Chen Fan took out the command of the heaven-level students with lightning speed, and won the crown of this promotion exam in one fell swoop, and the prize of this competition did not disappoint Chen Fan, it was a volume of high-level martial arts about boxing.

After Chen Fan got the martial arts, because he was in a hurry, he didn't stay at Bibo Academy, that night, he feasted in Tianxian Pavilion to participate in the competition with him, Vera, Rand and others, and everyone drank until midnight, at dawn, Chen Fan secretly left after settling the account, and went to the post house to meet Fang Han and others.

Fang Han and the four of them were naturally very happy to see that Chen Fan had returned safely, and he had also brought a volume of high-level martial arts, and several people sat around the room and listened to him talk about the experience in the academy. In the end, even Chen Fan couldn't help but be happy, and said with a smile: "I suddenly disappeared from the world, and when the situation is found out in the college, I don't know what the chaos will be." ”

"Haha!" After hearing his words, Fang Han and the others all looked up and laughed.

After a while, Xiao Wen seemed to suddenly think of something, and said to Chen Fan: "Brother Chen, there is a team of mercenaries who live next door to us, recently, they are going to escort a cargo to the south of Zhongzhou, and they happen to be on the same road as us, do you think we can go forward with them, and we can take care of each other when the time comes?"

After hearing this, Chen Fan nodded secretly and said, "That's very good! Xiao Wen, you go and contact them." ”

Xiao Wen smiled and responded, "Okay!"

On the same day, Xiao Wen brought news that the mercenary group agreed to go with them.

Early the next morning, when Chen Fan and the others came downstairs, the mercenaries were still sorting out some things, weapons, armor, water, food, livestock, carriages and horses, and some spare parts.

The animals they use to pull carts are generally camels, because camels are docile and easy to feed, and their strength is the only choice for pulling carts. Since the escort is some valuables, the goods are not very large, so it saves a lot of trouble.

There is a lot less preparation, and the speed of travel will be faster than that of escorting goods, under the loud shouting order of the mercenary captain, Chen Fan and the others and the entire team slowly set off. In addition to Chen Fan and the other five people, there were dozens of mercenaries in the team alone, and these people were all protecting goods.

There was no word all the way, and in the evening, the group arrived at the first hill outside the city - the Hexi Corridor.

The Hexi Corridor is the largest gathering place of thieves in the vicinity, but several thieves have rarely robbed in recent years, but only charged a huge amount of tolls, this move is actually very popular with the merchants, after all, there will be no large-scale bloodshed, of course, for those who do not pay the tolls, they will also be merciless.

In recent years, several large bands of thieves have gradually established credibility for pedestrians who pay tolls, and small caravans have gradually become willing to pay tolls, which has become a habit. A few years ago, there was a landslide in the Hexi Corridor, but the thieves fought hard for several days and nights to clear the road, so that people could pass smoothly and commerce could proceed normally.

Of course, the quality of the thieves is uneven, and there are many thieves who are angry, and people invite mercenaries mainly to guard against these unscrupulous thieves, otherwise with the scale of those large thieves groups of hundreds of people, it is not enough to invite many mercenaries.

The scale of unscrupulous thieves is generally not large, and many of the people in it are holding on to washing their hands without doing a big vote, and then live the rest of their lives in peace, so there are many thieves who have disappeared, not by mercenaries, but because they have already disbanded themselves with a large vote.

Along the way, Chen Fan and the others were arranged at the back of the team, and beside them, there were two or three mercenaries behind the palace. Through the introduction of these mercenaries, Chen Fan also has a certain understanding of the wind calculations here.

In the middle of the Hexi Corridor, there are three supply points set up by reputable bandit gangs, although things are a little more expensive, but they do not have to worry about supplies, and at the same time, they can save space and bring more goods, which is still very cost-effective for business travelers. However, there are also a lot of thieves with a bad reputation, about four or five, all of them are the kind of robbers who rob money and sex, and have no life under them, but this kind of thief group can survive until now, and they have two brushes under them, which is not so easy to deal with.

