Chapter 1212: Chapter 102 Tian Jing Mountain Range_3
The man in black snorted and said, "The Skeleton Mercenary Group? What can such a minor mercenary group achieve? My mind is made up, all camps will start preparing rolling logs and throwing stones tonight, ready to intercept the merchant convoy at any time. Do not worry, with my brothers and me here, those four little skeletons are just like ants, I can crush them with a single finger."
The camp leaders were still hesitant, since they had all suffered significant losses at the hands of the Skeleton Mercenary Group before. Now under this "General Camp Leader", they were all on edge every day, and none of them wanted their own forces to be weakened. The man in black suddenly stood up, towering over two meters tall. He extended his hand, also wrapped in black cloth, and slammed it down on the table with an angry grunt, "Go now. If the merchant convoy gets away this time, I’ll replace all of you, and don’t think your families will be spared either. Have you all forgotten my methods?"
The leaders of each camp shivered with terror and swiftly took their leave.
Watching his subordinates depart, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of the General Camp Leader. Four men in black emerged from the shadows behind him, one of them approached and said, "Lord Green King, I too have heard of the Skeleton Mercenary Group. If we directly clash with them, our losses could be substantial. Why are those items so vital? Are the spices and jewels really that important to us?"
The General Camp Leader sneered, "Of course they’re important. According to information from within our organization, this convoy from the Stan Empire Alliance has goods worth tens of millions of Gold Coins. Our organization needs funds to make acquisitions... so, we have to hijack this convoy, resell the goods to the Yajin Tribe through our organization’s connections, and make a huge profit. I believe, the Sect Hierarch will be very pleased. As for the power of the Skeleton Mercenary Group, I am aware they indeed possess formidable strength, but let those bandits charge first as cannon fodder. I don’t believe our numerical advantage won’t affect them. Once they’ve worn the Skeleton Mercenary Group down, we will move in, and no one will be able to stop us."
"Yes, wise Lord Green King, I will prepare our brothers right away. The sect has sent over forty Green Men in the past few days, and with our current strength, we should achieve the effect you mentioned. When the time comes, we should just clean up those weak humans. It’s been too long since I last tasted human blood," a flash of a bloodthirsty light sparked in the eyes of the black-clad samurai.
By early morning, everyone in the merchant convoy had risen early to pack their bags, knowing that today would be the most dangerous day of their journey. Once they safely got through today, the rest of the road would be straightforward, with no further hindrances. After a full night’s rest, the members of the Skeleton Mercenary Group looked brisk and alert, with their group leader, who had been missing for several days, back at his post. At this moment, the Skeleton Mercenary Group’s morale was sky-high, fully prepared to face any surprise attacks from the enemy.
Ah Dai and Xuan Yue had decided not to ride in the carriage today, and for the sake of responsiveness, they shared a tall horse. With Ah Dai’s improved martial prowess, his horse-riding skills had also improved significantly; by simply channeling his True Qi into the steed, the horse would move according to his will.
Blood Skull glanced at Ah Dai and said, "You see, past this earthen slope lies the Tian Jing Mountain Range. Bandits generally wait for the merchant convoy to venture deep into the mountains before striking. Stay vigilant at all times. The most terrifying thing is those rolling logs and falling stones from either side, coming down from hundreds of meters high, their impact is truly terrifying."
Xuan Yue realized, "The large Wooden Shields you had the merchant convoy make yesterday were meant to guard against these, weren’t they?"
After a night’s effort, each person in the merchant convoy now had a shield. Ordinary workers and mercenaries were equipped with a small shield each, while members of the Skeleton Mercenary Group’s Heavy Cavalry Infantry each carried a giant shield, two meters tall, 1.5 meters wide, and more than fifteen centimeters thick, with a cone-shaped base on the side. Even these trained warriors found the large shields burdensome, but they fully understood the shields were their best protection.
The earthen slope ahead was smooth, and the entire merchant convoy gradually passed over. A towering range of mountains appeared before everyone, making Ah Dai feel as if he was back in the Tian Jing Mountain Range. Although the mountain range before him was not as magnificent and majestic as Tian Jing, it undulated with various plants growing on its bumpy hills, which were wrapped in greenery.
Blood Skull raised his hand to halt the entire team, shouting, "Everyone, rest right here!" Members of the Skeleton Mercenary Group dispersed and remained vigilant around the area. Mulat stepped down from the carriage, approached Blood Skull, and spoke softly, "Captain, should we send someone to scout the mountain first?"
Blood Skull shook his head, "No need for scouting. If there’s an ambush, our scouts won’t be able to return. Instead of losing more men, we might as well charge through in one go. President Mu, have your workers concentrate the most valuable goods in the center carts, with less valuable ones at the front, back, and outer perimeter. If bandits emerge, your workers should not engage; they will only cause chaos. Leave everything to us—we’ll handle it cautiously. The mountain road is quite wide."
