Blood flowed freely in the side hall, and the smell of blood was nauseating. Dozens of naked meat worms had already become pale corpses.
Laurist sighed and patted Josk's shoulder, allowing the red-eyed sharpshooter to regain his senses. Laurist's attack just now was aimed at the men, but Josk's eyes were bloodshot. He killed everyone regardless of gender. By the time Laurist realized it, all the men and women in the side hall had been killed by Josk.
Laurist exuded a murderous aura as he walked out of the side hall and strolled around the newly built Duke's Mansion. Not long after, Terman came to report that the Duke's Mansion was under his control. All the servants, maids, guards and attendants who had surrendered, the butler, and the members of the Cobilis Family had been imprisoned and were being watched.
"Have Yuri send a light cavalry scout team to guard the four gates. Gather the other team and wait for orders. He ordered Mr. Tim to send four squads of soldiers to the four gates to assist in the defense, and then bring the rest of the soldiers here. Have Aire take two squads of guards to take over the defense of the duke's mansion. Then gather your squad of knights. There's still a lot to do, "Laurist ordered.
Terman hurriedly sent someone to deliver the order. Josk came to Laurist's side with an embarrassed expression. "Sorry, I was too impulsive just now …"
Laurist glanced at him. "Josk, don't forget that you're a sharpshooter. A good archer must always stay calm. Don't let your hatred blind your eyes. "
"I understand. I'll remember …" Josk nodded.
When Aire and his men arrived at the duke's mansion, Laurist had already learned the general situation of Gerdos City from the captive stewards. He first had Aire send a squad of guards to take over the defense of the duke's mansion. Then, he had Aire find a steward to lead another squad of guards to take over the various warehouses, granaries, and horse farms in Gerdos City. Then, Laurist took Josk and Terman's squad of knights to the military camp. He relieved a squad of guards and dozens of lancers, and then went to the labor camp where the slaves and hard laborers were.
For Laurist, the biggest problem he faced was the lack of manpower. For him, Gerdos was a hostile city. In order to build Gerdos City into his own base camp, Count Corbili had arranged more than twenty thousand family members of his Lancers and garrison soldiers to live in the two blocks. Although Laurist had occupied Gerdos City with a sneak attack, he was most worried that someone would find out and incite the twenty thousand residents in the two blocks to riot. If that happened, he would be in big trouble. Therefore, Laurist turned his attention to the more than ten thousand slaves who were building the business district of Gerdos City.
After dealing with a few dozen guards, Laurist successfully occupied the slave camp. Next, it was time for Mr. Tim's hundreds of soldiers to be put to use. They went over to chat with their families. Some were from the same feudal lord, some were from the same town, some were from the same village, and some were relatives. In an instant, more than two thousand slaves were brought over.
Terman chose a thousand or so slaves who looked rather strong and brought them directly to the armory that was already under control. Each of them was given a spear, and he got Aire to choose a few dozen veterans from the imperial guards, forming two platoons of pikemen with these pikemen. One platoon was sent to the city gate to replace the light cavalry scouts and Tim's soldiers with the big sacks, while the other platoon was arranged by Aire to increase the number of people guarding the various warehouses.
With two platoons of spearmen under his command, Laurist was finally relieved. However, he also knew that these two platoons of spearmen could only intimidate people. It was hard to say if they could fight in a real battle. But no matter what, with the addition of these slaves to guard the four city gates and the warehouses, Yuri's two light cavalry scout teams were freed up. Together with Terman's knight team, they formed a mobile suppressive force, so Laurist did not have to worry about the residents in the city rioting.
At present, the slave camp was guarded by Mr. Tim's 800 soldiers. There were also more than 1,000 slaves who were brought over. Under Mr. Tim's arrangement, they brought grain, pork, and mutton from the granary and began to cook porridge and meat in large pots. They were preparing to give the remaining 10,000 or so slaves in the slave camp a good meal. On the one hand, it was to make them behave, and on the other hand, it was to fill their stomachs.
