vstars Chapter 574 You Go to Deal with Blackwatch
Chapter 574 You Go to Deal with Blackwatch
The barren plain glowed with a dazzling white light under the scorching midday sun. The cracks in the ground were like the raised blue veins on the back of an old man's hand, winding to the vague gray-green mountains on the horizon.
A caravan of twelve carriages moved slowly forward, the ruts carving grooves of varying depths in the dry soil.
Dozens of mounted guards were scattered on both sides of the team. The copper nails on their armor reflected the scorching sunlight, and the daggers at their waists swayed gently with the shaking of their horses' backs. They glanced vigilantly at the empty wasteland around them.
"Stay alert, another twenty miles and we'll be out of Dordorei's jurisdiction."
The caravan manager lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief embroidered with gold thread.
The carriage behind him was filled with wooden boxes printed with the Spice Guild's emblem, and the dull thud of metal colliding could be faintly heard.
Suddenly, dozens of arrows burst through the air! Sharp whistling sounds pierced the stagnant air, and they swooped down on the caravan like a swarm of angry wasps.
Before the guard in the front row could raise his shield, three arrows had already accurately pierced his body - one pierced his collarbone, one hit his heart, and the last one sank deep into his throat. Blood splattered on the oilcloth of the carriage next to him, blooming dark red flowers.
At the same time, the bushes on the hills on both sides shook violently, and more arrows were shot out from hiding, some of which even penetrated the cowhide felt on the roof of the carriage shed.
"Hide! Everyone, hide!"
The captain of the caravan guard shouted at the top of his lungs, but his voice was drowned out by the second wave of arrows.
The surviving guards quickly rolled to the back of the carriage, using the heavy wooden compartment as cover.
They hurriedly took out their crossbows and fired back through the gaps between the shafts, but the attackers seemed to have eyes. As soon as the crossbows showed a little gap, arrows would be shot accurately at the exposed part.
One of the guards just stuck his head out to take aim when he was shot through the right eye by an arrow. He died before he could even scream.
As the guards continued to fall, the caravan finally stopped its futile resistance.
Suddenly, there was a dense sound of horse hooves at the foot of the hill. Dozens of riders rushed out from the dust and surrounded the caravan.
"come out!"
Gorkas grabbed the steward by the collar, pulled him out of the carriage, and threw him to the ground.
The fat man in a satin robe scraped his knees but dared not utter a groan. He could only crawl tremblingly towards Griffith who was standing not far away.
"What kind of goods does your caravan carry?"
Griffith spoke slowly.
"Just some spiced food."
The steward said hurriedly. As he spoke, Jie Du had already kicked open the front carriage flap, but when he lifted the second layer of oilcloth, he suddenly cried out in surprise:
"Come and see! The mezzanine is full of weapons!"
The steward's calves trembled instantly. He crawled forward two steps on his knees, and his forehead hit the muddy ground heavily.
"Master! I won't dare to do it again! Please forgive me this time! Take whatever you want!"
Griffith glanced at the goods the mercenaries had unloaded from the carriages: bundles of steel crossbows, barbed harpoon spears, and even boxes of neatly packaged gunpowder barrels.
He raised his eyebrows and sneered:
"You have good teeth, you even ate weapons raw!"
"Give him a horse and tell your boss that if Dordorei evades taxes again, I'll bring my men to burn down your store!"
The steward scrambled onto his horse and rode away. After cleaning up the battlefield, Griffith returned to Dordre with the twelve captured carriages.
With the funding from Governor Goron, his mercenary group has grown from a dozen people at the beginning to nearly a hundred people today, and is also equipped with war horses and sophisticated equipment.
Most of these mercenaries were young men from nearby villages. Governor Goron originally wanted to propose allocating some men from the army to Griffith, but he declined.
The reason why he refused was that these soldiers were all subordinates of Governor Goron, and their salaries were also paid by Governor Goron. As a foreign mercenary himself, commanding them, these people would definitely not listen to him in the short term.
As for the free mercenaries, firstly, they have not been bound by the mercenary group for too long and have been unmanaged; secondly, most of them have some bad habits, such as gambling, prostitution, smoking, etc., which can easily lead other recruits astray. Griffith needs a mercenary group that is completely under his control.
Although Griffith won the battle, he was not happy at the moment. During this week, he finally found out the secret of Governor Goron through casual conversations in the tavern. This seemingly majestic governor was actually a pedophile, just like the priest in the jokes told by the Blackwatch instructors in the past.
He often sent people to nearby villages and towns to buy handsome little boys at high prices and bring them back to the castle as pets.
What’s even more terrifying is that the families of these children were either threatened to keep silent or simply disappeared.
Upon hearing the news, Griffith was terrified and sweating. He considered immediately taking his mercenary group away from this troubled place, but he couldn't bear to leave his now thriving mercenary group. It was thanks to Governor Goron's support that the mercenary group had grown. If he fled now, not only would he be wanted, but he wouldn't know where to find another employer willing to support him.
"Griffith, Griffith?"
Casca, who was standing by, saw that Griffith did not leave after the gate of Doldore was opened, so she came over and asked. After Griffith's thoughts were interrupted, he realized that he had returned to Doldore, so he immediately drove his horse into the fortress to report the situation to Governor Goron.
In Governor Goron's reception room, candlelight made the tapestries on the wall flicker.
"Well, you did a great job."
Governor Goron's fat fingers gently shook the wine glass, and the red wine in the glass had an amber luster.
Although he deliberately arranged some unimportant small tasks for Griffith to prevent him from getting hurt, such as intercepting tax-evading caravans and driving away bandits on the grasslands, Griffith was able to complete the tasks within a day every time, and sometimes even traveled back and forth between three or four battlefields in a day.
"But don't push yourself too much, or you might hurt yourself."
The Governor added with concern.
"I will follow your instructions, Governor."
Griffith knelt on one knee and said.
At this moment, a knight in armor walked in quickly and whispered something in the governor's ear.
Governor Goron's expression darkened instantly, and he slammed his fist on the armrest.
"Really?! We pay them so much every day, but they can't even catch a single person!"
The knight lowered his head and dared not say a word, then hurriedly retreated.
The Governor took a deep breath and turned to look at Griffith:
"Griffith, I have an important task for you."
He paused and added:
"Of course I won't just let you have one mercenary group. I will hire a few more reliable teams to work with us."
"What is the mission, Governor?"
Griffith asked with a frown. He vaguely felt that this mission might not be that simple.
"Destroyed a caravan from my mortal enemy."
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Governor Goron's eyes.
"But they hired the Black Watch mercenary group to escort them, so it will be more difficult."