< Episode 130. Advantage of Verbal Contract >
It had been several decades since the Dutch Viscount settled on this land. In the meantime, how many times has he been invaded by Southern men?
There would be a few that might make his blood pressure rise and fall the moment he counted them.
“Come!”
A scout who was driving a horse and guarding all directions shouted.
So the Viscount Dutch used scouts. The intention was to save people even if the southerners dig up the land and rob the crops.
Just knowing in advance that they are here can buy time for people to evacuate.
No matter what anyone said, the Viscount Dutch was a great noble who cared for his people.
“All jump up!”
The scout’s role was up to this point, and a group of scouts grabbed the reins for their escape.
It was a time when the guys came periodically. In other words, as expected, the scouts moved faster.
“Hey!”
The scout following from the rear called out to his companion who was running ahead. His role was to gauge the scale of the enemy.
“What!”
He took the reins, loosened them and looked behind him to see his colleague’s pale face.
“Too many.”
He said. I naturally looked to the back.
Normally, there would be 100 to 200 people at most. But it was more than that.
At least five hundred people were discovered by scouts. The Southern Rebellion was beginning.
I didn’t know all the southern culture. But I knew one thing.
It’s the worship of the strong.
Respect for knights who have achieved incredible achievements is said to be the same in the central and southern regions. And that was part of the reason I took on this job.
“Let’s go.”
The people leaving were Jenrid, me, and even Jabrien.
“See you later.”
Lind stepped forward to greet me, and Lydia, who claimed to be my maid, saw me off. We literally ran with the messenger from the Viscount Dutch in the lead.
The messenger kept glancing behind him. I couldn’t blame him. In fact, it is so surprising that anyone who sees it faints.
“Um, hmm. Does it bite?”
Asked the messenger.
“Well, It listens to me.”
“… … So you’re saying that if you ask him to bite, he’ll bite?”
“Sometimes?”
Pumpkin would not allow me to ride another animal. So I had to ride on the pumpkin’s back, which had no saddle.
Actually, it’s very uncomfortable.
Riding on the back of a wolf with no saddle and dancing muscles is not advisable.
I wasn’t in a hurry. Thanks to this, the messenger was anxious, but he couldn’t go in a hurry.
To be precise, he had to wait for the axe, or rather Yenrid whose body was hurt. I must have hit him a little too hard. Some of his ribs were broken and his internal organs were damaged. Of course, he recovered quite well after a few days of recuperation and medication, but he still wasn’t in perfect condition.
“Eat it.”
On the way, I gave him ground herbs and fed them, and when it was time to eat, they all settled down properly, oiled the thinly sliced chicken and baked it.
Hiss!
There was a burning sound when the oil met the fire. Everyone’s noses twitched at the mouth-watering aroma of roasting chicken meat.
Everyone picked up the chicken leg meat one by one and put it in their mouths and munched.
“As expected of open air cooking…”
Jabrian, who had done his part, talked nonsense. The messenger also ate a few times and opened his eyes wide.
“This taste, this taste! It reminds me of my mother.”
She was exaggerating too much.
She uused to be awkward in front of me, but I understood her. I am a noble and a knight. A well known celebrity in Serka. Furthermore, the baron who devoured the land where monsters used to roam and even rode a wolf.
Even I couldn’t have been able to treat me calmly. After dinner, during a brief break, I remembered the conversation I had with Lind before we left.
“Just the three of you?” It’s too dangerous. You are no longer a soldier, but a lord and nobleman.”
“And also a knight.”
It meant that I wouldn’t be easily beaten.
“Even if you are a Wyze-knight, you still need men. Or do you want to rewrite history? If you try to be the knight who killed a thousand men by himself, there will be no stopping you.”
Lind warned me of the danger. I understood what he meant.
“It will be fine. If the situation gets worse, I’ll come back.”
“… it will be a stigma.”
“It’s better to be stigmatized than to die.”
I cannot leave the territory empty.
Bringing out Count Vantes showed my strength and resourcefulness. Since he had roughly guessed the situation of the royal palace, he moved with a bold move, but he was still anxious.
I couldn’t let the people in my territory die again. The territory of Fraunmunt could not be fortified. Starting with the collapsed castle, the number of people to train as soldiers was too small.
There had to be a few elites left to fill those numbers.
After this is done, I will start repairing the castle. With that thought, I got up again.
“Let’s go.”
The border point between Viscount Dutch’s territory and mine was not very far, but our destination was below that.
On the way, I saw Jenrid dozing on his horse. Suddenly, his riding skills have increased.
Looking at it, his body looks a lot better. That was when we reached the southern tip. I deliberately went to the place where the enemy was.
