Chapter 130
However, when Ye Bai once again expressed his desire to choose his guards in person, the receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we have regulations. You can only choose from here; they are a fixed team, well-coordinated, and they don’t take separate jobs."
After some probing, Ye Bai realized that the receptionist's attitude was markedly different from that of the merchant guild in Mei Luo City. She was quite firm, and even his bargaining skills had no effect on her.
"Rest assured, our guards are evaluated with precise standards and are absolutely worth your commission."
Seeing that Bai Ye Village had a normal favorability rating of 12 with the merchant guild, Ye Bai couldn't help but wonder if he had landed on the guild's internal blacklist due to his previous poaching… or perhaps there was some lingering animosity from the antelope herd?
With the receptionist unyielding, Ye Bai had no choice but to follow the standard procedure and hired a team of antelope transporters along with the cheapest ten-man guard squad, totaling 30 silver coins per day.
This was likely related to the academic style, as the prices for merchant guards in La En City were noticeably higher than in Mei Luo City. However, upon seeing the composition of this guard squad, Ye Bai understood why the price was steep; there was even an alchemist among them.
In Mei Luo City, it was rare to see a wizard working as a mercenary, but in La En City, there were plenty of alchemists short on funds for their experiments and physical professionals needing to maintain and upgrade their equipment, all willing to take on various mercenary jobs.
At the same time, Ye Bai spent a total of 10 gold coins to purchase 30 cargo boxes of grain and various raw materials for processing to take back to his territory.
In reality, Ye Bai didn’t need to buy so many supplies at this stage; compared to the closer Mei Luo City, the profits from purchasing these goods here were not as high as those obtained through the already established trade routes.
Ye Bai's actions were aimed at triggering a mechanism—when the value of the goods carried by the merchant caravan reached or exceeded 10 gold coins, there was a maximum 60% chance of triggering a raid. Additionally, since Ye Bai had declined the receptionist's sales pitch and hired the cheapest guard squad, this probability was further increased.
This raid was not the kind triggered by players inadvertently when Ye Bai left Mei Luo City, but rather an action taken by real NPC factions.
In the myriad worlds, there existed factions like the Merchant Guild that operated legitimate businesses, as well as the Thieves Guild, certain brotherhoods, and various bandit groups that survived through plunder, which were the opposing factions to the Merchant Guild.
Ye Bai intentionally did this to complete the repair task for the compass in his possession. The 'Legacy of the Golden Clan' required him to find a bloodline of the Golden Clan that had appeared in history. At this stage, the easiest way for Ye Bai to obtain this was through an elite humanoid monster known as the Sand Control Sorcerer, which appeared in raiding factions.
Under normal circumstances, discovering the 'Green Forest' faction required the reputation with the Merchant Guild to be negative. Ye Bai certainly couldn’t launch a raid against the Merchant Guild and cut off the trade routes to his territory, nor could he reveal his identity as an assassin, as assassins were opposed not only to lawful factions but also to the chaotic raiding factions, making them enemies of all.
Thus, if Ye Bai wanted to find the 'Sand Control Sorcerer,' he could only let them come to him, disguising himself as a 'big fat sheep' on the way back to his territory.
The caravan set off without delay, departing La En City after getting everything in order.
Wearing a windproof cloak, Ye Bai looked like an ordinary NPC merchant, drawing no attention from players.
...
"Neigh, neigh, neigh..."
The antelopes whinnied, and Ye Bai, riding one, gazed at the familiar map interface. The caravan was heading in a straight line toward Bai Ye Town, and before he knew it, they had been traveling for six days.
Sensing the location of Bai Ye Town, Ye Bai estimated that at this pace, it would take about eight or nine game days to open the trade route. They had already covered more than half the distance, and in another two or three days, they would reach Bai Ye Town.
The guard squad worked well together and was quite capable, swiftly clearing any packs of wild beasts they encountered along the way.