Ell sent someone to report to him. After a rough inventory, he found that there were two platoons of lancers and a full set of equipment for more than one platoon of garrison soldiers in the warehouse. After asking the person who was originally in charge of the armory, he found out that these were all prepared by Count Corbili to expand his forces. Right now, Aire had already changed the slave squadron guarding the warehouse into a full set of garrison soldier's clothing and equipment. The guards in charge were also speeding up the process of understanding the slave soldiers under them, changing them into suitable weapons. Apart from the slaves who didn't know anything and only held spears, the rest were all set up according to the garrison soldier's division of arms into longbow soldiers and sword and shield soldiers.
Aire's purpose in sending people here was to get Laurist to provide him with manpower. He needed people who could do accounting and write to continue taking inventory of the warehouses. He also needed people to transport weapons and equipment to the slave company guarding the city gate. He also needed people to handle some logistics, such as making food for everyone to warm up their bodies and fill their stomachs. After working with Laurist for most of the night, everyone only ate some dry rations at night.
Laurist slapped his forehead in relief. He was so busy with the slave camp that he forgot that his subordinates also needed to be pacified and their morale raised. If not for Ayer's timely reminder, he might not have remembered it until dawn. For this, Laurist really admired Fatty Shi. He could manage every aspect of such a large convoy in an orderly manner, without the slightest oversight. Laurist couldn't do it. Although he had some grasp on the general strategic direction, he always made mistakes when it came to handling the small details. If he didn't forget something, he would make a mistake. He couldn't compare to Fatty Shi!
Laurist called Mr. Tim over and told him to pick a few dozen slaves who could write and count from the thousand or so slaves who could cook porridge and roast meat. He also picked three hundred slaves to be under El's command, and had Yuri send a small troop of light cavalry to escort them. The slaves who were chosen were very unhappy. They looked at the big pot of porridge and meat reluctantly.
Mr. Tim was so angry that he pushed and kicked them from behind. He shouted, "Hurry up and get out of here. I found you a good job, do you understand? You have to measure the porridge and meat here, but you can eat as much as you want over there, understand? If you understand, then hurry up and leave. "
Laurist couldn't help but laugh at Mr. Tim's performance. At this moment, Josk appeared out of nowhere. "Sir, come over here and take a look."
Josk brought Laurist to a corner of the slave camp. The walls here were more like a walled city, and the cells inside were much tighter than the wooden houses outside. Half of the cells were made of stone, and the other half were made of iron bars as thick as the mouth of a bowl.
"What is this place used for?" Laurist asked.
Josk replied, "Sir, this is the labor camp. It's mainly used to imprison slaves who have awakened impetus and their families. Most of these slaves are soldiers who were captured after losing the territorial war. Count Corbili imprisons them and their families here to force them to submit and work for him. The newly formed lancers under him are mostly made up of these slaves who have awakened impetus. As long as they agree to work for Count Corbili, their families can move to a new district and start a new life. They won't have to suffer here. "
"How do you know so much about this?" Laurist asked curiously.
"Sir, it's easy to ask. This is what the people in charge of watching over these slaves said." Josk pointed at a few people dressed as guards standing outside a stone house. These people were bowing and nodding as Mr. Tim's soldiers watched over them.
"How many people are imprisoned here?" Laurist asked as he walked over.
A fierce-looking man hurriedly bowed respectfully, then handed over a thick animal skin book with a flattering smile, "My Lord, there are a total of 734 hard labourers imprisoned here. Together with their families, there are 3,151 people, so there are 3,885 people in total."
"Why are there so many?" Laurist asked.
"Sir, this is already considered a small number. At most, there have been 2,000 slaves who have awakened impetus and 7,000 family members. The one who has been imprisoned here for the longest is almost a year. The shortest is just over a month. According to the rules, those who wish to serve the Count will have to serve here for three months. The Count said that if he doesn't let these fellows suffer, they won't give up and work for him, "the fierce-looking man said.
