Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

On the hillside in the distance, a boy squatted on the meadow, with a little black sheep sitting beside him. He also imitated his master and behaved quietly, but his ears were twitching.

The boy took out a piece of soft candy from his pocket and broke off a piece with his hands. However, he did not eat it himself, but gave it to the black sheep nearby.

Little Dib wonders if sheep can eat candy.

But Cornelius had always enjoyed his meals.

"Hang on." The little black sheep exhaled excitedly and began to clack.

But the next moment, it suddenly stood up.

Looking into the distance warily, the black hair on his body couldn't help but tremble.

This performance.

Much like not long ago, when it met the mysterious traveler, it suddenly lost control among the sheep.

"What's wrong..." Little Dibu said subconsciously.

Before he finished speaking, he also saw in the direction - in the distance where Kony was watching, a piece of sand and dust rose up like a yellow cloud, spreading towards this direction at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then the earth shook as if it were thousands of times. Thousands of people stepped on it.

"Sand...sand bandits."

Little Dibu's expression changed, and half of the candy fell to the ground.

…

…

"Sand bandit!"

Hearing this word, people in the tribe's camp were in panic.

From time to time in tents of all sizes, there were sounds of things being knocked over due to surprise. This happened to adults, and the children were so frightened that they were so frightened that many even fell to the ground and cried loudly - but no one Don't worry about them.

Even in the cattle and sheep pens outside the camp, the animals felt the uneasy atmosphere.

The pack oxen circled restlessly and brayed from time to time.

Bandits.

To these herdsmen living on the border of Shem, this is equivalent to the devil.

And the yellow sand rising all over the sky.

announced their arrival.

Moreover, unlike in the past where there were only one or two teams of tax collectors, this time the formation was menacing, with an unknown number of people, seemingly capable of sweeping everything.

"How can this be?"

Old Ethan stood in the chaotic crowd, listening to the increasingly approaching shouts and wild laughter, and stood frozen on the spot.

It stands to reason that they have already paid all the offerings for this year.

Even if the Sand Bandits have any orders, they will go to the Beifeng Clan and let them convey them. How could they come directly to such a small tribe like their own?

Moreover, Ethan lived a lifetime.

We have never seen the Sand Bandits dispatch such a large force - not to mention them, even if the Beifeng Clan stood in the way, they would probably be razed to the ground.

"Old Ethan, what are they going to do?" Even the clan leader was alarmed. He opened the tent and stumbled in front of him, almost being knocked down in the process.

The leader of this tribe had no blood on his face at this moment.

"It's war..."

"What?" The patriarch turned back suddenly.

"It's not a small fight, it's a real war." Ethan murmured, "That man is right."

"We're involved."

At this time, the patriarch also suddenly remembered what the old herdsman had said to him in a hurry a few days ago - but at that time, he didn't take it seriously.

In addition, in the past few days, another businessman has visited.

The entire tribe was immersed in the joy of a festival, and had long forgotten the vague warning, let alone starting to migrate.

A wave of regret surged into the patriarch's heart.

"No, it's okay," he said with a smile on his face, "The adults on the Beifeng side have already said hello. Even if there is a war, how can the sand bandits make things difficult for us..."

"Everyone from the Farstrider clan, come out!"

The yellow sand spread from far to near, and the dense bandits with no end in sight soon surrounded this small piece of grassland. A loud cry circled the camp, urging the herdsmen to gather in front of the bandit formation.

Most of the nomadic camps are tents made of wood and animal skins. Although they can be disassembled, packed and hung on pack animals for moving, it is too late to do so in an emergency. Even a few herdsmen who abandoned their homes were driven back by the crossbowmen of the sand bandits outside.

People can only hold on to the same hopes as the clan leader.

Obediently dragging the family with them, they all walked out of the camp.

"The Beifeng clan will make peace and protect us..."

"Last time, in order to please the animal trainer, I gave my family two more lambs. Bless you..."

However, after all the herdsmen gathered together and lined up in front of the bandits, their hearts sank to the bottom of the valley——

Standing next to the bandit leader, he was introducing the commander in a flattering manner.

They are from the Beifeng clan.

The last time the beast trainer from the North Wind came to the camp, he was still arrogant, but this time he was full of smiles: "Master Matt, the herdsmen of the Farstrider clan are here. Do you think there are enough people?"

Matt, who was wearing a spiked helmet and his upper body was naked except for a pair of goggles, glanced at a circle of shivering herdsmen and frowned:

"Too little."

"It doesn't matter if it's small, I'll take you to find a few more tribes." The beast tamer of the Beifeng Clan said quickly, "But look at their cattle and sheep, they still have quite a lot."

Matt nodded, and then he felt satisfied:

"Everyone, take them away!"

He ignored the frightened and crying crowd and ordered to his troops.

