Chapter 203, the Rainy Second Half of the Night (4)

Kiel and the others quickly cleared out the bandit camp of the Wild Snake Gang, which was located in the middle of the woods and was surrounded by snake dens for protection.

Useful things were put on the carriage and taken away. Various useless things were piled directly with the corpses and lit on fire. Also set on fire were the bandits' wooden houses and tree houses. But before finally setting fire to it and leaving, Kiel found a brave young man who used a torch to drive away the hive bees in the tree house and unload a hive half as tall as a man.

To be honest, Kiel didn't expect such a large hive. He didn't know how much honey it could produce, but honey was valuable no matter where it was, and could be used directly as money.

Products with similar functions include cloth and iron ingots. They are all indispensable necessities in life, and honey is the best thing to add sweetness and happiness to repetitive daily life.

Even nobles can't just eat honey if they want it. Keir found a large wooden barrel, carefully put the honeycomb into the barrel himself, and then closed the lid tightly.

The carriage could not hold the barrel, which was not heavy but took up a lot of space, so Kiel arranged for four people to take turns using wooden sticks and ropes to lift the barrel in pairs, preparing to carry it back by manpower.

Not to mention selling the honey for money later, he had to insist on taking the honey back just because he wanted to eat it and reward his subordinates who obeyed orders.

-

The flames ignited, first igniting the wooden house, and then the big trees in the camp connected to the wooden house. Of course, the tree house on the big tree was not immune. The crackling sound blew away the sparse drizzle from the sky and burned it into white smoke.

On the forest floor, it seemed that the smoke from the fire was smelling. Snakes, insects, and beasts were moving quickly out of the woods. They didn't care at all and bared their teeth at the large group of humans, lowering their heads and rushing out.

The birds in the trees were in bad luck. The nocturnal birds of prey were smoked by the smoke. Their strong bodies were staggering and they could fly out of the woods, escaping from the black and gray smoke that spread everywhere on the treetops. The petite and frail birds, on the other hand, fell down from the trees in a spin, their heads plunged into the ground, and their wings flapped a few times before they died.

The ones that were frightened and flew over the burning wooden houses and big trees were directly pushed up a distance by the heat radiated upwards, and then fell to the ground, but they had already turned into a poor guy who was scalded to death by the hot air. .

Kil took a deep breath and walked at the back of the team, taking care of his subordinates and bandit prisoners who had fallen behind in the rush.

When facing his own people, he would encourage them and ask them to catch up and hold the carriage with their hands to save energy.

As for the surrendered bandits, Kil was much more casual. He lightly hit the bandits on the back with the tail end of his metal spear and forcefully urged them to move faster.

"Don't think about taking advantage of the chaos to escape. You are keeping an eye on each other. If there are fewer people in the forest, if there are a few missing, I will kill as many as I want among the remaining people. Do you know? I remember clearly the number of surrendered guys. . And there are a lot of people out of the forest, so I will try not to do anything."

Keir added: "Guys who want to survive and don't want to be killed in a daze should pay close attention to other surrendering guys around them. I think no one will gamble with their own lives, right? After all, gambling with money is different from gambling with life. "

These words made the bandits with different thoughts keep an eye on others around them. To be honest, walking quickly out of the woods in the dark was the most convenient way for them to escape. Especially for the members of the Wild Snake gang who are familiar with the surrounding environment, each guy sees several opportunities to escape, but often the other bandits around him stare at each other very annoyingly.

This made them give up their plan to take advantage of the chaos and escape.

"Lord Knight, I don't quite agree with what you just said."

A middle-aged male businessman sitting on the carriage at the end of the team said this to Keir who was standing behind him. He was a little unmotivated and looked like he was breaking a jar. At this moment, he vigorously pushed back his wet messy long hair with his hands, looking indifferent.

"Oh, which one? Gambling money and life?"

"Yes, yes. From my point of view, money is life and life is money. There is no difference between the two."

Keir replied: "There are some differences. If the money is gone, the person is finished. But if the money is gone, there is still a chance to turn around."

