After a full day of trade negotiations, Baron Belian purchased twenty thousand pounds of hulled wheat from Sap at a price slightly higher than the usual buying price.
Galvin had intended to sell the grain at a higher price, but with the trade routes currently blocked, the grain had to be transported out by Baron Belian's troops.
Furthermore, Baron Belian promised to continuously purchase large quantities of grain from Sap in the future for military supplies.
To show absolute sincerity, Galvin provided twelve iron-clad four-wheeled carriages, each capable of carrying one thousand five hundred pounds, free of charge, and arranged for ten coachmen to drive them.
Of course, once the grain reached Kalk Fort, Baron Belian was obligated to have Art's Patrol Team safely escort the carriages and coachmen back to Sap.
While discussing the grain purchase, Galvin and Baron Belian also conferred with Art about assisting the Baron in suppressing bandits in the southern mountains of Sap after the Patrol Team returned from escorting grain from Provence.
"The southern trade route had been very stable for years, but since the war in the south, quite a few bandits have gradually appeared, entrenched in the mountains," Baron Galvin briefly explained to Art how his southern trade caravans had been repeatedly attacked recently.
Of course, as a wealthy and powerful noble, Galvin could not allow bandits to run rampant in his territory.
Some time ago, Baron Galvin had organized two knights and over thirty territorial guards to go into the southern hills to try and clear out the bandits.
However, they were led astray by the mountain bandits, scurrying around the complex hills, and suffered casualties among several elite Soldiers.
Baron Galvin caressed a rare jade thumb ring on his thumb, looked up at Art, and said, "Art, that's the situation.
To be frank, although I am a Baron, I know nothing about marching or fighting wars, and the few knights in my territory are better at dealing with gold and silver coins.
Moreover, those Bastards entrenched in the hills are like a bunch of rats, hiding everywhere; we can't even track their movements."
"Baron, I generally understand the situation you've described.
This time, as I transport grain south, I will observe the terrain and enemy situation, and we can discuss the bandit suppression in detail after I return from the south, how does that sound?
However, I need to discuss the commission with you in advance..." Art stated his ideal commission, waiting for Baron Galvin to bargain with him.
"Good! That's the price.
As long as the bandits can be successfully cleared out, money is not an issue!"
Art did not expect this merchant noble to be so straightforward.
After a brief conversation with Baron Galvin, he rose to take his leave.
Just as he was about to pull open the door to the office, the wooden door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure slammed into Art, bouncing off him and falling to the ground due to their small stature.
Art quickly stepped forward to help the person on the ground.
As their eyes met, Art felt somewhat lost—the person beneath him had hair as black as lacquer, skin like jade, beautiful, flowing eyes, and delicate features.
After a brief gaze, Art came to his senses, realizing he had been impolite.
"Noble Lady, forgive my rudeness."
Art slowly helped the woman up from the ground, offered a soft apology, and then fled as if escaping.
The woman's gaze followed Art's retreating back.
"Cough, cough ~ Lottie, what are you doing barging into my office!" Baron Galvin interrupted the woman's daze, softly scolding her.
The woman was called back to her senses by the soft scolding, glanced out the door again, regained her composure, and turned to Baron Galvin, demanding loudly, "Father, I heard you want me to marry into the Dean Family?"
Galvin had always doted on his only daughter, Lottie, and respected her wishes regarding marriage.
However, this arrogant and uniquely-minded child had never found a suitable husband.
If he let her continue to be so willful, Lottie would become a "saint."
Baron Galvin lightly stroked his forehead and said with a slightly scolding tone, "Lottie, you used to refuse noble heirs, and now you don't want to marry a wealthy merchant.
You are nineteen years old.
If you don't marry soon, do you want to become a nun?
Your mother was right; I've been too indulgent with you all these years.
I will not let you be so willful anymore!"
Upon hearing this, Lottie bravely retorted, "You don't even look at the kind of people you've found!
They're either dissolute nobles or slippery merchants!"
Galvin was furious upon hearing this.
"Who exactly do you want to marry?
Tell me, and I'll find them for you!"
"I want to marry a true warrior."
As Art walked further away, he faintly heard the sounds of an argument from the office.
He shook his head, shaking off the beautiful image in his mind, and left the lord's residence, heading towards the Patrol Team's temporary camp in Sap Fort.
On the morning of the third day, a majestic convoy of dozens of people escorting seventeen four-wheeled carriages, carrying twenty-three thousand pounds of grain, departed from the main gate of Sap Fort, heading towards the southern hills along the carriage road.
According to the deployment agreed upon yesterday, one of Baron Belian's attendant cavalry, along with Ron and Jason, scouted two miles ahead of the convoy.
