Chapter 275: Bingxun Pass Street — Inquiry and the Battle in the Alley

Although he had roughly guessed that those Bandits were hiding nearby, it was impossible for Jier to enter and search openly like the Soldiers.

He reckoned that if he dared to do that, they would dare to throw him out.

Sweeping his gaze around the surroundings, Jier thought for a moment; if those Bandits were truly nearby, then someone might have seen them when they retreated back not long ago.

However, because of the cold weather, no one stayed on the street for long; they were either pedestrians coming out of various shops to go home, or those who had rushed over to try to enter a shop and then left cursing after being refused.

The people inside the shops also kept their doors tightly shut, and no one was bored enough to stay outside.

This put Jier in a difficult spot.

The ground of this street was also trampled into a mess by passing pedestrians; clearly, tracking them by the smell of blood was not going to work, as he had just seen two drunk people thrown out of a tavern, and those two were still brawling after getting drunk, with blood from their mouths and noses splattering all around.

And the people coming and going all looked as if they were used to such sights.

After the two drunks were tired of fighting, they actually helped each other up and stumbled away together.

Exhaling a breath of frustration, Jier huddled in the shadows of a small alley, not knowing what he should do next.

Leaning against the wall made of thick wood, Jier pondered what to do next.

"What are you doing? Stop leaning against the wall of our shop!" Suddenly, a questioning voice came from behind Jier.

Jier turned to look behind him and discovered that it was someone from inside the shop wall he was leaning against, who had opened a secret door in the alley to drive him away.

Just right; he didn't know what to do anyway, and asking this person might yield a clue.

With a single leap, Jier made a small jump and quickly approached the person. The other party was not tall but quite sturdy, wearing neat clothes, with a short club reinforced with iron sheeting tucked into his waist, looking just like a hired thug from the nearby shops.

Although the beard on his face was thick, it was neatly trimmed.

Seeing Jier suddenly approach, the man still wanted to fight back. He drew the short club from his waist and thrust it at Jier's chest.

With a muffled "bang," Jier only felt a slight tremor, but it had no effect at all.

Only then did the other party realize that the Jier who had approached him was wearing a suit of armor; his legs immediately went weak, his body slumped down, and his hands went limp, unable to even hold onto the short club.

Jier grabbed the man's chest clothing and lifted him up with one hand: "Shut your mouth! Answer me a few questions, and what just happened can be treated as if it never occurred."

After getting close, in order not to let the other party recognize his face, Jier lowered the Faceplate under his Helmet and fastened it, asking in a low voice.

Having no idea what he was thinking, the thug nodded like a pounding pestle, his teeth chattering as he replied: "Yes, yes, my lord. You ask, you ask."

Although this thug didn't know who this person in armor was, he didn't want to get involved in any trouble at all; after all, in this world, for an ordinary thug like him, no one cared where he died. The only people who might feel grief, aside from the girls at the places he frequented for fun, were no one else.

After all, he had no family, and his parents were back in his hometown farming; his parents had also lost hope in him, one of the many children who had fled their hometown because they couldn't stand the boredom of village life.

Jier stared at the thug in front of him through the eyeholes of the Faceplate and asked: "It hasn't been long since dark; have you seen a group of injured people pass by nearby?"

"No, no, no." The thug shook his head like a waterwheel.

Jier reached out a hand and patted his face: "Think carefully, or you'll have to say goodbye to half the teeth in your mouth."

Hearing the threat, the thug said in a panic: "Really no, really no. I've been in our shop all day and haven't gone anywhere. Oh, right, right, not long after dark, someone with inside information did come to our shop and said some things to our shopkeeper, and then we only let people out and not in. Looking at the shopkeeper's panicked appearance, it seems something happened inside the Pass."

Seeing that the person in the armor opposite him didn't speak, the thug hurriedly said: "I really don't know what happened; we usually only operate on this street, and we thugs rarely go to other parts of the Pass."

Exhaling a breath, Jier asked again: "Then, you are very familiar with this street?"

