The Bandit Leader, with his two most trusted subordinates, fled frantically under the "cover" of his numerous Bandit Soldiers, heading towards the bandit lair; meanwhile, Art, who had just finished his battle, took a few scout Soldiers who had shed their heavy armor and rushed directly to the bandit lair via a convenient shortcut.
In the bandit lair, the few remaining Bandit Soldiers were eagerly awaiting. If the Leader could successfully seize that incredibly lucrative caravan this time, they would have bread every meal and meat soup every day for a long time. They risked their heads to become bandits in the mountains precisely so they could eat and drink their fill.
A bandit had just secretly snuck into the room on the edge of the bandit lair where captured peasant women were held, taking advantage of the main bandit force's absence, and was now walking out, pulling up his trousers, when he saw several hurried figures running towards him.
"Hey! Guys, why are you back so soon? Did you already seize the caravan?" The bandit shouted loudly at the shadowy figures.
The answer was not human speech, but a light arrow aimed directly at his throat…
"Ron, you take Jason to scout the surroundings. If you encounter any enemy activity, use a signal arrow to warn us. The rest of you, rest for a moment and then follow me to attack. There aren't many Bandit Soldiers left in the lair, and the Bandit Leader probably hasn't returned yet. We'll kill all the remaining Bandit Soldiers and then wait for the Bandit Leader to return to his lair~" Art finished speaking and then paused for a short rest to recover the energy he had expended from his frantic rush.
"Sergeant, you take two men and go around behind the ruins. I'll take two men and attack from the front. According to my previous observations, there are only four or five Bandit Soldiers left in these ruins. After killing them, hide the bodies. We'll gather in the open space in the middle of the ruins later."
As he spoke, Art drew the sword from his waist and, taking Leide and Lusignan, moved stealthily forward.
After easily slaying two unsuspecting Bandit Soldiers, Art and Angus's two teams successfully converged in the open space in the middle of the ruins.
Soon after, Ron ran into the ruins to report that the Bandit Leader was leading two men towards the front gate of the ruins.
Without time to rest, everyone quickly hid themselves in several piles of weeds in front of the ruins.
Indeed, in no time at all, the Bandit Leader, who had abandoned his subordinates on the battlefield to flee for his life, trudged into the ruins with heavy steps.
"Bastard~ Bastard, where are the cripples? Those Bastards must have gone to amuse themselves with those women while we were away~ Scum!" The Bandit Third Leader cursed the few Bandit Soldiers left behind in the lair while supporting the Leader as they advanced into the ruins.
"Don't~ Don't worry about it~ Get the money~ Pack up~ And run quickly. If those guys find out about this place, they'll come after us." The Bandit Leader wanted to quickly gather the valuable treasures in the bandit lair and escape with a few Bandit Soldiers.
Unexpectedly, before the Leader's words had even finished, a light arrow whistled and pierced the Third Leader's chest. Then, several specters rushed out from both sides of the ruins, surrounding the Leader and his men…
"My Lord~ I~ I surrender~" The Bandit Leader's eyes showed despair, his legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground…
Art and his men captured the Bandit Leader without any effort.
Next was the interrogation of the Leader and the few remaining bandits, forcing them to reveal the valuable treasures in the bandit lair. This was also why Art had gone to such lengths to rush into the bandit lair and capture the Leader alive.
Normally, as a bandit lair with dozens of Bandit Soldiers, it should have yielded a considerable amount of gold and silver coins and valuable goods. However, this time Art and his men were disappointed.
Art was facing a group of rather ambitious bandits. Originally, after the Bandit Leader escaped from an attack on a southward grain transport caravan last year, he returned to the bandit lair and took over the wealth left by the bandits, possessing more than ten thousand in funds. Later, he took seven or eight of his Bandit Soldiers and plundered travelers and small villages in the surrounding area, also gaining a lot, and his savings once exceeded thirty thousand fenny. However, ever since the Bandit Second Leader joined, the Leader's funds had steadily decreased. This was because the newly joined Bandit Second Leader was very ambitious; he hoped to become the largest group of bandits within dozens of miles of the Sap southern hills. They even named themselves the Mountain Wolf Legion. To achieve their ambition, this group of bandits plundered everywhere to expand their ranks while purchasing weapons and equipment from various places. As a result, their numbers grew, but their money dwindled. Left with no choice, they had to advance towards the wealthy Sap, but ended up getting their hands pricked by nails…
"Damn it, we encountered a bunch of pretentious poor bandits!!" Angus cursed, giving the Bandit Leader a hard kick.
Ron, standing by, said, "Sergeant, he's an old acquaintance~ He said that the grain transport caravan they attacked last year was the one we were escorting. This guy must be one of those few bandits who escaped. I didn't expect to meet him again now~ What a coincidence~" Ron also gave the Leader a harsh kick.
Art sat on a broken stool in the room, scooped a bowl of gruel from the iron pot, and ate a few mouthfuls with a wooden spoon. He had originally expected to seize a lot of wealth, but after interrogating the Leader and ransacking the entire bandit lair, he only found five thousand fenny in silver coins and some worthless grain.
"My Lord, what should we do? Should we kill all these bandits?" Angus came in to ask Art.
Art threw the wooden bowl in his hand and said, "Kill them? That would be too easy for them! Tie them up and bring them back to the camp. I want to make sure they learn a good lesson!"
Thus, Art and his men, having returned almost empty-handed, released the peasant women who had been imprisoned in the bandit lair, then escorted the bound Bandit Leader and a few Bandit Soldiers back to the caravan camp.