Should danger arise, they would immediately gallop back to warn the convoy.
Odo, with the Soldiers of the Third Squad, followed half a mile behind the convoy, responsible for providing reinforcement and preventing encirclement in case of an attack.
One Soldier was dispatched every hundred paces to scout for enemy activity in the dense forests on the convoy's flanks.
Art and Baron Belian personally led the remaining Soldiers and coachmen in the center of the formation.
Within the south-bound convoy, Obert, a new miner recruit carrying a spear and shield, followed beside a four-wheeled carriage.
Another new recruit behind him continuously whispered to him, clearly somewhat nervous.
"Obert, with so many of us, do you think bandits would really dare to rob us?"
Obert ignored him.
"Why do you think the Lord scattered people everywhere?
What if robbers come?"
Obert still ignored him.
The new recruit paid no mind to Obert's silence and continued, "Do you think we'll make it through this trip alive?"
Obert was getting annoyed.
The new recruit had been chattering non-stop the whole way, and his ears were almost plugged with nonsense.
"You say..."
"Shut up, you coward!
If you were afraid of dying, you shouldn't have come.
Now that you're here, what's the point of worrying about this nonsense?
You might as well think about the life-saving combat techniques we trained in the valley."
Obert's voice was a bit loud, and Combat Squad Leader Colin, walking ahead of them, turned his head and softly reprimanded, "No loud talking in the marching formation!
Do you want to taste the military stick!"
The two fell silent.
As the convoy slowly advanced, deep within a cave in the southern hills, several bandit leaders were arguing loudly.
These were the mountain bandits Baron Galvin had spoken of, entrenched in the southern hills.
Normally, these individuals were dispersed in their respective "territories," robbing passing caravans and travelers.
However, their survival had become increasingly difficult recently.
Firstly, because more and more bandits were entrenched in the southern hills, with more people competing for resources, life naturally became harder.
Secondly, because fewer and fewer caravans traveled on this bandit-ridden trade route, especially the grain convoys from Sap Fort, which had not used this passage for several months after being intercepted a few times.
The bandits had once discussed banding together to attack Sap Fort to make a big score, but Sap's high stockade walls deterred the bandits, who were accustomed to preying on the weak.
With survival becoming increasingly difficult, the bandits had packed their bags, intending to leave and continue their plundering in the eastern regions.
However, two days ago, an informant who had escaped from Sap brought a surprise to the bandits facing survival concerns.
This informant was a lazy fellow from Sap Fort, habitually idle and constantly involved in petty theft.
Naturally, he was often caught and beaten by Baron Galvin's guards.
Therefore, this lazy man held a grudge and actively sought out the bandits, willingly becoming an informant lurking in Sap Fort.
Two days ago, when Baron Belian arrived in Sap with dozens of men to buy grain, this lazy fellow had his eyes on them.
He used a few cups of cheap beer to extract the departure time and grain quantity of this convoy from Baron Galvin's household servants, then immediately ran into the hills to inform the bandit leaders.
Thus, upon receiving the good news, the bandit leaders convened five or six large and small groups of bandits from the hills in this cave to discuss robbing the convoy.
The cave was filled with smoke and chaos.
Fifty to sixty mountain bandits, dressed in various clothes and holding different weapons, sat around bonfires, chewing on plundered food, drinking cheap beer, and shouting and cursing loudly.
In a slightly flatter area inside the cave, seven or eight bandit leaders were discussing how to rob the convoy.
A scar-faced, bearded leader said, "If you ask me, forget about those black-clad guys.
Everyone just charges forward, slaughter a dozen sheep, and those fellows will naturally flee.
Then we just drive the carriages back and divide the grain."
"No, no, the informant said those black-clad men don't look like ordinary caravan guards.
They are strong men, and they all have uniform weapons and attire.
I'm worried they are elite Soldiers from the army.
A rash attack would easily lead us into a trap."
The bandit leader with the larger number of followers repeatedly shook his head.
A temporary silence fell among the bandits in the cave.
A sharp-faced, monkey-like fellow dressed in women's clothing rolled his eyes and came up with a plan: "We can't launch a frontal assault on the convoy.
The other side is definitely prepared; if we fail to break through, we'll surely suffer losses.
So, we can do it this way..."
...
On the evening of the second day after leaving Sap, the lingering glow of the setting sun still painted the sky.
The convoy halted its advance and set up camp in an open area outside a dense forest.
Two consecutive days of peace had allowed everyone, who had been tense throughout the journey, to slightly relax.
Art was in the process of removing his heavy iron-plated leather armor with Ron's help.
"Ron, have Odo and the others arranged the sentry posts for tonight?"
