How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 327

𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐭 (4)

The mercenaries, their blood boiling, moved without listening to any explanations. A few unlucky nobles who were nearby ended up being captured. Just like the guards who had been defending the city gate, the nobles were equally perplexed.

“Since when did we ever capture duke. . .”

“Be quiet. Watch your tongue!”

“. . . . . .”

Normally, he would’ve shouted louder, but the captured nobles were overwhelmed by the mercenaries’ imposing presence. They kept their mouths shut tight, fearing that the mercenaries might start swinging their swords at them at any moment, regardless of the customs regarding prisoners of war.

While they were thus occupying various parts of the mansion and preparing to hold their ground, a message arrived from another unit outside.

“What’s going on? Tell them to come in quickly! If this keeps dragging on, all the glory will be ours!”

“His Highness the Duke has issued a recall order. He is currently by the shore outside the city gate, but. . .”

“. . .What nonsense is this? He doesn’t have wings.”

The mercenaries rejected the news as absurd. It was simply incomprehensible to them. How could he have gotten outside through all that chaos?

“Ah.”

One of the mercenaries suddenly realized what was going on when he saw the ships at the harbor starting to move. The bewildered mercenaries began to rumble.

“No way, did those city guys make a mistake? If they had explained properly, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“We definitely told you!”

The captured city nobles were hopping mad with indignation, but their words fell on deaf ears. As they were arguing, another messenger arrived.

“His Highness the Duke says that since you’ve already captured them, there’s no choice but to bring them out.”

“Alright. Let’s move, everyone.”

The mercenaries began to trudge off with heavy steps. They too had realized that they had made a mistake. Their steps were heavy because they didn’t know what kind of punishment they would receive.

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“What can we do since they’ve been captured?”

Johan accepted the reality and quickly compromised. The others nodded in agreement.

At this point, if they tried to tell the city people, ‘𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’, they wouldn’t believe it or listen.

“Bring out the captured nobles and use them as bargaining chips. There’s no other way at this point.”

Originally, he had intended to negotiate in a more cordial and polite manner, but that was out of the question now that he had captured the other party. In this situation, he had to act more arrogantly and forcefully.

“Your Highness! Isn’t this going too far? How can you ignore the customs and act like this, when you are someone who is known for your kindness and generosity?”

The words of the opposing city mercenary captain were all true, but Johan didn’t even blink as he spoke. He couldn’t back down now. He had to be even more brazen.

“Who was it that secretly hid the man I was chasing within the castle walls? It’s the people of Aniza City, right here. How can I trust you when you said there was no one, and yet this happened?”

“But that’s really. . .”

“Be quiet! Do you dare to continue lying in front of me?”

At Johan’s words, the soldiers behind him broke out in threatening cheers and jeers. The mercenary captain who had come to negotiate was drenched in cold sweat. Even without this, the huge difference in strength between the two sides was making it more and more difficult for him.

‘𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯.’

The tolerant attitude that the Duke had shown at first was a trick. The Duke had already known from the beginning who had entered the city.

If he had gotten angry then, the city’s guards would have dug in their heels and resisted, and both sides would have suffered heavy casualties. There was no doubt that the Duke had lured them out in order to trick them.

His order to enter the city with only a hundred men as an escort, which had seemed absurd at first glance, must have been for that reason.

This was all a trap!

The mercenary captain felt a chill run down his spine as if a blade had scraped against it. He was terrified by the depth of the Duke’s schemes, which had been carefully laid out from the moment he had first arrived, and by the ferocity of the Duke, who thought nothing of taking down a city like this.

This was a kind of declaration, a declaration to the other cities watching from nearby.

━𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲!

“I. . . I’m sorry.”

In the end, the mercenary captain had to apologize and then enter into negotiations. The mercenary captain brought out the ransom money, as the other nobles of the city had suggested.

Normally, he should have received compensation from the Duke, but somehow the situation had turned around so that he was the one paying ransom to the Duke.

“Fine. I’ll let them go.”

“Thank you for your mercy.”

“I’ll forgive you this time, but be warned! There will be no second chances!”

Johan said sternly. The captured city nobles nodded their heads frantically.

They were just as bewildered as the mercenary captain. Who would have thought that they would end up like this just because they had taken in a few runaways?

As the negotiations ended and they scurried away like they were running away, Johan muttered to himself.

“It would be troublesome if the other cities got the wrong idea. . .”

“Don’t worry too much about it. Sometimes it’s necessary to crack the whip like that.”

Caenerna said from the side, as if to reassure him. To someone who had been the emperor’s court wizard, Johan was someone who was very generous with his carrots.

Maybe one whip for every nine carrots?

Of course the results were good, but someone of Duke’s stature didn’t need to so stubbornly whip others. Sometimes, you can just swing the whip as you feel like. Others may have been a bit scared, but that wasn’t a big problem.

Just look at someone like Cardirian. Didn’t he manage to live quite well even after whipping others ten times? Compared to someone like him, Duke was the embodiment of generosity and magnanimity. There won’t be any real problems if he whips others a few more times in the future.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?’

Johan was worried that the other cities might rise up in anger, feeling that they had been insulted. Even if each one is insignificant, if they all band together and hire mercenaries. . .

. . .However, Caenerna’s prediction was correct this time.

Instead of hiring more mercenaries to confront the Duke, the nearby cities sent messengers to apologize sincerely for not welcoming the Duke’s army.

‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳.’

Of course, he knew that he shouldn’t feel resentful about something like this, but it was still somewhat baffling to see those who had been so arrogant when he was trying to reason with them now groveling and kneeling down just because there had been a little commotion in the city.

He couldn’t help but think that maybe he should have lived like Cardirian. . .

