Chapter 158: The Bandits' Setup, Jier's

Upon hearing that there were still two hills in between, these people ran along with "Blood Dagger" to the Shulin where they had previously hidden.

This place had been cleared in advance; the shrubs and small trees on the edges were intentionally left to screen the horses, and after walking a few steps inside, the ground had been cleared, enough for dozens of people to hide here.

Besides the Bandit Leaders, there were also the top-ranking leaders of each Bandit Group, as well as some leaders who did not know how to ride horses.

Generally, depending on their scale and development history, a Bandit Group would have about three to seven or eight Bandit Leaders. Teams formed by the union of several small-scale groups had a larger number of leaders, while teams that had developed gradually usually had fewer than five core leaders.

These people were all familiar faces to "Blood Dagger," and many had heard him recount his past experiences as a bandit; they could be considered his half-apprentices.

Someone immediately came up warmly to ask about "Blood Dagger's" health, as well as the first-hand information on the strength of Knight Jier and the combat power of the armored Warriors under his command. However, even if "Blood Dagger" told the truth and did not favor their chances of provoking a caravan led by a knight, the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired.

Besides, the Bandits had been winning all the way up to now, and until they had smashed their heads hard, it was impossible for them to stop raiding and cautiously consider whether there was any future in this line of work.

And, how long could this kind of trade actually last?

After sitting and chatting for a while, "Blood Dagger" discovered that the people chatting with him were merely intending to win him over, wanting him to also bring people to join this Bandit Group composed of foreign Refugees.

Not to mention that he had already retired, even if he were to return to his old trade, he would not join these Bandit Groups that looked like they wouldn't go far.

If he were to do it, he would pull together a team himself and go straight to being the leader of the group, rather than just one of several leaders.

He couldn't afford to lose face like that; after all, before he retired, he was the leader of a Bandit Group with some fame in the neighboring county, having directed several big jobs, and successful ones at that.

Seeing that "Blood Dagger" still had no intention of making a comeback, the Bandit Group leaders who had gathered around him dispersed, and only then did "Blood Dagger" have time to ask about the Bandits' ambush situation.

Because he was not an outsider and had provided them with help several times, these Bandit Leaders did not treat him as an outsider either; they walked to the edge of the Shulin and pointed to the place ahead where the Shanglu and the ruins in the conspicuous part of the Shanglu could be seen.

"Look, Master, we have arranged many makeshift roadblocks in the ruins, and our manpower is scattered in the wasteland on both sides of the Shanglu. Because the sunlight is too strong, everyone is hiding in pits dug since last night. They are just big enough to hide one person, and if you place branches horizontally on top and spread their own extra clothing over them, it can block the sunlight."

There was some method to the pits these Bandits dug; from the Shanglu, one could not see any traces, but looking down from this higher place where they were, one could see the wasteland on both sides of the Shanglu, neatly covered with dug-out pits and various light-colored clothes at the mouths of the holes.

"Hmm, these pits for hiding people are the kind I told you about last time, the means to hide people and also block the Caravan from escaping through the wilderness, right?" "Blood Dagger" asked.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's the one you mentioned last time. Last time, didn't the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild's Caravan almost get some away? If it weren't for us guys chasing wildly on horseback, the Caravan would have leaked a few more. Although some people eventually escaped on horseback, all the cargo wagons were intercepted."

"This time, we have prepared pits in advance that can hide people and trap wagons. As soon as a signal is given, everyone will come out of the ground to surround the Caravan, and some subordinates will also push the roadblocks out from the ruins to block the Shanglu as well."

"What about the road the Caravan is coming from?" "Blood Dagger" asked, pointing to the Caravan of Knight Jier that was about to emerge in the distance.

The Caravan had not yet appeared, but the dust raised in the distance and the sound of the Caravan traveled from far away.

Although several hundred Bandits were lying in ambush in this area, it was actually surprisingly quiet. In the afternoon as the sun was gradually setting, there was not even a breeze in the silent wilderness; it was deathly still, as if foreshadowing that a tragic slaughter was about to take place here.

The leader of the largest Bandit Group walked over, exhaled, and said: "That naturally relies on the brothers who rush out to fight to the death to stop the Caravan. Of course, while fighting, those following behind will assemble the roadblocks to stop the wagons on the spot. In just a short while, a small section of this Shanglu will be blocked off at both ends. And the surrounding wasteland, which looks like it can be bypassed, is covered with a large number of pits that will make them despair!"

