Chapter 748: The Foolish Bandit Weier

The inspection of the captured bandits in front of the open space was underway; every bandit had to be stripped of their clothes, scrutinized, cursed at, and examined like two-legged livestock—checking their teeth, fingers, toes, and old scars on their bodies.

"These bandits smell so strong. Is it because they never bathed or cleaned themselves while hiding in the mountains and forests?"

Someone who couldn't stand the rancid stench on the bandits voiced their opinion.

This caused the bandit being humiliated by the inspection to flush red and curse loudly: "It's all because of you damned fellows, you earthworms, for not serving me and cleaning my body! My life in the cave was so comfortable; if it weren't for running into the Knight, you lot of field livestock would have long been planted in the forest by me to feed the Scavenger Birds."

His words immediately made the surrounding civilians angry.

They hadn't been together for just a day or two, and many of the civilians who had weapons in their hands had long since shed their fear of the brutal bandits. Therefore, hearing this man curse everyone like that, a hot-tempered civilian immediately drew a knife from their waist, intending to rush up and give the man a strike to the mouth.

But this person was immediately pulled back by a companion beside them: "Alright, alright, it's not worth getting angry at these poor wretches who have to live a hard life; he's doing that to provoke you on purpose."

"Exactly, if you kill him, wouldn't we lose at least three Gold Coins in income? Damn it, money comes so fast this way; I work a year of farm labor in the village with my parents, and the income isn't even one Silver Coin. Can such a rotten guy really be worth three Gold Coins?"

"Idiot, think about it, this is for a lifetime of hard labor. Three Gold Coins, let me calculate, that's probably exactly thirty years of your wages."

"That's true, start working in the fields at twelve, work for thirty years, by forty-something, you're about done for."

"More than that, I heard that people sold off like this don't have it any easier than farming. Forget thirty years, they might not even survive three."

"What kind of work can kill you in three years?"

"Pfft, ignorant. Going into the mountains to mine Shitou, you won't last three years there."

On the other side, the bandit who had cursed was also persuaded by another bandit beside him: "Do you want to die? Endure it, it'll pass if you endure. The situation is bad now, but who knows what it will be like later."

Persuaded and having vented his anger with a round of cursing, the bandit seemingly honestly shut his mouth, wearing a foul expression, and let the strong Shop Assistant of the Merchant Guild check his body for new and old wounds.

The two Merchant Guild Shop Assistants didn't care about these matters and went about their work.

When the bandit finished his inspection and was declared sold for four Gold Coins, he even managed to mock himself: "I didn't expect I was actually worth quite a bit."

Afterward, the man was driven by the Shop Assistants with barbed long wooden sticks into a carriage for transporting people, standing there just like the other bandits, facing the long, dark days ahead.

The bandits in the carriage encouraged each other in low voices, whispering about how they would definitely make those civilians who bullied them pay once they were free in the future. Other bandits felt that compared to their companions who died on the night of the raid, the fact that they were still alive meant some god was showing mercy and saving them.

Still other bandits whispered with familiar companions about where they would go later and what kind of bitter, exhausting labor they would be forced to do. And most importantly, how to escape when the time came.

Before, Jier the Knight had been in the group, and they were terrified of that cold-blooded, powerful fellow, not daring to escape under his nose. But now it was different; they all knew of and had heard of Duoen Town, and many had even been here. The merchants here were quite weak; if it weren't for some spineless fellows who used to be bandits acting as lackeys for those merchants, this wealthy, pathetic place would have long been taken by them together.

These bandits did not know that the Thieves Guild also had significant assets in Duoen Town, otherwise many would have long abandoned the idea of taking it.

Weier, the bandit swordsman, was brought over by people at this time.

His face was gaunt, which instead made his entire handsome face appear more three-dimensional, making several of the Armed Civilians holding him quite jealous, wanting to slash his face a few times to ruin his looks.

Xueya Site frowned upon seeing this madman being dragged over. He didn't think the local Merchant Guild would want a madman as a debt-ridden laborer.

And the young Steward of the Merchant Guild standing beside him also noticed the person being brought over.

"Who is this?"

The young Steward asked the former Merchant Guild guard beside him, nicknamed 'Xueya'.

"Oh, this person is also a bandit. My men just forgot about him, which is why they brought him over now."

"Oh, I see. This person is so handsome, heh, even as a captured bandit, I reckon there's no shortage of women in your group who like him. No wonder he's a bit thin. But why is he still holding a weapon?"

The young Merchant Guild Steward was a bit puzzled. The other captured bandits were all tied up quite well; since this man was a bandit, why was he holding a Long Sword, and why wasn't he tied up?

