"I'll confer you the title of sergeant." Laing placed the Goddess of Vengeance on Bertrand's shoulder. The pale blue light illuminated the room, and the white purifying fire burned continuously. "The Bergerac Bandits have proven that they don't like to kill. You only take half of the money or goods of the passersby. That's the reason why I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. I hope you and your brothers will take care of themselves."
"Yes!" Bertrand kowtowed with tears in his eyes. Who would want to be a bandit if they could be an honorable sergeant?
Laing waved his hand, and a Paladin servant returned Bertrand's weapons to him.
Bertrand's weapons were a sword and a longbow. Among them, his quiver was very special. This quiver was made of a kind of black scaled leather. Among the many arrows, there was a black arrow that was particularly eye-catching.
"What's this?" Laing focused on the black arrow.
"This is a Dragon's Heart Arrow, my Earl." Bertrand immediately explained to Laing, "I killed a small Lesser Dragon and used its skin to make my quiver, its tendons to make my longbow, and its bones to make three arrows. I used one to kill the Orcs and one to fight the Green Skin Tribe. Now, this is the only one left."
Laing was surprised. He turned around and asked, "Wait, you're a Legendary master?"
"A Legendary hunter, my Earl." Bertrand lowered his head.
"No wonder, no wonder you were in such a hurry to surrender. No wonder you never dared to cause trouble for my people in Chalon Forest. You've been planning to serve me for a long time. You were just looking for an opportunity." Leon said in a low voice.
"If there's a choice, who would want to be a bandit? My Earl, I didn't rely on my family name, my God, my adventures, or my weapons. I've always relied on my own two hands to reach this point. But I know that this is the limit. My brothers and sisters can't follow me in the forest forever. The forest is full of danger. We are young and strong now, so we can persevere. But what about ten years later? What about twenty years? We need a way out. "
"Very few people can think about their own future while being a bandit, so that's why I met you." Laing nodded. It was right for people to have needs. There were only two kinds of people who didn't have needs. One was a fool, and the other was an ambitious schemer.
Laing didn't need either of them.
"I will send people to select your brothers. Those who meet the requirements can choose to join the infantry or become serfs. Those who don't meet the requirements can choose to farm. Women can work in the textile workshop on the Sinon River. Orphans can be sent to the church of the Goddess of Mercy to be raised." Laing ordered, "As for you, Bertrand, I plan to expand a company of archers. You can be a company commander. You will receive the same treatment as a sergeant!"
"Yes!"
The surrender of more than a dozen bandit groups brought Lionheart more than 4,000 people. Lionheart sorted out these bandits and dealt with them.
For bandits like the Bergerac Bandits who hadn't committed any major crimes, Leon signed an order to stop them from committing any crimes. Among them, Bertrand, Hugo, and Petty were also conferred the title of sergeants.
For those who didn't want to continue fighting, there was a large number of fields for them to farm.
As for the bandits who had committed crimes such as murdering their compatriots and merchants, Leon sent them to the mines after verifying the facts. These bandits would have to work as miners for six to five years to atone for their sins. The count would provide them with lodging and food as well as a wage of five to eight coppers a day, which equated to around two to three crowns a year.
After everything was settled, the wheel of time began to turn slowly.
Autumn was here, and the season of harvest was here. The ninth month brought autumn. It came on a foggy dawn and disappeared in the hot afternoon. It tiptoed over the treetops and dyed a few leaves red before leaving the valley.
The whole of Glamorgan was in a joyous mood. The southern part of Brittany had a good harvest this year, but the northern part of the kingdom had a poor harvest due to the prolonged rainy season. The kingdom's finances were under great pressure.
However, whether Brittany had a good harvest or not had nothing to do with Muxilon's vampires.
Within Muxilon's castle, Lich King Akerhan recalled the tall human he met in Chalon Forest. He still felt a lingering fear. The lich king had lived for thousands of years, but he had never seen such a terrifying existence.
In the cold and damp castle of Merovin, eleven Grail Knights stood in the main hall. Their eyes were lifeless, and they seemed to have lost all signs of life. They were like corpses in deep sleep.
Akerhan was in deep thought, the green flames in his eyes flickering.
The lich king had received news that the new Count of Glamorgan, Laing Macado, was about to get engaged. The ceremony was simple, with only a few close friends attending.
Akerhan had already given up on the idea of causing trouble. Ever since he saw those terrifying existences in Chalon Forest, he swore that he would never set foot in Laing's territory again.
It was too terrifying.
"Damned Laing Macado, I curse you! You will never have children, you will never be able to face the moonlight. Every night, you will suffer the pain of ten thousand worms gnawing at your heart! " The lich king released a vicious curse, then gave up on his plan to ruin Laing's engagement ceremony.
Man Frey clutched his chest. The vampire count had spent months recovering from the terrible injuries Laing had inflicted on him. Even so, he still mocked Akerhan, "Master's most loyal servant, Muxilon's army has lost more than seventy percent. There are less than thirty Blood Knights left out of a hundred. Morgiana is currently missing. Your plan has completely failed. Do you really want to revive Master? Why do I feel like you're moving in the opposite direction? "
"Shut up! Man Frey! "Akerhan said calmly," I think I've met an extremely terrifying existence. "
"Extremely terrifying? Is it Charlemagne who became a god? Or did you see the true body of the bitch in the lake? That bitch is willing to descend in her true body? Or is this just an excuse for your defeat? Just like you've always been? " Man Frey was still mocking Akerhan, as if this was the only way he could cover up his shameful failure.
"Just like how you couldn't stop Laing and his companions despite leading dozens of Blood Knights. Not only did you let them escape, you were also heavily injured?" Akerhan mocked mercilessly.
