First Batch of Slaves

First Batch of Slaves

Ryan even felt that these nobles were fishing the pond dry. There was no denying that most noble lords had nothing but shit in their heads besides pleasure, but squeezing the slaves and Freemen of Northwind Province so ruthlessly, regardless of the cost, was still far too cruel.

"Maybe there's another reason behind it."

No matter what, Northwind Province as it was gave Ryan tremendous confidence. That was why he dared to head south with these thirty-odd people without any plan at all.

He only had thirty-one Knight Retainers and one knight, but such a force already surpassed more than ninety percent of the Pioneer Lords in Northwind Province.

Even among Barons, Ryan felt this force could rank in the upper middle tier. Brandt gave him that confidence.

But he absolutely could not think too highly of those nobles living off their family legacies. They were far more useless than anyone could imagine.

Hadn't he seen the way Old Beard looked at Ryan? Just that tiny bit of knowledge and those minor methods had left the Old Steward utterly astonished. That alone showed what those parasites of the Empire were like.

There were certainly capable nobles, but Ryan was smart. He would not approach nobles who looked difficult to deal with.

By the time they passed through the dim Mountain Forest, crossed the frozen Swampland, and saw Dusk approaching, more than a hundred people were following behind Ryan.

Besides Ryan and his servant, Brandt, Rosen, and the thirty Knight Retainers, there were another seventy or eighty bandit slaves, their hands tied together with hemp rope in a long chain.

The captured slaves wore despairing expressions. Even the hemp ropes binding their hands had been prepared by them to tie up passing mountain folk.

Their gazes toward Brandt and the other guards were filled with fear.

Of course, they had not dared to attack this noble party. But their methods had been lacking, and Ryan had noticed the traces they left behind, then followed them back to their lair.

Ryan had also found seventy or eighty silver coins, polished until they gleamed. As for Gold Punk, it only circulated among nobles and merchant guilds backed by powerful nobles. They could not afford to provoke either.

Seeing the distant village, town, and fortress looming in and out of view, Ryan stopped and turned to face the slaves.

"Untie them."

The serfs looked at Ryan in confusion, fear still in their eyes as they assumed this noble lord intended to kill them.

Ryan raised his voice. "Now, I'm giving you two choices."

"First, I can give you to my friend, Baron Hatton, as a gift."

"Second, from this day on, you become my slaves and return to Frozen Earth Territory with me."

"Now, every one of you will give me an answer."

Upon hearing Ryan's words, all the slaves breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was not going to kill them.

Seeing that no one spoke, Rosen roared beside Ryan. The pressure of a knight made every slave tremble from head to toe.

"You have one minute!"

At last, someone stepped forward and said shakily, "My lord, I want to go to Hatton Territory."

Even when fleeing for their lives, they had not chosen to flee to Frozen Earth Territory, which had no lord at the time. They knew full well that it was simply too cold there. They would probably freeze to death within days.

Ryan looked coldly at him, then smiled.

"You'd better think carefully. You slaves all escaped from other lords. If Baron Hatton learns that you are runaway slaves, do you think you'll even get the chance to enter the Mine?"

The serf's expression changed drastically upon hearing Ryan's words, and he immediately fell to his knees before him.

"I'm willing to become your slave. I can farm. The fields I used to cultivate yielded per acre—"

"You may shut up now. A lord has no need for a chatty Mud Legs," Old Beard said coldly.

There was a reason he called slaves Mud Legs. Fawning, opportunistic, kicking others when they were down—slaves stood at the very bottom of morality.

Besides, Ryan had nearly died in the Mountain Forest because of these slaves not long ago. That had made him furious.

After that, everyone remaining naturally became Baron Ryan's first batch of slaves.

"What an evil era." Ryan clicked his tongue as he looked at those fearful, fawning eyes.

"Good thing I started as a noble."

Hatton Keep.

A fat man with a barrel waist was greedily devouring the greasy pork knuckle fed to him by a maid at his side. As for his hands?

They were thrust inside the nearly transparent clothes of two delicate maids, kneading hard, while beneath the table, a long-haired maid could be seen busily at work.

Just then, the meek-looking Steward entered. The corner of his eye greedily swept over the two maids, whose faces were flushed with seduction, before he lowered his head and said, "Lord Hatton, a Baron outside wishes to visit you."

"A Baron? Who is it?" Haton said carelessly, his large face trembling for a moment.

"He says his name is Ryan Clayton. He is a young man."

"Baron Ryan? That brat from the Clayton Family whose feathers haven't even grown in yet? The unlucky bastard who inherited Frozen Earth Territory?"

Haton spoke with a face full of disdain, then looked at the Steward.

"What do you think that little brat is here for?"

The Steward lowered his head. "Th-this humble one does not know."

Haton sneered. "An idiot will always be an idiot. That Ryan probably only arrived at Frozen Earth Territory a couple days ago. That godforsaken place has no food at all."

"It's still winter. That miserable Frozen Earth Territory can't grow any grain."

"Hahahaha! If that little brat doesn't want to starve to death on his territory, he will definitely come to buy food."

The Steward raised his head in shock, taking the chance to sweep his gaze over the two maids again.

"Lord Hatton is wise!"

The Steward's flattery pleased Haton greatly. He pulled out his hands and waved them.

"Alright, let's go meet this Baron Ryan."

From far away, Ryan saw a round lump rolling toward him. Around it, the slaves and commoners of Hatton Territory were either kneeling everywhere or standing around blankly.

"Hahahaha! I heard long ago that Frozen Earth Territory had gained a lord. Baron Ryan, my friend, I'm truly delighted to see you."

"Baron Hatton, I'm also very pleased to see you."

Although he had been full of contempt when he first heard Ryan's name, Haton was genuinely happy when they met.

It was not fake. With his personality, he did not possess such fine acting skills. After all, Ryan had deliberately chosen him.

The noble circles of the Empire, and even of the entire continent, had a relatively mature hierarchy of contempt.

Great nobles looked down on lesser nobles. Lesser nobles from great noble families looked down on lesser nobles without much backing. Lesser nobles without backing looked down on Wandering Nobles from fallen families. Wandering Nobles looked down on nobles who had married into another family.

Nobles who married into other families even looked down on former nobles who had fallen so low that they became Pioneer Knights and no longer even held a noble title.

The Hatton Family was a hereditary baronial house. By his father's generation, the elderly Old Baron Hatton had made the difficult decision to abandon the territory that had been gradually devoured and come to Northwind Province.

Unfortunately, Old Baron Hatton could not withstand the cold winds of Northwind Province and died soon after.

That was why Haton had a favorable impression of Ryan. In this chain of contempt, they were both Barons, but Ryan had a better background than he did.