Aire was galloping across the plains with a few riders. When he saw Lollister and the others, he rode up to them alone.
"My Lord, we've won! We've even taken over their camp!" Aire's face was flushed with excitement as he shouted at Lorist and the others.
When he reached them, Lorist asked, "What are you doing? Taking them for a walk? "
"No, Knight Bofinger told me to search the surrounding area and make sure not a single slave hunter escapes," Aire replied.
"You said we took over the slave hunters' camp?" Lorist asked.
"Yes. Locke, you showed off your might and killed them until they collapsed and wanted to escape back to their camp. We took advantage of the situation and took over their camp. That damned fatty has already gotten his men to carry him to the slave hunters' camp and is cleaning up the spoils of war. He even told me to tell you to go back as soon as I see you. " Although Ell had already become a Knight of the Norton Family, his words were still the most unbridled. He would often forget their identities as he spoke, still treating himself and Lester as if they were mercenaries who had teamed up to go on an adventure.
Lorist felt most at ease with Aire because of this. "Did we suffer a lot of casualties?"
"Casualties? Nope. Only two slave soldiers were in too much of a rush to pay attention to their feet. One twisted his ankle, while the other fell and broke his lip. These two unlucky fellows were about to be mocked to death. More than half of the slave hunters were dead, and the remaining hundred or so were captured. Right, Locke, go back quickly. There are still more than two thousand slaves in the slave hunters' camp. It's up to you whether to keep them or release them, "Aire said.
"There's no rush." Lorist said and turned to ask the old man behind the horse, "Hey, old man, where did you get those slaves from?"
The old man looked a little pitiful. His body was tied up, and the rope was still in Dolus's hands. He also carried five bundles of javelins on his back. Because Lorist cherished horsepower, he was worried that it would be too heavy to ride a horse, so he unloaded the javelins and let the old man carry them. He said that although the old man looked old, he was a 3-star Gold rank and had strong muscles and bones. Otherwise, he wouldn't have run all the way here. A few bundles of javelins were nothing to him. The old man had just escaped with his life, and even though he knew that Laurist was trying to mess with him, he could only accept it.
Laurist asked him, and the old man hurriedly replied, "Master, these slaves were bought or captured from the Redelis Kingdom in the past half a year. I heard that they destroyed a few villages the last time they went there. The old ones were killed, and the young ones were captured."
Sigh, in troubled times, human lives were as cheap as dogs. As farmers, not only did they have to deal with the lords' endless expropriation and labor, they also had to avoid disasters caused by wars, and they had to be especially wary of those vicious slave traders who took advantage of the situation to rob them. Once the village was breached by the slave hunters, these farmers, who were still with their families a moment ago, would have their families killed in the next moment, and they would become slaves themselves.
Laurist said with disdain, "Old man, as a 3-star Gold rank swordsman, why do you have to mix with these people who are worse than pigs and dogs and do such heinous things?"
The old man complained, "Master, I had no choice. Six years ago, I passed through here with my granddaughter, wanting to go to Morent City. In the end, my granddaughter fell seriously ill in Port Ametlin. I had no money to treat her, so I relied on the slave hunters to save my granddaughter. In the past six years, I haven't killed a single slave. On the contrary, I've helped quite a few people … "
The old man was originally the captain of a small city in the Crisen Empire. His family had been doing quite well, but after the third prince fought for the throne, the area where the old man was the first to be affected by the civil war. The old man's son and daughter-in-law had both died, and his wife had passed away from grief. The old man was worried that his only granddaughter would also meet with an accident, so he became a deserter. He carried his twelve-year-old granddaughter across the mountains to Morent City. As a result, his little granddaughter fell seriously ill in the port of Ametland. The old man had no choice but to meet the captain of the slave hunters, Slov. In order to save his granddaughter, he had joined the slave hunters, and he had survived until now.
The old man defended himself. He said that Slov, the leader of the slave hunters, knew that he didn't like to catch slaves, so he asked him to be in charge of guarding the slave hunters' camp. Over the past few years, he had helped many slaves avoid harm in the camp.
