By the sixth day, the caravan had entered a forest.

The forest is not big, but it is not small, and it takes three to four days to traverse the forest.

This is the most dangerous part of the entire journey.

This is where the bandits are most rampant.

It is a place where countless beasts and monsters are born.

In this forest, there is an official road twenty or thirty meters wide that crosses it, and this official road was developed by the Duchy of Pools with countless manpower and material resources, which brings great convenience to people, so that countless people and countless caravans can quickly cross the forest, otherwise it will take more time.

It is true that the development of such an official road can bring convenience to countless people, but it also brings some security problems. Too many robbers roam the forest, looking for a target.

The Duchy's officials used to sweep the forest every once in a while, but after repeated bans, banditry became more rampant. In the end, the principality had to use mercenaries to escort caravans against robbers.

The caravan escorted by Ryan and the others encountered another caravan of similar size before entering the forest, and after negotiation, the two caravans decided to form an alliance and move forward together.

As a result, two caravans, one after the other, entered the forest at a distance of tens of meters.

Ryan sat in the carriage and was enjoying the sun. With the development of the official road, this section of the pipeline area with a width of 20 or 30 meters is completely free of leaves, and the sunlight can shine in well.

Ever since entering this forest, Ryan has been filled with curiosity. He really wanted to see what the legendary monster looked like, but he was very disappointed that after half a day, Ryan had not seen any of them.

On the official road, not to mention the Monster, even the Beast is difficult to see one. Occasionally, in the forest next to the official road, the figure of one or two beasts flashed, and the speed was very fast, and when Ryan wanted to take a closer look, it was long gone.

The next morning, after a night of repairs, the caravan moved forward, and it was Ryan's turn to escort the caravan at the front of the procession, while another caravan from the Alliance walked at the back of the group.

However, after walking for a long time, the caravan found that a group of people in ragged clothes and depressed expressions came on the official road, and there were more than a dozen of them, who did not carry anything on them, and even several of them were injured and needed help from others to walk.

The caravan immediately halted its advance, and the leader of Baba approached him to inquire, and soon learned that they had been robbed by a gang of robbers a few kilometers ahead this morning. There were thirty or forty robbers, and their caravan numbered only twenty people, escorted only by a few mercenaries.

As a result, after the caravan's negotiations failed, the robbers stormed and killed several people at once, and the caravan had to surrender and beg for mercy. The robbers did not embarrass them, but after they had swept away the goods and their belongings, they let them go.

The leader of Baba asked about the strength of the robbers, but he could not get a satisfactory answer, only knowing that several of the robbers who had fought with the caravan were swordsmen, and the strength of the others was not clear.

After Baba returned to the caravan, he immediately consulted with the owner, and then sent a mercenary to the alliance caravan behind to invite their owner and the leader of the guard to come and consult.

Bucka summoned the leader of the group that had been robbed in front of him and asked him to tell everyone about the situation.

Soon the results of the deliberations came out, and now the two caravans were numerous, and there were more than twenty mercenaries escorting, and thirty or forty people who were not afraid of the robbers. However, to be on the safe side, it was decided that the two caravans would go together so as not to be broken by the robbers.

Finally, the chief of Baba had a large bag of food brought and given to the robbed caravans, so that they would not go hungry on the way back.

After some chaotic reorganization, the caravan moved on.

This time, however, all the mercenaries did not sit in the carriage, but walked on both sides of the carriage with their weapons in hand and on guard.

After walking for half a day, the caravan's carriage stopped. Because a few hundred meters in front of the team, a group of people blocked the official road.

Just as the two leaders of the caravan were still discussing countermeasures, a group of people from the other side rushed up.

Baba was shocked, and hurriedly shouted: "The robbers are coming, and the mercenaries are coming to the front to guard." ”

After a period of confusion, the mercenaries quickly ran to the front of the caravan, lined up, and all on guard.

