novelraw Chapter 99 : The Apostate Knight Order Commander
Chapter 99 : The Apostate Knight Order Commander
Chapter 99: The Apostate Knight Order Commander
River Valley County, a mountain villa.
Leon once again sat in the reception hall waiting.
Bishop Becket sat beside him in accompaniment.
“Johnny Wellman—” Leon repeatedly turned this name over in his mind.
Before coming, he had learned some information about this man from Bishop Becket.
“This man is responsible for managing an armed fleet used for cross-sea transport on behalf of the Earl. Seventy percent of the Earl’s import and export goods are escorted by him. The name he is known by is Johnny Wellman, but that name is false. His real name is Jonathan Ruit, and he is an apostate knight of the Creator Church,” Bishop Becket had explained to Leon at the time.
“An apostate knight? Then that would mean he’s a wanted fugitive?” Leon asked.
“No. He betrayed the Church but was not wanted, because he has already been registered as dead,” Bishop Becket replied.
“Was it arranged by the Earl?” Leon’s first reaction was that the Earl had staged a fake death to let this apostate knight escape pursuit, and in return the knight served under the Earl.
“The situation is more complicated than you think.” Bishop Becket gathered his thoughts and began to explain carefully.
“He originally belonged to the Church Navy. He was a knight order commander, commanding three battleships and two escort vessels—”
Hearing this, Leon was inwardly startled.
A knight order commander—this was a rank far above a fully appointed knight, and he even managed a fleet.
Using the military ranks Leon was familiar with, this man was at least equivalent to a colonel.
A knight commander was on the same level as an archbishop.
One step higher, and he would even be qualified to be elected as a cardinal.
“According to the Church’s registered records, during the war against the heretics ten years ago, in a brutal naval battle, his fleet was encircled and annihilated. He himself went missing as a result and was ultimately declared killed in action. The Church even posthumously honored him.
“But in reality, he survived. He did not return to the Church. Instead, he took the name Johnny and began engaging in underworld business within the Empire. Later, the Earl found him and reached an agreement with him, recruiting him into his service.” Bishop Becket continued.
“Was there some hidden reason behind this?” Leon asked.
“I don’t know. First, we belonged to different departments within the Church, and the difference in rank was considerable. Second, the files for that campaign he participated in were sealed by the Church Disciplinary Order. Only with approval from the College of Cardinals could they be accessed. The Earl has never disclosed the details to anyone else either.” Bishop Becket added a reminder at the end, “You’d best not investigate it either, and definitely don’t mention it in front of him.”
After that, Leon proposed persuading Johnny Wellman through the Earl.
After all, once this Labyrinth was taken down, the local supply source the Earl wanted would basically be secured.
After careful consideration, Bishop Becket also agreed.
Immediately afterward, Bishop Becket directly used his secret god’s blessing in front of Leon, using a secret god sigil to establish remote contact with the Earl.
It was Leon’s first time learning that blessings in this world could actually be used as a substitute for phone calls.
After Bishop Becket relayed the problem Leon had encountered, the Earl replied as follows:
“Johnny and I are only in an employment relationship established through a transaction. This kind of extra task is not part of our agreement. Just having him temporarily handle River Valley County is already quite a stretch.
“However, he is indeed the best candidate for this matter. I can arrange for you to meet him. Whether you can persuade him will depend on you.”
Afterward, the Earl sent people to River Valley County to arrange this meeting.
Bishop Becket also expressed his intention to go along, giving the reason that “if anything goes awry during the talks, at least there’ll be someone to mediate, so you don’t end up getting chopped to pieces.”
To be honest, after Bishop Becket said that, Leon felt even more uneasy.
Soon, the agreed time arrived, and the other party did not make them wait long.
Before long, a burly, middle-aged man with a scruffy beard entered the hall under the butler’s guidance.
The moment he came in, everyone in the room smelled a strong stench of alcohol.
It was as if this middle-aged man had been soaked in a wine barrel until the flavor had seeped into his bones.
Bishop Becket and Leon stood up at the same time.
Bishop Becket spoke first: “Long time no see, Mr. Johnny.”
“Mhm.” Johnny responded casually, then let his gaze fall on Leon.
“You’re the one who wanted to see me, right?”
“Hello, Mr. Johnny, I am—”
Leon had just extended his hand when Johnny raised one hand to stop him.
“Alright, alright, kid. So now you’ve seen me. Can I head back now?”
Leon froze in place for a moment.
“Is this—some kind of local joke?”
Johnny did not look like he was joking.
He genuinely seemed prepared to leave after just meeting once.
“Mr. Johnny, please don’t be like this. This is a negotiation requested by the Earl,” Bishop Becket stepped in.
Johnny sighed impatiently after hearing that.
“Tch. If it weren’t for the Earl asking me to come take a look, I wouldn’t waste my time at all.” Johnny said, fixing his gaze on Leon.
“I already know what this is about. Kid, you want to find someone to kill a Drake in the Labyrinth, right?”
Leon nodded.
“Then you should understand my answer now. I’m not interested.” Johnny spread his hands.
“Just staying in River Valley County is already out of respect for the Earl. Expecting me to clean up someone else’s mess? Sorry, kid. Find someone else.”
Bishop Becket sighed inwardly.
This was the expected outcome.
Johnny’s refusal was extremely decisive, leaving seemingly no room for negotiation.
“The future profits generated by this Labyrinth can allow you to take an appropriate share,” Leon immediately threw out the condition he had prepared.
