Chapter 186: What Now?

  Brown climbed out of the mud pit and looked through the fe the cart drivers who were arriving oer another, his face suddenly turniremely grim.

  "Hurry up a us in, Rick, I see you! Opee quickly!"

  "Help us! We don’t even want our pay, just opee!"

  "The Thorn Mert Guild sent us over, and now the murlocs are chasing us again! Opee quickly!"

  "Little John, I know you're inside! Opee for me!"

  "The murlocs are ing..."

  "..."

  He never expected that Bay Territory, which had struck first, would let these defenseless cart drivers go.

  They didn’t kill them to vent their anger and throw the bodies into the s to cover it up.

  Nor did they capture them as hostages tain with the Carlisle family or turn them into sves.

  Instead, they maliciously sent them straight to the camp.

  The camp already had more than 5,000 people, with about a week’s worth of supplies stored.

  The transport team delivered supplies every three days, and even in the case of an act, the camp could hold out until the supply team arrived.

  Now, it was the third day, and there were only four days of supplies left in the camp.

  If they took in nearly 1,700 more cart drivers, the supplies would only st for three days for the whole camp.

  With Bay Territory watg them so closely, it was certain they would bloy reinforts or supply teams.

  By then, the camp would be out of food and water!

  But if they didn’t let the cart drivers in, the soldiers, who had retives and friends among them, would certainly be upset.

  If a riot broke out, they might colpse on their own before Bay Territory even unched an attack.

  "Using devious methods to mobilize the murlocs for an attad seize all the supplies."

  "Then turning the defenseless cart drivers into burdens and dumping them on the camp."

  "It seems that Bay Territory has already prepared for the sequences."

  "If the camp strikes back, they will definitely fall into a trap, and by initiating an attack, they would be at a disadvantage acc to the rules."

  "But if we do nothing, Bay Territory just wait and starve them out without lifting a finger!"

  "Unless, while we still have some food and resources left, we flee the camp with everyone, handing over the ruins we’re about to excavate!"

  "Ruthless! ing!"

  The more clearly Brown thought about it, the uglier his face became.

  Seeing the soldiers around him start to grow anxious, Hawk frowned and leaned in to whisper through gritted teeth:

  "How about we gather our forow, make the first move, and wipe out Bay Territory's transport team…"

  Hawk’s idea was simple.

  Even though Bay Territory hadn’t left much evidence, ohe fighting started, nothing would be clear-cut anymore.

  In the end, it would e down tth!

  Hawk had been through this before, and the Carlisle family were no saints!

  Besides, if both sides fought, regardless of the oute, as a high-ranking knight, his life wouldn’t be in danger.

  If they lost, the most they’d have to do is pay some pensation, which would cover up his failure and prevent his mission from being seen as a failure.

  If they won, it would be eveer. Not only would they recover their losses, but they could also profit greatly.

  Hawk khe strength of the Carlisle family well, and he believed the ces of winning were high.

  Low risk, high reward—why not take a gamble?

  Hearing this, Brown instinctively frowned.

  He was highly suspicious that Bay Territory, which had pnned so carefully, would leave su obvious fw. There must be a trap!

  Subsciously biting his lip, Brown ultimately couldn’t let his selfish desires lead the entire camp into Bay Territory’s trap.

  This camp was far too important and had to be preserved at all costs!

  If he held the camp, at worst, the family would think he cked strong leadership, but they wouldn’t punish him too severely.

  If he provoked a flict with Bay Territory, causing the loss of the camp and the ruins, the sequences would be dire!

  Brown chose to trust the family!

  "Sigh, opee ahem in."

  Brown’s frustrated voice sounded, and the cart drivers gathered outside the camp cheered.

  As the mud-covered figures poured into the camp, Hawk’s face darkened, aurned away in silence.

  In the croair of sinister eyes withis se and slowly withdrew their gaze, following Hawk as he left.

  Seeing the murlocs emerging from the mist, Brown instinctively frowned and ordered the gates to be locked tightly. He then issued ands to ration food and water before retreating into his tent.

  He o tact the family as soon as possible to find out their pns so that he could make the move.

  .........

  About a kilometer away from the camp, the Thorn Mert Guild, which had been waiting for some time, slowly resumed their journey.

  They would rest for the night at Murloc Castle and unload their supplies.

  Then they would take more supplies and recruited refugees to Bay Territory.

  At some point, Matthew had slipped into the caravan and received the test intelligence from Adam Smith.

  Gripping the hilt of his sword, Adam Smith coldly stared out at the mist and clicked his tongue in frustration, saying:

  "Excluding the destroyed Sweetwater Town, the Carlisle family trols one vist and three barons."

  "The private army ierritory numbers 3,000, and they’ve recruited around 12,000 new soldiers."

  "However, the Carlisle family doesn't have direand over these soldiers, as they are to be sent to Blood Fortress as auxiliary troops!"

  "Still, there’s a ce they’ll bring the soldiers to the battlefield."

  "After all, they easily find a reason..."

  "The Carlisle family currently has eight high-ranking professionals who fight."

  "Four warriors, one knight, and three high-level spellcasters, including Vist Carlisle Bach, who is a mid-level arist!"

  "Acc to the Assassin's Guild, the Carlisle family has secretly hired more than 200 adventurers, intending to send them to the Misty S, clearly targeting Bay Territory…"

  Adam Smith paused, his expression growing more serious. He pointed outside the window aated before saying:

  "I suspect there are already Carlisle family spies among the people outside…"

  Matthew nodded in agreement and, recalling the murloc camp's guardian golems, calmly added:

  "Gather all the adventurers and duct a thh check."

  "When the refugees reach Bay Town, we’ll ihem as well."

  Adam Smith became more cautious in respoo the lord's unpromising stance, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked:

  "The Carlisle family suffered a big loss; will they retaliate against us?"

  Matthew didn’t answer directly but instead spoke a few cryptic words:

  "They recruit adventurers; why ’t we?"

  "When you return, tinue recruiting people, but don’t anize any more supply caravans. At the same time, show others our attitude."

  "ime we meet, I want more detailed information on the Carlisle family!"

  "In the end, it’s not a matter of whether they will strike at us!"

  "It’s a matter of when we’ll take care of them!"

  FAL