Next to the carriage were two men—one a merchant, the other the driver who doubled as a porter.
The merchant, Bania, was currently full of fear. He had heard there might be bandits in the area, but he'd been too stingy to hire a mage for protection. This trip almost cost him his life, not to mention nearly wiped out his savings.
The driver, also terrified, felt it was terrible luck to work for such a miserly boss. He had almost been chopped up by the bandits.
"Mr. Bania, should we leave now?"
"Wait a bit. That had to be the work of a mage just now. Let's wait for him to come over."
Bania's hands were trembling, but there was a calculating gleam in his eyes. It looked like they'd have a free guard soon enough.
The two waited for a while, and then suddenly, a gray figure dashed out of the woods, and a werewolf appeared abruptly in front of them.
Its yellow-brown eyes stared at them, and its sharp fangs gleamed coldly.
Bania felt his legs grow weak, and he almost bolted.
Fortunately, the werewolf spoke. "Who are you two?"
Bania sighed in relief. As long as it could talk, it had to be some magic turning someone into a werewolf.
"Mr. Mage, we are merchants passing through here, on our way to Onibas. We were almost robbed by those bandits just now. Thank you for saving us! Is there anything we can do for you?"
Where they were headed wasn't really Rhodes' concern. He nodded and said, "If possible, could you help tie these people up?"
The driver immediately moved to help, but Bania stopped him.
"I noticed you didn't have any rope with you. Luckily, I have a 30-meter rope here—only 600 J!"
"Mr. Bania!" The driver nearly popped his eyes out. At a time like this, he was trying to sell the rope? How greedy could he be?
Rhodes also gave him a surprised look. What a character—still trying to make money now? Though from his standpoint, it was pretty annoying.
"No need." Still in werewolf form, Rhodes kicked away the bandits' weapons one by one. Then he returned to his human form and began tying them up.
He used their belts to tie them.
"If you two are unharmed, leave now. You're just in the way."
Rhodes' attitude wasn't exactly friendly. Annoying people like this were always a hassle.
If they ran into danger again, saving them would feel frustrating, but leaving them to die wasn't something his conscience could handle.
Better to get rid of them sooner.
However, Bania wasn't willing to leave just yet. What if there were more bandits ahead?
"Mr. Mage, please don't misunderstand. I'll give you the rope for free."
Bania spoke enthusiastically. "You probably need to take these bandits to the town hall, right? My suggestion is that you travel with us. Not only will you have the rope, but you can use our carriage too."
Free things were often the most costly, and it didn't take much for Rhodes to guess that this man was hoping for a free escort.
"No, thanks. I have other matters to attend to. I don't need your help." Rhodes rejected him directly.
Bania quickly added, "We can wait for you! And also—"
This guy wasn't taking no for an answer. Reasoning wouldn't work; only money would.
Rhodes continued tying the bandits, securing their hands behind their backs.
"Mr. Bania, short-distance escort jobs usually cost between 2,000 and 10,000 J. Given that you're carrying a lot of goods and traveling on a dangerous route, the price has to be adjusted accordingly.
"And mages like my comrades and I, who can eliminate over ten enemies in an instant—do you think they're that easy to hire?"
That's exactly why he wanted to get it for free! Plus, this mage had companions!
But given the price... After struggling for a moment, Bania relented, "My apologies for my offense. We'll leave right away."
The bandits had already been dealt with, so the chances of encountering more were slim. If they had no guard, then so be it.
The driver, meanwhile, just wanted to flee. He didn't know the exact costs, but even if they hired eight or ten mages, they'd still make a profit on this load.
This Mr. Bania really valued money over his life. Next time, he'd definitely pick a more cautious employer.
Rhodes finished tying up the ten bandits and picked out the most cowardly-looking one. He dragged him aside, away from the others, and splashed water on his face to wake him up.
"Who are you! Let me go, or our boss will—"
A two-headed wolf bared its fangs, growling right in his face, scaring him into silence.
"Tell me how many of you there are. Are there any mages among you? Are there any paths, traps, or escape routes in the mountain?"
"How could I possibly tell you that!"
"If you don't speak, you'll be wolf food. They haven't had lunch yet." Rhodes waved his hand, and the two-headed wolf licked the bandit's face on both sides, drooling.
The bandit swallowed, feeling the hot breath of the wolf on his skin. "I-I'll tell you."
"You'd better not lie. I'll be waking the others up to verify what you say. One lie, and you lose a hand."
Rhodes didn't really know interrogation techniques, but he'd heard something about the Prisoner's Dilemma somewhere, though he wasn't sure if that applied here.
In any case, the bandit seemed to take him seriously and spilled everything he knew about the mountain, like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
Given the choice between being fed to wolves or going to jail, he preferred jail.
After getting the information, Rhodes knocked him out again and woke another bandit to ask the same questions.
He repeated the process several times, and once he got consistent answers, he returned to find Alzack and Bisca.
These two were reliable. Both had their guns at the ready—one watching Rhodes' direction, the other watching the surroundings.
"How'd it go?" Alzack asked, seeing Rhodes had just been interrogating someone.
"The numbers match our expectations. Their boss can use a highly destructive magic, and there are a few traps on the way..." Rhodes paused.
Bisca became alert. "What's wrong?"
"One of the swift crabs fell into a pit, but it's fine." Since its vision hadn't vanished, Rhodes knew it wasn't dead. "The bandits may have been alerted. We need to finish this quickly to prevent them from escaping."
"I'm ready." Alzack looked at Rhodes. "Can your magic hold out?"
Between take-overs and summonings, Alzack knew that Rhodes had used magic numerous times today and was currently maintaining several summoned beasts—the stone beetles, shadow wolves, swift crabs, and beak birds.
"It'll hold for about twenty minutes without issues. I can recall a few if needed. If I don't have to fight personally, that'd be ideal," Rhodes replied.
Alzack and Bisca exchanged a glance before saying:
"You've already done plenty."
"Leave the rest to us."
Though they said this, Rhodes still intended to provide as much information as he could before the battle.
He sent one stone beetle with Bisca to the sniping point and took two stone beetles with him, guiding Alzack as they navigated around the various traps toward the bandit hideout.
The hideout wasn't that large. In the center stood a wooden cabin, with several straw huts scattered around.
On the perimeter, a rudimentary wooden fence had been erected, with two watchtowers set up at the entrance.
With a few muffled shots, the bandits who had been dozing at the entrance and the sentries on the watchtowers fell almost simultaneously, shot by Bisca.
Rhodes had already gone around to the back, ready to block the bandits' escape route.
Alzack loaded a high-explosive bullet and blasted the gate open with a bang.
The hideout erupted into chaos, the bandits' shouts echoing everywhere:
"Enemy attack!"
"Damn it, who is it?"
"Boss! The army's attacking!"