Chapter 151: Nightfall Before the Beginning (Part II)

This old guy, having been a bandit for a long time, naturally had plenty of insight and experience. He had once watched from afar as regular troops carried out operations to wipe out bandit groups; under the guidance of the *thump-thump-thump* of war drums, a continuous rain of arrows from the sky would instantly shoot down hundreds of people, while the remaining bandits would be surrounded from afar by soldiers holding spears, and then slaughtered in batches after the circle was tightened.

The bandits' scattered counterattacks caused no damage to the elite armored soldiers in the front row; they couldn't even get close before being skewered by the dense spear formation.

Although Xiao Aokesi was not talking about army soldiers, but rather elite warriors under some Knights, the armored enemies still made shadows of fear surface in the heart of the old guy, Duanjiao.

"Boss Aokesi, we aren't going to deal with these people, are we? Everyone, just like you said, couldn't possibly be a match for those people, right?" Leaning into Xiao Aokesi's ear, Duanjiao whispered a reminder.

Stifled by this guy's bad breath, Xiao Aokesi almost wanted to hack the old guy down with an axe, but he held back; after all, this opportunity was very important, and they had to seize it.

If successful, perhaps after some maneuvering, his older brother could successfully become a new member of the Duoen Town Chamber of Commerce Union under the recommendation of some merchant guilds?

At the thought of this outcome, his heart grew hot, so he would just have to endure the old guy's foul mouth.

"Don't worry." He first softly reassured Duanjiao, then raised his voice to say to the bandits: "Don't worry, everyone, don't worry. I emphasized that this caravan is protected by such a group of armored elite warriors, not to say that we are going to raid this caravan. Use your brains and think, this is obviously a suicide mission, right? Everyone is an important force under my command, comparable to my right and left hands; I can't bear to let my own right and left hands be cut off by others."

Everyone felt a sense of relief upon hearing this, but there was still some confusion on their faces; since the target was not this tough caravan, who were they being gathered for now?

The old thing Duanjiao rolled his eyes and figured out who the target was in advance; after all, in this recent period, the matter of those foreign bandit groups successfully raiding the caravan of the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild had already become a hot topic in the surrounding bandit circles.

Even the guys under his command would keep this matter on their lips during their usual chats.

Thinking about it more, these foreign bandit groups were like fire cooking oil, and the ones most uncomfortable were naturally local forces like them. The bandits were fine; at worst, they would disband and join those larger foreign bandit groups, starting over as underlings within the group.

But other local forces mostly couldn't sit still, especially local powers like the Oakes Brothers, who were half-black and half-white; they were bound to limit or even suppress those foreign bandits.

"So, our target is not that caravan; instead, we will let that caravan lure those outsiders whose strength has risen sharply recently. Hmph, I imagine those guys whose chins are pointed at the sky certainly won't let this caravan go. But they will eventually suffer a great bitterness, and we—"

Xiao Aokesi raised his voice: "And our goal is, after the caravan and the outsiders collide fiercely, to be a third party that has just arrived at the scene of the battle, to prioritize eating up those outsiders, and if possible, to take the caravan's remaining forces along with them! Gambling table rules: the winner takes all! We are going to be the winner who enters last!"

The bandits had their desires and enthusiasm stirred up, and they began to shout one by one, howling like ghosts.

"So, you bad seeds, go and prepare quickly now: enough water skins, temporary food like wheat cakes or Bread, Cloaks for shade, sharpened blades, and burning ambition. Get it all ready for me; you must arrive at my designated location and gather with the others before dawn. Trust me, my brother and I will assemble a sufficient force that will make you feel reliable, and in the end, we will inevitably rely on our superior numbers to eat the fattest fruit! And gain the most harvest."

After Xiao Aokesi finished speaking, he took out a simple map prepared in advance, on which the location of the old guy Duanjiao's lair was already marked, as well as the route they needed to take and the final gathering point.

