I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 127 The Unethical Rebels (Part )
Marlowe now faces a math problem.

That is, when a fuse that may be three meters long or even shorter is ignited, how long will it take for it to burn into the gunpowder barrel?
Well, maybe it’s not a math problem, it’s a gambling problem.

Marlowe didn't dare to take the risk. When he saw the rebels throw a torch onto the carriage, he turned around and ran away with his halberd soldiers, cursing.

After running a long way and three minutes later, Marlowe inadvertently turned his head back. At the same time as a strong light flashed, a loud bang like muffled thunder exploded, and the sound wave and air wave shook the ground.

In the flames, the carriage, along with wood chips, gravel and unburned gunpowder particles, turned into sharp fragments, drawing countless charred parabolas in the smoke.

During the explosion, a thick column of gray-white smoke rose into the sky, with a sulfur-smelling indigo-colored poisonous cloud swirling inside, like a giant python entwined in flames and spiraling upward.

The smoke quickly spread into a mushroom-shaped cloud that covered the sky, with sporadic secondary explosions occurring from time to time, and ghostly green flashes like will-o'-the-wisp blooming deep in the smoke.

Such a scene was extremely spectacular and blocked Marlowe's way for more than ten minutes. After the black powder exploded and burned completely, he led his men to continue running forward to chase the fleeing cavalry.

"Chase them! Their horses are loaded with gunpowder and they won't be able to run far. We must chase them!"

While Marlow was encouraging his subordinates, he also sent people into East Birchwood Town and forcibly requisitioned more than a dozen riding horses in the town. He asked the thinner halberd soldiers who had also ridden horses to take off their plate chain mail, mount their horses and become mounted infantry to chase after them.

"You don't need to kill the enemy, just follow them from a distance and make sure they stay within your sight.

Don't be afraid. Although they have many horses, there are only twenty real rebels, not more than you. If they charge towards you, just lead them back."

Marlowe's plan was very good. He just needed to let the mounted infantry follow the enemy. The latter had so many horses that the horse hoof prints would not disappear. The mounted infantry only needed to follow from a distance and maintain their presence.

However, as the chase continued, by dusk, the cavalry and infantry in front sent someone back to tell Marlowe that they had lost him.

"What!?"

Marlowe was furious. He hurried forward and chased after them. Then, guided by the mounted infantry, he found that the enemy's horse hoof prints disappeared beside a small river.

It was obvious that the enemy was using the river water as cover to eliminate the horseshoe prints.

Marlowe now faces a decision… should the enemy go upstream or downstream.

Marlowe thought for a moment and made a decision.

"Chase them downstream. There are snow-capped mountains upstream and villages and towns downstream. They must be running to where there are people!"

……

"Brother, I have a question."

"What's the problem?"

"Why don't we go back and deal with those NPCs? There aren't that many of them, only about 70 or 80."

Faced with his companions' questions, Home Alone, who was riding a horse along the stream, rolled his eyes.

"They are halberdiers. It doesn't matter if you lose your life, but what about our horses? Are you going to give them to the enemy?"

"What should we do? They're following us all the time, and it's no use for us to keep running."

"Fuck, let's find a conspicuous place and bury all the gunpowder barrels tonight. Tomorrow, we'll be on the road lightly and run fast. They won't be able to catch up with us."

Home Alone made the decision and no one else had any objection.

Then that night, the player spent more than an hour digging and filling the hole, found a forest with less wind to rest for the night, and then rode on horseback in the early morning.

This time, the player finally succeeded in shaking off the Republic infantrymen hanging behind him.

However, doing so also leads to a problem.

Home Alone and the others are lost.

Although it was a bit strange and other veteran players would laugh at them if they told others about it, the twenty or so players in the raiding team really didn't know where they were.

The small map only shows the places they have been to, and the place where Home Alone is now is obviously one they have never been to.

On the small map, only the way back is bright, and other places are shrouded in the fog of war. They know which direction Duoluo Town is, but the question is which way to take?
This is no joke. In the mountains, even if you're heading in the right direction, if you're not taking the right path, you'll find yourself getting further and further away from your destination. "What should I do?"

"What can we do? Let's find some place with people to ask for directions. We also need to get some food for the horses. They're almost out of rations... It doesn't matter if we starve to death, but we can't let our babies go hungry."

So, one day at noon, a small town called Xihuamu Town was unlucky and suddenly suffered a disaster. More than 20 cavalrymen rushed into the town and hacked to death the mayor and more than a dozen people including the town militia.

Then, out of habit, Home Alone took his men to rob the most beautiful house in the town, which was obviously the mayor's house. He also took his men to open the town's granary.

Home Alone didn't burn the granary because he saw many skinny children and women wandering on the streets of the town, and guessed that the locals probably had rarely had a full meal.

It is shameful to waste food, so before leaving, Home Alone asked people to shout back and forth on the street.

"The King of the Great West with the Red Flag is here. Food and drink are free. Come to the granary and get some food!"

The players shouted and ran away, without thinking about the consequences of their actions... It was just an impromptu thing, so who cares?

But after running out for a while, someone suddenly remembered something.

"Hey guys, did anyone ask for directions?"

"Ah, did you ask?"

"No, I thought you asked... Did the little brat ask?"

"What? No, didn't you forbid me to lead the way? I didn't ask."

"Fuck, what should I do? Turn back?"

"No, don't look back. It's embarrassing. Keep walking down the road and ask at the next place."

"Let's go, let's go."

In this way, the player continued to run to the next place, running for three or four days, passing through five villages and two towns.

Whether entering a village or attacking a town, what players have to do is to find the most luxurious house, kill the guys inside who don't look like poor people, then open the granary, take away two days' worth of food, and then go to the streets to shout and leave.

At this time, the player also remembered to ask people, but he didn't know whether it was because the locals were uneducated or the player had an accent. As he asked and walked, the Duoluo Town on the small map seemed far away and near.

At the same time, the players' magical march also made Marlowe and the halberd players following behind breathless and confused.

Why are these rebels moving so strangely?

It walked east in the morning, ran south in the afternoon, and went east again in the evening.

In three days they circled Oncandra, wreaking havoc on the villages and towns near the big city.

This made Marlowe very conflicted. The enemy was traveling so fast that it was too hard for him and his men to chase them. It seemed that he could catch up, but it also seemed that he had no chance.

As they ran, the halberd bearers under his command protested to Marlowe and said they didn't want to chase him anymore.

"Don't give up! The enemy is right in front of us. If we keep trying, we can catch up..."

Just as Marlow was encouraging the morale of the halberdiers and asking them to continue their march, a messenger on horseback finally found him and brought bad news.

"My lord, the Quartermaster Castle is on fire, and the armory is burned down!"

"What!?"

Marlowe took a deep breath. No matter what the reason was, his absence from the quartermaster's office meant that he would bear the greatest responsibility for the burning of the armory.

At this moment, Marlowe clearly realized that he had no way out. He could either return to Oncandra, stand trial by the governor, and then go home to eat his own rice, or he could take a gamble alone, lead the team to chase after them, eliminate the rebels, and obtain evidence of foreign intervention.

"Brothers, check and chase them, kill those rebels. I will reward you with 100 silver coins for every one you kill!"

(End of this chapter)