Chapter 77: Professional Squad
Including all personnel, the caravan had a total of about fifty people, with approximately fifteen guards.
In his view, dozens of goblin "robbers" shouldn’t be very difficult to deal with.
However, after listening for a while, the caravan’s caution was indeed unexpected to him.
The caravan planned to camp in place and wait, hoping to encounter other caravans later and then gather multiple caravans’ escorts to go and eliminate the bandit blockers.
If they couldn’t encounter other caravans, they would prefer to risk financial loss by taking a detour.
But after a brief reflection, Gauss could understand why the few people made such a choice.
Whether it’s the caravan steward or the escort leader, they are essentially high-level employees of the chamber of commerce, and naturally, they can’t take too big a risk just for a salary.
Even if they’re evenly matched on the surface, or slightly advantageous, people are still unwilling to take the initiative unless there’s a significant advantage.
After collecting enough information, Gauss returned to the carriage he was riding in.
He was neither a caravan employee nor part of the temporary hired staff; he was merely an outsider who paid for the ride. Even though he was a "noble" Caster Apprentice, he had no stance to speak on matters involving the safety of the entire caravan.
Besides, he didn’t have the skill to kill dozens of goblins alone, even though he had quite a few goblin-specific buffs.
So what else could he do but continue reading?
As time passed bit by bit, just when Gauss thought the caravan was about to detour towards Bitter Wormwood Town.
Suddenly, the sound of wheels rolling over the road came faintly from afar behind them.
"Stop!"
A group of knights on tall horses surrounded a luxurious covered beast-drawn carriage, slowly stopping behind the caravan.
Upon finding their path blocked, a tall male Warrior with a refined silver chain armor shirt immediately dismounted to negotiate.
His steps were powerful and steady, subtly revealing an aura of being accustomed to commanding others.
Perhaps due to the man’s extraordinary presence.
The caravan steward’s attitude immediately softened, bowing and apologizing, patiently explaining the situation ahead.
Gauss leaned against the carriage side, observing curiously for further developments.
Suddenly, the male Warrior not far ahead seemed to sense something, abruptly turning around with sharp eyes directed towards Gauss’s carriage.
Their gaze collided directly with Gauss’s.
Originally just watching the drama, Gauss’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"A Professional?"
Just that one glance made him feel uncomfortable, as if he had been stared down by some fierce beast.
The magic power within him began to circulate quietly, as though some protective mechanism had been triggered.
Despite the slight physical discomfort, Gauss did not avert his gaze; rather, he stubbornly maintained eye contact with the man for two seconds. As if confirming identities, they nodded and smiled before both shifted their gaze.
What Gauss didn’t know was, the chain-armored man not far away also felt his heart skip a beat.
Gauss’s presence vaguely posed a threat to him, similar to the feeling when facing Professional Mages and Warlocks.
His previously arrogant demeanor subconsciously toned down somewhat.
When traveling, facing unknown strangers, it’s best to be as amicable as possible.
Retracting his gaze, Gauss looked towards the rear convoy.
The convoy didn’t have many people, only less than ten. The central carriage was noticeably more luxurious than the others.
Evidently, the man who had come to negotiate was merely a guard-like figure; he vaguely sensed a few others in the convoy with similar strength.
"Are they also going to Bitter Wormwood Town?"
Gauss knew that the "roadblock bandits" ahead probably had nothing to do with him.
Just relying on the convoy behind them would be enough to easily take care of them.
"Professionals merely as guards, I wonder who’s in the central carriage? Could it be a noble?" Opportunities for commoners to interact with nobles in this era were scarce.
Thus, Gauss had very few memories regarding nobles.
Impressively, most nobles lived in big cities; even if their fief was in a small town, they would often delegate its management to relatives or trusted officials.
Noticing several glances discreetly directed at him, Gauss quickly withdrew his gaze.
Indeed, there were quite a few Professionals.
To let so many Professionals lower themselves to act as bodyguards, the person inside the carriage certainly had an extraordinary status.
The subsequent turn of events was exactly as Gauss anticipated.
Only three people from the rear convoy were dispatched; within ten minutes, they rode back on horseback, with the knights’ armor still clean. Only the bloodstains on the hooves evidenced that a battle had just taken place up front.
The caravan made way for the rear convoy to pass ahead.
After the convoy had left for some time, they resumed their journey towards Bitter Wormwood Town.
An originally moderate crisis vanished into thin air with the arrival of a mysterious convoy.
About ten minutes after resuming travel, Gauss finally witnessed the grim scene of the "roadblock robbers."
On both sides of the road, roughly counting over fifty goblin corpses lay sprawled across the muddy ground.
Fiery red blood soaked the earth, emanating a large stench while dyeing the originally tan soil into a deep dark brown.
"Professionals are indeed powerful." Seeing the battlefield scene, Gauss couldn’t help but exclaim.
Dispatching only three people, even with horseback being faster than carriages, the round trip would still take about ten minutes. So they probably took only one or two minutes to actually kill the fifty goblins?
The gap between himself and them was indeed significant. Gauss believed that even if he had three times his strength, he couldn’t achieve such efficiency in killing over fifty goblins, especially seeing the three return with hardly any stains, indicating the battle was very effortless for them.
At this moment, his desire to grow stronger became even more intense.
It felt like a profound realization that "the strong should be as such."
He too yearned to become such a free and swift strongman.
When the carriage Gauss was riding reached the vicinity of Bitter Wormwood Town, it was already past noon the next day.
After being on the road for a whole day.
The inspection gates of Bitter Wormwood Town were stricter than those of Gray Rock Town.
The inbound caravans formed a long queue for inspection, taking an hour before the caravan Gauss was with got its turn.
As a passenger, he also had to undergo questioning and identity checks.
Luckily, presenting an Adventurer’s Badge saved him a lot of time.
Upon entering the town, Gauss immediately felt as if even the air carried a rich herbal fragrance.
On the street, mules carrying herbs had copper bells tied around their necks, the tinkling sounds startling sparrows, and the herbal caravan unloaded crates, moving them into shops.
Pharmacists with raven-blue cloaks hurried through alleys, while a girl sat in front of a shop leisurely grinding with a stone cup.
Visibly, at least sixty percent of the businesses on both sides of the road were engaged in herb-related trades.
Unlike the grayish Gray Rock Town, this was a lush green town.
"Big brother, do you want a Bitter Wormwood Town guidebook for only 20 Copper Coins? It contains all the information you need." A child unknowingly approached Gauss, raising a stack of booklets and feverishly promoting them.
With his sharp eyes, he seemed to instantly recognize Gauss as a tourist visiting the town for the first time.
"Guidebook?" Gauss looked skeptically at the booklet in the child’s hand.
He could afford 20 Copper Coins, but he was a bit doubtful whether the content was what he needed.