71: Strange deal

The lead-gray clouds, like compressed cotton, pressed heavily upon the earth.

The wind gradually grew restless, emitting a low whine, like a beast awakened from a deep slumber.

In the damp air, a strong earthy smell permeated, signaling the imminent arrival of a heavy rain.

Arthur gazed at the sky, and after listening to Godwin’s analysis, he sighed, “Even if we take a detour, he still won’t let us go.”

“So, do you two have a countermeasure?”

Jessica replied, “The scout riders heading to Grey Mud Valley are already on their way.”

“If those bandits are just a disorganized mob, then we’ll strike first.”

“I’ll personally lead men to Grey Mud Valley; the enemy surely won’t expect us to launch a surprise attack in the rain.”

“If the enemy is strong, we’ll use a feint.”

“Let the empty caravan depart from the monastery to lure them in, while our men lie in ambush nearby.”

After Jessica finished speaking, Godwin added, “From the intelligence I’ve gathered,”

“This band of bandits is mostly composed of fugitives.”

“This is probably related to the Orcs’ capture of border towns.”

“I heard that after the Orcs occupied the towns, they not only didn’t leave,”

“But also released all the prisoners from the dungeons, letting them become bandits to harass the rear.”

“So these bandits are short-sighted, greedy, and untrustworthy individuals.”

“Once the situation looks bad, they’ll scatter like birds.”

Arthur had also heard about this. “It seems there’s a Great Chieftain among the Orcs who attacked this time who understands strategy.”

“I didn’t expect that even though we are so far from the border, we would still be affected.”

“The enemy’s true strength will be decided after the scout riders report back.”

“Our manpower is limited now; without absolute certainty, we must not attack rashly.”

“You said Henry is very likely to send a messenger here?”

Godwin nodded and replied, “Precisely. This move will, firstly, clear him of suspicion.”

“Secondly, if we hold out in the monastery, the messenger can collude with the bandits from within.”

“However, they didn’t expect that you, my lord, had already grown suspicious.”

“So, if a messenger arrives, we will feign agreement and simply detain him.”

“Good, then we will await news.”

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

After dealing with matters here, Arthur immediately led a group of people to the south of the monastery without stopping.

They quickly found the Marmots’ burrow.

On a wide, flat grassland, these little fellows’ excavated burrows were scattered like stars.

Drax couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw a Marmot peeking its head out of a hole, “These rats are really big!”

“No wonder the monastery cats don’t dare to provoke them.”

“These are Marmots, also called groundhogs, not rats,” Old Hutu corrected. “Alright, leave the horses here, my lord.”

“The holes these fellows dig will trip the horses and break their legs.”

After the Rabbitman finished speaking, he cautiously walked towards the grassland.

Arthur and the others followed behind him.

“Guys, step back, don’t scare them, let me talk to them.”

The Rabbitman waved for the others to stop.

He sat on the ground, his hands waving rhythmically, and began mumbling incantations in his mouth.

Arthur recognized it as Druid.

About ten minutes later, Old Hutu stood up, pulled a small piece of bread from his pouch, and began testing each burrow one by one.

When he tried the fifth burrow, a Marmot finally poked its head out.

Old Hutu handed it the bread and placed another small piece in front of the burrow.

Then he began to converse with the Marmot in a peculiar language.

Except for Arthur, everyone else looked on in surprise.

Drax couldn’t help but ask, “Is he talking to a rat?”

A young man standing behind the Orc replied, “I think it must be magic.”

Arthur turned to look at the man.

Arthur remembered him as Rowan Vine, one of the five mountaineers.

He was responsible for caring for the animals in the settlement.

Later, he was assigned to work under Old Hutu.

“You understand magic?” Arthur asked the young man.

Seeing the lord ask, Rowan scratched his head awkwardly and replied, “My lord, I don’t have magical talent like Flora.”

“But I’ve seen my grandmother cast similar spells.”

“After each casting, she could talk to animals. She called it… animal communication.”

“It’s already very good that you know this much,” Arthur praised.

He then asked the Orc, “You’ve been very excited all this way, Drax.”

“Can you tell me why?”

The Orc grinned, reaching for the necklace on his chest, “I rarely had the chance to leave the gladiator arena.”

“So my mother always told me about the outside world.”

