Finally, before nightfall, the owner of the caravan, at Dean’s signal, announced that they were going to camp and rest.
Under the setting sun, Thales tried his best to help the mercenaries do what they could, such as setting up tents, and trying to make himself look less cumbersome. Although he had never done this, he was always clumsy. The only comfort was that he was clumsy.
Yes, the newbies in the fast rope industry are not much better than him.
After half an hour of being at a loss and full of mistakes, Thales and Quick Rope, a layman and a novice, finally set up three crooked tents for the mercenaries before the shift workers came back.
Under the back slope, the mercenaries camped together.
Thales could see that there was a big gap between these warriors who worked for money and the people they wanted to protect.
While dismantling the goods, the merchants subconsciously glanced at the weapons of the mercenaries, as if they were afraid that they would pounce on them at any time. Even when they camped, they always stayed far away from the mercenaries, which made the latter's tents stand out.
.But the fear of danger made these protected merchants dare not stay too far away from the soldiers, so funny things happened: the mercenaries' tents were pitched in one place, and the tents of other caravans were surrounded by the mercenaries.
The soldiers kept a certain distance and spread out in a fan shape. The camels on the outside surrounded them in a circle. If someone looked at these tents from the sand dunes, they would definitely feel like a shell.
Tails, who was exhausted and sweating profusely, and Quick Rope, who was still in high spirits, were the first to sit down on the edge of the tent. They looked at McGee and Hubert, and Dean and the other three lit a fire in front and sat down in the camp one after another.
.
"The nearest supply point should not be far away. The weather has been good in the past few months and the water source has not moved much. 'Breeze' is searching and should be found soon." Louisa Dan, the mercenary leader who rushed back from the front of the team
He sat down comfortably in the camp and took off his weapons.
Dean nodded.
"Let everyone be alert and go to bed early tonight," Dean touched his smooth head, frowning and thinking about something: "I want to leave early tomorrow, just in case."
Louisa raised her eyebrows: "No problem."
She turned to the other mercenaries: "Did you hear that?"
Hubert and McGee nodded and said nothing.
"Of course, as ordered," Kuaisheng responded quickly, beaming: "Does Mrs. Dean have any other instructions?"
He responded with a kick of sand kicked by Louisa with a cold face.
"Ouch, Captain! I'm talking about 'Mrs.' Dean, the new nickname I gave him, not you!"
Quick Rope held his head pitifully.
Until Louisa, filled with anger, kicked a second kick of sand at him.
Thales looked at the conversation between Louisa and Dean with confusion. As far as the current situation is concerned, Dean has a good status in this team. Even Louisa listens to his suggestions seriously and carefully, almost to the point of obeying him.
the point.
Is it true that as Quick Rope said, Louisa likes Dean, so...
"But I'm still worried, Dean," Old Hammer frowned, led the horse into the camp, and settled the overheated mount: "Today's small camp..."
Dean sighed: "I know, I told Tomdin that I will negotiate with him again."
Old Hammer frowned: "But you know who Tomdin is, how can we negotiate?"
Dean shook his head: "Find a way."
Thales pretended to be casually massaging his sore legs and feet, and listened carefully to their conversation.
At this moment.
"so……"
A smooth voice came.
The mercenaries and Thales turned their heads.
"What do you want to negotiate with me?"
They saw a man with shiny hair and gorgeously decorated clothes approaching them, leaning on his belly, his eyes flashing on his cheeks, like a little pig.
His steps were rather artificial, as if he was deliberately stepping on the stage.
"Sepp, Sepp Tomdin," Dean sighed and said to this man with a shiny face and stiff movements: "I was talking about you just now, our generous employer."
"What brings you to our camp?"
"Oh, my hard-working warriors," the owner of the caravan, Sepp Tomdin, raised an earthen jar on his right hand with a touch of arrogance and spoke in a tone of voice: "Of course it is a reward."
"A good knight never lets his mount starve, and a good general never lets his soldiers starve."
Thales frowned: If he guessed correctly, Tomdin's accent seemed to be that of Yongxing City.
The mercenaries looked at each other.
No one paid any attention to the owner of the caravan.
Tomdin's smile was a little stiff, and his raised arms were a little sore. He could only put down the jar gently and coughed to remind everyone: "The wine of the Principality of Sera, a little kindness, to reward you for your hard work these days.
