Bandit and Evil Dragon

The hunters lacked the courage to clash with the lord, as their combined fighting force numbered only a little over ten people.

The Sigg Town guards, however, outnumbered them.

The hunters hoped to intimidate the lord with their strength, express their stance, and make him retreat.

As long as the lord didn't dare to enter the mountains, they could continue their lives as before.

But Romain's attitude was unyielding.

The hunters had no choice but to submit.

Because he didn't even need to send troops to quell the hunters; he only needed to blockade the mountains and cut off all bartering between Sigg Town and the hunters, and the hunters' quality of life would plummet.

In this era, it was difficult to meet all of life's needs through simple hunting alone.

The mountain strongholds the hunters had established were simultaneously harvesting berries, mushrooms, cultivating crops, and hunting, utilizing multiple avenues of sustenance.

They regularly delivered furs, mountain goods, game, and other items to Sigg Town, or found merchants, and in exchange, received grain, cloth, and ironware to bring back to the mountains.

As the Agricultural Officer, Mol couldn't levy taxes on them.

Relying on the resources of the mountains, the hunters' quality of life was far higher than that of the farmers in Sigg Town—the land in the mountains couldn't grow much grain, but they didn't have to give Mol half their harvest, so they were basically well-fed and clothed—this life could be considered prosperous.

The resources consumed by the hunters were only a small portion for Mol, so he had no reason to risk a conflict with them.

Otherwise, no matter who won, it would be a lose-lose situation.

Now, a lord and two well-trained War Knights had completely changed this situation.

Romain demanded that all hunters evacuate their mountain strongholds within a month and move to Sigg Town.

This demand made the hunters feel troubled.

Romain didn't care about their feelings; the resources in the mountains could only support the dozens of people in the strongholds, and after moving out, the wealth these people created would increase tenfold.

He needed a large population next, even preparing to purchase slaves.

Afterward, Romain inquired about the specific situation of the mountain bandits from Dota. Compared to Mol, he had lived in the mountains since childhood and was more familiar with those people.

The hunters were hunters, while the dangerous thugs basically had their own independent residences.

It was just that after living there for a long time, they naturally formed connections and learned some basic information about each other.

Due to blocked information, long distances, and Mol not reporting them, the true identities of these people had not spread to the outside world.

And the residents of Sigg Town rarely encountered those dangerous individuals.

Dota did not conceal anything; he directly stated, "The Dirty Doctor is named Garin. We hunters and the people of Sigg Town respect him greatly. He possesses knowledge and can cure diseases, but no one knows his origin."

"Deserter Jet came here because he had nowhere else to go after deserting the battlefield without permission."

"Traitor Knight Dick, it is said he killed the noble he was loyal to and was wanted by the nobles. Somehow, he wandered here."

"Bandit Borg, you must have heard of him... He also killed a noble and stole all of that noble's wealth, distributing it to the commoners. However, after he left, those commoners were all pushed onto the gallows by another noble. It's best you don't interact with Bandit Borg, because he is very dangerous..."

At this moment, a faint beast roar echoed from the depths of the mountains, interrupting Dota's words.

"Monster Beast..." Dota's face grew solemn as he looked towards the deep mountains.

Powerful beasts were Monster Beasts because these types of animals possessed terrifying destructive power and were like embodiments of nature in forests and mountains.

Once a Monster Beast was encountered, even groups of hunters would suffer heavy casualties.

But correspondingly, Monster Beasts would also bleed or be severely injured. This was a conflict that both sides tried their best to avoid.

These powerful beasts rarely attacked human settlements.

Of course, there were also some omnivorous animals that would destroy crops in the fields.

Although humans had encroached on a part of nature, they hadn't driven the Monster Beasts into a corner. They still had vast living spaces in these wilderness areas, and this was the outer edge of the mountains where Monster Beasts had fixed territories.

Dota felt uneasy upon hearing the roar, and Romain also frowned, then continued to ask, "What about the last one? There should be more than just these people."

Hearing Romain's question, Dota hesitated.

He didn't really want to talk about it, but Romain stared directly at him.

He was an archer, and his gaze was highly focused, exuding an oppressive aura that made Dota nervous.

