209: Talents emerge in large numbers

Chapter 206: Talents Emerge in Droves

After ending the conversation, Arthur immediately summoned Flora and the others. He planned to have Sariya take the injured back to the town first, while he would lead the remaining people to find Airo.

"Isgrasa is extremely weak now, and we must seize this rare opportunity."

Arthur explained his decision to everyone.

Everyone unanimously agreed with his decision.

So, Arthur immediately had Sariya prepare for the return trip.

If they could seize the opportunity to eliminate this troublesome lich in one fell swoop,

Then the entire Mist Town would be completely liberated, and Arthur would be free to deal with other issues.

Especially under the row houses, there was still a pile of spoils waiting for him to recover.

The young Baron took out his notebook and carefully reviewed its contents.

He wanted to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

Currently, he still faced one crisis: the Little Finger Merchant Guild.

Those narrow-minded merchants would surely take action.

It would be Godwin who faced their wrath.

This was also the primary task Arthur had entrusted to his chief steward.

For this, Arthur authorized Godwin to use any means and resources.

The exiled noble's gaze fell upon the four people in front of him.

Before this, he had already learned about the backgrounds of these four from Bruce.

Two skinny men were horse thieves, and the other stout-looking man was a Calimshan rider.

And the last scrawny woman was said to be a herbalist.

Godwin was quite satisfied with the people Bruce had chosen.

The two horse thieves, needless to say, looked sharp and clever.

Their eyes had been darting around since they entered the room.

By now, they had probably gotten a clear understanding of the room's layout.

As for the chosen woman, it wasn't because of her medical skills.

The reason she was imprisoned here was precisely because she had accidentally killed someone by misusing medicine.

The real reason Bruce chose her was that she was literate.

In such a remote borderland, this was a rather rare skill.

"Alright, four of you," Godwin's tone was serious, "I spent a lot of money to have your crimes pardoned."

Bill, one of the horse thieves, was the quickest to react, immediately bowing to Godwin.

Then he said with a fawning expression, "Thank you, sir! Thank you for your generous rescue!

"I sincerely bless you, may Mother Earth protect you forever!"

The other three also expressed their gratitude upon seeing this.

The herbalist, Uniel, bowed stiffly.

Another horse thief, Holland, like his companion Bill, said a string of excessively flattering words.

Holland's exaggerated flattery made Philip, who was guarding nearby, burst out laughing.

As for the former Calimshan rider, he simply said, "Thank you, sir," blandly.

There was no extra emotion in his tone.

"Very good, it seems you all still have grateful hearts," Godwin continued, "Since that's the case, from now on, you will officially serve the Baron of Qingfeng Valley."

As soon as he finished speaking, except for the rider, the faces of the other three instantly turned pale.

They probably hadn't expected to escape the gallows only to fall into hell again.

Philip laughed again, but this time, there was more mockery in it.

He focused his attention on the rider.

As an experienced pirate, he could clearly feel a dangerous aura emanating from this rider.

This man is dangerous, he thought.

It was a cold demeanor that only those who had been through many battles and seen much death could develop.

Then, he saw the rider smile.

Godwin also noticed this, but he didn't take it to heart.

Among the four people in front of him, his primary targets were the two horse thieves.

With his insight into human nature, he knew very well.

These two were probably already plotting how to escape.

He gave Bruce a look, and the latter immediately understood, taking the rider and the herbalist out first.

Godwin sat on the long bench, silently observing the two.

His scrutinizing gaze made the two horse thieves uneasy.

Finally, Bill couldn't hold back and asked tremblingly, "My lord, what—what are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking about whether to send you two back to where you came from."

Godwin deliberately put on a serious expression of consideration.

"What?" Bill cried out in alarm, "No, no, no! My lord, you—you must be joking, right?"

"Why don't you two think about it," Godwin said with a smile, "you stole horses for money, which can barely be considered 'businessmen.' So why not help me with some calculations?

"If I spent ten silver coins to save two heartless people who immediately thought of escaping,

"Wouldn't that be a losing business?

