Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 31 The Baron and the Bandits

In the eastern part of the North, in a valley famous for its rye cultivation, lies a thriving town.

This is Harvest Lands, the territory cultivated by the Hawkwood family for generations. The current lord is Gareth Hawkwood, regarded by the entire North as the Greedy Baron.

The impeccably dressed baron, adorned with jewels, sat leisurely in his castle, surveying his domain.

Behind him stood a tall, thin man in a black tuxedo, his face grim.

"Look, what a vibrant town! It seems that this year's harvest has brought joy to those lowly serfs as much as to me."

Gareth stretched out his slender finger and pointed to the busy serfs in the distance.

But a moment later, his attention shifted from the serfs to the precious emerald on his index finger.

"Such exquisite decorations. I wonder which unlucky merchant encountered that group of ruthless robbers. Fortunately, beautiful things will eventually come into my hands."

Gareth's tone carried a sickly gentleness. After a moment, he turned his head slightly to look at the servant behind him.

"Richard, don't you think I did the right thing? If I hadn't given those guys a place to stay, they would have been wiped out by the knights long ago."

The servant named Richard immediately bowed and nodded. "Your Excellency Mr. Gareth, it is your leniency that has given them a chance to breathe. They deserve to present you with jewels."

"Yeah, that guy called Strong Wind is pretty useful, but unfortunately, he's still not obedient enough. Are they still clamoring for revenge?" Gareth's eyes suddenly turned cold, his tone full of disdain.

Richard stepped forward and whispered, "Yes, I heard that all the men those guys sent out died, including a decent but down-on-his-luck mercenary. Strongwind is furious; he's vowed to plunder Anvil Territory."

Upon hearing this, Gareth sighed, "Foolish fellow, it's just an insignificant iron mine. Although it earned me some gold coins, it's not a wise choice to provoke a small boulder for it."

"The wisdom of an adult is naturally beyond the reach of those bandits, but we all know that the little rock is just the least favored outcast in the rock family, otherwise he wouldn't have been banished to Anvil Territory," Richard said with a smile.

"Ha, that young upstart, always so eager to show off. Do you think he's already guessed that I sold his iron ore?"

"My lord, there is no need to worry. We did not interfere at all. Everything was done by the Strong Wind Thieves."

"Hehe, but it doesn't matter if I guessed it. I'm more interested in seeing how this little rock will deal with that group of crazy bandits."

……

On the other side, in a valley where Anvil Territory and Harvest Territory meet.

This place was originally a dangerous land inhabited by monsters, but since the arrival of the Strong Wind Thieves, it has become a paradise for bandits.

Dozens of tents were pitched in the valley, and at least a hundred bandits roamed among them.

They might be lone highway robbers, thieves who prefer to operate at night, or a considerable number of them might be homeless people with nowhere to go.

Becoming a bandit is clearly a better choice than freezing to death in the wasteland.

At this moment, the bandit leader, Qiangfeng, was cursing angrily in the largest tent at the very center.

"Damn the Anvil Leaders! Damn Wirtz! They're all a bunch of stupid donkeys!"

Qiangfeng was a giant man, 1.9 meters tall, with a muscular build like an ox. His beard was stained with spilled wine, and the greatsword behind him could shatter boulders.

This is also why he was able to gather so many bandits in such a short time: his absolute strength and his volatile temper.

The several deputies in front of him frowned, their faces also showing a sinister look.

"Chief, the brothers are all ready. This time, we're going to plunder Anvil Territory clean!"

"Yes, to avenge our fallen brothers!"

The bandits shouted and yelled, talking about revenge, but their eyes were filled with nothing but greed.

Last time we only stole food; that's hardly enough to satisfy their appetites.

What they wanted was a complete looting, to seize all the gold coins and women of the Anvil Territory and vent their anger.

Strong Wind also had a stern face, as if he was about to give an order, and just then, a bandit's voice rang out from outside the tent.

"Boss, Brother Steel Cable is back!"

A shout immediately silenced the previously noisy tent.

Many people stared wide-eyed, their faces showing astonishment.

"The steel cable isn't dead?"

"How did that guy escape?"

"That's true. Although that guy has an eccentric temper, his strength is second only to the leader. How could the Anvil Clan possibly capture him?"

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, while Qiangfeng, as the leader, waved his hand and said, "Let him in!"

Soon, Steel Cable walked in, his arm wrapped in rags, looking very weak.

Qiangfeng immediately noticed the gruesome wound on his arm. He stood up and went over to grab the steel cable, demanding, "What happened? Who did this?!"

Steel Cable looked up at the strong wind and whispered, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect those guys to attack suddenly. Everyone else is dead, and I had to escape into the woods... I messed up the leader's mission."

Upon hearing this, Qiangfeng gritted his teeth and said, "It has nothing to do with you! That newly appointed lord acted so quickly; it seems he doesn't take me seriously at all. Who injured your hand?"

"It's that lord's guard, named Karelas. Listen to me, although there aren't many of them, they are true ironclad guards, each one of them is no weaker than me."

The steel cable spoke in a somber tone, and the others inside the tent were immediately filled with trepidation.

They had all witnessed Steel Cable's strength; he was a ruthless mercenary who was second only to the leader in the bandit group.

But the fact that such a guy would acknowledge the strength of those guards made the thieves feel a little uneasy.

Although they all looked fierce, that was only because there were many of them. In reality, they were just ordinary bandits and vagrants. How could they dare to fight against real warriors?

Immediately, the shouts of clamoring to loot the Anvil Territory subsided considerably.

Upon hearing this, the leader, Qiangfeng, narrowed his eyes and said fiercely, "Iron Guards of the Stubborn Stones, I've heard of them. They've actually appeared in Anvil Territory."

"After all, that new lord is from the Stubborn Stone family." Steel Cable gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with resentful malice.

Qiangfeng's tone turned cold. "So you mean we should pretend this never happened?"

"Of course not." Steel Cable shook his head without hesitation. "I must take revenge! I fled back for this very reason, Chief. Let me recover from my injuries first, and I'll invite those equally down-on-their-luck mercenary friends. Trust me, with the help of the bandit group, Anvil Territory will be reduced to ashes!"

Steel Cable gritted his teeth, his tone filled with savagery.

His words eased Qiangfeng's expression. Although he was furious, if there really was a Stubborn Iron Guard, then it was clear that Steel Cable's suggestion was correct.

He didn't notice that a strange look suddenly appeared in Steel Cable's eyes, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.