Chapter 468 We Have No Relationship (Joint Chapter)

On the hillside in the distance, a boy squatted on the meadow, with a little black sheep sitting beside him. He also imitated his master and behaved quietly, but his ears were twitching.

The boy took out a piece of soft candy from his pocket and broke off a piece with his hands. However, he did not eat it himself, but gave it to the black sheep nearby.

Little Dib wonders if sheep can eat candy.

But Cornelius had always enjoyed his meals.

"Hang on." The little black sheep exhaled excitedly and began to clack.

But the next moment, it suddenly stood up.

Looking into the distance warily, the black hair on his body couldn't help but tremble.

This performance.

Much like not long ago, when it met the mysterious traveler, it suddenly lost control among the sheep.

"What's wrong..." Little Dibu said subconsciously.

Before he finished speaking, he also saw in the direction - in the distance where Kony was watching, a piece of sand and dust rose up like a yellow cloud, spreading towards this direction at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then the earth shook as if it were thousands of times. Thousands of people stepped on it.

"Sand...sand bandits."

Little Dibu's expression changed, and half of the candy fell to the ground.

…

…

"Sand bandit!"

Hearing this word, people in the tribe's camp were in panic.

From time to time in tents of all sizes, there were sounds of things being knocked over due to surprise. This happened to adults, and the children were so frightened that they were so frightened that many even fell to the ground and cried loudly - but no one Don't bother paying attention to them.

Even in the cattle and sheep pens outside the camp, the animals felt the uneasy atmosphere.

The pack oxen circled restlessly and brayed from time to time.

Sand bandits.

To these herdsmen living on the border of Shem, this is equivalent to the devil.

And the yellow sand rising all over the sky.

announced their arrival.

Moreover, unlike in the past where there were only one or two teams of tax collectors, this time the formation was menacing, with an unknown number of people, seemingly capable of sweeping everything.

"How can this be?"

Old Ethan stood in the chaotic crowd, listening to the increasingly approaching shouts and wild laughter, and stood frozen on the spot.

It stands to reason that they have already paid all the offerings for this year.

Even if the Sand Bandits have any orders, they will go to the Beifeng Clan and let them convey them. How could they come directly to such a small tribe like their own?

Moreover, Ethan lived a lifetime.

We have never seen the Sand Bandits dispatch such a large force - not to mention them, even if the Beifeng Clan stood in the way, they would probably be razed to the ground.

"Old Ethan, what are they going to do?" Even the clan leader was alarmed. He opened the tent and stumbled in front of him, almost being knocked down in the process.

The leader of this tribe had no blood on his face at this moment.

"It's war..."

"What?" The patriarch turned back suddenly.

"It's not a small fight, it's a real war." Ethan murmured, "That man is right."

"We're involved."

At this moment, the patriarch also suddenly remembered what the old herdsman had said to him in a hurry a few days ago - but at that time, he didn't take it seriously.

In addition, in the past few days, another businessman has visited.

The entire tribe was immersed in the joy of a festival, and had long forgotten the vague warning, let alone starting to migrate.

A wave of regret surged into the patriarch's heart.

"No, it's okay," he said with a smile on his face, "The adults on the Beifeng side have already said hello. Even if there is a war, how can the sand bandits make things difficult for us..."

"Everyone from the Farstrider clan, come out!"

The yellow sand spread from far to near, and the dense bandits with no end in sight soon surrounded this small piece of grassland. A loud cry circled the camp, urging the herdsmen to gather in front of the bandit formation.

Most of the nomadic camps are tents made of wood and animal skins. Although they can be disassembled, packed and hung on pack animals for moving, it is too late to do so in an emergency. Even a few herdsmen who abandoned their homes were driven back by the crossbowmen of the sand bandits outside.

People can only hold on to the same hopes as the clan leader.

Obediently dragging the family with them, they all walked out of the camp.

"The Beifeng clan will make peace and protect us..."

"Last time, in order to please the animal trainer, I gave my family two more lambs. Bless you..."

However, after all the herdsmen gathered together and lined up in front of the bandits, their hearts sank to the bottom of the valley——

Standing next to the bandit leader, he was introducing the commander in a flattering manner.

They are from the Beifeng clan.

The last time the beast trainer from the North Wind came to the camp, he was still arrogant, but this time he was full of smiles: "Master Matt, the herdsmen of the Farstrider clan are here. Do you think there are enough people?"

Matt, who was wearing a spiked helmet and his upper body was naked except for a pair of goggles, glanced at a circle of shivering herdsmen and frowned:

"Too little."

"It doesn't matter if it's small, I'll take you to find a few more tribes." The beast tamer of the Beifeng Clan said quickly, "But look at their cattle and sheep, they still have quite a lot."

Matt nodded, and then he felt satisfied:

"Everyone, take them away!"