"If I wanted to cut my losses in time, how do you think these two people should be dealt with?"

Bill and Holland exchanged glances, about to argue, when they saw the young man who had been secretly observing them walking towards them.

This man looked lean, but the horse thieves knew that even if two more of them were added, they would never be his match.

In a panic, Holland quickly said, "No, no, no! My lord, we absolutely have no such intentions!

"You are our parents reborn—"

Before he finished speaking, the corner of his eye caught sight of the young man drawing a short knife from his waist.

Godwin raised a hand to stop Philip and instead asked, "I heard you used to raise horses and even performed equestrian shows?

"I'm very curious, how did you end up in this situation today?"

Bill saw that there was still room for discussion and quickly interjected, "My lord, we were forced!

"It's all because of that damned Ike family, they insisted on 'buying' us!"

Saying that, he reached out and pulled down his companion's collar.

A brand was clearly visible on Holland's chest.

Godwin had only seen such brands on large livestock like cattle and sheep.

The Ike family was a baronial family under the Bull Earl.

As far as he knew, this family owned many ranches, but their reputation was extremely poor.

Besides always tampering with the quality of livestock, their so-called "family-style management" was even more notorious.

The Ike family not only liked to brand livestock but also didn't spare their subordinates.

In their eyes, branding was a symbol of loyalty.

But once branded, you became the "property" of the Ike family, and even your descendants would belong to them.

Bruce had thoroughly investigated all this information during the background check.

This was precisely why Godwin intended to recruit these two horse thieves.

They had offended the Ike family, making their survival here almost impossible, and neither of them had taken a human life.

More importantly, they understood animal training and livestock raising.

This would undoubtedly be a huge help for the development of Mist Town.

Godwin deliberately showed a puzzled expression.

Seeing this, Bill and Holland immediately started to argue, speaking over each other.

The scene became quite chaotic.

It wasn't until Philip "thudded" his short knife into the table that the two suddenly fell silent.

Godwin pointed at Holland, signaling him to explain.

After a narrative full of embellishments and obvious exaggerations,

Godwin finally understood the whole story.

He then smiled and said, "In that case, sending you back to the Ike family would be the most cost-effective.

"They might even give us a considerable reward."

"No! My lord, please don't send us back!" Bill quickly pleaded, "Even if you throw us back in prison, it's better than sending us back to the Ike family!"

"I can offer you a better option.

"A place where the Ike family will never find you."

"Is it Qingfeng Valley?" Bill subconsciously interjected, then immediately paused, "But that place isn't—isn't—"

"I understand your concerns," Godwin interrupted him, "but under the protection of Lord Arthur, it is very safe there."

The two horse thieves looked at each other, not daring to speak for a moment.

"Tomorrow, you will depart with the Refugees," Godwin said seriously, "Don't think about escaping; outside this place are cultists and undead creatures.

"You won't survive two days."

"Arthur?" Holland murmured the name, as if remembering something, and suddenly grabbed Bill, "Arthur!

Kid Bill, it's that Arthur!

"It's Arthur who dispersed the Night Mist and repelled the undead!"

Bill's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed, and he excitedly asked Godwin, "Arthur? Is it the Arthur who saved Lookout Fort?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Godwin and Philip's faces darken and quickly corrected himself, "It's Lord Arthur! Are you talking about Lord Arthur?"

"That's right," Godwin replied.

"Then we'll go!"

Holland's attitude took a complete 180-degree turn.

Bill also quickly chimed in, "We've long heard of Lord Arthur's reputation!

"My lord, if you had told us earlier that he was the Baron of Qingfeng Valley, we would never have had any second thoughts!"

"So, you were indeed thinking about escaping just now?" Philip questioned.

"No, no, no! How could that be! We were just—just—"

The two began to argue over each other again.

Godwin decisively raised his hand to stop them, "Alright, get out."

The two horse thieves quickly offered profuse thanks, bowing and scraping as they exited the room.

"Sir, I really don't understand," Philip inquired, "Since Lord Arthur's reputation is so good, why can't we recruit people in his name?"