"Yes, yes, I've been to all the shops on the street and know people in all of them. The ones I know are all thugs hired by other shops. Don't look at us as thugs; we're actually just trying to earn a living. We work as a thug at this place for a while, then go to another place to work as a thug for a while. Calling us thugs is just a fancy way of saying we're doormen, keeping some riffraff from causing trouble in the shops."

"You look like a decent person at first glance; the shops on our street all welcome you, my lord." Saying this, the thug managed to squeeze a flattering smile onto his face.

However, his flattery was wasted on a blind man; Jier had no interest in these messy shops. Aside from liking to eat and drink well, he was only curious about the strange Monsters in the wilderness of this other world, and had not the slightest interest in these backward forms of entertainment.

Some particularly barbaric entertainment activities were even avoided because he didn't want to get into trouble.

"Know if recently, um... within the last ten days, have any rude strangers appeared here?"

"You mean?" the thug asked in confusion.

Jier thought about the characteristics of those Bandits: "A few, no more than ten people. Rude, united, strong strangers?"

He added: "They like to move together."

The thug's eyes flickered; he clearly realized that the people this person was looking for must have something to do with what happened tonight. This made him feel danger; after all, he was just an ordinary thug, and facing this person in full armor, he couldn't even withstand a single encounter, so how could he dare to get involved in the affairs of another group of people?

However, now that he was in this person's hands, he reckoned that if he didn't have a satisfactory answer, the other party wouldn't let him go. Why was he so unlucky? He was just driving away a pedestrian who might have been relieving himself on the wall next to their shop, and he had so unluckily gotten involved in a matter that could get him killed.

"My lord, my lord, there are just too many people like the ones you're asking about. There are so many guard groups in Bingxun Pass that sound like they're protecting a Caravan; sometimes I run into one every day. I don't know how to answer you."

Jier thought that was true; incoming Caravans would transport goods here, and the Shop Assistants and guards accompanying the team would definitely come here to have fun, and the image he described was very similar to those Caravan guards.

Thinking of this, he added two more sentences: "Besides the above, these people's attire is not like those guards who dress neatly, and at the same time." He paused, and Jier added his conjecture: "At the same time, these people probably live nearby and don't stay with the Caravan like normal guards. Think carefully. If the answer is satisfactory, I'll let you go and give you some money as a reward. If there's no answer, or if I verify it's wrong or fake, then unless you hide in your employer's shop for the rest of your life, I'll make you regret it."

"By then, you might be missing one or two things on your body?" Jier was also speaking like this for the first time, so he was a bit excited: "Ears? Or a few fingers you don't need?"

The thug's teeth chattered as he begged for mercy: "They're all useful, they're all useful. Now that you mention it, I do remember that some people did come recently and fought in several taverns nearby. They were even a bit famous because they won several fights. The characteristics you mentioned all match them. Yes, yes, yes, yes, the most important point: I heard people say that those people really don't seem to be guards for any big Caravan. After all, after they finished drinking and fighting, they didn't go out from the end of the street, but ducked into a small alley at the west end of the street."

The thug felt the thick Glove gripping his chest tighten and hurriedly blurted out the final piece of information: "They must live in one of the small alleys near the west end of the street. Those are all gloomy houses inside. Because they are close to us, outsiders don't live there; only locals dare to live there."

"The small alley at the west end of the street." Jier muttered to himself. This street, which had everything, ran due east and west, and the end of the road was to the west. So if those Bandits wanted to hide here, not being close to the center of Bingxun Pass was quite appropriate. By living on this somewhat chaotic street while avoiding being too close to the center of the Pass, they would have time to prepare and respond regardless of whether the Soldiers were searching or if something else happened.

Jier loosened his hand and then pushed the thug down. Then he grabbed a handful of copper and Iron Coins from the small money bag at his waist and scattered them to the other party: "Your reward. Keep your mouth shut. You haven't seen me, understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes, my mouth is inflamed and I can't speak. I haven't seen you, my lord." The thug looked up, and the person wearing the armor and fur Cloak had disappeared. He let out a sigh of relief and then hurriedly picked up the coins on the ground one by one with his hands. Although they sounded like copper and Iron Coins, for an ordinary thug like him who didn't have the habit of saving money, it was still a considerable income.

