Mercenaries and Adventurers

There was no other way, so the bandit leader had no choice but to give up these important weapons and personally lead his people to gather together to resist the annoying knights charging back and forth around him.

This bad-behaved knight rammed his horse into people erratically. He hit the young bandits in front of him who were just trying to escape. He also targeted the experienced bandits who were gathered together and walked slowly.

But the better thing is that when faced with dozens of people gathered together, the knight can't just rush forward without any hindrance. Most of the time, he can only look for an opportunity at the edge of the crowd and lean over to pick up an unlucky guy, and then throw it out with all his strength.

Sometimes the person is thrown directly in front of the galloping war horse, and the horse's hoofs trample the person to death. Sometimes the bandit is thrown into the middle of the crowd. Most of these unlucky guys will be penetrated by the swords raised by their companions and die in the In one's own hands.

Most of the experienced bandits were friends who had known each other for a long time. When they saw their familiar companions were injured and died after their own weapons penetrated the chest and limbs, they all cursed loudly in grief and anger.

They cursed very harshly, almost uttering all the foul words they had ever heard. However, the knights galloping past the crowd just laughed, waved at them, and then drove their horses forward to bully the young bandits who were retreating.

It was too easy for Kiel to face these young bandits who didn't know how to stick together for defense. He directly pulled the reins to adjust the charging direction of the war horse, turned left and right, and knocked down the fleeing bandits one by one.

Since they had to change directions many times, the horses could not increase their speed. However, most of the young bandits were only injured and did not die. They reluctantly fled back to the woods next to the trade road where they had just come out.

"Hmph, you guys can run fast."

Kil pulled the reins and made the Blood Licker stop on the trade road outside the woods. He watched the young bandits, sweating profusely and looking desperate, flee into the woods.

These frightened guys were afraid that the outer edge of the sparse woods would be unsafe, so they retreated hundreds of meters up the mountain. After completely hiding under the cover of the trees, they sat down one by one on the ground, stunned and stunned.

Some young men who had been injured by war horses and then fled back in pain were holding broken arms and weapons to replace their broken legs. They were roaring loudly and cursing their companions who were just running away, asking them why they didn't come to help them. one time.

But the young bandits who just wanted to escape also had their own excuses. They claimed that if everyone got together in a small group and slowly evacuated into the woods to save others, then the knight would definitely rush over on horseback and kill several people gathered together at once. Hit and killed.

Then everyone will die in vain!

This explanation seemed reasonable, but the injured bandits who were left behind would not accept it honestly. Most of these guys frowned, endured the severe pain in their hands, feet, and bodies, and stared fiercely at their fellow villagers who were usually brothers.

The atmosphere was very tense for a while.

Keir heard the quarrels of those guys on the trade road outside the woods. He even caught a glimpse of a group of people in the shadows of the woods getting into action because of the quarrel.

Naturally, the injured guy is not an uninjured opponent at all, and everyone has weapons that can hurt and kill people, so when no one intervenes to stop him, the injured bandit who takes action is immediately killed.

Once the man died, the bandits calmed down a little and realized what they had done.

The young bandit who killed his own man panicked for a moment, and took advantage of the bandit leader's opportunity to withdraw without anyone. He picked up the bloody weapon and ran directly into the forest without looking back.

This person did not dare to return to Xinqingquan Village where they came from, and could only flee randomly into the nearby mountains and forests.

Not to mention the usual harsh laws of the kingdom, although there are not many rules and punishments in the bandit gang, once violated, the punishments are more severe. Even if someone is killed during a dispute, the person who kills someone must be punished with death.

It is not just an ordinary death penalty. In order to suppress the violent bandits under his command, the bandit leaders often use very vicious and terrifying methods to deal with people.

So at this time, this reckless murderer only had a real chance of survival by escaping into the mountains and forests.

However, at this time, the fat bandit leader who led the people close to the woods had no intention of carrying out the punishment. The knight staring at them outside the woods was like a problem that no one could solve, and it was so obvious to everyone. in front of my eyes.

"Boss, what should we do?"

A henchman approached the bandit leader who was sitting under a tree and asked in a low voice.

Although the voice was low, the subordinates around the bandit leader heard this question. Everyone looked over with confused eyes, hoping that the leader who had been leading them to grow stronger would come up with a good idea.

The fat bandit leader said to himself, "I also want to know how to solve the current situation, but he can't say that, everyone is looking at him."

He is like the leader of a pack of wolves. He naturally eats and uses the best. But when encountering difficulties, you have to come up with feasible solutions. Otherwise, the seemingly loyal bandits around him will instantly turn into hungry wolves that attack him, devour him, and then elect a new leader.

"what to do……"

He pretended to put his one-handed ax on the soft forest floor beside him, and then used his right hand to scratch the thick beard on his chin.

