Chapter 54 Work
The next day, everyone followed the instruction given by Luis.
Xiao Wei, along with 5 official knights and 30 apprentice knights, headed outside with wagons.
The air was crisp as they moved out at dawn. The knights clad in their armor marched in discipline alongside the wagons.
Their destination was the hidden cave where valuable medicinal herbs grew in abundance.
They quickly walked out of the city, directly entering the wilderness. The path led them through dense forest, the sound of rustling leaves and distant bird calls echoing around them.
"Be careful," Xiao Wei said, his voice low but firm. "There are a lot of dangerous beasts ready to hunt unsuspecting prey."
Everyone was on full alert; they were trained as knights and will never be lower their vigilance.
The journey was very long, and almost 5 hours have passed.
"We are already very near, only a few minutes now. It is concealed by natural rock formation," Xiao Wei informed the leading official knight.
Everyone became more alert hearing this. The nearer you are to your destination, the more alert one should be.
Within just a few minutes, they reached the entrance of the cave, concealed by a natural rock formation and vines covering it.
"You are really lucky to find this place." The leading knight was surprised by such a hidden cave.
"It's just luck," Xiao Wei said with a smile, but there was deep sadness hidden within.
"Knights! be prepared. There might be danger hidden here; tread with caution." The leading knight commanded.
Everyone tightened their grips on the weapon with eyes scanning around the cave.
They left their wagons outside to examine the cave. They cautiously entered the cave with everyone looking at each other's backs. Some were prepared for attack from walls, some prepared for underground, some from above, and some from forward and behind. They are fully prepared to be attacked.
"I have lived here. There is no chance of there being any beast," Xiao Wei reassured; however, they still didn't drop their vigilance.
Xiao Wei looked at all this with emotions. These knights are really different from warriors of this world. These knights work in unity and as a whole.
As they went deeper into the cave, they began to see different plants growing in clusters. Their vibrant colors stood out against the dim, rocky backdrop.
All the knights spread around searching for any kind of danger hidden in the cave.
"You guys are cautious, very cautious. Are all the knights in your world like this?" Xiao Wei questioned the leading knight as he looked at other knights searching every nook and cranny of the cave.
"No, only us elites of the Hartmann family are like this. Most knights, especially outside our ranks, are greedy fools who only seek personal benefit. You must have noticed that with Commander Theodore—not all are that way, but most are like him."
The leading knight began correcting Xiao Wei.
"As people grow stronger, their vigilance tends to drop. They become arrogant, thinking nothing can harm them. We, Hartmann knights, are trained to never make that mistake. Our discipline is strict."
Xiao Wei nodded, realizing something important. Boss Father, Baron Felipe, was a very remarkable leader, creating such elite soldiers. Elite not only in terms of strength but also in mentality.
Just as Xiao Wei was thinking, all the knights returned.
"No danger spotted."
"All Clear"
The leading knight finally relaxed a little. "Collect the plants in Evergreen Wooden Box."
Knights followed the instructions immediately; they walked towards the wagons to bring the Evergreen Wooden Box.
Evergreen Wooden Box is created from Evergreen Heartwood Tree. The wood of this tree exudes a soft, natural energy that prevents decay and keeps plants fresh and full of vitality.
The box made from Evergreen Heartwood can maintain the freshness of herbs, flowers, and fruits for months, as if they were just harvested.
This is a very expensive box only found in Fantasy World. One wooden box cost them one gold coin.
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Xiao Wei and Knights quickly harvested everything in the cave. Afterwards, they spread the seeds around in the cave so that they could grow again years later.
They returned back through the dense forest. Everyone had a satisfied smile on their face due to the harvest. With this much herb, many medicinal powders can be created, increasing everyone's strength.
Suddenly, five official knights eyes became sharp as they looked forward.
"Alert! Incoming enemies, ready your weapons!"
Hearing this, everyone tightened their grip on their weapons, ready for any incoming enemies.
"Must be bandits; there are a lot in this forest." Xiao Wei reminded
The knights stopped moving; the trained horses were under control, protected behind knights.
In just a few moments, many thugs holding machetes, bows, and swords appeared in their sights. There were at least more than 100.
They had greedy expressions as they looked at the wagons behind the knights. They were laughing and murmuring amongst each other.
Xiao Wei, who was beside Leading Knight, looked at them with little worry.
"They seem to be a huge bandit group; these kinds of nuisances should be fully destroyed," Xiao Wei whispered to the leading knight.
The leading knight also nodded as he watched the bandits coming closer towards them.
As the bandits drew closer, their arrogant laughter echoed through the air, growing louder with each step.
"Look at 'em, all suited up like they're on some royal duty!" one of the bandits sneered, swaggering forward with a confident smirk. "Bet those wagons are packed with riches, boys!"
The group spread out, some drawing bows, others raising their swords, moving with careless arrogance, clearly underestimating the knights before them.
The knights looked at all of these cold eyes. These bandits are really arrogant, thinking they have already won.
The bandits were laughing, completely oblivious to the danger they were about to face.
Twenty apprentice knights and three official knights stepped forward to end the nonsense of those bandits. They don't have much time to waste talking with these bandits.
The knights were much faster with bodies strengthened by life seeds and martial arts. They reached towards the bandits in no time.
As they crashed into the bandits, the knight's swords began to strike with deadly precision.
One apprentice swung his sword, cutting through a bandit arm. He fell to the ground wide-eyed and screaming. The bravado of bandits immediately collapsed.
"How... could there be... so many strong warriors, there are all late stage--" A bandit was shouting in fear just when his voice was cut short and his head separated from his body by the sword of an official knight.
The battle was too easy for the knights, as they attacked with the strength of 20 late-stage body-training warriors and 3 innate warriors. This was an overkill for these bandits, whose strengths were between normal people and early and mid-stage body-training warriors.
Every bandit at the back behind the group began to run. They thought this time they struck it rich, but who would have expected that all the people were so strong? What was hidden in that wagon was that it needed so much protection.
The knights hunted down the bandits who were running around. However, few of them still escaped deep into the forest.
After slaughtering the bandits, 20 apprentice knights and 1 official knight returned.
The group made their way towards the Sirius Gang Headquarters in Anyu Town. The whole day has already been wasted, and night is already approaching.