"Weren't they sold by you in the end?" Aire said disdainfully, "Old man, if you knew that selling slaves was immoral, why didn't you run away after your granddaughter recovered? You stayed with them for six years. You're clearly birds of a feather. Don't pretend to be good people when you're all scoundrels."
"I wanted to leave, but could I?" The old man laughed bitterly, "After my granddaughter recovered, we were brought to Slov's manor, and we've been living there ever since. That's Slov's headquarters, and it's heavily guarded. It's fine if I go in and out alone, but I can't escape with my granddaughter. Besides, Slov is a gold-ranked swordsman, and his cousin, Parker, is a great swordsman. As time went on, I could only resign myself to fate. "
Laurist's expression was somewhat solemn, "Old man, tell me about Captain Slov and that Slov's manor. The more detailed the information about his cousin Parker, the Great Swordsman, the more, the better. "
The old man had been with the slavers for six years, and he knew these things very well. He said that the captain of the slavers, Slov, had been a mercenary in his early years. Somehow, he got acquainted with a slave merchant in Nubit Port, and so he formed a group of slavers to capture slaves. The civil war of the Crisen Empire had given the slavers a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Over the past six years, their business had grown, and the slavers had grown to nearly three hundred people. Even the local lord couldn't do anything to them.
After Slov became rich, he built a manor in the hills to the west of the small town. It was thousands of acres of land, and it became his home. The people living there were all relatives of the slavers, and there were nearly eight hundred slaves in charge of the cultivation and daily labor of the thousands of acres of vineyards. In recent years, the wine produced by Slov's manor had become very famous.
Slov's manor was heavily guarded, partly because of the terrain, and partly because they had enough manpower. However, Captain Slov had been trying to obtain a noble title in recent years. He wanted to turn himself into a noble. Last month, he brought a group of people to the capital, and then went to Nubit Port to settle his accounts. According to the plan, he would be back in about ten days. Because the slavers were still here, the defense of Slov's manor was at its weakest. There were only a dozen Silver-tier swordsmen and a 50-man Iron-tier guard team that was responsible for suppressing the slaves.
Captain Slov was a two-star Gold-tier swordsman, but he had been living like a prince for the past few years. His body had grown fat, and his strength seemed to have decreased. His backer was that Master Swordsman Parker, and it was said that the two were cousins.
"Have you fought with Master Swordsman Parker before?" Laurist asked.
The old man nodded and replied, "Yes. Two years ago, during the harvest banquet, the slavers wanted Master Parker to show off his skills. That Master Parker chose me as his opponent, and I fought with him for about ten rounds. When I saw that he didn't look happy, I quickly threw away my sword and surrendered. Actually, I'm guessing that it would be a draw within a hundred rounds. "
Laurist nodded. He knew what was going on.
"Right. What's your name, old man? "Laurist asked.
"My lord, my name is Frederick," the old man replied.
… …
As they spoke, they arrived at the camp. Laurist saw that the gate of the slavers' camp was wide open, so he rode his horse in. He saw Fatty Shi sitting on a soft couch in the middle of the camp, throwing a tantrum. The reason was that Fatty Shi was injured and couldn't write, so he found an old student to help him memorize things. In the end, the old student's handwriting was terrible, and he kept making mistakes, which made Fatty Shi angry. The old student also had a bad temper. After being scolded by Fatty Shi, he threw away the pen and paper in his hand and said, "My hands are for swords, not writing. You want me to help you, and you want me to do this and that? I don't want to serve you anymore, and I'll just leave," Fatty Shi said angrily.
Laurist held back his laughter as he got off his horse and picked up the pen and paper. He passed it to Dolus, who was beside him. "Dolus, go find a few slaves with good handwriting. Let them follow Knight Shredder and wait for orders. El, go find Knight Bofinger and Terman. We'll meet here and discuss this. "
Terman, Bofinger, and two of his comrades hurried over.
Laurist gave a brief introduction of Slov's situation, then said that they would take advantage of the fact that Slov's manor's defenses were weak to launch a sneak attack. They would occupy the manor first, and then deal with Slov and his cousin, Great Swordsman Parker, who would return in ten days.
