Human Transport Convoy (First Update)

"Huh?" The bandits were almost in an uproar.

Kitz mustered his courage and asked, "Lord Dio, isn't that extra person supposed to be killed?"

Bai Xiaowen sneered, "Did I say that?"

Kitz quickly shook his head. Bai Xiaowen hadn't actually said that; it was just that the evil smile he gave, coupled with the still-wet blood of the three bandits who had been hacked to death, led everyone to think in that direction.

Bai Xiaowen would never do that.

It was precisely because all the bandits ostracized Harvey that Bai Xiaowen was able to appoint him with peace of mind—he didn't need a steward who was on good terms with the bandits. After this isolation, Harvey and the bandits would definitely be at odds, and it was impossible for them to collude with him, the lord, to do so.

Of course, these are all minor matters. Even if Harvey is disloyal, a mere level 2 weakling with an Standard Template can't cause much trouble.

The first order Bai Xiaowen gave Harvey was to record the grouping of the 100 bandits.

Kitz then asked, "My lord, shall we fight in this group from now on?"

"Of course not," Bai Xiaowen smiled again, this time with a truly wicked smile. "Your five-person groups are called ' Collective Punishment Group '... Do you know what collective punishment means? It means if one person betrays you, the other four are equally guilty! However, reporting a traitor is meritorious and will be richly rewarded..."

The bandits looked at each other in bewilderment.

Because the groups were formed voluntarily, the bandits banded together for mutual support, choosing teammates who were close brothers. This "collective punishment" rule was truly deadly.

The once free and unrestrained bandits now felt as if a heavy shackle had been placed over their hearts.

Moreover, Bai Xiaowen would never allow bandits from the same Collective Punishment Group to act together. He took one person from each of the 20 groups to form the first team; then he took one more person to form the second team... and so on, with each team consisting of 20 people, forming five teams.

In this way, the five close members of each Collective Punishment Group were dispersed into five teams, greatly reducing the possibility of them conspiring to escape or betray each other.

These five teams of 20 people each are the usual action teams.

Bai Xiaowen promoted several more team leaders.

Kitz became the captain of the first team, which was an elite team specially selected by Bai Xiaowen. Half of them were Elite Tier bandits, and the other half were bandits with Standard Template of level 4 to 6.

Having dealt with these matters, Bai Xiaowen ordered Kitz to lead the first team to dismantle the wooden camp outside the Cliffside Mine Cavern. He then led the other four teams of bandits back into the mine and looted everything inside.

Bai Xiaowen used his more than four hundred gold coins as a carrot to lure the bandits. This time, he went straight to the main mine where Ian was and thoroughly searched it, all to make up for his losses.

However, after searching, Bai Xiaowen was somewhat discouraged. Ian, the bandit Boss Tier, was far too poor, possessing only a few dozen gold coins, the rest being gold and silver ornaments and other unsold items. Harvey's appraisal estimated that these gold and silver items were only worth a hundred or so gold coins.

Bai Xiaowen put these items into his Storage Space. On the Lord Panel, the number of gold coins had shrunk significantly, leaving only 47.

However, the number of troops under Bai Xiaowen's command increased significantly, reaching 102.

The message from the Spirit Realm had already arrived:

"[Main Quest: Recruit Your Army!] Completion conditions have been met. You can lead your army to Blackrock Territory after being knighted, report to Governor Hawke, and submit the quest."

Now that Bai Xiaowen had some free time, she did some research:

"Doesn't the main quest require two Elite Level 3 or higher? I only have one knight under my command right now, so why is it saying that the requirement is met?"

The Spirit Realm Rules have responded this time:

"Knight is just a title, not a specific profession. As long as you have two Elite Level 3 or above, fully armed and armored, and 15 auxiliary soldiers wearing leather armor, you will meet the basic requirements for the mission."

"As a lord, you can allocate a small territory and appoint soldiers under your command who possess Elite Level 3 or higher strength as knights."

Bai Xiaowen nodded.

"Should we appoint a bandit as a patron first to complete the main quest?" Li Shuyi suggested.

Bai Xiaowen shook her head and said, "There's no rush."

After looting the mine, Bai Xiaowen led the former bandits, now the White Stone Town Guard, away from the mine. By this time, the first team had already dismantled the wooden camp, with many pieces of timber scattered haphazardly on the ground.

Bai Xiaowen's face hardened. "Kitz!"

"Here!" Kitz snapped out of his daze, his initial thought of taking credit vanishing completely.

"These timbers are vital resources! Who gave you permission to dump them like that? Now, organize these timbers and, along with all the other supplies in the camp, transport them back to White Stone Town!"

"Huh?" Kitz's face fell. "My lord, we don't have a caravan. How are we supposed to transport it?"

Bai Xiaowen snorted, "Carry it back! Kitz, the time has come to test your loyalty and ability. I don't need a mediocre and incompetent guard captain!"

Kitz, who had originally intended to haggle a bit, was startled again upon hearing this.

"Yes, my lord! Your will will be carried out to the fullest extent!"

Then Kitz turned to his former bandit comrades, a fierce expression on his face. "Listen up, brothers! Whether you carry it by hand, on your shoulders, or even in your mouth, you must get the supplies back to the territory! Nobody's getting away with slacking off!"

Some of the bandits, seeing Kitz acting like a bully, felt resentful and cursed him under their breath.

However, with the mysterious and powerful wizard Bai Xiaowen watching over them, no one dared to rebel against Kitz, nor did anyone dare to run away. Putting aside the shackles of the Collective Punishment Group system, even if they could disregard their four fellow group members and choose to run away, how could they possibly escape? They would still be killed by the wizard lord.

However, these bandits were quite strong—even the weakest bandit servant had a strength of about 10 points and could easily lift a log used as a roof beam. The Elite Tier bandits were used by Kitz as human locomotives, each dragging a large pile of timber down the mountain in a grand procession.

Bai Xiaowen was quite satisfied with the abilities that Kitz had demonstrated.

Kitz wasn't stupid. As the first of the Elite Tier bandits to defect, he had long understood a principle—the more isolated he was within the bandit group, the more the lord would trust him! And choosing between the lord and the bandits... was there even a need to choose?