Chapter 79: The Three Notorious Bandit Leaders

The first NPC general of the Three Kingdoms in this book is about to make his debut. Can you guess who he is? Guess correctly and receive a character reward.

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Western Liang, Longyou region.

Three fierce-looking bandit leaders led over a hundred horse thieves slowly across the wilderness. The henchmen shouted excitedly, carrying water bags, food supplies, arrows, and various strange furs on their mounts—all spoils from their robberies along the way.

The stout third leader of the bandits slung a majestic nine-ring broadsword over his shoulder, sitting uncomfortably on horseback. He twisted his hips from time to time, cursing, “Damn it, it hurts like hell! Riding for days on end, my backside’s almost grown calluses. Is there no softer saddle pad?”

The second leader on the left laughed and retorted, “Enough, Wang Lao San. You’ve got a horse to ride, what else do you want? Should we carry you in a sedan chair? The horse’s back is no mountain stronghold, after all. If you can’t take it, go back to your lair and be a worthless mountain bandit for life.”

The stout bandit leader snorted twice. “Back in my stronghold, I had over two hundred brothers—much more formidable than you. You’ve only ever led about twenty men. What’s to be proud of as second in command, huh?”

The chief leader said nothing, leisurely leading the large band of horse thieves forward.

A scout galloped up to the chief, dismounted, and reported, “Boss, just ahead is Hualing Village. Beyond that, three to five li away, is Daqi Village. Then come Xiaobai Village, Huba Village, and Wutong Village.”

“What? We’ve reached Xiaobai Village!” The second leader exclaimed joyfully. “Brother, let’s charge over and wipe them out completely!”

The third leader immediately opposed firmly, “I disagree. Last time I accidentally destroyed an entire village and immediately drew the army’s siege. We must never do that again. Let’s just loot some grain; provoking the soldiers will only bring trouble we can’t handle!”

The second leader argued passionately, “This grudge is blood-deep. If we don’t destroy them, what kind of second in command am I?”

The two bandit leaders bickered incessantly.

Suddenly, the chief leader shouted angrily, “Shut up, both of you!”

The two fell silent at once.

The chief scolded, “If I weren’t desperate, would I become a bandit?! Just take enough to eat and drink; no need to burn down villages. The next village is Hualing. Tonight, let’s just borrow some grain from there. Move out!”

He led the charge, and the bandits thundered toward Hualing Village. Second-in-command Cheng and Wang Lao San hurried to catch up without delay.

Before long, they arrived at Hualing Village.

Hualing was a second-tier village, famous for its tea. Because the tea variety was singular and of low quality, its main market was selling cheaply to NPC merchants in Wuwei City. Production was limited, and harvests modest. Among players, trade volume was low; mainly nearby taverns and inns used it.

Hualing Village had over two thousand players, a force not to be underestimated. When the bandits arrived, they immediately shut the gates tight and prepared defenses.

Wang Lao San, limping from his sore backside, rode his horse within a li of the village gate. Pointing his nine-ring broadsword at the gate, he shouted, “Ants of Hualing Village, hand over your grain at once! Or I’ll burn your village, destroy your strongholds, and slaughter every man, woman, and child!”

Voices from inside the village shouted back loudly, “Get lost! We don’t even have enough grain for ourselves, fat pig! Where do you think you’re going to get any from?”

“Will you hand it over or not?”

“Come and get it if you dare! We’re not scared of you!”

Wang Lao San cursed but had no effect. He slunk back to the bandit camp, “Big brother, I couldn’t intimidate them. Better let Cheng second-in-command handle it.”

The chief waved his hand.

Cheng led over fifty mounted archers running along the village’s fence line, firing volleys of arrows into the village. Shouts and screams of dying players echoed from within.

The village head of Hualing was tough; he said nothing. Players died, but no grain would be given.

Cheng shot for half an hour with no progress. He returned with the bandits, “Big brother, another bunch of stubborn bones. Looks like unless we storm the village, they won’t hand over the grain.”

The chief shook his head. “No. The village is too large. Storming it will cost heavy casualties. It’s getting dark—retreat three to five li, find a clearing to camp. After dinner, we’ll deal with them again.”

“Oh, by the way, big brother! When I was scouting south of the village, I caught a sneaky tea farmer. What should we do with him?”

“Bring him here.”

The bandits immediately dragged a terrified farmer from horseback and brought him before the chief.

The farmer, scared half to death, kowtowed and begged for mercy.

The chief glanced at him disdainfully, snorted, “Tie him up. We’ll deal with him tomorrow.”

The bandits set up camp in the distance, lighting fires and cooking. The players of Hualing Village were deeply uneasy—what mischief were these bandits up to?

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Xiaobai Village.

Zhan Xiaobai, Sword Tyrant, and others awaited the latest news of bandit activity.

A player rushed in to report: Black Tiger, the village head of Huba, and Elder Shen Biao requested an audience, saying there was an urgent matter to discuss.

Zhan Xiaobai’s face brightened. Huba had actually taken the initiative to submit. Black Tiger personally coming to negotiate meant they were willing to compromise and pay a price to maintain the medicine trade with Xiaobai Village.

He quickly said, “Sword Tyrant, you go negotiate with them. If necessary, make some concessions and try to keep them stable. Delay all conflicts until after next month’s harvest. Otherwise, pushing them too hard will cause needless trouble.”

“What’s the bottom line for negotiation?”

“Half of the trade must be cheap iron ore; the rest can be reasonably priced weapons.”

The Sword Tyrant nodded and went outside the village to meet Black Tiger and the others.

Black Tiger and company were growing anxious. Upon seeing Sword Tyrant arrive, Black Tiger hurried forward with a hearty laugh, “Ha ha, Elder Sword Tyrant, hope you’re well. Yesterday I sent Shen Biao to negotiate trade with your village, but he acted on his own and messed things up. It was all a misunderstanding—I’ve already scolded him. That’s why I brought him personally to apologize and ask Xiaobai to forgive us.”

Sword Tyrant chuckled, “No offense taken. Brother Shen Biao is straightforward and sometimes blunt. Village Head Black Tiger, Xiaobai is currently strengthening defenses, so I’m in full charge of these negotiations. Please, follow me.”

Black Tiger was momentarily surprised—Xiaobai wasn’t coming out in person? Well, that avoided awkwardness.

Shen Biao immediately growled, “My big brother came himself—why isn’t he coming out to receive us?”

“Shut up and move aside!”

Black Tiger quickly stopped Shen Biao’s outburst and smiled apologetically at Sword Tyrant, “Sorry, I haven’t kept him in line. Elder Sword Tyrant, shall we find a place to discuss bilateral trade?”