MTL - The Law of the Silent Gentleman-Chapter 23 Ambush in the woods

A wagon drawn by two horses travels along Frontier Road. It was autumn, the sky was high and the clouds were clear, and the fields and distant mountains were golden and red, so the truck seemed to be in no hurry to drive, and slowed down to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.

Enzo and Giuliano drove the car, dressed in plain businessmen's clothes with straw hats on their heads. Antoine and Lexi sat in the back of the van. The young swordsman was holding his sword, looking around with vigilant eyes. The bard was holding his lute, playing a country tune. This place is far away from Ponto City, and it is estimated that the guards will not be able to chase him. He finally has the opportunity to display his talents and indulge himself.

The wagon was full of miscellaneous goods: cloth, furs, salt, two barrels of wine (on which Antoine and Léci sat), children's toys, women's cosmetics... These goods and the wagon had been bought in a small Bought cheap in town. According to Antoine, if you go west along the border road, you will reach the hill where the "robbers" are entrenched, and it is called Chevignon. To the north of it is Antoine's hometown. The traveler was afraid of bandits and never dared to go near the Cheverignon Mountain. Many caravans' goods were piled up in the nearby towns. Since the road was impassable and they couldn't move forward, they simply sold them locally. So Enzo was able to buy all the goods and his truck from a merchant at a very low price. Not only did the businessman not scold him for taking advantage of the fire, but he was grateful to him, holding the hand of the silent man, and tearfully expressing that the goods were finally sold and he could finally go home. The rest of the merchants who failed to sell their goods resented this lucky colleague and cursed Enzo and his party, secretly hoping that they would be robbed by the robbers and lose everything.

However, they didn't know it, and this was exactly what Enzo expected.

"'Bandits' not only robbed property, but also robbed travelers. People in the village said that they wanted to extort ransom from the families of travelers." Antoine talked about his experience, "At first I thought that robbers were greedy for money. They will kidnap hostages. But thinking about it now, their purpose is not that simple. The viscount must be afraid that his search for underground ruins will be discovered by passing passengers. It is much more convenient to use the identity of a 'robber' as a cover. Passengers are afraid of robbers , will not go near the Cheverignon Hill at all. Those brave people have become prisoners of the Viscount. In addition, he controls the army in the territory... But why didn't the 'robber' kill people directly? Wouldn't that be the case? Much more convenient?"

"The Viscount's expedition must have been very difficult." Enzo said, "After several months, he must have not discovered the underground ruins, otherwise there would have been rumors. Raising such a large number of people requires supplies and money everywhere, so They rob as much as they can, and all the property they rob will become their supplies. This is giving us a chance. We pretend to be merchants and go to the Cheverignon Hill, waiting for the 'robbers' to rob, and we can sneak in without any effort. Their lair."

Of course, it is still a question of whether these four people pretending to be businessmen can fool the eyes of the "robber". Enzo's acting skills are superb, changing clothes from a mysterious assassin to a risk-taking speculator. Giuliano pretends to be his apprentice, and as long as he doesn't talk nonsense, he can be fake. Antoine and Lexi were nothing like businessmen. Antoine's eyes were straightforward, his face was upright, and his walk was sonorous and powerful. He was more like a soldier than a businessman. As for Lei Xi...even the beggar's rags covered in mud can't hide his outstanding temperament. So Enzo thought of a compromise, and let Antoine pretend to be their bodyguard, specially hired to resist the robbers. Lei Xi pretended to be a bard who happened to hitchhike, but he couldn't think of any other suitable identity.

The four of them set off early in the morning, stopped and walked all the way, and finally approached Chevignon Mountain in the afternoon. As far as the eye can see, there is a faint gray outline between the mountain peaks, which is very different from natural rocks and is obviously a man-made building.

Enzo pointed at the gray outline with his horsewhip: "Is that the ruins of the fortress on Mount Chevignon?"

Antoine stretched his neck, narrowed his eyes, and looked at it for a while before confirming: "That's right! That's it!"

"The ruins have been taken over by the 'bandits'. We can see it, and they must be able to see us." Enzo turned his horsewhip, pointing to a forest ahead, "If I were a bandit, I would definitely set up an ambush in that forest .”

Giuliano suddenly tensed up. They were about to touch the enemy, touch the target. The previous battle to escape from Ponto City could only be regarded as a trivial matter, but now it is finally going to be real. He will face real battles and even kill people! No, he must kill! That's what he learned the art of the reticent for! He couldn't help holding tightly to the dagger hidden under the cloak, the sweat in his palm almost soaking the leather wrapped around the hilt. He secretly glanced at Enzo out of the corner of his eye, seeing the assassin's calm face, he felt a little relieved.

Enzo let go of the rein with one hand and touched Giuliano's wrist.

"Don't be nervous." He whispered to the apprentice, "If there is an ambush in the woods, your appearance will give us away."

Giuliano swallowed, "What should I do?"

"Don't forget, we are now desperate speculators. If the 'robbers' appear, just pretend to resist twice. Don't really fight them. Our goal is only to 'get caught'."

As he spoke, he drove towards the grove, pretending to have no idea that there might be an ambush there. Giuliano thought about it, didn't know how to behave, and simply lowered his head so that no one could see his face.

