Chapter 9: Worthless Trouble

The caravan hurried on its way after daybreak.

Rex and Hilda still walked leisurely at the very back of the group.

After traveling for roughly two hours, Rex suddenly reined in his horse.

“There’s movement behind us.”

Everyone heard this and quickly turned to look.

They saw a cloud of dust rising from the valley entrance in the distance, and they could vaguely make out over a dozen horses chasing in their direction.

“!”

The mercenary leader cursed, his hand going to his sword hilt.

“Prepare to engage!”

He thought it was the people who had escaped yesterday coming back for them.

“Wait.”

Rex raised a hand to stop him.

He narrowed his eyes to look at the dust cloud, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly…

The group of riders’ posture was crooked and wobbly, their formation as loose as a flock of herded ducks.

The leader was running the fastest, but he held the reins too tightly, causing the horse’s head to shake left and right.

“This bunch…”

Rex paused, “No need to be nervous.”

The mercenary leader looked at him with suspicion, but remembering last night’s events, he still moved his hand away from his sword hilt.

The pursuers quickly drew near.

The leader was a burly man with a full beard, wearing ill-fitting leather armor and riding a stout, well-fed horse that he was pulling so hard its eyes were rolling back.

Behind him were a dozen or so ragtag misfits.

They all had weapons, but the way they held them looked awkward no matter how you looked at it.

“Stop! Everyone stop!”

The burly man reined in his horse, panting as he scanned the caravan.

“You… why aren’t you taking the Grey Rock Ridge Path?”

Aldo was stunned.

“Who are you?”

“I’m asking you the question!”

The burly man’s voice was loud, but he clearly lacked confidence.

“I waited for you on the Grey Rock Ridge Path for half the day and didn’t see a single ghost! Made me chase you all this way with my men…”

As he spoke, his voice grew quieter and quieter because he finally got a clear look at the caravan’s lineup.

Seven or eight proper mercenaries were staring at him, weapons in hand.

The coachmen and workers on the carriages were also watching the spectacle, expressions of ‘looking at an idiot’ on their faces.

And the three bandits tied up in the carriage were also staring at them.

The burly man’s gaze stopped on the three bandits.

“Boss…”

A subordinate behind him leaned in, his voice weak, “Did we… get the wrong direction?”

“Shut up!”

The burly man slapped the subordinate on the head, then turned back, his facial expression oscillating between fierceness and nervousness.

“Um… I’m just passing by. Yeah, passing by. You guys go ahead, go ahead… I won’t disturb you…”

“Halt.”

Rex urged his horse forward a couple of steps, looking down at him from his height.

“You chased us all this way with your men, just to say you’re passing by?”

Sweat began to bead on the burly man’s forehead.

“I… um…”

“Tie them up.”

Rex couldn’t be bothered with further talk.

The mercenaries had been holding back their energy.

Last night they were scared out of their wits by the bald man’s group, with a bellyful of anger they couldn’t vent.

Now that this group had delivered themselves to their doorstep, they weren’t about to be polite.

Before the burly man could even draw his blade, the mercenary leader yanked him off his horse and pressed him face-down into the dirt.

His group of followers were grabbed like chicks.

The whole process took only a few minutes.

The burly man, trussed up like a chicken, was thrown by the roadside, his face covered in mud, still cursing and swearing.

“Do you know who I am? I’m from Wangfeng Fortress…”

“Wangfeng Fortress?”

Rex crouched down to look at him.

“Then do you know a man with a scar on his face?”

The burly man froze for a moment, then a flicker of unease crossed his face.

“He’s my subordinate. What about it?”

“……”

Rex couldn’t help but sigh.

“You brought men to rob the caravan just because your subordinate got beaten up?”

“Th-that was just one reason…”

The burly man’s voice grew even smaller.

“I heard your shipment had gems… that’s why I brought men… But I waited on the Grey Rock Ridge Path for ages and no one showed, so I had to chase you, and then…”

He looked down at the ropes binding him, his expression shifting from ferocity to grievance, then to resignation.

“And then I got caught by you.”

Rex and the others stared at them speechlessly…

This group had chased them down so menacingly, and this was the result?

Rex stood up and walked to the carriage, pulling out the three bandits captured last night.

The bald man’s mouth was gagged with a cloth strip, and he was making muffled noises.

Rex pulled the gag from his mouth.

“Is this guy the ‘big shot’ you mentioned?”

The bald man glanced at the burly man, a look of disdain that said ‘he’s not worthy’ appearing on his face.

“Him?”

The bald man spat.

“Him, worthy of being called a big shot? Trash like him isn’t even fit to polish our boots. Any one of my men could take three of him!”

“What did you say?!”

The burly man was displeased, wriggling on the ground.

“I was mixing it up in Wangfeng Fortress when you were still in your mother’s womb! Who the hell are you to insult me?”

