"Be careful when you enter the woods, don't step on those traps."

The leader's mercenary crossbowman whispered several times before leading the mercenary sentries and Swadia recruits into the forest. And Byron, as the leader, naturally has to be protected by the people around him in the middle of the team.

"Watch your step, sir."

Byron's foot slipped, and John quickly held it up, and the team paused before moving on.

The robbers set up a number of traps in the forest, all of which were hunting traps that were easy to dismantle, but also very deadly. In order to circumvent or dismantle these traps, they have put a lot of effort into it.

About one o'clock in the afternoon, they found the artificially cut clearing, and the tents and simple wooden huts in the clearing. At the door of the hut, there was a robber in low-quality chain mail polishing his weapon on the stone, while in the surrounding tents, several robbers were lying on their lunch break, their weapons on the side, and no armor on their bodies. There were also two robbers patrolling around the clearing, and the whole camp didn't seem to be difficult. It's just that the number of people they can observe is only eight, which is a bit different from the intelligence. However, this group of bandits is poorly armed, and even if the rest of them have any ambushes, they are no match for their eleven people.

Byron took out his hunting crossbow, and the hired crossbowman took out his crossbow, and the two of them put their crossbow arrows away and aimed them at their target, and two crossbow strings snapped.

"Whoosh---"

The crossbowman's bolt struck the bandit head in chain mail in the chest, and he fell to the ground. Byron's crossbow shot also hit the calf of a robber who yawned while patrolling, and the other man fell directly to the ground, after which he let out a piercing curse.

"Rush! Kill them! ”

Byron knew that his poor shooting skills had exposed them, so he had to rush up. The mercenary sentinels were ready for battle, and they rushed forward with shields and weapons raised, some with swords, some with iron spears. The sudden attack startled the robbers. As soon as he drew his weapon, the other party was already at his side.

The mercenary sentry, armed with a short spear, thrust the sharpened iron spear into the chest of the robbers who had just woken up and had not yet stepped out of the tent. The mercenary sentinels with short weapons also fought the rest of the bandits, but the mercenary sentinels had a clear advantage when the number was equal. However, the three Swadia recruits were a little clumsy in battle. Although these peasants were more or less trained because of the frequent wars, they were far worse than the mercenaries who had killed people on the battlefield with blood, like fighting in groups with iron forks and knives.

And Byron, as the commander, naturally stood behind with a hunting crossbow in his hand, and gave an arrow to those robbers who showed flaws, although the accuracy was a little worse, but the iron crossbow bolts shot by the hunting crossbow could also kill people.

The robbers were not vegetarians either, they were poorly equipped, but they were very desperate. Had it not been for the crossbowmen who also picked up their fighting hoes and rushed to help, one of the mercenary sentries was nearly hacked to death by a bandit with a scar on his face. However, this hired crossbowman is also very good at fighting, although it is a ranged class, but he killed two robbers in close combat alone, and he killed three by himself including the one who was shot.

The situation is going well, Byron only needs to take two recruits and make up for the robbers who are not dead. Although not stabbing him would have made him feel guilty, he had to do it for the sake of his livelihood. He also believed that it would not be long before this guilt would disappear completely.

[The battle is over, one-handed weapon proficiency +1;crossbow proficiency +2;]

[von Byron: LV1; Prestige: 5; Influence: 0;

Strength: 6;

Dexterity: 6;

Intelligence: 9;

Charisma: 9;

Possession Skill: Riding Level 1; Domination Level 1;

Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Weapon: 23; Two Handed Weapons: 20; Long-pole weapons: 20; Bow and arrow: 10; Crossbows: 11; Throw: 10; Bonus points: 0; 】

In a few minutes, the battle was over. Byron cleaned up the battlefield with men, and the wounded mercenary sentries dug out some fairly clean pieces of linen from their packages and bandaged themselves, muttering some gibberish, mostly swear words and babbling in return. Only the mercenary sentry who had been stabbed by the robber was in serious condition, and the big man John even lit the torch in the package to stop his bleeding to burn his wounds.

As the flames burned, the mercenary bit a wooden stick he had picked up, his forehead was bruised, his face was flushed, and beads of sweat continued to remain. Byron felt a chill in his back as he watched the scene. In this place where medical conditions and medical knowledge are lacking, injuries are often worse than death.