Among these bands of thieves, the most famous is the Iron Lion Bandits.

This thief group is simply the best in the thief group, all evil, but the history of existence is more than decades, footprints all over the continent, more than ten years ago the whole group turned to the Hexi Corridor, and took root tightly, the Iron Lion Thieves Regiment withstood the siege of many enemies, until now, it seems to have the momentum of more and more alive.

The leader of the Iron Lion Thieves is nicknamed Iron Lion, and his combat power is amazing, and he has been famous on the mainland more than ten years ago, although it is notorious, it should not be underestimated. In addition to not daring to commit crimes within the scope of the three major thief groups, the Iron Lion Thieves Regiment is also within its scope of activity, but no one knows the specific location of its lair, but it is known that it is near the middle of the Hexi Corridor.

Along the way, during the day, Chen Fan chatted with the mercenaries from time to time while hurrying, and at night, he seized the time to practice martial arts. After continuous efforts, Chen Fan's cultivation is also improving rapidly, and now, he feels that his realm still has the possibility of breaking through in the short term.

There is a fixed camping site in the Hexi Corridor, and there are caravans coming over when camping at night, fortunately, the campsite is wide enough, each team has its own camp, the mercenaries skillfully set up tents, the stove is ready-made, the cooking utensils and rice dishes are brought, as long as the fire is lit, you can cook and cook directly.

Taking advantage of the break between meals, Chen Fan also made an assessment of the mercenary team he was in. In this team, it can be said that there is no danger, even if the more than 100 people of the Iron Lion Thieves Group come to attack, they may not be able to please it, not to mention that there are several mercenary groups along the way and the mercenary group leaders here are almost all acquaintances, everyone takes care of each other, except for the three major thief groups, any other thief group cannot please even if they are united, so everyone seems to be extremely relieved.

The next day, after a full night's rest, Chen Fan and the mercenaries all looked refreshed and continued on the road in good spirits. However, just as everyone was about to walk to the middle of the Hexi Corridor, bad news suddenly came from ahead.

It turned out that a caravan that was walking a little faster in front was attacked by a group of thieves, and almost all the troops were wiped out, and only a few people escaped for their lives. According to these people, this incident was the work of the Iron Lion Thieves and several other small thieves.

Hearing this news, everyone secretly added a cautious heart, and the mercenary captain shouted to the team: "Not far ahead is the hinterland of the mountain range, and the Iron Lion Thieves often haunt there, everyone speed up their pace and strive to cross this mountain before dark." ”

"Understood!" replied in unison.

At the back of the team, a mercenary whispered to Chen Fan: "When the regiment leader led the team to pass by here before, he encountered the Iron Lion Thieves once, hehe, if he hadn't run fast at that time, the whole person would probably have been confessed here." ”

Chen Fan smiled slightly and did not answer.

"Hey, two guys in the back, what are you talking about?hurry up, if something happens to your caravan, I'll leave you behind and feed the wolves!" the mercenary leader looked angry.

"Shhhh

The team hurried all the way, from the morning to the afternoon, without eating, and everyone was tired and sweating profusely. At this time, Fang Han, who was walking at the back of the line, tugged at the corner of Chen Fan's clothes and said softly, "Brother Chen, I can't walk...... Let's rest, the brothers' stomachs are empty. ”

Chen Fan was also exhausted at this time, but in this dangerous mountain, he didn't dare to have the slightest carelessness. Chen Fan patted Fang Han's shoulder and encouraged: "Brother, hold on a little longer, and eat it when you cross this mountain!"

"Okay!" Fang Han nodded helplessly.

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the mercenary team, and after a while, a red horse galloped towards the team a hundred meters away. The fast horse came to the front of the team in the blink of an eye, and when he looked closely, it turned out to be the outpost of the mercenary group exploring the way ahead.

The mercenary leader stepped forward and shouted, "What's the matter?"

The outpost rolled off his horse in a panic and said urgently: "Oh no, Commander, there is a gang of thieves of hundreds of people in front, under the banner of the Iron Lion Thieves Regiment, you see, should we retreat to the city first, while it is still too late!"