He got up early in the morning and went to the door next door to ask Hans and the others to set off.
"Locke, what's the matter?" Mary asked enthusiastically when she opened the door.
"We're going to gather in town today. I'll call Hans and the others." Locke touched his nose. He hated this shrewish aunt since he was a child.
"Alright, I'll go get them!" Mary opened the door and let him in. She then went to the back room to call Hans and the others.
Hans' yard was obviously more than twice as big as Locke's because he had four brothers. Hans was the second eldest, and he had an older brother who was already married and had children. There were close to ten people living in one yard, so it was hard to fit so many people.
It was only because the family had a lot of manpower that they could build such a big house so easily.
Not long after, Hans, Kane, and Hank came out of the house, yawning. As expected, from their dispirited looks, it was obvious that they had just been sleeping in.
"Let's go! Let's go to town! "Locke shouted.
Maple Village had a population of about two hundred people, and only eleven or twelve soldiers chose to join the army.
Because he was worried that the bandits would invade the village while they were away, Locke decided to let half of the soldiers stay behind today.
Six or seven fully armed soldiers and the other young and strong men in the village. If the bandits dared to come, they wouldn't be able to return.
It was already noon when Locke, Hans, Kane, Hank and two other soldiers arrived at Quarryton.
They happened to meet soldiers from another village on the way and they walked to the town square while chatting and laughing.
There were many soldiers gathered in the square at this time. Kane and Hank joined the soldiers while Locke and Hans looked for Yoshk who was standing at the edge of the square.
"Uncle Yoshk! Where's Uncle Karl? "Locke shouted from afar.
Yoshk was talking to the previous captain of the garrison. He turned around and smiled when he heard Locke calling him. "He's here too. He's over there."
As he spoke, he pointed to the other side of the square where the one-armed Karl was lecturing the town's militia.
These militiamen were the main defence force of Quarryton when they were fighting in Shalor. The baron's soldiers couldn't take care of every town, so the townspeople had to arm themselves.
On the other hand, the quality of the militia was worrying. Almost all of them were above the age of 35 and below the age of 13. They were either old men or children.
While they were chatting, Billy arrived at mealtime, accompanied by a donkey cart full of wheat cakes.
This was their lunch. Locke remembered that when he first joined the army and trained in town, it was also like this. At that time, he looked forward to lunch because he could eat until he was full.
"My sons! Let's eat first! "The mayor, Billy, kindly called out to the people in the square.
No one in the square moved. Due to years of military discipline, the soldiers could not move without an order from their superior.
The militiamen were frightened by Karl. The quality of these militiamen was really poor. Karl, who had always been good-tempered in the army, was also provoked.
He and Yoshk played the good cop and the bad cop respectively. These days, they had taught the militiamen to be obedient.
Karl and Yoshk were different from Locke and the others. Both of them were from Quarryton and had been living in the town for the past few days, so they had a good grasp of the situation.
"Is there a mission?" Locke asked Yoshk while biting the wheat cake in his hand.
"Yeah." Yoshk sighed. "It's not peaceful even after coming back."
The surrounding soldiers had started to receive their meals in an orderly manner, and a few burly female cooks were helping to distribute them.
Karl also stopped reprimanding the militiamen. These militiamen did not have the discipline and order of regular soldiers. They swarmed over to snatch food.
Karl didn't stop them. He guessed that the militiamen would hit a wall.
Sure enough, these soldiers, who had been professional soldiers for a few years and had Shalorian blood on their hands, would let this bunch of trash snatch their rations so easily?
Thud! Thud! Thud! A few of the militiamen who ran the fastest felt a full shoulder throw. All of them grimaced in pain and howled on the ground. It was obvious that the fall was not light.
Of course, the soldiers had a sense of propriety. They only hurt them, but didn't cause any substantial damage.
Seeing this, the militiamen who came later lined up at the back of the line. A few of the older ones even smiled and came up to chat with the soldiers.
Ignoring the noises of the soldiers, Locke, Yoshk, Karl and Hans went to a corner of the square. Apart from them, Billy was also there.
"What's the mission?" Locke asked. Although he had a rough idea, it was better for Yoshk, who was the leader of the group, to ask.
Yoshk didn't say anything, but Billy, who was next to him, said, "The baron wants us to send troops from each town to deal with the bandits and bandits in the surroundings."
Locke nodded to show that he understood. He looked down on these low-rank bandits. If they dared to show up in front of him, he could destroy them all by himself.
This was no joke. Locke should be the strongest person in Quarryton at present. With the physique of a low-rank Knecht and impetus, ordinary people would not be able to get close to him unless they were exhausted.
