Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 56 Preparations

On the western border of Iron Anvil Territory, in a valley where bandits resided, a new batch of prisoners was escorted back by the arrogant bandits.

Among the prisoners were weeping women and trembling men, their faces pale, constantly pleading for mercy.

These people are small business owners who travel around earning money by making a profit. In the Kingdom of Orion, they are generally called bard merchants—they always disguise themselves as bards to disguise their true nature as merchants.

The biggest risk of trading around is encountering bandits. Unfortunately, the Strong Wind Bandit Gang specializes in kidnapping bard merchants.

This was also Baron Gareth's intention, since as long as no merchants entered Anvil Territory, he could continue to steal its minerals and sell them.

This is also why no bard merchants have ever gone to Anvil Territory; most of them have been robbed and taken prisoner.

The thieves treated their prisoners with extreme cruelty. They were forced to work and serve as cannon fodder. They didn't even have a place to sleep at night. Many of them froze to death in the wilderness because they couldn't endure the harsh conditions. Their bodies were left to be devoured by wolves.

As for female prisoners, although their treatment was slightly better than that of the male prisoners, it was still incredibly miserable.

For example, right now, the bard's young wife is being forcibly taken to the tent of their leader, Strongwind, by several thieves.

Seeing this, the steel cable in the distance leaned against the haystack, and the force with which it wiped its long knife increased.

"Hey, my brother, it's amazing you can stay in a place like this for so long."

A strong young man sat down nearby, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

His name is Morata, and he's Steel Cable's mercenary friend—the kind of friend who saved each other's lives on the battlefield.

Steel Cable sighed softly and whispered, "It'll be over soon, just bear with it for one more day."

"You better not lie to us. If you're just trying to lure us here as robbers, I'll kill you first."

Morata spoke with a smile, but his words were full of cruelty.

He was indeed a friend he would risk his life for, but he didn't want to actually become a bandit. Even being a down-on-his-luck mercenary would be better than doing these despicable things that bully the weak.

Steel Cable nodded. "Don't worry, remember what I told you. You must run fast, or you'll die."

"You're not the type to scare your friends, are you? Is that guy really that powerful? Is he a magician?"

"Who knows? But it's your own life, so it's always better to be obedient."

Steel Cable shrugged, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

These words were a message from Mount. Last night, he went out and met with Mount, and learned that Anvil Territory was ready, and now it was his turn to act.

But he really didn't know what Vilan had prepared, nor did he think that those 10 Ironclad Guards alone could stop so many thieves.

In recent days, Qiangfeng has recruited another group of desperate criminals, bringing the total number of thieves to over 150. Even without any organization, their sheer numbers are enough to plunder the entire Anvil Territory.

However, seeing what these thieves were doing, Steel Cable shook off that slight hesitation.

Regardless of the outcome, at least this time, he chose to atone for his sins.

A moment later, after wiping the long knife, Steel Cable walked directly towards the tent in the strong wind.

Laughter and weeping could be heard coming from inside. Steel Cable said in a deep voice from outside, "Chief, I have something to tell you."

"Come in."

The lazy sound of the strong wind carried on, showing no anger at being interrupted.

As the steel cable went inside, it found the poor merchant's wife huddled in a corner of the tent, her clothes disheveled.

He glanced at it briefly before looking away, and calmly said, "My wounds have fully healed, but every day I'm injured, I can hear them roaring. I think I'm ready for revenge."

Upon hearing this, Qiangfeng looked up at the steel cable and then revealed a crazy smile.

"I've been waiting for you to say that. Can I trust your mercenary friends?"

"Absolutely. They are just like me, down on their luck, and what they lack most is gold. If you allow them to plunder, they will be the most terrifying warriors."

"Hahahaha! Good! As long as we're willing to put in the effort, we're all friends. You know we're bandits, and one day those nobles will wipe us out. If we want to live, we have to unite. Once we've looted Anvil Territory, we'll leave this damned North."

Qiangfeng smiled and took a sip of his drink, his eyes brimming with confidence.

This was something he had planned long ago. Gareth, that bastard, although he secretly supported him and even sent him some weapons, was greedy and only wanted him to do dirty work.

Sooner or later, Gareth will turn his back on us, and Strong Wind knows it all too well.

So he had already decided to first plunder Iron Anvil Territory, replenish a large amount of supplies, then kill the prisoners and women, and head straight south.

The southern border is rich; we're sure to be able to plunder even more good things.

As for how to deal with the Anvil Clan... Strong Wind hadn't even considered it.

They're just 10 stubborn iron guards. Wouldn't it be easy to solve them if everyone just swarmed them?

Seeing his confident gaze, Steel Cable laughed as well. "Indeed, being able to follow such a wise leader as you proves that my choice was right. However, we have to fight tomorrow, so I think it's better to replenish our energy today."

Steel Cable glanced at the pitiful woman in the corner, then immediately lowered his head. "Of course, this is just a small suggestion of mine. I'll go out and prepare now."

Steel Cable withdrew from the tent, and although Strong Wind was somewhat dissatisfied, after thinking about it, he realized that Steel Cable's words did indeed make sense.

He grinned wickedly at the woman. "I won't take advantage of you today. I'll plunder you back tomorrow. If you don't satisfy me, I'll show you what a real robber is."

……

Meanwhile, in the Iron Anvil Territory's military camp, Viran was inspecting the recruits' training.

More than 20 days have passed since the formation of the guard team. The new recruits are no longer as undisciplined as when they first arrived. Now, they have achieved basic obedience to orders and can even stand at attention for two hours straight without moving.

In terms of physical fitness, thanks to the ample food supply in Vilan, the recruits have grown taller and stronger, and their physical fitness has improved very rapidly.

As for their combat capabilities, they are naturally not impressive. If they were to fight the enemy one-on-one, the situation would probably not be much better.

Fortunately, Vilan did not intend for them to fight the bandits to the death.

He looked at Carreras and asked, "Is everything ready?"

Carreras replied respectfully, "As you instructed, everyone is fully armed, and they have no idea what they will face tomorrow."

"That's good. Wars always come unexpectedly. Consider this a form of early preparation. Carreras, do you believe they can handle it?"

"I'm not sure... but I'm certain they are loyal to you! They will carry out your orders without hesitation!"