Syndicate was a bandit. Sometimes he was a bandit, sometimes he was a pirate, sometimes he was a smuggler, and sometimes he helped some big shots who did not want to reveal their identities to do some work that was not suitable for people to know.
He did not care what he did. As long as he could make money, it did not matter what he did.
In private, he called himself a "gentleman without capital." The former implied his identity, and the latter flaunted his style of doing things.
Among his peers, he was indeed a rather gentlemanly figure. Every time he "did business," as long as the other party was willing to surrender, even if they were still fighting one moment, he would restrain his subordinates to let the opponent go the next moment. At first, his subordinates were very dissatisfied, but as their reputation gradually spread, fewer and fewer people were willing to fight with them to the death. More than once, there were even people who took the initiative to send money to buy passage when they saw their flag.
For those who were willing to send money to buy passage, he also had a standard. As long as the money could allow his brothers to eat and drink together, it was not worth fighting for more money. Because he always believed that money could not be earned, but reliable brothers were not so easy to find.
So his "business" grew bigger and bigger, and gradually became the largest group in the border area between the Blue Moon Kingdom and the Kingdom of Thousand Springs. Some people even began to respectfully call him "Mountain King."
To be honest, Syndicate did not like this title at all. He had once been lucky enough to enter the ancient elf temple in the Ancient Forest and received advice from the immortal elder. At that time, the elder warned him not to be greedy, not to be in the limelight, and to make a fortune quietly. He deeply believed it and had always taken it as his motto.
His ideal was to be a nameless bandit, earn enough money, and find a chance to wash his name clean. Then he would be a small aristocrat in the mainland, spend the rest of his life in peace, and leave enough descendants to pass on the family from generation to generation. Many, many years later, there were descendants who were keen to study the history of their ancestors. Only then did they find out his origin from the dusty records, and they were stunned …
Now it seemed that this ideal was most likely going to be ruined. He was very depressed.
Recently, he received news from an old acquaintance who had worked with him in the past that in the future, the business of bandits, especially the business of big bandits, would be more difficult to do, and the shipping channel would become a crucial part of the business. This made him a little puzzled and he did not understand why.
Most bandits didn't like to rob goods. Firstly, they would leave too many traces while carrying the goods, making it easy for others to catch up or find them. Secondly, once they got the goods, they would have to think of a way to dispose of them. Usually, one gold coin wouldn't even be able to buy one silver coin.
In comparison, robbing money was much more convenient. Even precious gems were not as reliable as money.
Of course, if they could get their hands on some precious magical tools, it would be more worthwhile than robbing money. Magic tools were easy to sell, and when they were sold, the price would not be deliberately lowered, so they were the best hard currency.
Syndicate was certainly no exception. All along, when he collected toll money, he would charge three times the value of the goods — or to put it another way, three times the value of goods would be worth one time the price if he gave the goods but not the money. If he could, he would also rather take the money than the goods, even though he had a good channel to dispose of stolen goods.
For example, this time.
He brought a dozen people with him, lying in ambush in a depression that had been deliberately dug out on the hillside. They were wearing straw raincoats that were covered with grass, making them look like ordinary grass. As long as they did not use magic, no one would be able to find them.
The place where he was lying in ambush was quite spacious and not at all steep. No spellcaster would be crazy enough to use detection magic in such a place.
For this business, he had prepared five days in advance. He felt that the manpower and resources he had invested were worth hundreds of gold coins.
But it was worth it. As far as he knew, the 'Dragon's Tail' Firm had recently shipped a large batch of goods to Buyi City, but did not buy much from the city. This meant that they were either carrying a large amount of cash, or high-value gems or magical tools. Whichever it was, it was worth it for him to spend some effort and even move out himself.
Time passed slowly, and the sun was slowly moving towards the west. But Syndicate and his brothers were still lying on the ground, motionless, as if they had turned into piles of weeds.
To do a big business, one must be patient. This time, he brought his most reliable brothers. Everyone understood this and were able to keep their composure.
About an hour before the sky turned dark, two carriages slowly drove over. Looking at the emblem on the carriages, it was indeed the group of bumpkins who claimed that their ancestors had picked up the tailbone of a giant dragon and used it as a mascot.
Syndicate wanted to laugh when he thought of the origins of the firm's name.
But he held back his laughter. Instead, he was very serious.
The Dragontail Trading Company was not easy to deal with. Their ancestors also did business without capital. The reason why they could become rich in the past was not because of the good luck brought by some bullsh * t mascot, but because they did a lot of business like him that would go to hell after they died.
Against such an opponent, if he was not serious and cautious, he would really be courting death.
The carriages were not big, and after a closer look, there was indeed not much cargo. But he noticed that the drivers of the two carriages had a calm temperament, and one look was enough to tell that they had considerable strength. As for the inside of the carriages … The one at the back was a truck, and the one escorting it should be a middle-level warrior — nothing to be afraid of. But he could faintly feel mana ripples from the first carriage, and there might be a powerful mage overseeing it. He must not be careless!
Just as the carriages were about to pass by, one of the horses in the first carriage suddenly lost its front hooves and fell towards the side of the road for some unknown reason. The entire carriage was about to overturn, and the people on the carriage were about to fall to their deaths.
Naturally, it was a trap designed by Syndicate. He had dug a few small pits on the road — not too big — just a little bigger than a horse's hoof. The pits were padded with thick paper, covered with dirt and weeds, and looked no different from ordinary ground. But if the horse's hoof stepped in, it would immediately fall, and the entire carriage would collapse.
The Dragontail Trading Company's people were attacked, and they immediately panicked. Two people walked out of the carriage in front of them. One was a mage wearing a fiery red robe, and the other was a ranger wearing gray soft armor. The two coachmen and the warrior in the carriage behind also took out their weapons, ready to fight.
Syndicate nodded, lifted the turf, and stood up alone.
He was not in a hurry to speak. Instead, he took out a flag and stuck it on the ground beside him.
In the evening breeze, the flag unfurled, and a tiger sitting on the top of the mountain was majestically looking down at the people at the foot of the slope.
"Sitting Mountain King?!" The ranger was shocked, but then he laughed.
"You came at a bad time this time." He smiled and took out a delicate sacred emblem. "Our firm has indeed made a lot of money this time, but I've deposited it in the Golden Crown (Goddess of Wealth)'s temple. Even if you kill us, you won't get any money."
A few hours later, in his own secret base, Syndicate fell into deep thought.
It seemed that … the world had changed.
In this era, it was no longer suitable for gentlemen without capital.
Thinking of this, he made up his mind.
Since then, the famous bandit "Sitting Mountain King" who was active at the border of the Kingdom of Blue Moon and the Kingdom of Thousand Springs disappeared without a trace. A few months later, in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, a small noble named "Thomas."
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