"This, uh, I'm not too sure either."

Xueya Site knew perfectly well, but he was embarrassed to tell the other party that this man was a madman who wouldn't run away or hurt anyone, so everyone just let him keep his weapon. Moreover, the task of monitoring this fellow had been taken over by the women in the group.

Although it was somewhat inappropriate, the man's handsome appearance still did a good job of soothing the emotions of many female civilians in the group.

The Armed Civilians holding Weier the bandit tossed him to the back of the group of captured bandits and then left him alone.

And Weier, the foolish bandit, was just as everyone expected: he didn't care what was happening around him, just clutching his sword with his hands, standing honestly in place, muttering to himself.

It seemed he was still living in his own world.

Even in the darkness after setting up camp every night, being tossed around by people, he had always been this honest.

The two Merchant Guild Shop Assistants worked quickly; before long, they had finished with the bandits in front and it was the last person's turn.

As soon as they approached this bandit, they looked at each other, feeling something was wrong.

This bandit's attire and the cleanliness of his clothes were too different from the others.

This honest fellow wore a loose, exquisite top made of fine linen on his upper body that even their Steward couldn't afford to wear, leather trousers on his lower body, and a pair of leather boots dangling on his feet.

And his hands were clutching a Long Sword kept in its Sword Sheath.

This made the two Merchant Guild Shop Assistants afraid to lay a hand on him.

"Steward, look at this."

They asked the young Merchant Guild Steward for instructions, letting him make the call.

"What of it? Take the sword off, just like before."

The Steward waved his hand, signaling them to be quick; half the morning had already passed, and he had an appointment to eat with a young widow at noon.

Hearing the order, the strong Shop Assistant who had been responsible for controlling the bandits' arms walked behind this bandit, grabbed the other's shoulders with both hands, and brought him under control. Seeing that the man didn't resist, the Shop Assistant in front then boldly reached out to snatch the Long Sword.

"Teacher, Teacher, Luodaer, this isn't sparring training, perk up."

The bandit, muttering incoherently, held his Long Sword tightly, preventing the Merchant Guild Shop Assistant in front of him from snatching it away.

"Hey, this guy, doing this on purpose, right? Let go!"

The Shop Assistant standing in front snatching the Long Sword pulled hard on the Sword Sheath, but the weapon was as if it had grown into the other's arms, firmly fixed by his arms.

"Don't just watch, help me pin his arms!"

Shouting at his companion who was watching the fun, the Shop Assistant in front tried to pry open the bandit's palms.

The Shop Assistant standing behind the bandit also grabbed from both sides, trying hard to bring the man under control.

But the next moment, both felt that the young bandit who looked honest in front of them had astonishing strength; with just a forceful struggle, they were both shaken off.

"You dare to fight back? Partner, let's take him down together! Add a few bruises to this pretty face!"

After saying this, the two Shop Assistants lunged forward one after the other.

But the next moment, these two fellows were thrown to the ground, scrambling to get up in a sorry state.

But no matter how fast those two moved, the surrounding onlookers saw it all. The crowd burst into loud laughter; before this, the two of them had been stripping the Bandits one by one to check their teeth and bodies as if they were handling chickens, appearing very capable and imposing.

But now, being thrown to the ground like that by this thin young Bandit, the disheveled sight of it made everyone laugh out loud.

"No, this guy is strange!"

One of the Merchant Guild Shop Assistants tried to defend himself to regain some face.

But the people didn't listen to his excuses at all, only intent on watching the fun.

"Hmph, I don't believe it, I can't take down this strange brat!"

Another Merchant Guild Shop Assistant grew fierce, pulled the plier-like tool for checking teeth from his waist, and swung it toward the arm of the handsome Bandit in front of him.

But the next second, the sound of a Long Sword being unsheathed rang out. Before anyone could react, the foolish Bandit swung the Long Sword rapidly, flicked and twisted it against the metal pliers in the Shop Assistant's hand, and disarmed the opponent's 'weapon' with the Long Sword.

Then, with another twist and a thrust of the Long Sword, he sent the metal pliers, which were spinning around the blade, flying toward the Shop Assistant's head and face.

This forced the Shop Assistant to cover his face with his hands to block the strike of the heavy metal pliers.

"Ouch! So painful! %￥%￥!"

With this cry of pain, others saw someone draw a sword and their own man seemingly injured, so they all subconsciously grew tense.

The men brought by the Merchant Guild Steward all carried defensive weapons at their waists; they drew them one after another and looked around nervously.

