749 Support from Everywhere Part 1 (2/2)
”Your Highness!” The two sorcerers replied in a hurry.
”I want to know why you have come to Daliang City.”
”Because… of Your Highness' reputation.”
”Reputation?”
”Yes.” One of the sorcerers tried his best to conceal his awkwardness and said, ”The two of us are introverts. We have been training together since youth. After our teacher passed away, we did not wander around too much to seek support from noble families. We still heard about Your Highness' reputation. You would treat even a grade-1 mage with respect…”
”But I am only a grade-6 mage. If you follow me…”
”Your Highness, you are from the Grukos family! We hope to become either your followers or your mages in the palace.” The two sorcerers had never begged anyone like this before. They had no choice but to become more thick-skinned now. They were really poor. All the wealth that their teacher had left behind for them had been spent in the process of them advancing into sorcerers. If they were unable to find any support, they would have no choice but to resort to robbery.
The problem was that if they really resorted to robbery, they might be shamed for life. If the people of Alchemy City knew about it, they might send a crusade against them.
Over on Saleen's side, he was having a good talk with Gusion. He had worked his way up from a low-level mercenary and had managed to gather a group of brothers who shared the same values as he did.
Gusion started from scratch with his twelve brothers as a grade-1 mercenary group. After a decade, they became a grade-6 mercenary group. As they lacked sorcerers of the same grade, he was stuck at this grade for more than two years. It was only until last year that he managed to recruit these two downtrodden sorcerers.
It was his good fortune that these two sorcerers were not the sociable types either. Noble families had tried to recruit them, but none could put up with their behavior. By the time Gusion was recruiting them, the two sorcerers had already resorted to selling their equipment. Gusion bought over their equipment only to return it back to them as gifts. That was when the two sorcerers decided to join the mercenary group.
Gusion could not afford the resources that the two grade-8 sorcerers needed either. It was only because they could get along that the two sorcerers put up with it.
”How did a grade-6 mercenary group gather more than twenty-thousand men?”
”Your Highness, there were only about four-thousand men in the beginning. Just before we left, Emperor Danny gave me another ten-thousand men. They were all mercenary groups of very small scale so they were forced into my group.”
”So for these ten-thousand men, how will I be able to control them?” Saleen asked directly.
”Your Highness, these ten-thousand men have been trained by me on the way here. They would never flee even from tough battles. The families of my own men have been sent to Metatrin. As for these ten-thousand men, they should not cause too much of a problem as long as you pay more attention to them,” Gusion said casually.
”Gusion, I will accept your men. For the ten-thousand men, I will plan something different for them.”
Gusion frowned, but did not say anything.
Saleen said, ”You need to sign a bond with me to become my follower. As for your brothers, I will accord them the privileges of a conventional army. Give me all the names of your families. I will inform the officials in Metatrin to give them lands as part of your first salary. Is this satisfactory?”
”Of course, Your Highness!” Gusion could barely hold back his excitement. ”It's just that, those that traveled with us…”
”They are not your men, so they will be treated differently. Gusion, my main armies are treated extremely well. I will still need to observe those ten-thousand men for a while more. I cannot give them the same treatment right from the beginning.”
Saleen saw that Gusion seemed to have something to say, so he continued, ”You must have given those mercenaries your promise. Don't worry. Joining a conventional army is better than being a mercenary, even if one is not in the main force. I just don't trust their loyalty at the moment.”
”What about the grand masters?” It was clear that Gusion was someone that was nice to everyone around him since he still remembered the situation that the two sorcerers were in.
Lex needed followers too. If they chose to follow her, those two grand masters would no longer be in such a dire state.
”That's good…” Gusion's expression became more optimistic. He respected those two sorcerers very much, but lacked the power to support them. He had always felt bad about it. This time around, when the two sorcerers requested to come along, he was still worried that Bitter Water Prefecture might not be able to support them.
”In that case, Gusion, since the decision has been made, let's sign the bond now.” Saleen tried keep his tone neutral to conceal his excitement. He could not believe that Gusion was a silver grand swordmaster. Although he had only advanced recently and would not be a match for Su or Jola, it was not easy to recruit silver grand swordmasters. Once he stabilized his grade, Saleen would have gained another helper.
Even though Gusion did not know how to seek favors with noble families, that would not diminish his capabilities in fighting. He would not have been able to lead a grade-1 mercenary group to grade-6 in a decade otherwise.
Saleen took out a black magic scroll even as he spoke. Since the Three Kings died, Saleen was now able to recruit powerful followers once again. The scrolls had been prepared way beforehand.