Laurist planned to let the surrendered old man called Ingelek bring him into the manor to trick them into opening the gate. Then, Treman would lead his men to attack and quickly eliminate any resistance. Finally, he would let Dolus lead the slave soldiers to occupy and clean up the entire manor. El would lead a group of slave soldiers who could ride horses to seal off the entire manor. No one in the manor would be able to escape. When the dust settled, they could abandon the camp here, and everyone would move to the manor.
When attacking the manor, the camp here would be overseen by Bofinger to ensure that nothing went wrong.
No one had any objections to Laurist's arrangements, but Bofinger was worried that something would go wrong if Laurist brought the 3-star Gold rank old man to trick them into opening the gate. At this moment, Rod Wales, who was standing at the side, said, "Why don't I go with Mister Norton? There's nothing to do here anyway, and I'm feeling bored."
Rod Wales' volunteering made Bofinger overjoyed. He patted his shoulder and thanked him profusely. Laurist hurriedly bowed and thanked him. "Mister Rod, thank you very much. Thank you very much for your help and assistance …"
Rod Wales hurriedly returned the bow. Seeing Laurist's skills and performance, he was very polite at this moment. "Mister Norton, you don't have to be so polite. If you don't mind, you can call me Ross like Bofinger does. "
Laurist laughed heartily and reached out to shake his hand. "Alright, Ross. You can call me Locke too. That's what my friends call me."
… …
Laurist went to take a shower and changed out of his bloodstained clothes. He also asked the old man named Ingelek to wash up and change out of his soiled pants. Seeing that everyone was ready, he and Ross escorted Ingelek to Slov Manor on horseback.
Slov Manor was about six to seven thousand meters away from the slave hunters' camp. Following the main road around the small town to the west, they could see the buildings on the hills. Laurist and Ross chatted and laughed along the way. Soon, they arrived.
Ross was a very straightforward and heroic man. He said that his father was also an old mercenary. In his early years, he had obtained a high-level combat skill manual and left it to him. He hoped that his son would become a legendary mercenary. In the end, Ross heard too many stories of knights and princes fighting on the battlefield when he was young. When he grew up, he hid it from his father and joined the army. He hoped that he could become a knight, which made his father so angry that he almost had a stroke.
In the White Lion Legion, Ross was a brave and fearless general. After the civil war, the White Lion Legion was disbanded. When Ross returned home, he found that his family was gone. Knowing that he had nothing to worry about, he formed a small mercenary group with a few comrades and went on an adventure. Coincidentally, he rescued a slave trader who was surrounded by bandits. He was then hired as a bodyguard by the slave trader and followed him to Nubit Port. Next, he met Bofinger. When he heard that he wanted to buy slaves to form the Norton Family's private army to the north, he became interested. He dragged Mons Malek, who was also unwilling to stay in Nubit Port, and followed Bofinger to this place.
The process of occupying Slov Manor was very smooth. Ross did not even have to do anything. Laurist's javelin solved the problem. When the guards saw the old man in front, they did not suspect anything. They quickly lowered the drawbridge and opened the gates of the manor. Laurist swung his sword a few times and slit their throats. The other silver swordsmen took advantage of Laurist's lack of manpower and swarmed over.
Laurist pulled out the javelin hanging on his horse. Like lightning, he threw one javelin after another. The javelins formed a continuous rain of javelins. More than half of the silver swordsmen who pounced on him fell. The remaining silver swordsmen who were prepared swung their swords and cut the javelins in half. However, the javelins that came after them still pierced through their bodies. After throwing three javelins, Laurist no longer had a single enemy standing in front of him.
Ingelek's legs trembled as he watched. He was glad that he was smart enough to surrender quickly. That was how he managed to keep his life. Ross was full of praise as he watched from the side, calling it a consummate skill.
