Chapter 49: Search for Silverite!

"My lord, we've scouted the area! There are no caves nearby, and along this road, many people are searching for traces of the stolen wagon!"

"Then press deeper into Baron Beckert's territory!"

Gervas did not return with the supplies precisely because he had come for the stolen cargo mentioned in the intelligence.

That fifty grams of silverite was a true treasure—he certainly wouldn't miss it!

Notably, before setting out, Gervas had asked Luca to confirm that this Quke Earl family caravan was indeed the same one he had escaped from.

The Quke family regularly sent caravans to and from the Chaos Wastes.

Of course, since silverite, like iron, was a kingdom-controlled good, it was forbidden to sell to the Chaos Wastes.

So this silverite was definitely illegal—and this was likely why the Quke Earl family had offered such a high reward.

As Gervas and several knights gradually entered Baron Beckert's territory and confirmed the surrounding population had thinned, he ordered Lei Meng and the others to wait in place while he rode Zuiyue into the sky to search.

With Zuiyue's aerial reconnaissance, results came immediately.

Five li ahead, amid a chain of rolling hills, Gervas looked down and spotted a faint wisp of smoke rising from a hollow.

Though no cave was visible, this was a desolate wilderness with no goat paths—yet there was smoke. The answer was obvious.

Gervas immediately returned to the others and led his subordinates toward the hollow.

But two li from the hollow, the horses could no longer proceed.

Tying the Firehorses to the trees, Gervas's party began walking forward.

Though the forest was dense, with Zuiyue guiding them, Gervas's group soon reached the edge of the hollow.

Looking down from above, they indeed spotted a cave beneath a rock wall entwined with vines.

At the cave entrance, eight men were eating, their weapons—short axes, long swords—laid beside them.

"Boss Carlo, how much longer are we stuck here? You said after this job we'd feast and drink for days—but now we're trapped in this godforsaken mountain eating black bread every day!"

"Relax! We got fifty grams of silverite—that's worth at least five hundred gold coins. Once the heat dies down and the searchers leave, there'll be plenty of fine wine and food—and plenty of beautiful women too!"

"Boss Carlo, you promise that!"

"I said it! Five hundred gold coins—after we get back, even Scorpion Boss won't dare deny the crew a share. That'll keep us living well for a while!"

"Haha, Boss Carlo, you're a legend! Just thinking of those seductive little whores at the tavern, I can't wait!"

"Who?!" Just as the bandits were lost in fantasy, Boss Carlo sharply turned toward the bushes beside him.

As the third-in-command of the Scorpion Brotherhood, he was a Bronze Knight himself.

His keen senses had detected movement in the bushes.

Under his gaze, several figures slowly emerged from the foliage.

……

Scorpion Bandits again?

This caught Gervas off guard.

He didn't fear these bandits.

One Bronze Knight, one Senior Knight, and half a dozen common bandits—his own five men could crush them easily.

But their affiliation with the Scorpion Brotherhood reminded him of the assassins he'd slain earlier.

That guy named Kun Tuo—he was with the Scorpion Brotherhood too, wasn't he?

"Guys, who are you? We're the Scorpion Brotherhood, here to hunt a beast. If you're smart, leave now, and we'll pretend this never happened!"

Boss Carlo's pupils shrank—he sensed the young man leading the group was a Bronze Knight.

The attire and bearing of the men behind him clearly marked them as at least formal knights—this sent a chill of threat through him.

So he dared not escalate immediately, instead trying to deceive them into leaving.

"Hunt a beast? But I heard there's a gang hiding in these hills who stole fifty grams of silverite—hmm, five hundred gold coins' worth!"

"How do you know that?!" Boss Carlo gasped; the bandits instantly gripped their weapons tightly.

"Don't ask how I know. I advise you to hand over the silverite—maybe then I'll give you a quick death," Gervas said.

Boss Carlo dropped the pretense: "Damn you! I advise you to get the hell out now—or I'll cut off your heads and use them as chamber pots!"

Holy shit! Gervas was genuinely impressed.

Yesterday he'd just dealt with a guy who liked to twist off heads and kick them like balls.

Now here's another who wants to use heads as chamber pots.

Do these guys have some weird obsession with human skulls?

Gervas smiled and shook his head: "Redneck, I don't like twisting off heads to kick them around or use as chamber pots—but I do like beating scumbags like you so badly your own mother won't recognize you!"

Boss Carlo froze for a moment, then realized it was an insult—his rage exploded. "Kill them all!"

With that, Boss Carlo charged straight at Gervas.

Gervas kept smiling, not dodging or retreating as Boss Carlo lunged.

But before Boss Carlo could even smile, Lei Meng surged forward with aura, slamming into him.

Clang! Their swords clashed.

Boss Carlo shuddered, his body and sword flung backward several paces.

He stared at Lei Meng in shock. "You're a Bronze Knight too?!"

As Lei Meng had said earlier, weaker titled knights sometimes can't perceive the true strength of stronger ones.

Boss Carlo wasn't much stronger than Gervas—he hadn't seen through Lei Meng's true level.

Lei Meng said nothing, his sword continuing its howling slash toward Boss Carlo.

"Brothers, fight them to the death!"

Seeing Lei Meng press forward, Boss Carlo shouted to his men, swinging his sword.

"Kill!"

The bandits knew that only by fighting desperately could they survive, so they all responded and charged forward.

But just as they rushed up, Chief Carlo clanged once, blocking Lei Meng's second sword, then used the force to backflip and dive into the bushes nearby.

"Chief Carlo!"

The other bandits watched with eyes nearly bursting; this Chief Carlo had actually used them as cannon fodder.

"Don't worry, he can't escape!" Gervas smiled, and Lei Meng was seen channeling battle qi into his legs, his speed visibly increasing as he chased after Carlo.

Whoosh! Lei Meng caught up behind Carlo; this fellow was too weak, far weaker than that wolf chief.

Pfft! The long sword struck his shoulder.

Amid screams of agony, Chief Carlo fell straight to the ground; Lei Meng stepped forward and pressed the sword against his neck, not delivering the finishing blow immediately.

Seeing this, the bandits felt greatly relieved of their hatred, but they soon died in the hands of Gervas and the other knights.

"Noble lord, spare my life! I know my mistake!"

Carlo, with an arm severed but kept alive, was dragged by Lei Meng like a chick right before Gervas.

"I still prefer your arrogant and unyielding look just now!"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Huge slaps were delivered to Carlo's face.

"Besides, I said, I most enjoy beating you perverts who like to play with people's heads!"

Amid the slaps, Carlo was beaten until blood and teeth flew from his nose and mouth, breathing in more than he breathed out.