"I've got to get some good armor, and I've got to be more careful on the battlefield, don't get hurt and suffer this crime, if I get infected, I'll be done." Byron told himself in his heart.

At this time, Byron thought of the famous doctor James of the continent of Calradia, whose medical skills are extremely important to players in the game, and he is a necessary hero in the early, middle and late stages. If he still exists in this world, then Byron must find him! In many cases, the non-combat attrition of the army is more than the sacrifice on the battlefield, and if there is no response and preventive measures, then there is no hope of winning.

By the time the wounded's bleeding had stopped and bandaged, the two Swadian recruits had gathered the bodies together. There were eight corpses in total, the same as they had observed before. The hapless bandit who wore chain mail and was shot in the heart by a crossbowman with an arrow was confirmed to have a bloody ear, as he did have only one ear.

The robbers' weapons, coats, and leather armor had been stripped off, and the corpses were tossed aside in dirty shirts or underwear, and the Swadian recruits were busy digging pits to bury them. In these humble tents, Byron and the mercenaries also found some leftover food, as well as a small amount of stolen goods.

And the system also did Byron a great favor at this time, after the battle, a pale yellow light appeared in the direction of the cabin, and there was a looming arrow, pointing downward.

"Loot!"

Byron entered the hut with John the Great, and it contained a bunk of hides and rags, and a chest beside it. Big John carefully opened the box, a flash of joy in his eyes.

"Head, we've earned it."

John pushed the chest down in front of Byron, and inside were some faded silverware, two large silver coins worth 10 dinars, a few sausages, a few pieces of women's jewelry, and a few sun-dried human ears.

"These silver objects and jewels are worth at least 30 dinars, and the robbers have a dozen dinars on them and in their tents, plus those weapons and clothes, and these two silver coins, and even if we don't have the merchant's payment, we have made a fortune."

John quickly calculated the value of the booty, and Byron could see that he had sold something like that before. But he was not satisfied, because the pale yellow light still did not disappear.

He examined the poor little hut carefully, and pressed the bunk again, and there was a place in the middle and bottom of the bunk where there was some awkwardness. John was puzzled by her actions, but didn't ask him anything. He knew that his employer was looking for the so-called treasures found in every bandit story, but he didn't think that these robbers who had never done much business would have that much money.

Byron glanced up at John, and felt that he could not hide anything even if he was spent, so he lifted the floor in front of him, wiped some of the soft soil with his hands, and saw a layer of wood underneath the soil.

Byron grabbed the two sections of the plank with his hands, felt some weight, and pulled it out with all his might.

Big John's eyes widened as he looked at the wooden box in front of him. This box is more than a foot long, half a foot wide, and almost a palm thick, if it is something valuable, it must be worth far more than the box just now.

Byron opened the box expectantly, and was greeted by the coin's distinctive faded sheen. The box was less than half full, and he fiddled with it a few times, and there were forty or fifty silver coins, large and small, estimated at 500 dinars. In addition to the coins, the box contained two gold rings and a gilded scabbard, a little shorter than the box, and covered with beautiful textures, presumably from the dagger of a nobleman or knight.

But for John the Great, nothing appealed to him more than the silver coins in the box, which were enough to change the life of a poor man.

"This gang has done a big deal, the ransom one. No wonder the short-bearded merchant (as the Paravenian mercenaries called the merchant who would not be named, even if they knew what the merchant's real name was) was so anxious to kill the robbers, and if I had been extorted five or six hundred dinars, I would have wanted him dead. ”

"That's right, John, that's a lot of money, but there's no such thing as a ransom return in our contract." Trying to steady his heartbeat, Byron glanced at John, whose eyes were fixed on the box.

Byron picked out a somewhat faded gold ring and a large silver coin from the box and threw them to John.

"Take it, good fellow, the daughters of the little burghers and the pretty prostitutes will be happy to do something with a valiant mercenary for this ring."

"Thank you for your generosity, my lord, thank you very much."

John's eyes lit up, and he immediately took the ring and the silver coin into his arms. Byron reckoned that he would spend the money on drinking and satisfying physical desires, which would be good for him. The more your subordinates waste their paychecks, the more motivated they will be to work.

Byron wrapped the box and stuffed it into his own.

"Alright, John, help move that box out of here, and we'll get some loot for the guys."