yes, Barry. Two months ago, did you see a strange group of slaves being escorted down the dock?"
The slave named Barry nodded.
Kamen said, "Think about it carefully. Why did those slaves make you feel strange? Also, where were they being escorted to? "
"Yes. When they got off the ship, they were all very arrogant. Many of them were injured, and some of them were even cursing. They said that my lord would come and save them, and when that time comes, he would kill all of the people escorting them. At the time, the guards at the dock were there. When they heard their cursing, they took out whips and wanted to teach them a lesson. However, they were stopped by the people escorting them. The people escorting them said that these slaves were going to be sent to the Hamidas Kingdom's gladiator arena. If they were whipped, they would have to pay for it. Then, the guards took it out on us slaves and even whipped me a few times … "Barry said.
"The Hamidas Kingdom's gladiator arena?" Laurist suddenly had an ominous feeling.
As expected, Kamen confirmed his premonition. "My lord, perhaps only a small portion of your people will be able to survive. The Hamidas Kingdom's gladiator arena is truly hell. Every inch of land there is filled with the cries of countless slave gladiators. The slave owners here love to watch gladiator shows. They like to put the slaves and magical beasts together to fight, and watch the slaves being torn apart and eaten alive by the magical beasts. They also have the slaves split into two teams to fight each other. Only the victors can survive …
There is a gladiator show every ten days. However, it is only a small scale one, and there are only about ten casualties. There is a large gladiator fight every month, and each time, there are at least a hundred or more people fighting. The slave owners here will all go to watch. Last month, there was a celebration for the founding of a nation. I heard that nearly a thousand slave gladiators died … "
A wave of anger rose in Laurist's heart, and his eyes turned slightly red. "Very good. Hamidas Kingdom's gladiator arena. If one of my family's soldiers dies, I will kill ten of them. If one of my family's knights is lost, I will kill a hundred nobles as sacrifices …"
"My lord …" A heavily armored soldier hurriedly ran over. "My lord, we have already blocked the four gates of the inner city of Nubit. However, there are many ballistae on the walls of the inner city, and they have caused us some light casualties. Swordmaster Lek has sent me to report this to my lord. May I ask when we will attack the city? "
Laurist raised his head and looked at the inner city in the distance. There were many people on the walls. "Are there many ballistae on the walls?"
"Currently, there are more than a hundred of them," the soldier replied.
Although Laurist was furious that the captured soldiers and family knights had been sent to the Hamidas Kingdom's gladiator arena, this anger was not enough to make him order his family's armed forces to attack the city immediately.
"Order the troops to retreat outside the range of the ballistae and set up defensive positions. Set up a perimeter to prevent the enemies in the inner city from escaping. Order the Single-Wheeled Ballista Army to set up firing positions outside the four gates and suppress the firing of the ballistae. "Now that we have occupied the docks, order the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion to board the ships and come here. Let the enemies in the inner city live for another day. We will attack tomorrow, "Laurist ordered.
"Yes, my lord." The soldier ran back.
"My lord …" Bofinger hurried over as well.
"How are things on your side?" Laurist asked.
"Yuri and Josk are already on their way with the scout battalion. Apart from the ships that are fighting for the beach, I have already ordered the remaining ships to head to the docks. I have already ordered people to clean up the beach. We have lost more than three hundred people, and there are more than two thousand enemy corpses, "Bofinger replied.
"Very good. If the Ferocious Tiger Ross Malek has already occupied the eight islands, order them to bring the people back. Bring all the captives and slaves to the main island. Leave one platoon on each island to stand guard. If there are signs of the enemy, light up the smoke signal. Order Sunbarwood's navy to strengthen the security of the islands along the coast. Give him a heavy-armored battalion and a single-wheeled ballista battalion. Clear the remaining nineteen islands and bring back all the captives and slaves … "
"Yes, my lord," Bofinger replied, standing at attention.
"My lord, my lord …" Kamen called out.
"What is it?" Laurist asked.
"My lord, can you give us a chance to serve you? You have saved us and given us freedom. We can organize ourselves and attack the city with you. My lord, we are not afraid of death. As long as you give us weapons, we can take revenge on the slave masters and the guards who have oppressed us … "
Laurist shook his head. "Kamen, it is good that you have such intentions. But to be honest, I do not have high hopes for you. You have not undergone training and are physically weak. Sending you to attack the city is sending you to your deaths. This sacrifice is worthless … "
Kamen's eyes dimmed. He knew that Laurist was speaking the truth.
"But, Kamen, you can help us in other places." Laurist pointed at the large group of slaves gathered at the docks. "Go and organize them. We need guides and people to show us the way. We need you to help us find the granaries here and get food to feed your stomachs. It is said that the Haneabada Kingdom has more than four hundred thousand slaves. If we leave you alone after rescuing you, it will lead to a disaster.
Go and gather the most talented and reputable people among the slaves. I believe you have the ability to do so. You must first set up a camp and make sure that the slaves we have rescued obey the rules. Once we have eliminated the slave masters, we can arrange for ships to send you back to the mainland and let you return home.
Right, there are many things we need your help with. You can help us identify the slave masters' minions who should die and who should not. You can help us find the slave masters' hidden warehouses. You can help us cook, transport the injured, and ensure supplies. You can't help us charge and break through enemy lines. Of course, if you are willing, you can follow us back to the north and live happily in our family's territory. Kamen, are you willing to help? "
Kamen bowed deeply. "My lord, to be able to serve you is the greatest honor of my life. I believe all the slaves will be happy to serve you."
… …
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