Don't move, it's a robbery!

After surveying the battlefield, Sir Bart broke out in a cold sweat, while Consul Ross, who had come with him, stared at a mangled corpse, trembling uncontrollably.

Before becoming consul, Ross had spent some time in the military camp, and the task of eradicating the Thorn Gang was originally his responsibility. If it weren't for his colleague's eagerness to steal the credit and his prior assurance to the city lord, securing a direct appointment, Ross himself would have been the one dead here.

Upon seeing Ross's condition, Sir Bart took the initiative to inquire. He turned to look at the survivors in the guard and, after a search, quickly found a fellow who still possessed full consciousness.

"What exactly happened here?"

The soldier being questioned was also trembling and did not answer after hearing Sir Bart's question.

Sir Bart knew that this was another pitiful wretch who had been scared out of his wits, but he had no intention of showing pity for him. Instead, he went up and slapped him twice to manually bring him back to consciousness.

"Tell me! What on earth happened here?!"

"I, him, monster! We ran, fired, and died..."

Sir Bart was somewhat annoyed and wanted to do it again, but Consul Ross stopped him, first calming him down before resuming his questioning.

With Ross's reassurance, the unfortunate guard finally regained some of his ability to speak, and through his halting description, Consul Ross and Sir Bart finally understood what had happened.

The guards' raid went smoothly at first, and many of the Thorn Gang's strongholds were taken down. However, the casino resisted unusually strongly. The accompanying governor felt that an important figure was being hidden there, so he deployed a large number of guards and even brought in a cannon.

As more and more guards arrived, the thugs in the casino gradually couldn't hold on any longer. One of them started begging for mercy and revealed that the Robin Hood was hiding there.

"The governor realized the danger and ordered us to retreat and switch to artillery bombardment. The first shot went smoothly, but we missed the monster. Just as we were about to fire the second shot, that monster... that monster..."

The guard seemed to recall something terrible and began to tremble again. It took the Consul of Ross a long time to comfort him before he was allowed to recount the story.

"He... he jumped straight out of the hole in the wall, then stomped on the cannon and killed the governor, and then... and then he said..."

"What did he say? What did he say?"

"He told us to continue... No! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Looking at the guard who had fallen into a state of madness again, Sir Bart couldn't help but click his tongue. He wanted to ask someone else, but looking around, this guy was already the one in the best mental state.

Frankly, Bart didn't believe the guard's words. Judging from the traces at the scene, the guard's tragic state was likely caused by the cannon exploding.

This isn't the first or second time this thing has exploded. Normally, when the army uses artillery, everyone except the gunners stays far away from the cannon. But these guards probably don't have that habit, and coupled with the terrain, they all gathered around the cannon, which led to them being wiped out in one fell swoop.

Governor Ross had a similar idea, so he went to ask other survivors, but their accounts were all pretty much the same, the only difference being that the way the rogue destroyed the cannon was slightly different.

For example, some people say it was kicked, some say it was punched, and some say it was broken by sitting on it.

Without exception, everyone said that they personally witnessed the thieves destroying the cannons, and that they were completely unharmed.

"......."*2

So, are we here to catch this monster?

Sir Bart and Consul Ross exchanged a glance, both seeing the fear in each other's eyes.

Or, we could just give a simple token gesture and then tell the city lord that we didn't catch them?

Okay, okay!

The two exchanged glances, and after confirming that the other was not going to be stubborn, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gentlemen, how's the investigation going? The city lord is still waiting."

Oh no! *2

Sir Bart and Consul Ross both turned to look at the newcomer, their faces darkening.

A troublesome fellow has arrived.

"When did it become your place to meddle in military affairs? What, you middleman, do you think you haven't extended your reach far enough?"

Sir Bart's sarcastic remarks did not anger the "broker"; on the contrary, he took the initiative to explain to him.

"This is merely an order from the city lord. I am only here to assist you two, providing you with intelligence and advice, and I will never interfere with your decisions. This is my guarantee."

"Really? Then I wonder, what brilliant ideas does the most astute broker in our city have? Are you going to teach us how to capture chivalrous thieves?"

"Of course not. I know my own limitations. Even Sir Bart couldn't do it, so how could I, a mere president of the Green Flag Society, possibly do it? However, if I were to offer a suggestion, I do have one. Of course, if neither of you is interested in hearing it, then just pretend it never happened."

Sir Bart and Consul Ross exchanged a glance, then asked together.

"What suggestion?"

"Before offering any advice, may I ask what the current situation is with the Thorn Gang?"

Sir Bart was somewhat displeased, but Consul Ross explained the situation first.

The leader of the Thorn Gang has been confirmed dead. His body is on the second floor of the casino. The unfortunate guy was smashed in half, and it is said that he screamed for a long time before finally dying. Most of the gang's key members have also been arrested, but they all claim to know nothing about the Robin Hood.

As for the thugs and henchmen below, they arrested some, killed some, and sent people to arrest many who weren't in the gang today, but they weren't sure how many they could catch.

"So, they were all abandoned by the chivalrous thieves?"

"Maybe. The bandit hasn't been in our city long, and he probably already made a deal with the leader of the Thorn Gang. But that guy was really unlucky and got blown to death by the cannon. I think that's why the bandit chose to attack the cannon. He probably felt that the cannon ruined his plans."

"Attack the artillery?"

Upon hearing the "broker's" question, Sir Bart once again launched into a sarcastic remark.

"Oh, it seems even our great broker has things he doesn't know. This is what they mean by 'even an old camel doesn't recognize a lake,' haha. Come here, you guard over there, tell our broker what happened before."

Another unfortunate guard was pulled up. After the guy finished his stammering explanation, the 'broker' nodded slightly and then offered his suggestion.

"My advice is that you'd better go to the prison cells and set up an ambush beforehand."

"A prison cell? What, is this place for some important person?"

The broker nodded and then began to explain.

"Don't you think the Thorn Gang's exposure was too deliberate? And when they were surrounded by guards, he could have easily had the Thorn Gang members prepare beforehand, and even had the ability to lead them to escape. But he so easily gave up such a huge asset. Don't you find that strange?"

"Is it possible that he simply doesn't care... No, if he really doesn't care, then he wouldn't need to specifically control the leader of the Thorn Gang, let alone actively show himself and confront the guards."

"It seems His Excellency the Consul has already figured it out."

"Yeah, he probably wants us to lock these people up in jail. After all, it's impossible for only the leader of the Thorn Gang to be associated with the Robin Hood. But what's his purpose in doing this? In jail... oh! So he's after those people!"

Consul Ross looked at the "broker" in disbelief, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Sir Bart, bewildered, kept looking back and forth between the two, unable to understand what they were talking about.

"Bart, do you remember? Recently, a lot of mercenaries have come to the city."

"Of course I remember. These people are of unknown origin and they're always causing trouble in the city."

"There are more than a hundred of them in total."

Sir Bart wanted to ask, even if there were a hundred or so people, so what? Even if you include these captured Thorn Gang thugs, there would only be about three hundred people. The soldiers in the city outnumbered them by more than four times.

But the "broker" didn't give him a chance to ask questions.

"In the arena, there are still thousands of slaves. They are in high spirits and willing to fight. The only thing they lack is experienced veterans."

"These mercenaries are all genuine veterans."