Chapter 121: This is how business is done
There are still nearly a thousand garrison troops in Changhe Town at this moment, including three hundred real Fierce Lion Realm cavalry.
They did express a very sincere welcome to the arrival of the coalition forces - the situation was completely reversed with just a fire, Changhe Town was now safe, and they would certainly welcome reinforcements.
They did not object to Godric's offer to temporarily take over the defense of Changhe Town - after all, Godric was the king's brother-in-law, and he brought a large number of elite troops to the rescue and even defeated the enemy.
Now that the governor of Changhe Town is away, it is appropriate for Baron Godric to temporarily take over the defense.
However, although these garrisons were very polite, none of them were willing to go out of the city to fight!
It's not that they are afraid of death or fighting, but it's not good for them to fight outside the city...
Because they were the soldiers brought by Duke Alma from Lion Lake City.
These guys told Amy that their duty was to guard Changhe Town, and if the Prophet's Legion launched an attack, they would definitely fight to the death. But if the enemy did not attack Changhe Town, or if the enemy wanted to retreat, "that would be the best" - this was what the leader of the Serenity Cavalry said.
These garrisons are all subordinates of the Duke of Alma. For them, as long as nothing happens in Changhe Town, it's fine.
As for whether the Prophet's Legion will run away or harm other villages, it has nothing to do with them.
It is actually normal for them to have this mentality. After all, they are not from Changhe Town. They were just arranged by Duke Alma a few months ago to take over the defense of Changhe Town.
As garrison troops, it is their responsibility to guard Changhe Town, but other than that, they have no feelings for this area...
This is why Leon must let Godric gain military control of Changhe Town - Alma's men will not care about the lives of other people in the eastern region, and it has nothing to do with their own character.
If they fail to defend the city well, they will definitely be held responsible, and Duke Alma will not forgive them, so they will naturally fight to the death.
But if they were to fight outside the city, winning the battle would not bring them much benefit, and if heavy casualties were caused, the leading knight would be held responsible, so they would definitely not want to leave the city.
In fact, most nobles don't care about other people's territories. There are not many nobles who are willing to consider the overall safety like Godric and Leofric.
In fact, if the entire garrison of Changhe Town were to go out of the city to fight, they would surely win the battle under the current circumstances.
Even if they didn't dare to send out their entire army, this group of Fierce Lion Cavalry alone could put the Prophet's Legion in a dilemma.
Judging from the current situation, as long as there are enough cavalry troops watching outside the city, the three prophets will definitely not dare to retreat easily.
As long as they have the slightest intention to retreat, the cavalry can charge at the formation, at least delaying them, and then the main army will have enough time to break out from Changhe Town.
The Prophet's Legion would be trapped under the city and unable to move, unless the three prophets were willing to abandon all the female soldiers and run away with the Doombringers - even then, they might not be able to escape.
But the problem was that the Sarleon cavalry were not even willing to leave the city to replace the rangers who had not slept all night - let alone Amy's request, even Godric's request was rejected by the leading knight.
Now all Ralph's Rangers can do is work harder and cooperate with Baron Leofric to keep an eye on the Prophet's Legion for a few more hours so that the main force can have a good sleep.
Godric was still patient and ignored the cavalrymen. He just issued a notice throughout the city, stating that he would temporarily take over Changhe Town.
But he still couldn't help but sigh: "It is because every great lord's troops have this mentality that these heretics can run rampant in Pendor! They are all selfish guys!"
However, Li Ang didn't want to let it go: "Lord Godric, they just can't see the benefits... Don't worry, by noon at the latest, they will march out of the city to fight!"
After saying that, the lord took Amy directly into the largest tavern in Changhe Town - the Adventurer's Tavern.
"Amy, go to the garrison camp and invite the leading knight. Tell him that Baron Leon, the chairman of Maixiang Group, wants to invite him to drink and ask for his help..."
