Chapter 20: The Great Thief and the Evil Dragon

Hunters couldn't muster the courage to clash blood with the Lord, and their combatants amounted to merely a dozen or so people.

And the guards of Sige Town were more numerous than that.

The Hunters hoped to intimidate the Lord with their martial prowess, expressing their stance and hoping he would see the difficulty and retreat.

As long as the Lord didn't dare enter the mountain, they could continue their past lives.

But Roman's attitude was very firm.

The Hunters had to submit.

Because he didn't even need to send troops to subdue the Hunters, merely blockading the mountain and cutting off all barter between Sige Town and the Hunters would cause their quality of life to plummet.

In this era, relying solely on hunting was hard to meet all life's needs.

The Hunters had carved out a stronghold in the mountains, engaging simultaneously in picking berries, mushrooms, cultivation, and hunting as diverse means of harvesting.

They regularly sent furs, mountain goods, and game to Sige Town, or found merchants to trade for food, fabric, and iron tools to be brought up the mountain.

As the Agricultural Officer, Moor had no way to tax them.

Supported by the resources of the mountain, the Hunters' quality of life was far higher than that of the farmers in Sige Town—the land in the mountains couldn't grow much grain, but they also didn't have to give up half their yield to Moor, so they were essentially free from worry about food and clothing—this kind of life could indeed be called comfortable.

The resources consumed by the Hunters were only a tiny part for Moor, so he didn't need to risk a fiery conflict with the Hunters.

Otherwise, no matter who won, it would be a lose-lose situation.

Now, a Lord and two well-trained Conquest Knights had completely changed this situation.

Roman demanded all the Hunters evacuate from their mountain stronghold within a month and move to Sige Town.

This demand put the Hunters in a difficult position.

Roman didn't care about their feelings, the resources in the mountains could only sustain those few dozen people in the stronghold, but once moved out, the wealth they created would increase tenfold.

He needed a large population next and was even preparing to buy slaves.

Then, Roman asked Dota about the specifics concerning the outlaws in the mountains; compared to Moor, he had grown up in the mountains and knew more about those people.

A Hunter is a Hunter, and dangerous criminals generally had their own independent dwellings.

But living there over time, they naturally came into contact and knew some basic information about each other.

Due to blockages of information, long distances, and Moor not reporting, the true identities of these people hadn't spread to the outside world.

And the residents of Sige Town very rarely encountered those dangerous elements.

Dota didn't conceal anything, saying straightforwardly, "The Dirty Doctor is called Galin, we Hunters and the people of Sige Town all respect him, he has knowledge and can cure diseases, but no one knows his origins."

"Deserter Jet, because he fled the battlefield on his own, he had nowhere to go and came here."

"Traitor Knight Dick, it is said that he killed the noble he swore allegiance to and was hence hunted by the nobles, not knowing how, he ended up here."

"Robber Bo Ge, you should have heard of him... He also killed a noble and stole all of that noble's wealth, which he distributed among the common people, but after he left, another noble hanged all those common people. You better not get involved with Robber Bo Ge because he is very dangerous..."

At that moment, a beast's roar faintly echoed from deep within the mountain range, cutting off Dota's words.

"Demon Beast…" Dota's expression turned grave as he gazed towards the deep mountains.

Powerful ferocious beasts are Demon Beasts, because these creatures possess terrifying destructive power, in forests and mountains, they are like nature's embodiment.

Once encountering a Demon Beast, even a group of Hunters would suffer heavy casualties.

But correspondingly, the Demon Beast would also bleed or be severely injured. This was a conflict both sides tried hard to avoid.

These strong ferocious beasts rarely attacked human settlements.

Of course, there are some omnivorous animals that would destroy crops in fields.

Humans may have encroached on a part of nature, but they didn't push Demon Beasts into a corner; the creatures still had vast expanses of living space in this wilderness, and this place was on the periphery of the mountain range, where Demon Beasts have their fixed territories.

Hearing that roar unsettled Dota, Roman also frowned, then continued asking, "Is there another? There should be more people than these."

Hearing Roman's inquiry, Dota hesitated.

He didn't really want to talk about this, but Roman was staring directly at him.

He was an archer with a very concentrated gaze, giving a sense of oppression that made Dota somewhat nervous.

