People watched Losa, drenched in blood, like a Demon God, slaughtering those brutal bandits as if he were chopping vegetables, and they didn't dare believe his words.
Until he repeated it again, someone finally stood up, trembling, and said with a troubled expression:
"Honorable Lord, thank you for rescuing us from those scoundrels and generously granting us freedom, but where can we go now?"
Losa was silent for a moment.
The village was thoroughly burned, and rebuilding it would require too much effort and time.
The man continued: "Our Lord is a cruel and stingy person, I am his close servant, no one understands him better than I do."
"When he finds out we didn't protect his estate, he won't execute us, but he'll surely choose to sell us into slavery, grabbing all the wealth we have."
"Honorable Lord Knight, he won't help us rebuild our home; he'll only extract every last bit of profit before abandoning it!"
Losa frowned, feeling it was a bit tricky.
"Abandoning the fief, won't his lord punish him?"
"I don't know, maybe, but surely it won't be too severe since he is the brother-in-law of the lord."
The man sincerely bowed his head and kneeled on one knee saying: "Please allow us to become your followers. Those who are still alive here are all strong young men. I guarantee they will work like diligent mules and serve you like loyal hounds, just seeking your protection."
The men and women behind him also spoke up, assuring that they would work hard.
They could see that Losa was a rare benevolent lord.
Serving him as a servant is entirely different from being sold into slavery at the market.
More importantly, this lord is evidently much stronger.
Having warriors so clearly armored beside him, killing those bandits cleanly was far better than their former knight lord.
Losa felt a bit troubled and said, "Sorry, I understand your plight and difficulties, but I don't have a fief to shelter you."
"Our journey is to the Holy Land to engage in a hard struggle against the Heretics. If you follow me, you will undoubtedly encounter many dangers."
He truly needed followers.
These dozen young men and women were at the peak of Physical Strength, with a balanced gender ratio, making them excellent subjects.
Compared to recruiting Pilgrims at the Holy Land... How many good and kind-hearted Pilgrims who survive such a harsh pilgrimage can there be, one can imagine.
"Praise Heavenly Father, pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a glorious and sacred mission. If we follow you, your honor will shine upon us humble people."
The survivors of the village all followed that servant, kneeling on the ground.
Some of them were still confused, but the servant's image of "wisdom" must have long been deeply rooted in their hearts.
With him leading, the others didn't hesitate at all.
"Alright."
Losa no longer hesitated and said:
"I am a Knight of the Habsburg Family from Algo, Losa von Habsburg. I accept your allegiance and promise not to consider you as slaves, but as freemen within the territory. Once I acquire a fief, you will all receive your own land. But simultaneously, you must swear allegiance to me in the name of Heavenly Father, fulfilling taxation and military service!"
He counted carefully. There were seven men and six women, only requiring a bit more for the ticket cost of thirteen people.
Their meals and drinks were covered by the loot from the bandits, not requiring extra payment from him.
Moreover, there would obviously be surplus from the bandits' loot, considering these people's words, the bandits had raided a knight's estate.
"Laine, go get Model."
"Hans, you handle taking inventory and property, and return the original belongings to these subjects, distributing to them carts and care."
Laine and Model were illiterate, unable to convert Gold Coins into Silver Coins, and the clerk's work was temporarily handled by Hans.
After handling these.
Losa and Prajna came in front of the three surviving bandits.
Losa looked at these three trembling cowards and frowned: "Speak, where is your lair, how many people remain in defense there, are there any traps?"
Not to "eliminate evil," but he wanted to test whether the same band of bandits could be categorized as two separate groups by the system.
If possible, upon clearing this bandits' base that had lost its main force, he could achieve the milestone of "Knight of Chivalry."
He increasingly felt that talent was scarce.
Even someone like Hans, whom the system evaluated as a One-Star retainer, was, in this era, an excellent talent that a mere knight like him couldn't possibly recruit.
None of the three spoke.
Losa was somewhat puzzled as to why this group of cowards, who surrendered without resistance earlier, now had spine.
Losa snorted coldly: "Confess the truth, and I'll spare your life; I swear to Heavenly Father!"
"The opportunity is rare, whoever speaks first will live."
Finally, someone was tempted, he cautiously raised his hand, and whispered: "Lord, our base is not far from here, we initially planned to enjoy ourselves here before returning."
"Pique, you son of a dog shut up, have you forgotten the oath we swore before Heavenly Father? Betraying the oath, do you want to rot in the Fire Prison?"
The bandit beside him immediately cursed loudly.
Pique also countered fiercely: "You and old John have wives and children at the base, I am alone, what's wrong with wanting to save my own life?"
"Why should I risk my life to protect your wives and children?"
Losa nodded: "You are smart, now confess the location honestly; I warn you, don't play tricks, I'll bring you to your base and then let you go."
Pique immediately began to spill the beans like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube.
He trusted Losa very much.
People in this era value oaths highly, especially knights like Losa.
A knight who easily breaks an oath will be viewed as dishonorable, basically socially dead on the spot.
Pique grinned flatteringly: "Lord, I've explained everything clearly, including their traps arranged, there's absolutely no omission."
Losa nodded, then loudly said: "Subjects, among these three, has anyone killed your relatives, robbed your property."
These men and women, who had just reclaimed their belongings, immediately showed hatred.
"It was him, he killed my mother and defiled her!"
"That person killed my father and cut off his head to frighten others!"
"That one-eyed beast, I saw with my own eyes him smashing my three-year-old son against the wall, his tiny head caved in. Boohoohoo."
The woman said, then burst into tears.
"Then, let grievance be repaid, and revenge avenged."
Losa waved his hand and turned away.
Pique cried out in horror: "Lord Knight, you promised to spare my life."
Losa replied without turning back: "I did spare you, but they refuse to spare you. As their lord, I grant them the power of justice and retribution."
These men and women, seething with anger, quickly grabbed the bandits' Weapons, venting their fury upon the three bandits tied up.
Living near the border, they were by no means sheep that followed without knowing how to resist, let alone mere three unarmed bandits before them.
The screams gradually weakened, eventually falling silent.
The servant took the lead with a bloodstained Armed Sword, kneeling before Losa.
"Thank you, thank our lord whom we serve, you risk the danger of breaking your oath to grant us the power of vengeance, I swear, I will always be loyal to you."
Losa shook his head: "This power is not permanent, once I obtain a fief, I will establish laws, no longer allowing acts of revenge or murder, everything will be according to law."
He then added: "Also, I did not violate the oath, do not mention it again."