On the Pande Continent, death benefits were a privilege granted to only a very small number of warriors.
Usually, only a lord's knights and knight retainers, or peasant warriors who had sworn fealty and served with their own equipment, could receive them—and even then, it depended on whether the lord in question was generous and kind.
Kloze and the dozen or so Meitengheim people had been bought by Li Ang. They had originally been slaves.
Although those hulking men had sworn before their "Iron God" to serve Li Ang, which looked like a formal warrior's oath of allegiance, they were essentially still only Li Ang's private servants.
After all, before Li Ang's territory was established, none of them were citizens of the kingdom. Apart from Kloze, whom Li Ang had appointed as Charge Captain and a formal officer, everyone else could currently only be considered a kind of "property."
—In this era, servants were private property, no different from Alice, the golden-maned horse... and most likely not as valuable as Alice...
It was merely that Li Ang did not treat them as servants.
As for the crossbowmen Li Ang had hired, they were professional mercenaries working for money, not people who had truly pledged loyalty to him.
Mercenary work was a transaction. Whether they lived or died on the battlefield was left to fate, and both sides were supposed to bear the consequences themselves.
Therefore, whether they were servants or mercenaries, Li Ang had no actual obligation to pay compensation.
Most noble lords would not waste money on such "outsiders" either.
However, as a lord with loftier ambitions, and as someone from the Celestial Dynasty, Li Ang was naturally somewhat different from the Pande nobility.
It was not because Li Ang had become so noble that he had risen above base pleasures, nor was it to make himself seem generous and kind—he had no intention of becoming a Paladin embodying all eight virtues.
This was simply for morale and security.
Only warriors without worries behind them could unleash their full capabilities.
And for these mercenaries who made their living on the battlefield, their greatest concern was how their families would survive if they died in battle...
That was also why mercenaries could usually only fight winning battles.
Besides, if Foucher could bribe the militia captain in Count Oden's territory, then others could naturally bribe someone in Li Ang's own ranks...
Li Ang had no desire to be stabbed in the back.
Though he was poor enough to swindle and cheat wherever he could, he absolutely could not be stingy when it was time to spend money.
Besides, wasn't he about to make some money anyway...
He just did not know how much loot there would be. Li Ang found himself looking forward to it.
Before long, the loot was counted.
Aside from the prisoners, the spoils from this battle included over a dozen sets of assorted chainmail and surcoats, more than a dozen sets of leather armor, as well as some spears and infantry swords.
There were also five horses.
Li Ang was not sure how much those scraps of metal could sell for, but the five horses alone were certainly worth no less than a thousand denars.
This was quite a fast way to make money...
Half a year of rigging matches at the arena had not earned him as much as this single trip.
Sure enough, murder and arson brought golden belts. He would have to take on more of this "bandit suppression" business in the future...
However, matters here were not yet settled. There was still one job left unfinished.
Oden's request had been to eliminate the "bandits"—and that had now been taken care of.
As for the patrol captain in Fletcher Village who had betrayed Oden, Li Ang did not want to bother with him. Cleaning house was someone else's family business; he had no desire to meddle.
Besides, getting into conflict with the militia of a count's territory could develop into who knew what... That elderly village chief did not seem particularly sharp-minded.
It would be more appropriate to take news of this traitor to Oden and make a deal.
But there was still a deal unfinished with Ralph, the commander of the Long River Town garrison.
Building a nomad camp, then waiting for Ralph to wipe out those Gatu cavalry and helping Ralph frame them—this was the deal he had made with Big-Bearded Ralph.
Though the profit from this deal seemed just a tiny bit high, it had at least been established on the basis of mutual consent...
Li Ang might not have the most customer-friendly prices as a service provider, but once he promised something, he would definitely deliver.
After all, in Li Ang's view, no matter the era or place, trustworthiness should be the foundation of a man's standing.
As for what happened before the price was negotiated...
Ahem... that had merely been necessary marketing.
Since they had to wait here for Ralph anyway, Li Ang decided not to return to Long River Town for the moment and instead make do by staying at this camp for a couple of days.
After all, there were wounded men in the party, while most of the prisoners had also lost the ability to move.
He intended to send two uninjured Meitengheim men back to Long River Town with part of the loot for the merchant woman Lesley to sell, while also delivering a message to Ralph.
But after thinking it over carefully, he called Sarah over.
"Sarah, you are probably the only person besides me who can fool... ahem, the only person who can properly guide Ralph. Take a few people back to Long River Town and make another deal with Ralph..."
Li Ang rubbed his chin, seriously considering his wording.
"My lord, you just extor... just butchered... ahem ahem... a huge batch of building materials and so many carpenters from him, and now you want to make a move on Ralph again? My lord, aren't your demands a little too frequent...?"
Sarah held her forehead and likewise considered her wording seriously.
Usually so quick-witted and eloquent, she was actually stammering a little now.
Kloze passed by the two of them. He had probably heard that last sentence, because he gave Sarah a strange look, then looked at Li Ang, before darting back into the camp and putting on a show of helping Ansen tend to the wounded.
The problem was... the guy knew absolutely nothing about medicine.
And the way he kept sneaking glances at Li Ang and Sarah was exceptionally suspicious.
Li Ang looked at Sarah with a face full of black lines, only to find Sarah looking back at him just as awkwardly.
Her face was even a little red.
Right, this was not the place to discuss such private matters...
So, with unspoken mutual understanding, the two of them left the camp together and slowly rode around the area.
"Sarah, just as you said before, I won't be staying long in this place that directly faces the Gatu people. So I'm going to sell this camp to Ralph."
Li Ang turned and pointed at the camp, then could not help gritting his teeth and waving a fist in a threatening gesture—Kloze had brought Ansen, along with several bandaged subordinates, to hide by the camp stables and watch from afar.
But the tiny stable posts could not possibly conceal their massive builds.
The moment they saw Li Ang raise his fist, they scattered in all directions.
"Just ignore them... my lord..."
Sarah shook her head and tried to persuade him. It was only a misunderstanding caused by an unfortunate choice of words, and besides, she did not care at all.
"But, my lord, why would Ralph buy this camp? If it is to turn it into a nomadic camp for the Gatu people, as you said, then that should be your job... After all, the previous deal has not yet been completed..."
External liaison work fell squarely within Sarah's proper duties as an External Affairs Officer, so she was taking this very seriously.
"That will require some... ah, no, guidance. Ralph is very likely a commoner from Long River Town. I didn't see his banner in the hall of his station—only Count Oden's twin-lion shield was hanging there."
Li Ang said with certainty.
"That can't be... my lord, didn't he call himself the Knight Commander? That isn't the sort of title someone would casually claim..."
Sarah did not agree with Li Ang's judgment.
Before you continue