Chapter 289: ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ (7)
Chapter 289: ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ (7)
Whether the counterpart believed Johan or was just pretending to do so out of fear, the Sultanโs imperial concubine opened her mouth.
โW-What do you. . . plan to do with us?โ
She had a frightened expression, but her conduct was graceful. As she was tall and slender, she looked dignified even when she was silent, and seeing her conduct, the captains standing behind her were slightly impressed.
โI wonโt do anything in particular. Iโll release you safely once I receive the ransom. Which family are you from? I want to send a messenger to collect the ransom.โ
โIโm not from a noble family.โ
Johan laughed as if her answer was ridiculous.
โThatโs nonsense.โ
โYour Highness. Thatโs. . . possible. Not all members of the Sultanโs harem are from noble families.โ
โReally?โ
Johan was slightly shocked.He had thought that since she was called the Sultanโs imperial concubine, she would have to be at least from a noble family, even if her family was poor.
But come to think of it, there would be slaves working in the Sultanโs harem, so their backgrounds could be very humble. He had heard that eunuchs sometimes kidnapped people from outside and brought them in to gain favor with the Sultan. . .
โThen, do you not have a family who will pay the ransom?โ
โ. . .Yes.โ
โ. . . . . .โ
The captains felt troubled when Johan seemed to be at a loss, having never encountered this situation before, so the captain standing behind him gave him a piece of advice.
โSend a messenger to the Sultan and have him pay the ransom. They will pay the ransom from the Sultanโs harem.โ
โOh. Is that possible?โ
โI apologize. . . I have been exiled. I donโt think the Sultan will pay my ransom.โ
Only then did the captains frown, remembering that the imperial concubine was exiled.
โThen, what should we do?โ
โDo we need to keep an infidel who doesnโt even pay the ransom alive? Letโs execute her.โ
โExecute her. . .โ
โIsnโt she the Sultanโs blood? Just thinking about what the Sultan did to us makes my teeth grind, why bother treating someone of such low status who canโt even pay a ransom?โ
The imperial concubineโs pale face turned even paler at the captainsโ conversation. The content of their conversation was rather gruesome, as expected of infidels from the West.
โ๐๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ.โ
She kept her mouth shut, but judging from her expression, she understood the language of the West. Johan, who had been listening in silence, opened his mouth.
โAlright. Stop it. Thereโs no need to create unnecessary grudges.โ
โYour Highness. The Sultan has so many concubines and children, so do you think heโll care about one of them. . .โ
โIn any case, I wonโt kill her myself.โ
Johan had no hobby of killing people who had nothing to do with his grudges, not even for a single silver coin. The captains nodded.
The imperial concubine was surprised and relieved at his words. She had heard many rumors about the Duke, describing him as the most devilish being among the bandits or the people of the nearby tribes, so she hadnโt known that he would save her life.
โThen, will you release me?โ
โHmm.โ
Johan hesitated. It might not seem like a big deal to take care of a few more mouths, but he needed to treat nobles differently. Nobles who couldnโt pay the ransom had to be either released quickly or executed.
The imperial concubine wanted to ask him to let her stay, but she didnโt dare to do so and held back.
She was exiled, and she had lost all of her remaining wealth to the bandits. She was more likely to die on her way to the exile site.
If she could be guaranteed safety, it might be better for her and her child to stay with the Dukeโs army.
โEven if you canโt pay the ransom now, there may come a time when I can use her. Treat her as a hostage.โ
โYes. Understood.โ
โ. . .!โ
The imperial concubine bowed her head with a moved expression. Unlike the rumors spread by bandits or the people of the tribes, the Duke was much more generous and lenient than she had thought.
Of course, Johan was struggling inwardly.
โ๐โ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. . .โ
No matter how much silver poured out of his fiefdom, silver coins never lost their value. Johan hoped that this decision would benefit him a little bit later on.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
While Johanโs army was preparing to move and get settled in the fortress at the bottom of the mountain range, a much larger commotion was taking place higher up.
