Chapter 003: The Story of the Robbers

People in this chapter: Mo Cha, Manid, and Karadus. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

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At this time, it was noon, and the sun hung motionless over the top, scorching everything, and even the trees drooped their branches as if they were exhausted.

A group of nearly fifty mercenaries marched through the forest on a stone-paved path that was not very spacious, but could accommodate two four-wheeled carriages at the same time.

The team of mercenaries made their way along the straight path between the trees, and even on a hot summer day, the mercenaries did not sweat a lot. The foliage stretched out from the trees that were more than 30 feet tall overhead firmly blocked the scorching sun.

"My brother," said the horse thief, sitting on a bumpy cart and nibbling on an apple, "would you like to hear a story about the Brotherhood of the Forest?"

Lying on the sack, Kradus was idly looking up at the sky obscured by the leaves, and when he heard the words 'Brotherhood of the Forest,' he sat up and looked at his companion with an expectant expression.

"A dinar, I'll tell you the story as it is. Mo Cha looked at the other party slyly and asked, "How is it?"

Manid, who sat on the other side of the carriage, looked at the money-hungry/lustful horse thief with disdain. "Keep your story! Wiggins's story doesn't cost money, and it's certainly no worse than yours. ”

"Who knows if those stories are true or not?" I wouldn't believe that there are any monsters like mammoths, ice giants, or barbarians in this world, ...... the horse thief's sleek eyes quickly swept around to make sure Wiggins wasn't nearby, and then continued, "... I believe it, because the Nords are the barbarians in our Wiggins story. ”

"You're so bold," Manid said with a faint smile, "and if Wiggins hears you, beware of him smashing your yellow fangs full of lies." ”

"The stories he told were all about the Ice and Snow Continent, and they had nothing to do with the Calradia Continent. Seeing that the other party was still indifferent, Mo Mocha lied with a serious face, "You must know that when I heard this story, it cost me two dinars. ”

"Tea," said Manid, sneering in a kind tone, "perhaps only a horse thief as generous as you would be willing to spend two dinars just to hear a story." ”

"That's because the story is worth two dinars. "The horse thief continued to lie. "Karadus, I promise this story is definitely worth a dinar. ”

Kraladus looked at Manid on the side, and then at Mo Cha, he hesitated for a moment, and said, "Deal, but ......" he deliberately lengthened his voice, "...... I have one condition. ”

Hearing that there was another condition, he stretched his face and asked, "What condition?"

"The condition is that I have to finish the story first. Kradus replied without thinking.

"No problem, one dinar for another story," said the always treacherous and cunning Tea, who was not stupid, proclaimed loudly, "my dear Karadus, I have always believed in your character and credibility. The thief deliberately raised his voice so that the mercenaries around him could hear him clearly.

"You don't have to shout so loudly," Kratos emphasized, "and I'll keep my credibility." ”

"I'm not all thinking about your reputation. "And for the golden dinar in your pocket." As he spoke, he took another bite of the apple in his hand.

On the contrary, Manid on the side urged with some dissatisfaction: "Hurry up and eat, finish eating, and start telling your story!"

"Does the Forest Brotherhood know?" asked Mocha deliberately, then continued to nibble on his apple.

"The Forest Brotherhood is one of the three major bandit gangs on the continent. Manid replied, "During the First 'Novi War' there were tens of thousands of men, who raided homes, committed crimes, and even attacked cities, and even the regular army of Swadia was afraid of them. ”

"There are still such huge criminal groups on the mainland. Karadus was surprised.

"Hmm!" Manid continued, lighting a cigarette, "as a merchant, in addition to knowing the products, quality, prices, and seasonal conditions of various places, and the taxes and fees of each checkpoint, you must also know more or less about the bandit groups on the mainland. ”

"Since the founding of the ancient Kalad Empire, there has been a situation in which priests, kings, lords, and knights are on the high, and merchants, peasants, craftsmen, and slaves are oppressed, and all countries are no exception. The first-class people are born with many social resources such as aristocratic status, land, houses, workshops, etc., and they are prosperous and wealthy all their lives. The second estate, on the other hand, is subject to starvation, exploitation, scourging, and injustice. Every kingdom is no exception, and this has been the case for almost a millennium. ”

"The great inequality between the rich and the poor in Calradia has caused serious social contradictions, and at every time some bold mob has gathered poor peasants and herdsmen to gather in the Wuthering Mountains, kill tax collectors, rob caravans, and abduct women, causing great damage to normal commerce. Governments have also symbolically sent troops to fight these robbers. In order to protect themselves, some of the mountains began to form alliances to rescue each other and resist the officers and soldiers, and gradually formed a bandit group with power all over the mainland. In recent years, they have not only robbed, but even set up some assassination organizations to hire and kill people for some lords. ”

"The most ridiculous thing is that the bandit group now has its own chamber of commerce in some towns, and some lords participate in the distribution of spoils behind their backs, issue trade certificates to the robber chamber of commerce, give them exemption and exemption from kingdom taxes, and help them seize the market. They also carry on a variety of business activities, and there is not much difference in the appearance of a formal chamber of commerce. In short, the bandit group is becoming more and more powerful, and their business scope is also very extensive, I heard that in some remote areas, they even formed mercenary groups to fight some bandits. ”

"It turns out that these bandit groups still have the support of the lords behind them, so isn't the life of the traveling merchant getting more and more difficult?" asked the young Kradus.