“Ah!”
There was a sense of astonishment in the messenger’s voice. As I followed his gaze, I saw a crowd gathered in the distance.
“Hiss.”
He swallowed the air and showed a bitter smile.
“You said 500.”
As I spoke, the messenger turned to me and trembled. He didn’t seem to know what expression to make.
“Well, that’s how it was when I came.”
I asked him when I saw him shaking.
“Does your family live here?”
“I lived in the village at the end.”
You’re saying you don’t know what happened now?
“Don’t worry too much.”
If Viscount Dutch wasn’t a fool, he’d have pulled his subjects out already. My eyes ran through the people beyond the Southerners.
“I’m sure it’s easily over a thousand.”
“About one thousand two hundred.”
said Jabrian.
There was no one like her to count.
“Will it be okay?”
asked the messenger. The hero who had curbed two thousand with four men was right in front of him, so it wasn’t worth asking.
But, my friend, back then, my opponent was a knight. There were honor duels.
I also had the advantage of having a castle wall behind me.
This case is different. For Southerners, dueling was just a way to kill. They didn’t care if it took two or three of them.
And Southerners were the kind of people who, the moment they got into a fight, would show the destructive power.
“Probably.”
Still, I was reasonably confident. The messenger looked at me and his eyes lit up.
It wasn’t the kind of thing a soldier would expect to see.
“Let’s go to the Viscount.”
I purposely looked at the size of the southerners.
The Southern Rebellion was closely related to the war in the South. To them, the people of the tribe who were torn apart from each other gathered and fought to establish themselves on the central continent, which was called the Southern Rebellion.
One thousand two hundred, if there were only that many warriors, there would be more.
“Whew”
The hot sun was making me sweat profusely. I hope it will rain soon.
I went straight to the place where the Viscount Dutch was staying. As I got off the Pumpky, he ran to another place to go play.
You’ve set up your camp well. It wasn’t inside the village, but in a tent structure so that we would always be visible.
He must have been hit by Southerners many times. Being beaten could have taught him.
“Welcome”
Viscount looked at me and was delighted. His face was like he met his first love.
“Did you wait?”
How is that possible? I was expecting a reaction like that.
“Of course.”
He lowered himself. The situation was different from before. If it was only a few hundred, he would be my client, but his opponent was now 1200 men.
“What is the damage situation?”
I asked the Viscount Dutch, but in reality, the question was directed towards the back. The knight of the Viscount Dutch looked at me and bowed his fist to his chest and said:
“There are no casualties yet. Only property damage…”
“That’s enough.”
Although he was called a knight, he actually looked like an officer who used a sword. His armor looked rough and hard because it didn’t go down.
The sound of chain mail could be heard repeatedly coming from his body. It means that he was twisting his body because he was uncomfortable.
Glad to hear that no one died. I pulled Jabrian by the arm and put her next to me and she opened mouth.
“Lord Dutch.”
When he looked at me, I showed a soft smile. The contract he and I signed was not a real contract signed and notarized by the royal family.
We made a verbal contract. We made a promise to each other. I promised to fight for him and get some money every month.
But does Viscount Dutch really want to pay me every month? Wouldn’t you think that money was stolen later?
Wouldn’t it be better to take advantage of the weakness of the oral contract and call it a double?
Probably so. Because I had no intention of honoring that contract from the beginning either.
“I think this is a little different.”
As I said, the pupils of the old nobleman shook lightly. Still, he is a great nobleman to hide his expressions and emotions behind him.
“What do you mean?”
“There are not too many enemies.”
“We didn’t discuss the enemy’s number from the beginning, did we?”
The 1,200 Southern Army, this was bigger than I thought. If you request support from the royal palace and surrounding territories, troops will be dispatched.
However, it takes time for the reinforcements to come, and in the meantime, Dutch’s land will be devastated. Who wants to see their land destroyed?
“I have no conscience.”
I said. Viscount Dutch tightly closed his eyes. You would instinctively realize who has the upper hand in this conversation.
“What do you want?”
“This is the main person on the top level who handles the logistics of my territory.”
As she listened to the conversation between me and Viscount Dutch, Jabrien was thinking hard. And by the time she heard my introduction, she was squirming at the mouth.
“For dealing with 1200 southerners, I should be paid at least one platinum coin.”
“I’ll also deal with the goblins, and I’ll make sure the Southern Army can’t come here again”
“Three platinum coins.”
He snapped when Jabrien spoke.
“Three platinum coins?”
The Viscount clenched his back teeth. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and tears of blood were about to flow.
If you don’t want to waste money like blood, you have to ask the royal palace for assistance right away and visit the surrounding estates.
