Chapter 401: Coming to the Aid (Part 1)

It was only for great gains that these caravans would risk taking such actions—profit always clouds people’s judgment. Crossing the canyon in the middle of the night—don’t they know it’s the most vulnerable place to robbery? War is also a time of chaos, when bandits and those with ulterior motives cause trouble!

After taking a brief look, Rod ignored them; he had no interest in such caravans. He didn’t light a campfire to avoid unnecessary trouble, and it was already deep at night. The weather in the latter half of the night was especially cold, with no place to stay nearby, so they could only rest outside the wilderness—perhaps this was why that caravan rushed on all night.

Peaceful times are always rare. Just as Rod and his group planned to rest properly, sudden noises came from the canyon ahead. Soon after, the sound of weapons clashing followed.

These noises immediately alerted Rod and the others, who hurriedly looked toward the canyon. The once-dark canyon was now filled with numerous flames, and faint figures could be seen moving about.

“Bandits?” Rod murmured to himself, smiling bitterly. It seemed his wishes were coming true—these caravans were truly unlucky.

“Boss?” Viski asked quietly beside him, wanting to know Rod’s plan.

“Rest here,” Rod said after a moment of thought. He had no intention of going to help. With the Dark Source in turmoil, such incidents were common and happened constantly. He couldn’t deal with them all. More importantly, these people had nothing to do with him. Their secretive journey was meant to avoid drawing attention, so they certainly wouldn’t get involved in such troubles on their own.

Viski and the others didn’t express dissatisfaction with Rod’s decision. In fact, they didn’t plan to get involved either. They couldn’t handle such matters. If you stepped in today, what about tomorrow? The root problem lay in society, in the source of the current chaos in the Dark Source.

“Big brother!” Lucy came over to Rod and called softly.

“What is it?” Rod asked with a smile as he looked at her. Her face showed concern and pity, and her gaze kept drifting toward the distant canyon.

With a bitter smile, Rod knew exactly what she was thinking. It seemed this little girl had become soft-hearted.

“Really not going to help?” Sitting beside Rod, Lucy asked softly, almost pleadingly. Clearly, she wanted to go help.

Taking a deep breath, Rod looked up at the starry sky and remained silent for a long time. The sounds of fighting in the distance grew louder, with the clatter of horse hooves and shouts blending together. The cold wind howled, carrying its sound throughout the valley. Rod felt a mix of emotions—when had he become so heartless? In the past, he would never have stood by and done nothing! In fact, Rod overlooked a crucial reason, which was also the main reason he was reluctant to intervene.

It was because the goods these people were delivering were destined for Dark Moon City, and they were likely supplies for the pro-war faction. After all, the opposition was now heavily surrounded, and no supplies could get into the city! This was also why the pro-war faction chose to besiege rather than attack immediately—they knew that once the supplies inside the city reached a critical level, panic would set in, and that would be their best chance. This was the strategic approach of subduing the enemy without fighting.

More supplies for the pro-war faction meant greater danger for the opposition. That’s why Rod subconsciously didn’t want to help.

“Brother, let’s help them!” Seeing that Rod wasn’t speaking, Lucy grabbed his hand and pleaded earnestly.

Looking into the distance, the cold wind brought a faint smell of blood—the battle was fierce. It seemed the bandits had gained a decisive advantage. After his expression changed several times, Rod took a deep breath and suddenly stood up.

“Let’s go and take a look!” In the end, he couldn’t resist Lucy’s pleas and agreed.

Hearing Rod’s words, Lucy was overjoyed. As for Viski and the others, they showed no change. For them, helping or not was just a matter of Rod’s decision. They believed Rod’s choice would be correct, and at least they could obey unconditionally—this was an inherent trait of soldiers.

In the end, at Lucy’s insistence, Rod led his men toward the valley.

As they got closer, the scene before them became clear: the valley was in chaos, with hundreds of men in black blocking both the forward and backward paths, surrounding the convoy in the middle.

