I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 135

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire 135

Why is this real?

Exactly four days before Victoria and Killian arrived in Canada.

A group of sturdy men armed with guns, ropes, and handcuffs were taking advantage of the night to cross the border, heading towards a settlement in Ontario.

“It should be right in front of us, right?”

“That’s right. Rumor has it that it’s swarming with black bastards.”

“But are they the ones who escaped from Virginia? Did those black bastards really make it all the way to Canada without anyone noticing?”

“Once they successfully escape to the North, the chances of getting caught are greatly reduced. Honestly, you can’t check every black person on the street to see if they’re a runaway slave from the South.”

That’s true.

Honestly, even Metz, the leader of the Hounds [slave hunters], who had been doing this for years, sometimes had trouble distinguishing who was who when he put the blacks together.

How much more would ordinary people?

“Sigh. From Virginia to Canada, what a pain in the ass. I need a good rest after this is over.”

“There are quite a few this time, so the reward should be good, right? I think we can live it up for a few months.”

“Yeah. Let’s eat and drink for at least a month. And from now on, let’s not take any long-distance jobs that require us to cross the border like this.”

As the North abolished slavery, the number of black slaves escaping from the South to the North was increasing day by day.

However, to avoid conflict with the South, the North maintained the Slave Return Act [law requiring the return of escaped slaves], and there was a constant demand for slave hunters like the Hounds who caught and returned runaway slaves.

Still, it was easier said than done to bring runaway slaves back to their original owners in a vast land like the United States.

It was a tough job that required not only professional tracking skills but also the ability to beat down those who resisted.

You might think it would be easy to use a gun, but what they had to bring back were the customers’ precious “goods.”

If you accidentally shot and killed them or left them disabled, the promised payment would naturally be forfeited as well.

Therefore, firing a gun was only for intimidation or when their resistance was so strong that you judged your life to be in danger.

“By the way, boss, don’t you think more and more blacks are escaping recently? It’s good for us because there are more jobs, but it doesn’t seem normal.”

“You think so too? I was feeling that way as well. Recently, some crazy bastards called NBA [likely a misheard reference to abolitionist groups] are claiming that blacks should be liberated in the North, so I wonder if they’ve been influenced by that? The Northern lawmakers have also joined that trend, so I guess the blacks have heard those rumors.”

“The more blacks escape, the higher our price will be, so that’s a good thing, right? But then, does that mean we have to keep taking jobs even after this one is over?”

“No. If hunters with good track records like us take a break, the plantation owners who have been having slaves escape recently will get anxious. Naturally, the rewards for requests coming to us will increase, right? And it’s also important to take a break and figure out how the current situation is going.”

Although he didn’t show it, Metz had seen and experienced many situations firsthand while returning countless blacks to their owners.

Those who desperately resisted because they didn’t want to be dragged back, those who cried and begged for mercy.

Without exception, he handcuffed them, tied them tightly with ropes, and returned them to where they were supposed to be.

But even to him, there were an unusually large number of escapees these days.

‘Maybe there’s an organization that’s creating this atmosphere.’

If so, those black bastards may have formed their own organization or are united under someone’s protection.

If you poke the wrong place, your life could be in danger, so taking a breather to assess the situation for the time being wouldn’t be a bad choice.

Isn’t your one and only life precious and should be treated with care?

Unlike the blacks who are everywhere, they are valuable talents who cannot be replaced if something goes wrong.

Anyway, that can be worried about more after this job is successfully completed.

The Hound, led by Metz, was heading to the settlement where slaves who had escaped from Virginia were presumed to be, with cautious steps.

To return the slaves, who deserve to be obedient under the feet of the great white men until they die, to where they should be.

However, their plan vanished without a trace as soon as the entrance to the village in the distance came into view.

Taang!

Tatatatang!

“Ugh!”

“It’s an ambush! It’s an ambush!”

“What, what is it! Where is the shooting coming from!”

“It’s from the side! The blacks are ambushing from the forest next to us… Ugh!”

They approached through the forest path to approach secretly, but they never dreamed that it would be a shortcut to hell.

“Are those black bastards crazy! Fight back!”

Now that it’s come to this, they have no choice but to kill as many as they can and take only the survivors.

However, when the slave hunters came to their senses and tried to fight back, the blacks who had been shooting so loudly retreated back into the depths of the forest as if nothing had happened.

“B, boss! What should we do? Should we chase them as they are…?”

“No, are you crazy! We’re trying to make money, why would we risk our lives to fight those bastards!”

“But we have to get out of this forest to go back!”

“Damn it! There’s no choice, everyone, don’t let your guard down and go back the way we came as quickly as possible!”

This isn’t some kind of war, and they just came to catch runaway blacks, so why would they throw their lives away here?

Moreover, this is not territory within the United States, but strictly Canadian territory.

If it’s near the border, they can make an excuse, but since they’ve come all the way to Ontario, they might be reported to the authorities if they engage in a shootout here.

However, unlike when they came, the road to retreat was not as easy as Metz had expected.

“Where are you bastards running off to!”

“You were free to come as you pleased, but not when you leave!”

“Die, you Dixie bastards!” [derogatory term for Southerners]

Taang!

Whenever there was a thicket, gunfire was fired from the other side, and even those who were ambushing from the trees were shooting.

They ambitiously brought all the members because they were going to catch dozens of slaves this time.

The dozens of veteran hunters were unable to escape even half of the forest, and their numbers quickly dwindled to less than ten.

Tatatatang!

“Ugh! Boss! It’s here too!”

“S, save me!”

“Get down! Get down!”

