No matter how brilliant the win is, it's pointless if the employer dies because no one will pay you.

The merchant's guards and cronies didn't say much, they silently collected the merchant's relics, packed up the corpse, and then left Mathilde and Byron and they continued on their way. As for the commission, even if it was an accident that caused death, Mathilde did not have the face to ask for it.

The troops repaired on the spot for a while, cleaned up the corpses on the battlefield, collected money and equipment from them. During this time, Mathilde remained silent, she was a strong woman, she hated but was not afraid of defeat, and the defeat of the battle motivated her to continue fighting. But what kind of situation is this? The employer has killed himself? It's like eating a delicious meal and seeing a nest of crawling cockroaches at the end, which makes people angry but unable to do anything about it.

When the rain stopped, Mathilde finally found an outlet, and she led people to interrogate the captured captives, and coerced and lured them to obtain their purpose and the location of the troop hideout. They were indeed a group of pirates who had joined together to take the head of Mathilde's employer, a big businessman who had offended so many people on a daily basis that they didn't know who was behind it, only that they had a lot of bounty. Only half of their troops had come to attack, and half were camped near Dark Harbour, not far from here. If the attack fails, they will not stay too long or continue to attack, but instead go to the coastal villages of Vekia, which is very much in line with the characteristics of the pirates, burning and looting and then running away.

"Monsieur Monet (Byron's pseudonym), I want to wash away this shame, I want to crush the robbers who attacked us, and fill the wagons with the spoils, can you help me?"

"Very happy! To quote the proverb of your people, the brave will not give up the opportunity to compete for glory, not to mention the money to be gained. ”

Mathilde was determined to take out his anger on the pirates, but he was worried that he would not have enough manpower, so he asked Byron for help, and he naturally agreed very simply. Why not? Should he let go of the opportunity to have a good relationship with Mathilde? What's more, they have a good chance of winning.

Of course, Porcha has a slight opinion on this. During this time he followed Byron as a guide, and Byron not only did not discriminate against his origin or stealing his horses, but also treated him with courtesy, and gave him the spoils of war, which touched his heart. It's not that there are no good employers for him, but this is the first one who can fully discover his abilities and affirm them. So he also began to think about Byron, he felt that the idea of this northern woman was very dangerous, and it was very likely that attacking a large number of pirate positions would take his life. So he tried to persuade Byron carefully, and was despised by the northerners, but Byron told him privately:

"Don't worry, Porcha, battles are always accompanied by danger and opportunity, and I must have made a decision for reason. But you're smart enough to think carefully about winning and losing, rather than rushing to the ground for death. Some may think that your performance is cowardly, but in my opinion it is also a valuable quality, especially if you are still thinking about us as a whole. Stay with me and I'll promote you. ”

In this way, Porcha's admiration for Byron deepened to another level, and he mustered up the courage to follow the troops to the pirates' hideout.

The pirates' den is not far from the road they are, but it's very hidden. Byron and the others had to climb a steep low mountain, wade through mud, and then walk all the way through the mountain paths trodden by the beasts to reach the natural harbor. The terrain was flat enough for camping, and the harbor was large enough to moth twenty large Nord ships, small and remote for a commercial port that could handle cargo, but it was perfect for pirates to take refuge in the looting.

Once there, Byron realized that they had underestimated the number of pirates here. From above, there are more than 40 tents set up on the shallows, and many of the land has been artificially leveled, and even log houses have been built to be more comfortable and suitable for long-term habitation. The camp was full of people, and there were a lot of weapons piled up on the ground, and there were more than fifty pirates that Byron could see, and who knew how many were in the tents.

In the distance, you can see twelve long ships parked on the surface of the harbor, each of which is large enough to carry twenty people. Even though Byron had just won the battle and eliminated many pirates, there were still three times as many pirates remaining. To make matters worse, they also left a part of the men to guard the prisoners and carriages, and the difference in numbers was almost irreparable.

At that moment, the captured pirate opened his mouth, and Mathilde immediately punched him, after which he was gagged. Obviously, this guy has other captives who have been deceiving them, if this voice is shouted out just now, a large number of pirates will chase and kill, even if they are condescending, it is useless, the opponent's numerical advantage is too great, and there are many archers.

