Pale Emblem

Chapter 102 Bandits are rampant
Dunn and Welch saw Meepo, the tailor in Water Snake Town, leading the barbarian slave out of a rented house, turned hurriedly into the alley next to it, and disappeared from their sight immediately.

Dunn turned his gaze back to the rented room, and said softly, "This should be it, let's go there."

When the two came to the rented house, Welch walked up the steps and knocked on the wooden door with his hand raised.He was about to declare himself, when the wooden door creaked and someone opened it from the inside.

Harvey, a burly man with a fierce face, appeared at the door, staring at him coldly.

The chief guard of the Iron Rhino caravan subconsciously took half a step back, holding the sword hilt at his waist with his callused right hand.However, Harvey's eyes fell on his hand holding the sword, and immediately showed a playful expression, and simply folded his arms across his chest.

Putting your hands on your chest is itself a gesture of rejection and guard. If you hug your chest to a professional, it also means contempt and provocation.

Welch can serve as the chief guard of the Iron Rhino Caravan. In addition to his strong personal strength, his mind and experience are equally important. He will not be angry because of Harvey's rude behavior, but wonders why the other party has such obvious hostility .

Just when Welch was in a dilemma, Dunn, the caravan steward, came over and greeted with a smile: "Mr. Harvey, we are Dunn and Welch from the Iron Rhino Caravan, don't you remember?"

"Nonsence"

Harvey spit at the caravan steward's feet.

This time, the faces of the two became ugly.The steward and chief guard of an armed caravan are no small roles.In fact, all armed caravans are private armies of the city-state giants or famous families.The Iron Rhino Caravan belongs to a medium-sized wealthy family in Fallen Leaf City. It has more than 20 professionals and more than 60 awakened people. It is equivalent to an elite squadron of a regular army.

You know, there are only 160 soldiers in the water snake town guard, and they can't be called elite.

Director Dunn of the Iron Rhino Caravan is not only a fifth-level swordsman venerable, but also a direct descendant of a wealthy family. If he wants strength and status, no one has ever dared to humiliate him like this.

However, Dunn is not the kind of "vase" venerable.When he was young, he traveled with his family's adventure group to hone his martial arts skills and increase his knowledge.Otherwise, the patriarch of the wealthy family would not have entrusted him with the Iron Rhino caravan.

When the realm of martial arts has been honed to the bottleneck, Dunn has realized that no matter how strong an individual's combat power is, he cannot fight against an army. The wisdom and background of a professional are more important than force.

He suppressed the resentment in his heart, pressed Welch's hand holding the sword, and asked with a faint smile: "Mr. Harvey, do we have any misunderstanding?"

"Oh, it turned out to be Supervisor Dunn and Captain Welch, please come in." The dark and thin Maddy squeezed over, dragged Harvey aside, and invited the two guests into the room with a smile on his face.

As soon as Dunn and Welch entered the room, they could smell the strong smell of medicinal herbs.The Disa Alliance is a civilized country based on occult medicine, and the armed caravan mainly resells various medicinal materials.Caravan stewards and caravan guards are all experts, even if they are not pharmacists.

The two are no strangers to the smell of medicinal materials, and can even identify specific medicinal materials.Dunn knew that these medicinal materials were not cheap, and if they were purchased from the black market, the price would only be more expensive.

That meant there was at least one pharmacist in Harvey's gang, and they didn't care about money.

Who is a pharmacist?
At this moment, Victor stood up from the sofa at the back of the living room.He just changed into a new set of clothes, outlining a perfectly proportioned body line, with a straight back and an upright standing posture, naturally exuding a condescending demeanor of a superior.

When Dunn saw Victor, the resentment caused by Harvey's offense dissipated instantly, and he became stiff.So, he took off the hood on his head and nodded to Victor.And Welch also took the initiative to untie the saber hanging from his waist, and handed it to McGrady next to him for safekeeping.

Victor was also looking at two impressive guests, mainly the caravan steward Dunn.

He looks like a 40-year-old middle-aged half-elf, with short brown hair, dark green eyes, and the lines drawn by the wind and frost on his face, showing a resolute and calm temperament; he is of medium build, with full and solid muscles but not exaggerated, which seems to contain terrible explosive force.He was wearing a silver-gray professional suit, with a cross-body bag, a python leather belt, and five sword patterns embroidered with gold thread on the neckline, indicating his status as a fifth-level swordsman.

Victor asked with interest: "Mr. Dunn, are you a swordsman venerable?"

Dunn nodded with a smile, and said reservedly: "Yes, I am a fifth-level swordsman. Before, I didn't want to wear a professional suit when I was traveling in the wild. After all, the weather is very hot now. When I arrived in Water Snake Town, I wore a professional suit to show my identity It is also the basic etiquette for visiting the host."