"
The mercenaries all looked at Dean.
"We are still working, Sepp, so we can't drink." The bald mercenary said politely and coldly.
Tomdin's expression froze slightly.
"Very good, Dean, I will inform the connections in the Blade Tooth Camp about your professionalism. You know, I am very familiar with the major caravans, and I will tell them that the people in the entire Blade Tooth Dune Camp want to
When looking for mercenaries, I should always turn to you and I will mention your dedication to Baron Williams."
The owner of the caravan maintained his faint smile and looked at Thales: "Oh, kid, I'm glad to see you recovered. What is your name?"
Thales was slightly startled when his name was suddenly called.
He smiled unnaturally: "Well, thank you, Tomdin... Master, I am... I am Huaiya."
Tomdin sighed: "Ah, Waiya, what a good name. You know, a few days ago, I hesitated for a while on whether to save you... You know, son, Mr. Tomdin
I am not a hard-hearted bad person, but I have to take care of this small caravan that is related to more than a dozen families. Any decision I make may be related to the livelihood and future of a certain family... I want to save a family.
Irrelevant people, or do you want to put other loyal friends at risk? This is a difficult decision."
Tomdin closed his eyes and shook his head slightly: "Well, my great-grandfather was also a nobleman. You may not know that he once served under the 'Wise Lord'. He was the King of the Stars. That Mindis III often reminded my great-grandfather: As a nobleman,
, we not only shoulder the responsibility, but also have a warm heart."
"This sentence became our family motto, passed down from my great-grandfather to my grandfather. My grandfather often reminded my father, and my father often reminded me,"
"So, I finally decided to keep you in my team, kid."
Tomdin looked at him seriously: "You have to thank His Majesty Mindis III, my child, because of his admonition, I made this difficult decision, so that you can gain a new life in this difficult situation."
Looking at the indifferent Tomdin, Thales twitched his face and nodded in understanding: "Ha, ha, yes."
The quick rope behind him made a vomiting motion: "You said it as if they were familiar with each other."
Tomdin's ears twitched: "What?"
"Nothing, Master Tomdin!"
Quick Rope reacted quickly and smiled brightly: "As expected of a noble queen, you are great!"
Tomdin smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
Louisa burst out laughing.
"So," Dean sighed, interrupting the awkward chat: "Sep, you don't need to bribe us with wine, you might as well just ask: What are you doing?"
Tomdin frowned slightly, as if he was dissatisfied with him calling him by his first name.
Tomdin, a greasy-haired businessman, folded his hands and raised his chin higher than his ears: "I'm thinking about what you said yesterday, Dean, what's going on? What does 'go back' mean?"
The mercenaries frowned and were surprised.
Thales' curiosity was also aroused.
go back?
what happened?
"That's what it means literally, Sepp," Dean shrugged, seemingly not bothered by what the other party said: "You also saw the camp in the morning and the corpses. We should give up and end it."
Tower, avoid potential dangers, at least take a detour."
Tomdin's lips curled up slightly.
"give up?"
He took a deep breath.
"As far as I know, Dean, and as far as you can see, is just a small camp where a few sand bandits are hiding," Tomdin maintained his seriousness and arrogance, showing a humble and listening attitude: "Is it necessary? This will seriously affect
Your reputation, and you also know that for us, some goods have a time limit..."
"You have seen those camps, we have all seen them," Dean interrupted rudely. The bald mercenary glanced at his companions and frowned: "The people inside, no matter whether they are sand pirates or not
, they all died not far away, with wounds caused by various weapons on their bodies."
The expressions of the mercenaries turned terrible, and Quick Rope even widened his eyes.
"This is not an isolated case. Along the way, from Fist Stone to Lizard Mouth, there have been no less than five places like this. It's not just sand pirates, there are also small groups of unidentified people. I suspect there are also caravans inside.
."
Dean turned to Thales: "And you have seen Wyatt. According to him, there was no one on the way down from the north, as if all the sand bandits and exiles who spread across the desert disappeared overnight.
"
Thales's heart moved.
All... disappear...
Dean said calmly: "So... I sincerely suggest you, no, I strongly suggest you, Sepp, let's not move forward."
Tomdin took a deep breath and seemed to be maintaining his last grace.
The next second, Tomdin suddenly raised his head and punched himself in the palm!
"I do not understand!"