"Teacher, do you want to convince him? But they do have reasons to fight outside the city..."
After all, Amy is too young and has not yet learned to see the essence through phenomena.
"It's okay, just call them over, I have to show off..."
As the lord spoke, he found the tavern owner and said, "Boss, you have a private room here, right? Serve a sumptuous dinner. Whatever is the most expensive here, please."
The tavern owner smiled so hard when he heard this: "Yes, yes, yes, sir, this way please..."
The so-called private room is actually the boss’s own room... But it doesn’t matter, treating everyone to a meal is not the purpose, just looking impressive is enough.
Not long after, the leading knight who had refused was brought into the box by Amy.
He had to come - he could refuse an invitation to fight in the city, but it was difficult for him to refuse an invitation to dinner from a full baron.
Besides, it was a lady like Amy who came in person to invite me, which was a great honor for me. It would be very ignorant not to come.
However, as soon as he entered the room, he almost ran away - ten Mettenheim strong men stood in a circle in the box, leaning against the wall, all with expressionless faces around a large round table.
There was only a young noble sitting at the round table, but the table was indeed filled with various dishes and wine.
As soon as he entered, Klose at the door closed the door and leaned against it, obviously not intending to let him out.
This looked like a scene of gangsters intimidating people. The knight began to sweat. He came to the banquet and didn't even bring a decent weapon with him.
"Mr. Baron, how can I help you?"
The knight was still somewhat courageous, and when he saw Klose blocking the door expressionlessly, he turned around and asked the lord, remaining relatively calm.
But his tone was obviously not as aggressive as when he refused to fight just now.
However, the lord's attitude was very gentle: "Please sit down, Sir Knight, don't be nervous, I just want to ask you a favor... You seem to be sweating? Are you hot?"
Who wouldn’t sweat in this situation?
The knight couldn't figure out the lord's intention and sat down awkwardly, but his movement was a bit stiff - only one-third of his butt was in contact with the chair.
Amy also sat next to the lord and began to watch and learn.
"You should already know Amy, but you may not know who I am... My name is Li Ang, the chairman of Maixiang International. Amy is my partner."
The lord's attitude was gentle, but his tone was cold and his eyes were slanted.
As he spoke, he reached out and poured a glass of wine and handed it to the knight.
The knight took the cup but did not drink it. He placed it on the table and frowned as he asked the lord: "Sir, please speak frankly... I know I have offended several lords today, but we do have reasons for not fighting..."
Li Ang pulled the corner of his mouth with a fake smile: "Don't get me wrong, I understand you, and I'm not here to cause you trouble. In fact, I want to discuss a business with you..."
The knight's frown deepened. "Business?"
"I think you should have heard of the Maixiang Group's industry..."
Leon took out a dinar with a smile and dropped it on the table, just like a gambler placing a bet on the table.
"Uh? Are those...those casinos owned by you?"
The knight's expression suddenly became a little strange, and it seemed that he had also lost money from a certain operator.
Merchants opened many casinos around Lion Lake City. The garrisons of this era were the largest customer group of the casinos, and only a few had never participated in gambling...
"Since you know my main business, you must also know the strength of Maixiang International." Li Ang raised his eyebrows: "But you may not know what kind of opportunity you almost missed today..."
The knight was a little nervous because of Leon's formation.
He certainly realized what a lucrative business those casinos were, and now the young baron sitting in front of him was a wealthy man!
The knight's attitude became noticeably more respectful.
Humans are like this - when the other person has a higher social status than themselves and more wealth than themselves, people will always lower their posture involuntarily... Many people even think it is an honor for a big man to talk to them on an equal footing!
When people have this attitude, it is usually easy to talk business.
Li Ang smiled and said, "Casinos can indeed make a lot of money, but this is not the most profitable business in the world... I actually want to open another more profitable business, but I have always lacked resources and have no chance... However, today I have found sufficient resources!"
Having said this, the lord revealed a greasy smile.
