"I heard that a gang of gangsters is raiding the countryside?"

In the council hall of Viruga, Count Mateas sat with several other high-ranking councillors, quill pens moving on the paper, sketching character after character. His tone was flat, and he didn't even look up at the officer who stood as straight as a sentry at the foot of the steps, even though he was in charge of half of the city's army.

"Yes, Lord Earl."

When the officer heard the count's words, his body trembled. However, after all, he has been honing in the aristocratic circle for more than ten years, and although he is flustered, he still has a calm face.

"It was just some unfashionable bandit who was lucky enough to rob a few travelers and farmers. Rest assured, Lord Earl, I have sent a patrol to capture and hang Viruga in no time. ”

Hearing his words, Count Matthaas stopped his pen, raised his head slightly, and glanced at him disapprovingly.

"Really? But these unfashionable bandits, as you call them, have ransacked four villages and filled the consul's door with crying refugees. Raided two lumberjack camps and a barn guarded by soldiers, burned hundreds of good logs and spoiled hundreds of bushels of good grain. They even kidnapped the daughter of a councillor in the city for a ransom of 800 dinars! ”

Saying this, the count's expression became solemn, and his eyes were as sharp as a sharp blade.

"Don't think you can fool me, Alfabe. My spies are no worse than yours, and they are better at watching those who claim allegiance to me than the thieves, robbers, and foreign merchants who monitor the city, and make sure they don't deceive me or do anything wrong. Now, tell me, who the hell are those? Where do they come from? What is the purpose? Is there anyone behind it? ”

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I admit I lied to you. But I swear it's so you don't have to worry about it. ”

The city guard named Alfabe took out a handkerchief with a somewhat trembling hand and wiped his sweat, and it was the first time in his two years in office that the Earl had made such a big fuss, giving him the feeling that he would lose his job if he didn't answer well.

But the Count didn't care about his explanation, just kept staring at him, waiting for him to answer himself.

"There were at least 200 robbers, half of whom had horses. At the head of the group was a guy named Rolf. He claimed to be a nobleman overseas, but he had always been a bandit in Calradia. Some time ago, they burned down a post near Fort Agorlon, killing nine guardsmen. After that, they divided into several groups and marched south, plundering villages and caravans, destroying workers' camps, kidnapping travelers, and the patrols and guards in the countryside could not stop them. Patrols outside the city had spotted the men on the outskirts of Viruga, and it looked like they were still planning to continue south. ”

"Rolf? That rogue aristocrat? I've heard of him, he's a mercenary leader now, who hired him? ”

"Our spies say that Baron von Byron of Swadia hired him, and in addition to him there is a mercenary force of Salander and Kujits, probably more than 1,000 men. It is said that he wants to take Serindir with this force, but we haven't heard from them for more than a week, and perhaps they are preparing to move south, and seem to be ralliing. ”

"And how effective are they?"

"If we want to beat them, we'll have to have 300 people to be safe. They are indeed a rabble, but there are also some veterans and robber knights, and our casualties will be heavy with the same number of troops. ”

Alfabe told the Count all the information he knew, and did not dare to hide it in the slightest.

"Von Byron? If it's him, it makes sense. Lord Earl, whether it was using this group of robbers to cut off our supplies to Serindil, or luring in the troops that were supposed to support Serindil, it was working now. ”

One of the councillors next to the Earl said to the Count and the other councillors.

"But they have gone too far into it, and even the squires of the south of Viruga have come to complain to me, and I am afraid that they will not even be able to escape if we attack now. What exactly does von Byron want to do? ”

Count Mateas frowned, his fingers tapping a few times on the table.

"Can the security of the south side of Viruga be guaranteed? I remember that there was a pass to the south that led directly to Viruga, how was it going there? ”

The Count asked Alfabe again.

"There is no problem except for this group of robbers and those obnoxious robbers. As for the pass, it had been sealed for twenty years, and the last time I was there was five years ago, it was stuffed with rubble tree trunks, and there were some huge boulders piled up on the road, and a thousand troops had to dig for a few days if they wanted to get there. ”

After Alfabe finished speaking, the Count looked at several councillors beside him, and they all said that there was no problem.

"Our tax collectors go there every month to check on them, and their reports are exactly what Mr. Alfabe just said, it's not open to traffic, it's rugged and difficult. What's more, the local lord also has a small team of soldiers there, and if there is a situation, it can be reported to Viruga quickly, and there will be no problems. ”

The words of Alfabe and the councillors reassured the Count, and he thought for a moment before giving the order to the city guard.

"Mr. Alfabe, I want you to gather all your troops at once, and I will transfer the horses in the stables to you, and go out of the city to find these bandits and kill them all. If there is anyone alive, bring it back and be punished with a penalty. ”

Alpha Bey breathed a sigh of relief, his men had almost 300 spearmen and 130 crossbowmen, all well-trained. As long as you catch up with the other party, it is not difficult to annihilate the other party entirely.

"They won't live long, Lord Count."

Alfabe saluted and turned away, and the Count gave a second order after he had left.

"Whatever that little Svadian Baron wants to do with his mercenaries, we should be wary of them. Send someone to warn our troops outside Fort Gruenward, if von Byron attacks them with those mercenaries, it will be a big problem. Tell Councilor Leo to arm some of the citizens to assist in the city's defenses, and send two more teams of crossbowmen to reinforce the two lines of defense to the north, I don't want to hear any more about the mercenaries hired by the little baron to loot in my territory!" ”

"Also, send a few more people to the pass to have a look."

Under the orders of Count Mateas, nearly half of Viruga's defenders were sent out to clear the bandit forces led by Rolf. Quite a few crossbowmen were also sent to patrol the defensive lines and villages north of the city. Even if armed citizens temporarily guarded the walls, the city's defense capacity was reduced by at least half. However, in the Earl's opinion, this arrangement was not much of a problem.