The continuous sound of horse hooves rapidly approached from afar. Han Shuo had been inspecting the progress of the construction on the city walls when he saw Faulke, the leader of the knights, rush over anxiously.
Faulke quickly dismounted and jogged to the wall in front of Han Shuo. He raised his head to look at Han Shuo, panting heavily, "City Lord, the caravan transporting chariots and other equipment from Seamist City has been robbed by several groups of bandits. The bandits have said that they will only release the people and the chariots and other equipment if they pay fifty thousand gold coins. "
The bandits roaming the way from Seamist City to Brettel City weren't large in scale. When Han Shuo had ordered these equipment from the merchant guilds through Phoebe, not only had he warned them to be careful of the bandits along the way, but he'd also had Faulke send people to pick them up in advance. According to Han Shuo's judgment, those small groups of bandits shouldn't have the guts to make a move. Now that he'd heard Faulke's news, he asked with a gloomy face, "You're saying that several groups of bandits joined forces to make a move?"
Faulke's expression was a bit awkward as he nodded, "That's right. One group of bandits definitely wouldn't dare to make a move, but this time, five groups of bandits joined forces. The guards of the caravan simply couldn't hold them off. City Lord, those damned bandits are courting death. I'll immediately lead the knights in the city to eradicate all of them. "
"Wait!" Han Shuo shouted, stopping Faulke's impulsive actions. He thought for a moment before asking, "How many people know that we've purchased those chariots and equipment?"
"The soldiers who picked us up on the way this time know. What about it, my lord?" Faulke was puzzled. He didn't understand why Han Shuo would suddenly mention this matter.
Snorting coldly, Han Shuo said, "How could those bandits so coincidentally know that the caravan would arrive on that day? How could they suddenly join forces and extort gold coins from us after robbing the caravan? Don't you think this is a bit interesting?"
Faulke was shocked when he heard these words. He shouted, "My lord, are you saying that there might be a spy among our people?"
"Not perhaps, there definitely is!" Han Shuo suddenly shouted, "I won't pursue your dereliction of duty for now. I'll give you half a day to find that spy and execute him! In addition, during the next recruitment, don't carelessly recruit people just because you're short on manpower. Kick out anyone with a dirty background! "
"Yes!" Faulke loudly replied and leapt onto his horse. He rode his horse and galloped away with a cold expression.
He was the one in charge of this matter. Now that such a big mistake had occurred, he couldn't escape responsibility no matter what. When Lawrence had sent him to Brettel City, he'd explained to him that Han Shuo would be in charge of his life and death from now on. Having witnessed Han Shuo's tyrannical strength, Faulke understood that Han Shuo wasn't a softhearted person. He cursed the traitor in his heart as he racked his brains for a way to quickly drag him out.
An hour later, on the spacious marble plaza in front of the city lord's mansion, a total of three hundred knights were lined up neatly under Faulke's orders. All of them were tall and sturdy, clad in shining armor. Not to mention Faulke's dereliction of duty this time, the military bearing and aura of these knights had been tempered through his training. They indeed had the demeanor of a grand knight regiment. This proved that Faulke was indeed an outstanding knight officer.
Han Shuo sat in the city lord's mansion, not caring about what methods Faulke would use to find the spy. He was only thinking about how to eliminate the bandits and obstacles on the road from Seamist City to Brettel City as soon as possible.
During this time, Han Shuo had placed all of his attention on the seven grand duchies that could come back to plunder at any time. He'd actually neglected the large and small bandit groups along the way. There were more than a dozen bandit groups along the way, all of them small bandits with a few hundred or even a few dozen members. They weren't on the same level as the big bandit groups that roamed between Brettel City and the seven grand duchies, easily numbering in the thousands.
After experiencing Troda's death last time, Han Shuo had thought that these small bandits wouldn't dare act rashly, so he hadn't taken them to heart. He hadn't expected that these small bandits would stab him in the back at such a critical moment, robbing war equipment worth a hundred thousand gold coins. This made Han Shuo want to completely annihilate them.