The knight was stunned for a moment, then he smiled in the same way: "Sir, do you want to..."
"Yes, you know! I actually want to open a service business... I even thought of a name for my new business - it's called Heaven on Earth! What do you think of this name?"
Li Ang raised his eyebrows and an even more disgusting smile appeared on his face.
"Then it would be just right to be in the south and north of Qiaoyan Bay...hehehe!" The knight seemed very experienced and was probably an expert in the world of romance.
"Originally I didn't have many resources, but there are at least five or six hundred top beauties out there. If I could get some of them, this new business might be able to start right away..."
Li Ang said, stroking his chin.
"Lord Leon, that is a heretic witch!" The knight was horrified. He obviously did not expect that the lord was targeting the three prophets.
"I don't believe you don't have any thoughts about those beautiful heretics..."
Li Ang glared at the knight and said, "Besides, why do you think we brought our troops here? Do you think we are here just to rescue Changhe Town? Duke Alma will not give me any benefits!"
"That's true... they do look attractive..." The knight himself felt that it was unlikely that the reinforcements came specially to rescue Changhe Town - after all, the reinforcements came so quickly, the Prophet's Legion had not even attacked Changhe Town yet, and the large force arrived.
"I asked you to come here for this matter - I have too few soldiers, and there is nothing I can do to those women. Most of Lord Godric's troops are archers, and it is difficult for them to be captured. But you have thousands of troops here, plus the army brought by Lord Godric, it must be enough to capture those women! I am willing to pay a very high price to buy twenty doom bringers... I will pay three thousand dinars for one doom bringer! Only twenty will be accepted, first come first served!"
Leon offered an irresistible high price: three thousand dinars for a Doombringer prisoner!
This kind of price was something the knight had never seen before, let alone even heard of - this was not a Noldor elf, but just a heretic witch!
You know, three thousand dinars can buy more than a dozen sets of ordinary standard equipment!
Or, he could buy dozens or even hundreds of strong slaves;
Or, you could buy a huge manor in the heart of the kingdom... one with hundreds of acres of land!
——Three thousand dinars is a huge sum of money that most knights cannot save in their lifetime, but it is enough to make a person worry-free for the rest of his life.
And the rich man in front of me asked to buy twenty!
Li Ang could see that the knight's breathing suddenly became rapid...
So, he added another price: "If you can capture any one of the three prophets, I can offer 50,000 dinars! I believe that many people will be interested in these three prophets... They will make my new business a success overnight! As for the other female soldiers, it depends on their quality... But at least, I can offer five times the market price!"
The knight immediately expressed his strong interest in this big business of buying and selling heretics: "Lord Leon, I think your business will be successful soon! I understand what you mean!"
Then he picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all.
After finishing the drink, he bowed to Amy and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Amy, I didn't expect this reason... If you had told me this earlier, I wouldn't have offended you..."
Li Ang knocked on the table: "Amy is a girl, how could she possibly mention this business in public? Now you understand the situation , I will let Amy wait here, and when she sees the goods I want, she will pay..."
"Don't worry, sir. You will definitely be able to make a lot of money!"
After saying that, he stood up and left, probably because he couldn't wait to do business.
Li Ang smiled. As long as you find the right direction, there is no one you can't command...
Amy was still a little confused: "Teacher, you are not really going to open a 'Heaven on Earth', are you?"
The Lord curled his lips: "How is it possible... do I look like that kind of person?"
Amy sighed, but didn't say the word "like" after all: "You could actually just use money to lure them into fighting, why do you have to create such a scene?"
She pointed to the food on the table.
"Amy, to motivate a stranger, you must first make him willing to listen to you. And making people willing to listen to you seriously and form an obedient mentality is much more important than the content of your speech!"
"I want him to know that I am very rich and that I have a good reason to pay. Only then will he believe that I can really pay a high price."