"The last one is... the Witch of Misfortune, Gevra..."

Unknown time.

Bandit Borg found Traitor Knight Dick.

The difficulty of living alone in the mountains was unimaginable for ordinary people; even Transcendants couldn't secure a stable enough food source.

Even so, they still hid in these mountain forests far from the mortal world, living in seclusion, unwilling to go out.

Dick was once a powerful War Knight who possessed a fief granted to him by a noble, until he killed his liege.

From that moment on, there was no place for Dick to belong in this land.

Borg arrived in front of Dick's wooden cabin and said to Dick, "An Evil Dragon has entered the mountains."

Dick just glanced at him.

Borg muttered to himself, "That Evil Dragon shouldn't have come here! Why disturb the peace of this place!"

Dick remained silent.

Borg's voice grew fiercer, "He won't let us stay here any longer. The Evil Dragon will send his lackeys to capture us. Those weak hunters won't resist; instead, they'll embolden the Evil Dragon. By then, you, me, Jet, and the Dirty Doctor won't be able to stay here anymore. And that unlucky little Witch will be sold to the Church. Dick, can you bear to see that little Witch burned alive?"

Dick finally spoke, "What do you want from me?"

Borg's expression turned ferocious, "Let him die an unnatural death, before he destroys the peace here!"

Dick sighed, "Your madness grows with each passing day in the mountains. Your delusions will lead to your own destruction."

Borg continued as if to himself, "Dick, let's do this together! Only this way can we protect this sole sanctuary. The Nobles will see everything here as their treasure, but those treasures do not belong to him. He is merely a plunderer, a bandit. He doesn't deserve to possess these things!"

Dick shook his head, "I won't help you."

Borg acted as if he hadn't heard, ranting madly, "Together! Let's go kill the Evil Dragon! I want to make him bleed, to see if his blood is red! Then I'll distribute the Evil Dragon's treasure to everyone!"

Dick sighed again, "Why didn't you go find Jet, but instead came to me?"

Borg stared intently at Dick. But the latter was not afraid of this crazed Bandit.

Dick heard Borg say, "That Deserter is a coward. He won't support me!"

Dick, however, said, "No, Jet is brave. He came to the mountains precisely because he knows what he's doing... Borg, you should leave. I won't team up with you either."

Borg suddenly became furious, "We both have the Evil Dragon's blood on our hands! I'm fighting for everyone in this land, and you're just standing by!"

Dick sighed, "Who are you really fighting for? Are you going to kill Romain Armored Breaker? Or are you going to kill the shadow that has been haunting you? You can't break free. You often dream of those who died tragically. You believe you personally strangled your mother... You can't sleep peacefully, often waking up from nightmares in the middle of the night, and you've woken me up many times."

Dick looked at his neighbor with pity, "Bandit Borg, you've been crazy for a long time."

Borg stated with conviction, "I'm not crazy! I know what I'm doing!"

Dick said, "So what do you want to do?"

Borg said coldly, "Monster Beast riot! Nobles slaughtered!"

Dick shook his head, "Do you think you can easily kill a descendant of the Armored Breaker family? Even if you could, the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting's wrath would flatten Sigg Town... Borg, you're repeating your mistakes. Everyone will be killed by you, and where will you run to this time?"

Borg rambled, "No! No! I won't run anymore. I've finally figured it out. I'm going to kill Romain Armored Breaker and that fat pig in Sigg Town. I'll distribute the Evil Dragon's grain and gold to the poor who can't afford to eat. I'll also distribute Sigg Town's land to them. As long as they become the masters of this land, they will follow me to kill other Evil Dragons! Kill all the Evil Dragons on this continent! As long as those Evil Dragons are all dead, completely wiped out, everything will get better..."

Dick still shook his head.

Borg's crazed demeanor suddenly calmed down.

He looked at Dick, waiting for his final response.

Dick silently gripped the rusty knight's longsword.

Borg turned and left.

Dick watched Borg's retreating back, remaining silent.

Dick knew that no one could dissuade a Bandit, especially when his heart was filled with mad thoughts.

He slowly felt around in his pocket for a darkened silver necklace, gazed at it for a moment, and finally held it in his hand, letting out a faint sigh.