The caravan's hired men also drew their weapons from the wagon, but did not step forward, but stood guard by the wagon. The coachmen, on the other hand, tried to appease the frightened horses and gather all the wagons together.

The caravans' hired men and coachmen were not very nervous, partly because of the fact that there were many such scenes, and partly because the robbers also had a principle, that is, they only fought with the mercenaries, and if the mercenaries were defeated, and the caravan surrendered and sacrificed its goods, the robbers would not kill.

A group of people in front of them marched on foot, each holding a sword, but the swords came in a variety of styles, including long swords, thin swords, heavy swords, giant swords, and even one man holding a sword in each hand.

This world attaches great importance to swords, and few people use weapons other than swords, and there are many styles of swords, and there are thousands of sword skills.

The group was dressed in new clothes, not as shabby as the sporadic bandits they had seen before, and most of them were wearing armor, and several even wore iron armor.

The group's eyes were calm, unlike the other robbers who looked at the caravan with a greedy and hungry look.

From these details, it can be seen that this gang of robbers is very powerful, and it is estimated that they have robbed many caravans, and their lives are very nourishing.

Seeing the robbers approach, the mercenaries all drew their swords. Ryan was no exception, he took out his sword and stick, and quickly connected the sword and stick together.

This alternative weapon just attracts the attention of acquaintances next to him, in this world, as long as it is with a sword, no matter how different it is, it is not as eye-catching as it is without a sword.

Just as Ryan and the others were about to fight, one of the robbers in front raised his right hand and shouted, "Stop." ”

Suddenly, the robbers quickly stopped, lined up more than ten meters away from the mercenaries, surrounded the person who shouted to stop, and confronted the mercenaries like this.

After a moment of confrontation, one of the robbers stepped forward a few steps and shouted, "Listen, people ahead, this official road is the territory of our Red Eagle Knights, and if you want to pass through here, you must pay a toll." ”

This gang of robbers is a little special, unlike other robbers, who start robbing indiscriminately as soon as they come up, but look like they can negotiate. But the name of the Red Eagle Knights is quite funny, obviously there is not a single horse, and it is embarrassing to call such a name.

Hearing the robbers' demands for money, the two caravan owners discussed for a while, and one of the owners shouted, "Everyone...... Everybody...... Knight, we are willing to pay a toll of 50 gold coins from Ghana. I hope that you will raise your noble hands and let us pass. ”

The two masters decided that if they could spend money to solve it, they would use money to solve it.

When the robbers heard this, they immediately made a loud noise, and the robber who had spoken before immediately said angrily: "Are you all beggars as us?" We want 1,000 gold. ”

1,000 gold coins, it is estimated that the profit of the entire caravan is not this amount, so naturally it will not be able to take it out.

The proprietor hurriedly said, "We really can't take out 1,000 gold coins, or we will give 100 gold coins." ”

"Hmph, if you can't give it, then use your goods as collateral."

"1,000 gold coins is too much, we really can't take it out, please be accommodating." The head said with some pleading, but he was not very worried, after all, although the number of mercenaries on his side was a little smaller, his strength was not weak.

At that moment, the robbers, who were standing in the middle, and the man who had just shouted to stop, said, "Then let's have a few gentlemen's duels." If we lose, we don't say a word, turn around and leave, and if you lose, you give us 1,000 gold coins, or leave the goods. ”

The robber who spoke seemed to be the leader of the bandits, and judging by his appearance, he was in his thirties, wearing a noble dress, but it was already a little shabby. His hair was combed back in a glossy and neat manner, revealing a slightly shiny forehead. He stood with his hands hanging naturally and his feet slightly apart, and a slender sword hanging from his waist, as if he were a nobleman attending a banquet. This image is really out of place with the other robbers around him.

The two proprietors discussed a few more words, and then summoned the escort leaders of the two caravans to discuss. In the end, I felt that with the strength of the two leaders level 3 swordsmen, and several level 2 swordsmen among the mercenaries, they should have a big chance of winning.

So, the two proprietors decided to duel as the robbers said.