Chapter 17: Work for Me

Elder John arrived in large strides, looking at Leon, who was helplessly pinned to the ground by Yaya.

His eyes widened subconsciously as he lifted the heavy cleaver, ready to chop down fiercely.

Completely caught off guard, Leon was about to raise his sword to block but found that his longsword had already been bitten in two by the annoyed Yaya.

All the surrounding soldiers, even those from the same village who belonged to Outpost 16, watched coldly and silently from the side.

To attack a noble was already a grave sin!

Moreover, Leon had attacked a "generous," "powerful," and "well-connected" Lord like Matthew.

No need to save him—he was as good as dead!

Just as Elder John's cleaver was whistling down, Matthew, who had stopped Yaya from biting further, called out loud,

"Stop, he was controlled by the enemy's magic and did not do it with intention."

"However, as an old saying goes in my mother's homeland, 'Though one may be spared from death, they cannot escape punishment.'

"As punishment for attacking me, he shall work for me for five years, after which he will regain his freedom."

"Of course, during his period of service, he shall also be given compensation that matches his work. Leon, do you agree?"

A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, Elder John kicked Leon on the shoulder, pushed him down to kneel with one hand, and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Are you out of your mind, lad? To actually attack My Lord, and luckily, the contract dragonling stopped you!"

"Nod your head and agree quickly—you should be grateful you've managed to save your own life!"

"This is My Lord taking a liking to you and planning to nurture you—don't overthink it."

Having come back to his senses, Leon now realized what he had done and instantly turned pale with fright.

Knowing the punishment My Lord had given him from Elder John, he nodded in agreement again and again.

At this moment, Leon was unaware that his destined path had already undergone a tremendous change.

As for Matthew himself, he picked up the muddy Yaya, patted her head affectionately, and casually cast a Cleansing Spell.

Yaya looked at her paws, now clean as new, with sparkling, translucent eyes full of curiosity:

"Yaya? (Papa, is this magic? Can I use it too?)"

While stroking Yaya's gradually smooth and tight scales, Matthew compared her to the young dragons he remembered. He found that although her physical talent was somewhat inferior, her intelligence was unexpectedly high.

"Could it be that the mutual reinforcement of the life contract means Yaya provides me with a robust physique while I have enhanced Yaya's soul and increased her intelligence?"

The thought of conducting an experiment went around several turns in Matthew's mind but was momentarily set aside.

Better to deal with the imminent danger first, return to his territory, and settle down before thinking of other matters.

He raised his hand, lifting his Magic Wand, and pointed to the distance.

Magic Missile × 4!

More than a dozen Arcane Missiles rushed out in quick succession, pouring out 40 Mana Points.

After the crackling impact noise,

Over ten of the most aggressive Mutated Merfolk at the rear of the battlefield were hit and knocked over, their broken bones and fragments scattered on the ground.

The defense line was stabilized once again, and Matthew leisurely sat back in his carriage, conserving the remaining 220 Mana Points for critical moments.

Angela stood by Matthew's side, continuing to command the battle, and strictly forbidding anyone to approach within five meters.

The shaken soldiers, under Angela's command, calmed down and, relying on new weapons and equipment as well as additional manpower, managed to withstand the onslaught of the strengthened Mutated Merfolk.

Whenever a shield in defense got damaged, Elder John and Captain Sean, as part of the emergency team, would rush out to forcefully repel these dangerous Mutated Merfolk.

The soldiers, having adjusted their state, hastily took over, replacing their exhausted comrades.

After several rotations, the cooperation between the soldiers had become more tacit, and their combat strength was becoming stronger and stronger, seemingly imbued with the aura of veteran fighters.

As the number of Mutated Fishmen gradually decreased, the pressure they brought also plummeted. Angela, witnessing the increasingly favorable situation, became even more vigilant.

Even though Matthew had been attacked just now, not due to her negligence, dereliction of duty was still dereliction of duty!

Angela wouldn't make excuses for herself!

She meticulously arranged and commanded until the last Mutated Fishman fell beneath the thrusts of the long spears.

Angela led the soldiers in a thorough sweep of the battlefield, killing any Mutated Fishmen that might have been hiding under the heaps of corpses.

The battle was over!

The soldiers shouted with joy, celebrating their narrow escape from death.

Butler Ralph walked out, disappointment in his eyes, and whispered something into Matthew's ear.

"My Lord, we found 4 pieces of Magic Equipment, 2 Berserk Potions, 6 Healing Potions, and 1 Teleportation Scroll on the assassin,"

"Also, a Spatial Belt of 3 cubic meters containing 300 Gold Coins, over 10 vials of Poison, some living supplies, with no identifying marks..."

Touching Yaya's slightly grown dragon horns, Matthew nodded as if he had anticipated this:

"Right, if they were that easy to track, this incident wouldn't have happened..."

"Take stock of the loot, have Elder John and the others start repairing the wagons, dispose of the contaminated goods, then prepare to distribute the spoils and set off as soon as possible..."

A somewhat sullen Ralph, seeing everyone so excited, suppressed everyone's exuberance with his usual low-tone:

"Don't get too excited too soon, check your own clothing and that of your companions for any gaps, and report immediately if you find any."

"Bring over the corpses of our fallen comrades, record their names and merits. The disbursement of the bereavement Gold Coins will be announced on the notice board in our territory..."

Humming a tune and feeding chunks of jerky to the greedy Yaya, Matthew used his peripheral vision to observe the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield.

Under the guidance of Elder John and Captain Sean, they prodded the piles of corpses with long spears, finished off any Mutated Fishmen without obvious head wounds, dragged them over, split their heads open, and carefully checked the loot.

Chunks of vivid, translucent Flesh Essence were swiftly tallied, counted openly under everyone's watchful eyes.

Butler Ralph, keeping records, saw the 50 pieces of Flesh Essence cleared out and swiftly calculated in his mind:

"If all this Flesh Essence is refined, it should create a profit of at least 1500 Gold Coins."

"Including the previous battle's gains, a net income of 2000 Gold Coins should be no issue."

"Though we haven't recouped the 3000 Gold Coins spent on buying supplies, the Lord shouldn't face any financial pressure for a while..."

Poor Half-Elf Butler Ralph was unaware of Matthew's spender's ability as an Arcanist, blissfully basking in the joy of their gains.

Along with the spoils, a casualty report for the team was naturally also accounted for. Ralph breathed a sigh of relief and reported to Matthew:

"4 soldiers were injured, none seriously, all require Purification cleaning."

"3 Cart Drivers died, their bodies have been treated to prevent Mutation, they will be cremated and buried after returning to Bay Village, each given a bereavement payment of 5 Gold Coins."

"7 Cart Drivers were injured, a Purification Potion can purify 10 people, so we need two potions, costing 20 Gold Coins."

"In total, we harvested 50 pieces of Flesh Essence, and we need to pay out 500 Gold Coins. We currently have 300 Gold Coins left..."

"However, due to the overwhelming number of enemies, it's impossible to allocate the Currency precisely..."

"This is a remarkable victory, all thanks to your arrangements, my Lord..."

Though his tone was joyful, Ralph still cast an inquiring look.

"My Lord, do we really have to give out so many Gold Coins?"

"Should I go 'take care' of them?"