44: trap

“This isn't like an Orc's doing,” the big Orc grumbled, his tone filled with uncertainty.

Arthur suddenly thought that Drax had grown up in human arenas since childhood.

His understanding of Orcs was probably no different from that of other ordinary people in Amn.

“In the arena, my mother and other captured Orcs told me about Orc history and culture.

“Orcs are more inclined to enslave other races than to torture and kill them.”

He pointed to the corpses, reminding, “Look at the throats of these people.

“Do you see that knife cut, my Lord? Every corpse has one. This is very strange, isn't it?”

Arthur nodded and chimed in, “Indeed, that knife cut is fatal enough.

“If these people were slit at the throat from the beginning,

“Then the other wounds on their bodies would be superfluous, no wonder you mentioned torture and killing.”

“But we can't completely rule out that possibility,” the Orc said again, “If there were Goblins among these Orc bandits, then it would make sense.

“Those green-skinned little things are hostile to any creature, even Orcs are no exception.”

Arthur didn't think so.

If only one person's throat had a knife cut, perhaps it could be explained.

But now every corpse was like this.

That could only mean one fact.

These people were killed cleanly with a single blow.

And the messy sword and knife wounds on their bodies looked more like deliberate disguises after death.

Just then, Airo walked over quickly, lowering her voice, “You have to come and see this.”

Arthur followed the female rogue to a steep slope not far from the carriage.

There was a pile of messy footprints there.

“How interesting.” Arthur squatted down, reaching out to measure the size of the footprints, “This couldn't have been left by Orcs.”

Airo analyzed, “From the traces, there are at least three people.

“I also found some hoof prints up there.”

Arthur stood up, looked around, and nodded in agreement, “The slope here is much steeper than the other side.

“It's extremely dangerous to ride down. So they left their horses up there and walked down to intercept the carriage.

“No, no, no, it's more likely that they sent some people to pursue the carriage, and then attacked from a high place, causing the vehicle to overturn.

“This is not a simple robbery, it's more like a premeditated attack, but why?”

“I found several penetrating wounds on the horse's corpse, caused by arrows.”

The Orc added, “But I didn't find any arrows, they should have been recovered.”

Hearing this, Arthur smiled wryly, “My uncle once said that according to informant intelligence, no one among these mountain bandits uses bows and arrows.”

-----------------

The work of collecting the bodies didn't take too long.

Jason's family was simply buried by the roadside with stones.

The team set off again, this time, Arthur and Godwin traveled together.

Airo and the Orc followed beside them.

Philip, as instructed, tried to keep the child as far away from them as possible.

Godwin reported to Arthur what he had learned from the child, Jamie.

Little Jamie didn't remember the situation of the attack very clearly.

He was sleeping at the time, only remembering that the carriage suddenly accelerated.

His brother and grandfather, who were driving, shouted loudly.

He heard words like 'Orc' and 'bandit'.

Soon after, the carriage overturned, and he was thrown dazed.

Then he was hidden by his mother in the basket that originally held food.

Next, he heard the screams of his father, uncle, and grandfather.

Among them were terrifying roars like wild beasts.

Finally, his mother's wails.

“What do you think?” Arthur asked Godwin.

The exiled nobleman stroked his chin, his expression solemn, “From the current information,

“This child is lying, but I don't understand why he would do that.”

“I do have an idea, but there are still a few questions I haven't figured out.”

Arthur said, looking up at the slopes on both sides.

This mountain path was eerily quiet, besides the rustling of wind through the leaves, only occasional bird calls could be heard.

Arthur could see the scouts on the right slope.

And on the left were steep peaks and dense, continuous forests, almost impassable.

“Tell me, Godwin. Since the main road connected to the trade route has patrols from Old Wheeltown, why do many merchants still choose to take this path?”

“Because this is the fastest route from the trade route to Wolf Den City.

“Taking the main road would be a detour. For businessmen, time is money.

“Taking this path saves about a day.”

Arthur nodded thoughtfully: “So Red Maple Village is a necessary stop on this path, considered a resting place?”

“Yes, my Lord. Rolling Stone Trail connects to Frostmourn Mountain Road of Howling Mountain.

“Merchants usually turn from the trade route into the mountain road.

“They rest briefly in Red Maple Village, and then proceed to Wolf Den City via Rolling Stone Trail.”

Arthur pondered for a moment, then spurred his horse to catch up with the family knight walking ahead.

“It's a tragedy, isn't it, young master?”

Dylan noticed Arthur approaching and couldn't help but sigh.

Arthur didn't reply, but directly asked, “Old man, tell me about these bandits.

“Have Old Wheeltown's patrols ever fought them?”

The family knight pondered for a moment, then said, “As far as I know, the patrol team responsible for this area has almost never directly confronted these sons of bitches.

“They did organize one encirclement.

“But according to the report, they didn't even find a shadow of the mountain bandits.”

“So why didn't those mountain bandits act on Frostmourn Mountain Road?

“Why did they choose to rob this merchant caravan on Rolling Stone Trail, so close to the main road?

“Aren't they afraid of running into the patrol team?”

This indeed stumped Dylan.

After a long period of thought, he gave his speculation: “Perhaps it's because they've succeeded several times.

“Coupled with the patrol team's failed encirclement, it made them increasingly reckless.”

“That's possible. But as I said before, since they knew we had formed a team to come and suppress them, why didn't they temporarily avoid us?

“I've also read those investigation reports, this doesn't conform to the usual conduct of that group of mountain bandits.”

“Well, young master. Guessing people's hearts has never been my forte.

“I can only say that Orcs think differently from ordinary people.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow and told the family knight everything he had discovered at the robbery scene.

Dylan, as a commander, wasn't just a brute force.

He had fought for many years and always managed to retreat safely, relying on more than just his martial arts.

After listening to Arthur's analysis, he pondered for a long time before asking, “Young master, then what do you think is going on?

“Why would a seven or eight-year-old child lie to us? It just doesn't make sense.”

“Why must we go to Red Maple Village?” Arthur countered.

“Lord Robert's reconnaissance team is lurking near Red Maple Village.

“According to his instructions, we are to meet them in Red Maple Village tonight.”

“Including that informant?”

“Yes, including that informant.

“They will bring the latest intelligence on the enemy, so we can formulate an attack plan.”

“Aren't you worried this is a trap?”

The family knight's expression darkened, and he was about to turn to look at little Jamie, who was riding on Philip's horse, but Arthur stopped him.

“Don't, I suspect that's not Jamie at all,” Arthur said.