Ye Bai also got to know the leader of the guard squad, an alchemist named Roland. Essentially, other fixed mercenary teams in La En City were similar to this one, centered around an alchemist, as the other physical professions like gunners and weapon specialists relied on the alchemist for crafting and maintaining their equipment.
This also meant that even though Ye Bai tried to curry favor with various conversational tactics and gifted Roland a regular energy crystal, he couldn’t poach anyone from this team like he had last time.
The reason was unfortunate—Ye Bai's territory lacked an alchemical laboratory, and this type of academic technology required the territory to be upgraded to level 7 to become a city before it could be exchanged for academic preferences.
The other mercenaries in the squad were also centered around Roland and were equally unpoachable.
But as the saying goes, "the more friends, the more paths," and the seeds had been sown; it wouldn’t be too late to poach once the territory could build an alchemical laboratory in the future.
Throughout this journey, Ye Bai regrettably felt that his 'luck' was not good enough. In these five days, he had only encountered elite monsters and not a single boss, leaving him somewhat disheartened as he had hoped for some gold to come his way.
With mainstream players reaching level 20, their range of activities began to expand toward their respective cities. The bosses around La En City at level 20 had likely been farmed, and it would take some time for them to respawn.
Ye Bai lamented internally, selectively forgetting that their current team was nearing Bai Ye Village, and the lack of bosses in the area was largely due to his own actions.
As dusk fell on the sixth day, the caravan came to a halt, preparing to find a suitable spot to set up camp for the night.
However, just as the team passed through the forest, a sudden gust of wind swept through.
"Neigh, neigh, neigh..."
The antelopes came to a stop, emitting anxious cries.
This unusual wind did not relent; it soon became even more bizarre, mixing with yellow sand. The visibility for everyone began to visibly diminish, turning a hazy yellow.
Faced with this strange phenomenon, the expressions of the guard squad changed dramatically. Roland, with a serious look, instructed the others, "Everyone, stay alert and protect the employer. We are under attack!"
"Yes!" the guard squad responded in unison. The antelope riders had already controlled their mounts to tighten the formation, keeping an eye on the cargo's harness, ready to cut it if things went awry.
Raids were primarily motivated by greed. The Merchant Guild had experience dealing with such situations, and in critical moments, they would naturally choose to abandon their goods and flee. Clearly, Roland's guard squad thought the same, which was why he only reminded the others to protect the employer without mentioning the cargo.
Yet, the employer they instinctively sought to protect, Ye Bai, suddenly perked up, sitting straight in his saddle, excitement gleaming in his eyes at the sight of the swirling yellow sand.
Luck was finally on his side!
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**Chapter 94**
The battle was about to erupt.
The yellow sand swept in with the fierce wind, quickly thickening, and visibility dropped to nearly zero.
As the sand obscured their vision, numerous figures began to emerge from within, surrounding the caravan.
"It's the Sand Control Sorcerers! Damn it, I should have prepared more of these things! Colin, keep an eye on the employer!"
Roland shouted, tossing several metallic spheres into the swirling dust. As they flew from her gloved hand, they burst forth with light, extending six sharp spinning blades to slice through the figures hidden in the sandstorm.
This was one of the alchemist's signature skills, the **Mini Cutter**.
At the same time, Roland and the other members of the guard squad donned windproof goggles from their packs, but not everyone was equipped with them, and there were none left to give to Ye Bai and the antelope riders.
"Bang!"
"They're coming!"
The sounds of weapons clashing and gunfire erupted from the perimeter of the caravan.
However, even as the guard squad fought valiantly, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.
For even with the goggles, which only ensured their eyes were protected from the sand, their combat visibility remained limited. The attackers lurking in the dust were well-prepared, their bodies glowing faintly with a yellow light, a special power shielding their movements from the sand's interference.
At that moment, Colin, assigned by Roland to protect the employer, swung his energy hammer to deflect an attack from a bandit wrapped in a headscarf. Turning around, he realized that the employer, who had been so close just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.
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