My Players Are So Fierce
Chapter 342:

“Lord Maxim is so protective! So unreasonable, but I love it!”

The girls who were hiding in the garden of Maxim’s temporary office courtyard witnessed the entire conversation between Maxim and the northern military officer.

After seeing the latter stumble away with a pale face, Sword Saint Ashina was the first to jump out, waving her fist saying:

“I declare, I am now a proud Transian barbarian!”

“You? You’re at most a shrunk mini teenage monkey version of a barbarian.”

Lumina also stood up from the garden, easily restraining the impotently raging little gunner with her left hand. She looked somewhat nervously at those criminals swaying in the wind after being tied to the gallows, saying softly:

“Maxim is so ruthless! Besides those few guys who were ‘shredded’ by Sword Saint Ashina’s bullets, when we brought the rest of the surrendering scum here they were still breathing.

I thought they would be severely punished, but I thought too much, they were all sent to the gallows by the vampire.

Not even a proper trial.”

“Have you become stupid living in the civilized world? Don’t you see what kind of environment this is, what trial do we need here?”

Sister Pomegranate beside her said with a pout:

“These thugs broke into our compound with knives and committed armed assault, who would dare do such things in Crimson Citadel? This is because Maxim is here, if it were Lord Murphy, these bastards probably wouldn’t even have corpses left, and his Astral summons would have a full meal tonight.

Although the Administrative Office has never issued a formal law, it’s clear that both Lord Murphy and Regent Miriam are the type of ruthless characters who would do anything to maintain order.

And honestly, given the ‘ruthless act’ the northerners pulled this time, if we don’t show some tough measures, just those over 2,000 criminals alone could turn the newly stabilized Transia upside down again.”

“Yeah, referring to how big brother used the Hotel Gulag residents as penal battalions in WWII, I think Maxim’s handling isn’t just fine but shows the spirit of a great general.

Perhaps this was Lord Murphy’s instruction?”

Lady Aqua stood beside the three with her large scythe, saying quietly:

“I was feeling guilty that all this happened because of me, but I didn’t expect it was all within the NPCs’ calculations. I guess even without today’s ‘random event’, Maxim would definitely find an excuse to give these northern criminals trouble, like a ‘deterrent beating’?”

“Look who’s talking.”

Sister Pomegranate put her hand on Lady Aqua’s shoulder disapprovingly, emphasizing:

“As the weakest link in our little team, can you take someone with you every time you go out? Also, when are you finally going to do your Black Iron Trial?”

“I’m preparing, don’t rush me.”

Lady Aqua made a pitiful face and said:

“But I’m really not good at fighting, challenging elites sounds so scary.”

“Yeah, for an Avalon priest who can use charm magic with seductive eyes to control four burly men in the blink of an eye, this challenge must be really ‘scary’.”

Sister Pomegranate said in a drawn-out voice:

“No more delays!

Get through the trial as soon as we get back, with your honey trap constitution, there will be plenty more such incidents in the game. Don’t actually capsize in a gutter one day, I don’t want to see a raging rich doting husband bringing hundreds of bodyguards to my door.”

“Women talk too much.”

Lady Aqua shrugged, no longer resisting the matter.

The four of them left Maxim’s temporary office in the night, soon escorting the carriage and the Transian exiles gathered by the Bataxin Chamber of Commerce away from Bataxin City, heading toward Crimson Citadel.

This was the first scouting trip, if all goes well, Lady Palen would soon mobilize the Chamber’s power to start extensively recruiting exiles to return home in the Kafhoka region.

For the Silver Moon Pride team, their connection to this matter ended here, but the ripples triggered by Lady Aqua were just beginning to ferment. At least in the view of Maxim, who was appointed by Murphy to take full responsibility for receiving prisoners, this matter was far from over.

He returned to his office, only to find Lord Murphy and Lord Kudel who had come from Seicob territory sitting in the office chairs waiting for him.

The Loyal One immediately straightened up and greeted the Governor.

Murphy waved his hand, glanced down through the window at the thugs’ corpses hanging on the gallows in the backyard, then looked at Maxim and said:

“I rushed here as fast as I could, but still missed the first wave of conflict, but since you’ve already made the decision, I guess you must have a complete set of handling methods, let’s hear it.”

“Yes, master.”

Maxim returned to his desk, took the plan he had made in his hands and looked at it, organized his language, and said to Murphy:

“Although the northerners mixing criminals with prisoners and handing them over to us made me realize that my perception of the moral bottom line of the officials under the Wolf Queen was still too high, this doesn’t affect my continuing with my ideas.

I plan to divide these prisoners first.

