Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 221 Prologue
The gang leader, "Pot Circle" Dixon, has been living a very comfortable life lately because he has gained a group of very fierce subordinates.

Because of the heavy taxes, the newly reclaimed land was originally a hotbed of banditry.

The rampant extortion by the Red Rose and Blue Rose gangs has made it incredibly easy for them to expand their ranks.

If you give them a bite to eat, there will be plenty of desperate people coming to seek refuge with you.

But doing that would only attract some clumsy farmers.

The new recruits under Guo Quan are all ruthless characters.

Not only are they efficient and quick at their work, but they also rarely concern themselves with unrelated matters.

Most importantly, each of them had a warhorse and was very skilled with sabers.

"A gang with cavalry, wow," Guo Quan thought smugly. "They're one of a kind even in the entire newly reclaimed land, aren't they?"

With his new henchmen, Guoquan easily swallowed up another gang of bandits in the vicinity.

Now only the "Pot Circle Dixon" family remains in this forest, and he has finally achieved his long-held professional pursuit: a monopoly.

The only downside was that the new subordinates only listened to one of the boys named "Pierre".

Even his orders as the boss had to be relayed through that kid a second time.

"We need to find a way to get rid of that kid," Guo Quan thought to himself. "We'll completely wipe out this group."

"Boss! Something terrible has happened!"

One of his men came running back, tumbling and shouting, "A really powerful guy is coming! He's really powerful!"

He slapped the man across the face with the pot ring, knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell are you panicking about?" Guo Quan cursed viciously. "Anyone who dares to walk around outside these days is tough as nails."

War led to rampant banditry, which brought commercial activity between towns to a near standstill.

There were hardly any ordinary pedestrians on the road, and caravans had almost disappeared.

Travelers who still dare to venture out are either exceptionally brave or confident in their abilities; most possess both qualities.

This led to an increasingly bleak business for potstickers.

However, he wasn't too worried. If he couldn't rob passersby, he could still rob farms.

Now that his gang has this formidable bandit leader, and with a few more men recruited, dealing with a small village of a few dozen households will be a piece of cake.

Upon hearing his subordinates say that the newcomer was very powerful, Guo Quan's eyes lit up and a plan came to mind.

"Pierre?" Pot Ring called out in the camp, searching, "Where's Pierre?" No rider paid him any attention; everyone was busy with their own things.

This made Pot Circle even angrier, and he yelled, "Pierre!"

A scruffy-bearded young man crawled out of the tent, looked sleepily at the pot ring, and casually replied, "Here."

"There's a horseman coming from ahead." Guo Quan ordered, "Go and cut off his escape route. I'll take some men and block his way."

Pierre responded and reached for his clothes.

The other riders seemed to have something to say, but Pierre simply shook his head.

Guoquan watched enviously as Pierre mounted his horse, sword in hand, and galloped towards the forest path.

Warhorses are too expensive, and raising them is too troublesome.

Even Guoquan, the leader, didn't ride a tall horse; he only had a small Herd horse.

Seeing Pierre ride away, Guo Quan quickly called for his other men to follow.

On the roadside, he saw the guy his subordinate had described as "really amazing".

At first glance, Guo Quan could tell that he was a dangerous person.

The other person was riding a horse, walking at a leisurely pace.

He looked young, had a well-proportioned figure, and a faint white mark on his forehead.

A horse-headed walking stick was tucked into the saddlebag, and a sword was tucked into the saddlebag on the other side.

Guo Quan's intuition told him that the other party was really dangerous, even more dangerous than Pierre and his gang of bandits combined.

But for the potstickers, the more dangerous the other party is, the better.

Guo Quan watched as Pierre approached the other man from behind, getting closer and closer. He wouldn't lose out if either of them died.

An accident happened.

Like a thunderclap in the forest, a voice echoed throughout the woods: "Pierre Gerardnovich! You've really gotten something out of you!"

Guo Quan stared in disbelief as Pierre dismounted and embraced the dangerous stranger.

"Damn it, this is bad." Guo Quan had only one thought.

As the saying goes: What is the meaning of death today? Starting a business is arduous, requiring countless battles. Now I go to the netherworld to summon my old comrades, with ten thousand banners to slay Yama, the King of Hell.

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(End of this chapter)