Under the Tongue

Aside from the burly leader personally selected by Sean, the other captured water bandits were roughly herded into the lower hold by the soldiers. The burly leader, meanwhile, was escorted by two soldiers to change into clean clothes before being taken to Sean's cabin.

On the deck, Thor and Phil leaned against the railings, gasping for breath. As they worked through the guilt of killing for the first time, they gradually calmed down. They exchanged a glance, then got up and headed toward Sean's cabin.

After all, as Sean's attendant and servant, they needed to remain by his side at all times, ready to receive his orders or fulfill their duty of protecting him.

They soon arrived outside Sean's cabin. After Thor stepped forward and knocked first, they heard Sean say, "Come in," then pushed open the cabin door. At that moment, Sean was the only one inside.

"Young Master, we're back." Thor and Phil saluted Sean, and Thor spoke.

"How is it? Are you all right now?" Sean smiled as he looked them over and asked gently.

"Thank you, Young Master. We're both fine now." Thor still spoke for the two of them. Then he continued, "Young Master, thank you for taking such good care of us. We both understand... Thank you, Young Master." Phil nodded in agreement beside him.

"It's good that you understand. Then my efforts weren't in vain..." Sean nodded slightly and said to Thor and Phil.

After all, one was his Knight Squire, while the other was an attendant candidate he intended to cultivate. Naturally, they needed to see blood early on and understand the cruelty of war.

"My lord, it seems you have some special intentions for that water bandit leader..." Phil, who had been standing slightly behind Thor, suddenly stepped forward and respectfully asked Sean. Yet there was an indescribable undertone in his voice.

"Mm." Sean nodded slightly. Just as he was about to explain it to them, several knocks came from the cabin door. His expression immediately turned solemn, then quickly returned to normal as he called, "Come in..."

As soon as he spoke, the door slowly opened. Two soldiers stood at the entrance, holding the burly leader, who had changed into clean clothes, and waiting respectfully.

Sean waved to the soldiers, and they escorted the burly leader into his cabin. The moment they entered, the two soldiers responsible for guarding him saluted Sean. Then one of them reported, "My lord, following your orders, the water bandit leader has been brought here..."

"You've worked hard. Go back and rest," Sean instructed them pleasantly.

"Yes!" The soldiers saluted again and answered loudly, then backed out of the cabin. The burly leader remained behind, looking restrained. With a soft click as the door closed, the cabin door gently shut.

Only Sean, Thor, Phil, and the burly leader remained in the cabin. The moment the door closed, the burly leader could no longer control himself. His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees before Sean.

"Do you want to die, or do you want to live..." Sean was very satisfied to see the burly leader kneel before him so knowingly. He asked in a gentle tone.

"M-My lord, I... I want to live..." Although Sean's tone was extremely gentle, the content of his words made the burly leader deeply uneasy. Earlier on deck, two of his water bandit subordinates had heard those same words. Their corpses had not even gone cold yet. It was easy to imagine how much the burly leader did not want to hear them...

"Very good. I like honest people... You understand." Sean smiled, though his tone left no room for doubt.

"My lord, I will... I will be an honest man. Whatever... whatever questions you have, I am willing to be of service..." The burly leader finally began to ease his fear, and by the end, there was even a hint of flattery in his voice.

"Then, as a good start, please introduce yourself first..." Sean spoke as though he were attending a banquet, warmly and politely exchanging pleasantries with unfamiliar nobles.

"My lord, my name is Vinson. I am a minor leader in the Gil River Bandit Group..." Vinson immediately introduced himself upon hearing Sean's request.

"Wait. You said you're from the Gil River Bandit Group? You don't mean the Gil River Bandit Group that was bold enough to kidnap a Noble Cadet?" Sean abruptly interrupted Vinson's introduction and asked in surprise.

"Y-Yes, my lord..." Vinson answered awkwardly after hearing Sean's question.

"Don't tell me you still don't know that the Garrison came to subdue you this time. Why were you still thinking of walking into a trap?" Sean looked at Vinson with surprise and confusion in his voice.

"My lord, you don't understand..." Vinson revealed a bitter smile and spoke with clear reluctance. After struggling for a while, he finally continued, "Our boss... uh... Chief Gil of the Gil River Bandit Group, ordered... ordered me to ambush the Garrison's Grain Ship, so that... so that the expeditionary force would run short on food. Then he could find a way to stall for more time..."

While Vinson fell silent, Sean did not urge him. Sure enough, Vinson soon explained the reason in detail. Yet after hearing it, Sean did not know whether to laugh or cry. Were they too naïve, or did they think the Garrison's commander was as stupid as they were?

A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Sean's mind. He immediately smiled and asked Vinson, "Then, dear Mr. Vinson, it seems your leader... oh... his name is Gil, correct?" After Vinson nodded in confirmation, he continued with a smile, "It seems he likes you very much. So much that... he wanted you to die immediately. How touching..." His face showed undisguised mockery as he watched Vinson's expression grow increasingly ugly.

After hearing Sean's words, Thor and Phil could no longer hold back their laughter. They let out a strange snort and looked at Vinson with slightly pitying eyes. Only when they caught Sean's glance from the corner of their eyes did they finally restrain themselves.

