"I don't know where those guys came from. They sounded like Erdek or smugglers from Greywater Bay. In short, they were probably from that area. There were about a dozen of them. Most of them were the ones mentioned above, but two or three of them were different. They were taller and spoke like the locals. Once, Niberto noticed that they were all using the same saber — the kind that was longer and thinner, with a relief of two wings on the guard. … These guys live in an abandoned hunter's camp in the forest. They rarely go out and don't interact much with outsiders. They have been there for at least half a month. At first, Captain Marden sent people to keep an eye on them, but we found that their range of activity was very narrow and they didn't have much interaction with us. So, after a while, no one paid them any attention. These people aren't particularly strong. Of course, there may be one or two of them who are a little troublesome, but there's nothing to be afraid of. … I heard that the abandoned hunter's camp was left behind before the war. The original owner had long fled to the north, so it was abandoned. The camp isn't far from here. After entering the forest, head south. After about an hour and a half, you'll see a path that leads to that place. "
According to Petit-finis' description, Brando led — or rather, escorted — the group of patrolling cavalry into the forest. The first full moon, Goldsea, had already fallen below the horizon. The second moon, Moya, had just risen above the mountains. The gray moon hung in the sky. They moved south along the foot of the hillside illuminated by the slanting moon. A small path passed through the twisted bushes, and it didn't take long for them to find the hunter's camp.
The moon was very bright that night. They could clearly see that the camp was located in a col from a few miles away. Brando stood in the woods at the top of the hill and looked at the hunter's camp. He confirmed with Petit-finis beside him, "Is it there?" Soon, he got an affirmative answer. "It's there, brother Brando." Petit-finis whispered, "Captain Marden used to bring us here for training, but the skeletons made too much of a ruckus some time ago, so this place was taken over by others." He continued to brag, "To be honest, if it wasn't for Captain Marden telling us not to cause any trouble, I would've brought some men to chase them away. Those guys don't look like good people at first glance. Ouch —"
Freya retracted her hand that had knocked on Petit-finis's head, and looked at him in annoyance. After not seeing him for more than a year, this little guy had already replaced her as the new leader of Bucce's militia. Irene and Mackie were more mature than him, but the young people preferred a capable leader. If they were still in Bucce, this little brat would never have dared to be so careless. He actually dared to bring everyone to fight. Freya was furious when she thought of this. In the past, the Bucce militia under her leadership was not synonymous with causing trouble.
Although the young patrolling cavalrymen were all frowning, they couldn't help but snicker at this moment. Petit-finis rubbed his red forehead and looked at them, feeling that his self-esteem had been hurt. He angrily said, "What, do you think I don't have the ability?"
"Of course not, Mr. Petit-finis, we admire you very much."
"Yes, yes!" The patrolling cavalrymen hurriedly replied.
Ou Jin also complimented, "The Count's little friend's talent in swordsmanship is amazing, one day he will definitely become extraordinary."
Brando looked at Petit-finis and agreed with this point. In this era, Bucce had produced two outstanding people, one was Freya, the other was Bretton, but Petit-finis's talent in swordsmanship far surpassed the two of them. He didn't know if this young man had died in Bucce, but Erouine's name did not shine after that. "Petit-finis, what do you plan to do in the future?" Brando asked.
"Captain Marden wants to recommend me to the Manoweir region's garrison, he has some old friends there who can help." Petit-finis did not hide anything from Brando.
"That's good." Brando nodded noncommittally, "What do you think?"
Petit-finis stared at him, "Brother Brando, I want to learn swordsmanship from you."
For some reason, Brando suddenly thought of Haruz and nodded silently. This was actually an idea that he suddenly had before. When he saw Petit-finis's outstanding talent in swordsmanship, he had the idea that he couldn't let such a bright pearl be left in this place to collect dust. The name Petit-finis didn't exist in history, but there must be a place for this young man in this world. He had this premonition when he first left Bucce, but looking back now, Erouine might have missed a real genius.
In time, Petit-finis could grow into a Sword Saint like his grandfather. When Brando thought so, he didn't consider that his current reputation had a tendency to inherit Darius's position, especially in the noble circle. Many people already knew that Darius had a grandson who was only in his early twenties, but had already achieved Elemental Activation and the strength of a Sword Saint. After Anson's era, Erouine would have a real Sword Saint in the blink of an eye.
"Brother Brando, you agreed!?" Petit-finis cried excitedly.
"Brando, don't spoil him too much," Freya couldn't help but interject, "Captain's arrangement must have his reasons. I think you'd better ask Uncle Marden first."
"Big Sister Freya, you can't help outsiders!"
"Hey, tell me how I'm helping outsiders, Brando is not an outsider!"