Victor heard from adventurers that it is best for professionals not to wear professional suits in outdoor activities, as it will be easy for the enemy to focus on them.When a professional enters a town, putting on a professional suit can remind some short-sighted guys not to ask for trouble.

It is indeed polite to take the initiative to identify yourself in a formal setting.

However, etiquette emphasizes reciprocity.It's hard to imagine a venerable who would take the initiative to reveal his identity to half-elf commoners.

Dunn and Welch came to visit in professional suits out of respect for them.

Victor nodded, invited the iron rhino caravan steward and the chief guard to be seated, and instructed Harvey to pour them two glasses of water.He leaned on the sofa, spread his arms on the back of the sofa, and said lazily and casually: "When we were traveling with the team, we didn't find that Mr. Dunn was a fifth-level venerable. We felt that Weir Mr. Qi is stronger than Mr. Dunn."

Dunn could only smile wryly. He always believed that his martial strength did not embarrass the Venerable, but he had to admit that he was much worse than the fourth-level swordsman Welch.

Welch said modestly: "My little ability is nothing in front of Mr. Harvey."

"That's the truth." Victor nodded, expressing his appreciation for the chief guard's vision.

Welch was speechless for a moment, he was just being polite, and didn't think he was really inferior to Harvey.Of course, there is no need to argue about who is weaker and who is stronger, and they didn't come to Harvey to compete in martial arts.

Dunn tried to ask: "Mr. Victor is a pharmacist? I smell the medicinal materials, which means nothing else. If you still need medicinal materials, maybe the Iron Rhino Caravan can help."

"That's right." Victor shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't need medicinal materials for now, thank you for your kindness."

Dunn and Welch exchanged glances with each other, feeling "he really is a pharmacist" in their hearts.

There is nothing unusual about being a pharmacist. Ordinary half-elves can become a pharmacist through hard work.However, pharmacists make money and spend it even more.Ordinary civilians who want to study pharmacy are daydreaming, and his family can't afford it.Famous and powerful families with resources and strength will train a large number of pharmacist talents.

A good pharmacist is not necessarily a doctor, but a doctor must be a good pharmacist.Physicians, as the most valuable professionals of the Disa Alliance, have always been the core members of the major forces.Famous and wealthy families often give priority to selecting talented direct descendants and train them to become physicians before considering cultivating follower physicians.

If Victor was a pharmacist, he was probably a well-born professional physician.

Dunn realized that he and Welch had been mistaken.When they first met Victor, they found that he was ragged, unkempt, and a troubled adventurer, and he didn't think about the famous nobles at all.

In the Iron Rhino caravan, there are level [-] professionals with agility and strength, but there are no level [-] shield guards and level [-] doctors.That's because fourth-level doctors generally don't run around with caravans.The shield guard belongs to the cannon fodder profession, and a level three shield guard in the caravan is enough.The fourth-level shield guards are mainly responsible for protecting noble figures.

Therefore, the professionals of the Iron Rhino Caravan confirmed that McGrady is a level [-] shadow hunter, and Harvey may be a level [-] shield guard.

As for Victor, the professionals in the caravan agreed that he did not have the sublimation specialty, at most he was an awakened person with agility.Although he is tall and has beautiful ice blue eyes, his appearance is just ordinary handsome.It never occurred to anyone that he might be a highland half-elf of noble blood.

Dunn said apologetically: "We didn't know that Mr. Victor was a pharmacist, and he neglected you a bit when the convoy was on its way."

Dunn, who was born in a wealthy family in Fallen Leaf City, has his own set of logic. Since Victor may be a professional physician, he may be a famous nobleman.Even if this is not certain yet, it is not wrong for him to respect the noble blood of the highland half-elves, rather than respecting the apothecary who will heal the half-elves.

Victor didn't know why, he didn't have a close relationship with the Iron Rhino caravan, he just paid for a carriage from the other party, that's all.

"Neglect? Are they ignoring us?" Victor turned his head and asked Harvey next to him with a puzzled face.

"Have!"

Harvey squinted at Dunn, and replied, "We paid them a bag of gold and asked the caravan to keep it secret for us. As a result, as soon as we arrived in Water Snake Town, Lockebie, the caravan's clerk, went to the Thieves Union to sell our intelligence."

"Dunn, you guys came running over, thinking that just saying 'neglect' can clear up the debt?!"

Both the iron rhino caravan manager and the head of the guard were shocked. After a while, the head of the guard, Welch, said quietly: "Rockerbie has been missing for many days. I guess he is dead."