Armed Blood Servants are relatively reliable labor force that we can use, I will have a formal conversation with those Blood Servants, if they are willing to serve the clan, I will arrange a way out for them.

Whether it’s collective farms, or the armament factory being prepared for construction in Anderma Hills, or even new recruit recruitment for the Kadman People’s Army, we can select from among them.

The remaining northern thugs are not the labor force we need!

We don’t have that much time to correct their thinking, nor can we arrange them near cities and farms to avoid trouble, so I plan to throw them directly to the Baroness of Shadow’s territory.

They will start digging trench lines facing the Foul Swamp there.

There are still over 4 months until the Black Plague arrives, if they don’t slack off, combined with the quick construction techniques developed by the Stonemason’s Guild, we can completely have a solid defense line before the war breaks out.”

“So, you plan to use them as cannon fodder? A very prudent consideration, but perhaps too ordinary.”

Murphy nodded and commented:

“I’ve heard a saying from my warriors, they joke that even used underwear or toilet paper has its own value. Max, you can’t ignore certain ‘bright spots’ hidden in these thugs that we could use just because they’re criminals and scum.

Crimson Citadel is a city we built together, and its rules are also basic laws passed by everyone, Transia will open its arms to anyone unwelcome.

So my thought is, perhaps we can provide these thugs who were thrown away by their own country like garbage an opportunity to be human again.”

The vampire governor looked at Maxim and said:

“Even if we can’t allow them to join the army and official organizations, places like the Blood Rat Gang and Fight Club will always need these people who walk in the grey area. We can perhaps set up a net to ‘fish out’ those who have some ability among these scum.

Then throw the remaining tasteless ones to the swamp edge to dig holes together with the kobolds being sent there by Hog.

They will use labor to reform their deviant lives, use sweat and blood to repay the mistakes they committed before.

I know this will increase your workload, but we really need to discover some talents who can stand on their own now.”

“I am willing to be responsible for pushing this forward, master.”

Maxim immediately replied:

“But how do we give these thugs a chance? We don’t have enough manpower to screen their backgrounds and histories, and Adele’s intelligence bureau is also just newly established.”

“No need for such complex screening, Max.”

Kudel standing by the window turned around and instructed Maxim:

“The situation of the thugs sent by the northerners is already as bad as it can get, in this situation, anyone who wants to escape their dark future will desperately chase any light that appears before them. Therefore you only need to propose a selection criteria, and those with ability will jump out themselves.

As for those who have ability but are unwilling to step forward in this situation, they are either harboring evil intentions with greater ambitions, or have completely lost hope in life and don’t care about changes in external circumstances.

Neither type can be used by us, arranging them to work at construction sites to redeem themselves is the best choice.”

“I think I understand.”

Maxim quickly recorded this suggestion in his notebook.

He pondered for a moment and said to Murphy and Kudel:

“So, I will give those bastards a chance to prove their worth, as long as they can achieve more than 3 victories in fights at the Fight Club, then they can temporarily get rid of their criminal past and truly join our defense work against the Black Plague as assistants.

They firmly believe they are good at talking with their fists, so I’ll give them this opportunity! This way we won’t let those guys lose all hope and cause trouble at the construction sites.

This selection ritual can also let those bastards know the rules of Transia, this land will not disappoint those with real ability!

We can even make this selection system a long-term plan!”

Maxim’s inspiration seemed to be triggered, he closed his notebook and said to Murphy and Kudel who were watching him:

“First throw all those thugs into the construction sites, but hold two ‘warrior selection tournaments’ every month, this way by the time the Black Plague breaks out, all the usable people among them will have been completely fished out after 8-9 selections.

When the Goldflower Kingdom sends back the remaining 10,000 Blood Servants, we can continue this system.

And use the Administrative Office’s ‘labor points’ system that has continued to this day to constrain them! Give the remaining prisoners who cannot become warriors a long-term hope, giving them freedom after they reach a certain point limit.

This way we can ensure their labor enthusiasm while also letting your mercy and authority penetrate their evil hearts, even the most harsh Blood Knights cannot accuse our Blood Vulture Clan of being cold-blooded and disregarding human life in the face of this system.

Using labor to complement punishment may be a good way to punish evil.”

“Very good, I’m very satisfied with the plan you proposed, proceed according to your ideas.

I will submit this management method you figured out yourself to Professor Malcolm, I believe he will also praise your wisdom and sigh that you truly learned something from those history classes he gave you.”

Murphy stood up and patted Maxim’s shoulder, saying in a deep voice:

“I’ve seen all your progress, Max, keep up this momentum and you’ll soon be able to stand on your own. But there’s one last question.

Ceremony!

