Chapter 60
Ye Bai continued on his straight path, striving to carve out the shortest route possible.
The first day of travel went smoothly, and by nightfall, under the skilled arrangement of the transport team leader, Dennis, a temporary campsite was established.
The transport team consisted of six experienced and skilled logistics personnel. Besides taking care of the precious Kangle (角马, a type of antelope), they were responsible for all logistical tasks during the caravan's journey, such as building bonfires and preparing meals for the group.
The entire caravan had four wagons. In addition to Ye Bai's two wagons of goods, one carried fodder for the Kangle, while the other was stocked with dry rations, drinking water, and basic medicines—quite comprehensive.
However, the dry rations provided by the transport team were not particularly lavish, but on the road, there was little to complain about.
As the smoke from the cooking fire curled into the night sky, everyone enjoyed a meal of boiled jerky with bread. The members of the transport team and the mercenaries chatted and laughed with familiar faces, relishing the most relaxing moment of the day.
Ye Bai gazed into the dark forest, his eyes flickering slightly. He then pulled out five small barrels of Jingzhi Maijiu (精致麦酒, a type of fine wheat liquor) from his backpack, one after another.
“Pop!”
As Ye Bai opened the wooden barrel, a strong aroma of alcohol wafted through the campsite, instantly capturing everyone's attention.
“Gulp…” The sound of eager swallowing echoed as the mercenaries, accustomed to drinking, reacted enthusiastically, regardless of gender.
Ye Bai smiled and said, “It’s the first day, and everyone has worked hard. This is something I specially prepared for you all, as I’ll be relying on you in the coming days.”
“Long live the employer!”
A cheer erupted from the crowd, elevating the atmosphere to its peak. People rushed to fill their bowls with liquor, and after taking a sip, their eyes lit up, followed by another round of excited cheers.
“Good wine!”
“This is from the Toli Fu family tavern in the inner city—absolutely wonderful!”
“I’m so lucky to have such a generous employer!”
[Mercenary ‘Blaise’’s favorability towards you +15]
[Mercenary ‘Roland’’s favorability towards you +15]
[Mercenary…]
Amidst a flurry of system notifications, Ye Bai wore a satisfied smile—
As a lord, one must not think like a lone adventurer who only knows how to fight; understanding human relationships is equally important.
The favorability points he gained from his earlier actions sparked an idea in Ye Bai’s mind. The Kangle transport team was a prized asset of the Meiluocheng Merchant Guild, so there was no need to worry about poaching them. However, the other mercenaries, all over level 20 and already specialized, were quite appealing to a lord player!
They belonged to the lower tier of professionals in Meiluocheng, caught in an awkward position between the outer and inner cities.
As a professional, they were unwilling to earn meager coins in the outer city, yet in the inner city, they could only take on the least skilled combat jobs, which were not always available. This was evident from the fact that these mercenaries loved alcohol but rarely had the chance to drink the fine stuff from the inner city.
For these wandering mercenaries, if Ye Bai could raise their favorability enough during the journey, they might be willing to stay when they reached the territory.
The worst-case scenario was losing a few coins worth of wine, but if he could win over even one of them, it would be a huge profit for Ye Bai!
Soon, the night deepened. After leaving two people on watch, the others gradually drifted into sleep.
Ye Bai and Di Linna set up their sleeping area in the center of the group, next to the supply wagons, inside a makeshift tent.
However, at this hour, Ye Bai was neither sleeping nor logging off; he was quietly waiting.
Though it was the first night, being close to Meiluocheng and having encountered no monsters, it was easy to let one’s guard down—a perfect time for an ambush, especially since Ye Bai had just treated everyone to drinks, making it an even better opportunity.
Clearly, Ye Bai was not the only one who thought so.
In the dense forest, a group of over ten players lurked, restless and eager.
They had initially followed the caravan because they spotted Ye Bai, but the presence of the NPC professionals around him made them hesitate to act recklessly. Seeing such a good opportunity, they were naturally tempted.
Moreover, the longer they waited, the more disadvantageous it became for them. If they trailed too far behind the caravan without resupplying, they would be in trouble.
To catch up with the Kangle, the players had to maintain a light jog, which drained their stamina. They couldn’t afford to sleep at night, fearing they might lose track of the caravan. Once their food ran out, they would inevitably face negative stamina, and whether their health could hold up until they returned was uncertain.
Now, seeing the caravan reeking of alcohol, it was indeed the perfect opportunity.
Players wandering in the outer city knew the effects of alcohol in the game; drinking would grant them a ‘Drunken’ buff, slightly increasing their critical hit chance while significantly lowering their attack accuracy—an ideal time to strike.
After a brief discussion, they decided to make their move.
Initially, they had followed to settle a score, but as they tracked the caravan, they suspected it might be Ye Bai’s quest. Disrupting it was one thing; seizing the supplies would be even better.
Thus, at midnight.
“Whoosh!”
An arrow shot towards the two mercenaries on watch.
‘-0’
Thanks to the green-quality leather armor Ye Bai had provided, the attack that should have dealt damage failed to break through their defenses.
“Enemy attack!”
The watchful mercenary shouted, and the previously sprawled mercenaries sprang to their feet, looking at the group of players attempting to ambush them.
What’s going on? How did they react so quickly?!
The players had no idea that the seemingly delicate Di Linna was actually a second-tier powerhouse who had long since detected their presence. Ye Bai had warned them before resting, so the mercenaries were prepared and hadn’t fully fallen asleep, allowing them to respond swiftly.
Thus, the ambush turned into a direct confrontation, catching the players off guard.
Moreover, as the attack commenced, all assailants received a system notification:
[You attacked a member of the caravan guard. You have initiated a ‘Robbery’ against the caravan, which is entitled to reasonable self-defense.]
[‘Merchant Guild’ favorability -10, ‘Meiluocheng Merchant Guild’ favorability -50.]
Chapter 43
The consecutive notifications of favorability loss left the attacking players stunned.
Robbery? Merchant Guild?
Though they hadn’t yet interacted with the Merchant Guild, everyone knew how hard it was to gain reputation with factions. Was it serious to lose 50 favorability with the Meiluocheng Merchant Guild just like that?!
A sense of foreboding washed over them, but it was too late; the die was cast, and there was no point in discussing it now.
In fact, what these players didn’t realize was that even a robbery had its benefits.
For solo adventurer players, a negative reputation with the Merchant Guild would generally have some impact, but if the robbery succeeded, the rewards could outweigh the losses. Since the Merchant Guild was a faction, it had rival factions.
The [Thieves Guild] or local factions with names like [Bandit Group] or [Brotherhood] were all considered enemies. If players successfully participated in enough robberies, they could make a name for themselves in the ‘Green Forest’ and gain reputation to join these factions, thus opening up another path of zero-cost acquisition.
For lord-type players, they could also initiate robberies. In a state of war within their territory, any robbery against rival territories would count as part of the war and wouldn’t affect faction reputation. Furthermore, the Merchant Guild’s integrity was not high; while robbery could drop reputation into the negatives, as long as one had money, they could trade with special NPCs in the guild to restore their reputation with a little expenditure.
However, for both routes to avoid losses, the most basic prerequisite was to succeed in the robbery—
“Whoosh!” The leading player executed a nimble roll, dodging a mercenary’s axe. Even now, he could still smell the lingering scent of alcohol in the air.
This gave them hope; it didn’t matter—the opponents had drunk, and the severe debuff affecting their combat ability was unmistakable!
But as ten experienced mercenaries surged forward…
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