"Hehehe! I guarantee not a single wagon will be let go this time!" another Bandit leader said excitedly, rubbing his hands.

"Are you guys still acting as the mobile force this time, just like before?" "Blood Dagger" asked at last.

"Hard to say, we reckon we'll all go up together, first lure that Knight Jier out, and prioritize killing or capturing him. As long as the knight who serves as the leader of the other side is defeated, the remaining armored Warriors, no matter how strong they are, will have to consider things for themselves, right?" the leader of the largest Bandit Group said confidently.

At this time, the leaders of other Bandit Groups were discussing the armor they would get their hands on—whether they would wear it themselves or organize their capable subordinates to wear it.

Some more traditional Bandit leaders felt that good things should naturally be supplied to themselves first; only after they used them would others have the qualifications to use them. But there were also some ambitious Bandits who felt that the captured weapons and equipment should be given to the capable guys among their subordinates, and then take advantage of the momentum to attack Duoen Town.

How much profit could a Caravan have? Those people had already set their sights on the rich Duoen Town. If these Bandit Groups could continue to act together, then after taking Duoen Town, the harvest from just looting Duoen Town once would be enough wealth to last all the leaders present several lifetimes.

On this point, these Bandit leaders began to argue again.

But as the Caravan approached on the Shanglu, the sound of horse hooves and the sound of wheels grew louder, and these Bandits all stopped arguing.

They had all raided together several times, so with a few gestures and a few glances, they knew what to do at this moment.

Everyone got on their horses, and some Bandit leaders who could not ride horses climbed onto the backs of their familiar companions' horses, sharing a horse to prepare for departure.

As for the most powerful Bandit leaders in the team, they wore several layers of leather armor contributed by everyone, preparing to personally lure that Knight Jier out, making him leave the Caravan, after which the others would suddenly rush out, get close, and drop off the other leaders who could only fight on foot, relying on the thirty-plus Bandit leaders who had the skills to defeat that young knight.

"Blood Dagger" leaned against a tree trunk at the edge of the Shulin, which had the best view, and encouraged the Bandits behind him who were ready for battle: "I wish you victory as soon as you strike. Once the blades and spears are out—"

"Wealth shall gush forth from the blood!" all the Bandit leaders replied in unison.

Such tacit understanding boosted their morale.

It seemed that this joint raiding operation, just like before, would be successfully taken down without any danger!

"No, do they really think I'm blind? And do they also think I'm particularly stupid?"

Jier rode Tianxuecao at the very front of the Caravan, scanning the vast field of vision ahead with eyes that had enhanced long-distance capabilities.

The Bandits peeking and poking in the building ruins right by the Shanglu were seen clearly by him, and many roadblocks that had only been assembled this morning were also exposed from the corners of the ruined buildings.

They seemed to think that at this distance, there was no need to hide the tools they were going to use too carefully, so it didn't matter much if they were accidentally exposed.

And as Jier's gaze spread from the Shanglu to the left and right, he could see small, relatively fresh mounds of earth in the vast, withered yellow wasteland.

Those mounds were soil dug from the ground; under the soil more than a meter deep, there seemed to be a little moisture that had not been evaporated by the sun, so looking closely, one could still roughly make out the pits scattered across the vast wasteland from the different colors of the soil.

There were quite a lot of them!

It seemed to have formed a loose semicircle, wrapping around the entire front of the Shanglu.

If the Caravan were really blocked at the ruins, these large pits on both sides of the Shanglu could be traversed by horses, but the less flexible wagons would find it difficult to rush out without falling into the pits.

Especially since he knew that a Bandit must be hiding in each of those pits, and they would do everything possible to prevent the wagons from escaping.

And as for the latter part of the ambush ahead, which blocked the Caravan from retreating, it was the other half of the circle; this half-circle had more people, and once the Caravan really entered the enemy's encirclement, it would take a bloody battle to break out.

This was obviously very inappropriate.

A fierce bloody battle—even if Jier was confident that his side's individual combat power or the combat power of small-scale battle formations was very strong—was still not easy to deal with given the roughly four-fold difference in numbers.

The losses would be very serious by then, so Jier immediately made a judgment: he could not just walk into the Bandits' ambush circle.

He turned and grasped the Dwarf Soldier Spear on the weapon rack, holding it high.

"Everyone, listen to the order: the Caravan is to slow down, slow down and stop!"

He shouted loudly to the Caravan behind him.

