Chapter 160

Translator: Lizz

Proofreader: Xemul

This has become a kind of odd story, dont you think?

Loren muttered after finishing his interrogations, and the others all nodded to show their agreement .

After Loren had questioned all the surviving bandits, they had checked the information with Lapis map, and had found the approximate location of the bandits base . And that was what Loren mentioned as odd .

No matter how you look at it, this place is

Its where Tizona-chans ruin is .

Lapis and Gula, who were huddling over and checking the map, pointed to the same spot at the same time . That spot was at almost the same location as the unexplored ruin Tizona told them .

The bandits Loren interrogated didnt know what the HQ looked like, so they couldnt get any information about that . There were three possible reasons why the bandits HQ was at almost the same location as Tizonas ruin .

Its possible that the bandits HQ and the ruin are at different locations .

Lapis raised her index finger and said as if to organize her thoughts .

If there really is an unexplored ruin at this place, it wont be strange to set up a bandits base next to it . They can do illegal diggings as a side job .

People would only need one look to recognize an unexplored ruin even if they hadnt known of its existence before . If one had even just a little knowledge of how much fortune an unexplored ruin could hide, they wouldnt be able to leave it alone, even considering the danger of illegal digging .

In that case, the bandits wont let the treasures be taken out of the ruin .

Ruins were dangerous places by themselves . Aside from the guardians, all kinds of monsters might settle in there . Adding bandits to that mix, and the level of danger and troublesomeness just skyrocketed . Loren felt sickened just thought about it .

Another possibility is that the bandits have settled in the ruin .

Lapis raised her middle finger and said .

Tizona found it questionable:

Is it even possible?

Its unlikely for a ruin to be in pristine condition . If one part of it is damaged, monsters usually come in through that and settle inside . If monsters can live there, then so do bandits . Probably .

Everyone wondered how she could equate bandits with monsters, but considering how very annoying both were, it could indeed be said that they were similar .

Ruins guardians only attacked if you entered certain areas, so if you were careful, you could still live there .

But there are lots and lots of bandits, right? Can they all fit in one ruin?

Yea, so ders another possibility .

Lapis raised her ring finger and answered Gulas question:

The third possibility is, the bandits set their HQ up around the ruin .

Lapis believed this to be the most troublesome of all possibilities . It was a fusion of the first two possibilities, and it would take twice as much time to deal with .

This third theory would be unlikely to happen if the number of bandits at HQ was low . However, from what they gathered, there were quite a lot of them, so this theory was the most likely .

Are there really a few hundreds of them at their HQ?

I think its a lie .

All the interrogated bandits said the same, so its credibility was actually high . Loren just didnt want to believe it . Their HQ must be on the same scale as a town or a fort if they really had a few hundred there . A bandit gang that big was so unexpected that it was unbelievable .

And there was still another question: Where the hell did they gather that many people from? Assimilating other bandit gangs in the region wouldnt be enough . For this to be possible they had to assimilate some remote villages .

At this stage, itll be a big trouble if the kingdom doesnt step up, wont it?

Multiple depots with a hundred at each, and a few hundred at the HQ, in total, the member count of this bandit gang must have reached a thousand . The person who could command that many people must be quite a character, and it was difficult to imagine them as a nameless bandit .

If Im told that the head of this bandit gang is a spy from another country, Ill believe it .

Its actually the most desired scenario, isnt it?

Loren sighed . Rather than the act of some character that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, this being linked to subversive activities of another country was much more comprehensible .

Well, whether its an unnamed great man or a spy, what we have to do is still the same .

Do we rly have to? Its too troublesome .

We cant complete Tizonas job if we dont .

Lapis chided at displeased Gula and clapped her hand to gather everyones attention . When everyone had turned to her, she smiled like a blooming flower and said:

Alright, its time for a long-awaited house search .

Tizona and Gula had destroyed the depot quite splendidly, but they had been careful to not damage what shouldnt be damaged: the warehouses .

Valuable loot would be separated and transported to HQ, but they should be stored in the warehouses before sorting, along with less-valuable goods .

