Don't move, it's a robbery!

After receiving the mission to investigate the suburban villa, Leos, along with March and Little Dot, began the investigation.

Recently, there have been several cases of people going missing near the villa, and some people have also heard strange noises.

Since the Kadir family's reputation was already well-known in Linde City, they quickly discovered that the villa's owners were actually the Kadir family.

Leos originally wanted to pay a visit directly, but March stopped him.

"Hey, Leos, although abandoning the mission is not worthwhile and will damage our reputation, I think that abandoning the mission might be the wise choice."

"Huh? Why?"

"Leos, I agree with March's assessment. I noticed something was wrong as we approached. There were many people watching us in the shadows, and the closer we got to the less crowded areas, the more people there were. I also noticed some strange pits and holes in the ground near a villa, which suggests there might be a trap."

"So, there's something wrong with that place? What's that saying again? Putting up a sign where silver coins were buried... I think the person behind this isn't very bright."

The little one also stopped Leos, expressing his concerns.

"Completing the commission is fine, but I don't want to get involved in the conflicts between nobles, especially such conflicts that are obviously full of intrigue."

"Huh? But we're out of money now. We used all the bounties from our previous missions to exchange for wanted criminals. We can only exchange them for bounties by bringing them to Silvertree City. If we give up on this mission, we'll definitely offend the council, and they certainly won't give us any new missions."

The little one hesitated for a moment, then pulled Leos over and whispered something in his ear.

"Don't worry about the money. In fact, someone came to us yesterday and said he has a caravan that needs escort. If we are willing to help escort it, he will give us 800 gold crowns, and there is also 300 gold crowns as an advance payment."

"Isn't this a normal request? Why are you speaking so softly?"

"I went to check, and there was hardly any cargo at all. It's obvious that someone wants us to leave Linde City, you know? This is just money being given to us for free."

Leos's expression changed; he turned his head, his expression somewhat serious.

Why didn't you say so before?

"I didn't quite understand what was going on before, but seeing what happened today, I finally understand the connection between these things. Leos, where can't we take on missions? Why do we have to stay in Linde City?"

Leos opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"Leos, let's leave. There are only five of us, what can we do?"

Ultimately, Leos agreed to his two teammates' suggestion and said he would cancel the commission the next day.

The next morning, Leos arrived at the council, but as soon as he stepped inside, he noticed that the atmosphere was a bit strange.

The council of Linde City was originally composed of minor nobles and merchants, and even workers' representatives, but that was a structure from half a year ago. Now, apart from a few nobles, the rest of the members have basically lost their rights as councilors.

Even so, they actively participated in the council's activities, especially the merchants, who basically paid for the mercenaries.

At this moment, the merchant representatives were looking at Leos with flattery, and there was even a nobleman among them.

"As expected of the Bell of the Pure Wind, I've long heard that you are a breath of fresh air among mercenaries, unlike those who only care about money. It's only been a day."

"Well done, you are all great. We are very grateful for your contributions, and the people of this city will never forget this."

"This is the reward for destroying the suburban villa. Although you haven't signed a contract yet, we won't break the agreement. As agreed, this is two thousand gold crowns."

"Thank you for standing with Parliament."

Everyone around was applauding, but Leos was completely bewildered, having no idea what was happening.

"So you just came back with the money?! Aren't you afraid of getting into big trouble with something so obviously suspicious?!"

The female warrior March grabbed Leos by the collar and shook him back and forth, trying to shake the water out of her teammate's head. The little one, however, did not object at all. At this moment, she was lying on the pile of money, laughing so hard that drool was dripping from her mouth.

"Stop shaking! Stop shaking! Eve and Galian have already gone to investigate, there shouldn't be any problems. We're going to investigate anyway, aren't we?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I already said yesterday, that villa belongs to the Kadir family. If we investigate, we'll offend the Kadir family. Do you understand what that means? The nominal lord of Linde City is now a member of the Kadir family!"

"I know, I know."

"What do you know! They don't even need to send anyone to deal with us. They just need to spread rumors and slander everywhere, and no noble will be willing to give us any more missions! Do you understand?!"

"I understand, I understand."

Just as they were arguing, colorful lights suddenly began to twinkle in the sky outside the window.

"fireworks?"

"No, this is Eve's distress signal! Leos, where did you send Eve and the others?"

"It's in the suburbs, but I made it clear beforehand that they were only to inquire about the situation in the surrounding area, not to go into dangerous areas!"

