Merchants and "Bandits"

Kunna was a descendant of a noble family in the Wind Wolf Capital that had been stripped of its surname. Cases like hers were not uncommon in the Wind Wolf Kingdom.

The Wind Wolf Kingdom's noble code contained a rule: if a noble lost their territory and failed to acquire new territory within three generations, that noble would be considered to have lost the honor of nobility. They would be stripped of all noble rights and become ordinary people without surnames.

In other words, even if you became a military noble through hard work, if you and your descendants failed to acquire territory within three generations, the surname you had earned would be stripped away. It could only be passed down for three generations.

This ensured that the nobles' privileges would not be spread too thin and preserved their special status.

Otherwise, as time passed, more and more people would gain surnames. By then, nobles would no longer be worth much.

Getting back on track, Kunna's family had already been stripped of its surname in her father's generation, falling from nobility into commoner status. Fortunately, the connections the family had built still remained. Though they were no longer nobles, they had used money to smooth things over and establish themselves in the capital, founding the Machira Merchant Guild.

Although the Machira Merchant Guild could not compare with the major guilds, it was still enough to allow Kunna's family to live as comfortably in the capital as nobles.

But Kunna was not a woman content with a quiet life. She did not want to be like the women in the capital, dressing up extravagantly every day, competing with one another, and then becoming bargaining chips for marriage alliances that benefited their families.

So Kunna left the capital and came alone to the Western Territory. Relying on her outstanding abilities, she became the Machira Merchant Guild's representative and manager in the Western Territory. Her business flourished, with the lapis lazuli trade in Azure Stone City as its main pillar.

This was another uneventful shipment of lapis lazuli. Kunna personally led a convoy of more than ten carts laden with lapis lazuli to the Mist Viscount Territory southwest of the Azure Stone Viscount Territory. There, she purchased several cartloads of goods, intending to transport them back to the Azure Stone Viscount Territory and profit from the price difference.

Before beginning the return journey, Kunna received a letter from a trusted subordinate she had left in Azure Stone City. It said that something had happened in the city. Recently, the Patrol Team around Azure Stone City had been too occupied to inspect the roads and ensure the safety of traveling merchants. It told her to be careful on her way back, as bandits might appear along the road.

Kunna did not take it seriously at all. Azure Stone City had been perfectly fine when she left. What could possibly happen in just over ten days? Besides, hadn't all the bandits in the Azure Stone Viscount Territory been cleared out?

Old Azure Stone Viscount had been a sensible man. He knew how important the movement of merchants was to Azure Stone City's development, so he had spared no effort in suppressing bandits! Normally, Patrol Teams also patrolled the main roads, making them very safe. This was one of the reasons Kunna had brought the merchant guild to Azure Stone City. During the early stages of building up the business, they could save a great deal on hiring guards.

Kunna set out on the return journey as planned. The two territories bordered each other and were connected by roads. After a day's travel, the convoy left the Mist Viscount Territory. Nothing happened along the way, aside from the gloomy sky and endless drizzle, which put her in a foul mood.

However, three days later, when the convoy was less than a day away from Azure Stone City, the "bandits" appeared.

It was already late. Both people and animals were exhausted. After leading her people to a resting spot beside the road, Kunna gave the order to make camp.

A standard merchant camp was quickly set up. The shaggy oxen and packhorses pulling the carts were untied and sent to graze on the tender grass nearby. The carts were arranged in a circle to form a barricade, and Kunna's group rested inside it.

After dinner, everyone who had spent the day traveling fell asleep, except for the necessary sentries standing atop the carts. The sentries themselves were drowsy as well. They had traveled this road dozens of times without ever encountering a single bandit attack, so they had let down their guard. The only reason they were still standing watch was because they feared Kunna would punish them and cost them the job that fed their families.

Yet accidents always came when least expected.

Whoosh! A crude feathered arrow shot from the darkness and then... lodged directly at the feet of one of the sentries.

The archer: "..."

The archer's leader: "Idiot!"

The sentry: "..."

The drowsy sentry instantly woke up. He looked down at the feathered arrow by his feet, understood what was happening, and raised his head to shout, "Enem—"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! His voice abruptly stopped as several more feathered arrows tore through the air. One of them, by sheer blind luck, lodged in the sentry's neck. He instantly clutched his throat and fell from the top of the cart.

Bang! The commotion had already caught the attention of the other sentries.

"Enemy attack!"

The piercing cry split the night, followed by a loud roar from the darkness outside.

"Charge!"

A ragtag mob dressed in tattered clothes like beggars rushed out of the dark forest, wielding all sorts of weapons. Wooden clubs, kitchen knives, stones, rusty swords, crudely made bows and arrows...

Leading them was a somewhat sturdier man holding a fairly intact machete, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Brothers, countless riches are right ahead! Charge!"

"Charge!"

The rabble rushed up to the cart barricade and began climbing it with their bare hands, trying to get inside and plunder the valuables.

"Ah!"

Just as the first bandit climbed onto a cart roof, the people in the camp finally rushed over. One of them picked up a large stone and smashed the idiot who was cheering on the roof right back down. It was far more accurate than the bandits' arrows.

The bandit's scream intimidated the others. They stopped climbing and turned to flee one after another. They truly were nothing but a rabble.

"Get back there!"

The bandit leader, who had been shouting loudly while cowering in the rear the whole time, cut down a fleeing bandit with one swing, intimidating the rest.

