Chapter 295: All in Hand!

The subsequent handover went very smoothly!

Five pearls, each the size of an egg, were priced at fifty gold coins each at market rate.

Dozens of pearls, each the size of a lychee, were priced at five gold coins each.

Three hundred pearls, each the size of a longan, were priced at one gold coin each.

In total, the night pearls amounted to seven hundred gold coins.

This meant Grivas only needed to pay another three hundred or so gold coins to acquire this second batch of convict slaves.

Of course, this included the cavalry equipment.

With both waves of convict slave auctions concluded, the banquet resumed.

Grivas had no time to continue attending, as he needed to inventory the knightly gear.

…

"My Lord Grivas, how is it?"

"Fine! None of them show significant wear!"

"Naturally, Lord Grivas, our Marquis Castle repairs or replaces these knightly equipments annually, so there are absolutely no defective pieces!"

Inside the Marquis Castle's warehouse, all two hundred sets of armor had been inspected.

Each was at least eighty percent new.

Moreover, they were all the original equipment issued to these cavalrymen, perfectly suited to them, maximizing their combat effectiveness.

"By the way, Lord Grivas, would you also need the warhorses?"

The castle steward no longer treated Grivas as an ordinary count.

In his mind, like the other guests, he now regarded Grivas as a scion of some duke's family.

Though the kingdom had no ducal or marquis family bearing the name Violet, it never said ducal or marquis bloodlines couldn't use other surnames.

For instance, bastards might well bear another family's surname.

Such things had occurred frequently in the kingdom before.

Many duke sons, in their youth, were licentious and ruined many noble ladies.

Due to the vast disparity in social standing, marriage was impossible.

The duke sons returned to their families, married suitably matched wives, and inherited their family titles.

The noble ladies who had once been involved with them could have remarried.

But they discovered they were pregnant with his child.

The man had already married another, and they were beyond their reach—so the minor noble ladies could only endure in silence.

Until years later…

In short, art originates from life.

This young lord before him, with his extraordinary bearing and depth, was likely just such a case.

"Two hundred warhorses, two thousand gold coins, right?"

"Yes, Lord Grivas!"

"Could you assign me a few grooms? I'm worried my men won't be enough to care for so many horses at once."

"No problem! If Lord Grivas purchases the warhorses, we will include their grooms as a gift!"

"Good! Steward, you're straightforward—I'll buy the cavalrymen's families too…"

Grivas then personally led the convict slaves to inspect the warhorses, confirmed they were their original mounts, and immediately paid two thousand two hundred gold coins.

This time, Grivas paid in real gold coins.

The seven hundred gold coins' worth of night pearls was already conspicuous enough.

If he revealed a large quantity of night pearls today, it would draw unwanted attention.

…

"I think you all know the situation now—I, Grivas Gair, am your new master from this day forward!"

"Remember, my domain is Stormhold—did you hear that clearly?"

The cavalrymen lifted their heads slightly, glanced at Grivas, then lowered them again. "We heard clearly!"

Clearly, their spirit had been drained.

After purchasing them, to revive them, one must either strike fear or show mercy.

For ordinary peasants, Grivas would have first used the whip.

Scolded them for not eating, made them answer again.

Then later, offered a few sweet rewards.

But these were trained cavalrymen, soon to be entrusted with great responsibility—so Grivas did not rebuke them.

At that moment, cries and shouts suddenly came from within the rear gate.

Grivas and his party were now outside the side mountain gate of Darwin Marquis Castle.

This path led directly down to the wilderness beyond the city.

They had left the castle early precisely to rearm these convict slaves.

Otherwise, inside the castle, even if Darwin Marquis weren't foolish, he would never allow two hundred trained cavalrymen to be rearmed.

The gate creaked open, then stopped after moving about a meter.

"Hurry up and come out! Don't dawdle!"

The next instant, shouts echoed from the gate tunnel, and dozens of fully armed guards drove out a crowd of ragged, weeping women and children.

These women and children, young and old, numbered around seven or eight hundred.

"Kadin!"

"Lia!"

"Father!"

"Jock!"

"All of you, behave! Don't move!"

The cavalrymen, whose spirits had been hollowed out, instantly stirred at the sight of these women and children, staring fixedly at them, barely holding back from rushing forward.

The women and children reacted the same way.

Fortunately, the Darwin Castle guards who had just exited quickly shouted orders and suppressed the crowd, intimidating them into stillness.

Then the guard hurried to Grivas and bowed respectfully. "Respected Lord Grivas, these are the families of the convict slaves—seven hundred and eighty-three in total!"

"Their belongings are already at the city gate below, loaded onto thirty carts purchased from Steward Xiang!"

"Good!" Grivas nodded and gestured to Eflan.

Immediately, dozens of copper coins were passed to the guard by Eflan.

"Thank you, Lord Grivas, for your generosity! I'll return to close the gate—when you wish to enter again, just call out to me!"

The guard departed, leaving only the women and children behind.

"Seeing your wives and children, you must now understand the situation!"

"I ask you now—do you want to live well again? Do you want your wives and children to suffer no more?"

The cavalrymen trembled, then fell to their knees one after another with a thud.

"Master, we do! Please have mercy on us!"

Each cavalryman banged his head against the ground—truly banging it.

In moments, nearly all their foreheads were bleeding.

"Stop!"

Grivas halted them; the knights immediately ceased, each looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Grivas stepped forward and lifted up the two nearest cavalrymen. "The rest of you—stand up too!"

Hearing Grivas, the cavalrymen rose one by one.

"Each of you cost me at least five gold coins; your families cost one gold coin each!"

"But I, Grivas, bought you not to enslave you, nor to use you as cannon fodder!"

"And I know the suffering you've endured—none of it was your own doing!"

"Therefore, I am willing to pity you, and willing to give you a chance!"

"From this day forward, follow me back to my domain—I will care for your families and let you live in peace again!"

"All you must give in return is your loyalty—fight for me!"

"Now tell me—are you willing?"

"We are willing, Master!" This time, the cavalrymen answered with a roar.

Grivas was satisfied—he knew the morale of these cavalrymen was now usable.

"Good. Since you're willing, from this moment on, you will no longer call me 'Master'—you will call me 'My Lord'!"

"Yes, My Lord!"