Riding and Slashing

Chapter 203 No Cost Transaction

Gregory IV and Brennus finally reached the city wall.

Both of them had sweat on their foreheads.

"Your Majesty Gregory, I heard that you brought troops here to hunt down the rebels? Are you going to continue to hunt down?"

The lord did not salute, and asked directly with a smile on his face, as if he was the king.

"Your Excellency Li Ang, since the rebellion is no longer here, of course I want to withdraw more, if you have no objection..."

Gregory IV's legs are a little weak now, and his heart is still a little weak. What he said is not like what a king should say. Simply put, he seems a little cowardly.

"Of course I have no objection, if you are willing to surrender..."

Li Ang opened his mouth like a lion, and even Brennus couldn't believe this condition—the Duke even scratched his ears, obviously thinking that he might have heard it wrong.

"This is impossible! Your Excellency Li Ang... If this is the case, then fight to the death!"

Although Gregory IV seemed a bit cowardly, he would never agree to such a shameful condition and surrender to a baron?Then he might as well die on the spot...

"But you have invaded my territory, so you can't just leave, right? At least you have to leave something behind... If you are really not afraid of death, I can let the Noldor elves give you a ride..."

Li Ang still shook his head with a smile on his face.

Seeing that Li Ang was planning to blackmail Gregory IV, the Duke of Brennus widened his eyes and didn't even know whether to speak, so he simply found a battlement and sat down to watch the two negotiate.

The marshal now looks like Li Ang's subordinate...

"Your territory? This is the castle of the rebels! It's no man's land!"

Gregory IV argued.

"Eh... this place can indeed be regarded as Baron Leon's territory now. He is a rebel. Since he led troops to occupy the castle of the rebels, this territory is indeed his..."

Brennus helped Li Ang with an answer. This scene was obviously intended to blackmail Gregory IV, and Brennus would not turn his elbow outward.

"Hey, Your Majesty Gregory, you heard it too... and when you attacked Fort Eagle Claw, it didn't belong to the rebels! Besides... My Fletcher Village was also invaded by Earl Stephen. It's you Arranged, right? There should be no excuse for the Ravencrow army to invade the territory of Fletcher Village, right? You came to suppress the rebellion, but all your troops attacked my territory! Say it yourself, should I compensate for my losses? "

Li Ang acted quite arrogantly, as if he had really suffered a huge loss.

Gregory IV really had nothing to say about the arrangements in Fletcher Village—it was indeed he who arranged for Earl Stephen to block the eastern lord of the Sarleon Kingdom there.

Although he didn't let Earl Stephen attack Fletcher Village, since Li Ang came here, it meant that he must have repelled Earl Stephen, so the loss was indeed caused by the invasion of the Ravencrow Kingdom.

"Then what are you going to do? Anyway, even if the whole army is wiped out, I can't surrender!"

Gregory IV didn't make any excuses, and directly stated his position, which seemed to be quite bachelor.

"Well, Your Majesty, let your troops disarm, I allow you to take all the nobles and lords away, but your soldiers must stay here. You can redeem them with money within a month-but I will take it after a month If I get the money, I will sell them to Singal. Isn’t this embarrassing you?”

Li Ang gave a seemingly reasonable condition, so good that Gregory IV couldn't believe it.

This approach is indeed in line with Gregory IV's wishes.

As long as all the nobles can go back, it doesn't matter if the civilian soldiers stay here. Anyway, to Gregory IV, the civilian soldiers are like leeks...

As for whether to redeem the soldiers after returning to the country-these are the conscripts of the noble lords of various families, and whoever wants to redeem them can let the lords pay for themselves.

"If that's the case, then of course..."

Gregory IV was about to agree, but Li Ang put his hand in front of his face and stopped him.

"Your Majesty, I haven't finished yet...You group of nobles want to cross the Jatu Grassland without soldiers, it's very dangerous—someone must be in charge of security work, right? I just happen to be specialized in this business... "

The Lord Lord's raised hand turned into a gesture of counting gold coins.

