Chapter 290 - Trade Caravan That Returned In Shock
That’s right, these merchants really couldn’t figure it out.
The main force formed by the fearless knight attendants was completely annihilated in front of their eyes, turning into corpses littered on the ground, as well as pitiful captives that were trampled on their dignity and miserably beaten.
They didn’t know that this was the mature tactical system of the Continent of Caradia.
Cavalry formed by a group of knights attendants.
When they were in a dense traditional formation, they had the strongest attack effect!
For example, the Kingdom of Swadia had once suffered such a loss.
This was because the traditional battle tactics of the iron cavalry of Swadia were like this. Once on the plains, they worked together with footmen and crossbowmen and were almost invincible, destroying all the enemies.
But in the Kujit grassland, they suffered a great loss.
The light-armored Kujit bow cavalry was responsible for luring and attacking, causing the formation of the traditional cavalry to be scattered in the pursuit.
And just when the formation could not be restored and had completely scattered, the final attack arrived.
The Kujit cavalry responsible for close combat showed up.
The dense formation of the traditional charging formation easily defeated the cavalry that was already scattered in the formation. In this battle of pursuing and being pursued, the Kujit cavalry became the victor, killing the individual cavalry that could not resist.
Even if there were cavalry that could escape, they would not be able to escape from the archers and cavalry that were dressed in light clothes and had fast horses and sharp arrows.
Simply using the horizontal push mode of charging side by side was not completely suitable for such a vast area.
Moreover, these 600 knight attendants were arrogant.
They were destined to die!
“Boys, tie them all up and collect the spoils of war!”
Rolf shouted and got the desert bandits to jump off the desert horses. He used linen ropes to throw away the weapons and captured all the knights and servants who were holding their heads in their hands.
Countless weapons and armors were seized. Warhorses and dead bodies were gathered together.
Weapons, armors, and living warhorses could be kept and sold.
As for the dead bodies of warhorses, they could be used as food for the captives. They could also be smeared with table salt and made into dried meat in the shade. They could be used as food.
Actually, eating the horse meat was not a huge psychological burden for them.
They could eat anything they could live on.
The cruel war situation on the Continent of Caradia had trained these soldiers to be as terrifying as butchers.
This included those corpses that had been turned into hedgehogs by the short javelins and skewered into candied haws by the long lances. Their bodies were covered in blood and the smell of blood was extremely strong. They did not feel uncomfortable at all and casually arranged themselves into long rows and threw them to the side.
As for their own short javelins, this was a standard weapon that could not be given up.
As long as they looked intact, they would pull them out from the corpses and casually wipe them with a linen cloth before putting them back into their backpacks.
As for the dirty blood and the like, they did not really care.
At worst, they could go back and wash up properly.
Seeing that the battle situation had calmed down, the job of cleaning up the battlefield was also taken care of by the desert bandits. After Rolf had finished making the arrangements, he brought the Sarrandian horsemen back with him. All of them were in high spirits, and they looked as if they had returned triumphantly.
They were indeed the victors. There was no way to refute this.
The entire posthouse was completely silent.
It was as if if Rolf and the others had been disturbed, they would be severely punished.
The guards and helpers of the trade caravan who had been watching the battle in a panic, ready to escape at any time, now subconsciously stopped what they were doing. They stared blankly at Rolf and the others returning triumphantly, their eyes filled with fear.
This was a fear that did not exist in the past.
Originally, they only had fear of Rolf daring to kill. They absolutely did not have the respect out of the fear!
The glory brought by the victor.
Even on the top of the posthouse, the eyes of the merchants, who were staring blankly at all of this, were filled with respect and shock, especially when they looked at Kant. Each and every one of them recalled the information they had heard before, and they were all deep in thought.
They could see everything from the top of the posthouse.
They could clearly see how to win and how to defeat the enemy.
At the same time, they subconsciously looked at the remaining 10 Swadian royal knights by Kant’s side.
Then, they turned their heads to look at the stairwell. The three royal knights who were covered in blood who were following Rolf up quickly gulped and immediately wore a humble and subservient smile.
These people might be grand knights who had grasped extraordinary powers.
Although they guessed that it was impossible for all of them to grasp it, they were certain that the three of them had grasped the extraordinary power!
They were just a group of merchants.
They were the first ones to scout the way and were considered abandoned merchants.
The reason why they could come here now was because they were close and could react quickly. That was why they were sent by the various noble families to deal with Kant. Even if there were any accidents, they would not feel distressed.
That was why they understood that their so-called backers were not that reliable.
To Kant, to Rolf, and to these three extraordinary grand knights, it was right to maintain the deepest deference.
This was their survival principle.
However, these merchants could not imagine that the 13 Swadian royal knights in front of them were really grand knights who had grasped extraordinary powers. Moreover, they were at the peak of grand knights. If Kant wanted to, he could even confer more royal knights. Then, the number of Kant’s grand knight would be more than the entire Dukedom of Leo and the entire Silver Plate Kingdom combined!