"Lexi, it's still too late for you to leave." Enzo said jokingly, "You and Viscount de Ranchocourt have no deep hatred, it's just a coincidence that got involved. It's not too late to leave now."

"I'd love to join you all," said the poet. "Young heroes fighting against evil nobles and searching for mysterious underground treasures are good subjects. I want to write a song about them."

"There will be a fight later, the sword has no eyes, what should you do if you are injured?"

"I'll hide."

Giuliano sighed. He didn't care about Antoine anymore, why didn't Enzo let Leixi go?

The carriage drove into the forest, and the surrounding light suddenly dimmed. The hillsides and woods, which were beautiful just now, have become eerie and dangerous at the moment. Even the two horses pulling the cart felt uneasy, and refused to go any further as soon as they entered the woods. They stomped their hooves and snorted on the spot, and Enzo yelled several times before reluctantly moving on.

If Giuliano was still the young master who used to live a luxurious life, he would not be able to notice the changes around him. However, he was already an apprentice of the Reticent, and his trained senses told him that what Enzo said was true, and there was indeed an ambush in the woods. Although he couldn't judge the opponent's number just by hearing like Enzo, he could also roughly estimate the number. There are at least six people on the other side, or more. He could hear the rustle of cloth rubbing against the treetops, the faint sound of boots on fallen leaves, and the straining of the bowstring as it was drawn and nocked.

-coming!

An arrow passed through the autumn leaves and was nailed in front of the horse, the feathers on the tail of the arrow were still shaking. The horse was frightened, and the man stood up and let out a long whine. Enzo tried to calm the horse by waving his whip. At this time, the second arrow came, and there was only a sound of piercing through the air, and the feathered arrow was nailed to the wheel of the carriage.

Even a fool can see that they have encountered robbers! Antoine jumped out of the carriage and drew his sword. The third arrow flew towards him! He looked up into the sky, and his dark pupils reflected the majestic brilliance on the cluster of arrows. Without thinking, he swung his sword and split the flying arrow in two!

"There are robbers!" he yelled, "Hide quickly, I will deal with them!" This was taught to him by Enzo in advance, and he acted as the bodyguard guarding the truck.

"The goods must not be handed over! Together we resist them!" Giuliano said. This is also a pre-rehearsed line.

The "Speculator" and his apprentice also drew their sidearms. The bard had no intention of joining the battle, and slowly got under the truck with his lute in his arms.

The three armed men used the wagon as a shield to avoid the incoming arrows. Giuliano thought that the enemy would shoot the horse first, but then he thought, horses are precious resources, and they shouldn't waste them like this.

Bows and arrows can no longer suppress them. Several gray-black figures emerged from behind the tree trunks, revealing their gleaming weapons. Antoine jumped out first, shouted loudly, and waved his long sword to meet the enemy. Giuliano emerged from the back of the van and was pushed down by Enzo. The assassin leaned back against the truck and shouted emotionally: "Don't go! You idiot! There are so many of them, you are no match!"

This sentence fueled the arrogance of the gangster. Antoine was surrounded by three men in gray cloaks, and he was overwhelmed with swords and swords. Another four men in gray surrounded the truck from both sides, and now the "merchant" and the apprentice had no way out.

"We surrender! Surrender!" Enzo continued to exert his excess enthusiasm for acting, dropped his weapon, and put his head in his hands. Giuliano followed suit.

"Antoine, stop hitting! It's important to save your life!"

The young swordsman was taken aback by his shout, and the gray-clothed men who besieged him took advantage of the situation, and one shot down his weapon, while the other two fell on him from behind, cutting his hands behind his back.

A fight was over in less than three minutes.

"Take them away!" A leader-like man in gray commanded the rest of the people, "Send the goods back to the stockade, and the people will be locked up with the former prisoners!"

The men in gray took off their hoods, some went to appease the horses, some went to count the goods, and some **** the surrenders and took them away. The whole process was very familiar, and it seemed that they had practiced many times. Their gray cloaks showed fine armor and weapons, and the longbows behind their backs were also made of fine wood. Where is this the dress of a mountain bandit? Their equipment silently confirmed Enzo's guess: the so-called "robber" was indeed disguised by the men of Viscount de Ranchocourt. If the viscount pays more attention, he should let his subordinates dress in a mess so as not to reveal their secrets. I think the adult either didn't think of this, or didn't care at all.

The van was removed, and Lexi slowly climbed out.

"Don't kill me." He calmly brushed the dust and fallen leaves off his clothes, "I surrender, I'm a bard, I just hitchhiked, I'm not with them, let me go."

His tone didn't sound like he was begging for mercy. If Giuliano's hands hadn't been tied up, he would have rolled on the ground with his head in his arms, beating his chest and feet for Lexi's embarrassing performance.

The "robbers" looked at each other.

"Bard?" A person said to the leader-like man in gray, "That scholar is dying, let the bard replace him? Anyway, they are all engaged in culture, I think it's about the same."

The leader glared at him: "It's far away! This matter is up to the adults to decide, and it's your turn to intervene! Take that poet down and take him away!"