Stuffing the simple map into Duanjiao's hand, Xiao Aokesi gave a final instruction: "Try to set off before dawn and arrive at the gathering location before noon tomorrow. We will gather our forces tomorrow afternoon and then march, waiting for the other two parties to fight on the Shanglu. My brother estimates that the outsiders might attack at dusk, just like last time."

The old bandit unfolded the map in his hand and took a look, curling his lips without expressing any opinion, though based on his own experience and the Oakes Brothers' plan, he was not very optimistic about their action.

Because he knew that the scale of those foreign bandit groups had been growing very quickly recently. If this were in past years, he wouldn't have any opinion on this; he had encountered rapidly growing bandit groups before, but the more people added temporarily, the more mouths there were to feed, yet there was a limit to the raiding a single Shanglu could support.

When merchants traveling on the Shanglu felt that the risks of doing business were too great and the profits could not compensate for the losses from being raided, they would no longer send out caravans to trade. And faced with hungry mouths, if a bandit group's scale was too large, it would collapse.

This kind of collapse and breakup was extremely terrifying, far more dangerous than fighting with other bandit groups; often, if the leader of a bandit group did not have enough control, the collapse would cause everyone to run away all at once.

And a breakup would even lead to internal competition for resources, such as weapons, food, lairs, unsold black-market goods, and even control of the Shanglu, etc. In order to fight for these, bandits would often fight to the death.

Faced with the threat of other rapidly growing bandit groups, often if you just leave them alone, they will disintegrate on their own.

But the Oakes Brothers insisted on destroying the other party when their strength was growing rapidly; the difficulty was not small. And using a tough caravan to limit and consume those foreign bandit groups involved many variables.

Especially since the foreign bandit groups had many people; to suppress the other party and form a numerical advantage, one naturally had to increase one's own numbers as well.

But the problem arose: did the Oakes Brothers have the ability to organize and command at least several forces and hundreds of people?

But Duanjiao would not say this worry out loud; now that things were still in the preparation stage, saying it now would only lead to Xiao Aokesi holding a grudge, and if he were made to rush onto the battlefield first with his people, that would be terrible.

"A very perfect plan; this time everyone will definitely make a big haul! Right?" Although he was worried inside, Duanjiao praised and complied with his mouth.

"Of course, after taking down those outsiders' team, their lair is free for everyone to raid; I guarantee that each of you will be able to make a big haul with this opportunity, more than a usual year."

Afterward, Xiao Aokesi gave some instructions about the recent hot weather, telling Duanjiao's people to be sure to bring more drinking water, otherwise the hot temperature and the scorching sun tomorrow daytime would make every person walking on the road feel very "refreshed."

After walking out of this hidden bandit lair, Xiao Aokesi took his two subordinates, identified the direction, and hurried toward the next bandit lair he controlled; before dawn, he not only had to notify those bandit groups but also had to rush back.

Fortunately, the several bandit groups controlled by the brothers were local bandit groups that had been around for some years, and their lairs were not very far from the Shanglu, so he could make a round trip on foot.

The Oakes Brothers, of course, did not just arrange for the village's manpower; they had a two-pronged approach with their subordinate bandit groups. In order to lure those outsiders to attack Jier's caravan, the older brother of the Oakes Brothers also secretly arranged for trusted aides to immediately notify the moles planted within the foreign bandit groups, sending letters requesting the other party to incite these bandit groups to attack Jier's caravan.

Originally, there was no need to do this, but he learned that Jier the Knight's main personnel had checked into the Siren Ganzi inn tonight. Based on his understanding of the Siren Ganzi innkeeper, the other party would mostly advise those outsiders not to risk attacking Jier's caravan.

This wouldn't do; if he didn't let the two sides clash until they were bruised and bleeding, how could he step in at the end to harvest the fruits of victory?

Right?

So even though he expected that those foreign bandits would mostly be arrogant enough not to put Jier the Knight's team in their eyes, he still had to let the moles stir up the atmosphere and facilitate the matter of the outsiders raiding Jier the Knight's caravan.