"If there weren't these scenes to create the environment, he would probably reject me outright. By then, it would not be easy to talk to him again..."
"Besides, these things won't go to waste - come on, brothers, let's have a good meal!"
The Mettenheim strong men immediately sat down at the table with smiles on their faces. They couldn't wait any longer.
Li Ang and Amy quickly grabbed a chicken leg each, and then fled the room like flying - neither of them wanted to eat in the pigpen...
Just a few hours later, at noon that day, all the leading knights in the Changhe Town garrison collectively volunteered to Godric, expressing their willingness to fight a decisive battle with the Prophet's Legion!
There are even a few mercenary groups that came from nowhere, claiming to be "eliminating harm and eliminating heresy for the people"...
After eating and drinking, Leon even took a nap. When he came back yawning, he heard Baron Godric say happily: "You are all heroes of justice. These heretics will surely be destroyed today!"
Then Godric waved his hand and said, "All troops, go to battle!"
Thousands of garrisons, hundreds of mercenary groups, and more than a thousand allied troops rushed out of Changhe Town...
Except for Ralph's Rangers and Leofric's "Draw Horse Cavalry" who need to retreat from the battlefield and catch up on sleep, all the combat forces of Changhe Town have been deployed!
This is an army of more than 2,000 people, four times the current number of the Prophet's Legion, and they are all in high spirits and eager to fight.
Godric was also preparing to leave the city with his guards. When he passed by the lord, he asked, "It is true that people die for money... But if they can really capture a lot of heretics, will you really let Amy pay?"
Li Ang smiled and whispered, "Capture heretics? Those women are not afraid of death at all, how can they be captured? Those doom bringers don't even feel pain... Want to capture them? This is more difficult than capturing the Noldor elves... As for capturing the three prophets - if someone really has this ability, then I am definitely willing to pay to make friends with such a hero..."
After saying that, he climbed up the city wall and lay on the top of it, planning to observe the situation before leaving the city.
The Prophet's Legion, which had been motionless for a long time, finally took action at this time - after discovering that the army had left the city, they directly dispersed into dozens of small teams, and the blood-sworn witches were also divided into various teams, with about seven or eight people in each team.
These teams dispersed in all directions, apparently trying to break out in separate directions.
The three prophets were still together, and they fled straight to the west with dozens of doom-bringers in a very decisive attitude.
Is he going to abandon the other female soldiers and run away?
Li Ang stood up in surprise. If these three prophets wanted to escape, wouldn't it be more appropriate for them to retreat directly when the main force entered the city?
Even though there are so many cavalrymen watching them, they would also suffer huge losses if they retreated, but at least it was much better than facing a large army now!
Moreover, the coalition forces were given several hours of rest. How could the three prophets make such a decision?
But it didn't take long for the lord to realize that the three prophets' decision to flee now was actually the right one - they were afraid of being chased by the rangers before, and now that the rangers had entered the city to rest, they had to take this opportunity to escape.
Indeed, being chased by a large number of horse archers is the most terrifying thing. Those Doombringers themselves are horse archers, and they probably know this well.
Anyway, for the three prophets, once they decided to run away, they would have to give up those female infantry soldiers . No matter when they ran away, the price would be the same.
Since the price paid is the same, the Three Prophets' chances of escaping successfully will indeed be higher when the Rangers are not on the battlefield.
But, but.
But the three prophets certainly didn't expect that the Lord would pay a high price to "buy" them...
Under the temptation of the lord's huge reward, the Sarleon cavalry and mercenary groups all chased after them - the three prophets only brought a few dozen doom bringers, not many people, and they all happened to be the type of goods that Lord Leon paid a high price for...
These Sarleon cavalrymen did not have the rangers' ability to shoot and mount horses, but they now had a firm determination to pursue the dinar.
Therefore, their pursuit seemed more targeted - they completely ignored the female soldiers who tried to break out in all directions, and went straight after the three prophets, with a very clear target.
