Chapter 141 You are the kidnapper
Klose rushed over quickly, intending to capture the prisoner.
"Hiss...Emperor Marius, die! Long live Aziz Dahaka!"
But just before Klose rushed to the Cobra Warrior, the guy pulled out a knife, yelled, and stabbed himself in the jaw resolutely.
Blood spurted out.
Klose walked over quickly and then shook his head: "He's dead!"
Another religious fanatic who is not afraid of death...
What the Lord hates most is this kind of fanatical believers.
The entrance of the village soon calmed down again. Many villagers were alarmed by the fighting, but they did not take the opportunity to run away. Instead, they just poked their heads around and watched from afar.
Without anyone's instigation, these villagers did not dare to face the killing battlefield with real swords and guns.
The brief sneak attack had no other consequences except for minor injuries to the lord and two Mettenheim people, but the appearance of the Snake Cultists cast a shadow on everyone's heart.
"This Red Death must be related to the Snake Cult..."
Li Ang said with a frown.
It is obvious that there is a plague in the village, and a group of snake worshippers come to attack the team responsible for the quarantine.
Thinking back to the instigator who was shot before, the purpose of this attack is easy to guess - the Snake Cult wanted to spread the plague.
If this plague was deliberately spread by the Snake Cult, it would be terrible...
"Our Grand Master, Sir Molay, thinks so too. We are often attacked by the followers of the Snake Cult..."
A doctor answered.
"But the Snake Cult's troops appeared so close to the Imperial Port... Isn't this a bit too rampant? Imperial Port is not an ordinary port for Bacchus... Isn't the Empire currently suppressing the Snake Cult?"
It was Amy who spoke.
Imperial Port is where the conqueror General Osa landed in Pendor. Although General Osa did not make Imperial Port the capital in the end, the city has high symbolic significance and actual status. It is also the economic center of the empire, not inferior to the capital Siyuan City.
"Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but our Knights do suspect that some nobles in Dilingang have been infiltrated by the Snake Cult, such as some members of the Shadow Legion... but we have no evidence."
The doctor shook his head, also a little uneasy.
After experiencing a brief sneak attack together, the doctors seemed to treat Li Ang and his gang as their own and spoke more directly.
As they were talking, the doctors once again began to demonstrate their miraculous speed in treating injuries, and the two injured greatswordsmen were bandaged within two minutes.
"This technique is really skilled. How much does this kind of treatment cost?"
Frederick, watching from the side, asked an inopportune question.
"Ha, we never charge for battlefield treatment..."
Several doctors could tell that they were being mocked, so they shook their heads and explained, "We do charge for medical treatment, and we charge wealthy merchants and nobles a lot of money. The reason is simple. If we don't charge, all minor illnesses will come to us, and we have limited manpower, which will result in us being unable to treat emergency patients. And we always have to charge for medicine, otherwise we won't be able to continue."
This is the same principle as doing good deeds. Frederick nodded and bowed to express his understanding and apology.
A doctor stood up and spread his hands: "You have definitely never seen this... I met a noblewoman who only had a small cut on her finger by a fruit knife. She sent someone to cry and begged us to run over a hundred miles to treat her. As a result, when I arrived, the wound had basically healed on its own... So I applied some saline solution on her and charged her two hundred dinars!"
A group of people burst into laughter, and the haze brought by the Snake Cult's sudden attack was also diluted by the laughter.
"So this is the reason why you don't treat civilians as rumored. I thought the Glorious Cross was no longer pure..."
The lord bowed to several medical officers.
"We are used to this kind of talk... The first to spread this rumor were probably the Shadow Legion, because we charge a high price for their treatment - they are all very rich. The Snake Worshipers have also been slandering us. You have seen the reason before. When we encounter a situation like the Red Death, we really can't treat it and can only isolate it, so some civilians don't understand..."
Several doctors turned their heads and looked towards the village. Although they spoke in an open-minded manner, there was still some helplessness in their words.