This time to attack the swamp, Matt, as the commander of the vanguard, is not a brainless person. He must be fully prepared.

Rotten Town is the gateway to that dense forest and must be captured to serve as a bridgehead.

However, Matt would not place all his hopes on the Black Dragon Ninjas being able to instigate rebellion and seize the city. As long as those people who come and go without a trace can delay for some time, it is enough.

Rotten Town has strong artillery and is very difficult to conquer head-on.

However, the opponent's resources are very short and cannot fight a protracted war.

When the time comes, he will send sand bandits to besiege Rotten Town, and then drive out the miners and farmers kidnapped from the roaming areas, and the herdsmen kidnapped from the Shen tribe to serve as the vanguard, consuming the arrows, crossbows, and energy of the guards until the opponent is exhausted and the ammunition is used up. All...

The main force of sand bandits swarmed up again.

Great things can be accomplished with minimal casualties.

Moreover, with the help of the Beifeng clan, Matt collected cattle and sheep as beasts of burden and military rations. The cannon fodder they captured could also serve as civilian forces during the march, allowing them to send themselves to the battlefield. A loss-making transaction.

As for the losses of the Shandi tribe...

What does it have to do with them, the bandits?

In his opinion, these surrounding wandering nomadic tribes are like some kind of food like leeks. After one crop dies, new tribes will migrate here within a few years. They do not need to be managed and only need to be harvested regularly. It can be said that Stable meal tickets.

This war is equivalent to an advance payment.

The bandits quickly controlled the herdsmen and packed them into the army, and the people of the Far Traveler clan also discovered that there were many other herdsmen among the bandits. They were sallow, skinny, and tortured. They were obviously victims of the bandits before. captured other clans.

Everyone in the Far Traveler clan was even more desperate now.

"Sir..." The beast tamer of the Beifeng Clan was helping the Sand Bandits count the beasts when he suddenly heard an old call and followed the call, only to see an old herdsman.

Ethan resisted the push of the sand bandits and shouted with all his strength: "We can follow the adults to the battlefield, but the children have no strength and are not sensible yet. If you can let them stay, just treat it as housekeepers... "

The old herdsmen held on to their last glimmer of hope.

As its name suggests, the Far Traveler clan has a large number of wandering caravans even among the nomadic tribes, and many of the young people in it are the parents of the children in the clan today.

Leave the children behind until they come back.

At least the tribe will not lose its roots.

Moreover, even if the herders do not know their specific future fate, war is still too cruel for children, and they will not end well.

The animal trainer turned around and asked the bandit leader for his opinion.

Matt just glanced at it: "Either die or go together."

"What if the people who stay here are tipped off?"

Let alone children, as long as anyone lives in this world, they are not immune.

When he was the same age as these herder children.

He had already taken the piece of iron and killed eighteen members of a caravan staying in the village, stole their money and defected to the current King of Sand overnight.

What's more, no matter men, women, old or young.

Both can attract the firepower of Rotten Town, there is no difference.

Although due to the existence of the man-eating curse, they will not be directly used as reserve rations, but we brought the pack animals with us on this trip. We first feed the corpses to the animals and bandits, then slaughter and eat the meat, filter and digest it. This is still safe and feasible. .

There are always more ways than difficulties.

Ethan's hands trembled, and his whole body seemed to have lost all strength. He was slapped by two bandits and was directly thrown into the captive team.

However, deep down he still felt a little uneasy and palpitating.

His own grandson, Little Dib.

He was not among the captured herdsmen.

If the sand bandit could agree to keep the child, then even if he found little Dibu, he wouldn't be in trouble... But now, if his whereabouts are discovered again, he will definitely be executed on the spot as a warning to others.

"Who are you!"

At this time, a sharp shout came from the sand bandits.

I saw stout bandits armed with rioters, surrounding a group of people and a pile of goods. The leaders were a man and a woman, but compared to the frightened herdsmen, there was no fear on their faces.

It was Peng Li and Zeng Jian who were disguised as ordinary merchants.

They were stationed at the Farstrider clan camp and were also besieged by sand bandits.

"what happened?"

Matt frowned and stepped forward himself.

"Boss, they refuse to hand over anything." A bandit reported.

They were just a group of ordinary traders. Logically speaking, they shouldn't be so blind when facing this mighty army of sand bandits... Matt thought to himself.

However, the other party was too calm,

On the contrary, it made him cautious.

"This leader," Peng Li Qiao smiled, Zeng Jian stood beside her holding a knife, "before you take action, you have to consider whether the other person is someone you can afford to offend."

"oh?"

Stung by her straightforward and arrogant words, Matt's anger welled up in his heart:

"You'd better prove to me whether I really can't afford to offend--"

He was still thinking about it.

If this businessman really comes from a big chamber of commerce, he can just pay some protection fees.

But at this point, he didn't believe that a caravan stationed in such a small tribe had any background that could allow him...

