Chapter 284 Redemption
Ikram was already stunned at this time. It was probably only then that he realized the origin of the flying knife that shot into his left eye...
"Ikram, it seems that you understand a little bit now. Then why do you think I sold Ashcomb? Is it because I can't defend it? You should have seen before that I brought tens of thousands of people..."
Li Ang looked at the dazed Ikram, took out a piece of parchment and a feather pen from his arms, and dipped the pen in the blood flowing on Ikram's face.
"Why? You can control Ashcomb, and you can marry my sister..."
Ikram really didn't understand this question.
He now seemed to have started to think with the little brain he had.
"Because Ashkoman was supposed to be yours, Ikram... Your father Bahaman actually always wanted to leave Ashkoman to you! Your sister is just a poor victim - your father just wants to preserve his strength. He wants to wait for me to go to war with the Baccus Empire in Ashkoman, and then wait for me to go to war with Kadan! Your father and Qawan Khan tried to blockade the Turda Fortress and watch the fight from the mountain... Do you still think your father is a coward?"
Every word Li Ang said was true, Bahaman had been thinking this way.
Ikram's body shook noticeably. He raised his head and looked at Li Ang with his only remaining right eye, his eyes full of confusion.
"I still think he's a coward, because I don't want my sister to become a victim...but Lord Leon, why are you telling me this?"
The young man's voice had become much softer, and it was obvious that he had realized that Li Ang was not fooling him.
“Because you are one of the few D’Shar people who still has a sense of honor… and I need a friend who is a D’Shar noble.”
Leon began to write on the parchment with Ikram's blood, saying as he wrote: "Ikram, now Ashkoman is a place coveted by many parties. Of course, neither I nor the Bacchus Empire can truly rule Ashkoman by force, so Ramon held this auction. But I think you should understand now that after the auction is over, the most dangerous person is actually you..."
This is all true.
Why did Ramon ask Tahir to deal with Ikram?
Why did Tahir plan to sell Ikram to Ramon right then and there?
Why didn't Ramon want to take over?
In fact, it’s all because of this - as long as the auction is over, Ikram is likely to die!
But no one wants him to be killed in their hands, so as not to be blamed...
Because Ikram is the legal heir of Ashcomb, anyone who gets Ashcomb will try to kill him first.
In addition, Ashkorman already has a Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood. As long as they can afford it, the Scorpio Assassins dare to kill anyone. It is really not easy to defend...
"I understand... I already understand this, otherwise I wouldn't have come to Singar. I even found Gaius from the Bacchus Empire and became his agent..."
Ikram nodded.
It seems that this kid is not completely brainless, he is just too young and too impulsive.
"Gaius? Wasn't it Yunes who brought you to the auction? Ramon has been watching your every move, Ikram. Nothing you did in Singal escaped Ramon's eyes..."
Leon was a little surprised. In fact, Ikram was targeted by Ramon's men as soon as he entered Toba City, so Ramon and Leon knew that Ikram was brought in by Yunes - that's why Ramon and Leon did not stop him from entering the auction venue.
After all, the Bacchus really need such an agent, otherwise even if they obtain Ashcoman's rule, it will be difficult to get the locals to cooperate.
"It was Gaius who asked me to follow Yunes. Gaius had no intention of participating in the bidding for Ashcoman. He was just trying to help his brother."
Ikram explained.
Gaius was the eldest son of Emperor Marius, but apart from his appearance, he had basically no similarities with Emperor Marius - he was a decent man who could be called a gentleman, with a strong and inflexible temperament, and Emperor Marius did not even dare to let him serve as an official.
Of course, it was probably because Gaius was easier to deceive that Ikram, who was also not very smart, became his agent...
And Eunes was the second son of Emperor Marius and did not serve in the Bacchus Empire.
It is said that the two brothers are both good people. Leon has also heard of them in Bacchus . The eldest is upright and kind, and the second is brave and strong. The children of Emperor Marius are well educated.
However, neither of these two brothers is suitable for governing the country - the eldest brother, Gaius, lacks flexibility and is stubborn; the second brother, Eunes, is too impetuous, frivolous and impatient.
In fact, this is true for most people. These are not considered shortcomings for ordinary people. It can only be said that they are indeed a little mediocre compared to their father, Emperor Marius.
So Marius probably had no intention of letting them go into politics , he just wanted them to live a life of wealth and prosperity - the two brothers were the largest landlords in the Bacchus Empire.
A large amount of arable land south of the Sava River Fort belonged to Gaius; and in the transaction between Emperor Marius and Leon, a lot of the land south of the Shield Wind Fortress belonged to Yunes.
"It seems that these two brothers have been instructed by Emperor Marius to serve the country..."
Li Ang shook his head and smiled: "But neither of them is the one who makes the decision. Ikram, you, as an agent, haven't even found the right person to be the boss of the Bacchus Empire."
"That's not important... Count Leon, what exactly do you want to do when you come to see me?"
Ikram lowered his head and asked softly.
Indeed, Ikram was just looking for someone to take him to the auction, and in his opinion, it didn't matter whose agent he became.
But Li Ang obviously doesn't think so...
"I'm here to redeem you, Ikram."
Leon threw the parchment he had just written in front of Ikram: "Fifty thousand dinars... you are really worth a lot! Sign your name and stamp your hand, and from now on you will be my servant! I will take you away now - at least this way you won't die!"
The bloodstains on the parchment had not yet dried, but it clearly showed that Ikram was bought as a prisoner of war by Count Leon of Changhe Town for 50,000 dinars.
"I'm already a useless person... Why are you offering such a high price to save me?"
Ikram stared blankly at the transaction contract on the parchment, then stared blankly at Li Ang, the confusion in his one eye deepened.
