Lynn drew his Longsword and took the lead.
He gave the reins a light shake, and the fine horse beneath him neighed as it charged fiercely toward Salt Mountain.
Second Brother rode alongside Lynn, while the other eight Horse Bandits followed close behind, skillfully splitting into two groups to encircle Salt Mountain from both sides.
Hooves pounded like a dense drumbeat, shattering the forest's silence and sending birds fluttering from the trees.
The Wild People on Salt Mountain quickly noticed that something was wrong.
Three Wild People stopped digging and warily looked toward the forest where the commotion had come from.
One of them threw back his head and let out a piercing, shrill cry.
As the distance closed, Lynn noticed that two Wild People had already fled to the foot of the mountain and were preparing to escape into the forest to the north.
He immediately gave the order. "Second Brother, come with me after the ones at the foot of the mountain. The rest of you, surround Salt Mountain!"
Lynn and Second Brother had the finest, fastest mounts, while the other Horse Bandits' horses were a grade below.
"Yes!"
The Horse Bandits answered in unison, clamping their legs around their horses' flanks and accelerating their charge.
When Lynn's group was still five hundred meters from Salt Mountain, the Wild People scattered and fled.
The two Wild People at the foot of the mountain ran frantically toward the northern woods, while the one who had first raised the alarm scrambled away along the slope.
But how could they possibly escape in time?
Nothing grew around Salt Mountain, and the terrain was flat—perfect ground for riders.
Lynn's gaze was sharp as a blade, quickly locking onto one Wild Person fleeing toward the forest.
He could already make out the Wild Person's distinctive blue hair, the patterns on his fur clothing, and the beast-tooth Short Dagger hanging at his waist.
"This one is mine!"
He drove his heels hard into his horse's flanks. The white horse let out a long neigh, its four hooves flying as dust rose behind it, chasing after the Wild Person like lightning.
Before the Wild Person could enter the forest, Lynn had already caught up behind him.
With a light sweep of the flat of his blade, like a gust of wind passing by, the Wild Person immediately lost his balance and stumbled to the ground.
When the Wild Person endured the pain and climbed back up to flee again, Lynn had already dismounted and placed his Longsword against his neck.
"Don't move. Move again, and you die."
Lynn skillfully used the Wild People's Language to threaten his captive.
Back in that small southern city, he had learned some everyday Wild People's Language from an old scholar out of personal interest.
It finally came in handy today.
The captured Wild Person turned his head. His young blue eyes were already filled with terror as he asked in disbelief,
"Y-you're a Wild Person?"
Only after hearing him speak could Lynn be sure that his captive was a young male Wild Person.
The captive was filthy all over and rather thin, while his fur clothes were too thick. At a glance, it was difficult to tell his gender or age.
"No. I merely know the Wild People's Language."
Holding his sword in one hand, Lynn lifted his face covering with the other, revealing his dark eyes and several strands of brown hair.
In the History of the Founding of the Northern Kingdom, written by the Nameless Priest, the author had introduced the Wild People's physical characteristics in detail.
All pure-blooded Wild People had azure hair and eyes, making them easy to identify.
The captive stared at Lynn for a long while. A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes, then he swallowed and asked in a trembling voice,
"Then who are you? Why do you know the Wild People's Language?"
"I am the White Bear Baron. You could say I'm your neighbor."
With that, Lynn pulled a coil of hemp rope from his waist and tossed it before the captive. "Tie it around your own neck."
Knowing he could not escape, the young Wild Person crouched down, picked up the hemp rope with trembling hands, tied a knot around his neck, and then voluntarily handed the end of the rope to Lynn. "You're fairly obedient. Don't worry. As long as you behave, I have no interest in feeding your blood to my sword."
Lynn took the rope and led the captive and his horse toward Salt Mountain.
On the way, he ran into Second Brother, who had also gone after the fleeing Wild People.
"Big Brother, I'm sorry. I couldn't catch him. That guy was too nimble in the woods. In the blink of an eye, he
climbed up a tree. He was really hard to catch."
Second Brother looked at the captive behind Lynn, deeply ashamed.
Lynn comforted him. "It's fine. We've already caught two. We aren't trying to take them back to the Territory System this time. As long as we can get some information out of them, that's enough."
"Hey, Big Brother, this is a Wild Person? He sure looks strange." Second Brother quickly noticed the young Wild Person's striking azure hair.
Though it was filthy, it reflected faint azure glimmers beneath the setting sun. It was quite remarkable.
The young Wild Person shrank back in fright. There was something in Second Brother's eyes that suggested he wanted to cut him open.
But Lynn felt much more comfortable to him. Though Lynn had held a sword to his neck, there was little killing intent in its edge. Instead, it carried an inexplicable gentleness.
By the time the three returned to Salt Mountain, the eight Horse Bandits had already captured the Wild Person trapped on the mountain alive.
However, this captive had received much worse treatment.
Since he had fought like a cornered beast, the Horse Bandits had been forced to use their weapons. Several cuts had been made in his fur clothing, and traces of blood could vaguely be seen.
In the end, the Horse Bandits knocked him unconscious with the flats of their swords and bound his entire body like a dumpling.
Second Brother stared fixedly at the conscious young Wild Person, excitedly spinning a sharp dagger. "Big Brother, let me interrogate him. I guarantee I'll get everything out of him!"
The young Wild Person sitting cross-legged on the ground instantly turned pale with fright, believing that these southerners had finally decided to skin and devour him alive.
In his memories, the elders had always taught him that the invaders from the south were utterly evil monsters who ate people alive.
"You don't know the Wild People's Language. Watch the unconscious one. I'll question him."
Lynn knew full well that Second Brother could certainly get information out of him, but the price might be several of the captive's body parts.
"Big Brother, you even know the Wild People's Language?"
"A little."
The roaring campfire drove away the darkness and illuminated the fear on the young Wild Person's face.
Although he had never sensed any obvious killing intent from the armored man who had captured him, he had still become a prisoner of invaders. His fate was bound to be unimaginably miserable.
His fiancée's face and voice involuntarily flashed through his mind, and despair appeared in his eyes.
"Don't be afraid. I only want to ask you a few questions. As long as you answer honestly, I'll let you go back."
Lynn had already removed his helmet and Chainmail. He sat cross-legged across from the captive.
He had deliberately created an environment where the two were alone and carried no weapons or equipment, all to make the captive lower his guard.
"Then untie me first. I promise I won't run, and besides, I couldn't get away even if I tried." The young Wild Person looked at the horses behind Lynn, indicating that he had no intention of escaping.
Lynn smiled faintly and asked, "What's your name? Which tribe are you from?"
According to the history book he had given Lao San,
before the southerners invaded, the Wild People had been divided into the Nine Great Tribes. Each tribe had anywhere from over a hundred thousand people to more than ten thousand.
"...Suo Wade."
After a moment of silence, the young Wild Person gave only his name and did not reveal any information about his tribe.
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