The second squad

We walked through the dark paths of the red mountains together… Well, I rode the cart, while the other two walked. Why the hell would I even waste my energy walking, when I have to face a big guy later on?

Anyway, there was something that seriously irked me. Well, it wasn't anything big, but from the news pieces I read, there were always four to five people in the first squad that the Weasel bandits sent. How come there's only two people this time around?

[Hmm… Let me answer that question for you with my expert analysis.]

{Proceed.}

[Well, you see. The other merchants had multiple people around them. I mean even the smallest of merchants had four bodyguards for them. Unlike them, you have none. So, why would they spend their main force on a random single person?]

{You're right. But, wait a minute. I can make a better point than that. Why send people at all? They got a big guy in Guo Ning, right? They could just put him in the forefront and loot people if all they're gonna target is small fries. Why waste this much effort?}

[Ha… Think of it in their perspective. If they made the big guy do every single work, they'd end up with nothing to do, which might be fine by some people who lived in leisure, but not for these people. They started screwing people over from a long time. And that was hard work. That's not gonna change just because a strong one arrived. Doing that would mess up their creed. So, as long as it stays as the Weasel group, the man named Guo Ning will always be their insurance policy and nothing more. If he is unhappy about his role in the team, he could always leave. Although that doesn't seem to be the case. So, yea… Everyone's happy. What's your case?]

{Well, I just thought that it's a huge waste of time. Well, never mind…}

I just stopped arguing about it and started looking around like the two beside me did. I guess we were looking for the same thing this time; when is the second squad gonna come….

It did not take much time for me to hear bustling from the bushes around. The two were vigilant whereas I was excited. The second stage is here… Or at least, that's what I thought.

"What are you three traversing through the red mountains with minimum security like this? Don't you know that it is dangerous, young miss… with the mask?" A person jumped out of the bushes and asked. Once he finished his sentence, four more people jumped out of the bushes. Well, it did seem like the second squad attack, but why are they speaking the first squad's lines? You're supposed to be the bad guys, you know? So act like one. Oh, maybe this is some kind of a threat. Like, you invited danger to your lair, young miss… or something like that could be followed up. Hmm, that's good…

"Well, I wanted to get North as soon as possible to sell all the PRECIOUS goods that I have." Once again, I emphasized on the word precious to notice their reactions. While the two beside me stared at me with horror in their eyes, the other five couldn't hide the greed in their eyes. Tch, the second squad has bad actors, huh… Well, they're acting as bad guys and greed is a bad guy thing. So, it is good, I guess?

"Young miss, why would you say that to these total strangers?" The girl from the first squad asked. The horror was still in her eyes. How wonderful! Her acting is really commendable.

"Well, it looks like they're here to warn us of the danger like you two did. So, I think they're good people. And just like I trusted you, I trust them as well." I spoke with a smile on my face, which wasn't visible to those people.

"Yea, yea. Young miss, you did the right thing by trusting us! We'll protect you and your PRECIOUS commodity with all our might!" They proclaimed, the lust for money, still visible in their eyes. Hehehe… They're just falling into my plan like some idiots!

Wait a minute. This doesn't make sense at all. This is the second squad, right? Why would they say that? They should act like the bad guys. Then why are they doing the first squads job? Hmm, maybe they are here to provide backup for the two…. If that's the case, let me do the same thing that I did with the other two.

"Oh, my! I've been blessed by the Gods! People swarming to help me… Ha… I might even shed a tear or two. Thank you, dear warriors for your help!" I spoke in a somewhat shaky voice.

"Hahaha. Don't worry about it. We help the people who desperately need help!" Someone from the Weasel bandits spoke. As if! Do you take me for a fool or something? Well, I guess they did since I'm acting like one. Anyway, why are these idiots acting like this? I mean, if they are gonna act out openly like this, anyone's gonna get suspicious, right? I guess the first string of the first squad only has the slightly better actors. Other than the two, the rest are kinda not good at acting.

So, we continued our journey with seven people beside me now. The journey was going great, if you don't bat an eye on how the two from the first string were glaring at the ones from the second string. Seems like the five of them never informed the two that they were gonna interfere in it as well. I mean, that is kinda stupid in itself. Don't you think someone would actually get suspicious of them if they just straight up increase their number like that?

Anyway, the glare contest between those two got to a point that I started feeling uncomfortable about it. I was about to ask them to stop doing so, but before I could do so, for the second time, I heard rustling from the bushes. I mean, if you're gonna do an appearance, at least do it a bit differently. Do these people even get to rob someone without Guo Ning? I highly doubt it.

"Stop right there!" One of the guys from the second squad cried as he winked at one of the first squad guys. Dude! Show some professionalism! Acting like this in the open… How much of an idiot are you?

Anyway, let me do my damsel in distress act. "Kyaa!" I cried in the very same tone I hated back in the day. But, it works in situations like this, you know? People care about the person who does it for some reason.

And sure it did work here as well. The two from the first string covered me, while the second string guys sure did take their time, but they did the same as well.

"Ooh, seems like you got some PRECIOUS commodity in you." Someone spoke, yet again emphasizing on the precious just like I did. "Give that to us and we'll allow you to pass."

"No!" I cried. I was kinda surprised about my acting chops as well. Like, bruh… I'm pretty skilled!

"Don't worry about it, miss! We'll protect your PRECIOUS commodity!" The guys from the second string shouted as they ran towards the second squad guys and got into a fight… a scripted fight. Meanwhile, the two from the first string stayed back beside me. I guess they're here to make me focus solely on the fight while the third squad steals my stuff. Makes sense.

I was fine with it though. I really wanted to enjoy the scene before me. It was kinda fun. Some of the strikes they placed looked real, while the others looked extremely fake, but it looked pretty good nonetheless.

"Those strikes… They're fake." The boy from the first string muttered. Hey! Your brethren is faking it like crazy just to give me that illusion and you're just thwarting it? That's rude!

"Eh? How come? I didn't know that!" I acted surprised. I was genuinely curious on how the boy was gonna salvage the situation after messing it up like this.

"Young miss, it seems like you're a bit on the inexperienced side in the case of martial arts, but once you get into my level, you'll get to see it clearly!" The boy spoke, clearly undermining me and my abilities. You were supposed to salvage the situation, not ruin it!

"He is right, young miss! They are indeed faking it." The girl spoke up this time, supporting the boy's statement. These guys… what are they doing?

"But why would they do that?" I asked.

"Well, I guess they're trying to grab the attention towards this fight, so that someone else steals your stuff… Just like that!" He pointed his finger towards the backside of my cart, where I saw about three people sneaking out the stuff inside it. I believe they're the third squad. But, why…

"Caught you! You guys are the Weasel bandits, aren't you? You, vile creatures!" The boy screamed as he rushed towards the third squad.

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