British hegemon

Chapter 23: Falling for it again

Roger's butler, with a sour face, came out of the castle. He walked to Roger's side and whispered, "Young master, we've spoken with the priest, and he's willing to pray for everyone."

Roger nodded, then turned to look at the islanders who had been selected in the preliminary rounds.

The islanders knew that young master Roger would be their commander, and whether they would receive the reward money was up to this devilish young master. So those who were chosen looked at Roger with some nervousness.

Roger coughed lightly, looked up and glanced at the islanders in front of him, and noticed that someone had suddenly slipped into the back of the line.

The bald man was the first to recognize the guy who had slipped into the crowd. Without saying a word, he rushed over and kicked him hard, saying, "You bastard, you dare to come back again." Then he kicked him again.

Roger took a closer look at the guy who had been kicked to the ground, and realized that it was none other than Gray Rat, the habitual thief who had been scared out of his wits and ran away on his own during the fight at the Moulin Rouge yesterday.

"I just suddenly had a stomachache yesterday and went out to have diarrhea. I didn't run away, I didn't run away. Please, young master Roger, give me another chance, give me another chance." Gray Rat pleaded with Roger while covering his head and enduring the bald man's beatings.

Roger thought for a moment, then decided this guy might be of some use, and shouted, "Bald guy, let him in."

The bald man looked up, his face full of questions. "Young Master Roger, he betrayed us."

"Alright, let him join." Roger's tone left no room for doubt.

The bald man turned around and kicked the gray rat again before stopping.

Seeing that the farce had stopped, Roger turned to the crowd and said, "Now that you have been chosen, I will keep my promise. The chosen warriors, come with me into the castle church."

"Father Matthew will pray for us in the church, and I will give everyone the silver hair immediately after the ceremony."

The chosen "warriors" cheered, and the islanders watching the spectacle whispered among themselves.

Roger gently beckoned to the man with the sour face, "You'll be in charge of these islanders outside, make Brodick a bit more lively."

With a bitter expression, he agreed.

"Bald man, lead everyone into the castle church."

The bald man was in a dilemma. "Young Master Roger, I dare not enter the castle."

Roger recalled that the bald man had also refused to enter the castle even if he were beaten to death yesterday, which suggested that he must have many painful memories inside the castle.

"What are you afraid of? Today you are the warrior who will defend the castle. Go in boldly!" Roger shouted, encouraging the bald man.

The bald man then led the forty-odd islanders into the castle in a massive swarm...

............

A moment later, inside the castle church.

"...What, we're going to attack the pirate's lair?"

"My God, has young master Roger gone mad?"

"God, we've been tricked again..."

A buzzing sound suddenly erupted in Brodick Church, and the forty-odd islanders were in an uproar.

They were summoned to Brodick under the pretext of participating in a rural brawl, only to be told that they were dealing with invading pirates.

Pirates it is, at least they defend the city and it's not too dangerous. These islanders, whose blood runs with the genes of war, reluctantly accepted it.

Now that devil Roger is telling them they're going to attack the pirates' lair in the north of the island.

The feeling of being buried alive enveloped the entire church. Several people were about to get up and leave when they turned around and found the church doors tightly shut. The bald thug was already blocking the entrance, his dagger drawn, and a security guard with a short stick was standing guard.

The group had no choice but to sit down again. Even though this was a church, the evil young master might actually dare to make a move.

Roger didn't try to control the "warriors'" out-of-control emotions. He walked up to the steward standing to the side and whispered a few words to him.

The capable-looking steward hesitated for a moment before handing the small cloth bag to Roger.

Roger returned to the church altar, opened the cloth bag in his hand and held it high, then poured ten glittering gold coins onto the pulpit of the altar.

The gold coins clinked and bounced on the wooden table, making a pleasant, crisp sound.

The portly priest, who had just finished the consecration ceremony, twitched his cheeks, whether from Roger's actions that had tarnished the altar or from the jingling gold coins that stung his squinty eyes.

The eyes of everyone in the hall were immediately drawn to him. Before they could even be shocked, Roger once again pulled out a handful of gold coins from a hidden pocket in his sleeve, and once again tossed them high into the air before they fell onto the pulpit.

The church sanctuary fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

"Here are twenty gold coins, belonging to the twenty bravest warriors."

Roger pointed north, "In the pirate lair in the north of the island, there are countless treasures of gold and silver. I will give a third of them to the bravest warriors."

The sound of whispers filled the hall once again.

After a moment, Roger felt the atmosphere was right, picked up a florin gold coin, held it high, and shouted, "Which brave warrior will come forward to claim this first coin!"

The hall remained quiet.

"Whose first gold coin belongs?" Roger roared again.

A moment later, a loud, screeching sound of a bench being moved rang out, and the plump widow was the first to stand up. "It's mine!"

Roger was surprised that the first person to step forward was a woman.

"You bunch of cowards, you're not even as brave as a widow. You might as well cut off your own manhoods!" The one shouting was the bald man blocking the palace gate.

He immediately shouted, "Young Master Roger, count me in! I'm willing to go with you to wipe out the remaining pirates!"

"Baron John has already planted his own men among the pirates. Tonight, most of those guys will be poisoned to death. What's there to be afraid of with the few remaining henchmen?"

The bald man seized the opportunity to inform everyone of the plan, and Roger nodded secretly, thinking that this bald man was indeed quite clever.

"Is there really an inside man?"

"Someone poisoned them? Then there can't be many henchmen left."

"I know them. Apart from a few leaders and ruthless bandits, the rest are just fishermen they've coerced. What's there to be afraid of?"

Several voices rang out in the hall.

"Young Master Roger, I've fought in wars and I'm not afraid to die. Count me in."

"I'm strong, count me in."

"I'm a hunter, I can shoot arrows..."

Roger took away the gold coins in front of him one by one.

The islanders, who had never seen such a large sum of money before, stared wide-eyed at the gold coins lying in their palms.

A burly, fat widow, two hunters skilled in archery, five somewhat ruthless thugs, and nine islanders over forty years old who had served in the military and were looking to make a fortune.

Roger recruited seventeen "warriors" who dared to fight pirates.

"Grey Rat, you bastard, weren't you just begging Young Master Roger for another chance? You've gone coward again?" The bald man shouted at the grey rat cowering in the corner, and was about to kick and punch it again.

Roger raised his hand to stop the bald man and whispered to the gray rat, "Come with me on this expedition and scout out the enemy's situation, but you don't need to fight. I'll give you half a gold coin afterward. Do you dare?"

Upon hearing that it was merely a reconnaissance mission and wouldn't require fighting, the gray rat immediately raised its head and said, "Young Master Roger, I dare."

"Alright, warriors chosen by God, follow the bald man to the castle camp to await orders."

Roger then addressed the remaining islanders, saying, "To prevent anyone from tipping off the pirates, the rest of you stay here. No one is allowed to leave before dark. Someone will bring you free food in the evening."

A man who usually had some courage was about to get up when he hesitated for a moment and then sat down dejectedly.

After speaking softly, and seeing no response from the hall, Roger added emphatically, "If anyone dares to run out without permission, the sheriff will immediately arrest them and execute them on the spot as a serious crime of colluding with bandits."

There was another quiet commotion in the church, but no one dared to take the risk; getting the evil devil Roger was never a good thing.

With the situation under control, Roger nodded to the steward and led the eighteen recruited "warriors" out of the church.

This ragtag "army" will be Roger's only hope in wiping out the pirates tonight.