Cash should be at the main building where the bandits lived, but Loren didnt have much expectation for it . When it came to collecting valuable goods, the first things that came to mind would be jewelries and cash . Not to mention that they werent bulky, so they should have been transported to HQ already . Even so, with about a hundred bandits living at this depot, there should still be something left . They had gone through the trouble of destroying the depot, so might as well take as much as they can .

In the worst case, we can recruit some people from the town to help us with transporting .

Loren knew from the beginning that they wouldnt be able to carry everything out by themselves . He was considering following the bandits method: carrying only the valuable goods, and asked the townsfolk to help with the rest in exchange for some cash .

Lapis and I will check the warehouses . Gula and Tizona, you two search the main building .

Aighty, leavit to me .

Understood . Lets do that .

Under Lorens command, Gula and Tizona jogged towards the half-destroyed main building . Loren watched them go, then walked towards the warehouses with Lapis .

Lapis promptly ran around the heap of goods in the warehouse as soon as she entered . She returned to Loren after a while and said:

Ive guessed as much, but theres really not many good things here .

Loren hadnt looked very carefully himself, but it seemed like all that remained in this warehouse was food and the bandits equipment . All were bulky, and not very valuable .

Loren was beginning to think that this was a letdown when Lapis came back bringing a longsword and some daggers, together with a pair of gauntlets and a helmet .

These are the most valuable .

What on Earth are these?

From the first glance, they looked just like ordinary stuff sold at the stores around here . Loren picked them up, believing that they must be special if Lapis had brought them back, but he couldnt see anything outstanding in particular . They also didnt look very well-maintained . Loren looked closely at the conspicuous dirt marks .

Lapis answered with both hands on her waist:

These are infused with magic .

All of them?

Lapis hadnt found many, but these arms still made a decent number . A longsword cost 10 silver coins, and the price would be higher if it was infused with magic . The gauntlets and helmet were only parts of an armor, but they could still be sold for a reasonable amount . If they could find the complete set, they could earn gold coins selling them .

What are these doing in a bandits warehouse?

Well, maybe they found them in Tizonas ruin, and decided to use them .

Many treasures slept in a ruin . There were ancient currencies, jewels, objects made from rare materials, and magic-infused arms like the ones Lapis had found . If the bandits had entered one part of Tizonas ruin, then they were likely to scavenge it . The items Lapis had found might have come from that .

Or maybe they got them from attacking some caravans? We cant know for sure .

How much will these cost?

Even magic-infused items were varied in performance, so it wouldnt be strange if their values could be as different as heaven and earth . A dingy sword might be worth dozens of gold coins, while a dazzlingly decorated armor could be as valuable as an ordinary item . The ones found in this warehouse were plain and dingy, and they didnt look to be that valuable . Loren asked just in case, and Lapis folded her arms and looked at the items with a pondering expression:

Probably not that much, I think . Theyre just a bit sharper or tougher than ordinary items .

Lapis said while picking up two daggers from the pile . They were sheathed in plain leather scabbard, and looked just like ordinary daggers . Lapis gave the two seemingly-average daggers to Loren:

Only these two are a bit special . This is <Dragon Slayer>, and this is <Painful Addition> .

Loren took the two daggers, thinking how amazing Lapis was to be able to appraise items by her own eyes without having to visit an appraiser in some big city .

Both daggers looked very average, but Dragon Slayer had its pommel inset with a blue gem, while a red gem adorned Painful Addition at the same spot .

What did the person who made Dragon Slayer think when giving a dagger such a specification? I dont think theres anyone who can come close enough to use it .

The person probably did it as a hobby? These look interesting, so maybe you should keep them .

Dragons were the highest-ranked amongst the monsters in this world . The highest-ranked amongst the Dragon, the Ancient Dragons, which were said to have power rivaled to the Gods . No one knew whether the story was true or not though . Facing the Ancient Dragon generally meant death, and even a much lower ranked dragon would require several parties of silver-ranked adventurers working together to subjugate, but not before claiming multiple victims .

Using a dagger to fight such creatures was really a bad joke, but the name Dragon Slayer did have a nice ring to it . Loren planned to add the two daggers to his equipment if Tizona allowed it .