The lord also frowned. It seemed that there was indeed a huge conflict between the Knights of the Glorious Cross and the Shadow Legion.
This place is only a hundred miles away from Dilin, and the Shadow Legion is stationed in Dilin Port.
The Shadow Legion is the strongest legion in the Bacchus Empire, and the commander of the Shadow Legion is Governor Kailos.
The Knights of the Radiant Cross have already reported the plague to Dilingang. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be able to see Kairos soon.
"The Shadow Legion is slandering you? Is Governor Kairos colluding with the Snake Cult?"
The Lord simply asked directly. He actually deliberately led the topic to Kairos so that he could know more about the situation.
"This is impossible..."
"Lord Kairos is not such a person..."
The doctors and Lord Dean spoke almost at the same time, unexpectedly defending Kairos in unison.
"Sir Leon, although there are conflicts between our Knights and the Shadow Legion, and we also think that someone in the Shadow Legion may have been deceived by the Snake Cult... But to be honest, Governor Kairos is indeed a respected governor, and it is impossible for him to join the Snake Cult."
All the doctors of the Knights of the Radiant Cross were actually defending Kairos's reputation.
This reaction was a bit unexpected.
The discord between the Glorious Cross Knights and the Shadow Legion was basically public knowledge and not a secret at all. Even Leon, who was in the Fierce Lion Realm, knew about it.
In fact, even if you don't know, it's easy to guess that the Knights of the Radiant Cross are mainly descendants of the natives of Pendor, while the members of the Shadow Legion are all descendants of the old Bacchus.
Emperor Marius' reforms will certainly further aggravate the conflicts between them. The Shadow Legion are all conservatives. The reforms do meet the expectations of most civilians, but they are not in the interests of the Shadow Legion.
Because the Shadow Legion represents the vested interests.
The Shadow Legion was the main force that followed General Osa in the expedition to Pendor, and all the current members of the Shadow Legion are descendants of those warriors.
They were all originally "senior citizens", and the Shadow Centurions among them were all members of the ruling class, and most of them were once "tribunes".
They were born superior to others, and their descendants would have inherited this status.
However, the reforms of Emperor Marius have made them nominally equivalent to the slave soldiers under their previous rule - the Pend people were once regarded as serfs, but now Emperor Marius has formed various civilian legions and their status is "equal" to those serfs.
If the status of the lower-class Pendor civilians is improved, it means that their status will be lowered - most people will feel unbalanced when faced with this situation.
At the same time, Emperor Marius vigorously promoted the worship of the goddess Damia, while most of the Shadow Legion originally believed in the god of war Mars, which was the mainstream belief of the old Bacchus Empire.
The contradiction in belief is not just a matter of imbalanced mentality...
Although Emperor Marius did not ask them to change their beliefs, the rift was already obvious.
In addition to mentality and belief, there is a more direct contradiction - interest.
Before the reform, the empire did not have so many legions, nor did it implement the separation of soldiers and farmers. The Shadow Legion was the main force of the entire country.
The Shadow Centurion is a true Centurion in combat, leading dozens or even hundreds of conscripted peasant soldiers.
The Shadow Infantry are actually the marines that served when the fleet landed on Pendor. They have their own independent organization and are superior to other fleet soldiers.
But now, the empire has many legions and has implemented the separation of soldiers and farmers. The shadow centurions can no longer lead farmers to fight, and now these former centurions have almost become soldiers.
For the country, the separation of soldiers and farmers and the reorganization of the civilian corps improved the overall eliteness of the troops, but for the members of the Shadow Corps, it directly deprived them of their actual rights.
At the same time, in former times, when there were no wars, they would often have been elected tribunes or to other civil offices - at that time, when only a small number of Bacchus had the right to vote, the centurions were almost inevitably elected.
Before Emperor Marius came to power, a centurion's territory often had thousands of serfs, which was essentially equivalent to a small lord.