Man Frey was also angry. Both Akerhan and Man Frey stopped their mocking at almost the same time.
The cold and damp Merovin Castle fell into silence once more. Only groups of undead moved slowly.
Seeing Akerhan's silence, Man Frey spoke up first, "So … Master's most loyal servant, what do you plan to do next? The Red Duke is dead. We've tried to revive him three times but failed. He's really dead. "
"… We should change our plans. Man Frey, the Lake Goddess Witch's whereabouts are unknown. Our current strength isn't enough to capture her and sacrifice her." Akerhan shook his head, "We need to change our plans."
Man Frey laughed mockingly. The vampire count didn't object, only indicating that he was listening.
"I'll go look for the Grand Necromancer, Heinrich Kaimler. You go to the Skaven Magic City in the south and find a way to get the Sword of Nagash from the Skaven Magic Rat's collection. Let's split up, "Akerhan said to Man Frey," There's no need to stay in Mu Xilon. It's just a waste of time. "
"…" Man Frey was silent for a long time before finally nodding.
He didn't want to waste any more time here.
* Pa! * A gust of wind blew outside the castle. Man Frey hesitated for a moment, as if he was calculating something, "Then … What about Mu Xilon?"
"Leave it all to Matthew Bard." Akerhan's face was expressionless, or rather, it was that skeletal face of his.
"A kid in his twenties? What can he do? "
"A kid in his twenties can injure you and force you to rest for three months. Man Frey, don't question my decision," Akerhan repeated patiently.
The Lich King must have done something to Matthew Bard. Many malicious thoughts flashed through Man Frey's mind. He would find a way to find out Matthew Bard's secret and take it for himself.
But now wasn't the time.
… …
In the autumn night, heavy rain poured down. Lightning rumbled in the sky, tearing open the deep night sky.
The heavy rain beat against the windows constantly, making people feel irritated. Under heavy rain, the room would be hot and stuffy, so the people in the room turned on the air conditioner.
Gusts of cool wind blew out from the air conditioner, driving away the stuffy environment.
"Thank you, Count. I feel much better." The Royal Knight Armand sighed. He felt much better. "Things went smoothly. Count, you didn't go to the scene. I really have to praise our trading partners. Although the wood elves were few in number, they were much better than our soldiers in terms of individual strength."
"I won't go out personally every time. It's a good start that you can solve your problems on your own." Laing nodded.
Yes, Laing's territory had once again welcomed a great harvest this year under the influence of the Lake Fairy's tower. As long as the serfs worked hard, they could harvest more food than in previous years. Due to the change of seven out of ten taxes to fixed taxes, the hardworking serfs lived better lives than in previous years.
However, not every serf benefited, and the sluggards suffered.
Some serfs were unwilling to work hard, but they were unwilling to join the Count's infantry regiment and receive tough training. They complained that their lord was a greedy vampire who was jealous of the other serfs' good harvest.
They started to cause trouble. Because their income had decreased, under the instigation of certain forces, many serfs tried to attack the granaries and steal their neighbors' food. Some even tried to attack the shops and the Royal Knight's house.
At first, Ryan issued a strict order to prohibit this behavior, but this kind of thing happened in an endless stream. Then, under the guidance of some people with ulterior motives, a rebellion occurred. More than two hundred serfs gathered under the call of several "travelers" and started a rebellion.
However, Laing was already prepared.
The Royal Knights Armand and Olivier led six hundred soldiers and a small number of wood elves to participate in this conflict. As for this war, Laing only had a few words to instruct Armand.
"Do not surrender."
Thus, after a small skirmish, the Earl's army wiped out more than two hundred rebellious serfs. Their blood dyed the river red. Facing a regular army of more than twenty knights, the rebellious serfs were doomed to be unable to win. After a single charge, the conflict was over, and the only thing left was a massacre.
No matter how the rebellious serfs begged, Armand refused to accept their surrender. The Count's flag bearer ordered all the rebellious serfs to be beheaded in public. The riot in the territory finally quieted down completely. No serfs dared to complain or make trouble anymore.
"Did you find out who planned those travelers who called on the serfs to cause trouble?" Laing looked at the heavy rain outside. There was only ruthlessness in the Count's eyes. "We found out.
We caught two 'travelers'. Through Miss Olica's various interrogation methods and Miss Teresa's magic, we found out that these two travelers received a commission from a noble from Bereon. They snuck into the territory and spread all kinds of rumors to incite the serfs to rebel against the Count. "Armand frowned:" They are already under our control. Count, what do you plan to do next? "
"…" Laing frowned. After thinking for a long time, he shook his head: "For the time being, let's not do anything. More than two hundred heads are enough. If Lord Theodoric is a smart man, he will know what to do. Since he dared to do this, then my dear Duke must have arranged a way out. Catching two people doesn't mean anything."
"Yes!" Armand retreated, leaving Laing alone in front of the window.
The rain was still falling.
"What an unlikeable neighbor. He didn't even chase out the southerners in his own territory, and now he has his eyes on mine." Laing sneered a few times, but then he shook his head. It was just that this level of words was not enough for him to fall out with Theodoric. Small actions between nobles were just small actions. Making a scene in public was like a child asking for candy. It was immature.
On the contrary, Theodoric's actions were a little impatient. This allowed Laing to eliminate the restless elements in his territory, so Laing felt that this should be a test.
"Laing, my champion ~" At this time, a gentle voice sounded in his mind.
"My lady?" Laing said in surprise.
"Come, come to my tower ~" The beautiful voice of the goddess in the lake was filled with tiredness: "I have something to tell you …"
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