Chapter 172 - Slave Liberation 5 (2/2)

”Thank you. You are truly merciful. And this is a letter from Slave King Arminius.”

Cynthia smiled brightly as she took out a scroll and handed it to Woohyuk.

After receiving it, Woohyuk glanced over the poorly written sentences.

“The Slave King must be learning how to write these days.”

“Since he is in a position of leadership, he will have a lot of paperwork to do, while sending and receiving letters. Especially with nobles.”

Slave King Arminius was a hero who was originally a gladiator.

He reigned as the Champion for three long years at the gladiator arena in the capital city of Cordoba.

He later had no more enemies to fight, and when Ivanov died, he escaped the arena during the confusion.

Later, Arminius gathered slaves in a similar situation as him and trained them into an army.

They called themselves the Liberation Army and were gradually growing in power.

“There was once a similar heroic figure in the Holy Aperian Empire.”

“Then his revolution must have failed, considering the fact that the Holy Aperian Empire is still standing today.”

Cynthia didn't know that Woohyuk was talking about the future since she wasn’t aware of his regression.

However, Woohyuk did not point out that point.

The members of Eteria Rodinus were the only ones who knew of his regression, and he didn’t intend to let that number grow.

“It was a man named Maximilian. He was publicly crucified and died a painful death alongside his comrades.”

“… That's horrible. What will you do if the negotiations with Arminius break down?”

”Who knows. It depends on how he behaves.”

He had only heard about Arminius through rumors, and had never met him in the past either.

Ivanov had captured him and burned him in public with Carnelian's flames.

So all his decisions from now on had to be made after evaluating Arminius disposition and qualities.

Woohyuk stood up from his seat as he glanced over the scroll again.

“Will you leave now?”

“There's nothing wrong with getting there early.”

The negotiations were planned for later in the evening.

The location was in a stone building in the workshop district.

There were few people at night in the workshop district and there were many secret passages, so it would be easy to escape even if you were surrounded by enemies.

'At least he’s not a fool.'

Although he was the King of Slaves, a King was still a King.

It was a position that could only be reached by people with the proper qualities and abilities.

So Woohyuk wanted to become allies with Arminius as much as possible.

'I hope we won’t talk only about difficult topics such as overthrowing the current status system…’

The abolition of slavery was still feasible, but if they tried to remove the current system and status quo, the people of the kingdom would not accept it.

While it would be possible if they pushed their ideals forward and continued to fight for their cause, there would be a long-term resistance.

Eventually, the Talis Kingdom would descend into chaos and it would do more harm than good.

'Well, even if the negotiations break down, brainwashing him will solve the problem.'

However, Woohyuk wished Arminius to stand by his side with a conscious and sane mind.

Unlike his previous life, there were ridiculously strong enemies showing up one by one during this lifetime.

When he arrived at his destination, shabbily-dressed men surrounded Woohyuk.

“Are you the Hero King?”

“… Yes.”

In various regions of the Western continent, Woohyuk was being called the Hero King.

He was hunting and defeating every type of evil beings, whether they be demon kings, witches or other humans.

Moreover, it was partly due to Rosenkreuz. He had returned to the Holy See and proclaimed Woohyuk as a warrior sent by the God of Light.

Perhaps that was the reason behind people showing amazed expressions whenever they saw him.

'This man is the savior of the world!'

'Is it true that he can use all the powers of the God of Light?'

‘To think that I would meet the true successor of Solomon here…!’

And even if they were civilians from enemy countries or forces, they still admired him as he was a respectable person.

“Right this way.”

The brown-haired man who was facing Woohyuk took the lead and started walking.

He was Tacitus, the second-in-command of the Liberation Army.

He was a warrior who was once a slave gladiator within the same arena as Arminius.

'He seems to have a favorable impression of me.'

It was normal to search for dangerous weapons before letting him inside the negotiation room.

However, not doing so meant that Woohyuk was being respected and they were keeping his position in mind.

Even though the surrounding security was tight, Woohyuk also had a favorable impression of them.

“Welcome, Hero King. I am Arminius. I lead the people who are being persecuted in this kingdom.”

Upon entering the conference hall, a strong-looking brown-haired man stood from his chair and reached out his hand.

Woohyuk shook hands with him and immediately spoke.

“I heard that you are preparing to attack the capital.”

“That was the original plan, but… I've begun to reconsider it ever since I found out my opponent was you. And while I was hesitating, that beautiful woman came to me.”

Arminius glanced at Cynthia standing next to Woohyuk.

He seemed to quite like her.

Woohyuk sat down on a chair.

“I have a suggestion. The position of lord of the Bayen County is currently empty. The former lord was Ivanov’s aide, therefore he was purged. But we have yet to find a suitable successor.”

“Your point is?”

“Become the Count of Bayen, I will free the slaves under your control. Moreover, the Bayen County is currently going through a civil war, so the population is small. You could take all your current troops with you and settle down over there.”

Woohyuk put out the best possible choice for Arminius.

Everyone could become a citizen of the kingdom and live a normal life, and Arminius himself would become a noble.

However, Arminius immediately rejected the proposal.