The onlookers watching the excitement were also startled by the Merchant Guild personnel suddenly drawing weapons, and being greater in number, they also drew the various weapons they had been issued from their waists one after another.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

The two sides stood in a standoff.

Seeing the chaotic scene, Xueya Site immediately shouted loudly: "Everyone calm down! Everyone calm down! Put down your weapons, put all your weapons down! Don't hold them up!"

He then shouted to the Shop Assistant standing beside him, who had also drawn a Golden Dagger for self-defense: "Friend, calm down, your people drew weapons first, everyone calm down! No one wants to hurt you, it's all a misunderstanding! Everyone put down your weapons! Yes, yes, that's it!"

After all, the situation had started suddenly, and everyone was just reacting out of shock.

The commoners didn't take it seriously, so their reaction was slower, but there were many of them, and it was very frightening when they all drew their weapons.

As for the seemingly capable Merchant Guild team, they had actually felt secret pressure ever since arriving at the open space; although they didn't show it on their faces, they had been working while trembling with fear.

So, once startled, they reflexively drew their respective weapons.

Of course, after the surrounding commoners drew various weapons, they regretted it, feeling they had made a mountain out of a molehill and brought things to such a point.

Fortunately, Xueya Site remained calm. Relying on his high level of trust among the commoners and the fact that the Knight was away and the Priest wasn't intervening, he was the one in charge, so he took the first step to have his men put away their weapons.

Only then did he have the people from the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild put away their weapons as well.

"It's all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"

The young Merchant Guild Steward, who had been startled, looked irritably at the Shop Assistant who was shouting after being hit by the metal pliers: "What's wrong with you? What are you screaming for? Huh?"

The Shop Assistant, whose head was bleeding from the impact of the metal pliers, felt extremely aggrieved: "This Bandit has a weapon! And he used the weapon to attack me!"

Immediately, an onlooker mocked: "Clearly you were hit by your own pliers, haha! Do you want to ask our Priest to treat your injury?"

The Shop Assistant's eyes lit up: "You even have a traveling Priest? Which one is it?"

"It's the great Priest Bataer of the Agricultural God Church! Don't look at how young he is, he's about the same age as everyone else, but his skills are truly not small! Thanks to him, many people who were injured in the previous fight with the Bandits had their wounds healed."

But upon hearing it was a Priest of the Agricultural God Church, the Shop Assistant, who believed in the God of Wealth, immediately waved his hand in disgust and refused: "No, no, I have Faith, I am a loyal believer of the God of Wealth, I won't accept treatment from a Priest of another church."

The Merchant Guild Steward pointed irritably at the young, handsome Bandit who was hugging the Long Sword he had re-inserted into its Sword Sheath, and questioned Xueya Site about what was going on.

At this point, Xueya Site could no longer hem and haw, so he had to explain that this Bandit had some skill, but had been beaten silly during his fight with Knight Jier.

"But as long as you don't snatch that Long Sword of his, he won't hurt anyone; he's very obedient and does whatever he's told."

But these words only earned him eye-rolls from the Shop Assistant and the young Steward: "The problem is that if he's hugging a Long Sword and won't give it up, he can't be used by anyone! And it's even more impossible to lock him up with others."

"I won't take this person, and asking Mr. Deripari would be the same. You keep this guy yourselves; let's end our business for today. Someone, calculate the money for Knight Jier's men, and once the money is settled, we'll leave."

Xueya Site had originally wanted to inform them that this person might have escaped from some family in a southern country, but since the other party had ended the transaction at once, he had to keep his words to himself and let Mr. Bafute, who was under his management, come over to settle the accounts.

Soon, the Merchant on Jier's side calculated the total price for this batch of Bandits, and the young Steward of the local Merchant Guild also walked over with a list detailing the amount.

The two sides compared them, the numbers matched, and Xueya Site signed his name on the document.

He then received a large bag of Gold Coins.

There were several dozen of them.

After the people from the Wealth Fruit Merchant Guild hurriedly left with the carriages full of Bandits, Xueya Site held the money bag high in front of the hundreds of commoners: "Everyone listen, the sound of Gold Coins!"

He shook the money bag excitedly, causing the clinking sound of Gold Coins made of gold to ring out.

This drew cheers from the crowd.

Afterward, the people from the general store arrived with carriages loaded with a large number of tent components, and Xueya Site easily mobilized the manpower, having everyone help set up the new simple large tent.

As for the Bandit swordsman who had almost caused trouble, Xueya Site arranged for him to be guarded by the group of people directly under Jier, waiting for Knight Jier to return and handle the final outcome for this person.