323 Are You Starving? (2/2)
The stew was soon close to boiling. However, the basin suddenly started shaking as if it was shivering. An earthquake?
No…
Donald’s expression changed. He pressed his ear to the ground. ”It’s a horse.” Before he finished speaking, a stallion neighed in the distance. It was followed by a sharp whistle but it stopped as suddenly as it began.
The muscular man jumped up from the bonfire. ”Boss, there’s a situation!”
Donald rose. He wished he could push this guy who had jinxed it into the fire. ”No sh*t!”
The camp soon fell into unrest. Everyone who could fight gathered with their swords, daggers, and crossbows. They stared nervously at the torchlight in the distance and the approaching caravan. Someone was yelling enthusiastically in the wind.
”Whoever is there, please stop!” Donald stood up and unsheathed his sword. ”If you want money, we can manage to give you enough for a drink. We’re all out here trying to survive. Can’t we help each other out?”
The caravan stopped not too far away. The distance was enough for a charge and assault. They could see people unsheathing their sabers and scraping them against their saddles. The sound was grating.
”How much money?” a raspy voice asked. ”How much money to buy your lives?”
Donald’s face changed. He looked back at the pale merchants behind him. He turned around said a sizeable sum. The leader laughed hoarsely.
Someone nudged a horse forward until he was just outside the crossbows’ range and tossed something in. The defense group was stunned. They quickly retreated but the thing rolled in the air, fell within the illuminated area, and rolled to Donald’s feet.
It was a head.
”Rabbit?” He recognized his companion, as well as the whistle that he was not able to take out from his mouth. The horse had walked past him and cleanly beheaded him. There was no pain on his face.
”That money isn’t enough at all. Keep it for your chickens,” the raspy voice said lightly. The bandits guffawed. ”Think a bit more and tell me another number.”
Gritting his teeth, Donald looked back at the merchants.
”We can’t give more.” The lead merchant’s face was white as paper. ”We already won’t have any profits and we all came with debts. We hired you so you have to help us and defeat them…”
With a dark face, Donald picked up the severed head. ”Look at this cut and their sabers. They aren’t typical bandits. They’re the elite cavalry who fled from the Caucasus Federation. They have thirty horses and at least forty men. One charge can flatten our camp. One of my men has already dead. I took your money so I don’t care about dying, but how many do you think can escape if they charge into the camp? If you can escape, can you keep the goods?”
The merchants fell silent and exchanged glances. They soon said a new number.
The hoarse voice did not laugh. He seemed to be in deep thought.
”This number isn’t that small and you’re very genuine, but…” His tone changed and became taunting. ”Did you count the goods in your wagon from the Chainsaw Fraternity?”
Donald froze. He turned back to the merchants but they could not meet his eyes. Someone said, ”That’s a trade secret. We couldn’t help hiding it.”
”F*ck, you’ve killed me!” Donald clenched his jaw. ”These motherf*ckers even know what goods you have. They definitely have spies in your group and targeted us when we left!”
”What do we do now?” someone asked with a trembling voice.
What else could they do?
Whistles sounded in the wind as arrows shot out. Donald raised his arm abruptly and blocked an arrow with his sword. The arrow split into pieces but the ridge of his sword fissured as well.
Donald’s face twitched. Clenching his jaw, he chanted quietly, ”My heart is like steel, my blood like fire.” Firelight shot out from his blade. His sword transformed into the Blade of Fire. This was high quality battle alchemy and was his bottom line. But it was too late. The pounding of war stallions was right before him.