The road to Hertle became an increasingly busy one over the course of the day, and their small convoy rapidly overtook dozens of other farmer convoys headed for the market, which was to begin the day after next.
They all looked pretty envious that this one group had a strong enough witch to enchant all of their oxen and wagons for the day, but there were a lot of friendly waves from the farmers who recognized the Merchants in their group, and some of the Mercenaries who had worked with them before.
It was good to see the friendly faces, but Wolfe did notice that almost all the convoys were made of humans, with very few witch-blooded men in the groups. Sure, there weren't as many of them, but these forests were supposed to be filled with mostly Witches and their descendants.
"Is everyone sending the men with no Witch blood because of the town rules? If it's going to cause trouble for you, I can split off with my group before we get to the gates." Wolfe whispered to the Merchant whose wagon he was riding on.
"No, it's just how things are. The trip is dangerous, so we're the ones who get to go. If we're lucky, we get some good mercenaries. If we're unlucky, we get some blacksmith's son with an apprentice-made sword who's looking to make some money." The Merchant whispered back.
That described at least one guard in their group, the young man who was riding on the second wagon and watching the right side of the convoy for attacks and monsters.
He didn't have armour, his sword wasn't enchanted, and he looked even younger than Wolfe.
Admittedly, Wolfe's beard was grown in where the guard was clean-shaven, and that helped Wolfe look a bit older, but the boy was likely no more than fifteen or sixteen.
Wolfe had been assigned to watch the left flank, but with [Detect Hidden] active, he could see much more than any of the others were likely to, so he took the time to check forward and right every time he turned to talk to the Merchant beside him.
Ella and Christa were napping on top of the bundles of wool in the wagon while Grok rode on the tailgate and helped keep watch behind them, just in case.
At least that way, Wolfe knew that the convoy was actually being guarded and not just by a few local boys moonlighting as mercenaries.
Movement in the distance caught Wolfe's attention, and he adjusted [Detect Hidden] until he could clearly see the bandits waiting in the river bottom ahead of them.
The road took a sweeping right turn, then came straight back to where the bandits were waiting, leaving any convoy headed to the city exposed to their attack. If you didn't have good guards, it would likely be the end of your journey, and it might well be the end of you even with the best guards if they really wanted what you had.
"Ahead, there is a switchback in the road where it follows the river. You can see it through the trees. I caught the flash of metal up that way. There are bandits waiting for us." Wolfe informed the Merchant sitting beside him.
"Jog up and tell the Convoy Leader what you saw. We will have to go that way. There isn't another route across the river. But if we're ready, I think we should be fine."
Wolfe hopped down and informed the lead guard, as well as the Convoy Leader, what he had seen, glossing over how he had seen that far through the woods.
"Good eyes, Guardian. The oxen can run for a few minutes, so get your guns ready if you've got them, and we will make a break as soon as we get to the riverbank. That should be where they make their move, and if we're at a run, they won't have time to set up properly." The Convoy Leader decided.
Wolfe returned to the wagon, then climbed up and shifted Ella and Christa down into the wool bales. Then he covered them with the same blanket that the merchant had placed over his cargo. It would be hot in there, but they would be out of sight of the bandits.
The movement woke them up, but Wolfe silenced them with a gesture and returned to his seat.
The bandits should have a scout somewhere between here and their position, but Wolfe hadn't found them yet, so it was best to keep any and all good-looking women hidden.
Banditry was a lonely job, and Wolfe would have to kill a lot of people today if the Witches were spotted.
The scout was in the trees just after the switchback, barely hidden even to the worst of guards, so Wolfe subtly activated [Wind Blades] and chopped him out of the tree right as the first wagon reached the shoreline, and the Caravan Leader signalled the convoy to a run.
The crashing of the scout's body out of the tree, combined with the suddenly running oxen carts, startled the Bandits, who were running through the trees with rifles in hand.
"Christa, we could use some magic now, if you please," Wolfe instructed as the bandits started to raise their weapons.
The spell didn't come from her but from Ella. Wolfe could feel it through the bond, and vines shot up to entrap the Bandits and crush the life out of them while the three guards on the wagons raised their blades.
None of them had a rifle, but a few of the farmers did, and the shots began to ring out in the afternoon air, alerting anyone nearby that something bad was happening at the river.
Wolfe hopped down from the wagon and rushed into the trees with his new magical sword in his hand, trying not to laugh at the incredibly basic fire enchantment that was placed on it.
Even by military-issued gear standards, this blade was incredibly mediocre, and the Sylvan Army would have felt insulted to be issued it.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm That didn't matter much since Wolfe wasn't going to use the enchantment on the blade. He was just going to cast [Unholy Flames] on it and hack his way through the bandits who were hiding further back.
They would never know what hit them.
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