If it didn't succeed, all his schemes here would basically be useless.

Afterward, he could only retreat to his own village and sit and wait for the Thieves Guild in Duoen Town to find a way to wipe out those foreign bandit groups.

Just like many years ago.

Compared to the bandit group of over a thousand people with immense power many years ago, the current foreign bandit groups might be easier to break.

At the thought of this, Da Aokesi felt restless, because he, being smart, knew that in a person's life, there are basically only a few opportunities to climb up, and this was one such opportunity.

If he could lead the various forces under his command to wipe out those threats outside Duoen Town, he could naturally, with the support of several medium-sized merchant guilds in town, squeeze out the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild, especially that incompetent "Gaunt Aolier."

Positions like those in the Merchant Union were only for smart people like him to hold. As for Deripari, that guy was just relying on the scale and support of the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild, as well as his own ability to suck up to the Senior Stewards of other merchant guilds, to sit in the position of Steward of the Merchant Union.

"This kind of position should be mine, and I will be different from others; I don't need to be responsible to the President or Vice President of the merchant guild, I only need to be responsible to myself. My power does not come from others, but others will share power and rights from me!"

Thinking of this, Da Aokesi re-reviewed and deduced the situation for tomorrow with several sleepy caravan Stewards.

Even considering the moving speed of Jier the Knight's caravan and the gathering response speed of the foreign bandits, even the possible place of engagement had already been calculated.

Because the foreign bandits did not get news of the caravan in advance this time, an ambush like the previous time was naturally impossible. Even because Jier's caravan was moving by vehicle, the overall moving speed was faster; the bandits could not chase after Jier's caravan—a person's two legs could not catch up with a carriage—therefore, they could only arrive in advance at the Shanglu location where Jier's caravan would pass.

"We cannot let Jier the Knight's caravan get too close to Suishi Cheng, otherwise, if they encounter a bandit attack with too many people, I'm afraid Jier the Knight will directly order the caravan not to stop even before dark, forcibly making the caravan continue along the Shanglu after nightfall, and finally approach Suishi Cheng in the first half of tomorrow night. Although those foreign bandits have many people, they won't forcibly storm Suishi Cheng; after all, I heard that before Bostafa Baron took his troops away, he still let the other members of his family continue to conscript soldiers in the city and surrounding villages."

A middle-aged caravan Steward yawned and continued: "Nowadays, although there are no Knights in Suishi Cheng who can lead troops, I hear there are many soldiers guarding the city. When I went last time, there were several hundred soldiers in the city patrolling and standing guard on the city walls and in the surrounding villages. If they get too close to Suishi Cheng, those outsiders will likely shrink back. Of course, if they have the guts to ransack one or two wealthy villages near Suishi Cheng, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Another caravan Steward supported his chin with his hand, also very sleepy: "Hmph, if they think they have enough manpower and their guts grow, how could they seek death by provoking Suishi Cheng? Wouldn't they first ransack this Chalu? Then the few nearby villages? And then directly swallow the even fatter and less protected Duoen Town? In fact, they do have a faint intention of besieging Duoen Town."

The others felt there was nothing more to say, so they suggested that the moles sent by Da Aokesi should try their best to guide the foreign bandit groups to block Jier the Knight's caravan at a place where they could travel by carriage for most of the day ahead on the Shanglu.

If there were enough people, they would directly block the Shanglu, and also send people to block the gentle slopes where the carriages could go in the wilderness.

And they, the merchant guilds following Jier the Knight's caravan, would deliberately slow down tomorrow, and during the rest in the middle of the journey, they would deliberately slow down their actions, delaying the movement of the caravan, thereby allowing the outsiders' bandit team to effectively block the Shanglu.

"Then that's it. I will send the second wave of people to notify the moles now; I hope they can successfully guide the actions of those outsiders."