But now, after the separation of soldiers and farmers, legionnaires could not serve as civil officials, and even if they completed their sixteen years of service and returned home, it would be difficult for them to win elections - the Pendites, who were originally serfs, now had the same civilian status and the right to vote. After all, the Pendites were the majority, and they would often choose the Pendites, who were in the same proletariat as them, as tribunes.
Besides, the current "tribune" is not the same as before. It is just a civil representative. This position that once represented "noble status" is now just an ordinary street office director.
It can be imagined that in the face of reform, the members of the Shadow Legion have indeed suffered losses in many aspects, and their mentality can be imagined.
Therefore, the Shadow Legion refused to accept reform, remained loyal to tradition, and had conflicts with all the legions of the Bacchus Empire.
This powerful army gathered around the senior consul, Governor Kairos. They only obeyed the command of the legion commander Kairos and were unwilling to obey the dispatch of Emperor Marius.
Conflict of interest, no way around it.
The ones with the biggest conflicts with them are the Knights of the Radiant Cross and the Immortals - two legions that completely ignore nationality and identity, and are the two legions that most support Marius' reforms.
The conflict between them is easy to understand.
But according to Dean's doctors, Governor Kailos, the commander of the Shadow Legion, is a reliable governor.
As the leader of the legion, Kairos would naturally maintain the status of the Shadow Legion. For this reason, he did not support reforms and had some unpleasantness with Emperor Marius.
But he would never sacrifice public interest for personal gain. He would never hesitate to fight for his country when needed, and would be the first to rescue any other lord or legion when they were in danger - including the Glorious Cross Knights and the Immortal Legion, who were the most hostile to the Shadow Legion.
They are the kind of people who fight among themselves even if they are fighting internally, but will still fight together when encountering external enemies. They are very principled.
"In the process of dealing with the Snake Worship Cult, our Knights received timely assistance led by Kairos several times. So no matter what, he is not the kind of person who would collude with the Snake Worship Cult."
Several doctors of the Knights Radiant still recognized Kairos.
"Although both are conservatives who oppose reform, Governor Kairos is completely different from Governor Livius... Although he does not support the Emperor's reforms, he never causes trouble for His Majesty and has always been safeguarding national interests. The water conservancy project I presided over in the south a few years ago was also completed with his support."
Dean also seemed to respect Governor Kairos and compared him to Levius.
Levius is the commander of the Shadow Infantry of the Shadow Legion, and the head of the Marine Corps.
"Governor Levius? Forget it..."
When Dean mentioned Levius, all the doctors began to shake their heads: " Don't mention him..."
"Did Levius do anything bad? Why do you all look like that?"
The image of the bald man caught between two swords appeared in the lord's eyes. He did not expect that the governor was so unpopular.
"Let's put it this way. Every year, the complaints against him would fill up a room... They accuse him of everything except treason."
Dean explained with a pout.
"This... doesn't Emperor Marius know?"
Li Ang didn't expect that the skinny bald guy had this ability. He never made big mistakes but kept making small mistakes, and he was probably a grand slam winner of small mistakes.
"Your Majesty must know. As far as I know, even Governor Kairos once reported to Your Majesty that Levius had abducted women and levied heavy taxes. But the Levius family is very powerful. As long as it is not a serious crime such as treason, Your Majesty probably won't punish him..."
Dean shook his head and did not even mention Levius by title.
"It seems that these governors are very interesting... What about Justus? What kind of person is he?"
The lord is in a good mood.
"Governor Justus is the Emperor's think tank and the first person to propose 'replacing faith with belief'..."
The group of people gathered together and chatted for several hours, and the topic naturally revolved around the three governors of the empire.
One of the protagonists they were talking about, Governor Kailos, appeared at the entrance of the village with his troops just after sunrise in the early morning.
He led an elite cavalry of more than two hundred men, all dressed in black armor and in very neat order.
