Chapter 35: We Have Loot!

“Milord! We have awaited your arrival!” Jadenbale saluted. His words and beaming expression contradicted his surroundings, as rows of injured soldiers lay on the ground. Despite that, they wore cheery expressions.

Eli was horrified at the sight. It reminded her of a field hospital in a warzone. Soldiers were bandaged from head to toe. The smell of blood filled the air.

“What happened?” Eli hopped from the carriage, but the count held her back for showing unladylike behavior.

“We have completed your mission! We raided the bandit hideout and rescued 30 civilians, four mages, and three crates filled with gold, weapons, and armor.”

“You do not look like a soldier who has won.” The count frowned.

“Um… There were over 100 bandits in the hideout. It was a hard fight. We lost five knights and 20 were wounded, sir.”

“One hundred? Are you sure you didn’t overexaggerate? I hadn’t heard of a bandit group that large. Coupled with over 30 from when they tried to assault John, that means their population was 130. That rivaled a small village. Are you sure you got the right target?” Count Shadowstep probed him. He didn’t think Jadenbale was the type to exaggerate things, but he could never be too careful.

“No, sir. We didn’t lie, sir! We have their heads as proof in a carriage. They masqueraded as innocent villagers inside Duke Luca’s territory, but inside one of their houses, we found the prisoners—citizens captured from other provinces! Their testimony shall be the proof.”

“You barely had 30 knights! You were outnumbered three to one! Why didn’t you retreat?” Eli scowled at the knights’ recklessness.

“We are knights of Shadowstep! We do not flee from monsters!”

“...hah… Do you need any help?” Eli sighed. She wanted to change their doctrine. Life was important. But she also knew the value of discipline. As a child soldier, she was impressed that these knights followed the creed to the letter. It was hard not to flee when outnumbered. Her battles in Afghanistan were proof. Despite the captains yelling at the soldiers to stand their ground, most fled at the first sight of artillery fire.

“Yes! Many of us have suffered bone fractures and lacerations. If you could help us, that would be wonderful, Lady Elidranthia.”

“Alright, leave them to me!” Eli puffed out her chest.

“Anything I can do?” Seeing her mistress had found herself some work, Alicia couldn’t help but want to chip in. Jadenbale motioned her toward the water fountain, which had almost dried up.

“Continue your report, knight,” Count Shadowstep said as the girls went to tend the wounded knights. “And call the civilians here.”

“Yes, sir.” Jadenbale motioned his friend to call the others and continued his report. “Of the thirty people we rescued, four were mages. We also obtained 100 gold coins, 25 silvers, and 45 bronze coins’ worth of money. There is enough armor and weapons to arm about ten people among the loot. We also brought some other loot, such as pottery, furniture, and paintings”

“... They are really rich, coming from bandits…” Count Shadowstep couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Through their accounting notebooks—”

“Huh? Accounting notebooks? Are you saying they have a village chief too? Maybe a noble like counts!?” Count Shadowstep cut him off and laughed. Eli overheard his joke and thought he was brash, but the soldiers and Rodrigue laughed with him. Jadenbale even smirked with him.

“The leader, Agragias, called himself the Bandit King, Milord,” Jadenbale added with a grin, and the whole audience laughed their asses off.

“Bwahahaha! Look! He outranked me! We just raided a bandit country! They had accountants, kings, and even court mages.” The count laughed.

“I shall continue, Milord. They had an income averaging 100 gold coins per month. Inside their village… I mean, bandit hideout. I apologize, it looked like a village from outside. We also acquired fifteen carriages. The civilians we rescued helped us drive them here.

“From their trading logs, we found out they have been trading with some merchants from Duke Luca’s territory, and they also sell slaves through the Western Front. The slave trader went by the alias Abinukh, but the locations of the trade kept changing.”

“We shall inform Duke Bron about this. The information might be useless, but it is information nevertheless. Ah, you are here. Are you the prisoners?”

“Yes, Milord. You have our eternal gratitude for saving us. We thought we would be slaves in the western region. Will you let us go home? The knights have been holding us here for no reason. I must apologize, but I have my family back home, and we need to get back before summer sowing. The mages have missed three appointments. Without them, there might be a drought in our village, Milord.”

“Yes, of course. Rodrique, note their names and send them on the next stagecoaches you find. Before that, could you give us your testimony?” Count Shadowstep led them toward the inn they had turned into an impromptu headquarters.

“Um… Milord? May I speak?” One of the mages knelt before the count before he went inside. His face was hopeful.

“You would normally not, but I am in a jovial mood today. I have won my case in the Justiciar. So yes, you may.” The mage beamed even more when he heard the news.

“Milord, the soldiers here have talked about how you fought for your subjects, freeing one of your loyal knights from becoming essentially a debt slave. I, and my friends here, have worked for Duke Luca for 5 years. Despite only having a principal of a mere 5 gold coins, I have now accrued a debt of over 1500 gold coins. If possible, Milord, could we move into your territory? I heard you only need to pay 2 times the principal in your lands. We are level 3 mages; we could pay that amount in two years at most, Milord.”