Regardless of the cold ground, the thug used the faint light shining into the alley entrance to find all the coins on the ground nearby one by one and collected them.

Then he clutched the coins tightly, ducked into the back door of the shop, closed the back door tightly, and even moved heavy objects to block it.

After throwing the coins, Jier turned and walked out of the alley. He lifted his Faceplate and wrapped his Cloak tightly to cover the armor and Long Sword beneath the Cloak.

He walked west along this bustling street and soon reached the end of the street.

At the end of the street was a fenced wall, and inside the towering wall was a warehouse area. On this side of the wall were various entertainment shops and the residential houses behind the shops.

The gaps between each shop were alley passages leading to these residential houses. The passages were no more than a meter wide, and even on the ground, there was often some trash that the shops and residents didn't want.

Fortunately, it was winter, and insects and decay were suppressed by the cold, so the whole street wasn't that foul-smelling.

Although he heard from that thug that those people were in one of the alleys at the west end of this street, Jier still had to search for them one by one to know exactly where.

He entered from the westernmost alley and carefully sniffed for where the smell of fresh blood might exist.

After searching three alleys repeatedly, finally, in the fourth alley, Jier felt that he had found the right place through the faint smell of blood drifting around.

He carefully moved forward, going deeper into the small alley. With the obstruction of the buildings on both sides, there was no wind blowing from the open areas of the street, and the smell of blood inside became even heavier.

Avoiding the rotten wooden frames and broken pottery jars piled up on the ground that blocked the way, Jier paused at several doorways in the alley, discovering that there was no lingering scent of blood at any of them.

The surroundings were pitch black, with only the starlight from above and a small amount of moonlight providing faint illumination.

Jier stopped, not for any particular reason, but because he suddenly felt a hidden killing intent.

After considering it, Jier thought about his suit of armor; the noise generated just by walking had long since exposed his tracks, so he did not hide, and in this dark, cluttered, pitch-black alley, he asked toward the darkness ahead: "Who is it?"

There was silence in the alley for a moment; it seemed that even the rats hiding in the cracks of the walls and the cats in the houses on both sides had quieted down.

"Who are you?" a low-voiced reply rang out from the very back of the alley; Jier could not tell exactly where the other party was speaking from, only roughly guessing it was ahead.

Jier curled his lips: "I am looking for a group of people. They just had a big fight at the checkpoint."

"Identity?" The words coming from the back of the alley were still asking for Jier's identity and purpose.

He did not answer, only slowly drawing the Hunting Sword at his waist, holding the sword with both hands and walking forward slowly: "It seems I have found the place."

As he slowly advanced, the scent of blood in the alley grew thicker. It was this place, and the person questioning him seemed to be one of the Bandits.

Walking cautiously forward for a dozen steps, Jier kept guarding against anyone hiding behind the debris on the ground.

The killing intent he could feel grew heavier and heavier; for a moment, everything around seemed to go quiet, and the whole world seemed to consist only of this alley, and in the whole world, there were only him and that hidden Bandit.

Just as Jier was guarding against a possible ambush from the ground, he was suddenly tackled from the side from the air.

At the same time he was tackled, there was the sound of a sharp blade clashing against the front of his neck and the back of his neck.

A screeching, distorted sound rang out, and Jier fell to the ground, but he was not injured because his armor was Full-coverage Armor, and there was also a set of cowhide Neck Armor between the Helmet and the Chest Armor for protection.

The other party's previous attempt at a lethal throat-slitting had failed to harm him.

The tackled Jier arched his body, bucking off the Bandit still clinging to his shoulder; although the other party was surprised that the ambush had no effect, they immediately began to follow up with an attack, attempting to stab Jier's face with a sharp Dagger.

His right hand, holding the Long Sword, suddenly extended to push away the Bandit on his body, while Jier's left hand slid from top to bottom over the Helmet, covering the metal Faceplate entirely over the Helmet.

As the buckle between the Faceplate and the Helmet clicked shut, there was a 'Click!' sound, followed by the sound of the Dagger's blade cutting fiercely across the Faceplate. The sound of cutting at such close range made the hair on Jier's entire body stand on end. He rolled his whole body forward, finally shaking off the other party while rolling.

