"Yes, Lord Reine, we've traveled all the way from Rosby City, and over the past few days, we've encountered several groups of bandits in the process of robbing."
Vinica nodded, her twin ponytails bouncing as she chimed in.
The bandit groups in this region had previously been unified by the Zaral resistance.
After they launched their attack yesterday, they were almost entirely wiped out.
Even if there were a few stragglers left, they couldn't threaten the safety of the trade routes in such a short time.
Half a day later, the convoy had reached the territory of Fishing Port Town. All they had to do was pass through the forest ahead, and after about forty minutes' journey, they would arrive at Fishing Port Town.
In a valley to the west of Fishing Port Town,
more than twenty burly men, armed with various weapons, were either lying down or resting against the trees.
"Hook, why doesn't the boss just take over Fishing Port Town directly?" a burly man with a beard asked another who had an iron hook for a left hand.
"What do you know? If we took over Fishing Port Town directly, would these merchant convoys come to Fishing Port Town again? Even the merchant ships would stop coming; the pirates in our waters would have nothing but the northwest wind to drink!"
"You've seen fishing nets, right? When fishing, the smaller fish and shrimp that are smaller than the mouth of the net slip through, while the bigger fish get caught. It's the same principle. Get it?" The man known as Hook, proud of his knowledge, gestured dramatically.
He was merely repeating word for word what he had heard earlier from the deputy leader, Phil.
When he first heard this, he couldn't help admiring the wisdom of the pirate group's higher-ups.
Sure enough, as expected, the burly men listening beside him all showed signs of sudden realization, looking at Hook with great admiration.
Hook was quite pleased with this scene!
At that moment, a lean man came running over quickly and said, "Hook, I just saw a big fish, but the defense force is not weak — a full twelve cavalrymen."
The burly men beside Hook smiled, delighted at the prospect of a big catch.
"Shouldn't we report to the boss and have him lead the charge?"
"How many people did you say there were?" Hook, with a look of disdain, glanced at the lean man and asked.
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"Twelve cavalrymen, plus a carriage."
"Did you see clearly? Are they twelve cavalrymen, not twelve knights?"
"Um... they should be cavalrymen, they're not wearing full body armor, it's all leather armor." The lean man pondered for a moment, then nodded confidently.
"Hook, why wait for the boss? Can't we just go for it?"
"Yeah, let's go for it, Hook!"
"If it's just twelve cavalrymen, a volley of crossbow arrows should pretty much secure us the victory."
"We can take them down directly; there'll be plenty more loot for us to divide!"
These words kept reaching Hook's ears.
Pirates lived by the edge of the sword, with plundering as their only way to make money.
They had been waiting for half the day, thinking they wouldn't get much today either!
Hearing the news about the big fish invigorated them all.
Hook, the bearded burly man, eyes flickering with thought, decided after a moment's contemplation that this job was something his men would do on their own.
With that, he waved his hook, and over twenty burly men eagerly advanced towards the direction of Reine's convoy.
Soon, the group had completed their ambush in the forest ahead of the convoy.
"Hook, here, this convoy." The lean man pointed at Reine's procession moving slowly on the side of the road.