A salesman trotted over, handed over a wooden box, and opened it in front of him.

What I saw lying inside was a small plastic card.

Matt twisted it and took a look, and suddenly he was stunned:

"You are……"

The card reads: Merchant Guild Level 2 Franchise.

Franchisees of merchant guilds are also divided into three, six, and nine levels. Depending on their status, the level of protection they promise to receive when doing business in the mainland is also different.

The lowest level, symbolized by a gold medal, is often just a name, it all depends on how many people can be frightened.

Those further up were marked by silver emblems, and plundering them was equivalent to being an enemy of the merchant guild - but when they were retaliated against, they had to wait in line.

After that, there are copper labels, iron sheets, magnetic cards...all the way up, the better the treatment.

Usually when they reach the iron level, unless they encounter particularly insane and crazy robbers, businessmen no longer have to worry about personal safety when walking on the mainland, but only need to pay different amounts of deposits.

Among the merchant guilds, there is only one chamber of commerce with the highest level of "first-class charter".

That is the Slave Trader's Guild managed by Mrs. Kana - the Slave Trader's Guild is essentially no longer a subordinate of the merchant guild, but its ally. Their slave traders are also spread across the continent. It is said that the voucher only has a piece of paper - with a dragon on it. En's autograph.

It cannot be considered with ordinary thinking.

That is to say...

Matt raised his head and looked at the group of merchants: "What do you want?"

The second-level franchise is already the chamber of commerce with the highest authority among the merchant guilds, and some of them can even be considered directly subordinate to President Long En.

In this era, the more industrial products are, the more precious they are.

Blacksmiths may be able to imitate and forge ordinary metal products, but few can produce chemical plastic cards. Except for mechanics, the rest are all in the merchant guild - and the mechanics themselves have a famous name. , no need to pretend.

The bandit commander's tone softened instantly.

With such a background, not to mention not having to pay protection fees, even if you go to the King of Sand, you might be treated as a guest - on the contrary, if you become an enemy, you will definitely suffer a devastating blow.

[Freedom of trade, freedom from slavery, absolute security of person and property. 】

[And, become a master. 】

This is a slogan that every member of the merchant guild has heard, and that is their pursuit - not to say that all of them can be realized, but Long En has indeed made many promises become a reality.

"I didn't expect you to come to such a small tribe, right..." Matt considered, "If there is any need, I can let you get together for a few more days."

He was not sure about the relationship between this group of merchants and the nomadic tribes.

In his words, he actually meant to release the Far Traveler clan for their sake.

Although some herdsmen did not understand the benefits, they could still hear the implication.

Now hope came back to me.

These days, the tribe is extremely enthusiastic towards merchants. In addition to normal transactions, there is no shortage of the necessary environment and services. They just hope that they can stay a few more days to exchange more goods. If the other party has any additional requirements, the clan leader also arranges for people to provide them as much as possible. He takes whatever he asks for without any unfair treatment.

Now it seems that because of this relationship, they really have the possibility of being rescued.

"Master Chief, you have misunderstood," Peng Li's words made their hearts sink into the ice cave again, "We have nothing to do with these cattle herders."

At this moment, she finally no longer had to hide the disgust and contempt in her heart.

"Actually... I guess the leader is going to Rotten Town, and we happened to be on the way." She turned around and glanced at Zeng Jian, who nodded while stroking the handle of the knife, "If the leader doesn't mind, these goods will be given to Sand Zhizhi." The king’s military resources only require us to accompany the army.”

Since no trace of Yamudu was found in the land of Shem.

Then these herdsmen are useless.

However, being able to take advantage of the situation to explore the swamp - the other party is still a large grassland that stretches across the border like the King of Sand, is an unexpected gain.

Come to think of it, even Yamudou couldn't take advantage of such a good opportunity.

Peng Li couldn't help but feel a little complacent.

The frustration of these many days is nothing.

"Okay," Matt thought for a moment before agreeing, "Then let's invite a few of us to go on the road together."

The other party has such a background, can't afford to offend, and is willing to provide money.

There is no reason not to agree.

The army of sand bandits looted and quickly set off again.

The Farstrider clan carefully raised the pack cattle for slaughter in the coming year. Half of them were slaughtered on the spot and eaten, and the other half were driven by the Beifong clan's animal trainers to accompany the army and carry weapons and supplies. As for the black sheep, it was not a single one. Leftover.

The originally bustling and popular tribe,

Only the dilapidated tents on the ground were left, gradually falling into silence.

After an unknown amount of time, two small black spots appeared near the camp. They were not tall and could sometimes even be covered by weeds and shrubs.

The two black spots lingered in silence for a long time, and suddenly one of the black spots rushed out, galloping under the moonlight, followed by an urgent and low-pitched cry:

"Koni! Where are you going?"