"Damn it, we have to get there right now!"

March picked up the little one and rushed outside, with Leos following closely behind.

As Leos was leaving the hotel, he noticed that some people in the crowd around the hotel seemed to be looking in his direction.

"Leos! Over here!"

"oh!"

They quickly arrived at the agreed meeting point, only to find that Eve and Garian were nowhere to be found, but Garian's weapons and Eve's backpack were left on the ground.

"Hey! Galian! Eve!"

"Stop shouting, March! This is a trap, we've been ambushed!"

The little guy interrupted his teammates' shouts, then threw a few strange balls out of his pocket. The balls sprayed out a lot of smoke the moment they hit the ground.

"Cough cough cough! Why are you throwing a smoke bomb?!"

"Don't make a sound..."

Before the little one could finish speaking, the sound of arrows cutting through the air came from all around. Arrows shot out from the darkness, hitting March and Leos even though they were blocked by the smoke.

"Quick, let's run! There were no ambushes on the way here!"

The little one grabbed March and Leos, trying to get them away from here, but found that March had fallen to the ground.

"Machi?"

"I've been shot in the leg! Damn it, it even pierced through chainmail, it must be a powerful crossbow!"

The little one panicked and wanted Leos to carry March away, but found that the way she had tried to escape was blocked.

"Guards? Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me? They're all wearing guard armor!"

The little one panicked a bit, not knowing what to do. Just then, Leos suddenly grabbed her collar.

"I've hidden 50 gold coins in the stables outside the city. Use that money to run."

"Huh? How are you going to escape? You're not planning to bribe them, are you?"

"Machi! Can you still stand up? You have to fight!"

"able!!"

Before the little one could react, Leos picked her up and rushed towards the guards blocking her way. Facing the enemy's swords, Leos didn't dodge much, but instead took the hits with his plate armor. He seized an opening when the enemy made a move and threw the little one away.

Just as the other guards were about to give chase, March roared and threw his axe. One guard was caught off guard and hit on the head. Fortunately, his helmet protected him and it wasn't fatal, but everyone's attention was drawn to him.

Taking advantage of this brief opening, Little Dot successfully escaped the encirclement. Only then did she understand what Leos meant by the 50 gold coins.

That wasn't their way of escaping the encirclement; it was their means of getting money to escape Linde City.

Leos always thinks about strange things, such as how to keep the survivors alive if they are wiped out.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! What on earth is going on? Did the council betray us? Or did the Kadir family attack us?"

"The key question is, why so fast? We only received the mission yesterday, and we haven't even gathered any crucial information yet. With this kind of operational capability, how did we get kicked out of Linde City in the first place?"

"I just can't figure it out!"

The little one didn't dare go back to the hotel. Whoever attacked them must have done their research, and there must be an ambush nearby.

The money left at the hotel couldn't be taken away, which was why Leos had told her to hide the money in the stable.

Unlike her teammates, Little Dot wasn't the kind of person who would give her life for them. To be honest, she really wanted to just listen to Leos and run away with the money, but she was also very unwilling.

That's 2000 gold crowns! In a slightly more remote area, that's enough to buy a small farm.

Moreover, Leos and Eve are both very capable people. Even March and Galian are experts, elite warriors who are among the best in the army. In addition, she is an outstanding scout. They have weathered all kinds of storms, so why should they stumble in a place like this?

Do you know how difficult it was for her to find a suitable team?

Most mercenary groups don't recruit women at all, and some even use female members as prostitutes. She might never encounter another clean and good team like Pure Wind Bell in her lifetime.

Follow them, and you can earn more than just 2000 gold crowns.

"Damn it, fine, I'll risk my life then! If I get you guys out of here, you'll thank me for the rest of your lives! From now on, I'll be paid the salary of two people!"

The little one made up his mind to stay and rescue his teammates.

However, while rescuing people is one thing, going back directly is another; that would be suicide.

What I need to do is gather intelligence and find out which side is behind the ambush.

Gathering intelligence requires money.

"Let's go to the stables first!"

"Leos, you big-eyed guy with thick eyebrows, you actually have some secret stash of money? Could it be that you skimmed it from the team's funds? Looks like I'll have to keep a closer eye on you from now on."

The little boy ran outside the city, cursing all the way, and then plunged into the stable.

"Thump!"

With a familiar tap on the head, she was knocked unconscious.