But Kil's answer was met with ridicule from the middle-aged businessman: "Hahahaha, young knight, I came out to borrow dozens of gold coins from the local chamber of commerce in my hometown this time, just to be able to survive in the chaotic south. I can earn a fortune from the province. But look at it now, apart from my clothes and the tortured half of my life, what do I have left? Oh, my hometown may owe close to a hundred gold coins due to interest!"

"Oh, Gods! Everything is terrible. I have a life now, but I don't have money, but I don't dare to return to my hometown. What's the difference between being alive and dead?"

Keir snorted, but then fell silent: "You can find a way to make money, hey, forget it, treat me as nonsense."

"You also realize that this is nonsense! I worked as an apprentice for the Chamber of Commerce from the age of twelve, and officially joined a chamber of commerce as a clerk at the age of sixteen to run business. In another ten years, I set up a caravan of my own to trade in my hometown. I still manage it by relying on my previous personal connections and interests. I am thirty-five years old this year, and all the dedication and efforts I have made in the past twenty-three years are gone."

"there is none left."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man bent down dejectedly, hunched into a ball, his body swaying with the movement of the carriage, and other than an annoyed whine from his mouth, he no longer responded.

There was another businessman next to him who was in a similar situation, the same one who had helped Keir call someone before. He was also leaning on the bed of the truck without knowing what he was thinking. He chuckled from time to time and looked very... strangeness.

It looks a little crazy.

Over the past twenty years, he has accumulated a wealth of manpower and dozens of gold coins. This is still borrowed money, not counting his own wealth. You can take risks to do business in chaotic areas. Although you can make excess profits under chaotic conditions, the risks are obviously high.

Didn't you see that these businessmen rescued by Keir at this time were all losers in this risky business venture?

They may have overlooked the shamelessness and greed of towns in some areas of the southern province in times of crisis, and also overestimated the level of protection of their caravans.

This bloody feast, composed of the flesh and blood of the people of the southern provinces and outsiders, can only be swallowed by powerful chambers of commerce and organizations with blood dripping from the corners of their mouths.

-

The convoy walked out of the woods, and everyone once again felt the drizzle falling from the sky.

Keir wiped his faceplate, and a few drops of water fell from his gloves.

"Count the number of people and organize the team! Don't wander around and try to stay next to the carriage."

The lighting torch was transferred from the hands of the young refugees to the torch holder next to the carriage driver. Familiar young people gathered together and stood beside the carriage. Some people accepted Kiel's order and counted the surrendered bandits who were tied behind the carriage and followed.

"Sir! No one is left behind, the number of surrendered bandits is normal, and the ropes are all tied tightly! That's it, that's it."

This man looked embarrassed.

"Just what?"

"Even Pam is dying. He's convulsing all over, and he's not getting any better even when he's sitting in the carriage chair."

As soon as Keir heard this, he hurried over on horseback and found that in the driver's seat of the leading carriage, in addition to a young man driving the carriage, there was also a young man with a pig head who was twitching all over in the empty seat next to him.

Ah, it's a pig's head, because this young man is the guy who was bitten by a bee and turned into a pig's head when he was exploring the tree house.

The torch was beside him, illuminated by the flickering firelight. The young man named Pam's hands and feet twitched, and not only his face, but also his body, especially his arms, swelled.

"It shouldn't be? It's just an ordinary bee. How could this happen?"

But when Keir jumped off the horse and took a closer look, he discovered that where the young man's arms were originally covered by the linen sleeves, there were many bees with their tails hanging on his arms.

"Idiot! Idiot! Why didn't you tell me earlier when you were stung so many times on your arm?"

Keir quickly pulled off a bee that was still breathing with his hands, but there were tiny barbs on the bee's tail sting. The bees were pulled off, but their tail sting with part of the intestine was still hanging on the swollen arm. .

He quickly and carefully helped Pam remove the last bee-tail sting from his arm, while checking whether the unconscious Pam was still breathing, or whether his breathing was affected by the swollen tongue.

