Chapter 74. To Retrieve the Wuguan (3)

"What do you mean the Zhengjia Merchant's convoy was attacked? And casualties? Why are our guards there?"

I closed the door so that the two inside couldn't see us, and asked Sima Yu, wondering what had happened. Sima Yu exclaimed, "Ah!"

"Come to think of it, you were on duty in Sichuan and wouldn't have known about the branch's affairs."

"Yes, what exactly happened?"

I had been on duty in the Sichuan branch for over two months and didn't know the current situation of our branch. Sima Yu nodded and said,

"Anyway, it's urgent, so let's talk on the way."

"Um... I understand."

I went inside for a moment to explain that I had to go to the guard agency immediately and left a message for Wei Zhiyan to come to the agency.

Wei Zhiyan nodded in agreement, and since Beigong Lin, who would be left alone, had nowhere to go, I told her to stay in my room.

'I'll have to find out what happened later.'

Could it be that I was caught with the ledger?

In any case, after telling them that, I put on my coat and immediately went out, running towards the branch with Sima Yu.

On the way, Sima Yu began to explain the situation.

"Originally, we were supposed to take over the Zhengjia Merchant's convoy protection from Juejian Sect after a one-year grace period."

"Yes, that was the plan."

It was still a few months before the one-year period would be up. Then, Sima Yu explained what had happened in the past two months.

"But since we would take over the handover without knowing how things work, Gang Biadou and his friend Baosonglin from Juejian Sect had some discussions."

"What kind of discussions?"

When I asked, Sima Yu extended a finger and said,

"Once a month, we would take over the convoy protection for Juejian Sect. In return, we would split the protection fees equally. So, over the past two months, we've been doing a trial run once a month."

"I see."

I nodded. It wasn't a bad agreement.

Of course, it would increase the burden on our branch, but when taking on a large business like convoy protection, it's better to do a trial run to avoid any issues.

"But yesterday, the convoy we sent out was attacked. I didn't get all the details, but apparently, bandits attacked."

"Bandits?"

Sima Yu frowned, looking regretful.

"Yes. I don't know the full story yet, but the bandits attacked, and most of the people on the convoy were either killed or injured. Sigh..."

Sima Yu shook his head and sighed. The current situation was indeed as chaotic as he described.

'The damage is too great.'

A typical guard agency branch consists of about 30 to 40 guards. With 17 casualties, that's about 50% of the branch's combat strength, which is a significant loss.

In the military, a 20% loss in combat strength is considered a total loss. Let alone a 50% loss...

I shook my head. This level of damage might even require considering the dissolution of the branch.

'...So, will our branch be dissolved?'

For a company to disappear while on leave... What a situation.

As I felt the world go dark, I asked Sima Yu,

"Who exactly died?"

I hoped it wasn't anyone I knew. Sima Yu replied,

"Oh, most of them weren't from our branch, so I don't know their names. There was a new recruit named Yongzai who joined recently, and a few others, I think..."

Not from our branch?

As Sima Yu trailed off, I turned and asked,

"Most of them weren't from our branch?"

"Yes. This time, due to training and leave, there weren't enough people to send, so almost everyone was from Taohu Branch. Mo Biadou must be going crazy."

Taohu Branch was the one we had sent on our first convoy a few months ago. According to Sima Yu, Taohu Branch had lost its backbone.

Mo Biadou probably didn't expect such a loss. I thought of his shiny head and felt a headache coming on.

'At least it's a relief.'

Though I shouldn't think this way about fellow Baiyun Guard Agency members, it was a relief that it wasn't people I knew.

I sighed in relief and continued running with him.

***

When we arrived at the branch, the atmosphere was in a DEFCON 2 fast pace state.

The guards were all on high alert, armed with their weapons, and Gang Biadou was giving orders to the mid-level guards with a stern face.

"You, check the number of the guards!"

"Yes! Understood."

I ran around to check if the guards had arrived correctly. If anyone was missing, I would send a messenger to bring them.

Yang Jinpo, who had arrived early, stood his disciples on standby and approached me with a tense face.

"What's going on, exactly? You just told me to come without any details..."

I didn't have much time to explain, so I waved him off and told him to take his place.

"They were attacked. Gang Biadou will brief everyone soon. Stay in your position and wait quietly."

"Understood. Sigh... This job is really eventful."

Yang Jinpo muttered. In fact, I felt the same way.

'Nothing goes smoothly.'

After about 30 minutes of running around, the assembly of all the guards was complete. I noticed that Wei Zhiyan had also arrived and was standing in her position.

Once everyone was assembled and the roll call was finished, Gang Biadou shouted,

"Listen up. The guards we sent to protect the Zhengjia Merchant's convoy were attacked by bandits, resulting in significant casualties."

Although I had been informed earlier, I was told that the injured had been sent to the doctor. Most were severely injured, with few minor injuries.

'...This is a serious situation.'

In modern times, it's already difficult for severely injured people to survive from stab wounds. In this era, it's even more challenging. It would be lucky if one in three survived.

Gang Biadou continued,

"From now on, the entire guard agency will be on a quasi-war footing. No one is to leave their post without permission, not even the porters!"

It might seem harsh to involve the porters, who are just laborers, in the martial conflict, but the porters have specific roles in such situations.

They need to prepare meals, stand guard, and perform various tasks, so they cannot be exempted from the war footing.

"Those I call out now will accompany me to the scene!"

Immediately, ten guards, including Guo Doushan and Wei Zhiyan, who were skilled in martial arts, were selected. Among the mid-level guards, only Sima Yu and I were exempt, not because of our skills but because we had specific roles.

Gang Biadou called us over and said,

"Sima Yu, you will take half of the remaining people to the Zhengjia Merchant's residence to strengthen the protection."

"Understood!"

The order to strengthen the protection at the Zhengjia Merchant's residence suggested that Gang Biadou suspected this might not be a simple bandit attack.

There hadn't been a bandit group of that size in the area since the Wujian Mountain Gang was eliminated.

'It might be targeting the Zhengjia Merchant's residence.'

It was a reasonable assumption. Sima Yu, bowing, answered Gang Biadou and immediately took some people to the Zhengjia Merchant's residence.

After Sima Yu left, Gang Biadou said to me,

"And you, guard this place with Mr. Bai."

"Understood. Don't worry, I'll guard it thoroughly."

If the base is breached, no matter how well you fight, it's useless. The base is that important. I bowed and answered, and Gang Biadou nodded heavily and said,

"Good. After everyone leaves, you'll be the only mid-level guard left here, so you need to assist Mr. Bai and protect the branch well. Manage the new recruits properly."

"Understood."

After leaving these instructions, Gang Biadou and Sima Yu set off. I watched them leave for a moment and then went to report the current situation to Bai Linghua.

Bai Linghua, with a tense expression, gave me instructions.

"Maximize the branch's defensive posture. Light as many torches as possible and place flags everywhere. There should be no gaps."

"Understood."

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