Chapter 172: Chilton

The two hornsteads pulled the carriage with their four front legs, letting the back two rest. Nataly was in the driver's seat, making the monsters run at a moderate pace. The air had become colder, with a thin sheet of snow covering the road ahead, and she was worried the hornsteads would slip and fall if they went at their maximum speed.

Rex felt the cold air and peeked his head outside. Far in the distance, he could see a tall and expansive mountain range that, at their highest points, pierced the clouds.

"I can already see the Orna Mountains!"

"Really? Let me see!" Aron poked his head out and saw the beautiful mountains that completely covered the northern horizon. "Wow, that's unreal…"

Everyone gazed at the mountain range in awe until Duncan snapped them out of it.

"We should arrive at Chilton soon. We should get ready."

Sol agreed. "Once we take care of the bandit encampment, we will sneak up the mountain."

Aron, who was still sightseeing, asked, "Wait, we are actually taking down a bandit encampment?"

He thought it was just a cover story for their real objective.

"It's on the way, and they have been causing a lot of trouble to the nearby towns. It's also good for if we get caught by the orcs in the mountains. We can just say we were chasing bandits up north and went too far."

Sol knew it wasn't the best excuse, but it was a common one used between nations to prevent the issue from escalating further. Though with how hostile the orcs have been these past few years, it's likely they will go with a "kill now, ask questions later" methodology.

Not long after, they arrived at the snowy town of Chilton. Though called a town, it was just a large village that lacked a lot of facilities a normal town would have.

As they got closer, they began to notice that something was wrong. The fence that surrounded the town was broken in many sections, and the majority of the houses were either destroyed or broken into.

The hornsteads came to a halt, and everyone got off the carriage to survey the situation. It was eerily quiet with nobody in sight.

Sol checked his immediate surroundings with [True Sight], but being restricted to just 30 meters, he was unable to find any other signs of life.

"Rex, can you scout the area? See if you can find anyone."

"On it, Captain." Rex jumped onto the roof of a building before promptly hopping to another one. He continued doing so as he carefully checked his surroundings while looking for any signs of life.

Sol watched Rex hop between buildings as he thought to himself what to do next.

"We were only informed that the bandits attacked travelers, but it appears that information is a bit outdated."

"They were clearly attacked, but besides some blood, I don't see any bodies. They may yet live," Duncan pointed out.

Lapis circled from the other side of the carriage, holding her spear tightly, ready for battle. Though there was nobody around, she wasn't going to let her guard down.

"But why would they capture them?"

"Maybe to sell them as slaves? Doesn't the black market deal in slaves?" Aron said.

Duncan disagreed, "No, there's no black market near here. Unless a new one was recently established near here, I don't think they could transport an entire town's worth of people to the one located near Kerman."

Nataly gave Duncan a weird look.

"There's one in Kerman? I lived there for two years and I never heard of it."

"It's one of the biggest ones in the kingdom. We have tried to shut it down multiple times, but as long as the four A-Rankers that control it live, we won't be able to do much about it."

While they were discussing Kerman's black market, Rex came walking with five people trailing behind him. They all appeared to be fighters based on the armor and weapons they each possessed.

"Found these five searching for others as well. They went out hunting this morning, but when they came back, it was already like this."

One of the hunters, with puffy red eyes, got on his knees in front of Duncan.

"Please save our families, Sir Knight! Those bandits attacked while we were away! But we're sure they're still alive! We scoured the entire town and found no bodies! We think they captured them all!"

Duncan gave a side glance to Sol, wondering if he should be the one to respond, given that he wasn't the captain. Sol thought about it and gave him the signal to take the lead. Not only was Duncan more experienced with handling people, but he was also older, having a reassuring aura.

"Rest assured, we will help you save your loved ones. I know you're in a rush to save them, but before we can go, I need you to answer a few questions..."

While he questioned the hunters, Sol and the squad made preparations. They found stables to keep the hornsteads and parked the carriage in a safe place.

Duncan asked them various questions regarding the town's overall strength and the recent bandit activity. Though the hunters answered all his questions, it was obvious from their expressions that they wanted them to hurry up. Duncan understood they were worried for their loved ones and reassured them that they needed all the information they could get to know what they were dealing with.

After a few minutes of questioning, Duncan gave Sol a report on his findings.

"Apparently, the bandit encampment we were tasked to take down no longer exists. They and a lot of smaller bandit groups in the area joined up under someone's leadership, and they now operate out of an old fort. Based on the town's destruction, the fact that they only had C-Rankers, and the lack of dead bodies, leads me to believe they have B-Rankers and not a small amount. On the bright side, there is no evidence of any A-Ranker. How should we proceed?"

Sol leaned back against a wall of a destroyed house as he pondered what to do.

"I'm not that worried about fighting the bandits. Based on your information, I think we can take them on pretty easily. My only worry is the townspeople. If we attack head-on, they will likely use them as hostages."

Duncan nodded in agreement. He estimated there were at least ten B-Rankers based on what they previously knew of the old bandit groups. During the fight, they could intentionally attack the captured townspeople to force them into a bad situation or threaten them with killing them all. It also wasn't an option to disregard the townspeople's safety and let them die at the bandits' hands if they could prevent it.

"We need to check the situation out first. Call Rex over. He and I are going on a quick scouting mission."