Chapter 211
What were they supposed to say?
It was a fascinating but inexplicable scene.
The moon shone brightly on one side of the horizon while the sun was shining on the other. It was the perfect dawn.
The blood of a headless corpse drenched the young man holding a spear, but the young man seemed unperturbed as he wordlessly stared at the horizon.
Joshua Sanders.
He was a monster who was once a Rising Star but had now taken Igrant by storm.
At last, the monster’s mouth opened.
“Cain,” muttered Joshua.
“Yes, yes! I’m here, master!” Cain jumped to attention.
“What happened to Gehog don Crombell?”
“Ah, I took him out of the dungeon and tied him to the wall as you ordered.”
“...” Joshua wordlessly stared at Marquis Crombell.
Marquis Crombell’s ears perked up when he heard his son’s name, but he shivered violently upon being subjected to Joshua’s gaze.
“What do you want us to do?”
“What do you mean…”
“You and your son insulted my friend, Charles di Pontier, daughter of His Grace Pontier. You also attacked the pride of my subordinates.”
“That’s…”
“How about we cut his limbs off and feed him to the orcs? Your son wanted to do that to my subordinates, so it should only be fair for him to receive the treatment he wanted to do to my subordinates if we lost this war, right?”
“...!” The way Joshua casually spoke of such a terrifying idea made Marquis Crombell quiver violently. He had to take in a few deep breaths before he could compose himself.
“How about you join your son?”
“That’s… that’s a great idea…”
“Lay down your arms and surrender,” said Joshua.
Marquis Crombell’s expression distorted at that as he retorted. “T-the Mercenary King is dead, but I still have my troops!”
“Do you really believe that?” Joshua pointed his spear at Marquis Crombell.
“Eeek!” Marquis Crombell scrambled to hide behind his knights, who nervously raised their weapons in response to the terrifying spear being pointed at them. Of course, they were inwardly cursing their liege’s stupidity.
“You should know more than anyone else that there is no way for you to win this war anymore. Abandon your great pride and take pity on the knights who must abide by your foolish orders.”
Marquis Crombell’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over him. It was all because Joshua sounded like he truly cared about them, the aggressors, rather than hating them.
“It has nothing to do with you!” Marquis Crombell screamed in fury.
When his words fell, Joshua quickly made a move. The vicinity was once again enveloped in a white mist, sending troops of the Marquis into a panic.
“I-It’s the lone reaper…!”
“Eeek!”
The knights started berating the common soldiers.
“What are you doing?! Pick your weapons up!”
“Those who dare to run out of cowardice will be court-martialed!”
However, even the knights themselves couldn’t stop trembling.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“Oh?” Marquis Crombell peered at Joshua through his protective wall of knights.
“You’ll find my terms quite acceptable,” added Joshua.
“Ah… Ahem… I suppose I’ll listen.” Marquis Crombell was no fool, and it was through his wits that he earned the moniker ‘noble fox’.
Joshua nodded and said, “I'll keep your honor safe.”
“My… honor?”
“The nobility and, of course, the Imperial family have eyes and ears everywhere.”
“I know…”
“There’s the possibility that everyone already knows that we have your son hostage.”
“So…” Marquis Crombell had a decent head between his shoulders, so he quickly understood what Joshua was trying to say.
Of course, Joshua still decided to explain, “If you had to stop the war in exchange for your son’s life, won’t you be known as the greatest father out there, thus saving your face?”
“What can they say against you if that’s what you want to tell them?”
“They’ll still mock my family.”
“It’s better than dying.”
“What…?” Marquis Crombell frowned.
Joshua frowned as well and said, “I can send your head flying with a flick of my wrist. Do you want to test me?”
“What are you saying, you madma—” Marquis Crombell was about to curse, but he caught his words in his throat. He recalled that Joshua was capable of it. Even the great Mercenary King lost his head without landing a proper blow on Joshua.
“Are you going to accept the deal?”
“Aaargh!” Marquis Crombell agonized about it for a while, but he couldn’t come up with a better idea no matter how much he thought about it. In addition, he feared that if he refused the deal, his head would immediately go flying.
In the end, Marquis Crombell resigned to his fate as he asked, “What do you want?”
Joshua smiled softly. “I need a lot of money, but first of all, I want you to compensate the Pontier Family. I want you to restore their holdings to their prewar state as well.”