"For Big Sister, Big Brother Brando is indeed not an outsider, so I've misspoken."
"You … you!" Freya was almost angered to death by Petit-finis's words.
Brando smiled as he watched the siblings bicker, feeling as if he had returned to Bucce. He didn't care about Freya's worries at all. Marden arranged for Petit-finis to join the garrison at Manoweir because he didn't know about his and Freya's situation. Now that they had returned to Bucce, he was afraid that Marden would come to him without him saying anything. The veteran who participated in the November War would know where Petit-finis had a better future.
He then looked at the hunter's camp in the valley. He didn't come here on a whim to pretend to be Braggs's security officer, but Petit-finis's description of those people caught his attention. "There were about ten of them, most of them were the ones mentioned above, but there were two or three of them that were different. They were taller, and their accent was more like the locals. Once, Niberto noticed that they were all using the same sword, the kind that was longer and thinner, with two wings embossed on the hilt." [This is a typical cavalry sword. Only one type of person in Grinoires would use this kind of sword, and that is the White Winged Cavalry. The decorations on the sword also prove this point. So, these three people are most likely deserters.] Thinking back to Tirste's last words last night, Brendel's heart was suddenly filled with a sense of vigilance. He wanted to investigate this matter thoroughly.
However, he didn't tell Freya and Petit-finis since it was just a guess.
The group quickly approached the camp, and Brando ordered the patrolling cavalry to surround the entire camp. Perhaps it was because they wanted to show off, or perhaps it was because the young men from Braggs really did have some skills, but under Eugene's lead, they quietly spread out and quickly took control of the camp. When they got closer, they could see a few scattered wooden houses scattered in the forest. A wooden wall about the height of a person surrounded the camp, but the wall was tattered and full of holes. The camp was overgrown with weeds, and it looked like no one had taken care of it for a long time. This point alone showed that these people didn't plan to stay here for long. In this era, refugees were basically fugitives.
Eugene looked around and told Brando, "These people actually came back. How bold of them. I thought they would at least move to another place."
With Brando's sharp senses, he could naturally hear twelve breathing sounds in the house. He thought to himself, as expected of someone in charge of law and order. He looked at the patrolling cavalry captain curiously and asked, "How did you know?"
Eugene looked at the count strangely and pointed to the second house. Brando looked and couldn't help but cough lightly. It turned out that there was a person on night watch sitting in front of the door. He patted his head lightly. He was so focused on listening to the sounds that he didn't notice that there was a bandit right in front of him. This was too embarrassing. He quickly shut his mouth and put on a solemn expression so that others wouldn't see that he, the count, had made a fool of himself.
Brando listened carefully for a while and found that it was as Petit-finis had said. These people's strength was very ordinary. The person on night watch was about the upper level of iron, and the others were about the same level as him. There was a silver-ranked person in the third house. Because they were too far away, Brando couldn't tell what level he was at, but he probably wouldn't be above the middle level. After making this judgment, he felt a little disappointed. These people were too weak. Even if they were cultists, they probably wouldn't be any core members. In Wohnde, these types of fugitives were not rare. They often roamed around to commit crimes, murder or other sensational crimes. However, their world obviously didn't have much interaction with him.
After confirming this, Brando shook his head disappointedly and made a gesture to the patrolling cavalry.
That gesture was meant to tell the patrolling cavalrymen how many people were in the house, where they were, and what their strengths were. This was a common tactical gesture used by the patrolling cavalrymen, and Brendel was able to use it so easily. Eugene was also surprised when he saw this. Could it be that this count was also a patrolling cavalryman? Of course, he didn't think that Brando would be a low-level underling like them. He thought that Brando was most likely a high-ranking commander or a Grand Knight. However, he didn't know that his first thought was closer to the truth.
Although these cultists were just a few thieves, Brando didn't plan to let them go. He didn't plan to do it himself. Instead, he wanted to give the credit to the young patrolling cavalry. After all, these young men had accompanied him for half a night in the wilderness. They should at least get some benefits, even if they didn't do it willingly.
Under Brando and Eugene's instructions, the young patrolling Knight immediately took action. They first sneaked into the camp and quietly killed the night watchman. Just like what Eugene said, these cultists were frighteningly bold. There was only one night watchman in the entire camp, and even that night watchman was actually dozing off. They obviously didn't expect the patrolling cavalry to come to their lair. It was only when the young patrolling cavalry entered the third house that they woke up the cultists. The battle almost immediately broke out.
