Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 272 - 38 Punishment_1

Chapter 272: Chapter 38 Punishment_1

"Work hard. If you dare to sneaking off, you’re dead. I’ll order mercenaries and adventurers to hunt you down worldwide," Pannis threatened, shaping up as a fierce overseer. He was speaking to the bandits whom Lina had healed, who had been unable to escape due to fractures from yesterday’s battle.

In the Neutral Land, bandits are not particularly hated, mostly because their members constitute small groups that commit robbery. Moreover, their robbery is usually restrained, involving taking away only a small portion of wealth, causing little harm to the passing Merchant Traveler, and never harming lives. In contrast, the bandits from the other two human nations not only rob wealth but also take lives, making the bandits on Neutral Land seem especially cute.

In fact, a few hundreds of years ago, the bandit groups in Rhea of Neutral Land were as savage as their counterparts elsewhere, even more so. But since the establishment of the City of Freedom, large bandit groups have often been obliterated by mercenary troops whenever they committed crimes. These bandit groups stood no chance against the mercenaries, so they were left with no other choice than to either leave Rhea or be wiped out.

Later on, these bandits discovered that small bandit groups, due to their smaller targets, weren’t subjected to repression from the mercenary guild. Instead, individual mercenary troops would hunt them down based on commissions. But their high mobility made it difficult for mercenaries to find them, leading to long and tiresome cat-and-mouse chases. As a result, the mercenaries gradually became less willing to take on such tasks.

So it was that after several hundreds of years, a unique way of coexistence formed between bandits, mercenary groups, and Merchant Travelers. Large trading groups would hire small mercenary troops for protection, while small trading groups would carry extra cash, praying that they would not encounter any robberies. If unfortunately a robbery occurred, the bandits would only demand 5% of the total value of the goods, preferring coins over goods. Sometimes, when the merchandise carried by a small trade group was exactly what the bandits needed, the bandits would spend the newly robbed money directly within the trade group to buy the merchandise. This led some Merchant Travelers to carry a large amount of essentials, wandering on the road, ready to sell products to bandits at a discount if encountered.

With this unique relationship established, Merchant Travelers don’t lose much even when they encounter bandits, so they don’t hate bandits to the extent of hiring mercenaries to chase them down. Although each robbery takes less than before, the bandits are not at risk of losing their lives. Over time, as more and more Merchant Travelers become willing to pass through this place, the bandits’ income actually increases.

Therefore, even knights like Catherine, with an overly strong sense of justice, find it hard to hate these relatively benign and adorable professional bandits. Even when caught, they are just given a lesson, and lives are not casually taken away.

The same goes for this time. Although several bandit groups attacked the wedding party under someone’s instruction, no one lost their lives in the end. Even when they planned to light the fire oil to burn the vehicles, they only lit the fire after everyone stained with fire oil had run out of the coverage area. This one detail makes everyone hesitant to punish them. However, just letting them go after the treatment is also unacceptable to everyone, so everyone spent the whole night discussing how to punish these captives.

Finally, it was Pannis, who proved to be more experienced, who proposed a solution that everyone agreed upon. Although the captives were reluctant, they had no choice but to reluctantly agree under Pannis’s coercion. The punishment was simple - they must resolve the issues they caused. The real damage of yesterday’s battle was only the boulder that fell from the sky. It not only shattered into many obstacles, but also smashed a hole nearly forty meters in diameter on the ground. If not handled in time, it would cause much trouble for the travelers. Even if someone reports it back to the City of Knowledge, it would probably take seven to eight days for the response. But if these bandits used debris to level the road, the Merchant Traveler’s vehicles could barely pass, serving as atonement for their actions.

"Yes, don’t be lazy," Catherine said from atop her horse, "We will return the same way in a few days. If I find out then that you haven’t leveled the road as ordered, you’ll suffer the consequences."

The bandits, teary-eyed, had been unable to escape due to fractures. Although Lina had healed the fractured parts, the injured areas couldn’t use much force for a week. This sequelae would greatly hamper their work for the day. Needless to say, they were going to have a very hard day.

