Chapter 49

Bani stared at the corpse on the ground, his mind a complete blank.

That was his nephew, Wego, who had just turned fourteen this year; this was his first time traveling far with a caravan, and before they left, his sister had repeatedly urged him to keep a close eye on the boy.

Yet now, Wego had become a corpse, his head even severed and being toyed with by a Lizardman in its hand.

On the other side, one of Bani's distant cousins had also been run through the stomach by a Lizardman's spear, his intestines spilling all over the ground.

The cruel monster then hoisted the poor man, who had only one breath left, into the air, showing him off repeatedly to its companions and enjoying the miserable wails of its dying prey.

As for Bani's two fellow townsmen, they had been hacked to death in the very first wave of the attack.

That was how caravans formed by small merchants like Bani were; they were mostly relatives or fellow townsmen, all carrying some degree of blood relation.

Compared to outsiders, merchants were still more willing to trust their own blood kin.

Most importantly, the wages for these people were also cheap, especially for a youth like Wego, who only needed to be fed; his parents were happy to let him follow Bani to learn the trade, hoping that perhaps when he grew up, he too could become a merchant.

But now, everything was over.

When the Lizardman's scimitar fell, Bani was still in a daze; it was the guard Markus at his side who saved him from the hands of the Grim Reaper.

Markus had been Bani's guard for a full seven years and was one of the few people in the caravan who had no blood relation to Bani.

Bani often complained about the veteran's high wages, but at this critical moment, Markus proved that there was a reason for his high price.

Not only did he parry the blow with his hand-and-a-half sword at the last hair-breadth moment, forcing back the Lizardman's attack, but he also pulled Bani back to the donkey cart, using the cart and the scattered cargo boxes on the ground to barely construct a defensive perimeter.

Only, the only people left alive in the caravan now were him, Bani, and an apprentice named Buliai.

The latter was the caravan's accountant, responsible for bookkeeping; although he had picked up a sword from somewhere and was holding it in his trembling hands, it was clearly hard to expect him to play any role in the ensuing battle.

As for the merchant Baier, he had already been completely scared out of his wits.

Markus didn't stand on ceremony, slapping him twice, then shoving an oak shield into his hands and roaring at him, "Pull yourself together! Bani!!"

Bani, however, didn't even reach for the wooden shield, letting it fall from his hands to the ground.

His face was deathly pale, and he just kept repeating, "We're doomed, we're absolutely doomed. Those damn Lizardmen weren't here when I came to collect grain in October. I should have listened to you... and hired a few more guards before we set out."

"I just thought that since everything was fine last time, why waste the money? Our profit margins aren't high to begin with, so every little bit saved helps."

"What's the point of saying all this now?" Markus said impatiently. "Hurry up and pick up your weapon to fight!"

"But we can't beat so many Lizardmen," Bani said with a mournful face.

His words silenced the veteran as well, and the young accountant let out a wail, "I don't want to die! I haven't even taken a wife yet!"

Seeing their cowardly state, the Lizardmen were in no hurry to attack; they simply surrounded the three of them, then proceeded to feast on the corpses on the ground right in front of them, occasionally waving their weapons to intimidate and tease the trio for some amusement.

Markus felt a surge of fury, but was helpless; he had confidence in his swordsmanship and was sure he could defeat these Lizardmen one-on-one, but there were a full seven of them on the other side.

Moreover, they weren't on any popular trade route; going south from here, there was only a small village called Baimu Cun, which was where they had come from, so clearly, counting on someone passing by to save them was unrealistic.

Could it be that, just as Bani said, they were doomed today?

Just as Markus was thinking this, a "toot-toot" sound suddenly reached his ears.

It wasn't just him; the Lizardmen clearly heard this strange sound as well, turning their heads in unison toward the direction the wind carried the noise, and saw a strange-looking big guy speeding toward them from afar.

Both the three surviving humans and the seven Lizardmen were stunned upon seeing the Truck; clearly, no one recognized what this was.

But just from its appearance, one could tell it was definitely not to be trifled with.

The Lizardmen immediately put away their previous playful demeanor, dropped the still-warm food in their hands, gripped their weapons tightly again, and eyed the formidable enemy before them with vigilance.

The big guy slowed down and stopped about 150 meters away from them.

Mali didn't get too close, to avoid being rushed the moment he stepped out of the vehicle.

Not counting the two Goblins he had run over with the G-Wagon, this was his first time fighting monsters on the Leiwateleisi Dalu face-to-face, and it would be impossible to say he wasn't nervous at all.

But everything has a first time.

He had made all his pre-battle preparations, put on his bulletproof helmet, picked up the loaded Type 97-2 Shotgun beside him, pushed open the door, and jumped down.

Xia'er followed closely behind; the half-elf girl didn't choose to get out from the passenger side, but walked on the same side as Mali.

This wasn't because she hadn't learned how to open the door, but because Xia'er kept in mind the task Mali had given her

—to stay by his side and protect him.

Therefore, the half-elf girl didn't leave his side for a step. At the same time, she was eager to try, hoping to have a chance to show off her skills in the coming battle and let Mali see her progress during this time.

Only, the brother and sister Weier and Meilisha, who got out of the car behind them, were not so optimistic; both knew that Lizardmen were not easy to deal with.

Even if they hadn't fought them before, one could tell just from the scattered human corpses on the ground.

Furthermore, Lievre and his apprentice were not good at fighting and wouldn't intervene.

They only had five people on their side, two fewer than the Lizardmen; well, if you added the three on the other side, they could barely occupy a numerical advantage.

However, Meilisha only had to glance at Bani and Buliai to know that these two would be of no use.

Five against seven—this was bound to be a fierce battle.

Just as Mali and the others were sizing up the Lizardmen, the Lizardmen were likewise observing this new group of humans.

However, their thinking was much simpler: that Truck was clearly something they couldn't chew through, yet the humans inside were foolish enough to walk out themselves.

And they didn't look numerous, completely within their hunting range! A rare opportunity; if they didn't act now, it would be too late once those humans returned to that iron hunk.

Thinking of this, these snake-men left only two to guard Markus and the other two, and the rest rushed toward them in a swarm!