He ignored the frightened and crying crowd and ordered to his troops.

This time when attacking the swamp, Matt, as the commander of the vanguard, is not a fool. He must be fully prepared.

Rotten Town is the gateway to that dense forest and must be captured to serve as a bridgehead.

However, Matt would not pin all his hopes on the Black Dragon Ninja being able to instigate a rebellion and capture the city. It would be enough as long as those people who came and went without a trace could delay for some time.

The Rotten Town is strong and powerful, and it is very difficult to conquer it head-on.

However, the opponent's resources are very scarce and they cannot fight a protracted war.

At that time, he would send the Sand Bandits to besiege the Rotten Town, and then drive the miners and farmers captured from the Wandering Land and the herdsmen captured from the Shan Tribe to serve as the vanguard, consuming the guards' arrows, crossbows, and energy, and wait until the opponent is exhausted and the ammunition is exhausted...

The main force of the Sand Bandits will rush forward.

Great things can be accomplished with minimal casualties.

Moreover, with the help of the North Wind Clan, Matt not only collected cattle and sheep as pack animals and military rations, but also these captured cannon fodders can serve as civilian manpower during the march, allowing them to send themselves to the battlefield, which can be said to be a business that does not lose money.

As for the losses of the Shandi Tribe...

What does it have to do with the Sand Bandits?

In his opinion, these wandering nomadic tribes around are like some kind of food like leeks. After a batch dies, new tribes will migrate here in a few years. There is no need to manage, only regular harvesting is enough. It can be said that they are stable meal tickets.

This war is equivalent to an advance payment.

The sand bandits quickly controlled the herdsmen and stuffed them into the army, and the people of the Far Traveler Clan also found that there were more other herdsmen among the sand bandits. They were pale and thin, tortured, and obviously from other clans that had been captured before.

The people of the Far Traveler Clan were even more desperate at the moment.

"Sir..." The trainer of the North Wind Clan was originally helping the sand bandits to count the herds. Suddenly, he heard an old call. Looking at the sound, he saw an old herdsman.

Ethan resisted the push of the sand bandits and shouted with effort: "We can go to the battlefield with you adults, but the children have no strength and are not sensible. Can we let them stay and treat them as housekeepers..."

The old herdsman held the last glimmer of hope in his heart.

The Far Traveler Clan is just as its name suggests. Even among nomadic tribes, there are many wandering caravans going out. Many of the young and strong people in it are the parents of the children in the tribe now.

Leave the children and wait for them to come back.

At least the tribe will not be cut off.

Moreover, even if the herdsmen do not know their specific future fate, war is still too cruel for the children, and it is not expected to have a good ending.

The trainer turned around and consulted the opinion of the Sand Bandit leader.

Matt just took a look and said: "Either die or go together."

"What if the people who stay behind tell the news?"

Let alone children, anyone who lives in this world will not stay out of it.

When he was the same age as these herdsmen's children.

He had already taken a piece of iron and killed 18 people in a caravan staying in the village, robbed the money and went to the current King of Sand overnight.

What's more, no matter men, women, old or young.

They can attract the firepower of the Rotten Town, there is no difference.

Although they would not be used as spare rations directly due to the cannibal curse, it was safe and feasible to bring pack animals with them. The bodies would be fed to the animals first, and then the bandits would kill and eat the meat, filter and digest it.

There are always more ways than difficulties.

Ethan's hands trembled, and he seemed to have lost his strength. He was slapped by two bandits and was directly put into the captive team.

However, he still had a trace of uneasiness and throbbing in his heart.

His grandson, Little Dibu.

He was not in the captured herdsmen.

If the bandits could agree to keep the child, then even if they found Little Dibu, they would not embarrass him... But now, if his whereabouts were discovered again, he would definitely be executed on the spot to set an example.

"Who are you!"

At this time, a sharp shout came from the bandits.

I saw that the sturdy bandits were holding chaotic weapons, surrounding a group of people and a pile of goods. The leaders were a man and a woman, but compared to the terrified herdsmen, they did not show any fear on their faces.

It was Peng Li and Zeng Jian who were disguised as ordinary merchants.

They were stationed in the camp of the Far Traveler Clan and were also besieged by the Sand Bandits.

"What's going on?"

Matt frowned and walked forward in person.

"Boss, they refused to hand over the things." A Sand Bandit reported.

They were just an ordinary group of merchants. It was reasonable that they should not be so tactless in the face of such a mighty Sand Bandit army... Matt thought to himself.

However, the other party was too calm,

which made him cautious.

"This leader," Peng Li smiled, Zeng Jian stood beside her with a knife, "before you take action, you have to consider whether the other party is someone you can afford to offend."

"Oh?"

Matt was stabbed by her straightforward and arrogant words, and anger surged in his heart:

"You'd better prove to me whether I really can't afford to offend--"

He was originally thinking.

