Imperial Crown.

Chapter 101 Huge harvest, a group of "lively treasures"

When Raven and others arrived at the scorpion's nest, it was already completely dark.

As soon as the group rushed into the hall, a blizzard began. The howling wind hit the door and lingered around the castle, as if dozens or hundreds of witches were singing together.

However, this did not make the Eagle Army more energetic. They forced themselves to enter the gate. They did not even have time to eat dinner. They just found a place to lie down in a disorderly manner and fell into a deep sleep.

"Put up the pots and cook whatever goodies are in the Scorpion Nest kitchen." Raven yawned, "Don't wait until they wake up and find nothing to eat and go hungry."

The horse thieves in the Scorpion's Nest were either dead or escaped, and the two big horse thieves, Fire Beard and Steel Teeth, had also fled.

After a series of fierce battles, they were finally safe for the time being.

Volav took the order and retreated, and began to prepare meals with a few personal soldiers who were not seriously injured.

Soon, the pot was set up and a rich meaty aroma began to waft through the air. When the first bowl of broth was brought to Raven, some Eagle Army soldiers had already sat up, sniffing.

The one in charge of cooking was Raven's personal soldier. He couldn't say he had any special skills, but the soup was solid.

Large chunks of frozen meat, whole peeled potatoes, stored white radishes, pickled snow vegetables, together with horse cheese, salt, butter, and a few snow clams, are cooked into a sticky stew.

Looking at the sizzling hot appearance, it looks just like a pot of Northeastern stew from the previous life.

High in oil, salt and temperature, it is definitely not healthy from the perspective of previous lives, but on the bloody highlands, after experiencing a series of wars, it is the most delicious delicacy in the world.

Stirring the food slightly with a spoon to skim off the fat on the surface, Raven lowered his head and ate it in big mouthfuls. The salty, fresh, milky and meaty flavors mixed together harmoniously, warming up his body that was almost penetrated by the cold wind.

It would be nice if there was a bowl of rice!

The soldiers of the Eagle Army were attracted by the aroma. They picked up their bowls and started to devour them. The atmosphere was still dull, but it was somewhat lively.

After a simple meal, Raven called Volaf over and said, "Before you left, you said you wanted me to make a decision on something. What was it?"

"It's like this, Baron." A strange look flashed in Volaf's eyes: "We found a group of gray dwarf slaves in the dungeon, the same group Simon mentioned before, a total of seventeen."

Looking at his expression, Raven felt a little surprised.

It was obviously a good thing to be able to find the gray dwarf slaves, so why was he acting so strange?
Never mind, you’ll know when we meet.

"Are they the only ones in the Scorpion's Nest?"

"There are still many abducted women here," Volav said. "I'm afraid they might run away, so I've temporarily locked them up with the slaves."

"Then bring them all up." Raven ordered.

Volav turned and left, opening the side door and going to the dungeon.

Raven was a little bored for a moment, his eyes wandering around.

Seeing Nancy sitting in the corner sniffing, Raven smiled and handed over the softened water bag: "Thank you for this expedition."

"Hmph, you have a conscience." Nancy took the water bag and held it in her arms. Her words were not very polite, but a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth that she couldn't suppress.

Not long after, accompanied by the sound of chaotic footsteps, a group of gray dwarves came up wearing handcuffs and shackles.

This scene immediately attracted everyone's attention. After all, the Eagle Army who had been living in the Eagle Territory had never seen any "magical creatures".

Raven also looked at the appearance of these guys.

The gray dwarves are a branch of dwarves. Not only are their height and physique very similar to those of dwarves, they are also good at processing minerals and forging weapons and equipment, just like dwarves.

The price of an adult gray dwarf is usually over two thousand gold coins, and the younger it is, the more valuable it is.

These seventeen people are worth at least thirty or forty thousand gold coins.

Their height is generally around 1.3 to 1.4 meters. They wear thick black leather armor, have physiques as sturdy as barrels, and have beards of varying styles, some of which even drag down to their feet.

Unlike the bronze skin of ordinary dwarves, the skin of these gray dwarves is a blue-gray color like mineral, and their pupils are a blood red that looks very cruel.

In the darkness, a dozen pairs of scarlet eyes, coupled with their square yet gray faces, looked like a dozen zombies, giving people a huge sense of oppression.

But as soon as they opened their mouths, the feeling of oppression disappeared, along with the value of the two thousand gold coins.

