The New Civilization of Witches

Chapter 119: The Ransom

Petrov Hull sat at the table and unknowingly fiddled with the exquisite parchment — that's the program Longsong Theater sends out every weekend afternoon.

Usually, he would pick a favorite game and let the housekeeper pay the deposit, before giving an invitation to Shirley.

But now he did not read a single word.

Seven days have passed since their departure. If everything went well, I should have come back yesterday with the duke.

There may be delays on the road. Or maybe the people were tired, and rested an extra day in Border Town? He tried to comfort himself, but he became even more anxious.

Prince Roland Wimbledon left a deep impression on him. Petrov felt that it made no sense. How could such an outstanding prince have such a bad reputation in the king city?

People commented that he had a bad character and was dandy, incompetent and knew nothing.

But this was precisely why he felt so uncomfortable.

He was afraid that Duke would lose to him.

“Mr Petrov,” shouted the housekeeper at the door. “There is a letter from Longsong Fortress.”

[From Longsong Fort?] Petrov was momentarily absent-minded. “Quick login.”

After opening the cover, the first word in the letter had already stunned Petrov.

It was a letter written by Prince Roland!

“Duke Osman Ryan attacked my territory with force and tried to start a rebellion. Duke himself has been executed on the battlefield, and Longsong Fortress is now back under my rule.”

[Duke defeated?!] His heart broke, and then he continued reading.

“The hands of Duke Ryan, in addition to some fanatical rebels, have surrendered and pleaded guilty. Families who rebelled against the royal family should have been executed as well, but I have been merciful. Only the main ones involved will be sentenced to death, and the other captives can be redeemed for money. The place to make the exchange was at the master's castle in Longsong Fortress. The list is as follows. ”

This official letter was written in an awkward manner, without using diplomatic language, but its meaning was loud and clear — the duke had failed in his rebellion and the prisoners could be redeemed for money.

Petrov looked down to find his father's name appearing in the first row.

“Hedee!” He shouted the name of the housekeeper. “Prepare the carriage. I'm going to the master's castle in Longsong Fortress!”

…

Earl Honeysuckle's territory was east of Longsong Fortress. When Petrov rushed to the castle area, it was already half an hour later. The nobleman's fortress was filled with “Milisi” which he had never seen — they had no shiny armor and no robes or ribbons. Each held a strange short stick in hand with a sharp bayonet on it. They stood neatly in two rows, with their heads held high. Petrov could sense their undeniable presence.

After reporting his identity, Petrov was given access to the park, and then led by a guard to the castle hall.

He had come to this place many times, but today, he felt like he had stepped into a completely foreign territory. The guards in the hall were all new faces.

No one nodded or smiled at him, but just stared at him blankly. At the entrance of the hall, a knight came towards him.

“What's your name?”

“Petrov Hull,” he replied with a hint of displeasure. He dislikes interrogative dialogue and therefore emphasizes his name a second time. “Sir Hull.”

“Oh.” The other party seemed to be in disbelief. He checked the list. “Earl Shalafi Hull is ..”

“Receive my apology,” said the knight without changing his expression, “I Carter Lannis, Chief Knight Prince Roland. Please come to the side room so we can check if you have any weapons.”

After the search, his God Vengeance Stone was also removed by the guards.

“It was not a weapon,” Petrov said.

“Of course not.” The knight nodded. “After the meeting, we will return it to you. You can be sure.”

He opened his mouth but finally decided not to speak. [Return me? That God of Retaliation Stone was considered a top grade stone and was worth at least 50 gold royals. It will definitely be replaced with a broken one when they return it. Forget it,] he thought, [and take it as part of the ransom.]

As he walked into the hall, he saw Prince Roland writing in his chair. He raised his head and was surprised to see Petrov, but then he laughed. “We meet again, Mr. Ambassador.”

It was still his familiar face and tone. Petrov began to relax a little, bowing and saluting. “Greetings to You, Your Highness.”

“Please sit.” Roland raised his hand to point him to his seat. “I'm sure you know what happened. Your father wasn't hurt. He was one of the first to give up.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness,” Petrov said. “I'm not sure how much ransom is required. As long as Honeysuckle can afford it, I will arrange for them to send the money immediately.”

“I don't need money.” Roland shook his finger. “I want cattle and humans.”

Wanting livestock is natural. In the past 50 years, conflicts between lords have usually been resolved with the losing side offsetting the cows and sheep. Petrov has read this more than once in the book. Why... Prince Roland asked for men? “Your Highness, the Honeysuckle region does have a lot of cows, sheep, and horses, but for men ..”

“It's very simple. The masons, carpenters, farmers, slaves are all useful to me.” The prince handed me a paper roll. “You can follow the value here, as long as the amount is 3,000.” She smiles. “By the way, because the earl can be considered one with the largest title, so the value is also the highest.”

Petrov spread a roll of paper on the table.

He saw it listed by job category and breed of cattle, followed by numbers: cattle 3, sheep 2, artisan 10 and the like. He understood what the prince meant.

A value of 3,000 meant he had to pay a thousand cattle or three hundred masons to redeem his father. Of course, his territory did not have many cattle or masons. Putting items on paper into different groups will result in a variety of choices. As an aristocrat who traded daily, Petrov immediately realized that there were many maneuvers that could be done. He only needed a few days to calculate the optimal solution that had the least cost to meet the 3,000-point requirement.

“Your Majesty, can I ..”

“One day, I can only give you one day.” Roland stretched out his finger. “This simply refers to the time for you to make a choice. After all, it took three or four days to gather so many resources and people. And I won't stay here forever. I'll be gone after a week at most.”

“One day really ..” Petrov was suddenly surprised and looked at the prince with his eyes wide open. “Wait, did you say ... that you want to go?” He fell into his mind.

[What does this mean? If the letter was true, the duke died on the battlefield. Longsong Fortress now belonged to His Majesty, yet he actually wanted to leave.

Was this place less important than the small and broken Border Town? No, this is not the main point! The point is if His Majesty leaves, who will run this magnificent city?] His heart became chaotic.

[Will he allow the Duke's children to inherit it?] He knew very well this was impossible.

“It will make Duke ‘ Do the children have a chance to gather an army to avenge their father? Would he consider five families other than the Ryan family or any other noble families? ”

“Ya,” said Roland, “I will take the ransom and return to Border Town.”

His heart was suddenly filled with thoughts, and once this idea appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

“Your Highness,” Petrov said in a low voice, after gulping, “Sorry, is there a numerical value for ‘redeem’ Longsong Fortress?”