Chapter 669

Part of the reason I was attacking a metal shipment as opposed to a money shipment was because I was still worried about a trap. The Bandits down south had been far too prepared for us. I believed that part of that reason had to be because of Lord Reign. It was clear he had spies in the Capital and had told the Bandits that I was coming. He also had some awareness of my capabilities. After all, anyone could send someone to the Capital to ask around about a particular Hero. I kept to myself, but others didn’t hesitate to toot their horn about my accomplishments. The more my name was spread, the more honor would be brought to Chalm.

Lord Reign might have already made changes in the hopes of killing off this new Bandit group. I couldn’t allow myself to believe he’d guess it was us. Who could predict that we descended into a life of banditry? Well, it was a ploy, but it was one we had selected so we wouldn’t get caught.

I was out with Shao, Ruby, Salicia, and Carmine. The other two girls weren’t here tonight. I sent Miki and Raissa back to our village in the south. They brought supplies we had purchased with Lord Reign’s money. More importantly, Miki would resurrect the people who died when that vicious fireball was used on us. Since no traces were left over, she’d get their effects from their families to bring back the poor women. The only hope was their trauma wasn’t too severe.

We couldn’t hope to sell this ore, but we could give it to a Blacksmith in the village and have them start making weapons and armor for all of the people there. That was the final reason I had decided to attack this spot. We were waging a war on two fronts, and I had to consider both with every decision. Miki and Raissa would push forward the war front on that side. Miki could set the mood, motivating a beaten people into a bloodthirsty group looking for revenge. Raissa was a survivor, so she could give these people the fundamental knowledge they needed, if not to become killing machines, then to at least survive any encounter.

I didn’t need them to grow to the point where they could take out the bandits. That wasn’t part of the plan. I just needed these people to make the bandits feel a bit pressured. That wasn’t today though. We were just preparing for the encounters to come.

It was evening, not night yet, and there was still plenty of light. That meant, unless we picked our spot just right, they’d see us coming and have time to defend. The trick to ransacking a carriage was that they didn’t have time to put up spells or defensive formations. That also meant that the most important one to take out first was the mage. Salicia helped pick out the location and plan the attack. She was becoming more reliable every day, it seemed.

We picked an area where there were a lot of hiding places very close to where the cart passed. Just as it passed, the girls jumped out, and the battle began. It lasted only moments before the last of them was knocked out. We had caught them all with their pants down.

I decided not to waste any time in case Lord Reign had some trick up his sleeve. I opened up a Portal and sent the carriage back to the village, and then brought it back empty. Looking at the empty cart, I frowned.

“What is it, Master?’ Shao asked as she noticed me looking at the cart.

“Lord Reign will continue to hide our deeds, which prevents our name from getting out.”

“True… he doesn’t want people to know there is a bandit out there threatening the safety he charges an exorbitant price to maintain.”

The only reason most people put up with him was because despite living next to the wilderness, his city has stood safely for years. They convinced themselves that it simply cost that much to be safe in that place.

A small smile formed on my face. “I have an idea.”