No army had ever managed to capture the fortress before and had to retreat, yet these foreigners from afar took it with such ease.
โWhat the hell were the guys in the fortress doing?! They just gave it to some guys who donโt even know the geography around here!โ
โNow is not the time to find out whoโs to blame. The situation is more severe than we thought, your excellency! According to the rumors going around, the army led by the foreign duke isnโt your average bunch of soldiers. What if he decides to take over this entire mountain range?โ
โWhy would a pagan from the west go through all that trouble? Heโll back out soon enough!โ
One of the rogue leaders made an optimistic prediction, but another quickly shot him down.
โIf he was going to back out soon, he wouldnโt have taken the fortress in the first place! Thereโs a reason why so many pilgrims get captured in these mountains and have to pay a ransom to get out.โ
โGroan!โ
The rogues groaned. Who would have thought that what they thought was a profitable business would turn into such a huge disaster?
โEven Lamar got captured. . .โ
โLamarโs tribal warriors are strongly requesting that we do something. If we fail to save Lamar, his tribesmen might defect.โ
The rogues of the Black Mountains might have looked like one group from the outside, but on the inside, they were a collection of different tribes who had fled to the mountains. Their leaders could be considered the chieftains of each tribe.
As such, they couldnโt just abandon Lamar.
โWhy the hell did Lamar get captured in the first place? Lamar isnโt the kind of guy whoโd get captured so easily.โ
The leaders knew of Lamarโs strength, so they were even more puzzled.
โDid the duke set up a trap?โ
โNo. I checked the rumors, and the duke isnโt that kind of guy. Heโs a monotheist whoโs obsessed with honor and keeping his word.โ
โWhat about the rumors that heโs made a pact with a demon?โ
โThatโs just nonsense that the fools at the bottom of the mountain are spreading. They would see any monotheist as a demon. Logically speaking, if he made a pact with a demon, how could he have become a duke?โ
โLooks like Lamar did something to get himself caught. Or maybe it was one of Lamarโs men.โ
โIt doesnโt sound like something Lamar would do, so itโs probably one of his men. Looks like he paid the price for not managing his men properly.โ
The leaders clicked their tongues. If Lamar had heard them, he would have been furious, but they didnโt suspect Johan because of the rumors they had heard from the pilgrims and others.
โTake out your coins. We have to make a decision.โ
The leaders took out coins. The front side represented battle, and the back side represented negotiation. And everyoneโs coin landed on the back side.
โUnanimous decision. Send a messenger down.โ
The pilgrims were expensive, but they didnโt mind if they could get Lamar and the fortress back.
It was an unusually gentle proposal from the normally belligerent rogues of the Black Mountains. The other tribes would have been shocked if they had heard.
โWe might get chased away in anger if we just send a messenger to those guys from the west.โ
โThatโs true. Then letโs also pick someone to go down with the messenger. Take out your coins.โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
โThe emissaries will be here soon for the negotiations.โ
โReally?โ
Johan looked out over the mountain range from the fortress. They had taken a fortress, but the mountain range was still dauntingly high and rugged. He had no intention of venturing into such a place.
The paladins and priests desperately argued to rescue the captured monotheists, but Johan had no intention of going that far.
He had made excuses to far more troublesome opponents, so convincing these naive ones would be easy.
However, if the other party was coming for negotiations, that wasnโt bad either. The pilgrims were more useful than Lamarโs life, after all.
โBut itโs curious. Have the rogues become united enough to send emissaries?โ
Johan knew roughly how the rogues of the Black Mountains operated, thanks to what he heard from Lamar.
Various tribes expelled from the Eastern Empire joined forces to live together, robbing peacefully.
It seemed nice at first glance, but such rogue groups usually struggled to unite in a crisis. Johan honestly found it hard to believe that emissaries were coming.
