Knowing Too Much

Kloze brought Li Ang before a captive, who should have been a heavy infantryman. His hair was thinning, but he looked sturdy.

The poor fellow's face was pale, and one arm hung limply at his side—likely a comminuted fracture at least.

Maybe even pulverized...

"Where did you get that helmet?"

Li Ang poked the guy's wound, eliciting a cry of pain and a pleading look.

"...Ow, ow, ow... Please don't torture me, sir. Young Master Foucher sponsored it about half a month ago... The chainmail and weapons too."

This slightly balding infantryman spilled the beans quite readily.

After all, how many tough guys were there in the world? Meitengheim soldiers had to bite pig trotters just to treat their wounds, let alone a criminal organization like the Crimson Brotherhood.

But, Foucher again?

Were those pirates also 'sponsored' by Foucher?

No wonder those pirates weren't minding their own business and were out exploring everywhere.

Crimson Brotherhood, Gatu warlords, pirates—this illegitimate son's business scope was quite broad!

What exactly was this young master trying to do, aiming for a full-class villain achievement?

"So, you only came here half a month ago?"

Li Ang started making small talk, appearing very approachable. He even tugged at the captive's collar, looked at the wound on his shoulder, and then shook his head sympathetically—pulverized, that arm was beyond saving.

"Yes, sir... I'm just an honest man, please let me go, I'm willing to work for you..."

Seeing Li Ang seemingly 'pitying' his injury, the slightly balding fellow's tone became respectful and subservient.

"Mhm, mhm, when did you bring those Gatu people to the village?"

Li Ang echoed his plea, still asking casually, as if just making conversation.

"About three or four days ago. It was Sir Horton's knight who brought them. We couldn't understand what those Gatu people were saying. Sir, can you let me go...?"

Li Ang smiled kindly. "Of course. I'll take you back to Long River Town in a moment. Ansen! My doctor, come here..."

Ansen, who was treating some injured Meitengheim people nearby, ran over, sweat pouring down his face.

"Ansen, take good care of them. Make sure they don't die."

Ansen and the slightly balding infantryman looked on with reverence, seemingly surprised that Li Ang was so kindly concerned about the captives.

The slightly balding captive even felt like he might regain his freedom.

But then Li Ang began to instruct Kloze beside him: "This guy is very valuable now. Keep a close eye on him and don't let him escape. If necessary, break his legs!"

Kloze nodded, calm and serious.

The poor captive's hopeful gaze instantly turned to despair...

Ansen shook his head and sighed, returning to his work.

The Goddess truly favors me, Mr. Balding. You know too much!

Good thing Kloze and the others used hammers!

Looking at the captives again, Li Ang had a composed and nonchalant demeanor.

But his eyes had clearly lit up in the shape of gold coins—he had originally thought these captives were worthless, but now it seemed they could find a buyer!

Originally, these Crimson Brotherhood members couldn't be sold to slave traders and would only be a waste of food.

Even if they could be sold, the profit wouldn't be high. These people weren't skilled or good-looking, and they were all injured. They wouldn't fetch a good price from slave traders—the Meitengheim were heavy-handed, and almost every captive had some broken bones.

But now, these captives likely had a buyer willing to pay a high price—Count Oden.

These captives knew that Duke Alma colluded with the Gatu. If they fell into Oden's hands, the Count could use this to bite back at Grand Duke Alma.

Although these Crimson Brotherhood scraps were not presentable, and their testimony might not be officially accepted, it could at least allow Oden to explain himself to the King and not be so passive.

Li Ang felt like he could 'milk' them again... uh, conduct a fair trade again!

The captives were quickly rounded up, and there were quite a few of them, 18 in total.

In the system, the 'Captives' column in the party list now displayed a line of text—Lion Territory Civilian Captive (18).

As expected, the Captives column only had half its functionality—similar to the Teammates column, the Captives column had no convenient functional options. To do anything, one had to follow real-world logic, such as releasing or conversing with them.

Moreover, regardless of their original troop type, they now only had a general designation, though it seemed to be divided by regional culture.

This was reasonable, as these captives were now only in their undergarments, making it impossible to tell what troop type they once were—Kloze had stripped them of all their equipment.

Li Ang guessed that if he captured a noble of a certain kingdom, like a knight or a squire, they would likely only be displayed as 'Noble Captive of X Territory'.

After the mercenaries finished clearing the battlefield and regrouped, Li Ang began to tally the casualties.

The overall losses for the troops were very small. The Meitengheim heavy armor had good defense. Although a few strong men sustained some injuries during the charge, no Meitengheim infantrymen died.

However, the mercenary crossbowmen, who should not have suffered any losses, actually had fatalities.

Yes, there were always casualties in war. Even in this not-so-fierce battle, one unlucky fellow still died.

The crossbowmen had always been in the back ranks, not in danger. But this fellow was unlucky enough to be hit in the face by an arrow from the enemy archers.

He died without a sound.

It was indeed very unfortunate. There were only a few archers on the other side, using crude wooden hunting bows, and they were merely ordinary militiamen.

Moreover, the enemy had been caught by surprise. Apart from the few heavily armored infantrymen who had initially blocked Li Ang's questioning, the other enemies were not fully prepared for battle.

But that's how the battlefield is. A sudden volley of arrows, or even an arrow that might have been aimed at another target and missed, could end up taking your life.

The mercenaries, who lived by the sword, were accustomed to life and death and naturally wouldn't mourn or grieve over someone's death.

Li Ang, however, silently mourned the unfortunate crossbowman for a short while. Then, he instructed the mercenaries to properly handle the remains of the unfortunate deceased. He planned to have a carpenter make a coffin and bury the dead man with dignity.

He felt a sense of self-reproach—he hadn't even noticed someone had died earlier. As a commander, this was unforgivable.

Of course, this was mainly because he had run off halfway to chase Juan.

After a brief silence, Li Ang set aside the deceased crossbowman's belongings separately, intending to entrust Lesley's merchant caravan with sending them back to the man's hometown in a few days.

Li Ang displayed unprecedented generosity at this moment—he declared that he would personally fund the burial of any brothers who died in battle from then on, and would provide a considerable sum of compensation to the deceased's family.

If there were any injuries or disabilities that could not be cured, he would also pay a sum as a guarantee, allowing those who had fought for him to maintain a basic livelihood in the future.

This way of handling things, which would be considered common sense by modern people, immediately earned the gratitude of all his subordinates.