"Sand bandits, exiles...these scoundrels who brought trouble to one side and hindered trade routes, wouldn't it be a good thing to die!" Tomdin gritted his teeth:
"We have one less thing to worry about, and I would like to congratulate you, Big Dean, because your job has become much easier... to eliminate their threat, isn't that what I hired?"
Is that the reason why you hire professional bodyguards? What do you think, warriors with honor..."
Tomdin turned to the others.
The mercenaries said nothing.
Dean let out a long sigh, looking like he hated iron.
"No, you didn't understand what I meant, Sepp," the bald mercenary gritted his teeth: "The bodies of those sand bandits in the camp were all found not far outside the camp. This shows that they fled the camp in a hurry.
When they were killed, they encountered an irresistible enemy, so much so that they had no idea of fighting back. After discovering the enemy, they had no choice but to run desperately."
"But they didn't run away."
Dean said solemnly: "There are more than twenty weapons in hand, experienced and ruthless sand pirates."
"None of them ran away."
Tomdin was slightly startled.
Dean raised his eyebrows and said: "Listen to me, Sepp, turn around and find another way to be safe."
Mr. Tomdin's face remained as usual, but his hands kept rubbing on the fabric of his clothes, revealing his mood.
"He hasn't told you, has he, about letting us return directly?" He turned to the female warrior: "Captain Dent, what do you say?"
"We will say whatever Dean says," Louisa replied decisively: "He represents the entire team."
Thales couldn't help but notice that the other people's expressions were as usual, as if they were used to this scene.
Tomdin could no longer maintain his calm expression, and he rubbed his hair painfully.
Only then did Thales realize that Tomdin's hair was sparse and he was bald.
He gritted his teeth and said: "Dean, tell me, why should I risk being expelled from the Blade Tooth Dunes and take this trip?"
Dean shrugged.
"You want profit."
"Yes, profit!"
Tomdin seemed to have found some outlet, raised his index finger and said fiercely: "Fucking profit!"
"So many businessmen who are well-spoken and proficient in calculations are buried in the desert, but we still keep going, because this is the only thing that supports us to venture into the desert: profit, profit!"
He stared, as if seeking consensus from everyone in his field of vision: "First of all, Exeter and the Freedom Alliance are going to fight, and secondly, the Star People are going to block the desert. Do you know what this means? It means a whole supply chain
The wires have been cut off because the Northlanders are going to war or the Stars are going crazy, the way into Exeter from the Golden Corridor will be blocked, and the passage from the desert to the stars will also be blocked!"
Tomdin seemed to be furious: "You know, soon, a bag of two hundred ounces of cannabis tobacco produced in the Long Corridor Islands will be sold for five tolmund in the stars, and it will be sold for twenty nikaru in the Northland! Even if it is reduced
Excluding the consumption of bad currency and exchange, we can still make a net profit of nearly 70 to 80 Solon kings! A bottle of craft wine from Serra Hills is priced at 45 kellers in the southern market, and we can go on some roads.
, you can sell it for eighty Solon silver coins at the Tower of the End, a piece of refined velvet by Sword Lake sells for twenty tabeso in Allenbia, and you can get dozens of nikaru north of the desert!
A barrel of eternal oil, an eternal lamp... All the goods you can imagine can make profits as long as they come to the right place. What is the reason for this? Supply and demand in the market! I dare to use Tomdin
The reputation of the family has been bet for generations. In the next month, the prices of goods from the south will increase in the north, and goods from the east will be out of stock in the west. Where can you find such a good opportunity!"
"And now that we've come this far, you suggest that I just turn around, go back to Blade Tooth Sand Dunes, and let the Star People confiscate my goods?"
The mercenaries looked at each other.
"If necessary," Dean shook his head unmoved, "it's better to drop the goods than the head."
Tomdin slumped down like a deflated rubber ball.
"As you said, Mr. Tomdine," Dean added, "this is a difficult decision."
Tomdin looked like a defeated rooster, his face drooping.
"Can someone tell me what happened before?"
"Is it serious enough to require me to give up the interests of the entire caravan?"
Dean shook his head: "I don't know."
"If I must tell you, there is someone in Sepp."
"Is there anyone?"
Dean nodded, his eyes extremely serious: "'Someone', someone is in the desert where we are. They are hunting all living creatures on a large scale, efficiently and on a large scale as planned."
"And not even a sandstorm could stop the killing."