This team of shadow centurions can be said to be the most orderly and silent troops that the lord has ever seen. It seems that each of them is experienced in battle.
"Black Crows, you can go now. My people will take over here."
Kairos was speaking to several doctors. His voice was indifferent and his tone was quite impolite, but he seemed to have no ill intentions.
Those healers were indeed dressed like black crows, which was probably Kairos's derogatory term for the healers of the Knights Radiant.
Several doctors saluted and nodded, and did not object to being called the 'Black Crow', but stepped forward to report the situation.
Afterwards, they expressed their gratitude to Li Ang and planned to leave with him.
But the Lord came to Kairos, touched his chest and saluted, and asked: "Governor, can I talk to you?"
Kairos looked at the corpses of the snake worshippers lined up on the ground, then looked at Leon and the Mettenheim people, and got off his horse.
"Your Excellency seems to have been quite helpful... Thank you for your assistance. What is your name?"
Kairos was very arrogant towards the Knights of the Radiant Cross, but he was not arrogant towards other nobles.
"I am Leon Griffin, Lord of Ayrshire in Sarleon. You may have heard of me."
The lord did not hide his identity, and he had no grudge against Kairos.
Since Dean and the doctors all said that this was a respectable governor, there was no need to hide anything. It would be easier to gain trust if you were to be frank.
"Leon...are you the kidnapper?"
Kairos raised his eyebrows. It seemed that he had heard of Li Ang's name, but it was probably not a good reputation...
"The Governor knows my name? It seems that my reputation is not very good... But that was forced by the war between the two countries, and I believe the Governor can understand. We are now fighting the Snake Cult together, so don't be so excited..."
The lord spread out his hands and pointed at the corpse of the snake cultist on the ground.
"Mr. Leon's name is so well-known that even the Emperor probably remembers it... General Agathon told us about your heroic deeds. You kidnapped two consuls single-handedly. This courage and ability are admirable - so I dare not get too close to you. Tell me, what do you want from me?"
Kairos said he didn't dare to get too close, but instead took a step forward, seemingly not worried about the bad reputation of being a 'kidnapper'.
His troops did not move at all.
Instead, the doctors from the Knights of the Glorious Cross behind Leon looked at each other in bewilderment.
"I'm here to make a deal with you that will surely interest you. But you can wait until you have arranged the defenses here. I'll be waiting for you in the carriage outside."
Leon led the greatswordsmen to move away from the village entrance and stand on the roadside outside the village. He signaled the doctors to take away the carts of leather materials, saying that he was waiting for Kailos here.
Several doctors drove away in the truck muttering to themselves, leaving behind only a truck full of grain seeds and the carriage without curtains.
Kairos narrowed his eyes at the sensible Leon, turned around and directed his men to be on guard at various locations, and arranged for people to start patrolling.
After everything was arranged, he came with a guard of dozens of people.
"What business do you want to do with me, Lord Leon?"
"Governor, we can sit in the carriage and talk - your troops are here, and they can see us. Don't worry, I mean no harm."
The lord took off all his weapons and handed them to Klose, then spread his hands and rolled up his sleeves to show that he had nothing to hide.
Kairos shook his head and smiled slightly, then walked straight to the carriage: "Your carriage is great... Sir Leon, even if you bring weapons, you may not be my opponent. I am not as vulnerable as Justus."
It seems that this governor is quite skilled and fearless.
A legion commander who can lead a traditional powerful army like the Shadow Centurions must have very good martial arts skills.
But the lord had no intention of taking action; he really came to discuss business.
The two sat opposite each other in the carriage, and Kairos' tone was still indifferent: "I'm actually not interested in this kind of business that needs to be discussed in secret... But I am very interested in you, young man.
Your miraculous performance at White Hart Castle caused me to suffer the shame of failure, and now you dare to reveal your identity in front of me openly, Sir Leon, your courage amazes me.
Honestly, if you weren't helping control the plague and taking out these snake worshippers, you'd be riding in a prison van right now."