Fortunately, the helmet is close to the mouth and nose, and you can still hear the faint sound of breathing.

"Okay, everyone, hurry up and set off. He can still be saved. Get to Priest Batal as soon as possible and he should be able to survive. It's really stupid. His arms were stung like this and there were so many bees crawling on them. Before, he looked like he was fine."

Kil returned to his horse and then waved: "Let's go as soon as possible! Where are the bandits who know the way? Come over and lead the way!"

The bandit who knew the way before was pushed to the front of the team. Without looking, he pointed in one direction and said, "Sir, let's walk in this direction and go around the forest. We will find a creek and water flowing out of the forest." On the shore, there is a small river close to the trade road. If you find a shallow place, you can reach the main trade road."

"Walk!"

As soon as Keir gave the order, the young man driving the cart threw out his reins and urged the horses pulling the cart to continue moving.

Sure enough, after a while, they found the creek flowing out of the woods, and then walked along the creek for a while and found the unnamed creek next to the trade road.

But the team stopped.

Because the old carriage, which was full of loot, could not be climbed up the bank of the creek with only one horse.

Even if the people in the car get out and there are young people pushing on the left and right, it will be the same.

Originally, all the horses in the team should be mobilized at this time to pull the three trucks to the river bank one by one with three horses riding on them at the same time.

But Pam, the young man who was severely stung by a bee, was dying.

Not only was his breathing getting weaker and weaker, but his whole body was twitching so much that he had to be tied up like a bandit. Otherwise he wouldn't even be able to sit in the best seat in the carriage.

"This won't work, you all get out of the way and let me do it!"

Keir shouted loudly, jumped off the horse, lay down across the river that only covered his calves, and came to the rear of the first carriage.

"The driver in front of you, please sit tight and support the injured. Follow my orders and act!"

Kil raised his visor and exhaled loudly.

"Yes, Lord Knight, I will obey your orders. By the way, what is an order?"

"Hey, forget it, just do as I say."

Kil was discouraged for a while, then he pushed his left and right feet away from the pebbles under his boots in the cold water, and stepped deeply into the mud to stand firm.

"Get out of the way of those around you, those in front, get ready. Let's go!"

He shouted loudly, grabbed the bottom of the carriage with his steel gloves, then straightened his waist and lifted the entire rear of the carriage. But this is not enough. Kiel circulates the life energy inside the body to strengthen the legs, arms, and mainly the waist. At the same time, the divine power brought by divine magic also replaced the consumption of life energy, providing Kil with power far beyond that of the prairie horse pulling the cart.

"Let's go! Let the horses go forward!"

Kil squeezed out these words through his teeth, and then when the horses in front climbed up the river bank hard, Kil took a big step forward, lifted the carriage and moved forward one meter.

The entire rear wheels of the carriage left the water of the creek and moved suspended in the air.

Keir took another step, and the onlookers shouted loudly: "My lord, it's half done, the river bank is half climbed!"

Without opening his eyes, Kil also knew that if he took two big steps, the two front wheels of the carriage would be able to move to the river bank. At this time, most of the prairie horse pulling the carriage had actually rushed to the river bank, and it was stiffening its neck. , moved his four hooves vigorously, and climbed up dragging the carriage behind him.

Keir took another step, using his arms to lift the carriage carriage from his waist and abdomen to his chest.

Just when Keir was in such critical condition, several bandits glared at each other behind the crowd of onlookers.

There was no need to speak. Although the thieves who understood the situation had their hands tied, they could not take anything from themselves. But there is no problem taking things from other people.

In the waistband of their trousers, bandits would sometimes hide for themselves a sum of copper coins that they used to buy a piece of cloth to cover their crotch when gambling.

This copper coin is somewhat rough and has no major effect, but it is quite possible to break a rough hemp rope.

Sure enough, the bandits, I will grind the rope for you, you will grind the rope for them, and they will grind the rope for me. In this way, they freed each other. With the help of the tacit and secret watching of the people around them, the three robbers took advantage of Kiel's strength to lift the car to the river bank. They ripped off the ropes connected to the last arms and followed them next to them. The people slowly changed seats, and then suddenly jumped up from the ground, and the three people ran towards the depths of darkness in three directions.

