Chapter 150: Bandits Ahead

The next day, because Protector Atuli needed time to prepare the goods, Sun Licheng delayed his departure by another day.

Through his conversations with Atuli, he discovered that the war between the Snow Ridge Plateau and the Goblin Kingdom had already affected the interior of the kingdom.

Atuli did not know why the Eastern Army of the kingdom had marched north, but the outcome of the war had caught everyone by surprise. The Eastern Army, which had contended with the Orc Kingdom for thousands of years without losing its edge, was almost completely annihilated. Aside from a handful of Ebersdorf eagles and a Cyclops, hardly anyone returned alive. Faced with such a result, the kingdom fell abruptly silent.

Regardless of how everyone's attitude toward the Northern Frontier shifted, the destruction of the Eastern Army triggered violent internal turmoil within the kingdom.

First, the royal family began to tighten its grip on power. As the premier family of the kingdom, the Palm Tree Family had always acted as a check on the monarchy, forcing the goblin royal house to tread carefully. Now, with the head of the Palm Tree Family and their power base—the Eastern Army—completely wiped out, the king immediately saw an opportunity. Rumor had it that the Goblin Royal Legion was rapidly expanding its strength, and its intentions were glaringly obvious: to prepare to strike down disobedient local magnates.

"Alas, pitiful me, a mere protector, am also getting caught up in this. The garrison commander has ordered us to increase taxes by ten percent. Although the output here is fair enough, with a ten percent tax hike, who knows how many people will go hungry?" Atuli poured out his grievances to Sun Licheng.

Sun Licheng felt helpless. Every power struggle in history erupted into fierce conflicts, and he figured the Goblin Kingdom would be no exception.

However, none of this was any of Sun Licheng's damn business.

Although the protector lord complained about the tax increase, he quickly readied the goods for trade. It just went to show that no matter where one was, even in a magical world, officials drew a very clear line between public property and private assets as long as it lined their own pockets.

On the third day, the fully prepared caravan finally set out. Since Sun Licheng's yak herd had directly doubled in size, the protector gave a grand wave of his hand, and twenty goblin serfs were gifted to Sun Licheng.

These serfs, it was said, were originally meant to be sent to guard the northern borders. Now that even the elite Eastern Army was finished, local officials had lost all enthusiasm for sending people to the north. Yet these individuals could not simply be set free, so they had been left to do menial labor at the protector's mansion, and gifting them away now was quite convenient.

"Is this going to be alright?" Sun Licheng whispered to Chapman.

Chapman chuckled. "Of course it's alright. In fact, one major reason for sending people to guard the northern frontier is that the Goblin Kingdom cannot afford to feed so many people, so they send them to attrition each other with the barbarians. It's said that less than ten percent of those sent make it back home alive. Following you, these people will at least get a full meal. You must understand that in such a desolate place, food has always been a major problem."

After listening to the rabbit-headed man and looking at the goblin serfs, who were so hungry they were swaying on their feet, Sun Licheng remained silent for a long time before letting out a helpless sigh.

"Sun Licheng, once you leave my jurisdiction, you can hand my personal letter to the next protector; they won't give you a hard time. Also, I hear that a vicious band of mountain bandits has appeared near Stone Bridge Fortress, so you must be careful."

To thank Atuli for his hospitality, Sun Licheng gifted him another jar of Amber Light, which delighted the protector lord. Not only did he write a personal letter of recommendation, but he also warned Sun Licheng of a few precautions along the road.

With that, bidding farewell to Atuli, the caravan continued its journey southward.

With Atuli's letter in hand, the protectors of the subsequent counties treated Sun Licheng with great courtesy, and the prices during transactions were quite favorable.

As they neared Stone Bridge Fortress, the Crimson Flame Tribe caravan had grown to over eight hundred yaks, becoming a massive super-caravan of nearly a hundred people.

"Sun Licheng, ahead should be that valley rumored to be infested with bandits, right?" Caroline flicked her whip, pointing toward the towering mountains ahead.

"Mm. It should be."

Looking at the perilous mountains, Sun Licheng could not help frowning slightly, and his tone became serious.

"Fantastic! Finally, a chance for a proper fight." Caroline laughed heartily, her voice as bold and uninhibited as it had been back when she was an ogre.

Sun Licheng was somewhat speechless. Even though this woman had become prettier, her violent genes had only become more pronounced, and she had spent the entire journey looking everywhere for people to spar with.

Upon seeing such a gorgeous young woman, many people readily agreed. Regardless of what sordid thoughts they harbored, the outcome was always the same: beaten black and blue by the female tyrannosaurus. Two unlucky fellows, in particular, had annoyed Caroline with frivolous remarks and were beaten so badly they would struggle to live independently for the rest of their lives.

Later on, once the news of Caroline's formidable combat prowess spread, no one dared to pull the tiger's whiskers anymore, leaving Caroline extremely depressed. Hearing today that the long-troubled bandit valley had finally arrived, how could she not be overjoyed?

While Caroline was thrilled, Sun Licheng could not afford to let his guard down. The caravan was simply too large, and there was no way around this route. Having no other choice, he could only pray that the bandits had taken the day off.

Sun Licheng's hopes were dashed. Just as the entire caravan entered the valley, a deafening explosion echoed, and a massive amount of shattered rock completely blocked the caravan's retreat.

"All hands on defense!"

With a loud roar, Sun Licheng leaped off his yak and sprinted toward the front of the formation.

Although yaks were tall and imposing, their speed in close quarters was not high. Once battle was joined, dismounting to fight on foot allowed one to better leverage combat prowess.

A veteran of numerous battles, Sun Licheng had long since prepared contingency plans. The ogres had already surged to the very front, where enemies were most likely to appear. As for the cliffs on both sides of the mountain, they were too steep; even if bandits appeared up there, they could only shoot arrows downward.

Sure enough, not long after waiting, the rumbling sound of countless heavy feet thudding against the ground echoed through the canyon, and within moments, hundreds of bandits appeared.

When the bandits fully revealed themselves, Sun Licheng could not help drawing a sharp breath.

Leading these bandits was a tall minotaur, standing about as tall as Barret, stripped to the waist with muscles like blocks of marble, brimming with explosive power.

Behind him, alongside goblins and orcs, were a dozen or so ogres. What shocked Sun Licheng the most was that there was even a Cyclops among this group!

"What do we do?" Chapman asked Sun Licheng with a trembling voice.

"What else can we do? Beat them!"

Before Sun Licheng could speak, Caroline let out a cold snort behind him, drew her massive studded morningstar, and charged forward.

"Damn it, this reckless woman!"

Sun Licheng's expression changed drastically as he cursed loudly.

Knowing he could no longer stop Caroline, he activated his Heroic Might and began casting party-wide magic buffs on everyone.

"There's actually a hero here. This is getting interesting."

Seeing the lights constantly flashing across the bodies of the caravan members, the bandit leader burst into laughter.

"Dazhuang, go grab that female elf. Remember, don't scratch her up; I want her as my bandit queen!" the minotaur shouted, turning to the Cyclops. Immediately after, he too activated his Heroic Might.

"What the hell, that minotaur is a hero too?! Are heroes really this cheap nowadays? How can even a damn mountain bandit use Heroic Might?!"

Watching spells like Bloodlust flash over the heads of the bandits, Sun Licheng could not help unleashing a stream of curses.