Chapter 33: How Many Gold Coins to Buy It All?

The crisis of the demon snake invasion has been resolved, and the castle has returned to peace.

Of course, Gervas must also reward the contributions of his subordinates.

Clear rewards and punishments are necessary to better motivate the soldiers' enthusiasm.

As agreed, the five guards with the most enemy heads have been promoted to knight attendants.

Each of them killed more than four enemies; notably, only one of these five was a new recruit.

This new recruit achieved such results not only due to his strong physique but also because of some luck.

That is why Gervas chose knight attendants in several rounds—otherwise it would be too unfair to new recruits.

Of course, the contributions of others besides these five will not be forgotten.

Everyone who participated in today's battle, even without any enemy heads, will receive a minimum reward of five jin of smoked fish meat; for each head, they earn an additional silver coin.

Knights, due to their greater role, receive greater rewards.

Lei Meng was rewarded thirty silver coins and five jin of meat; Knight Mi Gen and the others each received ten silver coins and five jin of meat.

……

"My lord, Captain Laurent reports that a group of over three hundred unknown individuals is approaching the town along a dirt road three li south of it!"

At dusk, Knight Mi Gen hurried into the parlor to report.

It's no wonder they're so tense—south of here lies either the Death Mountains or the Chaos Wasteland, and every group that's come these days has brought nothing but trouble.

Gervas immediately formed a judgment in his mind.

Calculating the time, this group can only be the slave caravan mentioned in the intelligence!

And among that slave caravan is a female slave with golden bloodline, along with ten longbowmen!

These are all scarce combat assets.

"Tell the guard squad not to panic—Yueyue already informed me earlier. It's likely a slave caravan. Go prepare the horses; we're going to the town to check!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Meanwhile, Overseer Ku Po was leading his group at full speed.

In the Storm Domain, known as a land of death, the wilderness after nightfall is extremely dangerous, so they must reach Wheatfield Town before dark.

"Hurry up those pigs—we need to reach Wheatfield Town before nightfall!"

At Overseer Ku Po's urging, the air filled with the sharp crack of whips, forcing the already staggering slaves to grit their teeth and push forward.

"Boss, next time we return, don't take this easternmost route—it's way too far and dangerous," one subordinate complained as he swung his whip.

"Do you think I want to? Every other route loses us a few slaves. Only this easternmost path is deserted—these bastards can't even run away! Enough complaining. Once we reach Wheatfield Town, we're completely safe—I'll treat you all to a good meal!"

"Wheatfield Town has hardly any people—no wine, no women, just dry, bitter black bread!" the subordinate sneered.

"You damn mouthy bastard—there's none of that in the Storm Domain. Wait till we get to Mil Lord's territory, then you can eat your fill! … Hey, the town's here… wait, why isn't Wheatfield Town closed this time? Last time we had to beg for half an hour just to get in!" Overseer Ku Po exclaimed.

"Boss, look at the number of guards—over twenty! Maybe they're not afraid of us anymore! But they're way too full of themselves—not to brag, but with our forty men, we could wipe out this town three times over!"

Overseer Ku Po nodded. "Alright, keep quiet, don't provoke anything. After all, these are royal guards!"

Then Overseer Ku Po changed his demeanor, holding out a royal travel token in one hand and thirty copper coins in the other. "Captain, we're from the Black Bear Trading Company. We plan to stay in Wheatfield Town tonight—please show us some favor!"

Laurent took the token, examined it carefully, confirmed its authenticity, then returned it. "Welcome. Rest at the town square—they sell food there."

"As for these copper coins… keep them. The Storm Domain forbids bribery."

"Uh…"

Overseer Ku Po had seen plenty of naked women, but a guard who refused bribes—he'd never seen one before.

Two words: unusual!

"Boss, maybe he's just scared of our numbers and daresn't take the copper coins?"

Overseer Ku Po also found it strange—but just then, they reached the town square, and one subordinate suddenly screamed, "Ah!"

Overseer Ku Po jumped. "What the hell? What are you yelling about…" He was about to scold him, but his words died in his throat—he froze, his body stiffening.

There, in the town square, a five-meter-tall corpse was displayed on a wooden stake.

Around the corpse lay a mound of over a hundred demon snake heads.

These were swamp ogres and demons!

Not even a normal baron's domain could handle this—let alone the long-decayed Storm Domain.

What the hell happened to the Storm Domain?

Thud—the subordinate who had just mocked the Storm Domain guards swallowed hard. "B-Boss… is there something wrong with this town? It doesn't feel anything like the Storm Domain we visited last year."

Overseer Ku Po agreed—he felt the Storm Domain had become strange.

As he considered leaving, a cavalry unit appeared on the road leading to the castle.

The cavalry moved swiftly; as they drew near, seven magnificent warhorses appeared.

And Overseer Ku Po was stunned again.

"F…Flame Horses?!"

These were living gold coins!

"Could some noble's son have come to the Storm Domain?"

Overseer Ku Po thought it very likely.

That would explain the swamp ogre's corpse too.

"Your noble lordship, I am Overseer Ku Po, one of the managers of the Black Bear Trading Company!" Overseer Ku Po bowed low in greeting.

"Overseer Ku Po, eh? I am Gervas Gale, Lord of the Storm Domain. Welcome to my territory!"

"Lord of the Storm Domain?" Overseer Ku Po was stunned, but quickly recovered—noble heirs often traveled to train, build their own fortunes, or seek adventure.

So it was not strange that this noble heir had come to such a dangerous place as the Storm Domain.

Though Gervas noticed Overseer Ku Po's odd gaze, he gave it no further thought.

What concerned him most now was that girl with the golden bloodline and the ten archers.

The slave caravan walked in a single file, everyone with unkempt hair and tattered rags; Gervas truly could not spot which one was the girl named Evlan.

However, this did not stump him. "Overseer Ku Po, how many slaves are in your squad in total?"

Had it been an ordinary noble, Overseer Ku Po would not have been so afraid.

But facing the scion of a great noble now, he respectfully replied, "Lord Gervas, we brought back a total of two hundred and thirty-five slaves on this trip!"

"Is that so? If we were to buy them all, how many gold coins would it cost?"

Buy them all?

Truly, he was worthy of being a great noble's scion, spending lavishly on anything.

However, this place belongs to the kingdom's border, so slave prices might not reach the levels sold in the kingdom's interior.

Overseer Ku Po spoke cautiously, "Lord Gervas, we intend to take these slaves back to the empire's interior. Buying them from us is very unprofitable for you, because the price must follow the rates of the kingdom's interior!"

"I suggest you go to Iron Wolf City instead and purchase from a slave merchant specializing in border trade."

"No need! Just state the price!"