Chapter 78: Humiliation Agreement

  Remember in one second

  Simon is an intelligent person.

  Among the three slave mercenaries, he was the smartest. Although at first, he was disturbed by the Crow Lord and the large bird on his shoulder, after quietly observing for a while, he understood the Crow Lord's intentions.

  The Raven Lord was openly humiliating them.

  Although Simon couldn't think of a reason, when the Crow Lord made High Nose and Goat Beard slap Norris, and used the people's anger to attack Grukk who was slow-witted, Simon felt that under the black forest lord's majestic robe, there was an icy and cruel heart.

  If you want to add crimes, how can you worry about having no excuse?

  It is obvious that everything was orchestrated by this raven leader. Wanting to clear the "false accusation" in such a one-sided situation and retreat from the council chamber unscathed is fundamentally impossible.

  Even if the powerful adhesive in the bathtub loses its effect, the three of them would not be able to escape from a thousand people who want to eat them raw by fighting. Moreover, among these one thousand people, there are many traveling merchants, and if Ximen and others use force, the traveling merchants will inevitably spread their "deeds" to every corner of the Four Kingdoms Continent.

  Such consequences would be the last straw for the already notorious Blood Oath, but what's even more fatal is that Simon's own mysterious identity would also be exposed, and then his master...

  Ximeng didn't dare think about it anymore.

  Now, the only way out is to "plead guilty". Admitting a relatively minor crime can avoid the threat of being "boiled in water", and then promise some suitable benefits to the Crow Lord, making big things small and small things nothing, so as to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.

  As for what to do next, the host will definitely arrange it freely.

  Ximeng sneered inwardly, but put on a sincere and remorseful expression on his face. "Lord, we confess our crimes. We also ask that you consider the reputation of the Righteous Blood Guild and give us a lighter punishment." He deliberately shifted the focus to the "Righteous Blood Guild" in order to conceal his mysterious identity.

  Gruuk blinked in confusion, then suddenly understood what Simon meant by "confessing". He hastily chimed in: "Right, right, right! Forget about what I said earlier. We only admit to the crime of taking a bath in the council hall. Please, milord, take into account the face of our Brotherhood and give us a lighter punishment."

  He thought Simon mentioned "Yì Xuè Tuán" to increase the stakes, not knowing he had been used. After finishing speaking, he angrily shouted at Nors: "Hurry up and confess! Tell Lord that we are all Yì Xuè Tuán!"

  Nuo Si mumbled a few words, and the teeth in his mouth fell out like beans. His face was slapped until it was red and swollen, looking like a pig's head that had been scalded with boiling water.

  "We can't let them get away with it so cheaply!"

  "The crowd in the hall shouted loudly: 'Let them taste the wrath of Wuyiling!'"

  The black-armored guards struck the ground with their spear handles, but to no avail. The crowd's emotions were almost on the verge of erupting like a volcano.

  The Crow Lord himself used his crow sword to pound the floor, and only then did the nearly out-of-control scene return to calm.

  "Plead guilty?"

  The Crow Lord furrowed his brow, his eyes filled with icy skepticism. "Are you certain you want to admit your disrespect towards Raven's Peak?"

  Simon hesitated for a moment, and suddenly felt that this was the trap dug by the Crow Lord, and everything before was just a setup to make them admit to this big or small crime.

  "Wow!"

  The raven on the lord's shoulder croaked, causing Simon to shudder involuntarily. "Confirmed!" he blurted out at once. "We confirm!"

  "Excellent."

  A hint of a smile that was hard to detect flashed across the brow of the Raven Lord, "We have to give people who confess voluntarily some opportunities."

  The people in the conference hall were discontented, but since it was the Crow Lord who spoke, they didn't dare say anything opposing.

  Durantha, who was standing by, breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Rega would really cook those three slave mercenaries, but now it seemed he just wanted to scare and humiliate them.

  "Since you all voluntarily pleaded guilty, then show your sincerity of pleading guilty."

  This sentence is like a naked threat. As the leader of the Blood Oath squad, Gruke exchanged a cautious glance with Simon before speaking: "Lord, as you know, our Blood Oath squad is one of the nine major tribes that can control the slave mercenary group in the barbarian territory. Our team has contributed countless slave resources to the four major kingdoms——"

  "What resources have you contributed?"

  The Crow Lord asked coldly: "Were these slaves planted by you or born of you?"

  "This..."

  Gruuk licked his lips and said with a straight face, "Slaves are like that. They breed themselves. We just have to teach them how to follow the rules of civilized society."

  The people below were once again in an uproar of indignation.

  The Crow Lord made no comment, merely raising a hand for Gruuk to continue.