"I don't need to worry about this, Your Excellency Li Ang!"

Gregory IV's face began to twitch again.

"Oh?...It seems that you and the Jatu warlord Zakar did have such a shameful deal...That's fine, I wish you good luck, I hope you will not encounter any horse thieves after leaving Eagle Claw Castle..."

Since the king doesn't care about the safety of his life, there is no need for the lord to insist...

"You! Duke Brennus, are all the young lords of your Sarleon Kingdom such shameless people now?!"

Gregory IV felt that he had been intimidated and threatened, and turned his head to Brennus and asked indignantly.

"Heh... why do you think he can become a traitor at such a young age? I don't even have the qualifications to use the golden coat of arms..."

With a hint of sneer on his face, Brennus turned his head and said sarcastic remarks.

"Okay...Okay! Your Excellency Li Ang, just tell me, how much do you want!"

Gregory IV simply asked clearly, he didn't want to stay here any longer, so as not to be so angry that there was nowhere to heal him.

"It hurts to talk about money... Just give me Dark Falcon Castle, anyway, you don't plan to take it anymore, do you?"

The lord smiled even brighter. How can there be a king who does not cherish his life...

Brennus' eyes widened again, and Li Ang's request exceeded his expectations again.

"That is the territory of the Stephen family! How could it be given to you?!"

Gregory IV was also shocked. He was already mentally prepared to be slaughtered, but he didn't expect Li Ang to ask for the castle!

"You are planning to sell Darkfalcon Castle to Zakar, what about the Stephen family... Earl Stephen's cavalry retreated a few days ago, leaving you here-this is a deserter, if you If I don't take back his fief of Darkfalcon Castle because of this, I can't stand it..."

What the lord meant was to ask Gregory IV to punish Earl Stephen, who withdrew early on the grounds of 'cowardice', to take back his territory of Darkfalcon Castle, and then transfer it to Leon.

"Are you extorting? What if I don't agree?"

Gregory IV did not directly object, but he was quite dissatisfied with Li Ang's approach.

"Your Majesty, just say whether you agree or not—if you agree, just write a transfer document and seal it. The Duke of Brennus is a ready-made witness... In other words, you give the ruined place of Darkfalcon Castle to you." Only I, I can send someone to 'protect' you back home, right? Or do you think my subordinates are happy to go to your place of ice and snow?"

Li Ang looked indifferent—it really didn't matter, and it wasn't him who was running out of ammunition and food.

"You are a bandit! A robber! How can there be a noble like you? Don't you have any sense of honor in your heart?"

Gregory IV's eyes were red, and he cursed in a low voice, looking like he was about to go crazy.

"Your Majesty Gregory, I am the lord of the Sarleon Kingdom. To open up territory for the kingdom is the greatest honor for a noble lord..."

The lord was completely unmoved, and the kind smile on his face did not change at all.

"Okay... I'll give you Darkfalcon Castle! Let's see how you deal with the Jatus and Misty Mountain people there!"

Gregory IV gritted his back molars and whispered.

"Then find a place to write a letter of transfer of the territory. Remember to write an armistice agreement by the way. I will sign it with the Duke of Brennus in a while... Do you need me to find someone to write it for you?"

The lord gave a thoughtful reminder.

Gregory IV snorted, turned and went down the city wall, ignoring Li Ang.

However, on the way back to his army, Gregory IV seemed less timid.Although he was slaughtered, no matter what, he knew that his safety was at least guaranteed.

There were only two people left on the wall.

"My lord, let's make a deal..."

Li Ang turned his head to look at Brennus, with a serious expression instead of a smile on his face.

"You want Eagle Talon, don't you?"

Brennus twirled his beard and looked at Li Ang. Seeing that Li Ang asked Gregory IV for Darkfalcon Castle, he thought he probably understood Li Ang's intentions.

"No, there is nothing to talk about in Eagle Claw Fort. This is the spoils I deserve... What I want is Changhe Town."

Li Ang glanced at the lion knights and royal guards who were still sitting in the city, and then turned his head to look into Brennus' eyes: "Master Brennus, get your people out of Changhe Town, I will Going to fight against that rebel Grandlon..."

