Chapter 20 The Baron's FuryLate at night, at the Baron's mansion. "Snapped!" A pair of pale hands slammed heavily on the table. "Waste! You are just a bunch of waste!" The man cursed loudly, spitting everywhere. He had a mean and gloomy face, and a tuxedo wrapped around his thin body. On his chest was a small and exquisite medal, on which was engraved an eagle and a sword. Anyone with insight could tell that it was the North Wind Eagle, the emblem of the Rackman family. His name was Todd Rackman, one of the old duke's neglected sons, perhaps the twelfth son, a baron who was granted a small, remote place. The man standing in front of the table was Hart, a rather sturdy middle-aged man who used to be a slave trader and later became a butler of the Baron's mansion. "My Lord, I have no choice but to do so..."
"So you're telling me, the kobolds ran away? And the gold mine was abandoned?" "No, no, no, please listen to my explanation..." "I don't want an explanation, I want gold! Golden gold! Without gold, I won't have the money to support the Baron's Mansion, nor the army. I won't be able to return to the family and fight for power with my dear brothers. I can only eat dirt in this place where even goblins don't shit!" Todd became more and more annoyed as he spoke, and when he got to the point where he was upset, he kicked the person in front of him, completely disregarding the so-called aristocratic etiquette. Hart got up from the ground, with no sign of complaint on his face. He just said, "Sir, it was a sudden incident. Half of the mercenaries we brought with us are missing." "According to the mercenaries who were guarding the kobolds deep in the mines, their companions were lost before they could even call for help." "There really is a monster in that mine!" "And we have no idea what it is, its habits, or why it suddenly attacked. Under the circumstances at the time, in order to avoid too much loss for you, sir, I can only lead my men to retreat first." Todd looked at him with contempt and said disdainfully: "That only shows that you and the mercenaries you found are too useless! If they were stronger, they wouldn't have fled without even seeing the enemy clearly." Hart wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled flatteringly: "That's right, how can we, the despicable commoners, compare with you? You are the bloodline of the noble North Wind Eagle and a powerful spellcaster." Todd straightened his collar and said slowly, "That's a good point. It's quite good." The baron sat on the leather chair behind the table, half lying down, with his hands crossed: "Now that things have come to this, do you have any remedies?" "I need you to give me an explanation." Seeing that Todd had calmed down, Hart breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sir, we can go to the Duke to ask for a few Eagle Guards to protect the safety of the mine. What do you think——" "Eagle Guard?" Todd interrupted coldly. "Thank you for thinking it through." "Don't you know that they are all father's spies? If we let them into the mine, the gold inside will have nothing to do with us at all!" "It will only be transported to Northwind Keep!" Hart added hurriedly, "I was negligent, sir. This is just a trivial suggestion. With your wisdom, there is naturally a better way, but..."
"That's enough. If I don't see gold again next month, I will take someone there myself." Todd interrupted his defense again and looked at Hart with a chilling look. "Yes... yes, sir." "My patience is limited. There won't be a next time. There really won't be a next time, Hart." Todd's fingers tapped the tabletop in a rhythmic rhythm. "I understand, sir." Hart responded hurriedly with his head down, not daring to meet the baron's eyes. "Keep your head up, Hart." "Do you really know?" Hart reluctantly raised his head under the order and met the Baron's eyes. His eyes were cold, with a hint of scarlet in the depths of his pupils. It didn't seem like he was looking at his subordinates, but more like he was looking at a piece of meat on a plate. "Sir, I really understand." Hart's voice trembled. "Get ready and call those useless mercenaries of yours." "Yes Yes." "My lord, I will leave now." When the baron gave the order, he accepted it without hesitation, and then left as if he was running for his life. "Huh, huh..." Hart closed the door and gasped heavily. He knew that he was still useful to the baron, otherwise it would not be so easy to leave next time. Inside the door, Baron Todd Hackman adjusted his clothes again in front of the dressing mirror. He licked his lips involuntarily, revealing his extremely sharp teeth. This is also one of the symbols of the Rackman family. …… "Is this right here?" The red dragon stood on a rather tall hill, staring at the seemingly bottomless mine in the distance, with a kobold in his claws. "Master, this is it." Jin Ya rubbed his head involuntarily, barely recovering from the dizziness caused by flying at high speed. "Then take me in." "My great master, I'm just a tiny dog-headed man, this, this..." Cold sweat broke out on Jin Ya's scaly forehead again. The mine is a nightmare place for these gnolls. Most of their relatives have been swallowed by the monster. Once they can get out, they never want to go back. Even with the support of the red dragon, it still felt uneasy. After all, a dragon wouldn't care about the life or death of a kobold.
"What? You don't want to?" said Cassius. "Of course I do. Of course I do." Seeing the Red Dragon's unfriendly tone, the Kobold quickly replied. "It is the greatest honor of my life to serve you, but..." "Just what?" "It's just that I'm just a kid... I still need some time to remember the route of the mine." The dog-headed man had cold sweat dripping down his chin. "Knock, knock..." Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, interrupting the conversation and making the kobold breathe a sigh of relief. On the road in the distance, I saw several horses galloping towards me, with humans wearing leather armor and carrying crossbows on their waists. The red dragon slowly dived down, trying to cover its own figure, and whispered to the kobold using the communication technique: "Who are they? Do you know them?" The dog-headed man quietly poked his head out, noticed the decorations of the human knights, and looked carefully at the faces of several of them before he spoke. "Master, it's the group of slave traders who enslaved us before. Their leader... I remember his name was Hart." "Human slave traders? Are they here to occupy the gold mines too?" "Master, these seem to be scouts. There are more than twenty of them in total, including several professionals. The main force should be waiting behind." The kobold added. "What a coincidence! We can use these people to explore the way." Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly. (End of this chapter)