If this merchant really came from a big chamber of commerce, it would be fine to pay some protection fees.

But now that it has come to this, he doesn't believe that a caravan that stops in such a small tribe has any background that can make him...

A peddler trotted over and handed over a wooden box, opening it in front of him.

Inside was a small plastic card.

Matt picked it up and was suddenly stunned:

"You are..."

The card read: Merchant Guild Second Level Franchise.

The merchant guilds that join the merchant guild are also divided into different levels. Depending on their status, they promise different levels of protection during their business trips on the mainland.

The lowest level is marked with a gold badge, and is often just a name, depending on how many people they can scare.

The higher the level, the silver badge is marked. Robbing them is equivalent to being an enemy of the merchant guild - but when they are retaliated, they have to wait in line.

After that, there are copper badges, iron plates, magnetic cards... The higher you go, the better the treatment.

Usually at the iron plate level, unless you encounter particularly demented and crazy robbers, merchants don't have to worry about their personal safety when walking on the mainland, but only need to pay different amounts of deposits.

There is only one merchant guild with the highest level of "first-level franchise".

That is the slave trader guild managed by Mrs. Kana - the slave trader guild is essentially no longer a subordinate of the merchant guild, but its ally. Their slave traders are also spread all over the mainland. It is said that the only proof is a piece of manuscript paper - with Long En's autograph on it.

It cannot be considered with ordinary thinking.

In other words...

Matt raised his head and looked at the group of merchants: "What do you want?"

Second-level franchise, this is already the most powerful guild in the Merchant Guild, and some can even be directly under the president Long En.

In this era, the more industrial products, the more precious they are.

General metal products may be imitated and forged by blacksmiths, but there are not many companies that can produce chemical plastic cards. Except for mechanics, the rest are in the Merchant Guild - and the mechanics themselves are famous enough, so there is no need to disguise.

The tone of the commander of the sand bandits softened instantly.

With such a background, let alone not having to pay protection fees, even if you go to the King of Sand, you may be treated as a guest of honor - on the contrary, if you are an enemy of him, you will suffer a devastating blow.

[Freedom of trade, freedom from slavery, absolute personal and property safety. ]

[And, become a superior person. ]

This is a slogan that every member of the Merchant Guild has heard, and that is their pursuit - not to say that all can be achieved, but Long En has indeed made many promises a reality.

"I didn't expect you to come to such a small tribe, right..." Matt said, "If you need anything, I can let you stay for a few more days."

He was not sure about the relationship between this team of merchants and the nomadic tribe.

During the conversation, there was an intention to release the traveler clan for their sake.

Although some herdsmen did not understand the pros and cons, they also heard the hidden meaning.

At that moment, hope surged in my heart again.

These days, the tribe treated the merchants very enthusiastically. In addition to normal transactions, the environment and services were all there, just asking them to stay for a few more days and exchange more goods. If the other party had any additional requirements, the tribe leader also arranged people to provide them as much as possible, giving them everything they wanted, and it can be said that they were not treated unfairly at all.

Now it seems that because of this relationship, they really have the possibility of being rescued.

"Chief, you misunderstood," Peng Li's words made their hearts fall into the ice cave again, "We have nothing to do with these cattle herders."

At this moment, she finally didn't have to hide her disgust and contempt in her heart.

"Actually... I guess the leader is going to Rotten Town, and we are just on the way," she turned around and glanced at Zeng Jian, who stroked the hilt of his knife and nodded, "If the leader doesn't mind, these goods will be used as military supplies for the King of Sand, and we just need to accompany the army."

Since no trace of Yamudu was found in the Land of Flash.

Then these herdsmen are useless.

However, being able to take advantage of the situation to explore the swamp - the other party is still a big bandit like the King of Sand who crisscrosses the border, it can be said to be an unexpected gain.

I think even if Yamudu came out, he couldn't have such a good opportunity.

Peng Li couldn't help but feel complacent.

The frustration of these many days is nothing.

"Okay," Matt thought for a while and agreed, "Then please go on the road together."

The other party has such a background, and he can't afford to offend him, and he is willing to provide money.

There is no reason not to agree.

The Sand Bandit Army looted and soon set off again.

Half of the pack oxen that the Far Traveler Clan had carefully raised for the next year were slaughtered and shared on the spot, while the other half were driven by the North Wind Clan's animal trainers to carry military equipment and supplies with the army - as for the black sheep, not a single one was left.

The tribe, which was originally bustling and full of people,

became gradually quiet with only dilapidated tents all over the ground.

After an unknown amount of time, two small black dots appeared near the camp. They were not tall and could sometimes even be covered by weeds and bushes.

The two black dots lingered in silence for a long time, and suddenly one of them ran out, galloping under the moonlight, followed by an urgent and low cry:

"Connie! Where are you going?"