British hegemon

Chapter 19 Half True, Half False

After speaking, the noblewoman raised her nose and looked at Roger, waiting for his reply.

"The bounty is too low. The enemy are pirates and bandits, not local thugs and lowly people. Who would be willing to risk their lives for such a small reward?"

The Baroness surely wouldn't want young Master John to return empty-handed on his first appearance, would she? A four-pound reward.

"One and a half pounds, don't value your lives too much."

"Three pounds. Don't underestimate Master John's reputation."

"One and a half pounds. If you dare to talk back to me again, I'll send you to the basement for a few days." The middle-aged lady was already quite annoyed. If it weren't for her only son, she wouldn't want to say another word to this bastard.

Roger sighed inwardly, "Old foxes are spicier."

However, he never expected the castle to readily offer a sum of money. He had originally set an exorbitant price, and if the other party was unwilling to lower the price on the spot, so be it.

After all, his real purpose was merely to claim the title of lord of John and the equipment in the castle's armory.

One and a half pounds was undoubtedly a huge sum of money for Roger at this point, further increasing his chances of winning.

"Well, Baroness, you've won completely." Roger, intending to play along, added, "That's all the bounty I have, but I'll need to borrow one of the sturdy horses from the castle stables."

"If we are defeated, I can escape faster. I think you don't really want me to be killed, right? At least my proud uncle doesn't want the Campbell family to be wiped out by pirates."

"That would be a disgrace to the Campbell family," Roger said with a smirk.

The middle-aged lady glanced at Roger with disdain, unwilling to stay another minute. She turned to the steward behind her and ordered, "Do as I said, but keep a close eye on him and don't let him get away."

The steward responded in a low voice, and when he looked up at Roger, his gaze suddenly became somewhat complicated.

Roger didn't notice the steward's gaze. At this moment, he had basically achieved his goal and felt more at ease.

"Your Excellency, future Baron, I will be waiting for you at the entrance of the Moulin Rouge at noon."

After saying that, he walked towards the door, casually taking the bottle of wine from the study with him...

…………

North of Arun Island, outside the village of Locklanza, on the dry riverbed.

This place is about ten miles away from Brodick as the crow flies, and there is an abandoned watermill on the dry riverbed.

A large waterwheel hangs low beside the dry riverbed; if water flows by, the waterwheel will drive an axle that passes through the side wall of the mill.

It was a sturdy wooden structure, made to last a long time; the people who built the mill clearly intended it to be used for many years.

But little did they know that less than three years after the mill was built, the Ethan River changed course in a minor earthquake, and the mill, without a water source, was abandoned and has now become a pirate's lair on Arran Island, sitting alone outside the village.

On a promontory north of the abandoned mill, a Kirk with its sails lowered is moored.

On the open ground next to the abandoned mill, a girl with a ponytail, wearing a tattered, revealing top and tattered shoes, was leaning against a pile of hay.

His ponytail was undone again, and several more bruises appeared on his face. Snot mixed with blood quickly flowed down his swollen lips. His clothes were torn to shreds, and his worn-out shoes covered in horse manure were thrown aside.

Sure enough, he got another beating, this time from the two pirate henchmen from the tavern yesterday afternoon.

At this moment, five or six core members of the pirate crew were having a secret meeting in the mill, leaving two newly captured fishermen to guard the ponytail.

A few pirate henchmen could be seen on the small hill near the mill, and shouts and curses could be heard from the mill every now and then.

After a long while, several key figures of the pirates came out of the mill.

The leader was a fair-skinned and rather handsome man. If it weren't for the single-edged longsword he was holding that exuded a murderous aura, it would be hard to associate him with pirates. But he was the second leader of this group of pirates, nicknamed the Sea Monster.

"Tell me, were you sent to assassinate us?" The sea monster pressed its long sword hard against the ponytail's neck, the tip of the sword cutting a small gash, and blood squeezed out from the wound.

The girl with the ponytail was truly terrified and kept backing away, but her retreat was blocked by the dry grass behind her. She couldn't hold it in and her urine flowed down her trouser leg and quickly reached the sea monster's feet.

The sea monster glanced down at the urine on the sole of its shoe, quickly sheathed its sword, and jumped away, its anger rising. It roared, "You cowardly bastard!"

As the blade left her body, the ponytail suddenly loosened, and she burst into tears. "Yesterday he only asked us to cause trouble at the Moulin Rouge to lure out a distinguished guest. Who would have thought he actually wanted to assassinate the Grand Master?"

"Although I, Earl, am a rogue and a scoundrel, I was once a brother under the Great Chief. How could I dare to kill the Great Chief?"

"I risked my life to escape and betray you, just to save my men's lives. Why are you treating me like this?" The woman with the ponytail kept slapping the ground in front of her, scattering urine-soaked hay everywhere, causing the surrounding pirates to retreat.

"You say those bastards planned to ambush us, how can you prove it?" A wrinkled, ruthless pirate brushed the hay off his shoulder and pressed him for an answer.

"How can I prove it? If you don't believe me, send someone to Brodick to see if there are islanders gathering there."

The ponytail's mouth was covered in snot, and with each shout, he blew out a string of snot bubbles, making the surrounding pirates feel nauseous.

In fact, the pirates were already 80-90% convinced. This scoundrel named Earl had always been a coward, lacking the courage to come to their lair to deceive them, and posing no threat whatsoever.

"Second Chief, it seems that bastard John really wants to wipe us out."

"Why don't we retreat and avenge the Great Chief later?" The speaker was a neatly dressed man with sharp eyes. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but he had a rather weathered air about him.

However, people who spend most of their lives at sea exposed to the elements may actually be younger.

He was the third leader of this pirate gang, named Olaf, who had no nickname. According to him, he was the second son of a down-on-his-luck minor lord on land. He had been forced to become a pirate after accidentally killing a country gentleman.

Upon hearing the third leader's intention to flee, the second leader's heroic air turned fierce. He sneered, "Run? Who dares to run? If anyone tries to escape, they'll have to avenge the first leader first! Ask the sword in my hand if it will allow it!"

After saying that, she kicked the woman with the ponytail hard, pushed aside the pirate blocking her way, and stormed back into the mill.

The third leader swallowed his anger, glanced at the second leader's back, turned around and regained some composure, ordering the two fishermen guarding the ponytail: "Take him to change into clean clothes and keep him under your watch."

As if granted a pardon, the girl with the ponytail immediately crawled over, knelt down, and kowtowed repeatedly in gratitude. In the instant her head was buried in the ground, a smug look flashed across her bruised and swollen face.