Chapter 326: Somewhat tricky (1/2)

Chapter 326: Somewhat tricky

Frantic hoofsteps resounded, approaching swiftly from the distance. Han Shuo was atop the city wall to oversee the construction progress when he saw Commander Knight Faulke anxiously charge over on the back of a warhorse.

Flying off of his horse, Faulke ran all the way to the foot of the city wall where Han Shuo was standing. Panting heavily, he looked up at the latter, “Your Lordship, the caravan transporting the war chariots and other equipment from Seamist City has been robbed by several bandit groups. They say they will only release the merchants and goods if we pay them fifty thousand gold coins.”

The bandit groups along the road from Seamist City to Brettel City weren’t large in scale. Han Shuo had ordered this equipment from some of Phebe’s merchant guild contacts. Not only had he reminded them to be careful of the bandits on the way, he even had Faulke send people along to escort the convoy. These small bandit groups certainly shouldn’t have had the guts to make a move. Han Shuo’s face darkened when he heard the news from Faulke, “You say that several bandit groups allied up to make a move?”

Faulke’s expression was quite ugly as he answered with a nod, “That’s right. One bandit group alone definitely wouldn’t dare to do something like this. However, five bandit groups banded together this time. The guards of the caravan simply couldn’t hold up against them. Your Lordship, these damnable bandits are seeking death. I’ll immediately lead the knights in the city to exterminate them all!”

“Wait!” Han Shuo shouted to stop Faulke’s impulsive action. He thought for a bit before asking, “Our purchase of war chariots and equipment this time, how many people knew about this?”

“The soldiers who were to escort the goods all knew. Why, My Lord?” Faulke was confused, not knowing why Han Shuo had suddenly mentioned this.

Han Shuo asked with a cold snort, “How could it be a coincidence that these bandits knew which day the caravan would arrive? How come they suddenly banded together and even dared demand a ransom after robbing the caravan? Can’t you see how abnormal this is?”

Faulke was in shock after these words rang out. He shouted, “My Lord, you are saying that there may be spies among our people?!”

“Not maybe, but for certain!” Han Shuo suddenly shouted loudly, “I will not pursue your negligence of duty for now. You have half a day to find the spies and execute them! On the other hand, don’t just accept anyone in the next recruitment drive. Kick out all of those whose backgrounds aren’t clean!”

“Yes, My Lord!” Faulke replied loudly. His face was icy as he leapt on a horse and quickly rode off.

Since this matter had been his duty, he wouldn’t absolve himself of responsibility from such a big incident no matter what. Lawrence had made it clear that his life and death would be up to Han Shuo when he stepped foot in Brettel City. Having witnessed Han Shuo’s powerful strength, Faulke knew full well that this city lord was definitely not the benevolent, lenient sort. Faulke cursed that traitor while quickly thinking of a way to catch him.

An hour later, three hundred bulky knights in shining armor were neatly lined up in a wide marble square in front of the city lord’s mansion, in accordance with Faulke’s commands. If one overlooked his negligence of duty at the moment, judging from their posture and presence, Faulker’s training had indeed produced knights with the demeanor of a knight regiment. This indeed showed the capabilities of Faulke as a superior knight officer.

Han Shuo sat in the city lord’s mansion, not caring what methods Faulke would use to find the spies. He was pondering how to eradicate these bandits and clear the path from Seamist City to Brettel City as soon as possible.

Han Shuo had placed all of his attention on the possibility that the seven grand duchies would muster up a raiding force at any moment. However, he’d forgotten about the large and small bandit groups along this trip. There were more than a dozen forces, either small-scaled bandit groups with over a hundred members, or bands with only a dozen members who didn’t even warrant a mention. These groups scurried messily around Brettel City and the seven grand duchies all the time. They weren’t on the same level as the large groups with thousands of bandits.

After killing Troda last time, Han Shuo had thought that these petty bandits wouldn’t dare act rashly, so he hadn’t paid them any heed. He hadn’t expected them to stab a knife into his back at such a crucial moment, robbing a hundred thousand gold coins worth of battle equipment. This birthed a killing intent so fierce in Han Shuo, he wanted to exterminate them from the world.

The road between Brettel City and Seamist City was the most important channel that connected Brettel City to the Lancelot Empire. If Brettel City wanted to develop, then there were no words that could describe the importance of this road. If immigrants were robbed before they could even reach Brettel City, no one would dare to settle down there no matter how eloquent Han Shuo was.

“They’re asking for it. It’s not that I didn’t want to give them a chance to live!” Han Shuo had cleared up his thinking, and his fingers subconsciously tapped on the chair armrest as he spoke resolutely.

Faulke didn’t failed to live up to Han Shuo’s trust. He only took two hours to find the spies. Han Shuo didn’t actually see who they were, but he could hear mournful, hair-raising wail after wail echoing from outside the city lord’s mansion.

The scalp-tingling, tragic screams only lasted for a bit before petering out. Five minutes later, Faulke walked in, filled with trepidation. He humbly paid his respects to Han Shuo and said in a low voice, “Sir Count, I have neglected my duties.”

Straightening his somewhat lazy posture, Han Shuo indifferently swept a sharp glance at Faulke and asked, “Got something out of the interrogation?”

Nodding his head, Faulke answered, “A total of three new recruits. All of them are infiltrators from the surrounding bandit groups Because their bodies were strong and we were lacking people, I didn’t investigate them carefully and let them join our knight regiment. It was all my negligence! I ask Your Lordship for your punishment!”

It was as Faulke said, Brettel City was utilizing every person to the extreme. Talents like Faulke who could train soldiers were truly too scarce. Faulke’s temporary carelessness could be considered negligence of duty, but Han Shuo had no candidate for his replacement.