After hearing what Count Whitley said, Charlotte smiled:
"Mr. Envoy, are you trying to deceive me into not understanding the value of extraordinary preparations?"
"Ordinary conscripts are fine. As far as I know, the monthly salary of the apprentice priests in the temple is 15 gold taels. Although the treatment of extraordinary regular soldiers cannot be compared with that of priests, the monthly salary of their soldiers is more than 7 gold taels..."
As she spoke, her expression gradually turned cold:
"You want to redeem the extraordinary standing stock with less than two years' worth of military pay. Are you kidding me?"
Although she looked quite young, and her voice was tender and even childish, but the moment the girl's expression turned cold, Earl Whitley felt that the temperature in the entire conference room seemed to drop a few degrees.
Facing Charlotte's cold eyes, Earl Whitley felt a pressure that was difficult to describe in words surge into his heart.
Although they had the same title and a huge age gap, at this moment he felt a sense of awe as if a lower-ranking person had met a higher-ranking person.
This sense of contradiction made him very uncomfortable, but also increased his pressure.
He realized almost instantly that the girl in front of him was probably not only a lord with considerable prestige, but also a powerful transcendent.
At least... the opponent's strength is far stronger than that of him, the Silver Moon Mage, and only this can explain how the opponent can bring him such great pressure with just a few words.
It’s not the words or the tone in which they are spoken that is stressful.
Moreover, the spiritual power contained in the words, and the flow of magic power in the entire meeting room changed with the other party's mood...
She is a powerful spellcaster!
Far beyond the ordinary silver moon!
Count Whitley immediately came to this conclusion.
This judgment also gave him a greater shock...
Because he knew very well that the girl in front of him was just a noble who had not awakened her bloodline power two years ago!
God is above...
In just two years, he has acquired extraordinary powers far exceeding those of ordinary Silver Moons. Could it be that after His Majesty the King of the New Moon Kingdom, another extraordinary genius that is only seen once in a thousand years will appear? !
Count Whitley's thoughts were in turmoil and his mind was shaken.
Taking a deep breath, his posture became more respectful:
"Your Excellency, the ransom of one hundred quintana per person has been a common practice for many years. Even during the Star-Moon War, the ransom that the Falling Star Kingdom paid to His Majesty the King's extraordinary soldiers was also one hundred quintana per person..."
"If you are not satisfied, we can increase the ransom price by another quarter to show our sincerity."
"In addition, we are willing to pay a ransom of 3,000 to 200,000 quintana for the nobles you have captured, depending on their rank."
"Of course, if you are not satisfied, you can negotiate directly with their family..."
"Moreover, this is just the price of their redemption. We will also cover all their food and lodging expenses during their captivity."
Charlotte frowned and looked at Viscount Ryan Castel beside her.
The old viscount came close to her and whispered:
"My Lord, the ransom price given by Violet is quite reasonable. One hundred quintana per person is the 'market price' of extraordinary soldiers that is accepted by the nobles."
He paused and said meaningfully:
"Of course, this is limited to the redemption of soldiers..."
After hearing the old viscount's words, Charlotte's heart moved slightly and she nodded.
To be honest, those soldiers were of little use to her. Although she had tried to recruit them during this period, the effect was very limited.
In fact, the vast majority of extraordinary soldiers have families with them and are unwilling to leave their homes. Moreover, most of them are loyal to their lords and it is difficult to win them over without spending a huge price.
And with that price, Charlotte felt it would be better to train her own extraordinary soldiers.
"Sir Whitley, we can accept the ransom."
Charlotte said.
Lord Whitley breathed a sigh of relief.
"But... we have to keep the captured equipment."
Charlotte changed the subject and said.
"This is impossible!"
Count Whitley blurted out this almost subconsciously.
"Oh? Impossible? Do you mean to say that you want to redeem the person, armor and weapons together with one hundred quintana?"
Charlotte chuckled.
Lord Whitley scratched his head in embarrassment and said:
"No... Of course not."
"As for the extraordinary equipment you seized, we are also willing to redeem it at a price that is one-fourth higher than the market price..."
After hearing what Count Whitley said, Charlotte smiled even brighter:
"Your Excellency, you are joking again."
"I am not unaware of how valuable enchanted supernatural equipment is. In the black market, even the worst enchanted equipment can be sold for three thousand gold tana..."
“However, that’s just the price.”
"Ordinary equipment is fine, but as far as I know, enchanted extraordinary equipment can only be made by alchemists and magicians, and most of the time, there is no market for them."
"Your Excellency, if we sell the supernatural equipment we seized on the black market, it may not be as good as Violet's ransom. But if we want to use the same amount of Quintana to buy these equipment, it is impossible to buy them."
"In a sense, these enchanted equipment are even more valuable than the soldiers."
"Replacing extraordinary equipment with Quintana is a loss-making business, not to mention... When has I, Castel, ever been short of Quintana?"
After hearing what Charlotte said, Earl Whitley frowned and said:
"My Lord Earl, from what you said, do you want to keep the captured extraordinary equipment to build Castel's own standing army?"
"Excuse me, each set of extraordinary equipment that can form a magic array has its own maintenance system and maintenance methods. Even activating the array requires a dedicated spell model..."
"Without these, even if you get these equipment, they are just some ordinary enchanted equipment. It is impossible to form a magic array."
"Of course, if you want to exchange relevant technologies with us, it is impossible. The Duke will not agree. How to build and maintain an extraordinary army is the secret of the noble family..."
Charlotte smiled and said:
"Sir Whitley, I know all this, of course. I don't expect to build our own extraordinary army in Castel with just these captured equipment."
After hearing what Charlotte said, Earl Whitley breathed a sigh of relief.
The idea of not having to form a supernatural army based on the captured supernatural equipment means that Castel does not have to keep these enchanted equipment.
As long as it is not necessary to keep these equipments, there is room for negotiation.
The thousands of sets of extraordinary equipment seized by Castel were quite difficult to make. In this war, all the wealth that Buat-Lint had accumulated for decades was lost.
Before he left, Duke Violet repeatedly stressed that he must bring back those extraordinary equipment no matter how much it cost.
"My Lord Earl, then... what conditions do you need to return the equipment to us?"
"If you feel that our sincerity is not enough, we are willing to raise the price by one tenth. In addition, we will unconditionally return the occupied territories to Castel and recognize Castel's independence and sovereignty over the Earldom of Tulips."
"We can also promise to support you in the next meeting of the Kingdom's Nobles Council..."
"What do you think?"
Lord Whitley asked respectfully.
"No, I don't need Quintana."
Charlotte shook her head.
As she spoke, she looked at Count Whitley and said with a smile:
"I want extraordinary materials that are equal to the value of these equipment, and... a way to obtain extraordinary materials stably."