“So what if I insult you? With skills like yours, you dare to come out and rob? Can’t even find the right road and you call yourself a bandit?”

“You motherf—”

The two of them started hurling insults at each other from a few steps apart, each louder and more vulgar than the last.

The burly man, tied up and unable to move, could only crane his neck to curse; the bald man, though also tied up, was sitting steadily against the carriage, cursing with full vigor.

The mercenaries looked at each other.

Rex rubbed his temples, annoyed by the noise.

“Gag them.”

He said to the mercenary leader.

The mercenary leader, suppressing a laugh, signaled his men to stuff a gag into each of their mouths.

The world was finally quiet.

Rex looked at the bald man, then at the burly man, and shook his head.

“Hand them over to the guards when we reach Frostwind City.”

He mounted his horse.

“You might even get a bounty for them.”

Afterwards, the mercenaries tossed the several bandits onto a carriage, and the caravan set off again, finally reaching Frostwind City by noon without further incident.

Looking from afar, the gray city walls gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

People came and went at the city gates, with carriages lined up waiting to enter.

On the city walls, an arrow tower stood every few dozen paces, the flags of the Orentia Federation fluttering loudly in the wind at their tops.

Entering the city, Rex felt for the first time the difference between the Federation and the Empire.

Empire cities favored stone and wood, with heavy, steady architecture that emphasized imposing presence.

Frostwind City, however, made extensive use of a pale bluish-gray stone.

The architectural lines were clean and sharp, and the roofs had very steep slopes, probably to handle winter snow.

The streets were wider than those in the Empire, and the shop signs on both sides were made of wrought iron, hanging from doorframes and clinking.

The clothing of the pedestrians was also different.

Empire people preferred dark colors, emphasizing solemnity.

Federation people liked bright colors, and they often wore several colors mixed together, creating a lively chaos.

The Merchant Guild’s warehouse was in the northern part of the city, a five-story stone building with several carriages parked at the entrance.

Aldo’s men began unloading the goods.

The lead mercenary took the bound men to the guards to claim the bounty.

Before leaving, he glanced at Rex, wanting to say something, but in the end, he only nodded.

Aldo led Rex into a reception room next to the warehouse.

“Sir, we owe you a great deal this time.”

Aldo took a wooden box from a cabinet.

Opening it, inside lay a Magic Crystal Card.

“This is the payment. Twenty thousand gold coins.”

Rex glanced at the card and frowned…

He didn’t reach for it.

“Can you give me gold coins instead?”

“Ah?”

Aldo was taken aback.

Twenty thousand gold coins, exchanged for coins, could fill half a room.

Most people who received a Magic Crystal Card would want to leave quickly.

But this gentleman preferred physical currency.

But he didn’t ask further.

He had experienced this gentleman’s style of doing things several times now.

There must be a reason for this.

“Of course.”

Aldo nodded.

“Please wait a moment, sir.”

He went out and gave a few instructions to his subordinates.

About half an hour later, a plain carriage was pulled to the entrance.

On it were stacked four iron-clad chests, heavy enough to leave deep ruts in the stone-paved road.

Aldo personally lifted the lid of a chest.

Inside were piles upon piles of gold coins, dazzling in the sunlight.

“Twenty thousand gold coins, not one short.”

Aldo closed the chest and looked at Rex again.

“This entire carriage is also yours. The road from Frostwind City to the North is not short.”

Rex didn’t stand on ceremony.

He directly jumped onto the carriage and took the reins.

“Sir, aren’t you planning to look around Frostwind City?”

Aldo asked.

“The market here has many good things, perhaps something you need.”

Rex shook his head.

“Next time. Helping you this time was just a minor episode. I have other matters to attend to.”

He paused, then added, “My territory is in the Empire’s North, not far from the border at the Ancient Castle. If you ever have need in the future, you can send someone to find me.”

Aldo was naturally very pleased to hear this.

“Sir, if the opportunity arises, our Guild could establish a long-term partnership.”

He took two steps forward.

“Although the land in the North is desolate, it’s not without value. If you need supplies, connections, or business assistance, I can report it to the Guild’s upper management right now.”

“Then thank you.”

Rex flicked the whip, and the carriage slowly drove out of the Merchant Guild’s gate.

Hilda sat at the back of the carriage.

“My Lord, are we just returning like this? You could stay here a few more days. I could send the carriage back in my Dragon form.”

“No.”

Rex cut her off.

“We will come back here again.”

He turned his head slightly to look at Hilda, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

“Have you forgotten what happened a few days ago?”

Hilda thought for a moment.

“Is it about Scar-Face from Wangfeng Fortress?”

Rex turned his gaze back to the road ahead, continuing to drive the carriage.

“Correct. He almost touched your hand. That debt hasn’t been settled yet.”

Hilda didn’t speak.

But the corner of her mouth curved up slightly.