"You are only blind in one eye, but your hands and feet are intact, so you are not a disabled person. I am actually a businessman, Ikram, and I am not just trying to save your life. I have spent so much money, so of course I want to get a reward."
Li Ang took out another piece of parchment and dipped the feather pen into the blood on Ikram's face again.
"Ikram, I respect your noble status, so this is not a slave trade, but a debt. In other words, I paid to redeem you, but we will sign a loyalty contract - you will be loyal to me as a servant until you pay off your debt to me..."
Li Ang continued writing as he said, "According to the rules in mainland China, this kind of debt will have an additional 10% interest every month, but I'm a kind person... I'll only give you 5% interest every month, but this is compound interest, you know..."
To be honest, Li Ang only charged half of the market price in interest...
You know, when Ediz owed Bridget money before, he had to pay 10% interest every month, so Ediz thought he would never be able to pay it back in his lifetime.
However, Bridget didn’t have the interest compounding…
Well, I can’t pay it back anyway.
"Come on, sign this letter of allegiance and follow me... Time is running out, the auction is about to end, don't just stand there!"
Leon quickly wrote another debt allegiance agreement and handed it to Ikram.
Ikram gritted his teeth, wrote his name with the feather pen handed to him by Leon, and then dipped the pen in his own blood to leave a bright red fingerprint.
"Very good... I'll take this man away first. Tell Ramon that I helped him solve the problem and ask him to come to the top floor to find me after the auction."
Li Ang turned around and greeted Ramon's men outside, then walked out with Ikram.
The men in black obviously knew Li Ang. They nodded, untied the ropes on Ikram, and respectfully escorted Li Ang out the door.
In fact, this was not considered going out, but going upstairs - Leon did not leave Ramon's hotel, he just took Ikram to the top floor of the hotel.
As with most hotels, the rooms become more luxurious as you move up the floors.
Ramon's hotel has luxury suites on the top floor.
The most luxurious suite is Suite 001, which is more than 300 square meters. This is the residence that Ramon prepared for Leon.
It is roughly equivalent to the "top-grade house" in the East.
In addition to Leon, several other distinguished guests originally lived in the other suites on this floor - Emperor Marius's two sons Gaius and Eunes, and Arina.
However, at this time, these people should still be bidding on the second underground floor.
"Ikram, to be honest, Gaius is actually a good candidate for loyalty, but there is definitely no future in following him..."
Li Ang was sitting in the room with his legs crossed and drinking tea, looking a bit like a young master from a landlord's family.
"I don't understand... Lord Leon, I must thank you for saving my life, but I don't understand what you want me to do?"
Ikram stood in front of Li Ang with his head down, and he looked like a farmhand of a landlord.
"Okay, let me make it clear. I want you to join the Bacchus Empire, and I will make you the Archon of Ashcoman... You won't refuse, right?"
Li Ang handed Ikram a cup of tea with a smile.
Ikram was stunned again.
Of course he wouldn't refuse - such a good thing, he never dared to think of it in his dreams...
If Leon could really make him the consul, it would mean that he actually ruled Ashcoman - the Desha people would not obey the orders of the Bacchus, but they would certainly not resist Ikram, the son of the former city lord.
As for which country you pledge allegiance to, what does it matter?
"Lord Leon, this...but now Ashcoman's fate has not yet been determined..."
Ikram is still sober at the moment and has not been overwhelmed by Li Ang's big promise.
"It will be confirmed in a few minutes. Ikram, since you are Gaius's agent, you should know what kind of person Gaius is - he is a good and honest man. Since he has entrusted you to participate in the auction, it means that he is definitely not here to drive up the price. The Bacchus Empire is determined to get Ashcomman. If I am not mistaken, Gaius, an honest man, must have given you a psychological price? How much is it? Two million dinars?"
Li Ang was speculating because Ikram had said "use Sinjar as the price of two million" when he held Tahir hostage.
My Lord guessed right.
Because at this moment, there was deep fear in Ikram's expression when he looked at Li Ang.
"How did you know that... When he gave us the bottom price, it was just him and me, no one else..."
Ikram was probably wondering if Leon had some skill like mind reading.
"And he probably doesn't have that much cash. He's planning to exchange it for land, right? Let me guess... it should be a large amount of arable land extending from the west of Turda Fortress and south of Sava River Fort to Vida Village... the total amount is close to 100,000 acres, right?"
Li Ang guessed again—and guessed right again.
"Why do you know everything... Lord Leon, are you a prophet..."
The fear in Ikram's one eye had turned into terror - he had probably already determined that Leon could read minds.
"Ikram, let me be frank. The Bacchus Empire will definitely get Ashcoman. But the one who gets Ashcoman will definitely not be Gaius and Yunes, but Miss Alina - I want you to be loyal to her, so that she will definitely make you the lord of Ashcoman."
Be frank with those who are frank;
Be as sincere as possible to those who are willing to confide in you;
As for subordinates who are only controlled by contracts and power, they must maintain a sense of mystery. Leon's image of "knowing everything" can prevent Ikram from having any thoughts of rebellion.
So Li Ang didn't explain anything, but gave instructions directly to Ikram.
"But... Miss Alina is a woman. How can she get Ashkorman? She must marry my sister to get this dowry... Besides, does she have that much power?"
Ikram asked in confusion.
"Women in the Baccus Empire are not like Deshar. Alina holds much more power than you think. As for who will marry Luha... your father doesn't really care who Luha will marry in the end, right?"
Li Ang said, shaking his head.
"My father doesn't care about Luha, but I do! I can't let her fall into the fire pit!"
Hearing Li Ang mention Bahaman again, Ikram gritted his teeth. The young man was provoked unconsciously again.
"It seems that you really care about your sister. Then listen to my arrangements. This way, you can not only get Ashcomb, but also avoid Luha becoming a victim..."