"Oh my god! These guys eat so well, how can it smell so good?!"

"Look at how miserable they are. They are so weak even after beating a Heleti. If they hadn't arrived too early, we would have killed the Sand King by now!"

"You big fool, what the hell are you looking at? Come on, give me the food in your hand, and I will forgive you!"

This is another characteristic of the gray dwarves, they are talkative and dirty.

"Stop arguing!" the gray dwarf with a long braided beard who was walking in front shouted, "It's because of you that outsiders think we gray dwarves are rude and disrespectful!"

"Come on!" A gray dwarf with a messy beard bumped into him from behind. "It's because you keep talking about shitty manners and make us look easy to bully that we were captured and made into slaves!"

"Shut up!" Raven was also a little annoyed by the noise of these guys. Now he finally understood why Volaf's expression was so strange.

But no one listened to him. One of the gray dwarves even stood up and shouted at Nancy: "Hey, red-haired girl, do you want to try my skills? My penis is much bigger than that of humans. It will definitely make you feel so good that you can spray it on the face of the Lord of Light!"

brush.

A ball of fire immediately appeared in Nancy's hand, and she stared at the guy.

"Lord of the Forge! Magician!" The guy who was talking nonsense immediately covered his mouth. He knew he had offended the wrong person, but he was still pinned down by several dwarves next to him and was beaten and kicked.

"I'll let you talk dirty, I'll let you talk dirty!"

"Stop!" Raven shouted.

With Nancy's intimidation from behind, the group of gray dwarves finally quieted down.

Raven raised his eyelids and glanced over: "Who is in charge among you?"

"I."

"I!"

The man with a braided beard and the man with a messy beard refused to give in to each other and each took a step forward.

Raven asked, "What are your names?"

"Bowell Grayhammer!" Braid Beard puffed out his chest proudly: "The heir to the jewelry family that has been passed down for thousands of years!"

"Suohei Iron Hand!" The man with the messy beard refused to give in. "The founder of a forging family that has been passed down for thousands of years!"

Raven's mouth twitched. Facing this group of "lively treasures", he really couldn't get angry, but he didn't have any extra energy to waste on them, so he got straight to the point:
"I am Raven Ota Griffith, Baron of the Cairns Empire."

"You were once the slaves of the Sand King. Now that I have rescued you from the Sand King, you are now the slaves of my Griffith family."

"I will provide you with housing, food, and if you work hard, I can even provide you with beer and wages!"

"Hey!" Bowell suddenly interrupted Raven: "Don't mention wine when you mention dwarves. Who said dwarves must drink? You are being racist!"

"Bullshit!" Sohei shouted, "If dwarves don't drink, they are not dwarves, and they are betraying the teachings of the Lord of the Forge!" "Shut up!" Even Raven couldn't bear it anymore. He uttered a syllable and flames suddenly ignited in his palms.

Another magician!

The gray dwarves all covered their mouths.

"From today on, you will all obey my orders and serve me. Do you have any opinions?"

The gray dwarves all shook their heads.

"Then it is settled." Raven shook off the flames in his palm: "Swear to the Master of the Forge."

The Lord of the Forge is the god of fire and forging, and the protector of the dwarves. His status among dwarves is equivalent to that of the Lord of Light among humans.

"Before I swear, can I ask one more question?" Although it was a question, Bowell didn't expect to get an answer at all, and asked again: "How many years do we serve you?"

"One hundred years," Raven said.

As soon as these words were uttered, the gray dwarves were about to go crazy again.

Although they have a long lifespan, a dwarf can live to more than 600 years if he is healthy, and a hundred years is equivalent to more than ten years for humans.

But that was a hundred years after all, not just a dozen years.

Seeing their displeasure, Raven did not intend to continue to argue with them: "It's a hundred years now. Every time you bargain, you will get another hundred years!"

"vampire!"

"Black-hearted noble!"

"This guy deserves to go into the furnace!"

The gray dwarves complained, but they had to swear allegiance to the Lord of the Forge and be loyal to Raven.

"Volaf, give them the keys to the handcuffs and shackles." After they finished swearing, Raven ordered, "Bowell, Sohei, take your people to find a place to rest. Do not leave the Scorpion Nest, do not harass women, and you can drink, but do not get drunk, and do not disturb my soldiers."

"Yes, Lord Baron!"

These gray dwarves adapted to their new identities very well and turned around and left very obediently.

