Chapter 2298 - 1630: Damn!_2

Chapter 2298: Chapter 1630: Damn!_2

"Wait! What did you say? Portuguese ships? Are you sure they’re Portuguese?"

Reinhardt’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth agape. They had come to this Eastern India and hadn’t seen a trace of the Portuguese! Now, suddenly, the Portuguese had emerged and even formed an alliance with the Cipangu Barbarians? Had the Portuguese discovered Eastern India long ago and secretly established a port and camp in these seas?

"Yes! Boss, they are definitely Portuguese! I’m not blind, I recognize the Portuguese flag. We fought the Holy War on the Iberian Peninsula for so long, and we know a bit of Portuguese... I even tried to communicate with those Portuguese sailors, but they ignored me, and after I annoyed them, they hit me twice... And yes! They all have tattoos of the same demon bird as the Cipanguans! I suspect they worship the demonic Portuguese!"

"...Worshipping the demon bird?"

Reinhardt frowned, instinctively uneasy about this diabolical worship. He grasped his great sword and thudded it heavily into the ground, speaking in a deep voice.

"And then? Hurry up and speak!"

"Ah! Yes! Boss, after that, I sat for several days, perhaps a week, always heading west... Finally, we reached a large tribal town. This town was similar to the villages of the Taino Natives on San Juan Island, but much larger, with more Taino Natives! And there were dozens to hundreds of Cipangu Barbarians among them, clearly the leaders of the Taino Natives. They had iron weapons, bronze weapons, and armor..."

"In the center of the town, there was a large stone church! Yes, the devilish church worshipping the demon, with a top painted blood-red, looking extremely sinister! I was terribly frightened, thinking I was going to become a sacrifice for the demon... But when I entered that church, the first thing I saw was the evil priest of the Barbarians, with a bright feather crown, staring at me coldly. Next to the priest were two Lord knights holding big axes, clad in iron armor and wearing eagle-feathered helmets. I was so scared and weak all over, but then I heard a question in Highland German, with our Bavaria city accent!"

As he spoke, Fritz became excited, with a dreamy freeze and trembling all over.

"Yes! That’s right! Almighty witness! In the town on the barbarian island, in the important territory of the Barbarian Kingdom, I saw their bishop, their lord, and a Bavaria Nuremberg noble, also tattooed with the demon bird! He said his name was Martin Behaim, a court scholar for the Portuguese, the eldest son of the Behaim family, and also one of the Barbarians’ devil priests!"

"Holy Mother! I know what I have discovered! As the rumors in the country say, the nobility is indeed secretly worshipping the demon! And the Portuguese have long been in league with the Cipangu Barbarians! Ah! I know too much; will the nobility silence me?!... Almighty!..."

Fritz gestured and spoke of his experience, his emotions fluctuating sharply, his voice inevitably growing louder. Albert quickly stepped forward, covering his mouth, and slapped his brother twice, then cautiously observed Reinhardt’s expression.

"Devil... Cipangu Barbarians, Portuguese, Bavarian nobles... gold..."

Reinhardt’s brow furrowed, the lion-like burly man crouched by the fire, like a hugely puzzled big cat. Facing such a complex "ball of yarn," solving the truth within was clearly beyond his ability. After a while, he gritted his teeth, glared at the now-calm Fritz, and said in a deep voice.

"Continue! What conditions did our Bavarian compatriot, Martin Behaim, bring you?"

"Ah! Boss, the Bavarian noble asked me to bring you a message! It’s to betray the Castilians... No, to abandon the dark for the light, to stop associating with these Castilians who owe us wages and treat us as fodder! And Mr. Martin, on behalf of the Barbarians... No, the Kingdom of Cuba, formally hired us! They want us to fight for the Kingdom of Cuba, to cooperate with them, to launch an attack on the Castilians!"

"And to show sincerity, Mr. Martin has offered us a year’s salary in one go! For everyone, a solid year of gold coins! 40 pounds! And there is an extra 5 pounds for you, Boss!"

"Almighty! What did you say? This Martin... No, the honorable Sir Martin, has prepaid us 45 pounds of gold for our mercenary fees? The full amount? Paid in advance? All in gold?!"

Upon hearing such astonishing news, Reinhardt’s entire body shook, and the greed and desire in his wide-eyed gaze almost overwhelmed his remaining vigilance and reason. He quickly walked to the grass basket in the corner, opened it, and took out the gold coins inside, his body once again stiffening. The surrounding mercenaries also gathered around, like cats sniffing out a fishy smell.

"Get back! Stand properly! Move!"

Reinhardt cursed and kicked, driving the crowd away. He carefully counted and weighed the gold again, frowning.

"That’s not right! Fritz, the gold you brought back seems to only weigh twenty-some pounds! Where’s the rest? Where’s the gold? The money?!"

"Right! Fritz, where’s our money? Did you hide it?!"

"Speak honestly! How much money did the Barbarian... No, Mr. Martin, actually give you? Was it 45 pounds, or more?"

"..."

Seeing the mercenary brothers staring at him like a pack of wolves, Fritz was tongue-tied, like an old dog being monitored by a group of wolves. He quickly explained, repeatedly saying.

"The noble Mr. Martin only let me bring back this much! Any more and it wouldn’t be easy for me to carry!"

"Mr. Martin said the remaining gold would be given to us upon meeting! He wants to personally meet with you, Boss... in the abandoned wooden church in the village ruins to the south!"

"As for the specific time, it’s tomorrow night. And I need to return first to report our stance here to him!"

Hearing this personal meeting invitation, Reinhardt hesitated, feeling indecisive. Once outside this fenced wooden wall, it would be the territory of the Cipangu Barbarians. At that time, no matter how many people he brought, it wouldn’t be enough against an ambush, ready to be swallowed up. Moreover, with old soldiers watching, he couldn’t take too many people with him. This was putting his head on the line, going to negotiate...

"Boss! I want to say one more thing on my own... Please don’t get mad!"

"Spit it out quickly!"

"I... this time, I returned with Mr. Martin and the Cipangu Cuba Kingdom’s army! They used six ships to transport three hundred fierce Cuban Warriors to San Juan Island at once! And on the island, they have many vassal tribes, providing them with food supplies, and they may even recruit cannon fodder militia..."

Thinking of the Cipangu Warriors landed, Fritz swallowed and continued, painfully.

"Three hundred elite Cubans! Many are in heavy armor! And there are many fierce ones, with hair dyed in different colors! They even brought dozens of arquebusiers..."

"I initially thought the stronghold still had many veteran soldiers and plate armor Church Knights. But Albert told me there are currently just 124 veteran soldiers in the stronghold, plus our 65 mercenaries. And those greasy sailors, just like worthless strong men, are of no use at all..."

"Once Mr. Martin stops negotiating with us, and the Cuban Warriors launch a night attack as they did twice before... I don’t know how many Holy War veterans can escape on ships, sailing on the large sailboats. But I’m certain that all of us mercenaries will be used by the Castilians as rear-guard cannon fodder, all dying on this damned island!"

"Boss! We have no choice! We must go and talk to Mr. Martin! He is at least our compatriot and friendly... Relying on the Kingdom of Cuba is better than the Kingdom of Castile! At least they offered a solid year’s worth of gold!"

The area under the fence quieted down, as the mercenaries looked at one another, finally all turning to Captain Reinhardt. Feeling the intense gaze of his brothers, with some inexplicable things in their eyes, Reinhardt fell silent. Only a moment later, he bit his teeth, pledged in front of all his brothers.

"Almighty witness! Fine! For our mercenary group’s future, for our brothers’ path... I, Reinhardt, will take this journey!"