Hart stared at him, an unfamiliar face he had never seen before.
"Who are you?"
"You can call us the Freemen," Little Smo said.
"We fight tyranny and seek to restore freedom and peace to the people."
"You're a mob?"
Hart could not accept that a mob had defeated them. He stared at Captain Reyne. "How much did they pay you? The Phelan Trading Company will triple it."
He was clearly a trusted man of the Phelan Trading Company.
"They gave us something you can't afford."
"Impossible."
The Holy Light faded from Captain Reyne. "They gave us the chance to uphold justice and punish evildoers!"
Hart had no answer. All he could do was curse the damned Holy Knight in his heart.
"Since when do Holy Knights side with people who undermine order?"
The mage's sneer was cut short by Volod.
"Save your sophistry. Do you really believe what he said about being hired? I'd wager they didn't even take a deposit."
"Whose side are you on?" If he had not known Volod for so long, he would have suspected him of being a spy planted in their ranks.
"The side that stays alive."
Volod was so candid he hardly seemed like a master. Hart looked at him as though he were a disgrace.
"Don't try anything," Deputy Captain Skeeter warned. "We don't want an unnecessary fight. As long as you do nothing, no one will be hurt or killed."
The mage curled his lip. With several pairs of eyes fixed on him, Hart coldly accepted the terms.
After all, he could hardly fight a Holy Knight, a Great Swordsman, an Archmage, and two master Rangers on his own.
The surrender of the three masters meant the open-pit coal mine was officially theirs. It had taken less than two hours.