Chapter 349: Chapter 298: Yellow Sand City
Yellow Sand City, a medium-sized city located on the edge of the desert. Although its remote location makes it seem a bit desolate, for people living nearby, it remains the best shelter and trade hub.
The reason for choosing to trade within the city, of course, is for safety. Those burly guards may look fierce and brutal like bandits, but, unlike bandits, they won’t plunder the meager goods of the people—as long as enough of the toll is paid to the city, these guards will not only refrain from robbing, but will even happily act as third-party witnesses with the authority of local nobles for everyone’s trades.
Of course, sometimes these guards also trade some rare goods only they can procure.
Just like now.
"Do you need slaves?"
After leading a few local old farmers into their outpost, the guards began introducing their merchandise to them.
"All newly captured bandits, you should all recognize them, right? Look at this one, the sand thief Set, this bandit leader hasn’t spared you from harm, has he? Now you can take him away for just ten bags of wheat."
"Set? Is this really that Set?"
A few of the old farmers crowded around, faces full of doubt.
This isn’t because they don’t trust the soldiers; it’s mainly that in these times, too many bandits claim the name Set. Originally belonging to the god of desert and storm, bandits seeking to flaunt their martial prowess naturally choose this name to showcase their bravery—just in the surrounding areas of the Desert City, there are at least five Sets roaming, all claiming to be the one favored by the Desert God, with others being mere imposters.
But among these Sets, there’s only one Set that everyone truly despises.
"It’s this beast! I’d recognize him even if he became ashes!"
An old farmer leaned in for a closer look, his eyes turned blood red instantly.
"I’ll offer twelve bags of wheat! Give him to me to chop up and feed to the dogs!"
The old farmer shouted angrily, clearly indicating he had some irreconcilable vendetta with the sand thief Set.
And, he wasn’t the only one with a vendetta against this bandit leader.
"I’ll offer thirteen bags!"
"I’ll offer fifteen bags!"
"I’ll add two rolls of burlap!"
"I’ll throw in a bow!"
For a moment, the old farmers began to shout over each other; it was clear this bandit leader had committed many crimes around here—only now, he didn’t have the hundred bandits to guard him. Or maybe, those who once guarded him had also been paraded out as slaves to be sold.
"Everyone will get their share! Everyone will get their share!"
The guards called out, laughing as they managed the crowd, especially upon hearing the escalating bids, their grins grew even wider.
That laughter was justified, since luck like this doesn’t necessarily happen even once a year. Originally, they were helpless against the bandit gang, but the passing formidable warrior took care of them, saying it was just a minor task... Of course, it’s extremely dangerous to let such a skilled warrior work for nothing. They understood that, yet compared to what little they had to offer, the rewards were far beyond expectations.
"I’ll offer twenty bags of wheat! Three rolls of burlap! Plus two bows, and a shield!"
The first old farmer to shout out the price almost roared it, and offering such a high price for a single slave seemed excessive.
But quickly, everyone understood the reason for the old farmer’s exorbitant offer.
"My daughter, young Isis, had just reached marrying age and was meant to have a good life... this damned bandit attacked the wedding party, killing the groom’s entire family. When we arrived with reinforcements, all we found was the corpse of my poor daughter."
"It’s yours then."
Once those words were spoken, nobody wanted to continue bidding. Although everyone wanted to personally kill this bandit leader, it was evident that looted wealth could not compare to a father’s wrath.
Besides, while the bandit leader was taken, there were still many bandits left.
"The whole bandit gang was captured! Nobody escaped!"
The guards stepped forward with a grin.
"So, no need to rush, everyone gets their share of revenge!"
"Good!"
The old farmers were never this exhilarated, even the guards’ fierce faces now looked somewhat friendly and approachable.
At first, they thought that these guards were no different from bandits, one collecting tolls and the other city taxes. But now it seemed these guards were useful after all, for they had indeed quelled those marauding bandits, leaving the chance for revenge to them.
Thinking this way, these guards seemed surprisingly strong, considering that tackling a gang of over a hundred bandits wasn’t something that could be easily achieved by city guards alone.
"Ha, hahahaha..."
Facing the compliments from the old farmers, the guards managed to squeeze out a faint smile, neither confirming nor denying.
Being credited for this feat was beneficial any way it turned out; on one hand, they accepted the local villagers’ praise, and on the other, they could boast to the nobles in charge of the city—yet when they thought of the individual who had truly accomplished this, uneasiness crept in. They didn’t know what repercussions such behavior might bring.
If the individual were just an ordinary warrior, they could claim credit; after all, it was only the villagers themselves who assumed they did it, without the guards making claims.
But when it came to the warrior responsible for it all...
The guards started to sweat a bit.
The reason was simple, the pressure brought by that figure was far too overwhelming. Rather than a person, it was more akin to a giant; the towering rammed earth walls were only a person’s height taller than him. They even doubted that he only needed to leap to reach the top of the city walls.
And when they shot arrows hoping to kill this terrifying figure, he managed to catch over ten arrows barehanded right in front of them.
This was no longer human, at least they had no ways to deal with him; even if he were to climb the walls and kill his way inside at that moment, they would have had no options.
Luckily, the warrior did leave after receiving his rewards, but the immense psychological shadow brought by that figure still lingered in their hearts—if it were possible, they’d never wish to meet him again, preferring to consider it all an illusion.
But soon, they knew it wasn’t an illusion.
The warrior had returned.
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