Byron was about to retreat, but Mathilde made a surprising move, signaling the team behind her to put away their weapons, raise their flags, and shout at the bottom, successfully attracting the attention of all the pirates below, and then walked down with a relaxed face.

Porcha was stunned, Byron was stunned, all his mercenaries were stunned, even the captive was stunned with wide eyes and didn't know what was going on. But at this point, there seemed to be no other way than to follow the bandwagon, and a group of pirates patrolling the neighborhood had already walked towards them.

"I am Mathilde of the House of Halaf, and I ask to speak to the elders of my country." Mathilde shouted at the pirates.

The cacophony of the pirates and the unsheathing of their weapons soon ceased, and they exchanged words with a northern accent in Norde, and in a short time three men emerged from the hut. One resembles a captain in a slashing Viking, cloaked in cloaked chain mail and a small amount of gilded goggles. There was also one who appeared to be his deputy, dressed about the same as him, except that the helmet was not gilded. The last man was an old man with several scars on his face, a white beard that reached his chest, and a tiny braid, who was also wearing chain mail, but without a helmet, and who held a special iron-tipped scepter in his hand, which looked like he could smash people in a fight.

"Look, this isn't the little girl who swore to take back the inheritance, I didn't expect her to come here. Hahaha.." The Captain of the Pirates laughed at Mathilde's banner from afar, but with no ill intent, as if he were joking on his friend.

"Daughter of Haraf, brave shieldmaid, your father is a famous brave man, and his soul also has a place in Valhalla. As his heir, we respect you and welcome you. Tell me, then, what are you here for? As they approached, the old man motioned for the pirates behind him to lay down their arms and welcome Mathilde... Well, not welcome, but at least not hostile.

"Your men attacked our troops, and we defeated them." She replied blandly.

There was a cacophony among the pirates, which was exacerbated by the presence of the captive, and many shouted for revenge for the dead relatives and friends, until their leader roared:

"Quiet!"

The commotion in the crowd subsided, and the leader of the pirates looked at the old man with a gloomy face, and the two talked in a low voice, and soon came to a conclusion.

"If that's what those southerners did, then we're going to get revenge and dig out their skulls!" The leader of the pirates said this, his face changed a little, "But considering that they died at the hands of a shield maiden, their sacrifice was not in vain, and they should now go to Valhalla to drink wine under the guidance of the Valkyrie." In keeping with our ancient tradition, we admit our defeat, and you must return our prisoners of war, the bodies and relics of the dead, for whom we will pay a ransom and swear not to do anything again against you and that rich bastard. "In the current situation, the conditions of the leader of the pirates can be said to be very reasonable, if it were not for Mathilde, it is estimated that they would have rushed up and killed them all, it seems that Mathilde's family still has a certain prestige in the north.

"I'm glad we were able to reconcile, but rest assured that my employer was killed by your men, and he thought he had won and ran around, only to have a spear stuck straight into his ass." Mathilde nodded and said with a smile.

"You mean. Hahaha...."

Hearing the hapless merchant's death, the pirates all burst into laughter, and some even shed tears. Few are more amusing to them than the very stupid death of a Nord outside of battle.

"It's the best joke I've heard this month, thank you for telling me, Shieldmaid." The leader of the pirates stepped forward and stretched out his hand in satisfaction, and Mathilde reached out to shake his hand, which for the Nords also meant to agree.

Byron breathed a sigh of relief, the soldiers behind him relaxed a lot, and it seemed that everything was going well, and they were impressed by Mathilde's bravery and composure. This female warrior of the north has fully proved her strength with her actions, whether it is the courage to fight on the battlefield, or to think calmly, negotiate with powerful enemies and achieve the desired results, everyone admires her.

But at this time, a small episode raised everyone's hearts again.

As he shook hands, the leader of the pirates saw Byron standing behind Mathilde, and asked suspiciously:

"Who is he? He doesn't look like one of us. ”

Nine Heavenly God Emperors