Chapter 295: Chapter 294: Night Attack

In the recent battle against the Polante Thief Gang, Viscount Vitorino of Sharp Horn City did not attend. Instead, he dispatched his subordinate, Honorary Knight Hammett Love, to lead the troops.

Ronin only knew that this man was a Bronze Knight. Beyond that, he had no particular impression of him and couldn’t even recall his face.

“In Wushan Territory’s great victory over the Polante Thief Gang, it’s said Lord Hammett was unstoppable in battle. Even their second-in-command nearly died by his sword!”

The man, Phil, had a look of admiration in his eyes.

Most Knights dreamed of donning Battle Armor, wielding a Longsword, and slaughtering their enemies on the battlefield, but that was just a dream. In reality, not everyone chose to go onto the battlefield.

Because they knew that on the battlefield, they might die before killing a single foe.

“Lord Hammett has followed the Viscount for many years. This time, thanks to his outstanding military achievements, he was finally promoted from Honorary Knight to Baron. Thorn Valley is now his fief.”

Hearing the reverence in Phil’s tone, Ronin smiled.

’If I remember correctly, in that battle to encircle the Thief Gang’s army at Giant Stone City, Hammett never even saw the second-in-command, Hodan, did he?’

’I just wonder if these are boasts from outsiders, or if the words came from his own mouth.’

Phil glanced at the carriage where Rice was and couldn’t help but say, “You seem familiar with Baron Hammett. Right now, his only son and his mistress are in our group. Would you like to meet them?”

Ronin frowned.

’His only son and his mistress… putting them together like this, is he planning to stage some drama to legitimize his bastard son?’

’The laws of this world clearly state that illegitimate children have no right of inheritance.’

’Could it be that this Hammett dares to challenge the law so soon after becoming a Baron?’

Ronin shook his head, uninterested in such matters. “Leaking your employer’s information to outsiders is not a good habit.”

After saying that, he entered his tent.

Phil scratched his head. He hadn’t managed to pry any useful information out of him.

But it wasn’t a total loss. From Ronin’s utter lack of deference toward the Baron, Phil knew that Ronin’s own identity was far from ordinary.

As for leaking an employer’s information, they had only been entrusted by Willie Knight to escort Rice and Pick to Thorn Valley. It wasn’t technically a formal employment relationship.

Night fell, and the camp was lively for a while.

But after everyone finished eating, they began to return to their carriages to sleep, leaving only a few people outside to stand watch.

Inside the tent, Ronin sat cross-legged on his bedroll.

On a small table before him, a piece of Magical Beast Hide was laid out flat. At this moment, he was fully focused on inscribing a Magic Scroll for the Third-level Magic: Wind of Inquiry.

Now that Elron was focused on producing Magic Potions, the production of Magic Scrolls had dropped significantly compared to before.

To generate income, Ronin had no choice but to take over a portion of the work.

Speaking of which, he was now a Mage, so theoretically, he could try making a Sixth-level Spell Scroll.

Unfortunately, the material cost for a single Sixth-level Spell Scroll was around Five Hundred Gold Coins. The few Gold Coins Ronin had on him were only enough for him to fail a few dozen times.

He was better off considering third or fourth-level Magic Scrolls. The success rate was higher, and he could still make a decent profit.

Inscribing Magic Patterns onto Magical Beast Hide not only tested a Mage’s concentration but also involved communication between the Mage and the worldly elements during the process.

This unique sense of immersion made a Mage’s perception of the outside world extremely acute.

RUSTLE… RUSTLE…

Late at night, Ronin’s senses, which had been filled with the sound of the wind in the leaves and the breathing of the surrounding caravan members, suddenly detected numerous footsteps.

Hm?

His concentration broke for an instant. With a HISS, the Magic Hide was struck by a surge of wayward Magic Power, and a piece of it was instantly incinerated, as if touched by fire.

’A waste of several dozen Gold Coins.’

His success rate for making Magic Scrolls tonight had been a hundred percent. He’d planned on stopping after this one, but an unexpected failure now soured his mood.

