Chapter 337: Chapter 337: Hidden Secret!

Chapter 337: Hidden Secret!

The might of forty True Martial realm veterans immediately showed through . Reminiscent of steel were the many True Martial halos; wherever they crossed, bandits would fall .

The raid was reaching its end, and they would soon be able to return victoriously . But at this moment, Wang Chong’s mind was filled with the final words of that Arab assassin .

Wang Chong had interrogated him without much expectation, but who knew that he would actually manage to obtain some useful information .

“What did that fellow say?”

The refreshing fragrance of lotus leaves drifted up from behind him . Bai Siling took one last glance at the Arab assassin before walking up to Wang Chong .

Compared to everything else, Bai Siling was far more interested in Wang Chong’s peculiar reaction .

“It seems like the Tibetans are up to something . ” Without hiding anything, Wang Chong told her what Ma Song had told him before, as well as the dying words of the Arab assassin .

That Arab assassin used to serve as a bodyguard of a wealthy Arab merchant, but on a journey to the Central Plains, the merchant party was raided by a bandit band, and the wealthy merchant died . By some stroke of luck, he managed to escape, thus surviving the ordeal .

But at the same time, he was left with nothing . In this foreign land, there was no kin or friend he could rely on, and even communication with the locals was an issue . Thus, the only local possible option left for him was to become a bandit .

He hoped that he could earn sufficient money to return back to his homeland .

But due to the language barrier, he ended up operating alone . In fear of the powerful armies of the royal court, he had to tread warily, so he hadn’t been able to make significant gains yet . But one day, he met a Tibetan man .

The other party promised him that as long as he followed orders, he would help him to return to the Abbasid Caliphate, and even help him arrange his redemption .

“Redemption?” Bai Siling asked in confusion .

“Un . While I described him as a bodyguard, he was actually a slave . To be clutching onto life despite the death of his master whom he had sworn to protect with his life, he could easily be sentenced to a death penalty back in the Caliphate . Even if he were to return, all that would be waiting for him is death,” Wang Chong replied .

The Abbasid Caliphate operated by a hierarchical structure far more rigid and stern then Great Tang, and slavery was commonplace there . As Bai Siling had never come into contact with that aspect of it before, she was unaware of it .

Hearing those words, Bai Siling fell into deep thought .

“Did he describe the appearance of that Tibetan man?”

“He couldn’t remember much of the characteristics of that person . All he recalled was that the other party had instructed him to limit his activities to this area and cause as much trouble to Great Tang as possible . In fact, he had never even met the group of bandits below, or interacted with them before,” Wang Chong replied .

“What are the Tibetans thinking? Is there any meaning to such actions?” Bai Siling fell into deep thought . The actions of the Tibetans were incomprehensible to her .

“While we don’t know their true motive, it is a fact that the royal court and His Majesty have always viewed the route to the west with great importance . If there is a spike in the activity of the bandits along this stretch, that would pose a great threat to Great Tang’s economic activities . Out of consideration for their safety, it is possible that the merchants from Abbasid Caliphate and Charax Spasinu might even avoid trading with Great Tang altogether .

“Ü-Tsang has always been antagonistic with Great Tang . Regardless of the reason, the breaking of relationships between Great Tang and the Western Regions could only be beneficial for them . The only thing I don’t understand is that the Tibetans should understand that the royal court will not give up on developing this road so easily . At the very most, they will only be causing slight disturbances to our goals, and that has little significance in the big picture . Besides, with the Western Protectorate Manor standing guard at the other end, it is unlikely for the bandits to gather sufficient strength to pose a significant threat . ” Wang Chong was bewildered .

The Silk Road to the west wasn’t a mere trade route, it was the livelihood of the Western Protectorate Manor, as well . It was the taxes from these merchants that provided them with sufficient money for their development .

With the eyes of the Western Protectorate Manor fixated on this road, the Tibetans should understand that this level of harassment wouldn’t pose any threat at all .

“That is hard to say . If the royal court stays out of this matter, considering the length of this road, it’ll be hard for the Western Protectorate Manor to maintain it by themselves . On this aspect, there is indeed a chance that the Tibetans just might succeed . But still, I am of the same opinion as you . Considering how they went through so much effort to rally the bandits, their goal couldn’t possibly be that simple,” Bai Siling replied contemplatively . Unknowingly, her thoughts had been brought into Wang Chong’s momentum .

