Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 171 The Scene of the Bloodbath

The scene that greeted him made even the well-traveled Zhang Yuan frown.

On the muddy ground to the right of the road ahead, seven overturned horse-drawn carriages lay scattered with various wooden boxes, barrels, and supplies.

What's disgusting are the few skeletons scattered haphazardly around this clutter. Yes, skeletons, but unlike the low-level undead or the dried-up remains of the previous dead lands, these are "fresh."

With his enhanced vision enhanced by the magic, Zhang Yuan was able to clearly see the dried bloodstains, pale fascia, and scattered bits of withered flesh on the remains. This condition, resembling gnawed ribs, so tragically revealed the brutal scene that had just unfolded there.

The prime suspect in this tragedy is naturally the local tyrant—the troll.

"There are traces of bloodshed ahead, so the alert level has been raised to the highest level."

The mage turned to the team members in the vehicle and spoke, then activated a mage armor and cast a cat-like grace on himself.

Upon hearing the alert order, everyone put on their helmets, drew their weapons, and cocked their crossbows, ready to jump out of the vehicle at any moment to deal with any possible attack.

While trolls, with their incredible regenerative abilities, are indeed a formidable opponent, the current squad is far more formidable than ever before.

Both Kegan and Bard, the two dwarven shield bearers, were clad in enchanted heavy armor, and their weapons and shields were also extraordinary. If they wanted to bite into these two smelly and hard dwarf rocks, they would have to think twice about whether their teeth were strong enough.

Münster, Rick, and Morty, these three tall and strong men, were armed to the teeth. As soon as Morty's Bloodlust spell was activated, they would transform into killing machines and charge into battle. Neither Münster's +2 two-handed sword nor Rick's adamantite mace were easy targets.

As a wandering swordswoman, Nancy wears the Shadow Armor contributed by her apprentice, and both of her longswords are high-quality enchanted weapons from Flame Fist. She is both agile and lethal. She may not be able to attack head-on, but if she finds an opportunity, her storm-like offensive will be no joke.

As for the old pervert?
This guy focused most of his energy on the skills that make a living as a thief; when it came to traps, lock picking, theft, and stealth, Lawrence would never even flinch.

Asking him to go up and fight with bayonets is practically forcing him to his death, isn't it? Besides, only an idiot would do something like using a skilled person as cannon fodder.

Zhang Yuan readily lent the invisibility ring to Lawrence and specifically instructed him to use it in conjunction with his fast, lightweight crossbow to hide and fire stray arrows. He was told that if threatened, he should simply hide and conceal himself, as survival was his primary task.

In this tense and solemn atmosphere, the Canaan team arrived at the scene of the bloodshed. After witnessing the gruesome scene up close, apart from Rick and Morty who remained completely unresponsive, the rest of the team members had rather gloomy expressions.

The feeling of "the rabbit dies, the fox grieves, and things of one's own kind are saddened" was stuck in his chest, unable to be vented for a while.

Among them, Kegan's face was the most unpleasant, and he kept muttering to himself things like "It's those beasts again" and "I knew it."

After calming down, a few team members stayed behind to keep watch, while the others found an open space nearby, dug a hole, and prepared to bury the victims.

As they prepared to fill the pit with soil, Zhang Yuan stopped them. Someone reached out and took out a tube of flaming glue, which was then evenly poured onto the bones in the pit. He flicked his finger to create a small flame, which then burst into flames.

Only after the bones had been burned to a grayish-white color did he order everyone to fill in the soil and bury them.

In this area frequented by wild beasts, once the stench left by the trolls dissipates, these skeletons, before they can even decay, will be dug up and feasted on by some animals. This act of kindness is not simply out of compassion or pity; while the shared human condition is certainly a factor, there's another reason...

Only the people themselves disappeared from the scene; all kinds of supplies and valuables were intact, just scattered around and somewhat messy.

The Canaanites accepted this generous gift with a clear conscience, considering it as burial expenses. As for digging a pit and setting a fire, was it really worth the price?
Well, dead people don't talk. The weather is really nice today.

Nancy and Kegan were particularly enthusiastic, but it was Lawrence who was the one who helped the most.

As a seasoned veteran, Lawrence's ability to identify and value various supplies was even more accurate than that of Kegan, who had been in the adventurer's group for many years. What's even more impressive is that this guy also has a knack for accounting. The way he picks up a quill pen and keeps accounts is just like that of a professional accountant.

Looking up and seeing his somewhat surprised teammates, Lawrence gave a seemingly modest smile:
"Having dealt with those underground black market guys so many times, what's so surprising about knowing a little bit about these things?"

No one questioned it further; they just took it seriously. In any case, having a reliable person to manage the accounts is never a bad thing.

After collecting and categorizing these scattered materials, their overall value was roughly estimated.

This wasn't some wealthy merchant. Just looking at the scale, you could tell that large caravans wouldn't only have seven carriages. The supply wagons alone occupied three of the carriages, totaling only four wagons of goods.

Caravans of this size probably couldn't afford a strong escort team; they were just taking a chance and ended up suffering a disaster.

Even a wrecked ship has its share of iron, and the wealth of a caravan was a delicious cake for the Canaanite team.

Zhang Yuan took the statistical list from the old pervert and glanced at it. He found that the main goods listed were leather and timber. According to Lawrence's analysis of the ledgers he found, this shipment was being transported from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep for trade.

Seeing this, someone was slightly disappointed. It's not that these things are worthless, but given their size, how much could they hold even with storage bags?
Ignoring the various furs and timbers, I finally saw something different.

"A small storage box with a magic lock."

Hmm? After flipping through the list and finding only some supplies and miscellaneous items, he finally handed the list back to Lawrence and said:

"Where is that storage box? Take me there."

Zhang Yuan walked over to the temporary storage area in a few steps, took a small box and examined it for a moment, only to find that he could not break the magic lock at the moment, so he could only wait until tomorrow to make a plan.

As for these inventoried supplies, Lawrence and Kegan appraised them and tried to select the more valuable items to put into storage bags. Even so, they still had to clear out some camping equipment to make enough space.

Fortunately, with the Leomon shelter, there was no need to carry so many tent parts around anymore; keeping some for emergencies was enough.

Thank you to Lazy Dormouse and reader 20210209202121099379836 for their monthly ticket support, and thank you to the Dark Side of Aiou for the donation. Thank you everyone!


(End of this chapter)