"Catherine, we will be back at least a month later, right?" Lina approached her as they moved away with the caravan, "Even if they don’t do their work, and even if no one reports the accident to the Holy City, it will be discovered and repaired by the road-patrol team who come by every month. Won’t we be totally in the dark about whether they obeyed us or not?"

"Absolutely," Catherine nodded, "That’s why I threatened them. They probably don’t dare to gamble whether I’m deceiving them or not. And they shouldn’t be too troubled, it won’t be long before their escaped fellows will come back for them. With more of them, this little work will go quickly, so there’s no need to break the promise and run away.

"Well, they’re lucky to meet you, who’s so kind-hearted. If the punishment were up to me, they wouldn’t even be able to cry," Lina put her hands on her hips, raised her chest, lifted her head, and let out a few proud laughs, "This way, they’ll remember the lesson and won’t dare to mess with us again, haha."

Catherine was already accustomed to Lina’s sudden, unique outbursts. She shook her head helplessly, sighed deeply, and spurred her horse into a quick trot to catch up with Vivian, who was also riding and seemingly isolated from the world around her. She didn’t have time to deal with Lina’s intermittent quirks.

"Honestly, Isabella’s persona does not suit you. It’s too discordant." Only Pannis, patting Lina’s shoulder compassionately pointed out, "Such behavior and personality...it’s only suitable for a child. Am I wrong? She’s still a child, right?"

"She’s not a child. She was in her thirties when she was assassinated." Lina protested discontentedly. "Although, due to some strange reasons, she looked like a ten-year-old until her death."

"You see, I told you so," Pannis shrugged. "So, change it. At least choose one with fewer pranks...oh, I mean at least choose one matching your image."

"Ha, that’s your purpose." Lina pointed at Pannis and laughed arrogantly. "Your downfall begins now, you won’t have a peaceful day today. Await my revenge, hahaha!"

"Hey, you two!" Catherine shouted from ahead. "Quit acting like idiots and come over here. Captain Ayrland wants to speak to us."

Lina immediately stopped laughing, glared at Pannis like a sullen child and charged ahead, leaving Pannis scratching his head with a bitter smile. He could only follow helplessly.

"We have a big problem now." As soon as they came over, Captain Ayrland said, "We earlier lost four caravans and voluntarily discarded some provisions. Our transportation is now critically short. We can place the gifts on two passenger vehicles temporarily, squeezing the entire wedding procession’s staff into the remaining three vehicles. But the prolonged journey would be uncomfortable and crowded. It’s alright as a temporary measure, but we still have more than ten days to go, we can’t keep squeezing."

"So, do you have a solution?" Catherine asked.

"I thought of sending a few members back on the same route to buy a few makeshift caravans and horses from the villages on the outskirts of Holy City and catch up with us," Ayrland answered. "While they’re catching up with us, their carriages will be lighter and they will travel much faster than us. If they hurry, they could join us in roughly three days."

"Is such a fuss necessary?" Catherine asked, puzzled. "We’ve met several merchant backpackers on our way. The next time we find one, we could discuss and buy a few caravans from them directly. If a single merchant team doesn’t have enough caravans to sell, we can find multiple teams. We’ve been encountering five or six teams every day, with this rate, we could fill the vehicle shortage in one and a half days."

"That’s the problem." Ayrland replied, grimacing. "I’m worried they would tamper with the caravans we buy. After all, our opponent is Chairman Kara. Even if he doesn’t act personally, he can still employ a huge number of talents in various fields. If someone sets up a trap on the caravan, they might actually succeed."

"Haha, if you say so, can you guarantee they won’t foresee our worries and set traps on the caravans in the village?" Pannis said. "If they do, it won’t matter whether we go back for caravans or buy them on the road, the risk is the same. It’s completely unnecessary to go back. If they don’t, there’s even less reason to go back. Theoretically, it’s easier and just as reliable to do as Catherine suggests. Moreover, don’t forget, we are here. We have thwarted them three times already. We can do so again the fourth or fifth time. (To be continued. If you like this novel, you are welcomed to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please browse m.qidian.com.)"