Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Sugar Rush 6
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"Been waiting, boss?! Took a bit to clear out the really rotten ones!"
With Scott's boisterous shout, a horde of undead came bursting into view. They had pushed through the sugarcane fields near the clubhouse and were swarming forward.
The adventurers jumped in shock as the undead—armed with sugarcane sickles and all sorts of farming tools—poured out. They hadn't even caught a single one of these herald clansmen yet, and now undead?!
"Eek?!"
The farm owners were already injured from the blunderbuss grenades. They'd stayed put while blood mages treated their wounds, but they should have gritted their teeth through the pain and fled when the injuries were still minor.
"...Huh."
Even the farm owners finally realized there was no way out of this mess.
This guy had prepared troops in advance and deliberately entered the clubhouse alone. To persuade the farm owners? If so, there might still be room for negotiation.
"Wa-wait a sec."
"Yeah, got it. We get it."
"We surrender!"
"I'm impressed. Truly impressed. You're a martial artist of unparalleled skill!"
"Wi-will money do it? How much do you want?"
The farm owners panicked as Azadin approached them. But he just snorted in disdain.
"Trying to negotiate now? If I let you go this time, you'll probably round up some S-rank adventurers for a rematch or throw your private soldiers at me in a human wave attack, right?"
"N-no, that's not it."
"We'll agree to your terms. We were thinking private soldiers were pointless anyway."
"Think about it—against a dragon, no matter how many ragtag mobs you have, one roar and they'll all scatter in terror. A flock of chickens can't take down a dragon, no matter the size!"
Only then did the farm owners realize Azadin had deliberately let them go earlier, even without any magic involved. Just to show off his power. He knew it would make negotiations go smoothly.
But what arrogance! Hiding his allies, coming in alone on purpose, handing the farm owners over to the adventurers only to take them back.
Arrogance, however, was the privilege of the strong. And Azadin was more than strong enough to claim it.
*********
Once the farm owners and adventurers were completely overwhelmed, Azadin smiled.
"Hmm. Looks like the mood's right for listening now. It's sad how people always resort to violence. We have language as a tool—why beg for understanding through barbaric means when words would do?"
Azadin spouted his nonsense, but the farm owners nodded along as if every word was sacred scripture.
"Y-yes, exactly. We agree!"
"We made a mistake. A huge one."
But Azadin played the fool as he eyed them.
"Though, thinking about it, abolishing slavery isn't so simple. You say you'll end it now, but slavery's been banned under imperial law and the Eight Kingdoms' laws from the start—yet you've kept it going on the down-low. You think it'll vanish overnight? What matters is a steady commitment to change, right?"
"Y-yes, of course."
"You think we'd just revert after three days of half-hearted effort?"
"We're people of high standing. We don't go back on our word."
"Don't underestimate the Bell Hoda Sugar Business Association. We value our honor."
The farm owners thumped their chests, proclaiming their honor to Azadin. But he ignored them and beckoned to the bird-masked figures.
"Second Herald... sir."
"We've come at your call. Sorry for the delay."
The ones bowing to Azadin were subordinates of the local herald clansmen, summoned using his rank as Second Herald.
"Good timing. I called you on short notice, and you got here this fast. Even for our kind, aren't you a bit too elusive? Hahaha."
Azadin joked as he pointed at the farm owners.
"These folks run farms and have a knack for forcibly recruiting people into 'job placements' on their side. Pretty impressive skill, huh?"
"Pardon?"
"And they probably know how to make delicious sugar too, right?"
"W-well, yes."
The herald subordinates answered cautiously, not grasping Azadin's intent.
*What's his angle?*
*We dismissed him as Mu-an's Azadin, but he's risen to Second Herald already...*
*Is he out to get us?*
The herald clansmen with guilty consciences toward Azadin were on high alert, watching his every word and gesture. They could only chime in and wait for him to continue.
"Our clan invites and welcomes anyone who can teach us what we need, right?"
The herald subordinates nodded at Azadin's question. Finally understanding, they sighed in relief and patted their chests.
"Yes. Exactly."
"When we find someone with skills our clan needs, we recruit them to use for our benefit."
"Or have them teach us."
"Some refuse at first, but a little persuasion and they all happily join our clan."
What the herald subordinates described applied perfectly to Bell Hoda's human hunters right there.
Just as the sugarcane farms kidnapped people for laborers, the herald subordinates kidnapped those they needed.