The ceremony we’ve always emphasized.”

The vampire lord took out a folded note from his chest and stuffed it into Maxim’s hand, saying:

“I’ve already prepared it for you, just read from the script later.”

Maxim looked at the words on the note.

He showed a rather strange expression, well, this must be one of Lord Murphy’s little quirks.

——

Near midnight, in the temporary military camp outside Bataxin City, the northern soldiers responsible for escorting prisoners and convicts withdrew early, which immediately aroused the curiosity of over 6,500 people in the large camp.

Many prisoners, after repeated testing, felt freedom had arrived and were preparing to escape the camp to find a good place near Transia to “return to their old trade” while whooping and hollering.

But more people made no movement.

Especially those armed Blood Servants who once belonged to the Blood Vulture Clan, they showed a clear distinction from these criminals. Even with no more guards, these Blood Servants who were sent back home from the harsh wilderness of the Great Wildlands did not cause any major disturbance.

They stayed very quietly in their assigned temporary barracks, praying to midnight and preparing to accept their fate.

Soon, intermittent screams rang out around the camp, and the gunfire explosions seemed so horrifying in the night, making those prisoners who hadn’t escaped the camp first feel terrified.

They finally knew that the northerners’ withdrawal did not mean freedom had arrived!

The cunning Transians had already made preparations, and these merciless killings happening in the night were just the first step of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.

But contrary to their expectations, not all criminals who actively left the camp were killed.

Very few actually died.

The rest were forced back into the camp under the pressure of the vampires’ ghostly hunting and the People’s Army veterans’ bullets. Those who were frightened gathered together and then a Spirit Mage threw out a dazzling light suspended in the night.

Under the terrified gaze of the prisoners, Maxim wearing heavy armor and carrying several heads appeared before their eyes against the background of 100 elite veterans advancing in a line.

“Article 13 of the Kadman People’s Army Wartime Management Regulations, any soldier who leaves the camp without superior permission will be considered a deserter! For deserters, Transia has always executed them without mercy!”

Maxim’s deep voice echoed in the night, coupled with the still dripping heads in his hands showing overwhelming pressure.

This commotion also made many northern prisoners hiding in the barracks peek out to observe, they were all very concerned about what treatment they would face in this foreign land.

Most of these prisoners were very much in line with Maxim’s perception of criminals, emanating an air that made people uncomfortable and unwilling to approach, but the vampire’s senses made him notice that among those secretly observing guys, there were indeed some whose auras were very obscure.

There were even a few that could make him feel needle-like pressure.

“Lord Murphy is right! There are indeed big fish hidden among these guys.”

Maxim narrowed his eyes, but he did not acknowledge those prying gazes, instead continuing to announce loudly:

“My name is Maxim! I am the Baron of Leim of the Transia Governorate and Supreme Commander of the Kadman People’s Army, and I will be responsible for receiving and managing you all from now on. Please understand that this means from this moment on, your life and death will be in my hands!

Therefore I hope you can give me the respect I deserve, and patiently listen to what I’m about to tell you.

As part of the Nordtov Kingdom’s aid agreement for Transia’s war preparations, you will all be deployed as basic labor to build war fortifications on the front line of the Foul Swamp.

According to the current terms set by the Crimson Citadel Administrative Office, each of you needs to accumulate 5,000 labor points in your work before you can receive amnesty and gain freedom.

You don’t need to dwell on what 5,000 labor points means for you, there will naturally be someone to explain it to you after reaching the fortification location.

What I want to announce to you now is another piece of news that is closely related to the fate of you scum!

You’d better all listen carefully!”

Maxim emphasized and said:

“I came here tonight specifically to use blood and death to convey this one concept to you scum, the Transia Governorate will open its arms to anyone with ability and value.

We never care who you were in the past, we only care who you want to become in the future!

The land under your feet represents both death and rebirth, represents both endpoint and starting point, the only difference lies in how you want to spend your meaningless remaining life.

Wealth, power, status or respect from others, no matter what you scum want, you can find it in Transia.

Governor Murphy has put these things you pursue and desire in a place called ‘Fight Club’, as long as you can reach there with your own fists, you can make a clean break with your past failed life.

But I hope you can be prepared.

The weak and cowards won’t live long on this land!

That’s it!

I have no interest in saying more to you, now get back to your barracks, at dawn someone will lead you to where you should go.

Of course, you can try to escape.”

Maxim paused, then said in an even louder voice that could be heard by everyone in the entire barracks:

“As long as you think you’re lucky enough to escape from Blood Vulture Clan territory! Poor wretches, try it, I’ll be very happy to play this ‘lose and die’ game with you.”