“Now that I can see it with my own eyes, I’m very happy; it reminds me of her.”

As he spoke, Old Hutu also walked back.

“It will go back and inform the leader,” he interjected. “If all goes well,”

“We should be able to get back the things that were stolen last night.”

“But we need to exchange them for food.”

“That’s no problem,” Arthur turned to look at the donkey cart filled with food. “Did you ask them about the stones?”

“I did, my lord. But they have many stones.”

“I’ll try to get them to bring out all the stolen items later.”

Arthur looked up at the sky, “Then they need to hurry; it’s about to rain.”

“By the way, how is Silvermoon?”

Silvermoon was the name Arthur gave his direwolf.

Because it had a crescent-shaped tuft of white fur on its back, it was named so.

Upon mentioning the direwolf, Old Hutu immediately became animated.

“It’s growing very fast, and its appetite is getting bigger and bigger.”

“Thankfully, we kept a dairy cow.”

“In another month, it will be weaned and eating meat.”

“But once it tastes blood, its wild nature will be aroused.”

“It must be trained early, otherwise it will be as difficult to control as a wild direwolf.”

“I believe you have a way to train it well, right?”

“Of course, my lord. In Chult, I trained Raptors.”

“Do you know Raptors, my lord? Those fellows are much harder to train than direwolves.”

“I killed a few in the gladiator arena,” Drax interjected.

Old Hutu didn’t respond and continued, “Raptors are small yet fierce, and because their brain capacity isn’t large, training them…”

Arthur didn’t interrupt, letting Old Hutu recount his past experiences.

Before long, Marmots began to emerge from their burrows one by one, swarming towards them.

Arthur saw that the leader was a large Marmot.

The Rabbitman’s words abruptly stopped, and he quickly walked towards the largest Marmot.

The man and the Marmot communicated for a while.

Afterward, Old Hutu waved to Arthur and the others.

Led by the Marmots, everyone came to a small mound about half a man’s height.

The Marmot leader stood upright and pointed at the mound with its claws.

The other Marmots then began to take out the hidden items one by one.

“Tell it, Old Hutu, that the entire cart of food is theirs,” Arthur said. “Also, tell them not to rob us again.”

After Old Hutu relayed the message, the Marmot leader cried out excitedly a few times.

This peculiar transaction brought Arthur a rich harvest.

He not only found the four strange stones but also some shiny jewelry.

Arthur estimated that these items were worth at least sixty gold coins.

Among them, a uniquely styled ring particularly caught his attention.

After careful study, he confirmed that the ring should belong to a couple named Molly and Furny.

He put the ring away, planning to ask the Abbot about it back at the monastery.

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

The pouring rain arrived as expected, the raindrops hitting the ground densely with a “pitter-patter” sound.

In an instant, the world was enveloped by a vast curtain of rain, a chaotic expanse.

Bruce and Morgos walked through the rain.

The heavy rain severely affected their visibility, forcing them to slow their horses.

Fortunately, they were not too far from Grey Mud Valley.

After walking a bit further, they led their horses into the woods beside the road.

The dense branches and leaves blocked a lot of the rain for them.

Bruce took out the map provided by the Abbot of the monastery to determine their direction.

“Turn at the large oak tree by the road, then follow the protruding stones upwards.”

He muttered, searching around.

Morgos, the scout of the team, quickly spotted the protruding stones.

“Over there, boss,” he pointed to a spot not far away.

Bruce nodded, put away the map, tied up his horse, and began to walk up the mountain.

As Morgos climbed along the stones, he asked, “Boss, do you really believe our new lord can foretell the future?”

“For the past three days, we’ve been safe and sound all the way.”

“Why do you think that is? Our new lord has the protection of the earth mother.”

“We just need to obey his commands.”

Morgos pulled Bruce up.

“Honestly, you’re starting to sound more and more like Lady Jessica.”

“He seems to trust the lord unconditionally.”

Bruce wiped the rain from his face. “What, you don’t believe it?”

“After all these years, wandering and fighting, how many times have we eaten so well on a journey?”

“Not only bread and vegetables, but even fresh meat at every meal.”

“The wild boar you brought back with your team last time still hasn’t been finished.”

“And who guided us to hunt?”

Morgos was silent for a moment, then replied, “I… I’m just a bit at a loss.”

