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墨書 Inktalez
The carriage drivers couldn't help but cast their eyes toward Liu Guanfeng and the guards beside him when they saw the group of over four hundred people. Some of the drivers were pondering what kind of group was escorting them. Although their movements were very orderly and impressive, they didn't expect their combat strength to be so formidable.
No matter how many people they had killed, the number of captives was nearly double that. Some drivers even realized that the ones who had escorted their carriages over the past two days were all here. Could it be that they had zero casualties last night? That seemed unlikely; the other side wouldn't send a group of people who couldn't fight.
However, these were not things they should know. Under Cui Zhongyi's organization, ten drivers quickly harnessed their carriages. Each team of soldiers moved wooden boxes from their tents and loaded them onto the carriages.
At this moment, Chief Instructor and Five People realized they had been deceived. How could they have so many boxes?
When the central tent was dismantled, they understood that there were actually no boxes inside. The boxes those they supervised saw were merely a decoy.
After seeing everyone prepared, Liu Guanfeng stood in the center and said, "Divide into five groups to guard these people. As yesterday, if anyone tries to escape or resist, kill them without hesitation. The remaining ten groups will guard the vehicles—one group will lead, one will follow, and the other three will provide support."
With a command given, everyone began to move. The situation was similar to before, except this time behind the convoy were not guards but a group of over four hundred captives. The five groups divided these four hundred people into five parts, with each group led by one of the five Advanced Knight instructors.
Until the end, Liu Guanfeng did not know the names of the Five People leading this operation. The Chief Instructor had thought that if Liu Guanfeng asked him for his name, he would try to get him to spare himself. However, Liu Guanfeng didn't even glance at him, as if he were just an ordinary tree rather than someone involved in a robbery.
The five Advanced Knights walked with their heads down among the crowd. If outsiders looked on, they would not be able to tell that these Five People were Senior Artisans from the New Home Chamber of Commerce.
Since everyone had gotten up relatively late, by noon, they hadn't eaten anything. They received a promise from Liu Guanfeng: due to their performance last night, he decided to treat everyone to a feast once they arrived at Winter City and allowed all guards to rest for a day there.
This promise motivated everyone to hurry toward Winter City so they could finally rest upon arrival. However, this made things difficult for the guards from the New Home Chamber of Commerce. After experiencing a harrowing battle last night and being starved all day long, almost every one of them bore injuries. Even so, they were constantly urged by those behind them to move faster.
Several severely injured individuals were carried on stretchers while being jostled around; wounds that had begun to heal were torn open again, causing blood to flow continuously.
Thus, with all the guards' efforts, around two o'clock in the afternoon, a group from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce finally saw the gates of Winter City.
At this moment, the Gatekeeper of Winter City was resting in the shade with freshly brewed tea beside him. His eyes kept surveying various women passing by in front of him. Life was quite comfortable for him; just as he was fixated on a woman's figure, a soldier rushed in from outside the city gate saying, "Report to the captain! Something bad has happened."
The Gatekeeper spat out a mouthful of tea in surprise at his subordinate's exclamation, splattering it onto the soldier's face. "What’s wrong? Can't you keep calm? Just tell me what happened!"
The Noble Guard wiped his face with his hand after removing the tea stains and said, "Captain, a group of people has arrived outside the city."
"Just a group of people, is there really a need to be this scared?" The captain's expression clearly darkened.
"No, Captain, you'll see for yourself. There are nearly a thousand of them, and they look like they're ready for battle. They are approaching very urgently."
Hearing this, the captain flipped over and stood up: "Let's go see what's going on." After saying that, the captain led his subordinates to the city gate. At this moment, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's team was only a hundred meters away from the gate of Winter City.
Upon reaching the gate, the captain looked around and told the guards, "Go stop that group and ask about their situation. Don't block the entrance and cause panic."
At this point, there were no civilians coming in or out of the main gate. Seeing nearly a thousand people from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, no one dared to move forward recklessly.
"Understood." Two Noble Guards responded and quickly ran over. Leading the way were Liu Guanfeng and Cui Zhongyi. When they saw the guards approaching, Liu Guanfeng raised his arm towards the sky. Upon seeing this gesture from Liu Guanfeng, all the guards from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce halted their advance without making a sound.
The earlier captain nodded secretly: I really don't know who trained this team; it’s not easy to train such a disciplined group.
The two Noble Guards soon reached Liu Guanfeng's horse and saluted him. One of them asked, "May I ask which team you belong to? What brings you to the city?"
At this moment, Cui Zhongyi led his Wind Wolf forward a couple of steps. Leaning slightly on the wolf's back, he said, "Sir, we are the convoy from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. We have come to Winter City today to donate weapons and armor. This is our President from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce." Cui Zhongyi pointed at Liu Guanfeng sitting on his mount.
