Warlord: King of All Clans

There are only three options for the refugees who gather in Isenbol.

One is to be absorbed by the surrounding knight territories and the city of Isenpol and become artisans or serfs.

The second is to be absorbed by surrounding bandit gangs and mountain bandit nests and become cannon fodder for bandits to raid villages or caravans.

The third is starvation.

Given the opportunity to choose, no one would choose the third option.

Of the tens of thousands of refugees expelled by Lord Isenpol last time, 30% were absorbed by the River Bay Territory, 10% were digested by the Petukhov family, and the remaining 60% mostly became the exploits of the lord's army, or starved to death while hiding in some mountain hills.

Only a very small number joined the surrounding bandit groups and survived by robbing their own kind.

During this period, Ivan also cooperated with the Solovyvian Knights to wipe out a lot of bandits.

However, most of these bandits were small groups of dozens of people, and they were basically scattered and fled after a wave of crossbow arrows from the militia crossbowmen of the River Bay Lord and the Solovy Knight Lord. They were not a threat at all.

Several local bandit groups hid in the mountains, constantly recruiting soldiers and expanding their power.

In addition to his love-hate relationship with the ogre, Ivan also did not give up his job and obtained a lot of intelligence during this period.

"The largest bandit nest in the western mountains currently has about 300 people, and their leader is called Harold."

"Originally, they only had a few dozen people. After being defeated by the Solovie Knights, they retreated and did not show up for a whole month."

"But several bandit groups in the surrounding areas heard the news and joined his army, which is why he has grown to his current size."

Ivan scratched his head as he spoke, "This guy was almost stabbed to death by a Solovie Knight, why does he seem to be even more famous?"

Leo sneered, "Have you never seen Knight Solovy stab someone? The characters who were not stabbed to death by him are enough to be the king of the Western Wilderness!"

Ivan thought about it carefully and nodded.

When he led the River Bay Lords' Army to cooperate with the Solovie Knights to suppress bandits, he hardly saw the other side take action. After all, the opponent was too weak.

But when the Solovian knights occasionally took action, they would trot on their horses with their lances in hand, and pierce the bravest warrior on the opposite side with a single shot.

Whether it was an ordinary bandit or a bandit leader in iron armor, they all seemed like scarecrows on a training ground in front of him.

Ivan also had a horse. He held his lance and poked the human-shaped target. It took him three attempts to hit it once!

Leo asked, "Have you found the location of the bandits' lair?"

Ivan nodded and said, "We found it. It's on the mountain west of the Solovyv Knight Territory. Unfortunately, the terrain is too steep and I'm afraid we can't conquer it."

Leo thought for a moment and ordered, "Have the wild folk hunters and the kobold scouts keep a close eye on them. These bandits will come out to rob sooner or later. We probably won't have to wait too long."

"I will transfer 200 militiamen from the river bend, and you will transfer another 200 militiamen from the river mouth. All of them will be under your command. You will be responsible for confronting the bandits head-on."

"Give me all the regular troops. I will make sure they never return."

Ivan was excited but also worried. "The militia will attack us head-on? Can they handle it?"

Leo insisted, "We have trained for so long and given so much equipment. If we can't even defeat a bunch of bandits, then it's all in vain. It's time to let them see blood."

Leo's guess was correct. Just two days later, the kobold scouts and wild hunters who were hiding near the bandits' nest sent news at the same time.

A bandit force of three hundred men came out in full force and headed straight for Hekou Town!

They stayed away from the World Tree Avenue, crossed mountains and ridges in the wilderness and dense forests, and hid during the day and came out at night, hoping to catch Hekou Town off guard.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of the kobold scouts and wild hunters, the existence of the bandit group was as conspicuous as a torch in the dark night.

Moreover, the 300-man force was too bloated and its marching speed was very slow in the rugged mountainous terrain.

Some wild hunters and kobold scouts followed slowly behind them, lit a campfire to eat a hot meal, and could easily go around in front of them to continue monitoring.

Leo was not making random guesses; his prediction about the bandits came from his own experience.

The original River Bend Development Team also had 300 people, and he had a rough idea of ​​how much food they consumed every day.

A small team of dozens of people could still barely survive by hunting and gathering.

But when the team grew to 300 people, the situation was completely different. The wilderness alone could not support so many people.

Moreover, bandits are not a group that works hard on farming and is content with the status quo. When there are too many people, conflicts will arise, and when conflicts arise, they will think of moving away.

The bandit leader had no other way to win over his men except to appease them through a successful robbery.

The leader of this large group of bandits, Harold the Cruel, led his new and old followers and sneaked all the way. After two days, they finally arrived near the river mouth town.

From where he was, he could already see a corner of the refugee camp west of Hekou Town.

In the past few years, the bandit leader, Harold the Cruel, has been maintaining a bandit group of about fifty people, and has been living a happy life in the western wilderness.

His brothers had been through many robberies and were very strong in combat, and they even had a dozen horses.

Not only did they often go to the Miswich Knight Territory to collect money, but they could also cross the Miswich Knight Territory, bypass the garrison in the western watchtower, and loot the natural villages inside.

Unfortunately, since the beginning of this year, the Miswitch Knight Territory has become the Solovyv Knight Territory. The powerful extraordinary knights are able to defeat thousands of people alone and have slaughtered the nearby bandits so badly that they have been routed.

Last month, Harold assembled four bandit groups, totaling 200 people, to ambush the patrol of the Solovie Knights, but was still defeated.

And he himself was nearly stabbed to death by a Solovie Knight.

However, compared with other bandit leaders who have died at the hands of the Solovyvian knights, Harold is undoubtedly lucky, which is also a symbol of strength to some extent.

Therefore, the remaining bandits gradually gathered under his command.

But the expansion of power is not always a good thing. Within half a month, the food reserves of the mountain stronghold were used up by these unrestrained bandits, and even several horses were slaughtered.

Then he kept asking himself when he would go out to rob.

If he doesn't come out, I'm afraid these subordinates who have no bottom line and no brains will vote to change their leader.

It is impossible for him to go to the Solovie Knight Territory. Even if he is given eight lives, he will not go there. He can only try his luck in Hekou Town.

Harold looked at the five-meter-high camp wall of Hekou Town and felt a headache.

At this moment, the heavy gate of Hekou Town opened, and a team came out of the gate, arrived at the World Tree Avenue, and headed west along the World Tree Avenue.

This team was composed entirely of young and strong men, half of whom were equipped with northern round wooden shields, iron one-handed swords or one-handed axes, three heavy javelins, and wore thick leather armor with studs.

Some squad leaders were still wearing chain mail and iron helmets.

The other half carried huge square tower shields, held crossbows, and wore only thick cloth armor.

Some crossbowmen had small hand axes on their waists, while others were equipped with small hammers, which were obviously their work tools.

Their number was about two hundred.

It’s the Hekou Militia!