𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝 (6)
Peasants and serfs had illusions about the nobility.
Blue-blooded noblemen!
Even if hundreds of serfs gathered together, they would bow their heads and kneel when a nobleman passed by. It was because of the deeply ingrained notion.
Nobles are different at the root, nobles are noble, the touch of a noble heals wounds. . .
The nobles themselves did not bother to correct these prejudices. Rather, they exaggerated them. The unique accent, behavior, complex rituals and customs used only by nobles made them even more special.
However, even if all the people in the world believed in such things, Johan did not fall for it. All the things that the nobles claimed were nothing more than superstition or baseless nonsense to Johan.
‘𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴.’
Even a noble could be quite ugly if cornered. Like the Baron Monrado in front of him now.
“Get up. Baron.”
“Uh-huh. . . uh-huh! Count Yeats, thank you so much for coming!”
Baron Monrado kissed Johan’s ankle and held his hand. The vassals of Johan, who were watching behind him, smiled with satisfaction.
If the lord was too competent, the vassals would find it hard to breathe, but they shouldn’t be too incompetent either. Especially on such an expedition.
Baron Monrado’s attitude confirmed and revealed Johan’s strength. The vassals, who confirmed that their lord was strong, felt fulfilled.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
𝚊𝐰ᴇḃ̇𝔰𝐭𝐨𝐫𝔦𝕖s.ᴄȯ̇𝕞
Johan met the baron outside the castle instead of going inside. It was better for the other party to feel a little pressure if he wanted to have a comfortable conversation.
And the baron’s small wooden castle was difficult for all the vassals present to enter.
“Geoffrey. Talk to the chief merchants from the Katana Merchant Guild and let them release some food to the surrounding serfs.”
“Yes, master.”
Johan ordered his slaves to release some extra food. After all, the supplies were still plentiful, and most importantly, that was the property of the chief merchants.
The loss would be seen by the chief merchants and the praise would be heard by Johan.
The merchants would be a little aggrieved, but they could not refuse.
They were already earning a huge profit just by following the army behind the scenes. The chief merchants of the army had such good profits that there was a saying that “you can become rich if you go on a campaign once.” It was better than refusing the lord’s request and being expelled.
“So, Baron. . . the situation around here is not very good, is it?”
“It is all my fault for being foolish and serving a lord like Marquis Crucho.”
Baron Monrado was desperate to get into Johan’s eyes. He was a canine beastman who wagged his tail and kept talking.
The relationship between a lord and a vassal was not one of absolute loyalty, but more like a contractual relationship based on mutual need.
From the baron’s perspective, the marquis was in the wrong first by not providing the promised support when his fiefdom was burning.
Of course, it was rare for a baron to actively take the opposite side like this. After all, if the lord is not a fool, he will not retaliate.
Monrado, the baron, had put his life and title on the line. It was clear that he was desperate and impatient.
“I understand. So, what about the pirates that were discovered? What is the situation around them?”
Johan listened to the baron’s flattery with half an ear and focused on assessing the situation. The scale of the pirates was larger than he had thought. If you add up all the pirates who landed, it seemed like there were thousands of them.
Even though they were not well-trained heavy cavalry or elite soldiers, numbers were power. In addition, the pirates who had been divided into groups of dozens or hundreds of people were now slowly running out of things to plunder and were gathering together to target a larger goal.
“They are targeting nobles?”
“Yes.”
It was much more profitable to kidnap a decent noble and demand a ransom than to plunder a few villages. It would just be difficult to catch that noble.
Nobles are usually found inside castles with their soldiers.
However, that was not a problem for the pirates, whose momentum was rising. Attacks on castles where nobles resided occurred in various places. Most of them failed, but a few succeeded.
“Count! I am truly afraid. Those cruel and vile pirate b*stards might come and take me and my family away. . .”
“May I say something?”
The captured pirate leader, Tamir, spoke up. The baron looked at him with great displeasure.
“Where is this pagan pirate trash talking? Prepare your words for the gallows.”
“Baron. It wouldn’t hurt to listen, would it?”
“Ah. . . Yes. . .”
“Tell me, Tamir.”
“I also heard rumors among other pirates. Their target is Marquis Crucho.”
“!”
“W-What. . . How can those b*stards capture Marquis Crucho?”
“How should I know? I am just telling you what I heard.”
The Emperor is currently staying mostly in the Empire, so Marquis Crucho is the de facto leader of the vassals in the southwest.
His castle is also large and sturdy, and even if he lost a lot of soldiers, he was not comparable to the vassals. He was not someone that pirates could easily take away.
However, Johan had a gut feeling that what he heard was true as soon as he heard it.
They were pirates who had already plundered as much as they could around them. The longer they stayed, the more dangerous it was. After all, it was a hostile place all around.
It took a tremendous amount of effort to even capture a small castle. It was better to aim for a big hit rather than wasting it that way. The ransom for the marquis was over a hundred times more if he was caught.
“Then, it is highly likely that the pirates who ran away after seeing my army joined them.”
They would have been scared to see an army of over a thousand people, so they would have gone to join a large force somehow.
“That’s good. Baron. We’ll see less pirates.”
“Th. . . That’s right.”
The baron was wondering whether he should believe the pagan’s words. If it were true, it would be good news, but if it were false. . .
“Baron, what is the marquis doing?”
“He is raising an army in his fiefdom, but will it be ready soon?”
The baron spoke with a voice filled with resentment. It was resentment for not receiving help.
‘𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘴.’