Chapter 215: Most Difficult Thing

The best thing when it comes to philanthropy is to gift away other people's wealth and getting all the thanks and appreciation without the need of spending a single quid. 

-        SaberFate ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

The boys acted quickly, within an hour after they went back sounds of shouting and fighting can be heard inside the fortress, the three gates came wide open and the local conscripted soldiers waved a fire torch to the fleet signaling that their operation is a success. Seeing the flare the Varangians under Yuri stormed the fortress making sure that there are no remaining danger inside cooperating with the locals although they do not understand with each other's language, the entire process went peacefully and harmoniously. 

Antonius arrived shortly after landing on the beach and getting welcomed by almost every Christian residing in this town who have had enough of the rule by this new Ulema, paying respect to Antonius where ever he walks. The local influential land lords anticipated their new lord nervously on the street outside the fortress, apparently having heard of the not so relieving news from his counterparts in the Prince Islands, with buckets of coins, silk, meat and vegetables stacked in front of them as a form of bribe… ehm, gift, to appease Antonius. 

Antonius only took a peek at the stacks and baskets and the bowing land lords to realise what is going on here. With a smirk he whispered his guards to stay put, controlled his pace covering the sound of his foot steps in the surrounding cheers to the back of these land lords, and then suddenly giving them a shout from behind giving them fright down the spines almost causing them to jump up high on the ground. They turned back only to find an ordinary looking young sailor with a sea faring face and donned in a rugged worn out garment grinning at them.

Seeing it is just a regular sailor trying to make fun of them by scaring them, the land lords heaved a sigh of relief and the thought of punishing the sailor came up to their mind, but they soon dropped it because this sailor might be that admiral's man which they are trying to appease with all the methods they can. Hence the land lords reprimanded the admiral giving him a few harsh words and asked him to bugger off.

The young sailor just stood there folding his arms giving these land lords an interesting look. 

"Oi! Have you not heard what Lord Uranus has said?" Shouted one of the land lord's brute. "Stop smiling like a chick over there and bugger off!"

Antonius tilted his head looking at the brute.

Just as the brute is enraged ready to roll up his sleeve to come forward and teach his young sailor a lesson, and also to earn some respect for his master, a captain of the admiral's ship called Julian came, in the dazing of the land lords the honourable captain saluted this 'young sailor' calling him sir, which is like a bolt out of the blue striking right onto the heads of the land lords making them fall onto the ground, holding their chest grasping for air, like they just saw some thing terrifying.

"Shout." Antonius grinned like a devil in disguise under human skin." Shout! I know you got a very big throat that will probably become very itchy it you do not make some loud noises, am I right?" 

"No… No your grace, honourable admiral." The brute replied dropping his wooden bat with his lips shaking violently. "I… I do not mean that, I mean…" 

"Then?" Antonius showed a questioning look. "Are you trying to say that I am hearing hallucinations?" 

"No… No, definitely not!" 

"Then!" Suddenly Antonius shouted with a stern and warning face, scaring the brute into submission making him fall onto the ground getting showered in his own sweat, unable to utter a single word from his dried cracking lips. 

"Take this man down." Antonius has no interest in shifting his attention to a nameless brute full of cowardice, he called his guards to come back giving them an order. "Bring this man back to the ship, question him nicely on his glorious past, I am sure that he has done many, many interesting stuffs before." 

"Yes, admiral." The guards dragged the powerless brute away. 

The land lord bowed towards Antonius with a pacifying smile. "Admiral…. This is just a small misunderstanding, we have no idea who the hell that man is, I am sorry for the inconvenience and unhappiness caused by that man to you… Just leave him to us, we shall make sure that he gets what he deserves for disrespecting you…"

"Don't worry lords." Laughed Antonius as he replies. "My boys will handle him from now." 

He then glanced around picking up a few coins from the pile, giggled and scrutinized it closely before his eyes. 

Pure silver Venetian Grosso coins, most likely having been kept in storage for more a few decades as seen from its decolourising surface and a bit of unwashed away green moss stubbornly growing on its sides. 

Antonius dropped the coins into the stack asking the land lords with a comfortable smile on his face. "May I know what the meaning of this is?" 

"It is a gift." A land lord hurriedly explained bowing. "It is a gift for you, your grace, for saving us from the claws of the kins of lucifer himself, returning us with the clean air of freedom bringing all of the puny beings on the island with a new life, hence…" 

"…Hence we prepared a gift for you, your grace." Another land lord stepped forward and interrupted rubbing his eyes under his counterpart's shock and provoked pair of eyes. "These coins are the finest and most valuable I can find in my house, and I here by gift all of them to you, your grace."

"I see, I see." Antonius nodded and gave the 'land lord full of coins' a gleeful smile. "Why did you not gift it to the Ulema of the Ottomans then?" 

"Emmm…" The land lord cannot answer the question.

"Or did you gift him with an identical pile of 'finest and most valuable coins?" 

"…" The land lord kneeled lowering his head. 

Seeing the man in this state Antonius lost all interest in continuing the conversation with them. "Do not worry folks, I am a simple man that works based on only three things… Justice, laws and equality. If you people do not exploit peasants causing live tragedies, abuse the laws to your own benefits, forcing innocent people into slavery, I will not touch you, your family and your what ever properties."

"Thank you for your kind mercy, your grace." The bunch of land lords hastily bowed in respect. 

"…. But if you ever disobeyed me and my orders…" Antonius finally stopped smiling and scanned through the head of these people with a threatening look on his face. "You should know the consequences of what happened to your 'friends' on the Prince Islands." 

The land lords of the island hastily nodded their heads in agreement rapidly. 

"For the gifts…" Antonius thought for a while. "You see, since it is a gift by all of you, it shall be the most inappropriate for me to accept it, as it shall be seen as a form of bribery to me in front of those old hags in Constantinople, which is unacceptable, you see. But it is also extraordinarily impolite to you people and your good intention if I am going to reject your gift, am I right?" 

What can these land lords say? They can only continue to rapidly nod in agreement. 

"Listen, my brother." Antonius turned back and called for Abdullah. "After every thing has been settled, I want you to do me a favour, organise a massive feast for all the villagers with all food and beverages being provided by these charitable gentle men over here, and then hold a celebration for all our men dividing the coins equally among them, I shall be there to supervise the coin distributing process." 

"Leave it to me." Abdullah took down the admiral's orders and went into the task, giving these land lords who are still bowing there a pitiful look shaking his head. 

The best thing when it comes to philanthropy is to gift away other people's wealth and getting all the thanks and appreciation without the need of spending a single quid. 

…

Julian came reporting that the fortress has been cleared of any threat, the enemy commander has been taken into custody by force after the Varangian saw this man trying to take suicide but dare not stab himself with that blade awaiting trial by the admiral. 

When facing death, not every one can face it with calmness and guts. Some times, actually most of the times, suicide is the most difficult task to do for a normal being because it is the basic instinct of humans to stay alive and on suicide itself is a behaviour that is against the nature of human. If one did not make up his mind stabbing that blade into himself and started hesitating, he shall never be able to suicide again with that pair of trembling hands, unless some one else help him out of his misery.