"Keep charging! I'll give ten gold coins to the first person who gets inside."

Good heavens! Ten gold coins! To people who normally could not even eat their fill, that was an unimaginable fortune. With that money, they would never have to go hungry again!

Money moved men's hearts. Under the bandit leader's tactic of beating them with a stick before offering them a sweet reward, the ragtag bandits boiled over. One by one, as if pumped full of blood, they threw aside their fear, turned around, and charged again.

But after that delay, the people from the convoy had already taken their positions atop the carts. Armed with ordinary weapons, they clashed with the bandits rushing at them again.

"Kill!"

"Get the hell down!"

Bang! "Ah!"

"..."

The fighting was quite fierce. Although the convoy's people were ordinary folk as well, they were at least sturdy! Their individual combat strength far surpassed that ragtag mob.

So while they were outnumbered, the convoy had the advantage of terrain and fought the bandits evenly for the time being.

Kunna, with her gray hair, emerged from the camp's only small tent in a simple gray dress. Her gray yet lively eyes swept across the scene, and she quickly understood the convoy's situation.

"Someone, call out to them for me."

After grasping the situation, Kunna narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment before summoning a subordinate.

"Tell them that if they stop and leave now, I'll give each of them one Wind Wolf Gold Coin."

"Bandits on the other side, listen up! You came here for money, nothing more. Our boss says that if you stop now and leave, we'll give each of you one Wind Wolf Gold Coin!"

A loud-voiced man from the convoy shouted. The bandits who heard him immediately stopped and looked at one another, tempted. Their leader said only the first person to get in would receive money, but now they could get money without charging in. Why keep fighting?

"Idiots! A bunch of idiots!"

The bandit leader jumped in agitation and roared angrily.

"Are you fools? You actually believe merchants? They're bloodsucking flies! They'll give us money, we'll leave, and tomorrow they'll bring the Patrol Team to arrest us. Then the money will still be theirs! We might as well kill them all now. Then no one will ever know!"

"That makes sense!"

"Merchants can't be trusted. They're even more terrifying than nobles. All they do is exploit us!"

"Charge! Kill them!"

The bandits were persuaded by their leader and resumed fighting the convoy.

"..."

Kunna frowned. Just as she was about to raise the offer, several Rocket Arrows flew from the darkness outside in rapid succession. They struck the cart barricade with remarkable accuracy, and the flames on the arrows ignited the wooden carts.

Whoosh...

The flames gradually grew stronger. Unable to endure the scorching heat, the convoy's people retreated one after another, forming a circle around Kunna with weapons in hand.

"I was first!"

"No, I was!"

"..."

The bandits took the opportunity to rush inside, then began arguing over who had entered first. At that moment, the bandit leader spoke again.

"Listen up, brothers. Whoever captures that beautiful woman will get five Silver Coins from me."

"Alright!"

Although five Silver Coins could not compare to ten gold coins, it was still an enormous sum in these people's eyes. Aside from the few who had rushed in first and were still arguing, the others charged at the convoy. Battle erupted once again!

"What a useless rabble!"

Three people stood in the dark forest across from the convoy's resting place. The leader had a face powdered white, gray hair, and blue eyes. He wore luxurious silk clothes and carried a slender One-Handed Sword at his waist.

The other two were middle-aged men. One wore black and had a cold expression, holding a bow. The other appeared honest and simple, but every movement he made carried an air of ingratiating flattery.

Watching the convoy camp blaze brightly in the distance, the gray-haired man at the front could not help frowning and cursing. The cold-faced man in black showed no reaction, but the other stepped forward with a bow and said, "Lord Kalan, that's normal. They were beggars from Azure Stone City before this. Being able to do this much after eating two full meals is already quite impressive."

"Hmph!"

The gray-haired man, Kalan, glanced sideways at the middle-aged man. This man was none other than the trusted subordinate Kunna had left in Azure Stone City. He had some brains, but he was not good for much. His only useful quality was his familiarity with Kunna. He knew that Kunna would not take the contents of the letter seriously and would return according to her original plan.

That was why tonight's bandit attack had taken place.

Kalan was none other than Kunna's half-brother. His purpose in planning all this was to seize everything Kunna had built in the Western Territory. His father had tacitly approved this plan. A family woman like Kunna, who refused to obey, could not be allowed to remain! In the end, it was all about profit. Everything the Machira Merchant Guild possessed in the Western Territory had been built by Kunna herself. The people the family had previously sent to take over had all been isolated by her, and the family had gained no benefits at all.

"It's time to end this."

Watching the beggars disguised as bandits rush into the convoy, Kalan glanced at the middle-aged man again and slowly gripped his sword hilt with his right hand. This man had no more use left. It was time to dispose of him.

"..."

The cold-faced man in black understood his master's intentions and silently blocked the middle-aged man's escape route.

But just then, the grass beside the three of them rustled. A man dressed in black, clutching the wound where his arm had been severed, ran over and threw himself before Kalan. He then struggled to his feet, his face pale and his eyes filled with terror, and shouted, "Master, something's wrong! A Bronze-level Adventurer has come from the west!"

This author just discovered an important bug: the Life Energy Points-to-HP recovery ratio in Chapter Two was too exaggerated at 1:10. A 1:1 ratio makes more sense. That also explains why Parr insisted on upgrading the Talent Prompt Wake-Up first, so this author revised that section in Chapter Two.