Mas put a hand to his forehead, clearly annoyed by Belek. He explained helplessly, "Firstly, I can't reveal my master's information to you. Secondly, I can tell you clearly that our destination is the Gloom Forest at the border of the Storm Empire. We still have about seven to eight hours of travel."
As a smart person, Belek naturally knew what it meant to stop when one was ahead. He nodded and did not ask as many questions as before.
The group continued forward for a distance when suddenly, the sound of birds chirping could be heard in the distance. Birds flew out of the forest in a disorderly manner. It was obvious that something had alarmed them.
The ground was shaking rhythmically, and a thick layer of dust was floating all over the sky. When the dust and smoke dissipated, Mas and Belek realized that they were surrounded by a group of Barbarian Orc bandits.
Upon closer inspection, they were a group of bandits who were riding Level 2 Vicious Wolves, wearing iron armor and wielding halberds. There were a total of 50 orcs and their overall strength was about the intermediate Level 3. Only the leader was at the intermediate Level 4.
Looking at the hostile expression of the other party and how they were about to make a move, Belek volunteered to negotiate with them.
"Alright then, President Belek, you have to take care of your own safety!" Since that was the case, Mas could not say much. At this moment, he needed a representative to speak up.
Mas did not care about these bandits. They were not very strong. If he could not defeat them, he could just escape on the Red Crystal Gargoyle.
"Don't attack. Don't attack. Brothers of the Vicious Wolf Association, I am the Chairman of the Storm Empire's Sith Chamber of Commerce. I believe all of you have heard of my name. I believe all of you have not had your fill in a long time.
This is a small token of appreciation from me, please accept it. "Belek took out a heavy purse from his chest. Looking at the bulge of the purse, it was at least 2,000 gold coins.
This number was really not small, but to Belek, it was just a drop in the ocean. If spending a little money could resolve the disaster, why not?
Although he had brought enough guards on this trip and was not afraid of the bandits in front of him, Belek knew very well that outside the core area of the empire, in this desolate place, he could just kill ordinary bandits. However, the background of these bandits riding vicious wolves in front of him was not small. These bandits came from the Vicious Wolf Association and were one of the five great associations in the entire Rotterdam Continent.
If all else failed, he would break out of the encirclement. Although his own safety could be guaranteed, he still had Master Mas's disciple behind him. If anything were to happen to him, Master Mas would vent his anger on the Storm Empire. It would be fine if he died, but his family might not even be able to survive.
At this moment, Belek really did not want to provoke them. It was not worth it no matter what trouble they encountered. For Mas, who had always been a miser, it was not unacceptable for him to pay a little money for this.
According to past experience, after these members of the Vicious Wolf Association had collected these "filial" gold coins, it meant that they were safe.
However, the past was different today. The leader of the Vicious Wolf Association took the money bag from Belek and weighed it in his hand, a mocking smile appearing on his face. "President Belek, are you calling yourself a beggar? You want to send us away with such a small amount of money?
How about this? Think about it. I'll take any one of the three boxes from the carriage behind you. Then we'll all pretend that nothing happened, okay?"
Upon hearing this, the shrewd Belek realized that things were not simple. How did the leader of the Vicious Wolf Association know that his carriage contained three boxes? This matter was probably not as simple as he thought!
"That won't do. This business deal is very important to me! I won't hide it from you, brother. Your leader Bruno and I are good brothers. If you act like this, aren't you afraid that your leader will blame you?"
Hearing this, the small leader sneered. "Heh, President Belek, what a coincidence. This time, our operation was instructed by our leader Bruno.
Our leader had already told us that if you don't give us one of these three boxes of goods today, you won't be able to walk out of this place unscathed."
Upon hearing this, Belek's expression darkened.
"Think carefully. Are you sure you want to attack?
If you overestimate yourself, then go ahead! "
The sub-chief seemed to have heard something funny when he heard that. He then laughed heartily. "You guys are the ones overestimating yourselves! Sure, I'll satisfy you!"
After the leader finished speaking, he patted the Vicious Wolfon his body hard and it let out a loud howl.
Soon, the 50-odd people rode the Vicious Wolf and instantly surrounded Mas and the rest.
Looking at the large number of Orc bandits around him, he knew that he was in big trouble today. He only hoped that after this calamity, the Dyson brothers would not be injured. If Master Mas took his anger out on them, what would happen to his family? No amount of wealth could save the lives of his family. They would all be sent to the gallows!
"The leader of the Vicious Wolf Association has always had a good relationship with me, and the amount of things he gives me every year is not little either. As the grandson of a member of the royal family of the Storm Empire, he naturally knows very well what the consequences of robbing him will be. Furthermore, those three boxes of alchemy materials are useless trash to them. Someone must have promised them other benefits in order for them to act so rashly!
If I had known, I would have brought a few more Level 4 professionals this time, why would I care about the hiring fee? If I brought that "fellow" out, ir would not have end up like this!
However, it's useless to regret now. It's best to think about how to break out of this situation!" Belek thought to himself.