"Moreover, these soldiers always chose to attack in the middle of the night. Everyone was fast asleep, and this was the time when they were least vigilant. Moreover, everyone had returned to their lair, which made it easier to exterminate them. In addition, these soldiers are very familiar with the methods of the bandits. All the open and hidden sentries have been uprooted. Even the traps are of no use. "
"That's why many people are actually killed in their dreams without even realizing it. Snakes had their own ways, and rats had their own ways. As an official, he actually understood the methods of the bandits so well. This has never happened before. "
"In addition, they didn't hold back at all. Everyone was annihilated. Not a single one escaped. Therefore, it caused a lot of panic among the mountain bandits. Right now, there are already more than ten groups of bandits that have come to us. More is expected in the future. From this point of view, it's not like there aren't any benefits. "
The middle-aged scholar smiled. There was always a benefit to the bandits. The most obvious benefit to the bandits was that the Iron Cloak Highwaymen were growing stronger and stronger. At this point, they had already become one of the strongest bandits on the entire West Passage.
On top of that, unlike other highwaymen, the Iron Cloak Highwaymen were all-inclusive. Regardless of whether it was highwaymen or mountain bandits, as long as they submitted to them, they would be taken in.
On the other hand, the leader of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, Iron Cloak Li, possessed incredible means, and he was able to intimidate the highwaymen and bandits alike.
This allowed the horse bandits and mountain bandits to unite as one, displaying great combat power.
In time to come, just as the strategist of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen Zhou An had said, it wasn't impossible for the Iron Cloak Highwaymen to become the strongest highwaymen on the West Journey.
"... But, Chief, although those soldiers have helped us a lot, they are not as powerful as us. But we also have to guard against them. According to their route, I'm afraid they'll reach our territory in a few days! "
"Hehe, it's only right and proper for an official to catch a thief. However, the thief wouldn't just sit and wait for death. Let me ask you, how many people do they have? What are their strengths? Which troublesome people do you have? Have you investigated all of this? "
Iron Cloak Li said. His words were directed at the crux of the matter, and the gleam in his narrowed eyes was truly frightening.
Clearly, Iron Cloak Li had some sort of grand scheme in mind.
In the Iron Cloak Bandits, as long as one was familiar with the leader's style, they would be able to predict what the leader would do next.
"I've already asked the bandits who were lucky enough to escape, and I've also sent people to investigate the places where they make their stoves and eat. According to my estimation, there should be about eighty of them. Moreover, they were all True Martial realm experts. The ones leading them should be four students from the training camp appointed by the Holy Emperor himself. "
"There's a high chance that the royal court is cooperating with a few students from the training camp to use us bandits and highwaymen as practice."
The middle-aged scholar stroked his beard. His eyes flickered as he deduced the truth.
"A student from the training camp?"
Iron Cloak Li frowned. Even though he was a highwayman, he knew about the three new training camps in the capital.
Moreover, it was personally appointed by the Holy Emperor. It was obvious that the imperial court attached great importance to this matter.
"This is rather troublesome. If we don't handle it well and kill these students, the Imperial Court will be in deep trouble."
Iron Cloak Li fell into deep thought.
It was one thing to kill a few students, but if the royal court were to take this matter seriously, it would be a huge problem. Regardless of whether it was highwaymen or highwaymen, there was no way they could stand against the royal court.
"Hehe, if Lord Iron Cloak Li is afraid of trouble, wouldn't it be fine as long as no one knows about it? Besides, if you knew that they were students from the training camp, would you have given up on them? "
The middle-aged scholar said.
Highwaymen and highwaymen were known to be robbers and robbers, and according to the laws of the Tang dynasty, they should have died more than ten times over. After all, this leader of his had even killed the imperial army quite a few times.
Yet, he was still spouting such insincere words at this moment!
"Hahaha, Zhou An, you truly understand me well. Since the students of the training camp will bring trouble to us, we won't let a single one of them get away. Pass down my orders, if anyone dares to leak the news of this operation, I'll skin them alive! "
Iron Cloak Li laughed heartily as a cruel glint flashed in his eyes.
A man is not a gentleman with a small heart. In the world of highwaymen, it was impossible to achieve anything without some viciousness and viciousness.
"Yes, Lord Iron Cloak Li!"
Receiving the order respectfully, Zhou An lowered his head.
"Hehe, officials can subdue bandits, but who says that bandits can't subdue officials? There's no need for them to come personally this time. Zhou An, make the necessary arrangements. This time, we'll wipe them all out! "
"Yes!"
…
Hong long!
As soon as those words were spoken, the mountain trembled, and a moment later, a horde of highwaymen and highwaymen surged out of the mountain like an excited flood.
At a glance, there were Arabs, Turks, Ouzan, Goguryeons, Han, and so on … This group of highwaymen and highwaymen seemed to cover the entire sky, numbering around six to seven hundred.
This number far exceeded that of any group of highwaymen and highwaymen. This was a mixed force made up of dozens of groups of highwaymen and highwaymen.
Tzzz!
A chilling autumn wind blew, and a cloud of dust rose from the path. An invisible force shrouded Wang Chong, Xu Gan, and the others.
