Amid the crowd, the black-haired boy and silver-haired girl kept a low profile, silently listening to Marquis Ilus's speech with wary eyes.
"Brother, we..."
"Shh—"
The black-haired boy held a finger to his lips and whispered, "Don't say anything yet. We'll talk after we get back."
"Mm."
The silver-haired girl nodded, clutched her brother's arm, and lowered her head.
Ilus was very satisfied as he watched the adventurers below.
Their strengths varied, and their professions were all over the place, but their individual combat power was formidable. They were somewhat useless for defending a city, yet more than sufficient as a surprise attack force.
Moreover, they only needed to be hired with money. If they died, he would not even need to fulfill his promises. They were simply the most perfect cannon fodder.
If the war ended and any of them survived to come asking for rewards, he could just execute them all on charges of treason.
As long as there were no witnesses, no one would know about his empty verbal promises, and his reputation would remain untarnished.
"Distribute the Gold Coins according to their strength."
The two Six-Seal Knights standing behind Ilus immediately directed their subordinates to carry over the treasure chests. They opened them before the adventurers, revealing the Gold Coins within.
At the sight of the glittering Gold Coins, the adventurers standing in the front rows began breathing heavily.
"Distribute them."
At the command, more than a dozen soldiers began handing out Gold Coins to each adventurer.
After a while, the black-haired boy looked at the fifty Gold Coins in his hand. Thirty belonged to him, while the other twenty belonged to his sister.
"Everyone, please rest in the military camp. Once we crush the enemy army, there will be even greater rewards."
"Thank you, Marquis."