"The last one is... Witch of Calamity Gwivelle..."

Unknown time.

The raider Bo Ge found the betrayer knight Dick.

Living alone in the mountains was unimaginably difficult, even Transcendents couldn't secure a stable source of food.

Even so, they hid in this secluded forest away from the mortal world, choosing a reclusive life over going out.

Dick had once been a powerful Conquest Knight, blessed with a piece of land by the nobles, until he killed his own lord.

From that moment on, this land had no place for Dick anymore.

Bo Ge approached Dick's cabin and said to him, "An Evil Dragon has entered the mountains."

Dick just gave him a look.

Bo Ge muttered to himself, "That Evil Dragon should not have come here! Why disturb the peace here!"

Dick remained silent.

Bo Ge's voice grew fiercer, "He will not let us stay here; the Evil Dragon will send his minions to capture us. Those weak hunters won't resist, instead they will fuel the Evil Dragon's arrogance. Then you, I, Jet, the filthy doctor, and that unfortunate little witch will no longer be able to stay here. She'll be sold to the Church and burned alive. Dick, can you bear to see that little witch die such a death?"

Dick finally spoke, "What are you trying to achieve by finding me?"

Bo Ge's expression was ferocious, "To have him die an unnatural death, before he ruins this place's peace!"

Dick sighed, "Your madness deepens day by day in these mountains, your delusions will be your undoing."

Bo Ge continued on his own, "Dick, let us do this together! Only this way can we preserve this sole sanctuary. The nobles regard everything here as their treasure. But those treasures should never belong to them, he's just a raider, a thief, he doesn't deserve to possess these things!"

Dick shook his head, "I won't help you."

Bo Ge, as if he hadn't heard, raved, "Together! To kill the Evil Dragon! I want to see him bleed, to see if his blood is indeed red! Then to distribute the Evil Dragon's riches to everyone!"

Dick sighed once more, "Why don't you go to Jet instead of coming to me?"

Bo Ge gazed intensely at Dick. However, the latter wasn't afraid of the crazed raider.

Dick heard Bo Ge say, "That deserter is a coward, he won't support me!"

Dick replied, "No, Jet is brave, he knows what he's doing, that's why he chose to come to the mountains... Bo Ge, leave, I won't join forces with you."

Bo Ge suddenly erupted in fury, "We both have the blood of the Evil Dragon on our hands, I fight for everyone on this land, while you sit back and watch!"

Dick sighed, "Who are you really fighting for, are you going to kill Roman Riptide? Or are you trying to kill off the shadow that haunts you constantly? You can't break free, you often dream of those who died miserably, you think you strangled your own mother… You can't find peace, frequently waking from nightmares, and many times you've woken me."

Dick looked at his neighbor with a gaze full of pity, "Raider Bo Ge, you've gone mad."

Bo Ge insisted confidently, "I'm not mad! I know what I need to do!"

Dick said, "So what do you intend to do?"

Bo Ge coldly replied, "The Demon Beasts to riot! The nobles to die miserably!"

Dick shook his head, "Do you think you can easily kill the offspring of the Riptide Family? Even if you could, the Grand Duke Riptide's wrath would flatten Sige Town... Bo Ge, you're repeating past mistakes, everyone will be killed because of you, and where will you flee to this time?"

Bo Ge rambled, "No! No! I won't flee again, I've finally figured it out, I want to kill Roman Riptide and that fat pig of Sige Town, I want to distribute the Evil Dragon's supplies, gold coins to the poor who can't afford food, I also want to give them the lands of Sige Town, as long as they become masters of this land, they will follow me to kill other Evil Dragons! Kill all the Evil Dragons on this land! Once those Evil Dragons are exterminated, everything will get better..."

Dick still shook his head.

Bo Ge's frenzied demeanor suddenly cooled down.

He looked at Dick, waiting for his final response.

But Dick silently gripped the rust-covered Knight Commander's sword.

Bo Ge turned and walked away.

Dick watched Bo Ge's retreating figure in silence.

Dick knew, nobody could persuade a raider, especially one whose mind was filled with mad thoughts.

He slowly pulled out a tarnished silver necklace from his chest, gazed at it for a while, and finally clenched it in his hand, letting out a deep sigh.