“I will think about it. I need to spend 150 gold coins to hold a trial. If you wish to sign a debt of 150 gold coins, then I will think about it.”

The mages’ mood plummeted. They left the building with hunched backs, like those salarymen who had just lost their jobs. For them, it was no different: working as a slave for the bandits or working as a mage for Duke Luca—there was no chance of freedom.

“So, could you tell us your story?” Count Shadowstep faced the leader of the refugees. “Where do you all come from?”

“Yes. I come from a merchant family from Luca Dukedom. Most here came from Luca Dukedom, but there are several that hailed from Bron Dukedom, and even Slane Dukedom”

“I see. So Duke Luca was also hit by the bandits, huh?” Count Shadowstep sighed. With this, there was no proof that the bandit group belonged to Duke Luca. At most, he might have commissioned them to do his dirty work.

“Yes. The Agragias group is based in Duke Luca’s territory. They often raid merchants traveling to and from his lands. Um… Milord. You had won a case in Justiciar, right? The truth is, three other merchants and I would like to move out of his territory and into yours. Duke Luca was a merchant, so we understand he valued profit. But the debt was crushing. Some of our debt was illegal, but since it was within his territory, no one supported us. If you can free us from the debt, we can be your exclusive merchants.”

“I can’t help you with that. I am a count, but the opponent is a duke, you know. And Shadowstep County has no need for exclusive merchants. Our county prides itself on being a bastion against monsters. We do not need greedy merchants in our midst.” Count Shadowstep snorted.

He was lying. He would love to have exclusive merchants, but he didn’t trust them. There was nothing more harmful to his reputation than untrustworthy merchants. They would brandish their exclusivity and leave once they realized Shadowstep was not profitable to them.

Shadowstep had no special products. Monsters did not drop items or loot, only small mana stones, which worked far worse than rechargeable arcane stones.

The count could provide nothing of value to them except crops. Even that was uncertain. Monsters could run loose from the wall and destroy it. That’s why Count Shadowstep didn’t want merchants coming to his county. Moreover, these merchants brought baggage with them. He would make enemies with Duke Luca. Despite the bad blood with him, Duke Luca was the richest man in the kingdom, If they started embargoing him, The supply lines for his knights might get impeded.

“I see…”

“Thank you for your testimony. I shall arrange for stagecoaches sometime this week. In the meantime, you can enjoy the sight.” Count Shadowstep was about to leave before Eli barged in.

“Father! I heard from the three mages and the freed merchants that you refused them asylum! Is that true?” Eli couldn’t comprehend why the count refused them. This is a perfect moment. With exclusive merchants, they would have access to amenities to attract engineers or traders, or even mages.

“Elidranthia. We just survived a trial. Are you sure you want to blow this conflict into a full-scale war with Duke Luca?”

“But we have won the trial, right? Duke Slane, Duke Bron and even the crown sided with us. There is no way Duke Luca would make enemies with them all.”

“Yes, milord. It would not be wise for you to act meek. As the saying goes, give them an inch and they shall take a mile. You already made enemies with Duke Luca once, so why bother sparing him three mages and five civilians?” The merchant said.

Seeing how gullible Eli was, the merchant hopped to her argument. The Count fell into deep thought. Eli was right. Count Shadowstep had already picked a fight with Duke Luca with Alicia’s case. Why should he give three mages (albeit low-leveled) to him?

Then there was the case of him winning the trial. Couldn’t he have used the fact that both the crown, Duke Slane, and Duke Bron sided with him to push it into official law? The usury that Duke Luca had done brought suffering to the citizens. These three low-leveled mages could be permanently given to Duke Slane to curry his favor.

Then he could use the merchant to bring military supplies and nothing else.

“I shall make no promises, but those who wish to stay shall do so, for the moment. I shall send my words to Duke Slane and Duke Bron. If they agree, you may stay. If not, then there is nothing I can do to help you.”

“Yes, Milord! We thank you!” Finally seeing hope, the merchant leader beamed.

“You may go. I shall return to my mansion.”

“Of course.” The merchant came out as if they had won the lottery of their life. They shared the story with their comrades, and they all knelt to the ground, praising the goddess, thanking her for giving them a second chance.

“Ah, but I haven’t finished treating the knights.” Eli said,She came her just to argue. she didn’t expect the count to suddenly asked the entire group to return to the territory.

“Are there any life-threatening injuries?” Count Shadowstep eyed her.

“No. The remaining injuries were bruises and bone fractures.”

“Then do it in our barracks. It is just a couple of days’ walk. We have carriages to carry them. It is for their own good as well. If we stay in this village for too long, we would trouble the villagers. They do not have an unlimited food supply.”

“... I see. Alright.” Eli frowned. From her experience, injuries should be treated as soon as possible. Even bruises and bone fractures could become fatal if not treated. But what her father said had some truth—these soldiers needed rest, and lying on the ground certainly wouldn’t cut it.

So she reluctantly followed her father with the rest of the knights to their home.