The voice of Luo De made the guards who were carrying the corpses freeze in place, and the mercenaries tying up the bandits also stopped their movements.
Gang Le's eyes lit up, he spat out the grass stem in his mouth and shouted,
"Damn, that actually makes sense!"
Durant lowered his head, rubbing his wrist against his chin in thought.
—The Lord seems to have a point!
At this moment, Durant suddenly realized.
It turned out that his lord not only wanted to weaken the power of the Golden Sand Trading Team to increase the bargaining chips.
But also intended for the bandits to directly rob the Golden Sand Trading Team, and then confiscate the bandits' goods!
Although the goods at this moment were still those of the trading team, with this maneuver, Luo De, as the lord of Black Pine Ridge, could justifiably claim all the goods for himself!
Even though Durant was well-versed in imperial law, he couldn't find any fault.
Lawrence, not knowing Luo De's identity, covered his face and argued loudly,
"You, you don't have the right to do this!"
"Right?"
Luo De sneered, his expression instantly becoming serious,
"Let me tell you, I am a hereditary baron appointed by the Empire, the new lord of the Northern Wilderness Black Pine Ridge, the fourth son of the Earl of the Tulip, Luo De Tulip."
As soon as the words fell, the guard beside him immediately took out the letter of ennoblement to present.
This time, Lawrence saw the Empire's seal and the emblem of the Tulip Clan, and he was instantly speechless.
He even respectfully bowed.
"Whatever you were before is none of my concern, but now all the goods here are my spoils as the lord who has crushed bandits!"
Luo De's gaze swept over the people of the trading team, and his voice grew louder,
"Including all of you, you are all my captives, my spoils!"
Hearing this, the guards of the trading team who were just sitting on the ground bandaging their wounds stood up in realization.
Durant was the first to react, drawing the longsword from his waist and pointing it at the trading team guards,
"Nobody move!"
In an instant, the sound of swords being drawn echoed, and the guards swiftly placed their swords against the necks of the trading team guards.
Gang Le tilted his head and raised his axe, shouting,
"Whoever moves gets chopped!"
Luo De looked approvingly at Durant.
Truly an experienced knight, faster to respond than anyone.
"I don't want to kill anyone, if you don't resist you can live."
Luo De softened his tone a bit, saying leisurely, "Don't worry, I won't enslave you, just pay the ransom and you can become free men.
But don't use the possessions on your bodies as ransom, because you've been robbed by bandits who took everything, and your belongings are my spoils."
"But Lord Baron, if there's no money, does that mean we'll become slaves?"
A trading team guard voiced everyone's concern, and all eyes fell on Luo De.
Luo De was waiting for this question, and said loudly: "If you have no money, you can work for me to offset the ransom, only for five years."
"During this time, I'll provide you with food and accommodation, you can drink and enjoy women during festivals, and if the harvest is good at the end of the year, you will get bonuses."
"After five years you can leave, or choose to stay as a civilian to continue working for me, and I will pay you."
The trading team guards exchanged glances, and hearing that they wouldn't become slaves, their hostility diminished somewhat.
"Sounds not bad..."
"Five years isn't short, but wherever you work it's just eating, drinking, and enjoying women."
"Working for a noble could even have opportunities...I'm in."
A trading team guard with an injured arm shoved his sword into the ground and sat back down.
"Count me in!"
"Willing to serve you."
...
With someone leading, others gradually put down their weapons and stopped resisting.
Those willing to risk their lives in the Northern Wasteland mostly had no families, used to drifting.
Only one tall figure remained standing.
All eyes fell on him, and only then did he shout, "Lord, I like men!"
Luo De was taken aback for a moment and upon close inspection found it was a short-haired woman standing, only her dirty face made her unrecognizable.
Whether male or female, anyone making a living in the Northern Wasteland wasn't to be underestimated, and Luo De didn't look down on her because of her gender.
"Men are everywhere, no need to wait for festivals, have your way with them."
"Hahaha..."
Luo De's words brought out laughter amongst the guards, and everyone joined in, easing the tension considerably.
The short-haired woman lowered her head, chuckled, and sat down to tend to her wounds.
With the trading team guards no longer resisting, the other laborers naturally resigned to their fate, and ceased to resist.
Only the leader Lawrence stepped forward, timidly saying, "Honorable Lord Baron, may I be allowed to write to my family to pay my ransom."
"Yes."
Luo De smiled, looking at Lawrence with deep meaning,
"But write it when we reach Frost Leaf Town, for now please quickly get a list of the goods for me."
"Alright, Lord Baron."
At the mention of goods, Lawrence sighed deeply, but couldn't help but resign to his fate.
Luo De wasted no more words, instructing Durant to organize the laborers of the trading team to load the scattered goods onto the carts, and to prepare for departure promptly.
As for the deceased, record their number, bury them properly, and report them as achievements to the Empire at year-end.
Durant swiftly arranged everything and returned to Luo De's side, after reporting he said in a low voice,
"Lord, please inform me of plans in advance next time, so arrangements can be made accordingly."
Durant thought Luo De only wanted the goods, not expecting he would detain people as well.
Goods without owners are easy to deal with, but people have free will.
If the trading team guards were more rigid, a conflict might have erupted.
"Hmm, I will."
Being a first-time lord, Luo De seriously took the advice, realizing that making plans in advance would be better.
In fact, Luo De decided to detain them only after noticing the injuries on the trading team guards, which wasn't really risky.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Durant slightly bowed, stepping aside to supervise others' work.
At that moment, text appeared unexpectedly before Luo De's eyes,
[First time leading soldiers to crush bandits in the territory, unlocking entry: Commander's Momentum]
[Commander's Momentum (White): Raises soldier morale by 20% during combat, and with each victory, soldiers will trust you more]
"Unexpected gain indeed."
The entry [Commander's Momentum] is related to territorial events and wasn't shown explicitly in the system, considered a hidden entry.
Morale mainly refers to the overall mental state of the troops, affecting the soldiers' emotions and will to fight, directly impacting their strength.
Especially in large-scale legion warfare, the morale difference directly relates to the outcome of the battle.
If the morale gap is too large, it's not uncommon to win with fewer numbers.
Therefore, [Commander's Momentum] is very useful whether in external expansion or city defense.
Now Luo De was somewhat looking forward to bandits.
Because after unlocking the first entry [Commander's Momentum], conditions for the next entry appeared—
In the next bandit extermination, personally slay more than ten bandits at once.
Unfortunately, reality didn't give Luo De the chance.
The team quickly reorganized and departed, and by evening they successfully arrived at the destination, Frost Leaf Town.