Ron, while laying the iron armor flat on the ground, replied, "My Lord, it's been arranged.
Bass's First Squad is responsible for tonight's watch.
They're eating now, and they'll go to their posts to guard the surroundings after dinner."
"No one is on watch right now.
You come with me to patrol the surroundings one more time.
I always feel these past two days have been too quiet.
There are seven or eight groups of bandits entrenched in these dozens of miles of hills, but so far, we haven't seen a single trace of them.
This is too abnormal."
Ron laughed, "Those fellows must have seen that we have too many people and too much combat power, so they ran far away long ago.
You see, we've been safe and sound these past two days, there's nothing to worry about."
Art looked at his attendant, who had been with him for a long time, and felt a surge of tension.
"Is that just your own thought?"
"Everyone thinks so, they say robbers have to walk around us now."
Art quickly bypassed Ron, picked up his iron-plated armor from the ground, put it on, and then walked out, shouting, "Get everyone to gather by the grain wagons and prepare for battle, quickly!"
With that, he fastened his longsword belt, grabbed his riding bow and quiver, and left the military tent, rushing towards Baron Belian's tent.
Baron Belian had not even removed his chainmail; he sat in his tent, wearing the heavy armor.
"My Lord, I feel something is wrong.
These past two days have been too quiet, and we are too relaxed now."
The Baron stood up and looked at the young Patrol Officer, saying, "I've already noticed this problem.
Wolves never make a sound before biting through your throat.
I just sent my two attendants to patrol the surroundings."
Art couldn't help but admire the military noble's vigilance.
This was the insight possessed only by those who had been immersed in the flames of war.
As their conversation ended, a commotion erupted outside the tent.
Art's heart sank.
He immediately turned and exited the military tent; dozens of bandits, armed with various weapons, had already charged out from the dense forest on one side of the camp.
...
"Assemble for battle!"
When the emergency assembly order sounded, Benson, who was a "deserter in the making," had just put down his wooden bowl and was lazily packing his weapons and gear.
Suddenly, a Combat Squad Leader abruptly drew the longsword from his waist and bellowed, "Get down!"
Benson turned his head and saw a woman in grayish-white clothes running out of the forest at the edge of the dense woods.
"No, that's not right.
That woman is carrying a knife, and she's very ugly, she even seems to have a beard.
Whose woman is this, and why would such an ugly woman appear in the dense forest?" Countless chaotic thoughts suddenly flashed through Benson's mind.
Then, more people ran out of the forest.
A scar-faced, bearded man suddenly drew his bow and nocked an arrow, the bowstring pulled taut...
At this moment, Benson finally understood what Colin meant by suddenly shouting "get down."
"Damn it, bandits are attacking."
Benson only had time to curse inwardly before he felt a sudden strong impact on his left shoulder.
He fell backward and sideways onto the ground.
Instantaneously, excruciating pain shot through his shoulder.
He turned his head and saw a gleaming feathered arrow embedded in his shoulder.
The arrow had not penetrated deeply, but crimson blood was already flowing, soaking through his black hooded cloak.
The sudden arrow strike and intense pain made Benson's mind explode.
At that moment, he was utterly terrified and completely at a loss.
He could only lie on the ground, screaming in terror like a slaughtered pig.
"Help! Save me! Save me!"
------
Art had already fired three arrows in quick succession towards the edge of the dense forest.
The distance of a hundred paces was covered in an instant, and seeing the bandits about to charge forward, Art drew an arrow and strung his bow, shouting at the panicked crowd:
"Assemble and form ranks!"
"Shield wall defense!"
"All coachmen, hide by the grain wagons, no running around!"
The Patrol Team's Soldiers were also considered rigorously trained.
After the initial panic, they quickly reacted under the leadership of their captains, squad leaders, and veterans.
Twenty-odd Soldiers, responding to Art's shouts, formed a linear shield wall facing the edge of the dense forest.
Art had already fired five light arrows, felling two of the charging bandits, and the shield wall in the open ground was largely formed.
"Hold steady!"
The bandits were still twenty paces away...
"Hold steady!"
The bandits were still ten paces away...
Holding his shield in the formation, Obert listened to the roars from the opposite side and the "thud, thud" of arrows embedding in wooden shields.
He felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest, his throat dry and tight, and his right hand had already turned pale and bluish from gripping his short spear tightly.
"Push!"
With a command, a dozen short spears, swords, axes, and hammers thrust and smashed fiercely through the gaps in the shields at the bandits crowding the front of the shield wall.
Sounds of blades tearing flesh and heavy hammers crushing bones began to erupt from both sides of the shield wall.