I wondered if they would really help. They heard me say ‘I’ll help Viscount Dutch’ at the gathering I invited them to .
Will the help out with what Wyze-Knight gave up on?
The nobility is not a very just race. They hold on to their vested interests.
It is rare for nobles to give up their vested interests and help Viscount Dutch and Viscount Dutch knows that.
This deal had to be accepted unconditionally, if I wanted anything at all.
“You mean three platinum coins can solve it?”
“Of course.”
I replied with a smile at his words.
The advantage of an oral contract is that the terms can be changed under mutual consultation.
I have just overturned that condition.
“Are you promising with the honor of the knight?”
“I promise with all my honor.”
I’m not a man who cares that much about his honor, but… well, I could make this promise a hundred times if you want.
“Is it okay if I ask a favor later?”
Let’s put the four together again.
“Do whatever you want.”
The Viscount said without a break. His face was momentary, but he seemed to have aged in recent years. I watched it though. Viscount Dutch, who took care of his citizens first, was a decent person by my standards. The impression isn’t bad either.
“Is this why you brought me here?”
Jabrian asked quietly. I patted her on the shoulder and beckoned her to take out the contract.
A big deal would be a good experience for her. And right now, this deal was a tremendous deal. A deal that would determine the fate of an entire territory.
“Get to work.”
I said.
As she took out the contract, the knight who also served as a secretary handed her a pen.
After receiving it, Jabrien began to write. Her speech was still crude, but she was very fluent in the Central Continental language.
Well, there is a language in the South, but there is no writing, so it must have been essential to trade.
“Sign it.”
Jabrien said, handing out the signed contract.
The content was subtle, but the Viscount didn’t care. The troops that had come up from the south were many. It was a wonder that there hadn’t been any casualties yet.
No, it was natural that no one was killed or injured. They didn’t come to fight.
Viscount Dutch doesn’t know that. i knew that
So, this transaction may not actually be a fair transaction. But looking at the current situation, it is a fair and just transaction.
Jabrien knows that. However, she just noticed that the situation was strange. Because she has the ability to figure out if the other person is hiding something through conversation.
“What are you hiding?”
She asked me secretly, so I answered with a smile.
Three platinum coins, a lump sum payment.
It is a cost that far exceeds the operating cost of any real estate.
There, in the future, when I wanted to, I got a document that promised to stand in the position of a helper.
Now, I found someone to sell the rock salt to.
“Take care.”
I handed over the contract to Jabrien.
“How many troops did you bring?”
asked the Viscount. I’m a little sorry to answer it.
“This is Yenrid and this is Jabrien.”
I said, pointing at my companions and he nodded his head, wondering why I was introducing them now.
“So, did you get more than a hundred people?”
“No, only the three of us here.”
“…Three? Just the three of you?”
I nodded. The Viscount trembled at the corners of her eyes. Then he staggered and fell to the side.
The secretary knight caught him.
“Father!”
Was it your son?
I smiled, scratching my cheeks.
“Now, stop worrying. I’ll figure it out.”
“The three of you?”
Viscount said to me, even though he fell by the back of his neck. His eyes were full of killing intent.
It wasn’t the same kind of killing intent as a knight’s, but I could clearly feel it.
In fact, I’ll almost certainly do it alone, and Jabrien isn’t even a combat fighter.
But I can’t shock him more than this. It will be a problem if the client who signed the contract died of anger.
Then it wouldn’t be a bad thing to give him a little trust.
Wyze is the power that radiates momentum.
I inhaled and exhaled quietly. A Wyze Knight, so when I showed myself properly, the air changed at the moment.
Instead of living or speculating, my intent overtook them simply by exhaling momentum.
Just by staring at them, I proved why I am here.
“Trust me, Viscount.”
I said and turned around and left. As soon as the momentum was lifted, Jabrien asked, standing next to me.
“Are we really just the three of us going to fight?”
A Southerner is a stranger if he is not of their own tribe. I can see it in Jabrien’s reaction. It’s not that she feels rejected by fighting Southerners, she’s just worried because it’s a fight without enough heads.
I think the guy who made the real Confederation is amazing. How did he unite these peoples?
“No.”
“After all, no matter what country, three people are unreasonable.”
said Jabrian. No, you’re not even a fighter in the first place.
“He will do it aone.”
I tapped Yanrid on the shoulder.
“My knight.”
Jabrien blinked.
Twelve hundred to One.
I urged my knight to fight the battle.
“I’ll do it.”
When Jenrid answered those words, Jabrien’s eyes changed strangely. As if she was looking at two crazy people.
Mistakes are expected so if something doesn’t make sense then just try to understand the situation and make something up by yourself.
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