Terman brought his men and occupied the main castle. Then, Dolles and Terman worked together to clean up the entire manor. Although they were counterattacked by the guards who were guarding the slaves at the Iron rank, under the attacks of Terman and the old trainees, they stopped resisting and surrendered after a dozen people were killed. None of Terman's men were harmed. Dolus commented that these captives were asking for trouble. Using whips and short swords to attack the fully armed silver swordsmen, they must be sick in the head.
Laurist ordered Terman to bring some men to the camp to inform Fatty Shi and Bofinger to move camp and bring everyone to Sloff Manor. He also ordered Terman to bring the camp's transport carriages to the docks. Now, Yuri could unload the goods and transport the weapons and equipment over.
Then, Laurist ordered Dolus to gather the slaves in the manor and wait for further orders. Then, he brought some men to detain the relatives of the slave hunters, and killed anyone who resisted. He also sent someone to inform Aire to increase the vigilance, and for a while, he was very busy.
The main manor where the relatives of the slave hunters resided was immediately filled with cries. Ferocious slave soldiers broke down the doors and chased the relatives of the slave hunters out. From time to time, shouts and curses could be heard from some of the houses or courtyards.
However, the resistance was quickly suppressed. A few luxuriously dressed corpses fell by the roadside and the doorway of the courtyard, showing the mercilessness and cruelty of the slave soldiers.
Laurist rode with Ingelek to the small courtyard where his granddaughter lived. Along the way, the slave soldiers standing guard by the roadside all saluted Laurist, while the relatives of the slave hunters who were chased out of the houses stared at them with fear or hatred.
Laurist heaved a sigh of relief. He realized that these slave soldiers were very well-behaved and obedient. Although they killed a few people who resisted during the operation, nothing that he didn't want to see happened. No one insulted the women, and no one stole anything. Perhaps they knew that they wouldn't be able to keep anything if they took it and would instead be punished, so they stood guard by the roadside after chasing the people out of the houses, waiting for their next orders.
Ingelek's granddaughter was indeed very beautiful. She had fair skin and was quiet. She held a book in her hand, and stood outside the courtyard with a fifteen or sixteen-year-old maidservant with a frightened expression on her face. When she saw the old man, she threw herself at him and did not let go.
Laurist nodded at the slave soldiers who were saluting him, and looked at the old man's granddaughter. He pointed at the small courtyard and said to the old man, "Let's talk inside."
The small courtyard was not big, but it was very tidy. Laurist entered the room again and saw a half-written animal skin manuscript on the table. He picked it up and saw that the handwriting was neat and clean. However, the last word was messed up, and the strokes were very long. It was obvious that the slave soldiers had broken into the house and caused the writer to panic and mess up the handwriting.
"Are you copying a book?" Laurist asked the girl who was supporting the old man behind him. The girl nodded shyly.
"The handwriting is not bad," Laurist commented.
"Ingelek, it's time to take out your treasures," Laurist said.
The old man's face was ashen. He went into the room next door and brought out a small box and an animal skin book. He opened the small box, and inside was a dazzling golden light. It was filled with shiny gold coins.
"This, this is all of my savings over the years. One thousand four hundred and thirty-seven gold coins." The old man felt very pained.
Laurist picked up a gold coin. "Old man, do you know how much suffering, blood, and tears of slaves are on this gold coin you earned? This kind of money is unclean and ominous. If you spend this kind of money, you will suffer retribution. If it isn't on your head, it will be on your descendants. Let me take it and help you solve your problems. "
He took out a bag of money and threw it to the old man. "Although I only have a dozen or so gold coins in this bag, every one of them is clean. They don't have the smell of blood and resentment that your gold coins give off. You don't have to worry about spending it, and you can sleep peacefully when you put it under your pillow at night. You're lucky, I'll give you this bag of money. "
"As for this water element secret book …" Laurist flipped through the animal skin book and threw it to the girl beside him. "Let your granddaughter be responsible for making another copy. The original book will still belong to you. You and your granddaughter will stay here for the next two days. Here, this maid can stay with you. Wait for your punishment. If you need anything, just tell the guards outside the door. Understood? "
The old man hurriedly bowed. "Sir, thank you. I will listen to your instructions."
Laurist carried the small box filled with gold coins and left.
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