They didn't care about the dangers that a person would inevitably encounter when running alone in the wild in the middle of the night when it was dark and rainy.

Where are the beasts and monsters as dangerous as men and knights?

There's no comparison at all.

"Someone escaped!"

"A bandit has escaped!"

The young man guarding the robbers was not blind. He just turned his head to see Keir's incredible strength in lifting the car. The three robbers jumped up from the ground and ran away. They found out the next moment and cried out loudly.

But the young man in charge of guarding was in a dilemma and didn't know whether they should pursue him at this time. After all, there were only three people who escaped, and the rest were still squatting "honestly" on the river bank.

Of course, Keir heard the shouts of someone running away, but he didn't even look at it and shouted directly: "Hunters! Shoot them to death!"

Among the young refugees, several young people immediately took off the short bows they were carrying, drew arrows, and shot in the general direction of the bandits' escape.

Swish swish swish!

Several people shot in different directions, and then there was the sound of two people wailing and falling.

"Good shot, two. I'll try my best too."

Kil knew just by the sound that he would shoot them down, so he sighed in admiration, stepped on the slippery muddy ground on the river bank, forcibly lifted the rear of the carriage and pushed it forward.

Bang bang——

A pair of rear wheels landed on the ground on the upper part of the river bank. Keir pushed hard, and the carriage rushed forward for a large section in one breath, and then slowly stopped.

At this time, Keir turned around and whistled, and the blood-licking grass not far away came in response. The horse did not stop, and Keel started running on the river bank with a dang-dang step. He grabbed the saddle and jumped on the horse's back.

"Where did the remaining one go?"

As soon as Keir asked, several people immediately pointed in the same direction.

"Send three or four people to drag him back. Be careful."

The combat boots slammed into the horse's belly, and then Kil pulled the reins, causing the blood-licking grass to rush in one direction.

Immediately eight people stood up from the young man's side, holding swords and heading towards the two places where they were hit by arrows and wailing.

-

When the young people easily dragged back the bandit who was hit by an arrow, half alive, not far away, Keir, who was conspicuous because he was carrying a luminous magic item, also rode back on horseback.

The steel faceplate showed no expression, and his cold movements were as dangerous as ever.

The knight held and clamped the metal spear in his right arm, making a provocative motion.

Then he got close and flicked his spear, and with a bang, a lifeless corpse of the bandit fell onto the muddy and slippery river bank. There was a hole as big as a fist on the back of the corpse, and deep red blood was flowing out of it, mixing with the mud and turning into blood-red mud.

"Behead the escaping bandits. Take the bodies with you and return them to the night clearing for unified disposal. Human corpses cannot be buried in the wild."

Kil swung the spear twice, simply shaking off the flesh and blood stained on the double-edged gun tip. After putting it back on the weapon rack, he jumped off the horse again, waved to the second carriage and prepared to cross the river and go ashore.

The bandits who were sitting on the ground without escaping trembled and looked at the young knight's actions. Then they turned their heads and saw two injured bandits who were being escorted on the ground, being grabbed by a particularly excited young man and slashed several times in the face. After cutting off half of the face with the sword, he used the dagger to go up and stab the person's brain along the broken gap in the face.

"Ah!" The four girls clinging to each other were frightened, and the rescued people also subconsciously gathered together and hugged each other subconsciously.

"Come on, who wants to sit in the first carriage? If you want to sit in the front, just cross the river with me!"

A young man wearing leather armor came over and spoke to the rescued people.

This time, the people who had been so coquettish before shut their mouths tightly, and after knowing what was going on, they followed the young man across the river and got into the car obediently.

Everyone is much more honest.

Although many of the young people were just farmers before, now that they were wearing leather clothes and armor and holding swords and short bows, they gained respect from others for the first time.

Even if no one said this respect, everyone present felt it more or less.

After all, this night was so long and everyone grew up a lot.