“The leader of the newly arrived expeditionary force is said to be a demon-like figure.”
“Keep your voice down. You’re too loud.”
Envoys came one after another from Johan’s camp surrounding the castle. They were not envoys sent by the Count. They were envoys quietly sent by families who had to pay ransom.
Their faces were full of tension. Of course. The reason they came here was not simply to negotiate the ransom.
The entire island was simmering because of the newly arrived expeditionary force. Some families were already scratching their heads wondering what to do.
The purpose of this delegation of envoys was to judge what kind of person the commander of the newly arrived expeditionary force was, and to grasp how they would treat them in the future.
It was inevitable they would be nervous. Besides, various exaggerated rumors about Johan were circulating around.
Nobles who had participated in the battle and fled described Johan as a knight with light shining in his eyes and breathing fire like a demon from hell.
“Welcome.”
“???”
When Johan welcomed them with a soft voice, the envoys were taken aback for a moment, thinking ‘𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺?’
“The Count’s son?”
“No. . . they say it’s the Count himself. . .?”
Johan pretended not to hear the murmuring voices of the envoys.
Johan had prepared a banquet to entertain the envoys. It was common for nobles to hold banquets even in the midst of fighting, so it was nothing unusual.
However, the order of the banquet was completely different. Surprisingly, Johan had prepared the banquet hall to suit the customs of these pagan guests.
“!!!”
The envoys were truly surprised.
“The priests have all been removed, right?”
“Yes. Right now my men are annoying them.”
Johan ordered the mercenaries to remove the priests from this area because if the priests from the religious order saw this scene their hearts would stop. Right now the priests must be hearing the mercenaries’ confessions and praying for them.
The envoys sat down, stunned. Instead of alcohol, a refreshing drink made from fermented fruit was served, along with soups and fritters using fresh seafood caught nearby and spices.
Compared to the meat, cabbage and onion dishes they usually ate, the mercenary captains reached for the seafood. Although they were different races and backgrounds, they had one appetite in common.
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭.’
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦. . .’
Unlike the order’s envoys, the mercenary captains were not surprised that Johan would do anything in front of the pagans. Originally, mercenaries would work under pagans as long as they were paid money.
There were also mercenaries who went to work under the petty kingdoms of the eastern peninsula, and the truly fearless ones would even go as far as the Eastern Empire. They were not surprised by acting a little differently in front of their employer.
Johan nodded while eating a salad of cheese made from sheep’s milk mixed with olive oil. Johan opened his mouth in the Eastern language.
“The food of this land is truly abundant.”
“. . .!”
“You praise us too highly, Your Excelleny.”
The envoys were even more surprised to find out Johan could speak the Eastern language. It was so different from the rumors.
From the rumors alone, one would expect a tyrant who would make people crawl to the camp entrance on their knees, and cut off their heads or humiliate them for saying a single wrong word. . .
The figure Johan showed at this banquet was the very image of a young and wise monarch. If anything, the Count of Jekyllid whipping his subordinate nobles seemed more tyrannical.
Moreover, there were several vampire knights from the Mulc family by Johan’s side. Their presence made him even more trustworthy. To think such people were serving in the ranks.
Johan singled out and highly praised the names of each family whose envoys had come.
After half a day passed, the envoys were completely drunk on Johan.
“Although I raised an army because the Count of the Jekyllid family insulted my honor, I didn’t want to retaliate beyond reason. But the Count still refuses to come out from behind the castle walls.”
“It is truly regrettable, Your Excellency.”
“I clearly told him let’s decide this between the two of us in a duel, but the Count refused.”
The envoys nodded at Johan’s words. They had also heard about the pre-battle duel. About how Johan had properly slaughtered several knights. . .
“This whole situation was brought about by the Count himself.”
“I understand, Your Excellency. It’s as if God lent your hand to punish him.”
Some of the drunk envoys crossed the line with reckless remarks. Those who had tried relatively hard to restrain themselves were surprised. Even so, wasn’t that a bit too harsh?
“You were the envoy from the Dahya family, were you not? Your words are truly moving. I will remember your name.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency!”
Johan clearly rewarded him. With the unexpected flow of the atmosphere, the look in the others’ eyes also started to change.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
𝐚𝔴𝙚𝘣𝙨𝘵𝚘𝘳i̇̇𝘦ṡ.𝙘𝚘𝐦
“Talking is more tiring than fighting.”
“Well done. The envoys were quite confused.”
The banquet was a success. Most of the envoys had satisfied expressions as they left, while some had more complicated expressions. It was clear which side they would take based on the atmosphere.
“Nobles are inherently greedy, so they’ll happily accept food placed in front of them. The ones who bow their knees and wag their tails are not an issue, but the ones still stubbornly tensing their necks are the problem.”
Not only the Count of Jekyllid, but several families still had their hackles raised. The Nusard brothers were like that, as were the vassal families of the other Count of Jekyllid.
They are so close to the count that they cannot rashly make the first move.
“Well, things turned out alright.”
“?”
Geoffrey was puzzled.
“If everyone bows their head, there’s no justification left to seize their fiefs. I was already planning to make them pay for secretly leaking information, but if they come out like this, it makes things easier for me too.”
Those inside the castle were still clearly lost in pipe dreams. Either enduring until Johan retreats, or forcing Johan to negotiate their safety.
However, Johan was determined to take Jekyllid Castle no matter what.
Ideally he wanted to gain a few more places if possible, but held back due to lack of justification. But if those families come out like that. . .
He had shaken the carrot sufficiently. Now was the time to crack the whip.
“Your Excellency! All preparations are complete!”
The dwarves came running with excited voices. Their eyes shone brightly with ambition.
“Good. They will not even accept envoys now. Commence the attack!”
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