The City Gate Guard looked at them and said, "Please wait here while I report back. Do not move around so as not to influence civilians entering the city."
"Thank you for your trouble," Cui Zhongyi replied before bringing Wind Wolf closer to Liu Guanfeng. The City Gate Guard ran back to report to the captain. The captain urged his mount forward until he was in front of Liu Guanfeng: "You are President Liu, correct?"
Liu Guanfeng nodded slightly: "This sir is very courteous."
The Squad Leader bowed slightly: "President Liu, you flatter me. Since you are here today to make a donation, we should guide you." The Squad Leader glanced back at the crowd behind them and noticed a dark mass of people; each one appeared injured, causing him to furrow his brow.
"President Liu, what is going on with those people behind?"
"To be honest with you, those people were thieves who came to my camp last night intending to rob us. We don’t know where they came from. So I hope you can bring some City Defense Army over; my men are already very exhausted, and I'm afraid something might go wrong."
Squad Leader looked and said, "Please rest assured, Liu President, I will send someone to invite the City Defense Army's Brothers over." Squad Leader turned to his subordinates and shouted, "Someone go and invite the Brothers from the City Defense Army to come over, and tell them there are a lot of bandits here. They should bring more people."
"Yes," a guard replied before leaving.
Less than half an hour later, noisy sounds came from the city gate. Liu Guanfeng nodded to himself; the actions of these City Defense Soldiers were quite commendable, moving quickly on foot.
In fact, Liu Guanfeng had overestimated the City Defense Soldiers. From June to August each year, the Gates of Hell open, and to prevent enemy spies from infiltrating the city, Severe Winter issued a special order that all City Defense Soldiers must patrol regularly during this period. Any signs of negligence would be met with severe punishment.
That was why they were able to move so quickly, and it was also said that there were quite a few bandits around, which presented an opportunity that no one would want to miss.
After a while, the City Defense Soldiers, led by one person, emerged from the city gate. Behind him followed a large number of City Defense Soldiers. Liu Guanfeng estimated that their numbers were definitely not less than those of the guards from the New Home Chamber of Commerce.
The general approached Squad Leader and asked, "Where are the bandits?"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Squad Leader stood straight and saluted: "Report, General. The bandits are behind the convoy of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. This is President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and they are the ones who captured them."
The general stepped in front of Liu Guanfeng: "You are the President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce?"
Liu Guanfeng, on his mount, bowed slightly: "Yes, I am. May I ask how to address you, General?"
"Well, my surname is Han. I am the deputy City Defense General of Winter City. You can call me General Han."
"Yes, General Han, we have captured a group of bandits outside the city."
"Bandits? How do you know they are bandits?"
"In response to your question, I came to Winter City with donated supplies, but last night these thieves attempted to rob our camp but were caught by our people."
Upon hearing this, General Han raised his eyebrows; robbing donated military supplies was a serious crime. Anyone who caught them could execute them on the spot: "Take me to see them."
"Yes," Liu Guanfeng replied and led the way towards his team behind him. As they passed by the convoy, all the guards diligently watched over their assigned vehicles without paying much attention to Liu Guanfeng.
Soon, Liu Guanfeng brought General Han to the end of the convoy. Liu Guanfeng pointed with his hand, "General Han, these are the bandits we captured."
When General Han saw these people, he was taken aback; he recognized several familiar faces. Among the five instructors, two frequently visited Winter City, and he was well acquainted with them. He knew exactly who they were. So General Han turned to Liu Guanfeng and asked, "Liu President, are you saying these people are the ones who robbed you?"
"Yes, General," came the reply.
"Have you inquired about where these thieves are from?"
Liu Guanfeng shook his head. "I am just a businessman, not a government official. It is already quite fortunate for me to have captured them. As for the interrogation, I will have to rely on your authority, General."
General Han appreciated Liu Guanfeng's flattery, so he nodded lightly. "Liu President, you have done well. I would like to thank you here. As for your losses, once we interrogate these thieves thoroughly, I will provide you with an answer."
"Then I will trouble you greatly, General Han."
"Not at all. Your Chinese Chamber of Commerce has donated goods for us soldiers; we should be thanking you instead. Guards, let the Chinese Chamber of Commerce enter the city, and keep a close watch on these bandits behind us. If one escapes, I won't let you off easily."
"Understood." The soldiers responded, and all the City Defense Army quickly took control from the guards of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
At the city gate, under the Squad Leader's arrangement, all pedestrians moved to the sides. Liu Guanfeng and Cui Zhongyi led the entire convoy of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce slowly into Winter City.
Once Liu Guanfeng's Chinese Chamber of Commerce had fully entered the city, General Han instructed his subordinates to escort the members of the New Home Chamber of Commerce to his City Defense Army's base; he wanted to interrogate these familiar bandits thoroughly.
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