Perhaps these merchants had already made some guesses in their hearts when they saw that the equipment of these royal knights were all plate armor. However, they would not take such guesses seriously. They would just give up after thinking about it once.
After all, 13 extraordinary grand knights were enough to influence the political situation of the Dukedom of Leo.
If this Baron Kant really had them…
Why would he be exiled to the Nahrin Desert, which had such a tragic environment? After all, they did not discover any salt mines at that time!
They had a myriad of thoughts.
However, the humbleness on their faces was even more intense.
Kant shook the sugar water in his silver cup. His back was still facing them as he said calmly, “It’s over.”
“Yes, it’s over.”
Rolf was the first to report, “The enemy has lost 284 people and captured 316 people.”
“Very good. What about our losses?”, Kant asked.
“We have no casualties. Only a few people are seriously injured. They will recover after treatment.”, Rolf replied.
“Mm.”, Kant nodded.
The conversation ended. It was just a simple report of the results of the battle.
However, the merchants behind them subconsciously swallowed their saliva and looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with shock.
Seeing was one thing, but hearing it was another.
They saw Rolf destroy those knight attendants with ease, but they did not expect that they did not even have a cavalry that died in battle. They easily obtained such a victory. It was a huge victory, an epic-level victory!
It did not conform to their original views at all.
But this happened.
An epic-level victory was not enough. It could only be considered a huge victory.
If it really was an epic victory, Kant would have already obtained the glory and reputation he deserved.
After all, with Kant’s development, it would become increasingly difficult to obtain an epic victory with more victories and fewer victories. Unless there were tens of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of large-scale battle groups, and millions of large-scale battle groups. Only then, one might obtain an epic victory comment.
But at the moment, it was still a little difficult.
Of course, Kant did not care. As long as they won, it was the right thing to do. This was already a very good result.
He turned around slightly.
Kant finally turned around to look at these merchants who had different expressions, but were all bowing respectfully.
The corners of his mouth revealed a mocking smile. “Everyone, what do you all think of this banquet?”
The merchants looked at each other.
However, they quickly reacted.
“Your lordship, you are truly powerful. How could those mounted bandits be your match!”
“This is an excellent banquet, your lordship. You have earned our respect!”
The merchants all bent down and praised him.
However, Kant sneered. He did not have the slightest interest in such flattery. Instead, he looked at these merchants and said indifferently, “Then, shall we continue to set the rules for the future trade of table salt?”
“No need! No need! Your lordship! This is not necessary! It’s all up to you!”
“Your lordship, it’s up to you. We’re just waiting for the distribution!”
The merchants broke out in cold sweat.
Their faces and backs were drenched. They trembled as they bowed to Kant.
Obviously, they also realized that their objection at that time was now extremely laughable. Especially Rolf, who had returned with the power of victory. He was holding his scimitar and looking at them coldly. He was even more timid.
“Ha.”, Kant laughed lightly, his face full of mockery.
But he didn’t say anything more, he waved his hand to Rolf and arranged, “Each bag of fine white salt costs 100 great silver coins. If you want to use the golden eagle to pay, then according to the black market price, 150 great silver coins can be exchanged for one golden eagle. I don’t want these merchants to think that I’m a stingy miser.”
“Understood. Who would think that Lord Kant would be a stingy miser?”, Rolf nodded. At the same time, he looked at these merchants coldly and revealed a ferocious smile. “Is that right, everyone?”
“Yes, yes! Your lordship is absolutely benevolent!”
The merchants bowed their heads one after another, cold sweat dripping down their faces.
They were in a passive position, so they had no right to refute.
Neither did they dare to.
“I’ll leave it to you, Rolf.”
Kant directly led the royal knights down the stairs and returned to his room on the second floor.
After he left, these merchants went downstairs to prepare the golden eagle and the great silver coins.
Rolf sat at the long table in the hall on the first floor and watched as these merchants dragged sacks of great silver coins and the golden eagle over. More than 30 merchants easily divided up the 400 sacks of fine silvery salt.
In order to show their obedience, they even gave Kant a few carts of supplies that they brought.
They were all small things.
Iron tools, farm tools, furs, and the like were not worth much.
Profits were useless compared to table salt!
In fact, it was also because these merchants did not dare to stay for long. After all, they had just experienced a cruel battle. These merchants were already scared out of their wits. They had to return to their own territory as soon as possible. Only when they saw their backers could they live comfortably.
Otherwise, if they encountered another group of horse bandits or bandit groups raised by the enemy noble, their lives would be in danger.
It was the nature of merchants to seek benefits and avoid harm.
Soon, the central posthouse regained its peace.
The merchants all left, leaving behind only the desert bandits who had finished cleaning up the battlefield. After a short rest, they continued to spread out into small teams of cavalry patrols, patrolling the surrounding desert area.
However, the noble families behind the merchants were destined to be unable to remain calm.
Kant had such power.
But it was completely out of their expectations!