Translator: Cinder Translations
...
The officer referred to as Major Elvin by Fergus raised his hand, silencing the former leader of the Rhino Mercenary Corps, who had been about to continue speaking to Doug.
Elvin turned to Doug and said, "You can call me Major Jerry Elvin. I currently serve in the staff of the Alden army."
Doug stood up straight and gave a heavy nod to the major before him. "Sir Elvin!"
He knew that the Alden army didn't follow the complicated rituals of noble officers from other places.
At this moment, he began to carefully observe the officer in front of him. Elvin had short, dark chestnut hair, thick eyebrows, shallow eye sockets, and bright, spirited eyes—Doug had noticed that Alden soldiers generally had bright, lively eyes. Elvin wasn't very tall, but his build was quite solid.
Elvin said, "Let me clarify why I called you here. Earlier, I simply mentioned it briefly to Commander Fergus without going into details, so I'd appreciate it if Commander Fergus could listen carefully to what I say next."
Fergus, who had been defiant in front of Doug, immediately transformed into a well-behaved student.
Elvin began to pace slowly around the office, introducing the situation at a leisurely pace: "About a month ago, a war broke out in the Horns Bay, with one side led by the Horns Bay Alliance of coastal nations and the other led by the Horns Bay Church of inland nations."
"Oh, they finally started fighting?" Fergus couldn't help but ask with a hint of schadenfreude.
Doug silently cursed; why didn't they start earlier? With his keen sense of war, he had sensed several years ago that under such high pressure, conflicts would eventually erupt—mercenaries naturally wished for this.
However, the conflict had been delayed, which is why he took up work in the Northwest Bay, only to have it all go wrong here.
If they had started fighting years ago, Doug would have been enjoying himself on the battlefields and in the pleasure districts of the Horns Bay, rather than shoveling coal in this unfamiliar place every day.
"Before I continue," Elvin suddenly stopped and looked at the two of them. "I need to clarify, if you were still mercenaries in the Horns Bay, which side would you accept employment from? Would you represent the free Horns Bay Alliance and its allies, or the faith of the Church and its vassal states?"
"Ha, sir," Fergus grinned widely and answered first, "Freedom and faith—can those things fill your stomach? Of course, whoever offers a better price gets the fight."
Fergus's answer made Doug wary; it seemed that the years of prison life hadn't changed this seemingly reckless but actually meticulous guy.
From Doug's perspective, Major Elvin was testing them.
Especially regarding their attitude towards religion.
Doug quickly followed up, "We are mercenaries, sir; money is our only pursuit, and profit is our highest principle. However…"
He blinked a few times and didn't continue.
"Okay, I understand," Elvin continued pacing in front of them.
"You should know that the Northwest Bay currently has very developed maritime trade, and the Horns Bay is an extremely important node on the maritime trade route. Our government and merchants have made many investments there—goods, shops, currency, and so on."
"But now!" he suddenly raised his voice. "The sudden war threatens these properties. Although we hold a firm belief in the moral standards of the Horns Bay people, even the most honest places are not free from bad apples and opportunists. Moreover, we must consider the worst-case scenario—that these assets are looted by the chaotic armies from both sides."
"Our lord—Lord Paul Grayman, who has great foresight—believes that a sufficiently deterrent force should exist in the Northwest Bay to protect our legitimate properties from the covetous and harmful intentions of those lawless individuals."
"So!"
Elvin's gaze lingered on Doug for a moment before shifting to Fergus.
"The staff has ordered me to find suitable candidates to establish such a force in the Horns Bay."
Before Elvin finished speaking, Doug exclaimed, "Sir, I am willing to serve Lord Grayman!"
Fergus quickly chimed in, "Sir, I am even more willing to serve Lord Grayman!"
Doug and Fergus were competing to express their willingness, glaring at each other, having completely viewed one another as rivals.
From Elvin's earlier words, Doug and Fergus understood why they had been called here.
The Alden people were planning to send them—or at least some of them—back to the Horns Bay to protect their properties.
It made sense; the Northwest Bay was a thousand miles away from the Horns Bay, and it would be inconvenient for the Alden's regional forces to send troops there. Who better than a bunch of local snakes who just happened to be imprisoned in their jail?
What did this mean? Freedom!
Once selected, they could return to their familiar homeland and to the battlefields they knew!
Wasn't that like birds returning to the sky or fish returning to the sea?
"Don't get too excited yet!"
Seeing the two competing to express their willingness, Elvin couldn't hide his delight.
"The premise for you to return to the Horns Bay is that you must swear loyalty to Lord Grayman."
The two men immediately rushed to respond.
"I am willing to swear loyalty to Lord Grayman!"
"I am more willing to swear loyalty to Lord Grayman!"
"My loyalty comes with no conditions—no territories, no knightly titles, nothing."
"I guarantee I will be more loyal than this guy next to me who is dreaming and talking nonsense."
…
The two mercenary leaders expressed their loyalty to Count Grayman as if placing bets.
"Gentlemen,"
Elvin interrupted their speech.
"Loyalty spoken from the mouth is unreliable; hollow and powerless oaths do not bind anything."
The two spoke in unison, "We will sign a contract."
"The Horns Bay is too far from us; contracts cannot guarantee anything."
Doug asked, "Then, Sir Elvin, what do you mean?"
Elvin grinned, a hint of mischief in his voice as he said, "Use your Horns Bay method."
"Our Horns Bay method?"
The two men were taken aback for a moment before quickly reacting. "You mean… you want to give us…"
Elvin wiped the smile from his face and spoke sternly, "Yes, you will have the brand of Lord Grayman marked on your bodies; only then can your loyalty be guaranteed."
The room fell silent.
"Uh… Sir Elvin, can we not discuss this further?"
"Hmph!" Elvin asked mockingly, "Are you not Lord Grayman's de facto slaves right now?"
This statement struck both of them like an arrow.
It hit home!
(End of the Chapter)
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Translated 4 Series, 1.5K+ Chapters and 1.78M+ Words.