Life in a Simulation - Chapter 22

Ever since he participated in the “Elk War,” over the following two years, Zhou Ming became a “veteran” in the several major battles that took place around the territory.

These wars, at their core, were still conflicts between noble knights and had nothing to do with farmers like him.

Moreover, these lords and knights, who spent all day training in the castle, were bored out of their minds. It was better to have a few skirmishes with neighboring lords to stretch their limbs.

As for the farmers who were sent into battle, one role was to add some excitement to the battlefield, and the other was to provide some easy kills for the knights. The death of a few or a dozen farmers was of no great consequence.

What truly posed a significant danger to the farmers, as Uncle O’Neil had said, were the bandits who roamed the mountains and forests, proficient in all sorts of traps and poisons.

Zhou Ming had participated in one such bandit hunt. A group of bandits, numbering no more than eight or nine, was pursued by Baron Connor with over a thousand men for more than ten days. After suffering casualties of over twenty men, they managed to drive the bandits out of the territory, killing only three of them.

During this hunt, Zhou Ming had also nearly slipped and fallen into a pit filled with sharpened stakes.

However, Zhou Ming was not without gain from this hunt.

Among this cunning group of bandits, there was an unlucky fellow who was hit by an arrow shot by Edward into his thigh. Unable to run fast enough, he was abandoned by his accomplices.

Following the faint trail of blood, in an inconspicuous gully, Zhou Ming discovered the unlucky bandit hiding in a thicket.

“Come out, no need to hide.”

Zhou Ming pointed his spear at the thicket.

“Whoosh~!”

A dagger gleaming with a blue light flew straight at Zhou Ming’s face!

Zhou Ming, already alert, tilted his head, and the dagger flew past his face, embedding itself in the slope behind him.

“I’ll count to three, and if you don’t come out, I’ll stab in! One, two…”

Before he could reach three, a self-mocking voice came from the thicket: “I never thought that I, the great bandit Jero, would die at the hands of an unknown young man today. Lucky boy, take me to Earl William of Mason’s territory, and you can claim a reward of 500 gold coins from him.”

Zhou Ming sneered, “By the time I get that 500 gold coin reward, I’ll probably be dead, with the gold coins stolen from me.”

This cunning bandit was still playing this trick even when facing death.

Bandit Jero was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, “Clever boy, it seems you intend to kill me directly?”

Zhou Ming put away his spear and said, “If I wanted to kill you, would I be talking this much? I already stabbed you with the spear just now.”

Bandit Jero was even more surprised: “You don’t plan to kill me? My head can fetch a substantial reward from your lord.”

“I don’t care about that reward. Keeping you alive is more useful to me!”

Zhou Ming threw the spear aside, squatted down, and carried the bandit, who was in his thirties, with blond hair, brown eyes, and a lean build resembling the people from the western barbarian tribes, to a safe place. He treated his wound, and fed him some dried meat and cheese.

“Hey, kid, why did you save me?”

More than ten days later, when Bandit Jero’s wound had healed significantly, he finally couldn’t help but ask, full of doubts.

Despite his extensive travels and encounters with all sorts of people, he had never met a sixteen-year-old boy with so much on his mind, who had done so many things that were hard for him to understand.

“I saved your life to leave myself a way out in the future.”

While changing his bandages, Zhou Ming looked up and spoke frankly.

“Way out, what way out? Do you want to become a bandit like me? Kid, I admit you’re a good prospect, but being a bandit is not a fun job. When your head is worth more than 500 gold coins on the wanted list, you have to be wary of your companions who might turn on you at any moment… It’s not an easy life.”

Bandit Jero shook his head. Being a bandit was indeed carefree, but who could truly understand the risks behind that carefree lifestyle?

Zhou Ming explained, “You misunderstood me. The way out I’m talking about doesn’t necessarily mean joining you as a bandit. It means that in the future, when I encounter problems, I want to have someone who can help me. I saved your life, and you owe me a favor, so I want you to help me.”

“Kid, you did save my life, but I never agreed to help you with anything, especially if it might cost me my life. Don’t be naive!”

Bandit Jero shook his head. Among the people he knew, there were those who would stab their teammates for a hundred gold coins, and those who would betray their brothers for a pretty courtesan. He had rarely met anyone who would risk their life to repay a favor after being saved.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits and won’t put your life at risk. Besides, you have your own mind. Even if someone forces you to do something dangerous, you wouldn’t do it…”

Zhou Ming dangled another carrot: “Moreover, you bandits, before killing, arson, and robbery, don’t you ever use your brains? When you come to a territory you don’t know at all, you just rush to rob anything valuable and pounce on any pretty woman without sending someone to gather information first, to see whose house has the most money, whose woman is the most beautiful, and whose defense is the most lax and easy to rob… Are all so-called great bandits like you?”

“Cough! Cough! Kid, shut up! We always do our homework before we act. Among the nearby dozen or so territories, Granling is the richest, that’s why we came here.”

Bandit Jero coughed violently, his face turning red. This kid seemed to make sense, but could he really know more than someone who had been in the business for over a decade?

In fact, this had something to do with Zhou Ming. Over the past decade, due to the habit of centralized waste management and regular application of manure, Granling’s crop yields had increased, and the number of plague outbreaks had decreased. Even with some population loss due to war, compared to many neighboring territories, Granling indeed had the most people and the richest resources.

“The king’s treasury also has money, why don’t you rob it… I’d say, you still pay too little attention to intelligence work, otherwise you wouldn’t have failed to make money and instead suffered heavy casualties.”

Being lectured by a kid almost a generation younger, even though Bandit Jero understood that the kid made some sense, he still couldn’t help but responded with a sense of grievance：”You’re just a talker, kid. I’ve been in the business for over a decade. What treasures and women haven’t I robbed? This time was just a minor mishap. You’re not a bandit, what do you know?”

“I do lack the qualifications to lecture you… How about this, once you’ve recovered, call over your remaining accomplices. I’ll scout the way for you and let’s rob Rose Town again. If we succeed, all the treasures are yours. If we fail, you can do whatever you want with me, and we’ll consider the favor I did for you settled. How does that sound?”

Zhou Ming felt that without showing some actual results, Bandit Jero would probably not easily follow his orders.

“Kid, did you really say that?”

Bandit Jero was tempted. Although the kid’s words were a bit boastful, the proposal was indeed very attractive. Moreover, as the kid said, their emphasis on intelligence was far too low. They just knew there was money here and came to rob it, not knowing how formidable the knight squad was…

If they relied on this kid to gather clear information on the route and targets, and then made a quick getaway, the risk would definitely be much lower than last time.

Let’s give it a try, just as the kid suggested!

Life in a Simulation - Chapter 22

Comments for "Chapter 22"

Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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