For a while, he couldn't think of a practical way to deal with the knight. Of course there were random ways, but if he couldn't succeed, he would lose opportunities and prestige. So while he was thinking, he asked questions to give him some time to think.

"Where are the new bandits?"

He looked around and saw that at the edge of the forest near the trade road, there were only his old men who had been with him for at least more than a year. They were either glaring at the knights outside the woods, cursing, or treating their injured companions.

But there was no young bandit who had recently joined.

A bandit henchman immediately pointed in the direction leading to the village and loudly replied to the leader: "Boss, those cowards ran to the mountains for ￥ # ￥. They are really a bunch of trash. They usually look very angry and eat... Much more, and the result is that the feet are faster, but they only go faster when escaping."

As soon as this man cursed, the surrounding bandits also started to curse. On their side, only two people were killed and five people were injured by the knight riding his horse just now. The others were frightened. , not that bad.

Everyone has seen the appearance of those young bandits, including the attack in the previous battle and the scattered escape a moment ago. The knight trampled nearly ten people to death and injured at least a dozen. , it can be said that about one-third of the newly arrived bandits were injured or killed.

"There are no cowards or deserters in my team! You, bring ten elite soldiers, go up and bring them down for me. If you don't want to come and fight, just kill them!"

The bandit leader waved his hand and gave the order.

After saying that, the confidant bandit called ten familiar people and walked toward the chaotic young bandits aggressively.

Seeing his men set off, the bandit leader said to the remaining people: "The battle just now was entirely because we didn't know that there was a difficult knight in the refugee team. It's all because of the guy who sold the information, he was so untrue The information must have been intentional by that person, and I don’t care about it now. After this matter is settled, I will not only offer a reward for that person’s life, but I will also send people to kill him!”

"Yes, the information is unclear, otherwise we wouldn't have gone out so recklessly."

A gangster leader of the bandits said immediately.

The other bandits didn't think there was a problem on their side. After all, they had done quite well in robbing before, so the problem must lie with the person who passed on the news of the sale.

"I knew there was no truth in that guy's mouth! I will have to chop him down next time we meet!"

"How about next time? That person is probably still selling fake news nearby to make money. ￥￥￥. The money was defrauded by the brothers. After that, I went out and killed him!"

"That guy will definitely use the same method to defraud the two gangs next door twice. I think we can't be the only ones to suffer this loss. The revenge can wait until the other two gangs are in the same situation as us. After suffering a loss, we will send someone to kill him."

"You're right, we can't just be deceived. Wouldn't it make us look stupid? If we want to be deceived, we must all be deceived."

All the bandits cursed and discussed. After hearing this, the bandit leader also nodded. It's a shame that they can't all eat it. Such a 'wonderful' experience can't be done without the other two families trying it together. .

"Okay, it's settled. Everyone should keep their mouths shut, and let the other two families suffer. However, in this way, this knight and the refugee team he led..."

After the bandit leader said this, everyone realized that if they wanted to drag the other two families into trouble, they would have to let the knights and the refugee team break through their territory. And looking at the size of the refugee team, the bandits knew that there was a lot of wealth and wealth in it. Whoever could eat this group of people would immediately feel that their wealth would expand.

And even if the refugee team is very poor, in today's chaotic situation, whoever can enslave and manage a larger population can expand the size of the team like a balloon.

This is a good thing for every bandit. Who doesn't want to have private slaves at his disposal?

Although the Kingdom of St. Halls inherited the laws and regulations of the empire and did not allow slave trade, the laws of the kingdom must be maintained by someone to be effective. The knight lords and soldiers who maintained local order were all taken away by the noble lords to fight. Why don't we just let bandits like them do whatever they want?

Many bandits are able to live happily day by day. The suffering and pain they suffered in their previous lives are now being repaid by torturing their former selves - the innocent people who were unlucky enough to be captured!

"Let's consider this matter again and wait until everyone in the team is ready."

When the bandit leader said this, the other bandits shut their mouths one after another. They sat on the roots of the trees one by one, or leaned against the trunk of the tree, peering out from the forest to see the bad knights wandering on the nearby trade road, as well as the motionless people in the distance. A large group of refugees.

-

The bandit leader's cronies who led people up the mountain to 'invite' the young bandits who had escaped here also went through some intimidation and fighting, and also killed two people who made rude remarks, and then half-carried and half-delivered dozens of young people. The robbers brought it back.

It took him a while to bring the people down and return to the team. The main reason was that many of the young bandits were injured, with broken arms and legs. Not only were the broken hands and feet unable to move, but they were also hurt. The bandits screamed, but they couldn't ignore it. He was brought down only after he could be carried by someone who was not injured.

When the bandit leader saw that these injured guys had big heads, he grabbed the bandit's cronies who were doing things and said in a low voice: "Why are these people brought back? Let them rest where they are and just save each other. Take them with you. Come here, I won’t be able to help you during the battle, and you will have to hold us back.”