This voice was very loud, even though the Caravan behind was filled with the chaotic sound of horses' hooves, the creaking sound of wheels, and the conversations of the slightly drowsy Warriors on the wagons. Yet, these chaotic sounds could not drown out Jier's shouting.

The drivers were the first to react; they trusted Jier enough that if he said to slow down and stop, they would slow down and stop, even if the Shanglu ahead looked normal to them.

And the few ox carts of the Dwarf did not slow down in time, but they also staggered and stopped.

Only the few Caravans at the very end of the line, after hearing Jier's shout from the front, had their stewards roll their eyes and mischievously let the wagons they were riding in stop horizontally on the Shanglu, making it look like an emergency measure taken to avoid the wagons that had suddenly slowed down in front.

But in this way, as they were at the very back of the Caravan, they effectively blocked the possibility of the Caravan quickly turning around on the spot.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Is it a Bandit Group attack? Is it a Bandit Group attack?"

Several Stewards deliberately made a loud clamor, rendering the already sudden tense atmosphere even more terrifying and strained.

Jier snorted, exhaling a puff of air from his nose, and cast an unkind look at those Caravan Stewards who were intentionally causing trouble, feeling that these people had lost their minds; those Bandit Groups were composed of displaced Farmer households from various villages in the surrounding area, and they would not let these people go when plundering the Caravan, and if things went poorly, these troublemaking Caravan Stewards would also die in the chaos.

"Shut up, all of you. There is something strange ahead; there are many people lying in ambush in the wilderness around the Shanglu."

Jier rode his horse back along the Caravan, issuing commands as he went: "Everyone, get off the carriages and put on armor! The Dwarves as well, everyone put on armor; this is no joke. Archers, you stay scattered on the carriages, and using the height of the carriages and the carriage boxes, prepare to cover your companions who are getting off. Tusi Brothers, you keep an eye out for the enemy who is leading and giving orders and attack them!"

"Xueya Siter, take the Heavy Crossbow and provide long-range support from my carriage."

"Mr. Zuojigela, distribute the Potion you have already prepared to the Warriors right now. The Dwarves don't need any." Jier added a final sentence; after all, he did not know if the Potion made with new raw materials that could be used by Humans could be used by Dwarves. If the Dwarves ended up poisoned to death by the Potion, that would really be the end of it.

Jier did not run fast as he went against the flow of the Caravan, issuing orders as he ran.

One by one, the people he called out responded loudly to Jier's orders, and everything seemed to be proceeding in an orderly manner.

As for the Dwarf contingent, Jier called out the name 'Iron Fist' a few times and let the old Dwarf decide how to act himself, but told him to be as conservative as possible.

Conservative, the meaning was obvious: it meant having the Dwarves conduct the defense of the Caravan, rather than charging out to attack.

Of course, this was also what the old Dwarf expected. Since coming out of Babotali Valley, this battle was the first time the Dwarves had fought head-on. In previous battles, Jier had not let the Dwarves intervene, instead placing them in towns; after all, when facing the strange parasitic vines, the unfamiliar Dwarves might not necessarily do better than the Human Warriors.

As for this very moment, because the number of enemies was too large, and the Caravan had been ambushed midway, he had to rely on the help of the Dwarves. Even though Jier had previously guaranteed to the Dwarves that he would look after them along this journey.

Of course, the Dwarves were actually willing to show their martial strength, or rather, to test the combat effectiveness of the outside Human society.

The old Dwarf's temporary deployment was relatively conservative; he sent the five Dwarf Soldiers with the most combat experience to the front of the Caravan, while the other Dwarves were dispersed in turn, guarding each carriage of the Caravan in groups of two or three after putting on their armor.

As for the most powerful Dwarves who were Dwarf Strength God Believers, they were kept by the old Dwarf by his side as a reserve to be used later. It was a pity that a Warrior under Jier who had once received the blessing of the Power of the God of Strength had been sent away by the Wild Power God Priest in that group early on after leaving Huitou Forest, having supposedly received an 'Oracle' from the deity to go out and spread the Faith of the Dwarf God of Strength in Human society.

If this person were also on the scene, he would likely be a good hand.

"As for you Caravans, stay where you are and just prepare to guard the Caravan. Also, hurry up and adjust the direction of the carriages blocking the road, and prepare to run back."

Jier shouted to the Caravans at the very back of the line, which were in a state of chaos.

But he did not say where his Warriors and the Dwarves were going while the Caravans ran back.

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