Chapter 86 - The Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang
Chapter 86: The Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang
It had been two months since Watson defeated the manor’s allied troops.
Two months was neither too long nor too short. Many people had seen Folson when he left for the border with a few water-elemental mages. It was normal for mages to collect necessary supplies while they were on a mission, no one would care if they did not head back for ten days or half a month, but two months was too long.
Besides, Folson did not leave by himself; he had taken a few people with him, but none of the mages had returned.
The Mage Guild had initially sent some men to scout for news, but they were shocked when they heard the reports. They did not expect to learn that Blackmoon Castle had killed Folson while he was on a mission. It also looked like the other five mages were detained too.
The Mage Guild could not bear with losing six mages at once; it even shocked their president.
If it were not too close to winter, and the weather was too cold and inconvenient, the Mage Guild’s president would have brought men to the border to get an explanation from Blackmoon Castle.
Zeke and Zenoah had been able to get that information because they had established their own caravan in Monte Town, called the Blackmoon Caravan, a name derived from Blackmoon Castle.
They had been part of the Good Luck Caravan and also Wind Journey Caravan. However, they had left those two caravans about a month ago. They had nothing more to learn from the caravans’ leaders, and the twins thought they should not rely on other people anymore. Instead, they wanted to use their own fleets to help Blackmoon Castle obtain more resources.
They had managed to rely on their wits to recruit more than 50 subordinates in a month, and they had managed to become quite famous in Monte Town. They even formed an alliance with the Good Luck Caravan and the Wind Journey Caravan. They would become the most prominent merchant group in Monte Town in a few years if they continued to progress with Blackmoon Castle’s support.
Unfortunately, the Mage Guild had targeted them because of their ties with Blackmoon Castle. As a result, the twins had to take half of their subordinates and leave the town. The rest of their group would organize their supplies and prepare for their future departure.
At that moment, the twins and their group had decided to take a rest. Then, suddenly, they heard horses from a distance.
Bang!
Bang!
The earth shook as the horses’ hooves struck the ground.
“Something terrible has happened, Lord Zeke! Bandits! Those men seem to belong to a famous bandit gang at the border—the Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang!”
A guard had run to Zeke with cold sweat all over his head.
The Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang?
Zeke’s expression changed when he heard that.
At the border, a large number of magical beasts would leave the Misty Forest in search of food during the winter. Many people would take advantage of the chaos to kill and plunder. Those people were called bandits, and the Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang was quite well-known. They had more than 100 people, which included warriors, archers, mages, and priests. The division of labor was clear, and they had no less than ten men at the bronze tier.
Since it was winter, the Fairy Castle had to work hard to deal with magical beasts, so they could not deal with the bandits. That was why those bandits would appear at that time. Most merchants would not trade unless it was absolutely necessary; Zeke did not expect his luck would be so back. They had met a bandit gang not long after they had left Monte Town.
While he thought about that, the Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang was already one kilometer away. They wore blood-red capes with a ferocious iron handprint engraved on them. They were excited, and they were shouting.
The leader of the Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang was named Sparrow, and he was a silver-tier warrior, and he was also part of a mercenary group. He did not want to follow another person’s command, so he killed the leader of that mercenary group and turned them into a bandit gang. He had a nickname, Bloody Sunset, because he was vicious and cruel. People said that those who saw him were akin to seeing the last sunset of their lives; they would not live to see the next day.
“People from the caravan in front; release your goods obediently, and I
will spare your lives. Otherwise, be prepared to die!”
At that moment, the leader of that bandit group rode his horse to the front. He looked vicious and ferocious, and he had two scimitars at his waist.
“Quick, get them up. Let’s go quickly.”
Zeke scanned his surroundings, and then he realized that they were in a forest. There was only one winding dirt path in the woods, but it was not the main road that led Monte Town to the border. Instead, he had chosen that path on purpose because he wanted to avoid the Mage Guild.
They were more than a day’s distance from Monte Town and half a day’s distance from Blackmoon Castle—they were in the middle of nowhere. If they were attacked there, they could not even seek help from others.
“Lord Zeke, what about our goods?”
“Leave them. Money is precious, but our lives are more important.”
The guards moved away from their goods when they heard what Zeke said. They only escorted the twins’ carriage and sped toward Blackmoon Castle.
..
A moment later, the members of the Bloodied-hand Bandit Gang arrived in front of the carriages.
“Boss, these guys are rich! I’m not sorry I kept an eye on them when I was in Monte Town! The things in these carriages are worth at least tens of thousands of gold coins.”
A lackey in a blood-red square scarf used a knife to open the cowhide that covered the goods in each carriage. He licked his lips excitedly when he saw the things inside.
Another man looked at their leader and said, “Boss, do we still need to chase them?”
“Why not?”
Sparrow’s gaze was bloodthirsty as he licked his thick lips. “No one has ever survived after they saw me! Furthermore, they called themselves the Blackmoon Caravan, and I heard that there is a new faction called the Blackmoon Castle at the border. They are very rich. If we can catch them, we might be able to extort money from the castle’s master and earn even more.”
Then bandits had a rule; they would only work during the winter, which meant that they would only work three months every year. So every time they worked, they would have enough to survive for the next three years.
“Boss, you are wise and divine.”
Sparrow waved his hand; he ignored his subordinates’ flattery. “Get half of our men to guard these goods. The rest of you, follow me.”
At that moment, a team of more than 100 people split into groups of 50 men, and one of the groups followed Sparrow and charged forward.
..
An hour later.
Zeke, Zenoah, and their guards looked desperate when they realized that the bandits had gotten much closer to them. Some of their men suggested some of them stay behind to intercept the bandits so that the twins could have enough time to escape.
The twins had treated them well; they were willing to pay them twice the market rate. They would also give them the defective goods which they could have sold. That was why they were willing to sacrifice their lives for their bosses.
“It won’t work. Look!” Lucas, the captain of the group, said in a muffled voice. His eyes had traces of fear and despair.
The group looked in the direction he pointed, and they saw a stretch of black wall nearby. It was ten meters tall, and it looked endless. It had looked like a giant dragon under the sunset; one would be fearful when they saw it.
“Where did this city wall come from?”
Zeke widened his eyes; the wall was black, and it shone with silver light. It was obviously made of bronze-tier ores, and it had looked even more majestic than the one they had in Blackmoon Castle. Did Watson build that wall? Or had another force emerged at the border?
“Look at those rats! It looks like they can run pretty well!”
The bandits had caught up with them. They were about 100 meters away, and the leader shouted, “Go ahead and run! Why aren’t you running?”
He also felt strange when he saw the wall in front of him. However, he was more excited about catching his prey.
The Blackmoon Caravan’s men were in despair; the wall had blocked their path, and their pursuers were right behind them. They could only raise their weapons in grief and anger; they would have to fight those bandits to their deaths!
A huge magical beast with two heads and a pair of wings rose into the sky from the wall behind them at a critical moment. A young man in silver armor sat on the beast; he shouted in confusion, “Young Master Zeke, Young Master Zenoah! Am I seeing things? Is that you two?”