Chapter 324: Blackmail

“De...demon, just kill me! There’s no need to humiliate me like this!” The weakly starving beauty spoke in a weak voice upon seeing Han Shuo approach her. She wanted to put on a fierce front, but didn't have the slightest bit of energy to do so. Just saying these words alone sapped her of her remaining strength.

“Eh… I’m very sorry. Over these past two days I had to go out to do something, but forgot to instruct my people to bring you food.” This time Han Shuo was genuinely embarrassed. He explained with all sincerity as he looked at Helen Tina.

Helen Tina had been barely able to mouth a few words. When she heard Han Shuo explain, she pointed her finger at him, her pale lips trembling as if wanting to say something. However, whether it was because she was too hungry or angry, she actually fainted without another word.

“Aii, mages are truly fragile, unable to hold up after just two days of hunger.” Seeing Helen Tina fall unconscious, Han Shuo spoke with a sigh and involuntarily shook his head.

He'd forgotten that the last time he'd brought Helen Tina back, he'd only allowed her eat one meal over those two days. She’d been locked up in Brettel City for two more days, meaning it’d been about four days in total since Han Shuo had captured her. For Helen Tina, who'd eaten only one meal on the way here, for her to still be alive, her body was already much better than that of an ordinary mage’s.

Han Shuo hauled Helen Tina up and carried her out of the cell. He handed her over to two of the maids in the city lord's mansion with the following instructions, “Prepare some food for her. Wait until she recovers before putting her back into the cell.”

The two maids looked at Helen Tina's pale face in shock, then turned to Han Shuo with a strange gaze before withdrawing with the unconscious Helen Tina in trepidation.

Once they’d completely cleared the room, the two foolish maids started chattering in low voices as they thought that Han Shuo couldn't hear them talk.

“Two days! The city lord disappeared for two days! I can't believe that he ravaged a beautiful woman until she's this weak. The city lord is really a brutal, perverted evil demon!!

“Mm… two days in a row! How could the city lord hold up? No wonder he managed to kill all of those hateful bandits. His endurance is terrifying!”

“Aii. Poor woman, she must have been so devastated, being ravaged for two days!”

“Yeah, you see how she haggard she is! I can't believe she's become like this after just two days!”

The two maids whispered as they went. Han Shuo's sensitive hearing involuntarily caught their conversation. He was torn between laughter and tears, his eyelashes constantly trembling. Han Shuo wanted to explain, but he didn't know where to start.

After roughly half an hour, Faulke arrived, along with Dick and Chester, after hearing the news. The three stood before Han Shuo, looking at him somewhat strangely. Faulke was a true knight, so he didn't say anything. The one in charge of the Dark Mantle here, Dick, was a subordinate so he also kept silent all the same.

However, Chester had long since been familiar with Han Shuo, so there were no reservations between the two. He complimented with a slight smile upon arriving, “My lord is really intense alright! I only knew about your powerful martial skills before. Only now do I know that not only your martial art is superb, your other aspect is even more terrifying. Two days, my gosh, two days straight! This little one has no words to describe my admiration for you!”

Faulke and Dick seemed to share the same thoughts as they nodded solemnly at Chester's words. The good-for-nothing Dick even exclaimed with a deep sigh, “Comparisons really will be the death of people, ai! I utterly concede!”

Han Shuo’s brows jumped constantly at their words. He suppressed his anger, before opening his mouth to explain to his so-called three subordinates, “The truth isn't as you’ve imagined. Don't listen to the drivel of those servants. I only left that prisoner hungry for two days. You guys shouldn't think with nonsense.”

These three dirty minded fellows didn't believe a single word that he said. However, as subordinates, they naturally understood the need to maintain some dignity on the surface. Therefore, they earnestly nodded, admitting that they had misunderstood, saying that the lord wasn't that kind of person, but their eyes were still filled with envy and admiration. They obviously didn't believe Han Shuo's explanation.

