Loot Store

Kawkab's bloody severed head passed from hand to hand among the Kurdish cavalry.

Like a heavy hammer, it smashed into the hearts of those still stubbornly resisting.

Even dismounted, these Kurdish cavalrymen remained highly skilled in battle.

Moreover, they worked in perfect coordination, like jackals prowling the desert. They paired off, using the swiftest and least chivalrous methods to end one enemy life after another.

They were killing machines, devoid of the slightest mercy, faithfully carrying out Lothar's order to kill anyone holding a weapon.

Lothar did not join the battle again. He did not want to someday regard living people as mere fodder for his experience bar.

After a long while, the sounds of battle finally fell completely silent.

The Kurdish soldiers drove the unarmed defenders and servants, one by one, to the open ground outside the manor.

Abdullah approached Lothar with a spiked mace covered in bloody scraps of flesh.

He studied Lothar's profile. Seeing his calm expression, as if he had already planned everything out, Abdullah felt a slight chill in his heart.

Lowering his head, he respectfully said, "The Holy Fire burns eternal. Kawkab's diehard loyalists have been purged, and all prisoners who laid down their weapons have been gathered under guard."

Lothar nodded. "Have everyone spread out and gather the loot. Our time is limited, so remind them not to let wealth blind them."

"And remember, stay in pairs. Watch out for enemies hiding away and launching sneak attacks."

A smile appeared on Abdullah's face. As a local lord, Kawkab had undoubtedly accumulated considerable wealth over the years.

Even if they took only gold and silver vessels and coinage, it would still be no small fortune.

No matter how devout their faith or fierce their courage in battle, Mamluks would not turn their noses up at money.

"Don't worry, my lord. My boys are battle-hardened warriors. None of them will do anything that foolish."

At the same time, a system notification sounded beside Lothar's ear.

You have activated the milestone, Siege and Capture (you successfully led your soldiers and retainers to capture an enemy lord's castle and killed the enemy lord, displaying his severed head as a warning).

Reward: Loot Store activated.

Loot Store: You may sell loot to the System Store. The system will assess its value and grant gold and silver currency.

Lothar's expression shifted slightly. To him, this was truly timely help.

He had been worrying over how to select valuable loot. There were only four of them here in total, and the amount they could carry was extremely limited.

"Abdullah, let's go too."

Lothar immediately cast aside all restraint and headed into the manor within the fort.

A Kurdish soldier had just been about to rush into a room to loot it when he was stunned to find it completely empty.

The furniture, carpets, wall paintings, vessels—everything had vanished.

"By the Holy Fire, what happened here?"

"It was like a swarm of locusts descending on a field."

The Kurdish soldier checked several rooms in succession, only to find every one of them empty.

His companion shouted a reminder, "Go over there. We've already searched this side. Lord Lothar gave us the right to choose loot first."

"Already searched?"

"How could anyone search so thoroughly?"

The soldier was utterly baffled.

Lothar raced through the rooms one after another.

Silver chamber pots, red pine cabinets, velvet mattresses, glazed porcelain vases, tables, chairs, and stools.

In short, aside from the flooring, he sold off everything that could be dismantled and recognized as loot by the system.

It was as if bandits had swept through the place.

In any case, all he had to do was touch an item lightly, and it disappeared.

In the end, excluding the change, his profit came to a full eight hundred System's product gold coins. His own portrait was stamped upon them, and Lothar could use them whenever he wished.

Having his own portrait stamped on gold coins made him feel rather embarrassed, but it was not actually overstepping his bounds. In this era, many local lords possessed minting rights.

It merely depended on whether there were gold or silver mines in one's fief. If someone melted down high-value currency and mixed in lead or tin to mint debased coins, they might still be held accountable by their liege.

High-quality gold and silver coins like the System's product ones were hard currency anywhere, and they could also spread his name.

"Only eight hundred?"

Lothar was somewhat disappointed.

Just now, he had gone through every room the Kurdish soldiers had looted and sold off all the large items they had overlooked.

And it had only earned him eight hundred gold coins.

Lothar refused to believe that Kawkab, a Vassal Lord in his own right, had possessions in his territory worth so little.

Besides these valuable but inconveniently large items and the low-value goods, Lothar and the Kurdish cavalry had also seized a large quantity of portable gold, silver, and jewels.

These gold and silver items carried added value from their craftsmanship, so Lothar was reluctant to sell them directly to the system.

Unfortunately, living creatures could not be sold through the Loot Store. Otherwise, they would have been worth a great deal as well.

Here, "living creatures" referred to livestock and warhorses.

Lothar had not yet become so deranged that he would sell all the prisoners through the system.

"Everyone, take two horses per man and leave quickly."

"Don't carry too much. Prioritize provisions, waterskins, and fodder."

Lothar shouted his orders.