โ๐ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ ๐จ๐ถ๐บ.โ
โ. . .We are different from other rogues.โ
โYouโre making a joke.โ
Suetlg chuckled derisively at Lamarโs side. Iselia also seemed to agree, laughing along.
โYouโre talking nonsense.โ
โ. . .Itโs different.โ
โFine. Both of you, stop laughing. How is it different?โ
Lamar spoke with a slightly agitated voice.
โWe have laws, a system, and rules. If someone does wrong, we punish them. . .โ
โSo, you donโt punish for stealing?โ
โStop teasing me already.โ
At Johanโs words, Suetlg shrugged and stepped back. Lamar continued.
โ. . .We also have spirits who protect us.โ
Suetlg, who had stepped back, looked at Johan pleadingly. It was a look asking permission to make fun of him. Johan nodded.
โIs it a spirit of theft? A spirit of rogues? Can the spirit not steal from you?โ
โDo not speak ill of the mountain spirit!โ
โThis is getting interesting. . .?โ
Caenerna interjected. Iselia asked in a flustered voice.
โA spirit of theft?โ
โ. . .No, Bluea-nim. Not a spirit of theft, but a mountain spirit.โ
He could not believe that there would be no spirits in such a vast and untamed land as the East. And if it was a spirit that even these fierce brigands revered, it must be a powerful one.
โNot a malevolent spirit?โ
โIt can be hard to tell the difference between a spirit and a malevolent spirit. . .โ
Johan agreed with Caenerna. Originally, the distinction between spirits that were harmful and malevolent spirits was vague.
โIt seems like they want us to meet it. Should we take the opportunity?โ
โI donโt think itโs a good idea. . .โ
Caenerna, who had seemed interested, quickly changed her mind. Even so, they probably would not show an outsider the spirit they worshiped.
They would not do so unless a knife was pointed at your neck.
However, Lamarโs answer was unexpected.
โWe do not prevent anyone from meeting the mountain spirit.โ
โWhat?โ
Johan became even more suspicious at those words. Suetlg seemed to think the same.
โIsnโt this a human sacrifice?โ
โI thought so too.โ
Usually, there was a reason for such easy permission. Perhaps everyone who entered became a sacrifice. . .
โWhat. . . The mountain spirit is not that kind of being!โ
โWhat kind of place is it?โ
โ. . .In any case, the mountain spirit is not that kind of being.โ
Lamar told them what kind of being the mountain spirit was.
The spirit, who resided in a deep cave in the mountains, listened to the requests of the rogues and granted them according to their needs.
Of course, there was a price. The more valuable the request, the greater the price that would be paid.
Recently, to heal a warrior who had become crippled after his leg was broken, they had to offer an amount of silver almost equal to his own weight.
โWow. Iโve been fooled. Even if Suetlg-nim only received half, he would have done it.โ
โ. . .Iโm a wizard, not a doctor. Anyway, itโs interesting. It doesnโt seem to be a malevolent spirit. Malevolent spirits wouldnโt make such fair deals.โ
โHave they ever asked for human sacrifices?โ
Johan asked out of curiosity. Lamar answered firmly.
โThere is an absolute taboo in the tribe against sacrificing people.โ
โ. . .Donโt say that. It might be a malevolent spirit.โ
Judging from the way Lamar spoke, it was clear that they had asked for human sacrifices in the past.
The tribes were wise enough not to offer them, though. . .
โBut are you sure itโs okay for outsiders to visit?โ
โYes.โ
There were two reasons why Lamar said this.
One was because of a promise made to the mountain spirit. A promise not to prevent anyone from visiting the spirit.
And the other reason was that the path to the spirit was virtually impossible to traverse.
There were two paths. One passed through the strongholds of the tribes, and the other went through a remote area of the mountains.
Giants lived there, so even the rogues did not go near it.
โOh. It doesnโt sound so difficult. We can just take the path with the giants.โ
โ. . .?????โ