“That woman is Grand Duke Helen Tina of the Helon Duchy. Has anyone come to negotiate with you guys for her release over the past two days?” Seeing that the three still refused to believe him, Han Shuo revealed Helen Tina's identity, inwardly wondering if they would believe him now.

“What? My lord, you actually dared to eat even the Grand Duke Helen of the Helon Duchy!” Chester blurted out without thinking.

Faulke and Dick’s expression abruptly changed. Dick was especially solemn as he said loudly, “My lord, we’re in big trouble this time! I think Brettel City will face a crazy amount of retaliation from two other grand duchies. Once people know that this poisonous beauty is in your hands, many from the seven grand duchies will become interested in Brettel City again.”

“There’ll naturally be a solution for any troubles that arise. What are you afraid of? If the seven grand duchies dare to come, they will arrive just in time to taste our brand new magic crystal cannons. All six magic crystal cannons have been installed along the city's wall. Any duchy that wants to invade the Brettel City will have to pay the price with their blood.” Faulke was indeed obsessed with battle. He coldly snorted with an air of arrogance.

Stopping for a bit, Faulke suddenly thought of something as his expression somewhat changed. He turned to speak to Han Shuo, “But if the seven grand duchies attack repeatedly, our supply of magic crystal ores will be far from enough. Once it's not enough for our operations, it's simply impossible to resist the attacks of the seven grand duchies with Brettel City’s current defenses.”

Magic crystal ores were formed by nature. They could be used to refine various magic equipment, and were needed in some transportation matrices, as well as magic weapons. Magic crystal ores were different from creatures cores. The energy within the former couldn't be directly absorbed by human or beasts, but could be consumed via tools. As for creatures cores, a majority of them could be absorbed directly by magic creatures, while a few could be absorbed by humans who had the same element. Therefore, creatures cores were way more valuable to humans than magic crystal ores.

Even though creature cores were more precious, most of them couldn’t be used as a power source to operate transportation matrices or magic crystal cannons. Magic crystal ores were needed to run these magic operated tools.

“It looks like we need to pay attention to the harvest of magic crystal ores in the underground world!” Han Shuo's mind spun quickly with the information about the different uses of creature cores and magic crystal ores as he mumbled to himself.

“My lord is truly a man of courage. You knew full well that she was Helen Tina yet you still dared to lock and ravage her for two whole days?! I'm in awe of your spirit of your fearlessness of any pressure or threat!” Dick exclaimed sincerely.

It looked like these three perverts had determined that Han Shuo had nailed Helen Tina no matter what he said. Han Shuo was too lazy to say anything more in the end. He turned to give orders to Faulke, “Use all of the gold coins I brought back to defend Brettel City. I will make the people of the Helon Duchy ransom a million gold coins in exchange for Helen Tina. If they come, report to me.”

Han Shuo no longer paid any heed to the flattery of these three perverts after he gave his orders. He returned to his room in the mansion, waiting for the two maids to bring Helen Tina back. The two maids slowly brought the weak looking Helen Tina back to Han Shuo's room after half an hour.

Helen Tina's mental strength had been confined, while she herself had been left hungry for quite a long period of time. She probably wouldn’t even be able to beat a maid in her current state. It was simply impossible for her to escape from the city lord's mansion. Helen Tina put all thoughts of escape to rest and meekly allowed the two maids lead her.

Helen Tina's face now had a touch of color to it after eating some food and drinking some water. She didn't need to lean on the two maids for support anymore. Her bright eyes were full of hatred as she glared at Han Shuo. Her normally gentle voice instantly ringing out full of curses, “You crude, despicable necromancer! I can't believe you dared to treat me like that! Even if you are an insidious, evil necromancer, you should know that abusing prisoners deserves everyone's spittle!”

“My lord, if you have no other orders for us, we will be taking our leave now.” The two maids turned their eyes away and lifted their heads to look at Han Shuo with a hint of fear. One of them pleaded in a low voice.