Something is wrong. Where did the blacks, who had only been slaves, learn such tactics, and they are actively using cover.

Besides, how can they explain that they were waiting with traps as if they knew they were coming?

Eventually, when there were only five left, Metz, realizing that there was no hope, threw his gun on the ground and raised his hands.

“S, surrender! I surrender! I’ll give you all the money and weapons! Just spare my life!”

When the other hunters saw the boss surrendering, they threw away their weapons and raised their hands as well, and only then did the hiding blacks slowly approach them with their guns pointed.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, hoping that there might be room for negotiation.

“Bang!”

“Keuheok!”

Metz, whose body was bent by the intense shock felt in his abdomen, could clearly see the hatred and venom in the eyes of the blacks.

“What surrender, you son of a bitch. Have you ever let go of people who begged you to save them?”

Of course not. If they had, they would not have been able to grow into a large slave hunter organization that organizes such a large-scale operation.

It was too late for the hunters to pick up their weapons again.

The hunters, who had been riddled with bullets by the shots fired earlier, collapsed on the floor like piles of garbage, and in the slowly fading consciousness, Metz clearly saw someone walking out from behind the blacks.

A white man like them, not with black skin like the ones in front of him.

Surprisingly, one of the blacks who had just fought with them bowed politely to the white man and said.

“Thank you! Thanks to you, I feel like the resentment that has been building up has been washed away even a little bit.”

“Hahaha, no thanks are needed for doing what’s natural. As long as you take root and live here in Canada, you are not slaves of the United States, but proud citizens of British Canada. Those who try to harm our citizens should naturally be punished like this. Ah, but.”

One of the white men, who was babbling something, picked up a weapon used by the hunters and diligently made traces by shooting here and there.

“If you guys unilaterally shot and killed them, the other side’s fault will be a little faint. Let’s pretend that this side was also damaged as much as possible. Make holes in the walls of the village with their weapons, and if there are people who fell and got hurt, wrap them in bandages to make them look badly injured.”

“I understand!”

“From now on, you guys fought back against those slave hunters who suddenly attacked the village. They failed in their surprise attack and were shot and killed by you who chased them while trying to escape through the forest.”

As expected, the prediction was correct. Those guys were definitely behind the blacks’ mass escape.

And the mastermind is none other than…

“Thank you. Pinkerton!”

The man called Pinkerton smiled and approached with a pistol in his hand.

“You, you bastard… Aren’t you ashamed to be the same white man…?”

Taang!

With the last gunshot echoing.

The slave hunter organization Hound, which had reigned as a symbol of terror for runaway slaves in the South, completely disappeared in Ontario, Canada.

* * *

“Is it a confirmed fact that they were found dead and that they were from the United States?”

“We’ve verified it several times. They say that they are definitely from the United States who crossed the border. They say that they attacked a settlement where our citizens live but were counterattacked and annihilated.”

“It’s embarrassing. Such an incident happened as soon as I arrived.”

Victoria frowned as if she wasn’t feeling very well, stirring her milk tea with a spoon.

I also looked back at the governor with angry eyes.

“How much does the United States have to disregard us to cause such a commotion at a time like this when Her Majesty is arriving, not to mention anyone else. I guess they think they’re our superior country because we’ve been looking at them favorably these days?”

“I also think it’s impossible. I will immediately summon the US ambassador and urge them to explain.”

“Please do so. They couldn’t have not known that Her Majesty the Queen was coming to Canada, so at least they should have taken thorough care to avoid any unfortunate events for the time being. Please also make sure to prepare a response plan on how to deal with it in the future and let us know.”

“Yes! Right now…”

“No, no, you don’t have to go right away while eating, you can do it after the dinner is over. Anyway, it’s a pleasant occasion now, so Governor, don’t worry too much. It’s their fault, not ours, so no one will say anything to the Governor.”

In fact, the United States would be upset because they probably didn’t order the slave hunters to cross the border.

But what can they do?

There is clear evidence everywhere that the Dixie from the United States shot at this side across the border.

“Oh, and this is not just a matter of slave hunters crossing the border, but a major incident in which they openly attacked this settlement. Her Majesty the Queen was also very surprised and added that she could not help but feel sad that such a thing was being carried out so casually.”

“I understand.”

And what else is there?

Originally, you have to strike while the iron is hot, so now that there is a reason to bite them, you shouldn’t slow down the offensive here.

Victoria, who was staring at me as I was thinking, smiled and cut a piece of steak and brought it to her mouth.

“You can decide after seeing what kind of reaction they show over there, right? Don’t be too impatient… Ugh!”

She covered her mouth momentarily without finishing chewing the meat, gagged, and looked around with a bewildered look.

What is it? Is the meat spoiled?

Unless the chefs are out of their minds, there’s no way they wouldn’t check whether the meat served to the Queen is spoiled or not.

Wait, then.

In that short moment when my head was spinning with confusion.

The governor, who was having dinner with me next to me, stood up from his seat as if he was bouncing and bowed to me and Victoria alternately.

“Congratulations! Your Majesty, Your Highness! Congratulations!”

“…Congratulations?”

What kind of congratulations are you talking about when I’m gagging while eating?

Just as I was wondering what the hell this guy was trying to say.

The servants who were watching from afar rushed over and made a fuss, and soon the doctor who was contacted came running into the room, and one possibility flashed through my mind.

So, this.

Could it be that I’m going to be a dad?

So suddenly?

I blankly watched Victoria’s back as she entered the room with the doctor, completely forgetting about the contents of the protest to be sent to the United States.

It seems that this is real.