“O-okay…” Marquis Crombell stuttered. He knew that Joshua would demand something like that. Right now, he had no other choice but to accept the offer, but once the crisis was over…
Marquis Crombell nodded and hid his malicious thoughts.
“I also want you to reveal the traitors in the Pontier Family.”
“I can’t do that…”
“Then, abandon your spies. The Pontier Family should be able to take care of them on their own.”
“I-I understand,” said Marquis Crombell. However, he was sure that he definitely looked unhappy right now, so he bowed slightly to hide his displeased expression as he demanded. “Now, return my son to me. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“What?”
“That’s just putting things back to where they were before. This is where the real talk begins.”
Marquis Crombell’s cheeks started trembling.
“It is a constant law to pay the price for harming someone. And I’m sure that a businessman like you knows how to speak numbers, am I right?”
“Well, how much do you want?” Marquis Crombell, a man driven by gold through and through, momentarily forgot his fear and pressed Joshua for details.
“Not much.” Joshua waved his hand dismissively. “Only a hundred million gold.”
“...?” Marquis Crombell stared blankly at Joshua, wondering if his ears were malfunctioning.
“You can pay in installments; the interest will be low.”
‘This madman…!’ Marquis Crombell’s face reddened. It seemed that Joshua was adamant about taking everything from him aside from his life. ‘A hundred million gold? Does he want my entire family to slave away for him until we die?!’
‘Once this is all over, I’m definitely going to slap this madman!’
“I understand,” said Marquis Crombell.
“Really?” Joshua tilted his head.
“One million gold per year. The hundred million will be paid… in a hundred years.”
Joshua nodded along. He didn’t seem to take offense at Marquis Crombell’s disingenuous tone as he said, “Then, I want you to take a noble’s oath using the name of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“You… I’m sure you just want to humiliate me, you madma—” Marquis Crombell was about to rebel, but he quickly pulled back as he screamed ‘crap!’ inwardly.
Marquis Crombell bit his lips so hard that they started bleeding as he squeezed each word out of his throat.
“I, Gehor don Crombell, 17th Head of the Crombell Family, solemnly swear upon the name of His Majesty, Marcus ben Britten, to abide by the terms of our deal.”
“Great!” Joshua started walking away, but as if he remembered something important, he turned around and exclaimed, “Oh! It seemed that I forgot to tell you this, but…”
“What is it?” asked Marquis Crombell. He was just about to give the order to withdraw, but Joshua interrupted him.
“Our entire conversation just now was being transmitted live to the Imperial Family.”
“What?!” Marquis Crombell’s eyes widened at the sight of the crystal ball Joshua was holding in his hand. The bright, swirling orb in Joshua’s hand was an item that Marquis Crombell couldn’t possibly forget.
Therefore, he knew that it was a communication crystal ball reserved for meetings between the great nobility. The Five Dukes and the Twelve Families only had one each.
“How…”
Marquis Crombell fell to his knees and groaned.
The great Marquis Crombell of the Twelve Families was unbelievably kneeling on the ground in defeat.
***
When all their work was done, morning had long since gone.
The sun was already setting. The Pontier Family and its troops set their tiredness aside and gathered at the gates, waiting for Joshua. He came along with Akshuller and Iceline, who were outsiders like the Lion King.
Upon arriving at the throng, he dismissed the crowd by saying, “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
- Hey, Master.
- I have something good to tell you, so stop walking.
Joshua ignored Lugia and kept walking. He still had much to do. Even a so-called monster like him had to rest.
‘I have to sleep.’
- You’ll definitely regret not hearing this.
‘Say it while I still have the energy to listen.’
- Why don’t you just turn around and go back the way you came?
“What?” Joshua frowned.
“Master, are you hurt?” asked Cain with worried eyes.
“No…” Joshua shook his head lightly and started walking even faster.
- The guy you fought seemed pretty tough by human standards, didn’t he? I have a lot of power, so are you interested in another subordinate?
‘...!’?When he heard Lugia’s proposal, Joshua had no choice but to stop moving.
‘Are you talking about—no way…’?
- Why would I lie?
When Lugia said that, it was weird, but Joshua felt like he could see Lugia standing in front of him with an obnoxious, smug smile.
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