Da Aokesi saw that the cooperating Stewards were all lacking energy, so he dismissed the meeting. Before leaving, they hugged each other, wishing that everything tomorrow would go as they had planned and arranged.

If it didn't succeed, then they would probably have to accept the status quo of Duoen Town for many more years, until the next opportunity they saw appeared.

More than twenty kilometers away from Meiqian Chakou was a gentle mountain forest; this place was only three kilometers in a straight line from the nearest Shanglu. Climbing any tree in the mountain forest, one could see the situation on the Shanglu.

At this distance, travelers on foot and individual carriages on the Shanglu would naturally not see it, but for a caravan of carriages traveling in a group, it could be easily identified.

After all, the dust kicked up by a moving caravan is quite significant and can be seen from a great distance.

And on the edge of this gently sloping forest, there lay the lair of one of the Bandit Groups in the surrounding area composed of outsiders.

It could hardly be called a lair; after all, from the time the entire Bandit Group was established until now, it had only been three months, and it initially consisted of nothing more than a team of ruthless young farmers who had left their homes, merely trying to scrape a living from passing merchants.

But by now, this small team trying to scrape a living had already grown into a Bandit Group with a scale of over two hundred people.

Of course, in the entire group of over two hundred people, only about half, roughly one hundred ten or twenty, could actually be sent out to carry out raids; the others were the families of the former.

On the edge of the sparse forest, these places were originally areas the villagers never visited, as everyone knew the forest was full of Monsters. But nowadays, between the gaps in the trees, people had cleared away the shrubs and small trees, scattered large amounts of wood ash to drive away mosquitoes and Poisonous Snakes, and erected small, messy tents between the tall trees.

Some tents were sewn from various rags, while others clearly had the mark of a certain Merchant Guild embroidered on them; obviously, these were not sponsored by the guilds themselves, but were practical items looted from raided Caravans.

And between these various tents were Wooden Boxes placed casually on the ground, which were also looted goods.

Various valuable goods were either tossed casually on the ground or taken out by people to use as they pleased.

After all, it was not a long-standing Bandit Group; goods looted like this were not only unrecorded, but there was not even proper management for them. But there was no need for that, because just a few days ago, this Bandit Group, along with several other Bandit Groups formed by fellow Refugees who had good relations with them, had successfully raided a batch of Caravans from a large Merchant Guild.

It was a very successful robbery operation; not only did a large amount of valuable goods fall into their hands, but those horses, carriages, and even the Shop Assistants from the Merchant Guild who could be exchanged for ransom were all worth quite a bit of money.

Among them, the horses were the easiest to sell; nowadays, no matter where, a horse—whether it was just a Draft Horse for pulling carts or an old horse—could sell for a price of over one Gold Coin, and even if they told the buyer to their face that it was stolen, the other party would still conduct the transaction readily.

Therefore, these days, after one success after another, the people in the entire Bandit Group were in high spirits; everyone, regardless of gender or age, had shed the misery of their refugee days, eating the delicious dry rations prepared by the Caravans, drinking high-end liquor they never dared to imagine before, and wearing expensive new clothes they had looted, all gathered around the few bonfires in the Yingdi, singing and dancing.

It was lively indeed.

Because the group was large and the biggest Bandit Group in the vicinity, they did not even need to arrange many people for night watch.

After all, they were the only ones robbing others; where would anyone else dare to come looking for trouble?

In the middle of such a deep night, a person riding a horse quickly along the Shanglu secretly confirmed their position, verifying a Glowing White Stone specifically embedded in the trunk of a large tree near the edge of the Shanglu.

This thing was cunningly embedded in the side of the tree trunk facing the Shanglu from west to east, and two wooden boards were specifically nailed to its sides, so that it was inconspicuous during the day while absorbing sunlight to charge, and at night, only those coming along the Shanglu could see this special mark from a specific angle.

This was something Da Aokesi had specially devised, just to be able to contact the inside man in the outsider Bandit Group overnight at a critical moment.

And now, this thing was put to great use.

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