Only Yoshk and a few other platoon jarls knew Locke's true strength. Most of the soldiers in the camp didn't know about it and only thought that the platoon jarls were of similar strength.
Billy, on the other hand, had a worried look on his face. He didn't know Locke's true strength. Over the years, the bandits around Quarryton had annoyed him the most.
Sometimes, he even had to make agreements with these bandits and satisfy certain requirements to protect Quarryton and its subordinate villages from being harassed.
This made him, who had been the mayor for decades, extremely aggrieved.
"What targets do we have?" Yoshk was a straightforward person. He only needed a mission target.
Billy didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "There are three biggest bandits around: Red Maple, the Boulder Brothers and the Gilt Mountain Bandits."
"Then let's start with these three first!" Yoshk decided.
"Which one should we start with? Can I give you some advice? "Billy eagerly introduced himself.
"Red Maple is a bandit group that came from the east. There are more than thirty of them and a few horses.
"The Boulder Brothers are led by two twin brothers who came out of nowhere. Both of them are extremely strong and have a large group of gangsters under them."
"The Gilt Mountain Bandits." Billy paused for a moment before continuing, "Most of them are ruffians who don't want to be soldiers in Quarryton. You don't have to be considerate. Quarryton has long disowned them."
Billy wasn't the only one. Almost all the townspeople of Quarryton were ashamed of the Gilt Mountain Bandits.
"We have a total of four platoon jarls in Quarryton. We'll definitely be able to eliminate the bandits faster than the other towns," said Billy with a smile. This was also something he could brag about to his fellow mayors from other towns.
The baron only had four infantry platoons under his command. Quarryton had four platoon jarls, and one of them was a cavalry platoon jarl. Billy would be more proud than the other mayors if word got out.
"There's no need to go through so much trouble!" Yoshk interrupted with a wave of his hand. "Let each of us pick one."
"I'll lead the cavalry against the Red Maple Bandits," Locke said first. Since the bandits had horses, it was better for Locke to lead the cavalry to prevent any of them from escaping.
"Leave the Boulder Brothers to me," Hans said with a grin. Hans grinned. He wanted to see how strong the Boulder Brothers were and whether they could withstand a punch from him.
"Then leave the Gilt Mountain Bandits to me," Yoshk laughed.
"Looks like I can only watch the house," Karl said with a self-deprecating smile. Karl laughed at himself. Because he had lost an arm, his combat strength was greatly reduced. It was best for Karl to stay in Quarryton for this operation. Even if he lost an arm, ordinary bandits wouldn't be able to hurt him.
"It's decided!" Yoshk decided and began to gather the soldiers. The army had a knack for getting things done. He planned to send the soldiers out to eliminate the bandits in the afternoon.
"Will Karl be enough?" Billy was a little hesitant. He knew the strength of the bandits around Quarryton the best. He felt that Yoshk and the others' decision was too hasty.
"Don't worry, I promise!" Yoshk reassured him.
There were only a dozen or so cavalrymen in Quarryton, but Locke was confident that they could wipe out the Red Maple Bandits under his leadership.
Winter nights always came quickly. After Locke and the others made the decision, they quickly led their respective teams and set off. A line of more than ten cavalrymen galloped through the forest in the evening.
Each of the cavalrymen was bathed in blood, as if they had just returned from hell.
If one looked closely, they would see a cloth bag tied to the horses' tails. The cloth bag was bulging in the shape of a ball. If one was familiar with them, they would be able to tell at a glance that they were all human heads!
The Scarlet Cavalrymen's movement startled countless birds in the forest.
The leader was a knight in bright yellow armor. Under the helmet, only a pair of cold eyes could be seen.
It was Locke, who had just led the slaughter of the Red Maple Bandits. Almost every soldier had killed at least one Red Maple Bandit.
It was funny that the Red Maple Bandits' base camp was in the maple forest outside Quarryton, the main road between the town and the outside world. It was even very close to Locke's Maple Village. They were really not afraid of death.
If Locke had been so close to them two days ago, he would have called Hans and the others to deal with them. It would be too easy for two powerhouses who cultivated impetus to bully a bunch of ordinary people who didn't have impetus.
Locke's cavalrymen had killed to their heart's content. They had never seen such weak opponents, not to mention they were also cavalrymen.
The cavalrymen led by Cardoj, who had sturdy armor, long spears, battle formations, and rich experience in fighting against enemies, were simply a one-sided massacre against the bandits who could only show off in front of civilians.
Because time was tight, they only slaughtered 32 of the Red Maple Bandits. The horses and treasures that belonged to the bandits were left in place. They would deal with them tomorrow.