But the thought of the persistent footsteps outside led Ronin to cast Wind of Inquiry.

The basic version of Wind of Inquiry had a detection range of only two or three hundred meters. But a Mage could amplify the power of fundamental Magic, and Ronin could now use it to sense things nearly a thousand meters away.

He perceived a group of people four to five hundred meters out, slowly closing in on the camp.

’Bandits?’

’In all my time in this world, this is the first time I’ve run into bandits on the road.’

“Tom, David.”

Two figures appeared outside the tent immediately. “My lord!”

“Go inform White and Phil. Tell them to be on alert. A group of people is approaching from the southwest, four to five hundred meters out.”

The two men stiffened. They immediately drew their Longswords and grabbed their Shields. David stood guard outside the tent while Tom ran to inform the others.

“Get up!”

He lightly slapped Phil’s and White’s cheeks.

Having traveled with caravans for years, both men were light sleepers. The taps made them jolt awake instantly.

“It’s you?”

“It’s the middle of the night, what is it?”

They were clearly annoyed that their rest had been disturbed, but neither showed it. They knew the man before them was one of the young man’s attendants.

“My master sent me to tell you that enemies are approaching from the southwest, four to five hundred meters away. He urges you to get on guard at once.”

Enemies?

The two looked at the watchmen on the perimeter, who were still awake, then glanced at the tent. They felt that Tom must be pulling their leg.

“My friend, you’re not telling me your master can tell what’s happening four or five hundred meters away while inside his tent, are you?”

“Yeah, it’s pitch-dark. Who could be out there?” Though White was the more cautious of the two, he peered carefully into the distance and saw no signs of movement.

Clearly, neither of them took it seriously.

But just then, THWIP, THWIP, THWIP…

A volley of sharp arrows cut through the air, riddling the two watchmen on the perimeter and killing them instantly.

Everyone jolted in shock. The color drained from Phil and White’s faces, and they immediately screamed, “Bandits… Attack! Attack!”

Instantly, the camp erupted into chaos.

At that moment, amidst the sound of rapid, heavy footsteps, dozens of figures charged forward, quickly surrounding the entire camp.

Escape was now impossible.

“Quick, group up!”

At Phil and White’s shouts, some semblance of order gradually returned to the chaotic camp.

The men gathered together, drawing Longswords or readying Long Spears in a defensive posture.

But out of their group of more than twenty, fewer than ten had any real fighting ability. It was clear at a glance they were no match for the attackers.

“Haha, I didn’t expect you to pull yourselves together so quickly.”

As the laughter rang out, a tall man in Light Armor strode to the front.

“It’s the Wolf Slaying Mercenary Corps.”

Phil, sharp-eyed, recognized the newcomers at once, and his expression soured.

“Leader Bauer, since when did the Wolf Slaying Mercenary Corps get into the business of robbery?”

“Robbery?”

Bauer, leader of the Mercenary Corps, scoffed. “A mercenary corps doesn’t do that kind of work.”

“Then why did you kill our men?”

White’s voice was low as he warned, “Aren’t you afraid of offending Willie Knight?”

A Mercenary Corps was equivalent to a “civilian force.” Some powerful Mercenary Corps could even act as soldiers-for-hire, but under normal circumstances, they had a cooperative relationship with the nobility and rarely provoked them.

Willie Knight was an Honorary Knight pledged to the Dennis Clan, which still made him a noble of the lowest rank. A Mercenary Corps would usually show him some respect.

“Sorry, but everyone here has to die today.”

Bauer said coldly, “If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for taking in someone you shouldn’t have.”

A jolt went through White and Phil.

SWISH!

Everyone’s head swiveled to look at Ronin. Some looked at him with confusion, but others with outright hatred.

’Just because we took in three people for the night, the whole caravan is going to be slaughtered?’

“Why are you looking at me?”

Ronin found it baffling. ’Even if someone wanted me assassinated, they wouldn’t send such a third-rate Mercenary Corps for the job, would they?’

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