Just as he was about to leave, Bowell suddenly turned around and said, "My Lord Baron, um... you are not allowed to harass any woman?"

"Of course, what do you mean?" Raven was a little confused.

"That's right... Heleti has locked up a woman on the third floor." Bowell said, "It seems that no one has brought her food for two days!"

"It's three days, idiot!" Sohei shouted, jumping up and down.

Raven raised his brow.

The woman held in solitary confinement on the third floor?
"Margaret, go to the third floor and bring the person over!"

"Ah?" Margaret, who was recovering her energy, opened her eyes in surprise. Although she was helpless, she still agreed: "Yes, Baron."

Then he turned to Volav and said, "Bring the women up as well."

Nancy was unwilling to spend any extra energy on the "untouchables".

But after experiencing the difficult march on the bloody highlands and witnessing the Eagle Army's heroic spirit of sacrificing their lives, her mentality has quietly changed. She began to understand why Raven attached so much importance to people at the bottom of society.

In her eyes, ordinary people are no longer just properties and numbers, but gradually become flesh and blood.

Therefore, when the women who were abducted to the Scorpion's Nest appeared in the hall, Nancy was quite shocked and her sympathy was aroused by the scene before her.

Even in the winter on the Bloody Highlands, these women wore the crudest, thinnest linen dresses, which were quite tattered. Their hands and feet were exposed, covered with mud and dust, and patches of frostbite could be seen.

Their bodies were curled up and hunched, with scars of various shapes on their necks and cuffs, including burns, scratches, and whip marks. The new wounds overlapped with the old scars, which was shocking to the sight.

For the horse thieves, these women were just toys for them to vent their emotions and have fun. They could abuse and insult them at will without feeling any pity.

There are plenty of women below the Bloody Highlands. If this batch dies, we can still rob another batch.

This scene immediately made the Eagle Army soldiers present breathe heavily!
They were born in the Eagle Territory, had witnessed the attacks of horse thieves, and had lost their wives, daughters, and sisters. Although they had long known that they would not have a good ending, when they saw it all with their own eyes, their hatred for the horse thieves deepened!

I should have killed more people on the battlefield before!

The bullied women looked at Raven and the others with eyes full of vigilance and panic. They knelt down as soon as they entered the door, but no one dared to speak.

"...I'm Raven, a baron." Raven introduced himself again: "I have killed the King of Sand. I plan to rest here for a few days and then set off to return to my territory."

"I will take you away with me to my territory, where you can have your own house, your own life, your own future, and even regain your freedom, provided that you can work for me long enough and diligently enough."

Raven's conditions were not lenient, but the women still refused to believe it. They were all stunned and looked at Raven with suspicion, as if they wanted to see clearly what the lord was planning.

One can imagine what kind of life these people lead in the Scorpion Nest.

Raven would not force them to believe him now, and waved his hand: "It has nothing to do with you now, go away."

The women bowed and left.

Raven felt a little heavy-hearted, but like the Eagle Army, he felt a little relieved amidst the heaviness.

At least their arrival saved a group of innocent women.

"Okay, things have almost been dealt with, you all should go and take a rest." Raven looked at Volaf and Eric.

Volaf and Eric were also very tired. Although the decisive battle lasted only one day, the fatigue had already penetrated into their bones. So they bowed to Raven and left, and went to sleep.

The bonfire was burning brightly and the hall soon became quiet again.

At this moment, a fierce shout came from the corridor: "Let me go, you dirty heretic, I will never listen to your lies!"

As soon as he looked over, Raven saw Margaret walking back into the hall holding a chain. Behind the chain was a heavy handcuff, which was fastened to the hand of a female knight.

These handcuffs are made of "Magic Sealing Steel" and can seal the fighting spirit and magic power in the body of a transcendent.

Raven frowned slightly, and Nancy's eyes showed a bit of vigilance, because this woman was really beautiful.

She had chestnut hair as smooth as satin, a face that was clean and delicate, a look that was rarely seen on the bloody highlands, eyes as sharp as a lioness, and teeth biting her thin lips.

The most eye-catching thing is the enchanted plate armor she is wearing, which is both practical and ornamental, and shines brightly in the dim environment - this is the standard plate armor of the Vatican Knights!

The moment she saw Raven, the female knight was stunned:
"who are you?"

"Where is Heleti!?"

……

(End of this chapter)