Horse Enthusiasts

"So, Ralph, you're no longer the commander of the town guard?"

Long River Town nominally belonged to the so-called "child" in Madam Bella's belly now, but in reality, it had completely fallen under Duke Alma's control. Oden's people probably would not be able to stay there much longer.

"Yes, my lord. I was never a knight of the kingdom to begin with... I was only entrusted by the Earl to oversee the defensive arrangements. Now, everyone among the Rangers serving in Long River Town has been dismissed by Madam Bella, and the garrison has been replaced by Duke Alma's men."

Ralph was clearly unwilling to accept it, yet there was nothing he could do. "My lord, even though we all know this was Duke Alma's scheme, every one of his actions stands up legally and morally. No matter how dissatisfied we are, we can't exactly have the Rangers attack their own hometown..."

Indeed, it held up remarkably well.

He had his bastard son and the Crimson Brotherhood contact the Gatu people, then used the Gatu people to lure the Horn Caller Rangers of Long River Town into rushing around putting out fires. Then the main Gatu force gathered at Brave Shield Fortress, forcing Ralph to lead the entire army away from its post.

Then a group of so-called "rebels" seized Long River Town—if nothing unexpected happened, those rebels were either pirates or the Crimson Brotherhood.

Finally, the great Grand Duke Alma personally led his army to wipe out the "rebels" in Long River Town and "saved" Madam Bella's life just in time.

Then, as her benefactor and close friend, he would raise Madam Bella and the so-called "posthumous child" he had somehow acquired...

Who knew what kind of savage abilities a fifty-year-old woman needed to get pregnant with a half-paralyzed old man...

In any case, all the bad deeds had been committed by the thugs of the Crimson Brotherhood, while Grand Duke Alma swiftly put down the rebellion. He could even earn the gratitude of Long River Town's citizens, who knew nothing of the truth—if Li Ang had not "foreseen" it beforehand, Ralph would probably still have been kept in the dark.

But now, no one could do anything about Grand Duke Alma. He had left almost no evidence behind.

—Except for those Crimson Brotherhood captives.

"Sigh, Ralph, I suggest you focus on developing the borderlands first... Let's discuss our deal. I still have a few captives here who might be useful to Earl Oden."

There was not much left to negotiate in the deal. Ralph readily gave Li Ang a good price—twenty sets of Horn Caller Ranger equipment, along with enough food to keep fifty men alive through the entire winter.

Yes, no denars. Ralph was not some wealthy man himself, and he had just lost his job.

Though there was no gold, that green-hatted equipment was quite valuable. This camp alone was not worth that much money; Ralph had included the captives in the price.

As Earl Oden's most trusted subordinate, he knew what use those captives could serve Oden under the current circumstances.

Ralph would turn this place into a Ranger outpost—as long as he wished, Earl Oden could grant him knighthood at any time and make this place his Knight's Territory.

Just as Li Ang had expected, he disliked the intrigue among nobles, but was willing to earn merit along the border.

Afterward, Raphael, the Ranger who had lent Li Ang his bow, led around a hundred men and put on Gatu equipment.

Following Li Ang and Ralph's original plan, he was going to take a stroll near Lion Lake City.

Before, they had merely intended to frame someone. Now, it would be both a frame-up and revenge.

Hopefully, Oden could seize this chance to be shameless for once.

The ground was covered in Gatu corpses and horses. The Rangers quickly disguised themselves as around a hundred Gatu raiders.

"You should wear this."

Li Ang handed his blood-soaked helmet to Raphael.

"Ah, right, this is the Gatu warlord's helmet! My lord, does this count as us exchanging gifts? I hope you like my bow."

Ranger Raphael looked delighted, showing no disgust whatsoever toward the old full-face helmet drenched in blood.

"Uh, then I seem to be getting the better end of this..."

That Eagle Strike Bow performed exceptionally well. It was clearly worth far more than the helmet.

Li Ang felt a little embarrassed now—whenever there was an advantage to take, he always wanted to take every last bit of it. But when the other person truly did not care, he worried that he could not save face...

"No, my lord! This helmet is proof of your valor and wisdom. How many enemies must you have personally slain for it to be stained like this... I'm the one getting an enormous bargain."

Raphael genuinely seemed to consider receiving the helmet an unparalleled honor. He did not even want to wipe the blood off it.

His eyes were clear and pure.

"...As long as you like it. By the way, does anyone among you speak Gatu?"

This time, Li Ang had asked the right people. Both Ralph and Raphael spoke some Gatu—their hometown lay at the border between Long River Forest and the Gatu Grasslands, where they often encountered Gatu people.

"My lord, why are you studying Gatu?"

"I captured a Gatu warlord."

Raphael now looked at him as though he were the deity himself. "...Heavens... No one has ever captured a Gatu high-ranking officer! Don't they all fight to the death?"

Li Ang was the last person to receive Ansen's treatment—his chest wound was only a superficial cut and was not serious. The wounds in his leg and arm were both through-and-through injuries; as long as the arrows were not pulled out, there was no danger of excessive blood loss.

That conduct earned him the collective respect of his subordinates and the Horn Summon Ranger Corps.

Li Ang did not particularly want that kind of respect, though—it hurt like hell.

Pretending to be a man of steel was actually miserable...

After a brief rest, Raphael bid Li Ang farewell and crossed the river to mess around near Lion Lake City, while Ralph remained in camp to help Li Ang interrogate the warlord.

Li Ang wanted to know how the warlord had obtained his sword—given the Gatu people's adaptability in the mountains, he doubted they could catch or kill Liwa, a bandit familiar with the terrain.

If Liwa truly could trade with the Gatu people, then he wanted to find her.

Not for revenge, purely to become a crooked merchant.

Of course, if possible, taking revenge on the side would be fine too.

The lord was exceptionally petty.

But after all two hundred Gatu cavalry had died, the warlord who had kept his mouth shut seemed devoid of all desire, as though he only wanted death.

Torture did not seem like it would be of any use.

Besides, he had already suffered several wounds and was extremely weak.

Ralph could only try threats and questioning, but for the most part, he got no response.

Not until Ralph looked at the several dozen remaining Gatu warhorses outside and said something did the warlord finally open his eyes.

"You... cannot... do that! Those... are only... horses!"

"Damn it! So you can speak human language after all!"

Though he was only forcing the words out one at a time, his meaning was clear—the warlord did not want those horses harmed.

Ralph chuckled. "Sure enough, every Gatu person loves horses."

"...The Dexian people too... Horses are their brothers and gods, more important than wives and daughters." Sarah came over and softly added from the side.

"Since you can speak human language... I only have one question. Where did you get this sword?" Li Ang showed the sword to the warlord, then added, "Answer my question, and I'll treat your wounds and guarantee your life."

The warlord turned his head to look at Li Ang and shook his head. "I... die. Horses... you... cannot... eat!"

Fine then. He had not expected Ralph to make him speak by threatening to eat horse meat...

Sure enough, every people's cultural core was food. The most reliable way to distinguish peoples and beliefs was to see what they could eat and what they could not...

"Fine, I promise to raise them fat and strong. My question should not be difficult for you, but if you won't even answer something like this, we'll have no choice but to make horse-meat stew. And I guarantee you'll eat your fill too!"

Li Ang gestured for the Gatu warlord to look at the dented pot in the middle of the camp.

Two horse legs lay slanted across the rim. After Kloze had cut them through with one strike, half a horse had crushed the iron pot flat.