  "Greetings, noble lord. Our full title is the Blood Slave Mercenary Corps of Justice. We uphold the ideal of serving esteemed guests like yourself. If you have any needs, please don't hesitate to speak up, and we will fulfill your requests."

  A mercenary corps stained with the blood of slaves dares to shamelessly call itself "Blood of Justice"? Duran's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. She stole a glance at Laga, only to find that his expression above the black mask hadn't changed in the slightest.

  The Crow Lord said faintly: "Can your Mo Ye Blood Team satisfy any of my requirements?"

  "Of course!"

  Guruk hastily said: "As long as your lordship can forgive us and not pursue our disrespectful behavior."

  "Have you taken charge?" asked Crow Leader.

  "I am the captain of a detachment of the Volunteer Blood Corps. The corps has over 100 members, and I personally oversee more than 30 people."

  "As for my identity, Gruke's puffy face seemed to have gained a bit of momentum. 'Originally, mercenaries like me who possess sixth-rank battle aura wouldn't personally escort goods, but this time it was the client's request, which is why I'm here.'"

  "So you're someone with status now?"

  "It's too kind of you."

  Gruuk thought of his current situation and immediately replied with a bow: "I just want to say that any request from the lord, I can find a way to do it."

  "Alright."

  The fine lines on the forehead of the Crow Lord spread out, "I want you to pay a tax of 50% every time the Righteous Blood Guild passes through."

  "What?!"

  Guruk's eyes widened involuntarily. Matters of taxation were beyond the control of a small squad leader like him, let alone that normal slave trade taxes were only five percent, and Raven Lord was asking for ten times that! This wasn't negotiating conditions, this was clearly trying to drive them to death!

  Simon hastily gave him a glance, and Gruke finally recovered from the shock, his mouth dryly saying: "Lord, can't we discuss it again? Fifty percent is really..."

  "Wow!"

  A crow cawed loudly, scaring Gru's remaining words back into his belly.

  The raven-haired lord furrowed his brow again and said in a gloomy tone: "Do you think this is a vegetable market?"

  "No! No! No!"

  Gruke didn't dare say another word and turned his head to Ximon with a pleading gaze.

  Although Ximon was thin, the expression on his face was more determined than Gruke's. "Lord, as you wish, our Blood Oath team is willing to pay 50% of the tax every time we pass by Crow Ridge."

  To him, being a slave mercenary was just a cover-up identity. As long as he could leave Crow Ridge smoothly, he didn't care what would happen to the Righteous Blood Guild in the future.

  Gruerk looked at Simon with a pained expression, as if he had a mouthful of sour plums that were hard to swallow.

  Ximeng whispered to Gulu: "Just agree for now, and then deny it later. Can a small Wuya Ridge really contend against your powerful Yixue League?"

  Guruk thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. He let out a sigh and said to the Crow Lord, "Lord, we accept your terms."

  "Talk is cheap, but written words are evidence."

  The Crow Lord beckoned to the crowd below, "Is there any traveling merchant willing to come forward as a witness?"

  Several white-haired, prestigious businessmen immediately stood up to help Gruuk and others draft a document to increase taxes, which was then handed over to Gruuk by the Black Armor Guards for his signature.

  Grudder hesitated for a moment before finally signing his name under Simon's urging gaze.

  The Black Armor Guard immediately returned the letter to the Crow Lord, who looked at it and then handed it over to Duran.

  "Miss Du, since the renowned Justice Blood Brotherhood has taken the lead in paying us 50% of their taxes, from now on all slave mercenaries passing through Crow Ridge will have to follow suit. If anyone disobeys, just show them this letter."

  In this way, those slave mercenaries will point their spears at the Blood Oath Corps one after another, a true two birds with one stone! Duran, the enemy of the Heart Leading God's Will, smiled and said, "Yes, my lord."

  The Raven Lord shifted his gaze from Duran's smile and turned to the several traveling merchants with some reputation, saying: "You folks have had a hard time, as a token of gratitude, I exempt you from all taxes here in the name of the Raven Lord."

  Those merchants were overjoyed and promised to vigorously promote the benefits of Wuya Ridge from then on.

  Gruuk collapsed thoroughly in the bathtub, and Crowlord had done things so absolutely that he had no way to survive even if he could leave Raven's Peak smoothly. He was probably unable to face the accusations of the leader of the Righteous Blood Guild.

  "It's all your fault, Simon! Now I'm done for!"

  You were dead anyway. Simon smiled coldly, "Don't worry, I've said it before, after we arrive at the main city of Senyan, my master will compensate you. The priority now is to leave this place as soon as possible."

  "Alright, okay."

  Gruk regained his composure and said to the Crow Lord: "My lord, can you let us go now?"

  "Not good enough."

  Through the black veil, the raven lord let out a cruel hum, "You've only signed the agreement, but haven't paid yet..."