95: The Dark Enemy

Chapter 95: Hidden Enemy

When Godwin and his men arrived at the Black Goat Caravan’s camp in a menacing manner, the other party seemed to have already anticipated their arrival.

The caravan guards had already lined up at the entrance.

The Captain, Jonah, stepped forward and said, “Gentlemen, there’s no need for this.”

“We merely wanted to invite that little girl to help us with a small favor.”

“You bastards forcibly abducted our people and are still spouting this nonsense!”

The impulsive Azrak suddenly pointed his spear and cursed angrily, “Hand her over immediately, or we’ll go in and ‘retrieve’ her ourselves!”

The Vice Captain, Valok, gestured for his subordinates to step back.

Godwin then stepped forward and said, “Sir, we have no intention of clashing with your esteemed party.”

“But abducting our person in broad daylight, isn’t that a bit too much?”

Jonah’s expression remained unchanged; he waved his hand and instructed his subordinates to bring the person out.

“Please calm down, everyone. I’ll send her out right away.”

A moment later, a half-elf girl walked out, escorted by a maid.

Katu, Caden, and another child named Lucas immediately went to meet her.

Godwin and the others brought the girl back to their side and, after carefully checking to confirm she was unharmed,

He then spoke, “My name is Godwin. If you have any matters, Sir, you can come to me to discuss them. There’s no need to make things difficult for a child.”

“Jonah.” The Captain stated his name. “I will certainly pay you a visit.”

Godwin signaled the Vice Captain to lead the men back to the camp, but Azrak clearly was not willing to let the matter drop.

Sariya, who had come along, also looked indignant.

The Vice Captain saw through their thoughts and commanded in a deep voice, “Go back! We’ll discuss anything else back at the camp!”

On the way back to the camp, Azrak grumbled in a low voice, “That’s it? We’re leaving?”

“How cowardly! I thought we’d at least make those guys bleed a little.”

Valok glared at him, signaling him to shut up.

But Sariya, next to him, also complained, “I don’t think those guards are very capable.”

“Leaving like this makes us look easy to bully. Won’t anyone be able to step all over us in the future?”

The Vice Captain deliberately slowed his pace, creating some distance from Godwin,

He asked the relatively more rational Sariya, “About half a month ago, we weren’t even as good as those guards.”

“Everything we ate and drank depended on stealing and snatching, and our clothes and equipment were barely adequate.”

“Now that you don’t have to worry about food or clothing, you’re thinking of stirring up trouble?”

The two subordinates were instantly speechless.

The Vice Captain continued, “Those guards are indeed nothing to fear; we can handle them easily.”

“But what about the crossbowmen hiding in the shadows?”

“Hmm? Didn’t you notice? If we had made a move just now, we would have been shot full of arrows like porcupines.”

“I… I didn’t see…” Azrak mumbled.

Sariya, meanwhile, pursed her lips, saying nothing.

“This isn’t our territory,” the Vice Captain said. “We came to get someone, not to fight.”

“Otherwise, Mr. Godwin wouldn’t have brought so few people.”

“Originally, they were in the wrong. Once we started fighting, it would be hard to say who was in the right.”

After this analysis of the situation, the two subordinates finally stopped complaining.

Back at the camp, Godwin gathered the children, intending to sort out the matter thoroughly.

The children’s parents also followed, their faces full of unease and apprehension.

The Vice Captain had his subordinates keep the adults outside to prevent chaos.

“The camp’s supplies are plentiful,” Godwin asked the girl who had been taken, “and Ms. Catherine and I have never withheld any rations or necessities.”

“Why do you still go out to work for others and earn money?”

The girl, Isabella, replied, “I—we wanted to—to contribute.”

“When I was in Great Al-araksin City, I found that running errands and delivering messages could earn a copper coin.”

“Many children in the caravan had nothing to do, so I thought I could help people run errands and earn some money.”

“After coming here, I… I found that almost all the local soldiers here are illiterate.”

“I… I am literate, so I helped them write letters to their families. Three letters could earn one copper coin.”

“Running errands can also continue here.”

Godwin frowned and asked again, “I remember your family used to run a small business, right?”

The girl nodded.

“Of course, the more money, the better,” Godwin said. “Who doesn’t like money?”

“But we are new here and not yet familiar with the situation.”

“You children running around everywhere, if something goes wrong like today, who will be responsible?”

“We’re not just doing it for ourselves.” The Chult boy argued, “We’ve saved all the money and plan to give it to the Lord.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the clever Lucas pulled out a small glass jar, already half-filled with copper coins.

“This is what we earned,” he said. “Once it’s full, we’ll take it to the Lord.”

“You little brat, the Lord only uses gold coins, your little bit of—”

Azrak’s words were cut short as Sariya elbowed him hard.

Godwin’s brow unfurrowed. He reached out, picked up the jar to look at it, then returned it to the children.

“I will report your good intentions to Lord Arthur,” he said, “but you secretly stealing weapons to rescue someone was utterly foolish.”

“The next time you encounter something like this, go directly to an adult, instead of trying to be a hero!”

“I won’t pursue this matter this time. You can all leave now. Isabella, you stay.”

Seeing that Godwin wanted to keep the girl alone, the children hesitated and refused to leave.

The Vice Captain gave Sariya a look, and she then let the children’s parents in.

Before long, amidst the parents’ repeated apologies and scolding of their children,

The little ones were all led away, leaving only Randall’s family behind.

Godwin gestured for the Vice Captain to also leave.

Once everyone had left, he asked the girl, “Alright, it’s just your parents and me here now.”

“You can tell me any difficulties you have.”

“Why did those people take you? Did they touch you?”

“Don’t be afraid, Lord Arthur will stand up for you.”

Godwin asked this because Isabella was already fourteen, considered a young woman.

She was exceptionally beautiful and her demeanor was very proper, making her easy to be targeted in a fortress like a military camp.

Such things were too common; Godwin had seen it more than once—the sentinels stationed in Old Cartwheel Town often abducted lone girls and engaged in illicit activities.

The girl’s face flushed, but she quickly realized Godwin’s concern was not unfounded.

She shook her head very earnestly and replied, “No, they didn’t do anything. They just asked me about the Pioneer Group.”

“Oh? What did they ask about?”

The girl described in detail what happened after she was taken into the caravan.

After listening, Godwin fell into deep thought.

He told Randall’s family to go back first, then found the Vice Captain and had him send people to look for Catherine and her group.

Once everything was arranged, the Vice Captain asked Godwin, “Sir, has something happened?”

Godwin said with some uncertainty, “It’s hard to say, but what’s certain is that Ms. Catherine’s dealings with the Black Goat Caravan were not smooth.”

“Since they are inquiring about us, we must also be prepared, lest we be caught off guard when the enemy attacks.”

The Vice Captain asked, “Then why not go to the Commander? Those guys are too much.”

“No rush, Vice Captain,” Godwin waved his hand, “Let’s first figure out their objective.”