The Knight's Journey to the Empire

The Stone Valley is a passage that connects Tallinn County and Lothian County, and Lothian County is one of the three western counties of the Kingdom of Midburg.

The Rocky Valley is long and winding, with a total length of more than 3,000 meters. Its widest point is less than 100 meters, and its narrowest point is only more than 10 meters.

There are steep cliffs on both sides of the valley, and rocks and bushes everywhere in the middle.

In the middle of the valley is a seven or eight meter wide dirt road that winds like a snake, connecting the commercial and economic exchanges between Tallinn County and Lothian County.

Soran and his group of seven set out from Ulster County, stopping and walking along the way. After half a month, they finally crossed Tallinn County and arrived here.

The original journey was going smoothly, with smooth sailing. Everyone was talking and laughing, and they were really having a great time, as if they were out on a picnic to enjoy the snow.

But when they reached this rocky valley, they were blocked and intercepted by highway robbers, and could not move forward.

Originally, transportation routes like Luanshi Valley that connected the economic and trade routes of the two counties had always been treasured by the lords and nobles (because the laws of the Kingdom of Midburg stipulated that the lords could decide how much commercial tax to collect when merchants passed through the border). Although the terrain there was rugged and complex, the lords would still send troops in from time to time to sweep it.

Normally there shouldn't be any robbers in this Stone Valley, but now Sauron and his party were robbed.

There is a saying that goes, if nothing unexpected happens, then something unexpected will happen.

This can only mean that Sauron and his crew were really unlucky.

Because this group of bandits were just passing by here and decided to do something on a whim. Their bandit group's base was not nearby, and they were just passing by and wanted to make some extra money.

Of course, this could also be related to Sauron's intentional or unintentional exposure of money along the way.

When Sauron and his companions reached the middle of the valley, more than a dozen ragged men suddenly rushed out and surrounded them.

The leader of the group seemed to be the leader of this group of robbers. He shouted, "Everyone, we only want money and don't kill people. Leave some money for passage and you can go. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude!"

Soran and Javier were sitting in the carriage to rest at the time. They heard the servant driving the carriage say "whoosh" and the carriage stopped.

Then he came in and reported: "Master, there is a group of robbers blocking the road outside. They want us to leave money before they let us pass."

At this time, the robber had already shouted out the prelude, his voice loud and full of energy.

But the soundproofing effect of this carriage is really good. Coupled with the noisy sounds of the hasty reactions outside, Soran couldn't hear clearly for a moment and didn't know what was happening outside.

It wasn't until the servant came in to report that he reacted.

I have been dragged away.

He immediately pulled open the curtain, stood on the carriage, and prepared to observe carefully.

Then we saw the little henchman being kicked away by the leader of the robbers.

This confused Soran: Are the robbers fighting among themselves?

There were twelve robbers in total who rushed out. Except for the four leaders who were wearing better clothes, the others were thin, yellow-faced, and ragged.

At first glance, you can tell that this is a weak minion. He may be good at bluffing, but does he have real combat capability?

Ha ha.

Seeing this, Sauron narrowed his eyes slightly, and thought to himself: This is really a pillow for a sleepy person, what you think is coming true! It's just right, I can use them to practice, let everyone see blood, and give them courage.

"Javier, go ask them how much money they want for the passage," Soran ordered Javier.

Javier went there without any hesitation.

Of course he wouldn't really give the money. In fact, Sauron was just stalling for time and measuring the combat power of both sides in order to formulate a strategy against the enemy.

There are seven people on our side in total.

The two servants are elite servants sponsored by Sir Jose. Needless to say, they are both veterans who have seen blood. With their good skills and strong strength, it is definitely not a problem for them to deal with those weak minions at the same time.

The difference in strength between this warrior who had seen blood and ordinary civilians was not even a little bit.

Javier, Ramos, Gubellini and Usman, although these four have never seen blood, they have been following Soran for many years to practice knight combat skills, and their overall strength is not weak.

In short, the four of them may not be able to kill the enemy, but it will not be a problem to delay or defeat the four minions.

Finally, there is Soran's own strength. Although he has never seen blood, with his superb martial arts and the physical fitness of an apprentice knight at the peak of his profession, he can't kill everyone with a single blow, but he is definitely no match for others in a one-on-two fight.

After this calculation, the combat power of both sides was exactly the same, so Sauron felt that they could have a fight.

Of course, some necessary deployments need to be made before the war to weaken the enemy's overall strength as much as possible before the formal confrontation.

"Master, they said there are four of us and we need 20 gold coins," Javier ran back and said gritting his teeth, "These damn robbers are so greedy, they should all be tied to the gallows and hanged."

"Only 20 gold coins! Do they look down on me so much?" Soran muttered to himself.

As expected, they were just some small-time robbers who didn't know how to kidnap fat sheep and extort large sums of ransom.

Ramos and his two companions were also in the car and had not come out yet, so the robbers did not know that there were three more people on Soran's side.

Hearing the young master say this, Javier's face suddenly froze and the corners of his mouth twitched.

Who would think that their ransom is too little?

"Go ask him if you can pay less. If not, just say we need to discuss it and pool the money together." Soran continued to instruct.

Except for the four leaders who seemed a little difficult to deal with, the others could only be described as trash.

Soran even saw that some of the robbers' legs were still shaking. It was obvious that they were novices and were participating in a robbery for the first time.

"Master, they actually raised the price. They said each person needs five more gold coins." Javier ran back with a grim face.

He spoke with gnashing teeth, his tone extremely resentful, as if he had been greatly insulted.

"Then what do you say?"

"I said we need to talk it over and pool the money together."

"Okay, go call Henry and Martin over and we'll discuss a strategy." Henry and Martin were the names of the two elite attendants.

So the four of them gathered together to discuss, but in fact they were planning tactics.

Ramos and his two companions used the car curtains to cover the robbers, so the robbers could not see them but could hear the conversation. They will also participate in the whole process of the counter-attack plan against the robbers.

Moreover, the three of them are the protagonists.