The farm owners weren't fools—they knew exactly what Azadin and the herald subordinates meant.
"Eek?!"
"N-no way!"
"You're going to enslave us?! You madman! If you do that..."
"If we do, your heirs will be *very* persuadable, don't you think? They'll know their fathers come back if they don't push for slavery's abolition."
"......"
"Besides, after some 'motivational labor encouragement'—oops, not slavery—you might gain some life enlightenment."
"Th-that's absurd. You think our kids would like that?"
"You think they'd hate it? Are you so sure you're great parents? With all your indulgence, multiple wives, multiple kids?"
"......"
Azadin's words struck their sorest spots with pinpoint accuracy. Like shoving a stick up their nose and smacking it with a massive wooden mallet.
"Alright, let's give these gentlemen a chance to experience the thrill of motivational labor encouragement. There's that old saying: 'Suffer young, even if you have to seek it out...'"
"Uwaa! We're not young anymore!"
"But think about it—isn't the 'old' you're feeling right now the youngest you'll ever be in your remaining life? And learning has no end. A lifetime of study and insight still leaves you wanting."
"......"
The farm owners despaired at Azadin's deliberate stream of nonsense. This bastard really meant to drag them off as slaves.
They'd hunted countless people, turned them into slaves, exploited them without proper pay, and felt no guilt. But imagining themselves in that position terrified them.
"Take them."
"Understood."
"We'll escort them."
The masked herald subordinates seized the farm owners at Azadin's command.
"N-no! You bastards!"
"What are you doing!? Stop them!"
"We paid you so much before! You useless scum!"
"If you're short on numbers, call the private soldiers—the farm guards!"
"Save us—no, save *me* now, and I'll give you gold equal to my weight! I'm serious! Uwaaa!"
The adventurers stood mute as honeyed bees, watching it unfold.
They couldn't beat Azadin alone. And now with the undead troops and herald clansmen? No chance against that many.
*This guy's had troops hidden nearby from the start.*
*He fought solo just to break our spirits...*
*And to warn the heirs. If he'd sneaked in quietly, kidnapped the farm owners, and negotiated with the heirs, would they even listen?*
The adventurers realized Azadin had deliberately fought them to demonstrate his power and shut their mouths.
"Uwaa! You bastards!"
"This is too much! We weren't born to be slaves!"
"Slaves now?! I'll die! Heart attack, I swear!"
The farm owners couldn't accept their fate and struggled, but the herald subordinates gagged them.
The Bell Hoda sugarcane farm owners now had to stride boldly into their new lives.
*********
"When we made the petition, I never imagined... it'd end like this."
Randa Vanema sighed from her seat in the association office.
Unlike the clubhouse, the association office was a proper stone building.
The clubhouse was a private venue for farm owners to compete in indulgence. This office was for official business.
"But to think I'd become the association head."
Randa Vanema was still dazed. Just two days ago, her business had been on the brink of ruin. She'd thought she was trapped in an inescapable nightmare.
But then...
This outsider had resolved it effortlessly and made her the head of the Bell Hoda Sugar Industry Association—a position once held by the Salco farm owner.
"Congratulations on your ascension to association head."
Azadin congratulated Randa Vanema as he chewed on a sugarcane stalk.
"Wow, this is sweet for real. Nothing like the waterlogged stuff floating downstream—no bugs either."
"You ate floating sugarcane? That's beggar food."
"......"
"Oh, I mean, not here in Bell Hoda."
"In other words, even beggars in Bell Hoda know good sugarcane. Impressive. Anyway, enough about cane. How was the petition? Satisfied?"
"More than satisfied... but is this really okay?"
Azadin had kidnapped Bell Hoda's farm owners by force.
Of course, call it kidnapping to his face and he'd deny it furiously with nonsense like 'job placement' or 'resocialization program.'
"We'll call this petition satisfied, I suppose? Not the ending I wanted, but between my ruin or this? Obviously this. Can't ignore your efforts."
"Hmm. Sounds like you're not *that* satisfied. On a scale of 1 to 10?"
"I acknowledge your efforts and skill. Out of 10, I'd give 11."
"Haha. That's high praise."
Azadin was pleased with the generous score.
"Since you're overshooting to 11 out of 10 anyway, how about 11,000?"
"Not *that* satisfied."
Randa Vanema drew a firm line.