“Bai Siling, do you know if there is any Tibetan envoy party to the capital in recent days?” Wang Chong suddenly asked .

“Are you joking with me? I have been cooped up in Longwei Training Camp all this while . If it’s something that even you don’t know of, how could I possibly know? When have you seen any ladies being allowed to interfere in politics?”

Bai Siling rolled her eyes as though she was looking at a fool .

“Hahaha, pardon me, I misspoke . ” Realizing her point, Wang Chong slapped his head and burst into laughter .

Soon, the battle came to an end . After clearing up the den, the forty Great Tang veteran cavalrymen left swiftly .

Not a single bandit of the entire den survived the raid .

And in this den, Wang Chong earned yet another two hundred thousand gold taels . That was equivalent to his gain from selling Wootz steel in a month .

Adding to his gains from before, he already had around seven hundred thousand gold taels . Even with Wang Chong’s fortune, he had to admit that dealing with the bandits did bring great returns .

Throughout the entire process, he didn’t even have to make a single move . All he had to do was to plan the operation and command the troops, and the gold taels rolled in endlessly .

Silk Road was indeed overflowing with money for even the bandits to amass such great wealth!

Regardless of which time-space continuum he was in, the Silk Road had always been associated with great wealth . Just by clearing a handful of bandits, he had already earned himself a fortune of several hundred thousand gold taels . Furthermore, this was just a small drop of the huge ocean .

Through this, one could get a rough glimpse into the astounding fortune flowing through the Silk Road .

And in truth, along this road, the bandits weren’t the true threat . After all, only a very small portion of these bandits had reached True Martial realm .

The real threat came from those highly mobile and powerful highwaymen .

This was also the main reason why the royal court assigned Wang Chong cavalrymen and not foot soldiers . The highwaymen were far stronger than the bandits in the area, and at the same time, they were far wealthier as well .

Wang Chong was already starting to look forward to how much he could earn from those highwaymen . Going by the current situation, it seemed like it wouldn’t be a trouble even if he were to expand his fortress by one fold .

Going westward, Wang Chong’s fortune slowly piled up .

In truth, when Bai Siling first heard that Wang Chong would share a portion of the fortune with her, she took it as a joke .

After all, how could the Bai Clan possibly be lacking money?

Even the wealthiest of clans in the capital could hardly compare with the Bai Clan . It was just that the Bai Clan tended to maintain a low profile so as to keep out of public eye .

However, Bai Siling soon realized that Wang Chong meant his words . In just a few days, she had already obtained three hundred thousand gold taels from Wang Chong, and it was still increasing .

As wealthy as the Bai Clan was, three hundred thousand gold taels was still not a sum they could simply neglect .

Despite being the daughter of the Bai Clan’s main family, Bai Siling had never seen anyone amass such a huge amount of wealth in a few short days .

This was more than several years of her allowance .

Considering Bai Siling was able to earn this sum of money despite only playing an auxiliary role, Wang Chong’s income had to be even more than that . Thus, she had no intentions of standing on ceremony with him .

On the other side, Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu also managed to make some gains . While the fortune they had amassed was humble in comparison to Wang Chong and Bai Siling’s, it was still substantial . At the very least, it far surpassed the typical allowance they would receive from their clan .

Thus, they were filled with drive as well!

As the commander of this operation, Lieutenant Zhang Lin was also glad to see the bandits being eradicated .

If this were to go on, Wang Chong and the others would obtain a staggering fortune . However, things weren’t as simple as it seemed on the surface .

The days Wang Chong and the others spent clearing away the bandits had brought about an unexpected situation .

——

“Come at me together!”

At a mountain post several hundred li from where Wang Chong and the others were, an eight chi tall (2 . 6m) brawny figure stood mightily . Raising his bulging arms, he beckoned to the group before him .

Boom!

Halos burst in the surroundings, and eight True Martial realm experts charged forward at the speed of lightning to strike at the huge man .

Klang!

Eight raging Stellar Energies fell on that man’s body, but a metallic sound echoed instead . It seemed as though what they had struck was not a body made out of flesh and blood, but one forged of steel .

That incredible rebound not only intercepted the offense from the eight True Martial realm experts, it also dissipated the Stellar Energies that they had gathered .

In the instant that their Stellar Energies were dissipated, if one were to pay careful notice, one would be able to see the faint silhouette of a massive black suit of chainmail forged of Stellar Energy wrapped around that big man .

“Again!” that brawny figure laughed majestically .