The road between Brettel City and Seamist City was the most important passage between Brettel City and the Lancelot Empire. If Brettel City wanted to develop, the importance of this road's safety was self-evident. If the immigrants were robbed on the road before they even reached Brettel City, no one would dare to settle down in Brettel City, no matter how extravagant Han Shuo's words were.
"They're the ones courting death, it's not that I'm not giving them a way out!" Han Shuo said resolutely as he unconsciously drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair.
Faulke hadn't let down Han Shuo's trust in him. He'd only spent two hours to ferret out the spy. Han Shuo hadn't seen who it was, but he'd heard waves of blood-curdling screams coming from outside the city lord's mansion.
The blood-curdling screams that made one's scalp numb continued for a while before abruptly stopping. Five minutes later, Faulke walked in with reverence in his heart and bowed respectfully in front of Han Shuo. Faulke said in a low voice, "Lord Count, I have failed in my duties."
Slightly straightening his lazy posture, Han Shuo shot a cold glance at Faulke and asked, "Have you interrogated them?"
Nodding his head, Faulke replied, "A total of three soldiers who joined not long ago. They were all mixed in by the bandits nearby. Because I saw that they were strong and strong, plus we were short on manpower at this time, I allowed them to join the knights without a thorough investigation. This is all my negligence. Lord Count, please punish me."
Just as Faulke had said, Brettel City was currently in need of manpower. Talents like Faulke who could both lead and train soldiers were far too lacking. Faulke's momentary carelessness was indeed a dereliction of duty, but Han Shuo didn't have anyone to replace him.
Han Shuo was silent for a while, then snorted coldly, "I'll remember this for now. If you can atone for your crimes in the process of surrounding and annihilating those bandits, I'll forget about your negligence of duty this time."
Faulke nodded heavily and solemnly saluted, saying loudly, "Don't worry Lord Count, this kind of thing will never happen again. None of the bandits who participated in the robbery will be able to escape. As a knight, I guarantee you this."
"Good, then gather a hundred of your knights. We'll make a trip to the bandits' lair and see if these bandits have the qualifications to take the fifty thousand gold coins in my hands." Han Shuo narrowed his eyes as he stood up. Faulke could clearly feel the thick killing intent radiating from his body. He understood that these daring bandits would definitely pay a painful price this time.
* * *
The night sky was as black as a canvas smeared with thick ink. This moonless night greatly hindered one's vision. Torches burned fiercely as they headed in a direction where the air was damp and weeds were growing.
Dozens of huge wooden rafts were lined up in a long, willow-leaf-shaped river. Many strong figures stood on the rafts, similarly holding torches in their hands. Noisy chatter could be heard coming from the people standing on the rafts.
Faulke rode on a warhorse with a torch in his hand, frowning as he looked at the bandits on the rafts in the distance. He cursed in a low voice, "Sly bandits, I didn't expect them to set this place as the transaction location. This is going to be a bit difficult."
This area was quite a distance away from Brettel City. It wasn't at all between Seamist City and Brettel City, but rather in the middle of the road between Brettel City and the seven grand duchies.
Last time, Han Shuo had captured Helen Tina with six magic crystal cannons and returned to Brettel City from this river. However, because of the six heavy magic crystal cannons, it had taken him two days to return to Brettel City from here. This time, Han Shuo's party, which consisted purely of knights, only took half a day and arrived at the agreed location at night.
It had to be said that the bandits had indeed chosen a good location this time. Once they took the fifty thousand gold coins, they could quickly leave this place. Han Shuo's party, which consisted entirely of knights, would have no way of chasing them under the obstruction of the river. The location of the transaction had been announced by the bandits at the last minute. By the time Han Shuo's party knew it was this place, it was already too late to prepare. They'd unknowingly fallen into a passive position.