"Because no one can guarantee that Lord Arthur can always provide such good living conditions for everyone."

Godwin explained, "We cannot risk his reputation."

Philip nodded, half-understanding.

Next to enter was the herbalist, Uniel.

This "fake herbalist" was quite straightforward, agreeing to stay without making any demands.

Godwin curiously asked her if she truly understood medicine.

Uniel frankly replied, "I don't understand medicine, but I understand poisons."

Hearing this, Godwin's eyes lit up.

He knew this woman was hiding something, but he didn't intend to delve deeper.

Since she was willing to stay, he might as well keep her close and observe her for a while.

"Do you have any conditions?" Godwin asked.

"Only one request: I don't want to reveal anything about my past."

"Oh?" Godwin chuckled softly, "Then what can you bring me?"

Uniel pointed to a bottle of wine in the cabinet, then to the book by Godwin's hand, and finally to the short knife on the table.

"I can see three places where poison could be administered, three different poisons, corresponding to three different situations."

Godwin nodded, "I understand."

After Uniel left, Philip couldn't help but remind, "Sir, this woman's identity is unknown.

"Wouldn't it be unsafe to keep her around?"

"I have some guesses about her identity, but I can't confirm them yet," Godwin said, "I'll handle her, don't worry.

"If she were a spy sent by the enemy, she wouldn't be so high-profile.

"Alright, have Bruce take everyone down. Give them a bath, and some clean clothes and food."

"There's still one person left to talk to," Philip said.

"I know his answer without asking," Godwin replied, "He's a sadist, and I have a job that's perfect for him.

"You go talk to him. If he can be a 'controlled beast,' then he stays.

"If not, kill him."

Philip pulled the short knife from the table and nodded.

Rafe Udo wiped the blood from his face.

Even though his nose was crooked and a tooth had been knocked out by that kid, he was still very happy.

He knew how lucky he was: not only had he escaped the gallows, but he had also received food to fill his stomach, clean clothes,

And even a dream job.

It was rare for a profession's requirements to align so perfectly with a person's natural inclinations.

In his past life, he had never encountered such good fortune.

Even when serving in the Axebeak Cavalry, his superior—an old veteran who had been in the regiment for many years and knew the warriors well—had never understood his "special needs."

That superior-subordinate relationship was full of contradictions from the start.

Before it inevitably came to an end, it caused serious trouble for both of them.

Not long after, he had a dispute with his superior.

The outcome was self-evident.

He gained another knife scar on his face, and his superior would probably never be able to ride an axebeak again.

Fortunately, it was a duel witnessed by the gods; although he was not convicted, he was still discharged from the legion.

After leaving the cavalry, his life remained full of violence, only the methods became more direct.

He loved violence, that pure, exhilarating pleasure, he was truly too good at it.

In Rafe Udo's view, the key to happiness largely lay in finding one's purpose in life.

So after leaving the legion, he decisively became a mercenary.

For mercenaries, most violence was a necessary means.

This job delighted him; just the ability to kill freely was enough to bring a smile to his scar-covered face.

But Udo ultimately couldn't control his desires; it was too difficult.

His notoriety for sadistic killing prevented him from staying in the same mercenary company for too long.

Later, he was abandoned by the mercenary company for being reckless and disobeying orders, eventually ending up in the Lookout Fort prison.

"You're quite capable, kid," Udo said, looking at Philip who was sitting on the ground.

Philip's face was also covered in blood, but he was in much better shape than the Calimshan man.

"You're not bad either," Philip complimented back, "Want another round?"

Udo shook his head.

The fight had been satisfying, and he knew very well that he was no match for Philip.

If that kid had been his size, he would probably be lying on the ground already.

"So, can we talk now?" Philip asked.

Before coming, he had prepared to deal with the other's violent temper, but he hadn't expected Udo to directly throw a punch.

Bruce also hadn't expected such a scene; he had drawn his sword, but Philip stopped him.

"Yes," Udo replied.

He had a vague premonition that he was about to get an incredibly suitable job.