Seeing that Jier even had his face covered by armor, the Bandit spat, gripped the handle of the Dagger with one hand, stuffed his remaining fingers into his mouth, and blew a whistle.

A loud whistle rang out.

Immediately, behind a wooden door at the very depths of the alley, the sound of several people walking in a disorderly fashion could be heard faintly.

Jier stood up, using the faint moonlight and starlight to size up the Bandit who had just ambushed him; seeing that the other party was holding a Dagger in both hands, and that one of the Daggers happened to be a curved blade, he realized that this Bandit was the same one he had fought in the inn earlier.

If this Bandit hadn't blocked him at the time, he definitely could have saved several civilians and prevented them from being killed by other Bandits in the inn lobby.

"It's you! The Bandit who uses Daggers." Jier stared fixedly at the other party, gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and slowly closed in.

"Is my Dagger still quite useful?"

The Bandit opposite, Yigena, licked his lips: "So it was you, this meddlesome guy. Then, who are you? I don't remember us kidnapping someone like you recently. After all, you leave quite a strong impression." This Bandit spoke slowly, deliberately saying such a long sentence, but he was actually buying time for his accomplices to arrive.

As his words fell, the wooden door not far behind him opened, and three or five burly Bandits rushed over with weapons in hand.

Jier did not launch a surprise attack while the other party was speaking, not because he had good upbringing or manners, but because after identifying his opponent, Jier had a plan; he knew that fighting one-on-one against such a Dagger-wielding Bandit in this alley, especially such a pitch-black alley, was actually disadvantageous for him.

But the situation would be different now; the Bandits opposite had not yet realized that, from here on out, those companions of his would not only fail to be his help, but would also hinder his fighting.

So Jier deliberately let the other party finish speaking, and then, as the opposing Bandits rushed over, he took the Shield off his back.

He passed his left arm through the metal frame on the back of the Shield, then gripped the handle on the back of the Shield with his left hand, holding this Shield in front; his Long Sword rested diagonally against the side of the Shield, with only a section of the sharp sword tip exposed, while the vast majority of the sword body was hidden behind the Shield.

The opposing Bandits saw Jier take out a standard Knight-style Shield and immediately realized things were bad; the other party was not only wearing armor but also had a Shield, so in such a narrow alley, it would likely be difficult for them, these Bandits, to make effective attacks.

Realizing this, Yigena shouted backward: "Those with axes, move up! The opponent has a Shield!"

But Jier opposite had already launched an attack.

Jier accelerated his pace, the Shield crashing straight toward the Bandits; the narrow alley caused the Bandits to crowd together. Yigena wanted to retreat, but the Bandits behind holding axes had to follow orders and move forward to deal with the Shield.

Just like that, Jier slammed his Shield into the Bandit Yigena, and at the same time, the Long Sword pressed against the Shield stabbed fiercely forward.

With a 'Squelch!', the sharp Long Sword plunged entirely into the chest cavity of a Bandit. The Dagger-wielding Bandit he had originally aimed for twisted his body at the last moment, dodging Jier's fatal blow.

In the moment of escaping death, Yigena shouted loudly: "Axes! Quick, chop his Shield to pieces!"

Jier snorted, his footsteps retreating, the Shield still standing tall in front of him, while his Long Sword, following his retreat, automatically pulled out from the body of the wounded Bandit.

Pushing aside the wounded Bandit, the Bandit holding a short-handled axe rushed forward, let out a roar of "Ha!", and swung the axe fiercely at Jier with one arm.

The moment the other party attacked, Jier dared not exhale, holding his breath just like that, bracing his Shield in front to take the Bandit's axe blow head-on.

It wasn't that he was overconfident, but Jier had judged that the other party only had a short-handled axe; although it was the Bandit's full-force blow, the force was still not as heavy as that of a long-handled axe. His Metal Shield had not yet been in a formal battle since it was forged; today, he would let it see whether this all-metal shield made of unknown Elf Metal could withstand the full-force blow of an ordinary short-handled axe.