He had thought this through for a long time.
If this Labyrinth could be suppressed, the target the Earl had set should be achievable—over six million in annual profits.
Even taking just twenty to thirty percent would be quite considerable, and it would be long-term income.
Moreover, if Johnny was willing to join the Labyrinth’s equity, he would become tied to Leon through shared interests, which would be very beneficial for Leon establishing a foothold within the Earl’s sphere of influence.
“Wow, that sounds really nice. But who knows how many years you’ll last in this line of work? Heh, you’re dealing in a business that costs heads.” Johnny still looked uninterested.
“You can also choose a one-time settlement. At the very least, please tell me what kind of conditions would make you willing to consider this,” Leon did not want to give up easily.
Both Bishop Becket and the Earl had said this man could solve the problem, and he was also a former knight order commander.
Leon believed Johnny truly had the ability.
“Conditions? What kind of conditions can you offer?” Johnny let out a snort of laughter and looked down at Leon from above.
“Do you think my people are the same as those disposable, worthless little punks under your command?”
“Mr. Johnny, first of all, I will pay according to conditions you are willing to accept. Second, I do not use people and then discard them,” Leon replied seriously.
“Oh? Sounds like you treat your subordinates pretty well? Quite a few people died when you ran into that Drake this time, didn’t they?” Johnny looked at Leon with mockery.
“Only one died. He was the first to run into the Drake. Another was injured by the Drake’s breath, but his life is not in danger,” Leon answered.
“What a pity. If more people had died, you could’ve saved quite a bit on costs,” Johnny said with a grin, casually pulling out a tin flask and opening it, clearly intending to drink in front of everyone.
Normally, when underworld mercenaries died during missions, if payment was per head, the employer could usually save the fees for those who died.
If payment was per mission, then the surviving members split the reward.
“No. I paid over two hundred thousand in total to the others, and for the one who died, I separately paid one hundred thousand, delivered directly to his family,” Leon replied calmly.
Johnny suddenly stopped bringing the flask to his mouth.
“What did you just say? You paid one hundred thousand Fenni for a dead man?” Johnny suddenly looked at Leon with great interest.
“Was that to thank him for dying so the rest of you could live?”
“I have an agreement with my people. If they die while working for me, I take responsibility for their funeral expenses, and I provide a compensation payment to their designated beneficiary. Their medical and nursing expenses are also borne by me,” Leon answered.
This time, not only Johnny, but even Bishop Becket looked at Leon in surprise.
Even apprentice knights of the Church would not necessarily receive such high compensation upon death.
Johnny blinked as he looked Leon up and down, as if seeing some novel species.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing and slapped the table, roaring with laughter.
“Hahahahaha! Medical expenses? Compensation? Paying death money to a bunch of street punks? Hahaha, incredible—there’s actually someone as stupid as you in this world!! Do you know how easily these people die? If ten of them die, you’ll have to pay a million.Have you done the math?”
Leon watched Johnny laughing uproariously without changing expression and only replied, “Since you’re buying their lives, at the very least you should put up real money.”
The compensation for the fallen and the medical and nursing costs for the injured made up a large portion of this expenditure.
Afterward, when the priest handled the aftermath according to the contract, he repeatedly said things like “See?” to Leon, but Leon did not regret it.
After quite a while, Johnny finally stopped laughing, still smiling as he looked at Leon.
“Kid, do you know that even if you die working for the Church, you wouldn’t get paid that much? You’ve made those little punks’ lives more valuable than your own.”
“That’s the Church’s problem. I once worked for the Church and was injured. The Church dismissed me with a one-thousand-Fenni reward. If I wanted to avoid becoming crippled by my injuries, even donating every coin I earned to the Holy Healing Monastery wouldn’t have been enough. Then the Church would’ve gained one more apostate inquisitor. I don’t want something that ridiculous happening in my organization,” Leon said.
“Ha! On that point, I actually agree! You’re right—everyone in the Church is a bunch of damn bastards!” Johnny suddenly pointed at Leon and grinned, as if he had found common ground.
Leon froze for a moment, thinking that he hadn’t gone that far.
Bishop Becket, standing to the side, looked awkward and could only clear his throat.
“But even if there are a few more apostates, the Church will keep running just fine. Do you really think that by spending a bit more money to buy some loyalty, you can build an organization stronger than the Church?” Johnny asked.
“I’m doing this just so I can live with myself. Since I’ve been drenched in the rain before, I understand how miserable it is for others in the rain. Even if I can’t hold an umbrella for them, I shouldn’t at least snatch away theirs,” Leon replied, looking Johnny in the eye.
Johnny raised an eyebrow and let out a light snort through his nose.
It was unclear whether he agreed or found it laughable.
After a stretch of silence, just as Leon was about to continue discussing the earlier conditions, Johnny suddenly said, “Three million.”
Leon froze.
“What?”
“Three million Fenni. I’ll help you kill that Drake.” Johnny raised three fingers.
While surprised, Leon realized he didn’t have that much money on hand.
“Right now I—”
“You can pay half as a deposit first. Settle the rest within a year. Also, anything valuable in the Labyrinth ruins, we get priority. The Drake’s corpse belongs to us, but you can take the brain and heart to refine Mana,” Johnny lazily laid out the conditions.
“Oh, and one more thing. I take responsibility for my own people. I don’t need you using some compensation money to buy loyalty. Don’t mention that bullshit agreement of yours in front of them. Understood?”