The more valuable and important the cargo, the more guards there would be.
Conversely, the lower the price, the fewer guards there would be.
Merchant caravans had to consider costs. Every guard cost money to train or hire; with too many of them, a shipment would earn no profit.
Pirates also had to consider costs.
Small pirate crews could not take on targets with too many guards. Once the number of guards reached a certain threshold—say, over a hundred—many pirate crews would not dare strike.
Because it was too dangerous. One careless mistake, and they could lose a great many men.
Even if the robbery succeeded, that did not mean they would necessarily get to keep the money.
The sea held dangers from their own kind as well.
Other pirate crews would not necessarily spare a pirate crew that had just completed a robbery and suffered heavy losses.
For merchant caravans, keeping their guard force at a little over a hundred was also a relatively cost-effective choice.
It could prevent them from being robbed by most small and medium-sized pirate crews.
And against larger pirate crews, adding a few more guards would not be enough to defend against them anyway.
This time, Charles had chosen a merchant caravan with only around a hundred and fifty guards.
They could swallow it whole, and the losses would not be too great.
The Undertow Pirate Crew also needed a few battles to temper themselves.
Charles pushed the sheet containing the caravan's briefing before Dalle and said, "Buy back the intelligence on this merchant caravan."
Dalle glanced at it and hurriedly nodded. "Yes, Captain!"
After taking the paper, Dalle had originally intended to turn and leave, but when he reached the door, he hesitated.
Dalle's hesitant movements alerted Charles. He asked, "Is there something