The confidant looked embarrassed: "Boss, these young people are all in a small gang. When they ran for their lives before, they didn't care about their companions and ran very fast, but when I passed by, hey."

The man spat mockingly on his face: "Hey, everyone is shouting to bring their injured companions. When I was dealing with the trouble, I had already killed two people, and the others didn't say much, but after On the issue of whether to bring injured guys or not, they have the same attitude."

The bandit leader also looked with disdain at the young bandits who had joined the team not far away. These guys were pretending to take care of their injured companions, but they were not doctors or priests. How could most of them know how to deal with complex injuries? .

It's not just that the experienced bandits who were often injured in battles could find wooden sticks and ropes to fix the injured person's broken hands and feet. Those who injured the torso could only lie down on the ground to see the situation.

Many people don't think the injuries are serious, just abdominal pain or chest pain, but in fact it is hopeless. Although it is not visible on the surface, the broken ribs and other things inside the body have pierced the internal organs, and they can only wait for death. Although some people also injured their bodies and trunks and complained loudly about the pain, they were not as serious as they seemed, and they did not need to be treated. They could just go back to the village and lie down for a month or two, and their bodies would naturally recover.

"You have done a good job even though there is nothing you can do. The ore can only be extracted after being burned by fire. These new young people will naturally become more experienced after experiencing a few more damaging battles and know what to do with them. Whoever is a companion and friend should listen to whose words are needed to survive.”

The bandit leader patted his subordinate on the shoulder, noted the man's contribution, and then walked into the middle of the crowd.

Everyone originally looked outside the forest, and most of them cursed in a low voice the knight outside who had caused many casualties. At this time, as the bandit leader came out, everyone naturally focused their attention and calmed down to see what ideas and methods the leader had.

"Look at all the bad guys!"

The bandit leader called out a greeting and asked all his men to pay attention. He continued: "I don't think the problem with the defeat in the battle just now is ours. It's all because the guy who passed the information lied. That person deliberately concealed the number of people in the refugee team. The information from a knight leader led us to encounter the arrogant knight in an unobstructed place outside the forest."

"Pooh!"

He took a loud sip.

Seeing him like this, most of the bandits who were holding their breath followed the leader and spat, naturally towards the knight outside the woods.

It doesn't matter that no one has ever witnessed such a meaningless act of humiliation. Anyway, it's okay to vent your anger on your own.

"Pay attention. The bad guys who have been with me for a long time all know how difficult those knights wearing heavy armor and riding armored horses are. To be honest, I led people to survive in the mountains and forests in the past few years. , just to avoid the knights and large groups of soldiers who took over my team. Ha, they are very powerful, but they are not that great."

The bandit leader waved his hand and continued: "It's difficult to surround and kill these guys without three or four hundred people. I'm talking about the lone knights. So I just thought about it, since the knights are so powerful, why should I lead people?" Are you going to fight to the death with this guy? What do we, the bandits, want? Answer me!"

A leader's henchman immediately answered loudly: "Boss, it's coins! A lot of coins!"

"That's right! It's coins, lots of coins, endless coins. These coins can buy you anything you want. Of course, when we are thieves, sometimes we don't have to pay for something when we want it. Buying it with money is the same as taking out a knife. However, a knife can only be used in a place with few people, but a coin is better used in a place with more people, and it can also gain people's respect."

"I heard that the big businessmen of the big chambers of commerce that span several provinces, and even the nobles, have to be careful to fawn over them. The knights have to show respect when talking to these people? So, we have to be bandits? Just get more coins! Lots of coins! What to rely on? Just rely on our hands and the swords on our waists!"

"The knight is strong and we are no match for him, but the refugee team led by that knight not only has many people, but also seems to have many horse-drawn carriages and donkey-carts loaded with supplies. This is our real goal! The supplies, chariots and horses, and... There are people, they are all coins, and they are all things that can be robbed. Let’s change our goal, instead of causing unnecessary battles and casualties, we can rob the refugee team and make money! Robbery! Arrest people!”

"Get money! Get money! Get money!"

The bandits shouted.

"Plunder! Plunder! Plunder!"

The bandits shouted excitedly.

"Arrest people! Arrest people! Arrest people!"

The bandits shouted loudly.

The bandit leader is very satisfied. Although there is no specific and clear method of robbery at this time, the goal is determined and everything will go smoothly. Naturally, no one mentioned the disastrous failure of the previous retreat.

Anyway, he had already thrown away the blame for the failure in the front. The reckless fighting and rash advance were not his fault. It was all the fault of the guy who passed on the information, right?

As for the arrogant knight outside the woods, the bandit leader felt that he had led the team to have 'contact' with the knight. The other two nearby bandit gangs who were not on good terms were not allowed to have the same 'close contact' with his gang. Knight?

Everyone has lost manpower, so this is truly ‘fair’.