Chapter 155: It’s Wonderful

“Are you saying there is news about a mission, A-Dai?”

Mo Xiaobai had previously asked A-Dai to look for mission information, but he hadn’t really expected A-Dai to provide much help. So when A-Dai suddenly told him there was news, he naturally felt very surprised.

“Yes, I only heard other Players mention it. Another Prefecture City to our north posted a mission to suppress bandits.” A-Dai replied, paused for a moment, and then continued, “But the details of that mission seem very vague. You have to find the bandits yourself, and it is said to be quite difficult.”

Suppress bandits?

A Prefecture City to the north?

While listening, Mo Xiaobai glanced at Guo Jia beside him.

Could this really be such a coincidence?

We were just talking about the Water Bandits, and now A-Dai brings news?

To be sure, Mo Xiaobai asked, “The ones you mentioned, are they the bandits who robbed Player territories and NPC trade routes?”

“You already know?”

Mo Xiaobai could hear the surprise in A-Dai’s voice, so he smiled and said, “Haha, I only just found out. But thanks to you telling me. I had only heard that such bandits existed, not that their heads could be turned in for a mission.”

“Yes, you can turn them in. It is said there are four main leaders, each worth 300 Renown, plus other rewards. If you want to claim this mission, you should hurry up. Other Players are also gathering forces to tackle this mission.”

Four main leaders?

Each worth 300 Renown?

If others heard this news, they would likely feel excited. But Mo Xiaobai was different.

Fifteen years of experience had taught Mo Xiaobai to judge a mission’s difficulty based on its rewards. Bandit heads worth 300 Renown meant each leader commanded over 400 fierce subordinates.

Four leaders meant over a thousand in total. If the Water Bandits traveled with their families, even with a conservative estimate, their bandit fortress would be a large settlement with over 2,000 people.

Doing this quick calculation made even Mo Xiaobai’s head hurt.

But there was no need to explain this to A-Dai in detail. Mo Xiaobai immediately said, “For bandits of this scale, even if I want to take a bite, I need to think carefully. Thank you for the intelligence. I definitely need this kind of mission information.”

“Haha~ I can’t help you with much else, but I can do small favors like this.”

“That’s already a lot. I’ll remember this favor.”

Actually, A-Dai’s active help was exactly what he wanted in exchange for Mo Xiaobai’s words. After chatting briefly, both of them ended the communication.

As soon as the call ended, Mo Xiaobai immediately turned to look at Guo Jia and Li Ji. “Fengxiao, immediately send more Scouts to search for the movements of these Water Bandits. Since they are so brazen, they might come out of Daye Marsh again.”

“Maogong, within three days, I want to see Daming Village have three hundred Rattan Armor Soldiers who can swim and two hundred Village Soldiers ready for battle. Also, keep two hundred of Junyi’s Elite Soldiers to guard the village. Prepare one hundred more with full armor and long halberds. They will also need to contribute to this battle.”

Just as Mo Xiaobai was giving orders, two more people walked into the Projection Hall. They were Liu Ye and a Rattan Armor Soldier with bandages wrapped around half of his upper body.

“My Lord.”

Liu Ye stepped forward to pay respects to Mo Xiaobai first, then looked at Guo Jia. “Fengxiao, your guess was correct. The origins of that bandit group are indeed not simple.”

“Oh?”

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia’s face lit up with joy again, and he asked, “How do you know?”

“Let him tell you himself.”

Liu Ye pointed to the small soldier beside him. The soldier looked around at the circle of important figures from the Territory but did not show any fear. He immediately answered, “Reporting to My Lord and the Military Advisor. The six of us were ordered to investigate the road-robbing bandits to the north. Every time, we could only see them striking, but never saw where they came from. Later, I seized an opportunity to follow them, but unfortunately, their leader noticed me. I managed to block two blows before being kicked down a steep slope by the leader. That is how I barely managed to save my life.”

“He didn’t kill you?”

“He did not try to kill me. This group of bandits only looted goods when they came out and rarely killed people wantonly. However, when they looted other Territories, they would drive away the villagers before burning the villages to the ground.”

Looting goods, but no wanton killing?

Could this be the legendary “bandits also have a way”?

An absurd thought rose in Mo Xiaobai’s heart. He then looked at Guo Jia, waiting to hear his opinion.

Guo Jia did not look strange at all. Instead, he nodded and said, “It seems this group of bandits is indeed disguised by others.”

“Disguised? Disguised as bandits to do what?”

“Naturally, to profit for themselves.”

Guo Jia sneered and then explained, “The merchant groups robbed this time were all Traveling Merchants heading south from Great Song. If we knew a bit more, we might be able to trace the person behind the scenes.”

“Traveling Merchants heading south from Great Song? They must mostly be horse traders. That is actually good news. Fengxiao, hurry up and arrange people to investigate. If these bandits truly have high-quality horses from the north, there is no reason they would let them go.” Mo Xiaobai wiped his palms, feeling strangely excited.

Bandit missions, Renown rewards, and now a connection to Traveling Merchants and their cargo.

Good!

Very good!

Seeing Mo Xiaobai so excited, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, and Li Ji also had big smiles on their faces.

Even if it was an unusual bandit force, what was it to the people in this room?

As long as they found the right opportunity, they could wipe them out in the blink of an eye.

When Mo Xiaobai left with a clenched fist, the war machine of Daming Village had already fully started.

Currently, the Territory had no fewer than 3,300 people, and the number of young and able-bodied men was still as high as seventy percent. Adding 200 Soldiers to the Drill Ground was a piece of cake.

Daming Village lacked female Territory Citizens, but it never lacked strong recruits.

New Village Soldiers entered the Drill Ground, while veterans went to Li Guang for Rattan Armor Soldier training. Meanwhile, all the hard armor being rushed out of the Blacksmith Workshop was sent to the Halberd Barracks.

The veterans of the former Rattan Armor Camp were taken out en masse. Except for a few sent out for scouting, everyone else was conducting water training near the Shipyard.

With a full eight hundred soldiers, although not reaching the recruitment limit of Daming Village, it was still an incredibly huge number compared to the total population.

After Mo Xiaobai held back his excitement for four days and three nights, the Rattan Armor Soldiers who went out to investigate once again returned, bringing good news. Although the Water Bandits always exited Daye Marsh from different directions, after looting and burning, they always returned to the water from the exact same spot.

Now that this pattern was discovered, for Daming Village which had a star-studded lineup of battlefield commanders, the rest was simply discussing how to set up an ambush and completely eliminate this Water Bandit force to get what Daming Village needed.

In the end, war was just a means. What Mo Xiaobai wanted was simply the Renown rewards and the large number of northern horses that likely existed.

“Fengxiao, Maogong, have the plans been finalized?”

They were still in the Projection Hall. As Mo Xiaobai asked, his face was filled with anticipation.

This was the Guo-Jia and Li-Ji combination!

Besides, Li Guang, Zhang He, He Chun, and Liu Ye were also standing nearby!

Even just taking one of them out alone would make them a general of a hundred battles. Now that they were all sitting here planning how to deal with a group of Water Bandits, Mo Xiaobai even felt he was using a sharp axe to kill a chicken.