Brennus couldn't remember how many times he was surprised here, but this time was the worst.

He even shook his whole body and tore off a bunch of his beard, but he didn't seem to feel any pain.

"...How do you know?...How do you know that I sent the troops that Grand Long recruited in Changhe Town?"

After a full half minute of silence, Brennus asked this sentence in a low voice.

"You are the most powerful duke in the entire kingdom. You have a rich territory, a large population, and a powerful army... But this time you only brought the king's troops. So where are your direct troops?"

Li Ang shook his head lightly: "Your son Malbert replaced you as the administrator of Changhe Town, and after Grand Long occupied Changhe Town, he was able to recruit a large number of troops with strong combat effectiveness so easily in a short period of time... Ha, even if I guess, I can guess it!"

In fact, Li Ang was indeed guessing just now, but he knew that the probability of guessing correctly should be relatively high.

After Ge Langlong occupied Changhe Town, he recruited a strong army of more than 500 people in just a few days, which is not in line with common sense.

And the only person who has the opportunity to arrange so many undercover soldiers 'waiting to be recruited' in Long River Town is Brennus' son, Lord Malbert - at least he is the administrator of Long River Town.

And judging from Malbert's previous acting skills, he also has this ability. This dude who seems to travel all day long is actually very shrewd.

Hesitation and surprise appeared in Brennus' eyes, and he didn't speak for a long time.

"It's just the two of us right now, Lord Brennus, I'll just say it straight - I know you probably want Grandlon to stay in Longhe Town for a while longer, so that you can raise the thief's self-respect and earn money. There are a lot of benefits...and when necessary, you can always cooperate internally and externally to kill Grand Long, or change to a 'traitor' to continue occupying Changhe Town. But that is just gaining benefits after all, and you will never get Changhe Town—it is a matter of course The only one who got Changhe Town is me, the traitor!"

Li Ang simply pointed out Brennus' thoughts directly.

"Li Ang, I still underestimate you... I can withdraw from Changhe Town, but do you think you can become the master of Changhe Town? Your Majesty will not be happy, and all nobles will not be happy..."

Looking at the young face of the lord, Brennus shook his head slowly.

"Ha, that's my business... His Majesty will be happy..."

Li Ang smiled, and looked at the troops sitting in the city—more than half of the Lion Knights were killed and injured, and the rest were basically all wounded.However, there are only more than 300 people in the Wangcheng guards who are still alive.

"Then let me just say it. I can't just suffer losses. Since you said it's a deal, what price do you plan to offer?"

Brennus frowned and asked the price.

"Talking about money hurts feelings... Wouldn't it be okay to send all the people you arranged in Changhe Town to Lion Lake City? Lion Lake City is much richer than Changhe Town, and it's closer to Cliff Bay. The benefits you can reap And more..."

Li Ang's business has always been done very fairly, all without cost.

"How to get it? It is impossible for Lion Lake City to be sealed to me, and it will definitely become His Majesty's territory directly under his control... and there are no rebels in Lion Lake City now!"

Brennus didn't quite understand. In a place where there were no rebels, how could he raise thieves to reap benefits?
"Who said there were no rebels... Didn't Fawcett run away?"

The lord spread his hands: "As long as we all say that he is still in Lion Lake City, he must be in Lion Lake City... This is much easier to control than Changhe Town!"

Brennus was stunned for a long time before shaking his head and sighing, "You're really good..."

Lion Lake City is indeed richer than Changhe Town, and Brennus really thinks Lion Lake City is more convenient-he is currently controlling Lion Lake City, as long as Li Ang can unanimously declare that Lion Lake City is occupied by Fawcett, he can even take over the entire city. Lion Lake City grabs all!

Anyway, the nobles who are currently staying in Lion Lake City are indeed those who supported Fawcett before, and they are all true adherents. It is reasonable to rob them all - those nobles who are not willing to attach to Fawcett have been driven out of Lion Lake City long ago , no one would trouble Brennus for this.