Harvey was stunned, and immediately yelled: "What do you mean? I caught Lockerbie on the spot at the Thieves Guild, but I didn't kill him. How dare you frame me!"

Harvey thought Dunn was here to apologize, but it wasn't.Now he thought that the other party had framed him for murder, but it was not.Anyway, he was surprisingly angry at the moment.This shield guard transformed by the master of the mind has deeply ignited the fire of the soul, and has reached the peak of the third-order half-elf.He contracted his heart and burst out a powerful internal submergence. Just the movement of tensing his muscles caused the air around him to form a small air current, and his bones made a coherent and crisp sound, just like the buzzing of thunder.

Dunn and Welch's expression changed instantly. Harvey was far stronger than they imagined, perhaps a level 6 shield guard!

Fortunately, they took the initiative to hand over their swords in advance, and they respected Victor enough.Although Harvey was angry, he didn't plan to do it directly.

Dunn picked up the cup in front of him and took a sip of water, forced himself to calm down, and said, "Lockebie is a servant hired by the caravan. He owes a large sum of money to the Thieves Union in Water Snake Town, and acts as an eyeliner for the Thieves Union. Regarding this matter, I I know it. But he betrayed your information, and I don't know it at all."

Welch also quickly explained: "I mean that Lockerbie exposed his identity as a thieves' informant, so he was silenced by the Thieves' Union. I'm not trying to frame Mr. Harvey... How dare a petty slave like Lockerbie dare to carry us behind his back? If you betray the guest's information, even if the Thieves Guild doesn't kill him to silence him, I will kill him. What's the point of me using a lowly slave to frame you for murder?"

Dunn interjected: "No matter what, Lockerbie is a hired slave of the Iron Rhino Caravan. He betrayed your information, and the caravan is also responsible. We are willing to return the commission and make compensation."

McGrady and Harvey couldn't help but look at each other. The serious crime of murder was wiped out in an understatement like this?
It's not really their ignorance.The border town of the Disa Alliance is sparsely populated, manpower is precious, and it is always threatened by foreign enemies.Frontier residents and adventurers must unite with the outside world. They can fight if they have conflicts, but they cannot kill people, otherwise they will become public enemies of the settlements.However, the city-states in the hinterland of the alliance are densely populated. In order to compete for survival resources, the half-elves are in a very serious situation, and the phenomenon of killing their own kind is not worth making a fuss about.

Victor waved his hand and asked, "There is no need for compensation. I'm curious why you keep Lockebie, knowing that he is the eyeliner of the Thieves Guild?"

Victor is very short of money, but he has not yet fully realized the role of money.He generously stated that he would not need the Iron Rhino Caravan to make compensation, but he asked Dunn about the dark tricks of the Thieves Guild, which made Dunn believe that he was from a highland nobleman.

"This kind of thing is actually unavoidable, and the thieves' union usually avoids provoking armed caravans. We are most worried about the bandit gangs. As long as the guys in the caravan don't collude with the bandits, we don't bother to care about their flirting with the thieves' union."

"Bandits? Bandits aren't members of the Thieves Guild?"

"No." Dunn shook his head and said, "The gang of bandits is a group of ruthless and daring bandits. They run amok in the wild, attacking caravans, plantations and mines, robbing and killing people, kidnapping and extorting, and doing all sorts of evil. Because of the bandits, the city-state There are very few scattered passengers on the commercial roads between. Adventure groups and armed caravans must be careful of attacks by bandit gangs."

"At present, the most famous bandit is the wolf shepherd girl Bertina. It is said that she led a herd of beasts near the fierce city, attacked a large armed caravan, and killed hundreds of caravan guards. But the wolf shepherd girl is extremely A rare lone bandit, before she became famous, there were five or six bandit gangs entrenched around the commercial road connecting Rapids City and Fallen Leaf City. Among them, the Flying Scorpion Bandit Group is the most famous. Small town, killed the mayor’s family, and kidnapped the mayor’s youngest daughter.”

"The Fierce City Council was furious and dispatched a regular army to unite with the Adventurer's Union to kill the Flying Scorpion bandits. Unfortunately, the Flying Scorpion bandits are still alive and well, but not as rampant as before."

"We, the merchant convoys, all believe that if the Wolf Shepherd hadn't appeared out of nowhere to divert the attention of the Strom City Council, the Flying Scorpion gang would have been wiped out."

Dunn shook his head and sighed, "The bandits who can never be killed..."

"Bandits that can't be killed? Isn't this your own problem?"

Victor frowned, asked casually, and then asked enthusiastically: "Mr. Dunn, can you tell me about Bertina's attack on the caravan?"

(End of this chapter)