"yes, otherwise I wouldn't have gone from being a merchant to a mercenary. Manid sighed. "But then again, the lord doesn't want to have a lot of bloodshed in his realm, because dead people aren't fun. Those bandits are more dangerous for traveling merchants. Those are all guys who have just come out and don't know what to do, and they often cause casualties to the caravan. Instead, regular bandit groups, such as the Forest Brotherhood, now charge some tolls to passing merchants, and no longer kill or steal everything. They are also beginning to understand that killing chickens and eggs is not a long-term thing,"

Mo Cha threw away the husk, took over the topic of the other party, and began to talk slowly: "As for the forest brotherhood of the 'Egdal Forest', it is a hundred-year-old gang of green forest bandits. It is called the Brotherhood because, for a hundred years, most of its members have been relatively united and close to each other, and these people were the first unemployed craftsmen, peasants who had been deprived of their land, and some deserters who opposed the lords. ”

"Tea," Manid interrupted unceremoniously, "I know that, and if that's your story, then I don't think you have to go on." ”

"Don't worry," Mo Cha said with a straight smile, "and the next thing is to get down to business." ”

Mocha cleared his throat and continued, "Legend has it that a Swadian soldier named Edwin was beaten by a drunken lord simply for knocking over his teacup, and in a fit of rage he shot the lord with a crossbow and absconded to the village of Eldeig. ”

"At that time, a starving man infiltrated the royal hunting ground of the forest of Egdal to poach, was caught and crucified by the magistrate, and after the high taxes of the empire at that time overwhelmed the local people, Edwin incited the laborers to start an armed uprising, and the ranks were quite large. However, the uprising was quickly suppressed, and many of the civilians involved in the rebellion fled into the Egdal Forest, a dense jungle where smuggling and kidnapping were rampant. ”

Edwin was a man of righteousness, and naturally the outlaws and haters of the lord king from all over the valley joined him, and the place finally became a paradise for the green forest bandits in a vicious circle of the king's oppressive rule, and some of the Kugit Ringing Horses and the Black Flag tribesmen robbed in the name of the Forest Brotherhood. ”

Over the course of a century, the Forest Brotherhood has evolved into a comprehensive bandit group of robbers, chambers of commerce, killer groups, and free farms, and has the potential to compete with the regular army. Its influence spread throughout the Duchy of Svadia and Rhodok. and infiltrate the kingdom of Vegia. Some members of the Brotherhood have even invaded the vicinity of the Nord Kingdom. ”

"They have their own farmsteads in the countryside, their own chambers of commerce in the towns, taverns, casinos, wineries, leather farms and even velvet dyeing shops. Even if you don't rob, you can be self-sufficient. Everywhere there are branches of the Brotherhood of Forests, with many large and small organizations, as well as small groups with different names. They firmly believe that since joining the union is a family, if someone betrays their brother, they will chase them to Beihai and the desert to kill the traitor, and the organization is relatively strict. The number of the Forest Brotherhood is uncertain, but it is known that they have organized tens of thousands of armed forces during the war. Their leader is called the Godfather, and each chapter has a different rank of Godfather. ”

Kradus, who was fascinated by the sound, stopped when he saw the sound of tea, and couldn't help but ask, "So who is the chief godfather of the Forest Brotherhood now?"

Mo Mocha put on an expression of ignorance, and spread his hands and said, "No one knows who the chief godfather of the Forest Brotherhood is! So it is not an exaggeration to say that the Forest Brotherhood is the head of the three bandit groups, followed by some small bandit groups and some loose bandits. ”

"What tea," asked Manid, who had heard the story. "From which tavern did you hear this story?"

Mo Cha tried to think about it for a long time, but finally shook his head and said, "I don't remember which tavern, I only remember hearing it from a bard, and it was a very interesting fellow anyway." ”

"What's his name?" Manid asked.

"Ni... Niza, yes, that's the name. Mo Cha said excitedly, "He claims to be a warrior, but he is actually a bard, and what he is best at is not fighting, but cheating with other people's wives, and calling himself the king of kung fu in bed." ”

"Then he must always worry about what will happen to the nobles who find out that he is cheating with his wife," Jodah interjected eloquently, "and they will hang him up and beat him severely, and some of the old men will cut off his head in a fit of rage." ”

"I envy that guy, he can win the affection of the girls and ladies wherever he goes," Mocha smiled slyly again, "maybe I should read more books, you know what I mean...... Right?"

"Then you have to learn to read first, it's not as simple as drawing a circle on the ground. Manid replied with a serious face.

"Okay, the story is over, take the money!" said Mo Cha with his right hand.

"I forgot to tell you that Niza is an old friend of mine. Manid added. "So I'm not going to give you money for this story. ”