I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 297 A Little Interlude on the Road
The carriage moved slowly along the rugged road, its wheels creaking as they rolled over stones, causing the carriage to bounce up and down. The wooden planks of the carriage groaned as they were squeezed, as if telling the story of the vicissitudes of time.

This is a very common civilian four-wheeled carriage, pulled by two inferior horses, and driven by an old coachman with white hair. It is very common on the road to the province of Tavitsky, at the border of Baghnia and Minisia.

However, it is unusual to see several passengers on the carriage.

Ye Ao lay sprawled in the swaying carriage, looking like a salted fish thrown ashore. Every time the broken wooden carriage rolled over a stone, his messy hair would bounce three times.

His companion sitting next to him was a burly soldier with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed, and muttering to himself.

"This rickety carriage is shaking so badly my head is about to fall off."

He tried to maintain his balance, but with each bump of the carriage, he couldn't help but sway back and forth, to the point that Ye Aonai, sitting next to him, couldn't help but complain.

"Hey kid, can you sit up straight? Stop poking me with that hard thing, I'm not gay!"

"Damn it, I didn't mean it either... I was hitting you with the hilt of my sword, not your dick, what kind of dirty joke are you making here!?"

The two started arguing, while several other players watched the commotion from opposite and to the left and right of the swaying carriage. Outside the carriage, the wind howled, blowing the curtains and occasionally revealing glimpses of the scenery outside.

In the distance, the snow-capped mountains stand majestically, their peaks shimmering silver in the sunlight, while the nearby grasslands are lush and green, dotted with wildflowers, and occasionally a few small animals can be seen darting through the grass.

"Why do I feel like I've seen a similar scene before?"

One of the players suddenly said.

"A carriage, an old man, and those two bastards over there... Ah, the old man is rolling!?"

A burst of laughter erupted from the carriage, its joyful atmosphere making it stand out from the other cargo wagons in front and behind, attracting the attention of passersby and even Miniese soldiers.

Soon, an officer, with a long sword at his waist and four or five Minisian soldiers, came over.

He seemed to expertly signal the halberdiers to stop the carriage, then peered inside to look at the passengers.

The middle-aged officer with a mustache glanced at it, then immediately leaned back, his hand involuntarily resting on the hilt of his sword, a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face.

Clearly, the people sitting inside the carriage had frightened him.

The reason was that the men inside the carriage didn't look like honest, kind people at all. They were all burly and strong, reeking of blood, and each of them was armed, making them look even more ferocious than bandits who robbed and plundered.

Those are the barbarian bastards from Baghnia!
The officer drew his weapon, and the soldiers behind him tensed up and raised their weapons as well.

Hearing the commotion outside, Ye Aonai and the others jumped off the carriage one after another without a care in the world, holding their weapons and casually watching the tense Minieses.

As the atmosphere between the two sides grew increasingly tense, reaching a point where a conflict was imminent, Valentine, who was driving the carriage, sighed, jumped off the carriage, stood in front of both sides, and handed a medal and a small bag to the officer.

“We are from the Azalea Mercenary Group, and this is our pass.”

The officer took the item with suspicion, but as soon as his fingers touched the small bag, a smile immediately spread across his face.

Hearing the clanging sound, the sergeant in Minicia didn't need to open it to know that it contained at least ten silver coins and twice as many copper coins, which was no small sum for him... even if he had to share some with the other soldiers.

"The Azalea Mercenary Group? Are they Bagnians who make a living in Anker City?"

"Yes, they are Bagnya lads who are preparing to join the group."

The officer turned his head and glanced at the few menacing-looking men, muttering to himself.

"No wonder they were so fierce... (loudly) What did they do before?"

"Hey, they used to be soldiers in the Republic, but now the situation in Bagnia is bad, so they have to find another way to make a living."

The officer was somewhat skeptical; he felt that these men didn't seem like soldiers, but rather like bandits who wanted to rob and plunder.

However, since the "relationships had been taken care of," the officer didn't want to cause any more trouble. Earning money was always better than risking his life; the money was his own, but if he died, the compensation might not reach his family. So, he waved his hand and led his men onward. After watching the Minisian patrol disappear into the distance, Ye Aonai frowned.

"Isn't this Baghnia territory? How come there are Miniese soldiers here?"

"It has been occupied."

Valentine pointed forward.

"Not far ahead, there is a castle standing in the mountain pass, which is the exit from Bagnia to Minicia. During the Republic era, Minician troops were stationed there, and judging from the current situation, they should consider it as the territory of the Kingdom of Minicia."

"Pah, shameless. I'll have to talk to Chris later and have him send someone to clean up the garbage inside."

Valentine turned to look at Ye Aonai, whose matter-of-fact tone made it hard for him to tell whether the young man was bragging or telling the truth.

The carriage continued on its way, its wheels rolling over a muddy puddle. As the water splashed up, Ye Aonai noticed dark red marks mixed in with the mud.

"Look over there."

The player in the car pointed with his chin to the distant hillside, where several corpses wearing Bagnian leather armor were hanging on a wooden frame. Crows circled around them, and the arm of one of the corpses swayed gently in the wind, as if waving to them.

"What's going on? Deserters or bandits?"

"I'm not sure, it's hard to say."

Valentine, who was rushing to catch his train, answered without turning his head.

Do you know what our Bagnya specialties are?

One player made a guess out of curiosity.

"Hmm...wood?"

"No."

Valentine denied.

"fruit?"

Before Valentine could answer, the other players scoffed at him.

"How can there be delicious fruit in a place so poor that even birds don't poop?"

"What the hell is that?"

"A desperate outlaw who was so poor that all he had left was a knife."

Valentine solved the puzzle.

"Often, in Bagnia, 'merchant' and 'bandit' mean the same thing, just like 'free' and 'freedom' are the same word."

Valentine pointed to the carriage in front of him.

“Look at that car, there’s blood on the wheels. Maybe he did something on the road.”

"How could those Minisians let us go? I thought we'd have to fight before we could leave."

"I'm so proud and regretful," Ye Ao asked.

"That's because I paid the toll. Besides, the name of the Azalea Mercenary Team is quite useful in Minicia."

(End of this chapter)