The two maids already regarded Han Shuo as an abusive pervert in their hearts. Their voices trembled, eyes looking at him full of fear, like lambs facing a hungry wolf.

“Go. Speak no more nonsense from now on!” Han Shuo swept a cold glance at the two maids as he spoke frostily.

The two maids were so scared that they became soft at the knees, trembling as they nodded in agreement. Neither of them dared to lift their heads. After a while, seeing as Han Shuo had no intention to punish them, the two maids left the room in shock and fear.

This time, they left without daring to say a peep. It seems that Han Shuo's deterrence had begun to take effect.

Waiting until the two maids had left, Han Shuo opened his mouth to speak to the furious Helen Tina, “My apologies that you were starved for two days because of my negligence, but I really didn't do it on purpose, I truly only forgot.”

Han Shuo took out her space ring and handed it back to her before carrying on, “Alright, I’ve returned your space ring to you. I think this kind of situation won't happen again next time.”

Helen Tina's pretty eyes glared bitterly at Han Shuo, uncontrollable hatred still remained on her face after she recovered her space ring. However, she obviously understood that she had no capital to make a fuss since she was a prisoner after all. After rolling her eyes ar Han Shuo for a while, Helen Tina finally let out a light sigh and said in a soft tone, “If you think that you can use me to threaten the Helon Duchy, I think your wish won’t be fulfilled. Four days have already passed, and the Helon Duchy likely hasn’t sent anyone with a million gold coins for my release. How about this? My space ring still has four hundred thousand gold coins. If you release me, I’ll give you these gold coins, alright?”

Han Shuo sat there on the chair, stroking his chin as he stared fixedly at Helen Tina. He opened his mouth after a bit of pondering. “Don't worry. I’ll wait for some more time and see how it goes. If it's really as you've said, I can discuss the conditions with you later.”

“No. If I don’t return to the Helon Duchy within a short period of time, it will definitely fall into civil strife. As more time drags on, it’ll be useless for me to return to the Helon Duchy anymore.” Helen Tina’s tone became urgent as she immediately responded.

“That has nothing to do with me. You are the grand duke of Helon Duchy, so you're absolutely worth a million gold coins. Heh heh, four hundred thousand gold coins is really a bit too little. I’ll be taking a huge loss if I simply let you go just like that! I don't care if your duchy is in a state of civil unrest. Will corpses pile up everywhere just because of civil strife? Don't expect to leave my place without handing over a million gold coins.” Crossing his legs and leisurely looking at Helen Tina's urgent posture, Han Shuo slowly replied with a smile.

“You, you demon from hell! The six magic crystal cannons already worth a million gold coins! Is your greed truly that bottomless?” Helen Tina's face flushed red with fury. Her body staggered as if she wanted to fall down in a faint.

“The longer the time drags on, the more detrimental it will be for you. I see that you obviously don't have enough gold coins on you. However, I'm not an unreasonable person either. Mm, how about this? Write me a note. Bring the remaining six hundred thousand gold coins to me within three months time after you return to your duchy.” Han Shuo squinted at Helen Tina, waiting until she vented all of her rage before opening his mouth to speak once more.

“You greedy pig, you’ll get what’s coming to you!!” Helen Tina screamed in fury.

“Alright then, you can just keep screaming here and wait for your Helon Duchy to fall into chaos. Heh heh, I have something to attend to and won’t be keeping you company!” Han Shuo stood up calmly, seemingly not taking Helen Tina's screaming in his eyes as he leisurely walked to the door.

“You evil demon, greedy evil demon. I’ll agree, I’ll agree!” The noisy Helen Tina finally yielded and screamed hysterically when Han Shuo almost walked out the door.

“Isn’t it good to agree early? Your body is so weak, screaming loudly is not good for your health either!” Han Shuo laughed heartily. He promptly took out a contract, making Helen Tina finger print and sign it, finally placing down a magical brand.

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