When Alan saw his subordinates storming into the castle with the captives and more villagers, looking like beasts incarnate, he knew he had won today.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, the news of Davis Castle's fall had spread throughout the vicinity.
Many masked villagers turned into rioters, joining this feast.
He only guarded the castle gate, letting those rioters in without resistance, allowing them to explore one hall after another, discovering secret passages, and battling enemies, even dismantling every iron nail on the gate.
"It's about time..."
Looking at the chaotic castle, Alan had Sanchez and others follow him into the hall.
Bloodstains were everywhere in the corridors; if his men had stormed in by force, they would have suffered heavy losses.
But now, there were few of Alan's men among the fallen bodies.
Screams and crazed laughter echoed from various rooms, while a few bandits holding bottles of wine wandered the hall, draped in all sorts of silks, some even wearing torn curtains.
The bandits instinctively formed various groups, confronting each other but not daring to oppose the regular army.
"To break the castle quickly, my loot has significantly decreased..."
Alan thought to himself as he ventured deeper into the castle.
This was his rightful share, areas that the rioters dared not touch; those who did were already corpses.
At that moment, a suppressed sobbing of a young woman came from behind a door.
The men present knew what was happening at once, a playful smile spreading across their faces.
"I remember I said, loot and women will be uniformly distributed!"
Alan's face suddenly darkened; he knew the nature of his men and that strict prohibition was unlikely.
But blatant disobedience of orders would lower the combat effectiveness of his troops. If everyone did this, they would quickly lose their advantage as a regular army, unable to suppress the rioters, and might not even get out of this territory!
Smack!
With a stern face, Alan stepped forward and kicked open the door.
Inside was clearly a lady's boudoir, with silk curtains covering a velvet bed.
At this moment, there were a few bandit corpses on the ground, and a man undressing. Seeing Alan, he quickly pulled up his pants, a sheepish smile appearing on his face, "Boss, let me explain... it wasn't me, it was those rioters."
"Yes, it wasn't you, but you were about to..."
Alan stepped forward and whipped Eight Fingers with his sword sheath.
Smack!
Eight Fingers staggered, a crimson mark immediately appearing on his back.
Alan continued forward, lifting the curtain with his sword to reveal a crying face: "Silvia Davis?"
She was the only daughter of Lord Davis and Colin's fiancée, the leading lady of this war.
Alan had seen her at the engagement ceremony, remembering her as a very proud woman, but now...
"Take this woman; she might be useful."
Alan didn't care about her condition and directly issued the order, then asked, "Where is Madam Anna?"
"That woman was hacked to death next door, along with a few children!"
Eight Fingers answered regretfully, thinking of what could have been if Alan had come a bit later.
As for the heir of the Davis Territory, he was on the front lines, fighting alongside Lord Davis.
"Gather all the loot, we're leaving here. We must be on the big ship before noon!"
Alan nodded, glanced at the corpses, and issued the order.
Even if someone reported back, it would take time for the frontline troops to return. As long as they boarded the ship and sailed downstream, escaping was a certainty!
Anyway, he would never hold the castle and perish with the enemy army, leaving benefits to Colin.
That was unrealistic!
…
When the sun reached its zenith, two ships had already set sail.
"If Father is sharp enough, he should have prepared upon receiving my letter... and the chaos of the enemy army would be the best sign."
"If he seizes the opportunity, this war should end completely."
Alan Sothos stood at the bow, looking at crates of loot, thinking to himself.
Ending the war sooner would mean fewer deaths.
In comparison, today's sacrifice was nothing.
If the war continued, perhaps ten or a hundred times more would die!
"However, my main objective is still for myself."
Alan heard soft sobbing from those young women, they were part of the 'loot,' including the maids and some attractive nannies from the castle. After all, Alan's men were a bunch of beasts.
Of course, there was a pearl among them—Silvia Davis.
He had a feeling this woman would be quite useful.
"From now on, the war has little to do with me."
Alan exhaled deeply.
...
Widow's Bay Camp.
Two ships docked outside the camp, and a group of excited bandits were preparing to divide the spoils.
"This time, I will divide the loot into three parts, one for the lord, one for me, and one for you all!"
Alan Sothos held pen and paper, starting to allocate the loot.
Because there was so much, including livestock and women, it was a bit chaotic for a while.
"Also... all books belong to me."
Alan picked up a book bound in papyrus, nearly falling apart.
After all, before he invented the paper mill, papyrus was still widely used in Green Forest. This material couldn't compare to parchment, its only advantage being its cheapness, later completely replaced by the new paper and driven out of the market.
However, before the paper mill was operational, precious parchment was rarely used, so most books were still made of papyrus.
"As you wish, sir!"
Eight Fingers bowed.
"Don't think you can escape that whipping."
Alan snorted coldly; as punishment for disobeying orders, although the crime was not completed, a whipping was still inevitable.
As he rummaged through a crate filled with paper, his hand suddenly stopped on a parchment scroll, knowing immediately that the information on it must be quite valuable.
After discreetly pocketing the parchment, he pointed to a crate filled with silver and copper coins, "Divide it, squad leaders get double shares, and those who want women and livestock will get reduced shares!"
After setting a roughly fair distribution plan, Alan ignored his men's revelry and returned to his tent to study the parchment.
Upon opening it, a black map emerged.
"So, it's a map."
Alan's eyes filled with interest as he looked at the map's upper half, discovering that a third of it was labeled 'Green Forest'.
Then, beneath the map, there are castles strategically guarding every convenient transportation point, forming a kingdom.
'The Kingdom of Kagash... the true rulers of this land, I have indeed heard of its name...'
'However, in the hearts of the citizens of that kingdom, we people of the Green Forest are probably seen as barbaric monkeys living in the woods, right?'
(End of this chapter)