Dawn Kingdom, at the foot of Cage Mountain, Thorns Town.
A convoy of carriages slowly drove through the streets and stopped in front of the lord's mansion.
"We're here, all of you get down! And be quick about it!" A man dressed as a steward waved the whip in his hand, shouting at them one by one, "If you want to live, be smart, answer whatever the lord asks you later, understand?!"
The *rendà* who got out of the carriages were mostly ragged and pale, their hands tied together with a hemp rope, like a string of grasshoppers. Undoubtedly, they were all slaves, and of the lowest kind.
Such scenes had recently become common in Thorns Town—the once-deserted town had gradually become lively since the Graycastle exploration team set up camp. Not only were caravans coming and going, but also envoys from lords all over the land. Some stayed in inns, while others set up tents and barracks outside the town, which in just over a month had made the remote town look a whole circle bigger.
"Lord Marl, what do you think of these people?" Fulin Sheffield from Maple Song City was one of them. He rubbed his hands and looked at Marl Tokat, the representative of the noble family from Radiant City, asking with a flattering smile, "Healthy, without defects, and hand-picked from the prison. Don't let their thin appearance fool you; they are all fierce and evil people. Just feed them two full meals, and they will definitely meet your requirements."
"Alright," Marl waved his hand impatiently. Although the other party bore the surname of the lord of Maple Song, his expression showed that he was not someone to be concerned about, not worth much conversation. "It's not me who wants to buy prisoners, but this gentleman beside me—Sean, the King of Graycastle's Chief Guard."
"O-oh, so that's the case," Fulin gave another salute, "As soon as the lord heard the call of the Dawn Lord, he immediately decided to respond and ordered me to prepare to set off as soon as possible. This oversight occurred in haste, please forgive me."
"It doesn't matter." Sean walked up to the group and scanned them one by one. Compared to the first few batches of prisoners sent by the Dawn Lord, the quality was noticeably worse. However, the Cursed Shrine was now entering a full-scale excavation phase and needed a large number of people. He didn't plan to haggle over this issue, as long as they were usable.
As he walked to the middle of the line, a prisoner suddenly knelt down to him, "Sir, I'm innocent, please let me go!"
Because his hands were tied to a long rope, the action of hitting his head on the ground was only halfway done when he was pulled back by the human wall, and he could only kneel on the ground and beg bitterly.
"You're asking for death!" The steward immediately looked like he hated the prisoner to the core. If the other two lords weren't present, he would have already lashed him with the whip.
"Where were you wronged?" Sean stopped.
"I didn't commit murder or robbery, I just stole and slaughtered a nest of chickens from my neighbor!" the prisoner answered quickly. "In Maple Song City, that would only be punished with whipping or exile, not death, sir!"
"Is that so?" Sean looked at Fulin.
The latter quickly said, "Yes and no, sir. The day before receiving the Dawn Lord's call, Earl Sheffield happened to make a slight adjustment to the territory's laws—in order to combat the increasingly rampant rats and underground crime, all punishments were increased by one level, and theft was no exception."
"W-what?" the prisoner stammered, "Stealing a few chickens is punishable by death?"
"Is that so hard to understand?" Fulin glanced at him contemptuously. "The kingdom just had a war, and Maple Song City was badly damaged in order to eliminate the rebels. Plus, there's been a surge of refugees. If we don't impose severe penalties, how can we suppress you scum? Today you steal your neighbor's chickens, and maybe one day your neighbor will starve to death as a result. What's the difference between that and murder! In my opinion, it's only a matter of course."
"Sir, I..."
The prisoner wanted to argue, but Sean interrupted him directly, "Since you are not innocent, take this labor as atonement." He paused for a moment, raising his voice, "I think you all know already, as long as you work for ten years, no matter what crime you have committed, you will be pardoned. This is a promise given jointly by Graycastle and the Dawn King! Don't try to escape, this is your only chance!"
He gestured for his subordinates to take all the
prisoners away, and Fulin immediately approached with a smile, "I knew you would take them all. According to the agreement in the call, one person is..."
"One gold dragon, adding up to one hundred and six, right?" Sean replied.
"That's exactly right!" Fulin's eyes lit up.
"Go to the lord's mansion to collect the money; someone will receive you there."
"Yes, I'll go now!" He said with a delighted smile.
"Also," as the other party turned around, Sean suddenly spoke, "Don't let something like this happen a second time."
"You mean..." Fulin was slightly taken aback.
"I don't care if the lord of Maple Song City really did amend the laws the day before. According to the agreement, the trader must inform the prisoners of the purpose and rewards of this trip before departure. The next time someone doesn't even realize they have been sentenced to death and only cries out for justice before leaving, I will deduct part of the gold dragons." Sean said in a deep voice.
He had no interest in acting as a fair judge, and he had little sympathy for the plight of these people. For him, the most important thing was to complete the task assigned by His Majesty Roland, while also avoiding, as much as possible, the greedy merchants damaging His Majesty's reputation.
"I... I understand." Fulin lowered his head in response, "I will pay attention next time."
After the other party left, Marl shrugged, "You really are working hard."
"Serving His Majesty, there's no such thing as hard work."
"Is that so?" Marl looked at the increasingly crowded town, "Even buying death row inmates requires such attention to detail. Should I say His Majesty Wimbledon is deliberately doing this... or is he naturally compassionate? I heard from my elder brother that he is about the same age as me, but he is already the undisputed ruler of a country. These two things should be mutually exclusive. Now even his guards are so outstanding, I really want to meet him in person."
"With the status of the three major families, it is not difficult to meet the King of Graycastle." Sean said expressionlessly, "Also, if I were you, I wouldn't say these things in front of that guard."
"What does it matter? Compared to hiding things, don't you prefer to be frank?" Marl spread his hands.
Sean realized that this guy was a natural, second son of the Tokat family, quite similar to the rumored enthusiastic and righteous Oro Tokat.
The best way to deal with such people is to ignore them.
He turned his back and was about to go to the storage area guarded by the First Army when a soldier ran over quickly.
"Sir, a stranger wants to see you. He claims to know the whereabouts of the 'treasure'."
Sean frowned. Ever since the news of inquiring about the Cursed Treasure spread, someone like this had come to the door every few days, but so far, they had all been swindlers aiming for the reward. "Didn't I say not to notify me until there are concrete clues?"
"That man insisted on seeing you," the soldier replied, "And he also said that he is one of the last survivors of Hermes. Besides the whereabouts of the treasure, he also knows the location of the church's exiles. We have already taken him into custody."
Hermes... the church?
Sean's eyes narrowed instantly, "I see, I'll go over there."