“You’ve read books and can read. You can tell what’s true and what’s false.”

“It’s different for us roughnecks who only know how to wield swords and spears.”

As they spoke, the two had already climbed a good distance.

Bruce stopped, catching his breath slightly.

Then, he asked his subordinate, “Is it just you who thinks this, or does everyone think this?”

The scout replied, “Everyone thinks this isn’t real.”

“Especially Jerome, you know, a Dwarf. Stubborn and traditional.”

“He said the whole thing isn’t normal.”

“Having meat every day, and wine too. No noble lord is that kind-hearted.”

“The last time he encountered something so good, he was in a church that worshipped Asmodeus.”

“He said those cultists gave them food and drink, and women and gold.”

“After tricking them into joining, those cultists sacrificed them all alive.”

“Luckily, he was clever and kept his wits about him, and managed to escape.”

Bruce laughed upon hearing this. “Alright then, starting tomorrow, I’ll have the lord cut off your meat.”

“And no more wine, so you stop overthinking things.”

The scout’s face showed bitterness, and he pleaded, “No, boss, I was just saying.”

“Stop thinking about all this nonsense all day,” Bruce warned. “We give you good food and drink, and you still can’t control your mouths. Let’s go.”

The two continued upwards, and after quite a while, they reached the edge of a cliff.

Bruce looked down, and the mountain village below Grey Mud Valley was in full view.

He pointed to the crowd gathered in the village square.

“Now do you believe it?” he asked.

In the square, the bandits were executing villagers one by one.

Even the heavy rain could not extinguish their cruelty and madness.

The scout nodded, “Truly divine protection.”

“Our lord, without leaving his home, can know so much.”

“Ah! Damn bastards, these people are worse than beasts.”

The two carefully observed the bandits’ equipment and numbers.

After confirming the basic situation, Bruce asked, “What do you think?”

“They’re just a disorganized mob, with no decent equipment, just relying on their numbers.”

“Once they actually engage us, their morale will quickly collapse.”

Bruce largely agreed with his subordinate’s assessment.

He pointed to the four individuals dressed distinctly differently. “Those few people.”

“They are clearly not bandits, and why do I feel like their slaughter of the villagers is some kind of ritual?”

The scout also frowned this time. “Something is indeed off.”

“You stay here and continue to monitor; I’ll go back and report.”

With that, Bruce immediately ran down the mountain.

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

“I am Hakso, Henry’s loyal servant, and also his butler.”

The short, fat servant with dark skin and gray hair introduced himself.

“Young Master Arthur, my master invites you and your pioneering group to Black Marsh Town.”

“My master has prepared ample supplies and comfortable accommodation; you and your retinue will be well taken care of.”

Arthur and Godwin exchanged glances, then Arthur replied, “Messenger, it’s raining heavily outside.”

The fat butler smiled. “It was my oversight, Young Master.”

“It’s not too late to depart once the rain stops and the road is easier to travel.”

“Very well, you may withdraw for now,” Arthur waved his hand.

The butler seemed to have no intention of leaving, and he asked again, “Old servant presumes to ask, Young Master, why did you choose to stay at the monastery temporarily?”

“Logically, wouldn’t it be better to rest at my master’s place?”

“He is your brother after all, and your father has already sent a messenger to instruct us.”

Arthur’s expression darkened, and he retorted, “Do I need to explain my decisions to you?”

Hakso quickly bowed. “No, no, old servant had no such intention.”

“If I have offended you, Young Master, please forgive me. Then old servant will take his leave now.”

“Wait,” Arthur stared at the guard beside Hakso. “You look very familiar; have we met in Wolf Den City?”

Upon hearing this, Le Fu burst into laughter.

He replied, “My lord is joking; I am just a barbarian. How could I have been to Wolf Den City? You must have mistaken me.”

“Is that so?” Arthur snorted, not asking further.

Once they left, he immediately called Philip and Drax, instructing them to keep a close eye on the two.

Godwin saw Arthur’s solemn expression and asked, “What is it, my lord?”

“Was there something wrong with that man just now?”

“Do you still remember when we were investigating in Wolf Den City, a prostitute mentioned a Painted Warrior?” Arthur said.

Godwin’s brow furrowed. “You think this person is him?”

“I can’t be sure, but the tattoos on his body are very similar.”