The Silver-ranked cultist was the first to react. He grabbed his sword and pounced on the patrolling cavalry. Eugene followed suit with his sword. The two of them clashed with their swords, but no one could do anything to the other. It was obvious that the leader of the patrolling cavalry was a tough nut to crack. Unfortunately, this guy's men were useless. They fell one by one under the siege of the patrolling Knight. In the end, only the leader of the cultists was left fighting alone in the house. He probably knew that there was no hope for him to break out of the encirclement. He suddenly let out a roar, turned the tip of his sword, and stabbed it into his own throat. He fell to the ground, dead.
The battle ended faster than expected. Brando was a little surprised by the strength of the patrolling Knight, but he soon understood. The current situation did not show how strong the kingdom's patrolling cavalry was. On the contrary, it was precisely because of the poor performance of the patrolling cavalry that these outlaws dared to act so boldly. They obviously did not expect the local security team made up of nobles to attack them in the middle of the night. If Brando did not let them witness the truth, they would have thought it was a fantasy.
However, the young patrolling knights were apparently unaware of this. They happily dragged the bandits out of the house one by one, as long as they were still breathing. Little Fenix did not want to be left behind, so he naturally caught one of them with his own hands. The cultists were lined up in a row outside the camp. There were only five of them left. Most of the others had their throats slit in their sleep. Brando glanced at the two taller ones among the five. He paid special attention to the swords that were thrown in front of them. Just as Petit-finis said, they were the swords of the White-Winged Cavalry.
As for the third person, Brando knew that he was probably dead.
"Did you get anything out of them?" He turned to ask Ou Jin.
Ou Jin smiled and shook his head at Brando. He was slightly older than the young men under him, but he was only in his thirties. According to Wohnde's calculation, he was still young. Moreover, he was the captain of the patrolling cavalry. His men had found out that these people were all cultists of the All For One. This was a great achievement. They had captured twelve cultists in one fell swoop, and five of them were still alive. Not to mention, three of them were deserters of the White-Winged Cavalry. Ou Jin could almost see a medal waving at him.
He smiled and replied to Brando, "Count, these guys are all cultists. They are very stubborn and won't say anything. But it doesn't matter. They are going to die anyway. Once they are sent back, they won't be hanged until next week. When the time comes, I will book a better stand and invite you to see it in person. "
Brando had no interest in watching the hanging. He shook his head, but he also understood that what Ou Jin said was not wrong. Most of the members of the All For One, from the outlaws to the nobles like Arreck, were obsessed and would never turn back. They probably understood that once their identities were exposed, death was the only thing waiting for them. So they did not have any hopes of getting away.
But this meant that he had wasted his trip tonight.
Just as he was thinking about this, a young patrolling Knight suddenly ran out of the house. He waved something in his hand and shouted excitedly, "My Lord, I found another piece of evidence."
When the guy came closer, Brando saw that he was holding a map. He opened it up in front of Ou Jin as if he was presenting a treasure. Brando immediately understood why the guy was so excited. The map should be the streets of Braggs Castle. It was very detailed and was a typical military map. Brando looked at the two wings on the map and understood that this was probably a map used by the White-Winged Cavalry. Privately collecting military maps was a serious crime in this era, not to mention stealing it from the army.
Brando narrowed his eyes slightly. At the same time, he felt Freya gently touch his hand.
Freya also understood military maps. She saw that there were two shallow red circles on the map. One of them was marked on Gravedigger Street 52.
"Brando." She whispered.
Brando understood and immediately whispered in her ear, "Freya, go and call Amandina over."
"Amandina, she … …?"
Brando nodded. He thought that he had guessed wrongly, but he did not expect that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. The deserters of the White-Winged Cavalry in front of him, the leader of the White-Winged Cavalry, Megeschke, Tirste's last cry, and the map. A line of light and dark appeared in front of him. But he felt that it was strange. Why were the members of the Unifying Guild always pestering Amandina? What could a noble like her have that would be of interest to them?
Brando thought about it carefully and shook his head in confusion. This matter was very strange. Tirste and Megeschke were members of the upper echelons of the Unifying Guild. Logically speaking, a matter of their level should not be handled by these cannon fodders. What was going on here?
Thinking up to here, he patted Ou Jin's shoulder: "Captain, I hope that you can do me a favor."
"What favor?" Ou Jin was slightly startled as he looked at the count.
"I think that these people's identities are not as simple as they appear on the surface. I suggest that you don't send them to Braggs' prison first. Instead, find a place to interrogate them properly." Brando replied.
Ou Jin hesitated for a moment before nodding. Compared to a merit, he was more unwilling to offend Brando.
Brando smiled: "Thank you very much, Captain. Don't worry, the merit will definitely belong to you and your subordinates."
Ou Jin was elated when he heard Brando thanking him. He thought that he had made the right decision this time.
… …
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