At the same time, he walked over to the prisoners. Before the terrified gaze of the man at the front, he severed the rope binding him with a single sword stroke. "You are free."

The prisoners looked at one another.

"Go. Untie your companions."

"My lord Saladin is a magnanimous man. The only reason he dealt cruelly with your lord Kawkab was Kawkab's arrogant insult toward my lord."

"You may tell the Sasanian King that if any lord under his command dares show disrespect to my lord Saladin again, I guarantee they will meet the same fate."

With that, Lothar turned away and led the Kurdish cavalry troop off in a gale, howling into the distance.

Their black cloaks and the fluttering Holy Fire Eagle Banner gradually receded from view.

Only then did several loyal servants lead the inferior horses Lothar's party had not wanted and race toward the garrison at the oasis near the wooden fort.

At an oasis near Kawkab's territory.

Kawkab's eldest son, Saif, commanded a hundred armored cavalrymen. He was leading his soldiers toward the wooden fort in the distance, where smoke signals were rising.

No one had attacked this place in many years.

He could not understand what force would be mad enough to attack a wooden fort in the middle of the desert. Did they not consider the problem of supplies?

Just then.

A servant on horseback hurried over and fell to his knees.

"Lord Saif, Lord Kawkab has been killed by troops sent by Saladin."

His face flushed red, he said with grief, "My lord, we must avenge Lord Kawkab. Those Saladin cavalrymen have not gone far."

Saif stared at the messenger in shock. "What did you say? Say that again."

The messenger's face was filled with sorrow. "The lord is dead!"

"Gather the troops at once. We are going back to save Lord Kawkab!"

The messenger looked stunned. "But Lord Kawkab is already dead."

"Shut up! Lord Kawkab isn't dead!"

Saif cut down the messenger before him with a single stroke and shouted, "Lord Kawkab has come under attack and has entrusted me with command of all forces. We are to proceed at once to rescue him."

Among Kawkab's several cavalry troops, the one stationed at this small oasis was the closest to the wooden fort.

Those Saladin soldiers had left in haste. So long as he arrived in time, the entire wooden fort and all the wealth Kawkab had accumulated over the years would belong to him!

As for pursuing the Saladin cavalry who had already left?

What a joke!

For them to capture the wooden fort so swiftly, their elite quality was self-evident. He had no intention of squandering the force he had painstakingly built on such a matter.

With burning anticipation, Saif took the lead, kicking up rolling clouds of dust as he led his cavalry straight into the wooden fort.

"Seal off the wooden fort at once. If anyone comes, make sure to keep them outside."

He issued his orders loudly.

But the moment he entered the wooden fort, half his heart went cold.

"What?"

"What happened here?"

The manor, once magnificent as a royal palace, now looked as though a sandstorm had swept through it.

Forget valuables—even several large stone statues before the manor had been carried away.

"They practically dug up the ground three feet deep!"

"Are they idiots? How could they possibly escape our pursuit while carrying so many heavy objects?"

"Pursue them! They cannot have gone far!"

He said this in a furious rage.

At that moment, a guard rushed through the door and shouted, "My lord, this is bad! Lord Rund has arrived with troops and demands to enter the wooden fort immediately."

Rund was Kawkab's second son and Saif's greatest rival for the inheritance.

Saif's expression stiffened. He had thought the wooden fort was a great treasure trove, but it turned out to contain absolutely nothing. Having entered first, would he not look as though he had stolen everything?

Saif was both anxious and enraged. After thinking it over, he finally said, "Let them in!"

Rund charged in with his men and was equally dumbfounded. "Saif, did you do this?"

Saif snapped, "How could I have? How long have I even been here? There were so many treasures—where could I possibly hide them? Those Saladin lackeys carried it all off."

"But don't worry. Carrying so much stuff, they definitely cannot move quickly."

"Gather the troops at once. We're going after them!"

But when Saif and his men followed the traces left by Lothar's party, they discovered that the hoofprints were shallow and there were no wagon tracks.

Rund's face filled with fury as he berated him, "Saif, do you take me for a brainless fool? I have already interrogated those spineless wretches. Saladin's men did not take much away at all."

Saif drew his weapon with a swish. "Did you not happen to interrogate the fact that I arrived barely any earlier than you?"

"Stop making excuses, Saif. You are utterly unworthy of being Father's son. When Father was murdered, you did not think of pursuing the enemy. Instead, you emptied Father's inheritance."

Rund shouted, "Soldiers, look at this despicable man's ugly face! Would you rather serve someone like him, or serve me, the great Rund?"

"Shut up!"

The infuriated Saif slashed at him with his sword.

His trusted men naturally joined the fight as well.

The two sides descended into a melee. Who still had any intention of pursuing the Kurdish cavalry troop?

Besides, pursuit would have been useless. With two horses per man, the cavalry troop had already fled more than a dozen miles away.