"...Okay, then it's settled, I will let my troops withdraw from Changhe Town... However, I think you may not get what you want."

Brennus nodded in agreement, and he also needed Li Ang to keep his voice consistent, otherwise Li Ang would reveal the matter, and he would not be able to reap the benefits of Changhe Town.Since Li Ang is willing to cooperate with him in doing things in Lion Lake City, it is acceptable.

Li Ang laughed, and stretched out his hand to Brennus: "Then, happy cooperation, Lord Duke... we can go to sign an armistice agreement with Ravencrow Kingdom."

Gregory IV indeed drafted two agreements, one was to transfer Darkfalcon Castle to Leon to "make an apology". The witness signed a third-party certificate.

The other one was to declare a truce and acknowledge the Ravencrow Kingdom's "too reckless to cross the border" truce agreement.This is actually a letter of credence. Brennus is the marshal of the kingdom and can sign as the king's representative, and Li Ang is the witness of this agreement.

Darkfalcon Castle is now nominally the territory of Leon, and Gregory IV will take Darkfalcon Castle under the jurisdiction and transfer it to Leon on the grounds that Earl Stephen withdrew without permission.

Although Darkfalcon Castle is an enclave, it is a legal territory that King Ravensaw personally wrote the contract, which is at least an expansion of territory thousands of miles away.

Moreover, Li Ang asked Gregory IV to transfer directly, which was actually tantamount to saving Gregory IV's face-this is not a claim for peace after the defeat, but "compensation for the losses caused to Li Ang due to the reckless dispatch of troops."

Li Ang did suffer losses, but it wasn't at the hands of the Ravens, but more than a dozen soldiers were killed in battle against the Jatus, including five Noldor warriors under Neuer.

Fifteen hundred civilian soldiers of the Ravencrow Kingdom were disarmed and stayed at Fort Eagle Claw.

The wounded among them were properly treated by An Sen, and the uninjured ones began to clean the battlefield under the command of the female soldiers—it was really just cleaning, because the weapons, equipment and valuables on the battlefield had long been taken away by Li Ang's troops. gone.

The main job of these Ravencrow prisoners is actually to move the corpses out of the city and clean up the bloody castle...

When all the dust settled, Li Ang sent a troop to escort the nobles of the Ravencrow Kingdom back home.

To be precise, it was to take over Darkfalcon Castle—in fact, as long as Li Ang did not allow his subordinates to act as horse thieves, Gregory IV would not need an escort when he crossed the grassland...

The troop he sent was not large. It was a 100-man Pande soldier led by Sir Roland. They were all the lord's own troop, and An Dongjia was also in the troop.

When the team left, Ren also bid farewell to Li Ang.

Ren never expected that Li Ang would defeat or weaken the Ravencrow Kingdom's troops before. In fact, he never expected that Li Ang could blackmail Gregory IV.

It was actually an unexpected surprise for Renn that Li Ang could get Dark Falcon Castle.

Amy led the troops to save Ryan's life, and of course Ryan wanted to repay.

Li Ang detained the soldiers of the Ravencrow Kingdom again, and created excellent conditions for the rebels Ursula and Ren, which was even more rewarding.

In addition, Ren also wanted to rebuild the Falcon Knights in Dark Falcon Castle.

Therefore, Ren swore that as long as he was not allowed to betray Ursula and the Falcon Knights, he would obey all of Li Ang's orders, and he sold himself to the lord.

In other words, as long as he is not allowed to break his previous vow, he is Li Ang's wage earner.

Ursula's rebel army had been active around Darkfalcon Castle before. Sir Wren was able to pull out a lot of troops in Darkfalcon Castle. Although the Falcon Knights were wiped out, their influence in Darkfalcon Castle was still great. .

This is also the main reason why Gregory IV agreed to Li Ang's request.

And Li Ang has learned from Rennes that Ursula has formed an alliance with the Sarleon Kingdom. With Rennes' relationship, Ursula will also regard Li Ang as an ally.