"This group of bandits isn't simple. They've arranged everything properly along the way and even tricked us. Once they take the gold coins, they can easily escape with the help of the rafts. The knights won't be able to chase after them at all. It looks like we've really encountered a group of troublesome bandits this time. "Han Shuo said to Faulke as he gazed at the bandits in front of him.
"My Lord Count, what should we do? Even if my Lord is a necromancer, those dark creatures won't be able to move freely in the water. " Faulke anxiously said to Han Shuo. He was prepared to atone for his crimes and had brought out all of his enthusiasm, intending to go all out in this transaction.
"There are actually a few light mages on the other side. It looks like these bandits had planned this long ago. These light mages should be here specifically to guard against me. Mm, could it be that this matter isn't that simple? Is someone scheming against us in secret? " Han Shuo's yin demon had just passed when he first saw two low ranked light mages and spoke softly with surprise.
One was a light journeyman mage and the other was an adept mage. Light mages of this level had limited use against high ranked evil knights, but if a gargoyle that could fly approached them, even a mid to high ranked holy light spell would be able to cause considerable damage to the gargoyle.
Therefore, when Han Shuo saw the two light mages, he immediately became more vigilant. He waved his hand and said to Faulke, "Stop for now. I'll take a look at the situation first. If this is a trap, we'll immediately retreat."
By now, there was only one yin demon left out of the three that Han Shuo had refined. This made Han Shuo's observation speed slower than before, and he couldn't cover the entire area like before. In his heart, Han Shuo had already started to consider whether or not he should spend some time in seclusion to refine a higher ranked mystical demon.
A yin demon circled around the wooden raft on the river and really did discover the war equipment that Han Shuo had purchased. There were even Fabian and Jack of the Boozt Merchant Guild among them. The two of them had been tied up tightly by the bandits, with two gleaming steel blades pressed against their necks. Fabian and Jack's expressions were shriveled, and it was obvious that they'd suffered quite a bit of shock.
Apart from Fabian and Jack, there were also a dozen or so merchants from various merchant guilds, as well as thirty or so captured merchant guild guards. They were all tied up tightly, with bandits guarding them from all sides.
The Boozt Merchant Guild, which had won against Cameron in a grand gamble, had become one of the Imperial merchant guilds. Cameron had been unable to recover from this setback, and had also lost the trust of many merchant guilds. On the contrary, the Boozt Merchant Guild had taken advantage of the situation, gradually becoming active among the major merchant guilds.
The war equipment that Han Shuo had purchased this time had been transported by the Boozt Merchant Guild in conjunction with a few other merchant guilds. If they didn't get off to a good start, it would affect their impression of Brettel City, and it would be difficult to continue their cooperation in the future.
Therefore, it wasn't just Fabian and Jack, the safety of the captured merchants and merchant guild guards was equally important. If they couldn't guarantee their safety, it would be difficult to make up for the losses in the future even if they killed all of these bandits. Han Shuo had a terrible headache as he looked at the bandits guarding the area closely.
"Dorcas, what should we do next?" A burly man with a rough appearance and a height of two meters was obviously the leader of the bandits. He was currently on a wooden raft, facing a youth with a resolute expression and eyes that shone with the radiance of exuberant ambition.
This youth was dressed like a small bandit. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall and stood ramrod straight, like a spear that would rather break than bend. The gaudy bandit attire couldn't conceal the light of ambition in his eyes at all. The youth called Dorcas glanced at the bandit leader and said confidently, "Don't worry, I've thought things through clearly. Not letting you kill these captives will give them some misgivings. Not to mention, we have the advantage of a wooden raft in this small river. The two light mages we hired with a large sum of money can block the gargoyles' attack. This matter is foolproof. I think they have no other way out than to pay. "
"Dorcas, the commoner genius of the Imperial Military Academy. So it's him, no wonder!" Han Shuo had heard their conversation through the yin demon. The yin demon circled around the youth and murmured.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