But at this moment, no one was aware of it.
…
The autumn wind was silent.
Several hundred li away, the atmosphere was still silent. No one seemed to be in danger.
"That lad sure is enviable!"
Beneath a red maple tree, Huang Yongtu glared hatefully at Wang Chong and Bai Siling as they left a trail of dust behind them.
"After so many days, he must have amassed more than two million gold taels!"
"Let's not compete with him. We're no match for him! "
Xu Gan said.
Over the past few days, they had been competing with one another, and he had long since lost the motivation to do so. There was no point in competing with him.
Even though Xu Gan didn't say it out loud, he had already accepted Wang Chong's superiority.
Even though Wang Chong's martial arts realm was beneath him, his ability to lead troops and eliminate bandits was indeed superior to theirs.
Even in terms of searching for gold, Wang Chong's performance was superior to theirs.
"Hmph, you might be convinced, but I'm not! And that slut, Bai Siling, she actually defected to that brat who was several years younger than her and reeked of his mother's milk. Just the thought of it pisses me off! "
Huang Yongtu spat hatefully.
It was one thing if it was anything else, but despite working together with Xu Gan to search for gold, their harvest still paled in comparison to that slut.
Following behind that lad, Bai Siling was able to easily reap far more than the two of them. How could Huang Yongtu feel comfortable?
For once, Xu Gan chose to remain silent. In truth, he had some opinions about Bai Siling as well. It was just that he didn't share the same opinion as Huang Yongtu.
"Xu Gan, no matter what, I can't lose to that lass. I've checked the map, and there's a group of bandits thirty li ahead. Do you want to go?"
Huang Yongtu turned to Xu Gan and asked.
"Let's go!"
After a moment of contemplation, Xu Gan leaped onto the back of his steed. Compared to Huang Yongtu's meaningless complaints, gathering gold was more practical.
Xu Gan knew that if he were to miss this opportunity, it would be difficult for him to earn gold in the future.
"Be careful this time around. Along the way, we've come across quite a few bandit camps that are empty. I have a feeling that our continuous extermination might have caused a chain reaction among the bandits. "
Xu Gan held onto Ma Jue's reins and said hesitantly.
It wasn't without reason that he was able to stand out among the many prestigious clans and be nurtured by them. Xu Gan had a sharp intuition toward danger.
In this period of time, he had already sensed that something had happened to the bandits.
"Hahaha, Xu Gan, there's no need to make a fuss about nothing. We have already exterminated so many bandits, it would be weird if they didn't react at all. Bandits can't possibly stand up to the official army. We have more than forty True Martial realm experts here. Do you think that a dozen or twenty bandits can stand up to so many of us? "
Huang Yongtu burst into laughter as he scoffed at Xu Gan's intuition.
Xu Gan pondered for a moment, and he couldn't help but shake his head. Huang Yongtu was right. The bandits only had twenty to thirty people at most, and they weren't particularly strong.
No matter how indignant the bandits were, there was no way they would be a match for them.
"Hehe, I've spoken too much. Let's go! "
The horses galloped and a group of more than forty people galloped towards another bandit camp thirty li away in a grandiose manner.
At this moment, the sky was clear, and the sun hung high in the sky.
In the past few days, Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu had already completed the first phase of their respective missions. There was no need for them to be restricted by time anymore. They had to move out at night.
Their target was now very clear, it was the gold in the bandit's camp. As for whether they had been discovered by the bandits or how many bandits had managed to escape, that wasn't something they cared about.
Di da da!
Several hours later, Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu finally arrived at the bandit camp along the main road.
The forty cavalrymen dived into the forest, heading toward the mountain peak. Unexpectedly, the journey was smooth sailing.
Along the way, they didn't even encounter a single bandit scout. The mountain peak was completely silent, and there wasn't even a single bandit to be seen.
"Damn it, I've run into another group of bandits who have emptied and retreated!"
On the mountain peak, Huang Yongtu kicked open the gates of the bandit camp. Looking at the empty camp, he clenched his fists tightly and cursed furiously.
"This is bad!"
Just as he was at the peak of his rage, Xu Gan's alarmed voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
"Look over there! — — "
In a daze, Huang Yongtu subconsciously turned his head around and looked in the direction Xu Gan's finger was pointing at. At the foot of the mountain, on the winding road to the west, a huge cloud of dust was rising into the sky. A huge group of bandits and highwaymen were charging toward them with killing intent gushing out of them, brandishing gleaming swords and sabers.
Upon seeing this sight, not only Huang Yongtu, everyone's face paled as well.
Dang!
Almost at the same time, no one noticed that in the empty stronghold, a nimble bandit had climbed up to the highest point of the stronghold and knocked on a large bell at the highest point of the stronghold.
The resounding sound of the bell echoed across the entire mountain range, and at the same time, it pointed out the direction of the bandits and highwaymen.
"Not good, retreat quickly!"
Chaos broke out on the mountain peak. Xu Gan led the group down the mountain at lightning speed. Huang Yongtu followed closely behind them.
No matter how slow they were, it was clear that this was a trap. A trap waiting for them to take the bait.
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