That being the case, then the enclave of Darkfalcon Castle would be a truly controllable territory.

Ursula needs a lord who can support them in Darkfalcon Castle, which will give her rebels a way out. Keeping Darkfalcon Castle in the hands of Leon will not be attacked by Ravencrow Kingdom. After all, the two countries have signed armistice agreement.

And Li Ang needs Dark Falcon Castle, on the one hand, to arrange business in Ravencrowland and Misty Mountains-some businesses, in the bitter cold north of Misty Mountains, can get the most benefits.

On the other hand, it was for An Dongjia to recruit Miwu Mountain people.

White Hart Castle and Maixiangling need to wait for population growth, and it is not easy to quickly expand the size of the troops. At present, they can only try to recruit troops from the Bacchus who are gradually relocating here—the "empire" that originally belonged to Levius. Those peasants of the Second Legion'.

But there is no need to wait for the source of troops from Misty Mountain. Even Dark Falcon Castle can quickly pull up a troop.

As for how to ensure the actual control of Darkfalcon Castle and the loyalty of the soldiers - this is why Li Ang asked Sir Roland to go to Darkfalcon Castle.

It is impossible for a paladin like Roland to betray, because Roland will not be loyal to anyone at all.

And Li Ang is going to turn a large number of Misty Mountain people from looters into good citizens. In Roland's eyes, this is basically a fundamental implementation of the will of the Goddess of Justice, and Roland is an excellent military trainer.

Before Ren left, he asked Li Ang a question: "My lord, do you think Ms. Ursula can become the queen of Ravencrow Realm?"

Li Ang thought for a while, but did not answer directly, but gave Ren a few suggestions: "I can make Gregory IV back down, just because his troops are exhausted and have no supplies. But even so, he is unwilling to do anything. Things that will directly lose your dominance... Don't think that catching him or killing him will make Ursula queen, you can only beat him in every way and prove that Ursula is better than him... "

I don't know if Ren listened, but anyway, he just saluted respectfully, and then said: "My lord, I think you are better than the king in all aspects..."

The lord didn't speak any more, and waved his hand to tell Ren to get out of here.

After cleaning the battlefield, Amy rebuilt the 'New Falcon Claw' station in Eagle Claw Fort.

She wants to make the female soldiers of the Griffin Sword Mercenary Group into new Falcon Claws.

Of course, the extraordinary female warriors of the Griffin Sword Mercenary Corps adore Countess Valera, and it is a great honor for them to be a member of the new Falcon Claw.

This rebuilt 'New Falcon Claw' just took advantage of Countess Valera's reputation and the nature of Falcon Claw. They are actually an independent armed force—they are not Falcon Knight's followers, in fact In fact, they have nothing to do with the Falcon Knights at all, and the female soldiers have no intention of joining the Falcon Knights, which has been declared illegal...

Their establishment is actually called 'Griffin Claw', but in order to facilitate the recruitment of newcomers, they announced it as 'New Falcon Claw'.

The female soldiers are simply following their idol, Valera.

And Amy is using this method to make them gradually forget about Milgan-using idol worship to dilute the influence of the Neptune, which is the same meaning that Emperor Mario used Damia's belief to dilute heresy.

This is just to make these female soldiers completely become Amy's independent troops.

Amy will temporarily stay in Eagle Claw Castle to cultivate her feelings with her female soldiers. She is now not only the leader of Griffin Claw, but also the lord of Eagle Claw Castle.

This is also specially made to leverage the influence of Countess Valera, a new Griffin Claw led by a female lord, which will allow more people to take their seats and attract many people to settle here.

There are almost no residents in Eagle Claw Fort right now, and Li Ang and Amy plan to use this method to attract people from the surrounding villages.

Amy, the female lord, is actually not legal, but it is reasonable-whoever Li Ang wants to let Eagle Claw Castle take charge, that is Li Ang's freedom.

At the same time, Sarah is also staying in Eagle Claw Fort. She will look for more female fighters who are willing to join the 'New Falcon Claw', and form a reliable female soldier team with Amy.

(End of this chapter)