………
Felix ran out of the camp to greet Art and his group, who were returning with the captured Bandit Leader, and excitedly said, "Lord Art, you caught the Bandit Leader? That's great! Now everyone is accounted for. We'll take them all, including the Leader, back to Sap to be beheaded. We'll hang their heads on Sap's stockade wall and see if anyone dares to eye Sap covetously again."
"Felix, where are the other bandits?"
"They're all tied up on the wagons. A few remaining bandits broke free from their ropes and resisted after you left, wounding three of our guards, and then I led men to slaughter them."
Art's anger flared: "What the hell did you do? You let captured prisoners bite back!!! Idiot!!!"
During the previous battle, five or six guards had been cut down by the fierce bandits, and after the battle, three more were killed. How could Art not be furious that his painstakingly trained elite guards had such limited combat effectiveness?
Felix was indeed swept away by victory and had been careless, losing all his bravado after Art's scolding. However, he still retorted, "People die in war, don't they?"
Art didn't want to say more to this usually arrogant fop, "These are your father's elite. Think about how you'll explain this when you return!"
Felix knew he had nearly caused a major disaster and dared not argue with Art, asking in a low voice, "Lord Art, what should we do with the remaining captives?"
"Select the fierce bandits and cut off their heads; release all the other small-fry Bandit Soldiers~" Art said calmly.
"What? Lord Art, I must have misheard, right?" Felix could hardly believe his ears.
Art handed the Bandit Leader to Ron to be tied up in the tent, then turned to Felix and said, "Felix, you didn't mishear. I plan to release all these small-fry Bandit Soldiers~"
"Why? Are you going to let them continue to plague the mountains?" Felix questioned.
"Felix, let me finish."
"I'm releasing them all because I know I can't completely wipe out all the bandits entrenched in the southern hills and the dense forests of the valleys around Sap. Even if we kill all these scoundrels today, it won't be long before bandits attack your caravans again, or even eye the wealthy Sap Fort covetously. If we can leave the deepest memory for this group of bandits and then let them go, perhaps through their mouths, all the surrounding bandits will know that Sap is not to be provoked."
"Think about it~ Can we kill all the bandits?"
Without waiting for Felix to ponder, Art instructed Angus, Ron, and the others, "Give the order for Sap's guards and Soldiers to individually interrogate and find the fierce bandits to be decapitated. For the remaining Bandit Soldiers, cut off their big toes and right thumbs, then tell them that from now on, if the bandits in the mountains dare to touch even a single thing belonging to Baron Galvin's family of Sap Fort, this will be their fate."
Angus and Ron went to organize Sap's guards and Soldiers to torture the fifteen or sixteen captured bandits. For a time, the caravan camp was filled with wailing, a sight too gruesome to behold…
As Art's old acquaintance, the Bandit Leader was not executed. He received special treatment: two toes and two fingers were cut off, a piece of his ear was severed, and one eye was gouged out. After enduring these tortures, Art had someone wrap the Leader in thick layers of rags to stop his bleeding, then handed him over to the bandits with missing hands, feet, and ears. Art ordered that the heads of seven or eight fierce bandits be cut off in front of all the surviving bandits, and then commanded the surviving bandits to carry these bloody heads and flee the camp, each for his own life.
"Remember this! The one punishing you today is the Black-Robed Patrolman—Court Guard Knight, Southern Border Patrol Officer Art Wood Wells!"
This was Art's final shout to the departing bandits.
"Lord Art, you're using this tactic to intimidate the bandits in the mountains!" Felix began to understand Art's intention.
"Felix, I said we can't wipe out all the bandits. Many words, when spread by the bandits themselves, are much more effective than us boasting about ourselves," Art said, looking at the retreating figures.
"Yes, that way, all the bandits will know your formidable reputation~" Felix's voice was low but filled with respect.
Art saw that Felix was in low spirits and knew his earlier scolding had been a bit harsh, so he encouraged him, "Felix, don't be careless on the battlefield anymore. Any mistake can put your brothers, who you've been with day and night, in grave danger. However, your performance in this battle was quite good. When we return to Sap, I will truthfully report your military achievements to your father."
"Alright, let's go back to Sap. We still have wounded and dead Soldiers who need treatment and burial." With that, he turned and walked into the camp, giving orders to break camp and return to Sap…
………
The bandit suppression battle in the southern hills quickly spread throughout the surrounding area. The stone that had hung over Sap for many days finally fell, and the people hiding in Sap Fort's stockade began to return to their farmlands and homes, rebuilding their livelihoods.
The cruel reputation of the "Black-Robed Patrolman" also gradually spread among the bandits. While they swore to kill all these devils, they also reminded themselves in their hearts never to provoke these bloodthirsty fellows again.
As a figure widely spoken of, Art and his Soldiers stayed in Sap Fort for six days after returning from the bandit suppression. They trained over twenty territorial guard Soldiers for Baron Galvin, then took Baron Galvin's only son, Felix, to be tempered in the legion. Art also discussed with Baron Galvin sending a few elite legion cadres to Sap Fort at an appropriate time to continue training Soldiers for Baron Galvin.
Baron Galvin also demonstrated his generosity. Not only did he present Art with a warhorse, a set of iron-studded lamellar armor, and three sets of padded cotton armor (padded garments), but he also promised to temporarily share one of his managed trade routes with Art's caravan until Art established his own trade route.
Art, who had gained a considerable harvest, had been out for over ten days. After completing the engagement ceremony with Lottie and resolving the Sap crisis, he left Sap with Angus, Ron, and the lightly wounded but recovered Jason and Leide, riding back to Valley Knight Territory…