“What shall we do with the mercenaries who acted on their own?”

“As punishment for acting on their own, they will be confined to their quarters, and as a reward for capturing the nobles, they will be given a share of the ransom money.”

The mercenary leaders nodded with relieved expressions. No mercenary would be unmoved by those words. Who else would show such mercy?

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“Your Highness. Please have mercy. . .”

“When I told you to come out, you didn’t listen, and now that you’re facing death, you’re begging me to show mercy?”

The eunuchs’ faces, which had already been pale, turned even paler at Johan’s words.

“Very well. I will show you mercy. I will not execute you or anything just because you are pagans.”

“Your Highness the Duke is truly generous! We have heard of Your Highness’s reputation since long ago. That your fame would reach even the distant eastern lands, it is an honor that is unimaginable for lowly beings such as us.”

“Compared to your master, who is more glorious?”

“We would be cautious in making such a comparison, but perhaps the achievements that Your Highness the Duke has accomplished are slightly more glorious?”

‘𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴?’

Johan was speechless. He had said it as a joke, but they were actually ranking him higher than the Sultan.

Caenerna whispered from the side.

“He doesn’t seem to be an ordinary flatterer.”

“Yeah. I thought so too, Your Excellency.”

There was a reason why all the captured pagan nobles had insulted the eunuchs. They were so good at sweet-talking.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.’

It was very convenient to have such shameless people who would spill everything, not because of flattery, but for their own safety. There were still many enemies remaining.

“Confine them and treat them well, but change their servants regularly. Do not let them converse with each other. Ignore whatever they say. Report to me first no matter what they do.”

Caenerna smiled wryly at Johan’s thoroughness. The eunuchs probably didn’t expect to be monitored so thoroughly just for a little bit of flattery.

“So. . . Yeheyman-gong.”

“. . .Mock me all you want.”

“Why would I mock you?”

The haggard Yeheyman sat in front of Johan with a face that had given up on everything.

He had intended to restore his honor properly, but somehow things had turned out like this.

“You will be treated fairly as a prisoner of war. Of course, swinging your sword at those eunuchs is absolutely forbidden.”

“. . .”

Yeheyman’s face turned red as his inner thoughts were exposed. The moment he was given a sword, he had planned to swing it at those eunuchs first.

“I’ll send you back as soon as I receive the ransom, so make yourself comfortable.”

“That’s all?”

“What else do you have to say?”

“Not really, but. . .”

Yeheyman was a little taken aback by the conversation ending sooner than he had expected. He had originally anticipated a somewhat longer conversation. He had thought that even if the Duke didn’t openly mock him, he would at least show some arrogance befitting a victor.

However, the Duke did not show a single shred of arrogance in his expression, despite having won such a victory. If anyone saw him, they would think that Yeheyman was the victor.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴?’

He had been strongly impressed when he saw the Duke wielding his sword and slaughtering soldiers like a crazy b*stard, but now the Duke exuded an even stronger presence. Yeheyman couldn’t take his eyes off the Duke’s back as he left the tent.

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“Don’t you think we should bribe them a little more openly?”

“No. This is just the right amount. If we do more, it will backfire.”

“That’s right. Yeheyman-gong is a proud knight, so a clumsy bribe could anger him. If we leave him alone, he’ll think about it on his own and come over to us little by little.”

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’

Suetlg thought to himself as he watched the captured pagans chattering inside the tent.

There were quite a few pagan prisoners in Johan’s camp right now. That was to be expected after such a battle. Even though a considerable number had been locked up in the castle and the city, there were still just as many.

Johan treated them well and kept them entertained. At first, the nobles, who had been prepared to die at the hands of the demon, gradually relaxed their minds thanks to the unexpected hospitality. Normally, when people are extremely tense and then release that tension, they tend to become even more relaxed.

Moreover, there weren’t many nobles who were deeply loyal to the Sultan. They quickly became friendly with Johan. And then they spilled out stories that they shouldn’t have told.

“I see. As expected, the wisdom of the Dukes cannot be matched.”

“Haha. . . How can you say such things. . .”

“I’m just embarrassed. Your Highness!”

“Bring more wine for these wise nobles.”

Johan, who had gotten the captured nobles as drunk as he could, stood up when they all passed out.

“How is the siege of the Holy Land going?”

“The siege is complete, but there has been no further progress.”

“Well, even with only a few hundred men inside, it’s a troublesome structure.”

The fear of a well-built castle lay in this aspect. It made it possible for one man to be worth a hundred, quite literally.

“It seems that many believe that the gates will open as soon as Your Highness arrives.”

“Are you kidding. . . Wait. Are you serious?”

Thinking about it, the fanatics really did believe that in all seriousness. Johan began to feel a slight headache. Johan was no wizard, so how could he open and close the gates at will?

‘𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.’

“But wouldn’t it be possible for you?”

“I’m trying to persuade them, but I don’t know if it will work. Besides, the enemy commander might be furious and not be persuaded.”

He had planned to use the captured people as envoys to persuade them to surrender, but he didn’t know how well it would go.

Breaking a stubborn person’s will was not an easy task in the first place. . .

“Your Highness. The eunuchs wish to see Your Highness.”

“My dear. It seems like the persuasion was successful.”

Iselia said as if it was good news at the servant’s call. However, Johan shook his head.

“Those guys weren’t persuaded. They just switched sides right away.”

He was curious to know what they wanted to talk about. It probably wouldn’t be anything too surprising, no matter what they said. . .

“. . .If Your Highness wishes it, I can make Suhekhar-nim fall ill.”

“. . .”

Johan was genuinely surprised.

‘𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘣*𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴?’

No matter what, they were openly talking about poisoning a noble who was favored by the Sultan?

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