Chapter 499: Mercenaries 5

Chapter 499 Mercenary 5
Yes, now they had become de facto slaves of Count Paul Greiman.

And they had long accepted this position within themselves.

Aside from not having a brand, was there any difference between them and slaves now?

“Our earl …… is a kind and generous lord.”

Major Erwin said.

“He felt that your free will should be fully respected, so he gave you two paths to choose from.”

“The first path, to be branded with his mark and return to Horn Bay to resume your status as mercenaries – mercenaries of the House of Greiman, of course – and on the premise of completing your assigned combat missions, you are perfectly free to live your lives as normal human beings, oh, that is, as you did before you came to Northwest Bay, but you must be on call at the first sign of a mission.”

“The other path, stay here and work, then wait for the day when Lord Graiman is in a good mood, maybe he can pardon you for your crimes.”

“Which path you choose, think hard about it.”

Major Erwin’s face still maintained the same grin he had worn a moment before, as he leisurely and slowly paced over to a reclining chair and sat down, taking small sips of the tea the labor camp officials had prepared for him as he waited for the two rank-and-file prisoners to reply.

The autumn sunlight was warm and still, shining into the office through the windows on the south wall, reflecting a patch of light on the floor.

Bello Doug craned his somewhat stiff neck and followed the sunlight toward the window.

Because of the office’s location on the second floor and its orientation, the head mercenary was fortunate enough to be able to see the camp from a perspective that was different from his usual one.

He saw the labor camp’s walls, which were topped with sharp wooden spikes embedded to prevent prisoners from escaping, and the watchtower standing at the corner. At the southernmost part of the camp, a big black yo-yo hole stood out, that was the entrance to the coal mine, coal was shipped out every day, and one was busy with these black rocks all day long, and a large amount of cinders colored that area black.

Nearby in the clearing, rows of prisoners stood quietly, that is his mercenary partners, they do not yet know what happened, they do not yet know what decision their leader is facing, and their fate will be changed because of this choice, Ferguson’s people may also be in another piece of clearing that one can not see, stand it.

His eyes looked out over the labor camp, green forests, golden wheat fields, winding country lanes and the curling smoke of distant homes appeared to his eyes, if it had been a few years ago, these views beyond the walls would have been more mundane things, but now Doug suddenly felt they were so beautiful that if he had a paintbrush… …Ugh? Since when did he have the sensibilities of an artist himself.

Doug opened his mouth, “I ……”

“Lord Erwin, may I answer you tomorrow?” He was preempted by Ferguson.

“I don’t want to make a decision right away either.” Doug said so.

Erwin stared at them for half a minute.

“Okay, I’ll give you guys time to think about it, I’ll stay here in this room and wait until the sun sets tomorrow, and you can come find me anytime you want. Oh, and don’t forget to tell your respective companions about the two choices I’ve mentioned, I think every man has a free choice.”

Ferguson and Doug exited the office one after the other.

In the corridor, Doug asked in a quizzical manner, “I say, Ferguson, why don’t you agree to the Aldoans’ demands right away? But a mere branding in the district would have brought you back to the daydreaming Horn.”

“Humph!” Ferguson replied with great disdain, “I’m just being wishy-washy with that Aldo, what kind of a man am I, you Master Ferguson? I am the noble warrior! I am an unruly bird of prey! How can I accept the humiliating brand of slavery for the sake of a little superficial freedom? If I return to Horn Bay with that shit, what will those who know me think of me? As the leader of the Rhino Mercenary Corps, I’ll be unable to raise my head for the rest of my life.”

He twisted his head to look at Doug, “Black Dog, why don’t you say yes, you shouldn’t care about these things.”

Doug replied in annoyance, “Don’t look down on people, you reckless man, my ancestors are nobles, the bloodline in my body is much more noble than yours, even if I am physically imprisoned, I will never give in spiritually.” If it wasn’t for the fact that brawling was forbidden in the camp and the punishment for brawling was very severe, he would have put his life on the line to put a few holes in the head of this asshole beside him.

With that said he stopped paying attention to Ferguson and took a big step to increase his speed, crossing over and walking away.

Behind him came that nasty guy’s voice, “There’s still a bit of Horn Bay man’s backbone ……”

Doug returned to the clearing where he had just been, and seeing his companions still standing, he explained what had happened to the guards who were supervising nearby, and then explained to the crowd the two choices Major Erwin had given.

With a loud bang, the clearing exploded.

“I’m going back to the Horn, I’m going back to the Horn!”

“That’s it, I’ve had enough of this place.”

“But are we going to be slaves?”

“No kidding, aren’t you a slave now? Is it to be a slave who is captive and works everyday or a slave who can run around outside?”

The voices of arguments and quarrels filled the entire area for a while.

Doug quietly estimated from the sidelines that there seemed to be an overwhelming majority of people who wanted to go back to Horn Bay.

He took advantage of the fact that the people were all talking, flashed to the back of one of the houses, and by using the cover of the building, he spared a circle and returned to the front of the camp administration building.

The moment he stepped inside, Doug discarded all previous hesitation, and decided that he would return to Horn Bay, even with the additional brand of shame on his body.

In fact, he had almost said he was going to say he was going back to Horn Cove when Elvin had given him the choice earlier, but it was that damn Ferguson who had stepped in and put himself in a position of hesitation again.

Now Doug has made up his mind, go to TM what face, they just want to go back.

The whole body and mind suddenly relaxed, even the footsteps are much lighter, unknowingly came to the door of the office where Major Erwin.

Doug stretched out his right hand, gripped the door handle, and silently read in his heart: forest, wheat field, smoke, I came …… ah, I have to knock on the door first.

After three thumps, a heavenly voice came from inside: come in.

He once again gripped the door handle tightly, slightly hard, and pushed open the door of the room.

“Ferguson?”

Someone he hadn’t expected appeared in his field of vision.

Ferguson saw him as well, and the wide, large face of the head of the Rhino Mercenary Corps began to rapidly change color, turning red, red, and continuing to turn red, and finally giving off the feeling of being boiled in the shell of a crab.

“Doug, you thick-eyed ……”

(End of chapter)