Hashim's Past

After hearing what Karask said, Edmund was very curious about Hashim. Hashim was indeed very talented. At only 13 years old, he was nearly two meters tall and had such a strong physique. It was really not something that an ordinary fisherman's family could afford to raise.

Edmund directly and carefully questioned Karask about Hashim. In Karask's view, it was a good thing that the young adult was curious about Hashim, at least he wasn't angry because of what Hashim had just said.

Karask told him everything he knew. Hashim had been exceptionally gifted since childhood, and by the age of 10, he was already taller than him. Edmund looked at Karask's height of just over 1.7 meters and found it hard to imagine that a 10-year-old child could grow to be nearly 1.8 meters tall.

Moreover, not only was he tall, but according to Karask, Hashim was also very strong and, of course, ate a lot. Fortunately, Karask's family was among the first Freemen to settle in this territory, and they owned more than 50 acres of land and raised two packhorses for plowing. It was not a big deal to support such a big eater.

Under such circumstances, Hashim naturally became very famous in Lord Benn's territory. Freemen and even merchants from the surrounding area often came to see Hashim. Those who met Hashim believed that this child would achieve great things in the future and might even become a knight.

Karask and Hashim's father were naturally very proud of this, especially since Karask's son Gaita was also special from a young age. Although he was not as strong and tall as his uncle, he was still a rare exception.

The old man believed that the next generation of the family had the opportunity to advance further from Freemen, so he attached great importance to the education of the two. He even spent money to hire veterans from the territory to teach Hashim and Gaita combat skills.

During this time, Hashim's fame grew, eventually reaching the ears of Ben, the lord of the territory.

Curious Lord Benn also came to their house and met Hashim. Lord Benn immediately took a liking to Hashim's physique and thought he could train him as his bodyguard. He also said that if the boy made great achievements in the future, he would make him a knight.

Hashim's father was naturally delighted to hear his lord say this, Lord Benn proposed to take Hashim back to the castle so that his knights could personally teach him.

Lord Hashim readily agreed. Although reluctant, for the sake of his child's future, he asked Lord Benn to take Hashim away. He even took out all the cash in his house and gave it to Lord Benn as a gift to thank Lord Benn for taking care of Hashim.

Lord Benn took Hashim away, but after bringing Hashim back to the castle, Lord Benn did not entrust Hashim to his own knights for training. Instead, he treated him as a rare and unusual object and invited other nobles to come and see him.

At first, Hashim was too young to understand what Lord Benn was trying to do. He thought that Lord Benn was only interested in him when he took him to meet other nobles. But Hashim soon realized that something was wrong. Although Lord Benn praised him in front of others, he never let him eat his fill. If he ate too much, he would be whipped.

Although Hashim was angry, he dared not do anything when he thought that Lord Benn was the lord. He could only comfort himself that it might be a test from Lord Benn.

But the longer it went on, the more Hashim realized that Lord Benn didn't value him much at all. He only used him as a topic of conversation and would occasionally send people to Hashim's father to ask for money, telling Hashim's father that it was for Hashim's tuition.

Hearing these people's words, Hashim's father naturally dared not be negligent, but the family's money was already gone, so he gritted his teeth and began to sell off the family's land.

Two years passed in this way, and Hashim had no opportunity to study. The only lucky thing was that when Ben didn't remember him, he could move around freely in the castle for a while. He used this time to secretly watch the castle knights train and secretly learned some combat skills.

Moreover, his hunger was also solved. Taking advantage of his young age, Hashim begged the cook to go to the kitchen and get some leftovers, which was enough to fill his stomach.

But his good fortune didn't last long. Once again, he was caught eating in the kitchen by Lord Benn. Ben immediately sent men to hang him up and beat him for several days. Fortunately, Hashim was strong enough to survive, but he was seriously injured and fell unconscious.

Bene thought he was dead, so he simply sent someone to take Hashim back to his home and told Hashim's father that Hashim had been beaten by Lord Benn for stealing, that Hashim could no longer go to the castle to study, and that Hasim's family had to pay for Hashim's food, clothing and other expenses.

Under these circumstances, the old man, who had already sold half of his family's land, was even more unable to accept that his child had been returned to him, covered in blood and bruises, and that they owed him a lot of money. The old man immediately wanted to argue with the people from the castle.

But these men of Lord Benn didn't care about a Freemen. They not only beat the old man up, but also took away the remaining deeds to his house and drove the whole family out of their house, saying that everything in the house belonged to Lord Benn.

And just like that, the once relatively wealthy family was suddenly left with nothing. The old man also lost his life because of the beating. Fortunately, Hashim's mother had buried some grain in the family's field to prepare for an emergency. She and Karask secretly dug the grain out of the field and managed to keep the family alive with this little bit of food. Hashim also recovered under the care of his mother and brother.

After that, things became simple. Having lost all their ancestral land, Karask and his family had to find another way out. Fortunately, this area was by the sea, and many fishermen lived there, making a living by fishing. However, "fishing" actually meant fishing in the sea, as most fishermen did not have the means to own fishing nets.

Later, Karask worked hard to earn money while fishing, not only supporting his family and providing for them, but also saving up enough money to borrow from others to buy a small fishing boat for fishing.

This was their first time going out to sea in a fishing boat, and they unexpectedly encountered Edmund's fleet. They didn't know whether it was lucky or unlucky.

After hearing Karask's story, Bertley felt a pang of guilt. He felt he had been too harsh on such an unfortunate child as Hashim. He was about to untie the ropes binding Hashim when Hashim said to him in a harsh voice, "I don't want your kindness. You are just as bad as Ben."

Bertley immediately objected, finding the boy's words rude. "How are we the same as Ben?"

"What's the difference? You stole our boat and arrested us. Don't think you can make people believe you by saying nice things. I've seen far too many guys like you."

If you really want to prove what you're saying is true, then let us go right now.

This statement silenced Bertley; they really couldn't let the family go, after all, they had to keep their fleet's whereabouts a secret.

Edmund then spoke up, "Hashim, my name is Edmund Dragonblood Orchid, a nobleman of the Raine Kingdom. I am here on important business and I must ensure that my information is not leaked, so I cannot release your family for the time being. However, I guarantee you with my family name that I will never harm you. Once you have completed my task, I will release your family and give you a generous reward."

Edmund spoke slowly and deliberately, and his expressions, gestures, and the aristocratic air instilled in him by his family upbringing made his words very persuasive.

Needless to say, Karask and his son Gaita were impressive, and Hashim also felt that Edmund was more like a nobleman than his former Lord Benn.

Intimidated by Edmund's imposing presence, Hashim stammered, "Easy for you to say! You... you really can let us go? Nobles are all liars!"

"I swear on the name of our Dragon Blood Orchid Family that I will never deceive Mr. Hashim."

Edmund stared intently at Hashim, Hashim also felt that what he said seemed true, but he felt a little awkward, so he simply shut his mouth.

Seeing that Hashim stopped speaking, Edmund knew that he had been persuaded, but Edmund needed to know more. Hashim was probably the one who knew the most about these things. "Hashim, as long as you tell me everything about Lord Benn, including his family name, the internal structure of the castle, and the number of troops in the territory, I can not only give you a sum of money, but also let you take revenge on Lord Benn yourself."