Vinson felt no better. He could not help recalling the scene in the Council Hall that day. Whether it was Chief Gil or the other water bandit leaders, everyone had unanimously nominated him to carry out this ambush. They had even shamelessly claimed it was because they trusted him. Damn it, did you bastards take me for an idiot?

"My lord, actually..." Vinson gathered himself and hesitated, wanting to say something. He knew the outcome might be terrible if he told the truth, but then he thought again. His life and death were no longer in his own hands. What could possibly be worse than this? Having made up his mind, he said, "My lord, the people who originally kidnapped the Noble Cadet were... were me and my men..."

Sean's mouth opened slightly in surprise. Thor and Phil were already dumbfounded. They could not understand how anyone could be so foolish. By their understanding, they simply could not comprehend anyone daring to provoke the noble class that ruled the entire Empire.

Sean put away his surprise and asked with a helpless smile, "So this... um... exceptionally important mission just happened to fall into your hands so fortunately..." He then looked at Vinson with an exaggerated expression, as if he were truly congratulating him on his luck.

"Yes, my lord. I... Please give me a quick death..." Vinson said through gritted teeth. After speaking, he closed his eyes and waited to die.

"If you can satisfy me, I can grant that request... But first, you must tell me whether my unfortunate classmate is still all right. If he is alive, where is he now?" After considering it briefly, Sean agreed to Vinson's request while putting forward his own condition.

"My lord, that Noble Cadet is alive. He is currently in the Water Bandit Camp..." Vinson immediately answered with certainty.

"Very good. I also want you to tell me about the specific circumstances of your Water Bandit Group, as well as the situation at the camp and the guards watching my unfortunate classmate. The more detailed, the better..." Sean finally asked about the flash of inspiration that had crossed his mind earlier.

"My lord... there are currently around four hundred water bandits and more than six hundred elderly people, women, and children in our Water Bandit Camp..." After adjusting his tone several times, Vinson began his explanation. Only when he mentioned the elderly people, women, and children did he hesitate and stop.

"Continue... I will personally ask the commander to avoid harming women and children as much as possible." Seeing Vinson's hesitation, Sean immediately assured him. He could make such a promise because Imperial Nobles held no favorable opinion of those who massacred women and children, as it was essentially proof of a cruel nature.

"Thank you, my lord. Thank you, my lord." Vinson immediately thanked Sean excitedly. Then, urged by Sean, he continued without reservation, "The Water Bandit Camp is located in a hidden river bend in the middle reaches of the Lingnan River. There are many sentry posts around it... As for your classmate, he is imprisoned in a cell at the edge of the camp. Twenty water bandits guard him at all times, changing shifts every six hours..." Vinson explained the situation to Sean in detail.

"Strange... From what you're saying, your previous robbery was quite unusual. Did you have some other purpose?" After obtaining intelligence from Vinson, Sean unexpectedly heard him mention the earlier robbery and immediately asked about the suspicious point.

"My lord, it wasn't that we wanted to rob anyone. It was... it was the Max Bandit Group from the Southern Wilderness Mountains. They paid our boss to kidnap an old blacksmith named Tack..." As Vinson explained the reason, his voice involuntarily carried resentment and regret.

"A blacksmith? Who is he?" Sean asked in confusion. He had heard of the Max Bandit Group before. They could be considered one of the largest bandit groups in the entire Southern Wilderness Region. He had also heard that their leader, Max, was personally very powerful, so he was extremely curious about the blacksmith who had caught Max's interest.

"My lord, he really was just an old blacksmith. Other than scraps of copper and iron, he was so poor that I was embarrassed to rob him..." Hearing Sean's question, Vinson immediately shared what he knew.

After hearing this, Sean knew Vinson could not possibly know more details. He skipped over the subject and said, "If... you help us rescue the kidnapped Noble Cadet... um... did he see you in person?" Halfway through, Sean suddenly thought of something and hurriedly changed the subject.

"My lord, you mean? Ah... He didn't see me. After being kidnapped, he was... he was frightened unconscious..." Vinson immediately replied, with both confusion and hope in his tone.

"Very good. Then are you willing to help us rescue the Noble Cadet kidnapped by the Water Bandit Group... no, by Chief Gil of the Water Bandit Group?" Sean was somewhat disappointed in his classmate after hearing this, but it gave him even more confidence that Vinson would sincerely assist them, so he asked.

"My lord, you mean..." Vinson asked in disbelief. Yet Sean had clearly shifted the blame for kidnapping a noble onto his former boss, Chief Gil. This made joy rise in Vinson's heart, along with hope of surviving.

"That's right. If you wholeheartedly help us rescue the captive noble, I can plead for leniency on your behalf. Of course, that is on the condition that my classmate has not suffered any irreparable harm..." Sean confirmed Vinson's guess, while also making the condition clear.

Even so, Vinson agreed excitedly, "My lord, I... I am willing. You... you are truly merciful..."

Vinson was already somewhat incoherent. Clearly, the possibility of surviving had overwhelmed him with joy. He had forgotten how Sean had casually executed his subordinates on deck earlier, and how he himself had cursed that demon-like existence in his heart.

The world was unpredictable. The person you had been madly cursing one moment, the person you wished you could kill immediately, might become the lifeline that allowed you to survive the next.