"Mm." Laurist rubbed his chin as he thought to himself, 'This Count Corbili is really good at reading people's minds. After three months of hardship in the labor camp, in order to prevent their loved ones from suffering, there's no other way but to serve Count Corbili. It's no wonder his army expanded so quickly.'
Josk, on the other hand, was interested in the slave who refused to submit after being imprisoned for a year. He took the book and flipped to the last page under the guard's guidance. After looking at the information, he suddenly understood. "So it's him. No wonder he refused to submit."
Laurist was also interested and stretched his head to take a look.
Josk introduced, "Sir, you have to meet this person. His name is Zino Freya. He's 31 years old, and he's a Gold-ranked mercenary. He's very famous in the northwest. It's said that his parents died when he was young, and he was adopted by a kind-hearted neighbor. He became a mercenary when he grew up and married the neighbor's blind daughter, giving birth to a pair of twins. According to the information, Count Corbili's lancers started pillaging the town. They went to his house and killed the neighbor's aunt. In the end, he killed more than twenty people. In the end, Count Corbili's two Gold-ranked bastards worked together to stop him. They captured his blind wife and twins and forced him to surrender. Count Corbili admires him and wanted him to serve him, but he never agreed. He's been imprisoned until now. "
"Alright, let's go meet this Freya. Take us there. Oh, right, what's your name? "Laurist asked the fierce-looking man.
"My name is Tagger, my lord," the fierce-looking man said.
Tagger complained as he led Laurist and Josk away, "My lord, this Freya is even more tyrannical than me, the warden of the camp. He's the real boss of the camp. An Iron-ranked like me doesn't dare to do anything to him. A few wardens who offended him were beaten up by him. The higher-ups don't care either, as long as he doesn't run. To be honest, if it weren't for his blind wife and his two twin sons, he would have long sought revenge on the Count. Unfortunately, the Count especially valued him. Why didn't he think about killing his adoptive mother, whom he regarded as his own mother, and still expect others to work for him? Isn't this impossible? "
"Oh, my lord, that's Freya's cell up ahead. Be careful, there's a hole in the road," Tagger eagerly led the way with a torch in his hand.
Amidst the flickering light, a tall man appeared in front of the cell door, staring at Lollister and the other two with vigilance.
"It's me, Freya. Long time no see, I'm Josk. We met two years ago at the tournament in Kexides, "Josk greeted Freya warmly.
"Josk?" Freya was stunned, "Divine Archer Josk? It's you … "
His expression changed and his tone turned gloomy, "You work for Count Corbili now?"
"Pfft! I want to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Why would I work for him? Dream on. " Josk's eyes turned red at the mention of Count Corbili. The blood feud he carried was his deepest obsession.
"Oh, then why are you here?" Freya looked at Josk strangely. A warden leading the way with a torch was not the treatment of a convict, and Josk didn't look like he was captured either.
"Open the door, Tagger," Laurist ordered.
Josk introduced, "Freya, this is the lord I serve now, Lord Norton Loriste of the Norton family in the north. He just led us to take over Gerdos. "
"The Norton family in the north? The Roaring Bears? I've heard of them when I went to the north a few years ago. They're very powerful in the north. But how did they get here? And even led you to take over Gerdos? "Freya was puzzled.
"Let me explain." Loriste stepped forward and bowed to Freya. Then, he told her how he was attacked by Earl Corbili's Lancers on his way to the north to inherit the territory, and how he had been attacked by Earl Corbili's Lancers. He also told her about the current situation of the battle and how he had conquered Gerdos City.
"That's the situation. Even though we've taken over Gerdos, we lack manpower. Josk brought us here when he saw your name on the galleys' roster. To be honest, I hope Mister Freya can lend me a hand, "Loriste said sincerely.
(I had a splitting headache yesterday. I smoked too much and couldn't focus on writing. Sorry for not updating.)
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