Weapons were scattered on the ground, along with wounded people. The smell of blood grew stronger, and flames illuminated the dark night sky.

……

The two merchants in the convoy cursed silently. There was no good place to rest nearby. They had hoped to speed up their journey by traveling through the night, but they encountered such trouble while passing through this canyon.

This band of bandits was clearly new to the area; they had passed through this canyon before without any problems. This was the first time, and it was precisely because of their lack of vigilance that they fell into an ambush. More than half of the dozens of men hired to protect the caravan were now injured. With the bandits outnumbering them, it seemed inevitable that they would be robbed of their belongings. The two men felt heartbroken and resigned to their fate, hoping only that the bandits would leave immediately after taking what they wanted and spare their lives. At the same time, they were puzzled—years of experience traveling across the land told them that these bandits were no ordinary criminals! From the earlier confrontation, it was clear that these bandits operated in an orderly and disciplined manner. Ordinary bandits could never achieve such coordination. Of course, there was more to it; if it were just that, they might not have suspected anything, but one thing made them doubt: the strength of these bandits was extremely formidable, with over a dozen god-tier fighters among them. Although the Dark Source region had many god-tier fighters, who were not among the strongest, a god-tier warrior had his own dignity. Moreover, with such strength, they could surely find better employment in any family than being bandits—they would never allow themselves to become one. Even in ordinary bandit gangs, if there were one or two god-tier fighters, they would surely be leaders. But these bandits were different; they clearly followed someone else’s orders, and their numbers far exceeded their expectations. From these signs, the two men began to grasp some of the situation. They exchanged glances, filled with horror. If things were indeed as they suspected, this matter wouldn’t end so easily. These people wouldn’t allow anyone to live and pose a threat to them—they would surely kill to silence them, as it was the most basic course of action. At this thought, their hearts sank. The battle was nearing its end; all their men were injured, with several dead. Now, they were completely surrounded with no way out. Looking at the dense crowd of bandits, the two men felt bitter, but after years of traveling, they weren’t about to panic. Glancing at the bandits who seemed to be the leaders, the middle-aged man took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Gentlemen, I give you all this cargo. I only ask that you let us go and save our lives!” At this moment, saving their own lives was the most important thing.

“A way out?” Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, the bandit in black across from him let out a mocking laugh, snorting coldly as his gaze turned playful.
Upon hearing the tone, the middle-aged man immediately sensed something was wrong. He inwardly groaned—the situation was clear; there was no chance to fight back. Were they really going to die in this valley today?
The howling wind filled his ears. Looking around, everything was pitch black, with no sign of anyone. It seemed death was closing in on them! At that moment, the middle-aged man exchanged a glance with the man beside him. For some reason, the image of the person he had seen that morning suddenly came to mind.
“Enough talk! If we don’t eradicate them completely, they’ll grow back. Hehe, we’re all sensible people. If we let you go today, will you let us go tomorrow?” With a sinister laugh, the leader in black seemed impatient. With a gesture, the bandits, already ferocious as tigers and wolves, rushed at them.
Soon, screams of pain filled the air as the group found themselves in a desperate situation. Despair and helplessness filled everyone’s hearts, making them feel as if they were trapped in an ice cellar.
The man in black whispered viciously as his icy blade neared his throat. The middle-aged man and the man beside him, with eyes full of unwillingness, were now utterly desperate.
“Ding…” A sharp sound suddenly rang out, echoing through the valley—unpleasant at best.
Just as the gleaming blade was about to strike his head, a long sword flew in from afar, blocking the blade that was already close to his scalp and cutting it in half. The change happened so fast that it was hard to react. Moments later, the man in black grew anxious, scanning the surroundings and shouting, “Who’s there? You bastard hiding in the dark, come out!”
“Since when have the proponents of fighting started hiding and acting like bandits?” Sure enough, as soon as the man in black spoke, a mocking voice replied, filled with disdain and mockery.