Chapter 227: Bandits and Carriage
Chapter 227: Bandits and Carriage
Li Meng lowered his head to examine his attire.
He always cared about his appearance.
Was this outfit too conspicuous?
After all, the stranger one looks, the more curiosity they attract.
But then again, this place was truly remote.
Li Meng raised his head and looked toward the end of the forest path.
Though it was a road, it was uneven and rugged.
It seemed as if no one had passed through it.
Weeds were gradually encroaching on the edges of the path.
Since stepping onto this road, Li Meng hadn't encountered a single human being.
"Master, what do you intend to do?"
"Do?"
Li Meng thought of the predicted future timeline.
Becoming an adventurer was not really necessary.
He could head straight to the city of Leo and wait for the envoy from the Papal States.
But finding Leo City was a hassle.
After all, he was completely ignorant of the various human nations.
So becoming an adventurer might seem unnecessary, but in reality, it was essential.
The Adventurer's Guild was the best channel for obtaining geographical information.
"Let's become an adventurer and explore a bit."
Some things couldn't be shared with Xiao Bai.
"Huh, what's that? The sound of wheels?"
At that moment, the sound of hooves and wheels rolling over the ground came from behind.
Li Meng discreetly moved to the side of the road.
Before long, a carriage escorted by guards appeared from the road behind him.
Judging by their attire, the escorts were adventurers.
There were four of them, riding horses that looked remarkably similar to those on Earth.
Indeed, this world also had horses.
When the escorting adventurers saw Li Meng standing by the roadside, they became more vigilant.
The swordsman rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.
The mage gripped their staff tightly.
Li Meng didn't move, merely observing the approaching carriage.
The adventurers escorting the carriage kept a close eye on Li Meng as they passed.
They would not hesitate to attack if Li Meng made any sudden moves.
However, nothing happened next.
The carriage and adventurers quickly passed by Li Meng and disappeared into the distance.
"It shouldn't be the merchant caravan from the future timeline."
A caravan wouldn't consist of just one carriage.
Heh, so this is what life as an adventurer in another world is like?
Even though it was just a brief encounter with adventurers and a carriage,
Li Meng couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement.
He continued walking along the forest path, quickening his pace.
"What a bad day, just a bunch of poor folks!"
"Strip their gear—it's worth some money at least!"
As he walked, the road ahead suddenly grew noisy.
A carriage was parked in the middle of the road.
A group of bandits was cleaning up the battlefield.
Looking at the ground, there were mangled corpses everywhere.
There were both bandit and adventurer corpses.
Several horses also lay in pools of blood.
Li Meng had already heard the sounds of fighting ahead earlier,
but he hadn't paid it any attention.
The fighting hadn't lasted long, only a few minutes.
"Humans are best at killing, aren't they?"
Looking at the cursing bandits ahead, Li Meng muttered to himself.
In this world of survival of the fittest, such events were probably commonplace.
Otherwise, the carriage wouldn't have hired adventurers for protection.
Unfortunately, even with adventurers as escorts, they still couldn't save their lives.
"Boss, someone's coming from over there!"
Li Meng hadn't even thought about hiding, so the bandits spotted him.
More than ten bandits turned to look at him in unison.
"Brothers, we've got a big fish! Kill him!"
The lead bandit charged at Li Meng with a ferocious expression.
His eyes were filled with excitement.
The other bandits shouted as they rushed toward Li Meng.
"Such murderous intent. Really?"
Seeing the charging bandits, Li Meng shook his head in exasperation.
Smart bandits should only rob, not kill.
These were just a bunch of fools.
Li Meng extended his hand indifferently.
A hand wrapped in white bandages emerged from his black robe.
The bandages covering his entire body were a type of magical item.
Xiao Bai had said his magical power was too terrifying.
Even ordinary people could feel it and might vomit.
The bandages served to isolate the leakage of magical energy.
"Stone Bullet!"
Magical energy surged, creating ripples in the air.
One stone bullet after another shot out like bullets.
"Magic… Damn!"
Seeing the black-robed figure use magic,
the lead bandit's face filled with fear.
Magic itself wasn't terrifying.
But the power of this person's Stone Bullet spell was overwhelming.
It even caused visible shockwaves.
Before he could shout, the lead bandit's head exploded.
The other bandits were swiftly dealt with.
One by one, the Stone Bullets pierced through their bodies.
Some bandits were cut in half.
Limbs flew, and blood splattered everywhere.
In an instant, the dozen or so bandits were wiped out.
"A bunch of trash!"
Li Meng's bored voice came from under the hood.
"Master, you should be able to find some money on their bodies. It'll be useful later."
"Hmm, let's search, then."
At Xiao Bai's suggestion, Li Meng began searching the battlefield.
He first opened the carriage door to take a look.
Inside were a man, a woman, and a boy.
Judging by their attire, they were probably nobles.
They had died gruesomely—the man had his throat slit,
and the woman had an arrow in her neck, her body covered in blood.
She was likely killed by mistake. After all, bandits had no reason to kill women.
Living women could be sold for a higher price.
"They must have been the second son of a noble family leaving home."
The carriage was empty, having already been ransacked by the bandits.
"The second son of a noble family leaving home? Xiao Bai, what do you mean?"
"To avoid family infighting over inheritance, human nobles have established certain rules. Only the eldest son is eligible to inherit titles and wealth. Once the second son comes of age, they are given some money and sent away to make their own way in life."
"I see. Humans are always like this."
"Master, what do you mean?"
"Nothing. I just don't like humans—except for women."
Li Meng spent some time looting the bodies for spoils of war.
It took him over ten minutes to finish searching the last body.
"Master, leave quickly. If someone finds you here, they'll think you're the murderer."
Feeling the heavy coin pouch at his waist, Li Meng left in high spirits.
Come to think of it, this wasn't part of the future timeline.
In the future, he was supposed to encounter a merchant caravan,
and then travel with them to a human town.
"System, simulate life!"
Whatever, let's try a simulation first.
[Critical targets not eliminated. Simulation invalid.]
"Critical targets?"
Li Meng thought of the Bone Dragon King and Holy Dragon King.
"So even if the future changes, I can't simulate life? That's too much."
Li Meng shook his head with a sigh.
The Life Simulation System was as infuriatingly fickle as ever.
Three days later, on the forest trail.
On the blood-soaked road, Li Meng crouched beside a corpse.