This time, Tristan's mission was not to escort a merchant caravan, but to escort a pair of Maegor sisters to Calamity City for pilgrimage.
The Maegor family was an old family of the Tiger Party and had a very good relationship with Summerhall, with a large amount of trade; during the Great Plague, this pair of Maegor sisters also contracted the plague and were on the verge of death; it was ultimately the priest of the god of calamity who pulled them back from death, and their faith shifted from the god of light rhllor to the god of calamity.
"Lord Tristan, is Calamity City really as magnificent as you say?" Mery Maegor, the younger sister, poked her head out of the carriage and asked Tristan.
"Yes," Tristan nodded in response.
Tristan liked this pair of sisters, not because of their beauty, but because they were not as arrogant and indifferent as other Volantis nobles he had encountered; they treated everyone kindly, including servants, and still addressed Tristan as 'Lord' even though they knew he was not a noble.
So, in response to Mery's question, he patiently and seriously replied, "The stones used to build Calamity City are quarried from the surrounding quarries near the gem mines; the stones there contain more or less tiny gems, and buildings constructed with these stones will emit colorful light under the sun, which is very magnificent. Although Calamity City is not yet fully built, only the Temple of the God of Calamities and the city hall have been constructed, and the main roads have been paved with flagstones, even so, one can still imagine how magnificent Calamity City will be once it is fully built."
"Using gems as building materials, Calamity City can indeed be called magnificent." Joanna Maegor, the older sister, who was a bit bored inside the carriage, also pulled back the curtain, interjecting, and asked, "Lord Tristan, can you tell us about the Temple of the God of Calamities?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Joanna, I've only seen the Temple of the God of Calamities from a distance, and haven't entered the temple's interior." Tristan reined in his horse, slowing it down, and only continued speaking when he was level with the carriage window: "Unlike the temples of the god of calamity in other places, entering the temple in Calamity City for pilgrimage requires certain qualifications; only those who pass the trial of piety are qualified to enter the temple for pilgrimage."
"Is the trial of piety very difficult?" Joanna immediately pressed.
"Not difficult." Tristan shook his head and said, "Every month, High Priest Marthus will conduct a trial of piety for the pilgrims; he will take out a gem, give it to the believer, and have them recite the prayer of the god of calamity; only believers who devoutly worship the god of calamity can make the gem glow like a candle."
"Glow like a candle?" Mery's face showed a look of longing.
Just as the Maegor sisters were about to ask more about Calamity City, a scout mercenary Tristan had sent ahead rode back quickly from a distance, arriving in front of the group; before he even saw Tristan, he shouted loudly, "Bandits! There's a group of bandits charging this way!"
Hearing this, a small commotion broke out in the group; Tristan immediately apologized to the two sisters, then came to the front of the group, reprimanded the scout, and then ordered the group to gather the carriages and supplies to form a simple defensive fortification, then everyone hid behind the carriages, took out their bows, arrows, and other weapons, and prepared for battle.
Soon, the bandits the scout mentioned appeared in everyone's sight; there were about a hundred or so of them, all on horseback, wearing simple leather armor, and they looked like a group of veterans.
"How can there be so many bandits?" Tristan was also somewhat surprised after estimating the number, because since the Disputed Lands came under Summerhall's control, there had been very few bandits in this area; let alone a bandit group of over a hundred people, even bandit groups of dozens of people rarely appeared.
Although the merchant caravan now had over three hundred people, far more than the bandits, not all of the caravan's people were warriors; most of them were non-combatant servants, and the true warriors were only the forty-odd people he led, so Tristan had no confidence at all in being able to protect the merchant caravan from these bandits.
After assessing the situation, Tristan immediately had the two sisters get out of the carriage and stay by his mount; if he found it impossible to resist the bandits, he would immediately flee with his subordinates and the two sisters, as for the rest of the merchant caravan, they would have to be abandoned, after all, the most important thing in the merchant caravan now was the safety of these Maegor sisters.
Just as Tristan was preparing for battle with full vigilance, the bandits charging from the front strangely bypassed Tristan's wagon formation, galloping past on the side; Tristan could even see the terrified expressions on the bandits' faces, as if something terrifying was chasing them from behind.
Before Tristan could figure out what was going on, he saw a rain of arrows falling from the sky, accurately piercing into the bandits like nails, knocking them off their horses one by one; soon, all hundred-plus bandits fell to the ground, and the arrow wounds combined with the fall injuries caused many of these bandits to die on the spot, while a few still had a breath left, lying on the ground, groaning in pain.
Most of this rain of arrows from the sky avoided the merchant caravan's wagon formation, with only a few arrows sticking into the goods at the edge of the convoy.
Immediately after, there was a rapid sound of hooves from a distance, and then a troop of armored cavalry was seen charging towards them in formation.
"It's the Calamity Rangers of the Chosen Legion!" Tristan immediately recognized who the newcomers were by the armor worn by this troop of cavalry.
Soon, the Calamity Rangers arrived next to the merchant caravan's carriages; they ignored the people from the merchant caravan, dismounted, and walked directly to the bandits, tying up the living bandits and throwing them onto their horses, while for the dead bandits, they scavenged all valuable items from their bodies, then dug a pit on the spot and buried them.
At this moment, the captain of this Ranger troop rode to the side of the merchant caravan; he saw a few arrows stuck in the merchant caravan's goods, and his face became somewhat grim, then he turned and shouted loudly to his subordinates, "Whose arrows are these?"
His deputy immediately stepped forward, pulled out the arrows, looked at the markings on the fletching, and said, "They are the arrows of Adrick, Malik, and Darno."
"Adrick, Malik, Darno!" The captain loudly called out their names, and when they arrived, he pointed to the arrows and said, "Are those your arrows?"
"Yes, Lord," the three replied awkwardly, nodding.
The captain said in a deep voice, "After we return, go to the military police department yourselves to receive whips, and daily training will be doubled."
"Understood, Lord," the three replied quickly, not daring to object.
The captain then turned to instruct his deputy to record the name of the merchant caravan, telling the caravan's people to deliver their goods to the Miracle Merchant Guild themselves for loss assessment, and then, with the loss certificate, go to the Chosen Legion's station to receive compensation.
After completing all this, the Rangers, with their spoils and captives, turned around and left in a hurry.
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