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Chapter 532: Chapter 434, Kill the Bandits_2 For these people who relied on plunder for survival, Fu Lei’s warning was anything but threatening; it was a joke to them. Hearing the bandits laugh, Fu Lei continued, “Tell me your intentions. You’ve come here more than once; surely, you’re not here just to sightsee.” “Oh, you think you can call the shots here? I think you’d better call your master instead,” the bandit leader continued. Fu Lei paused slightly, sensing a message from the Book of Lords. After checking, his expression became much calmer and he said, “I do have authority, so go ahead and state your intentions directly.” “Good, if you can call the shots that’s even better. We brothers have set up a fortress in the mountains. From today onwards, all the fishing villages around this lake will have to present us with food and money every month in our fortress, otherwise, we’ll come down and ‘visit’ you daily,” the leader loudly declared. The followers behind him were continuously nodding, agreeing with what their boss said. “Now that you’ve told us where your fortress is, aren’t you afraid that I’ll contact the guards of Pruell City and wipe it out?” Fu Lei continued. The leader sneered, disdainfully saying, “If the guards arrive, we will run, and when they leave, we will return to destroy your property. No one will live peacefully, and if cornered, everyone will die together.” Upon hearing the leader’s response, The villagers cursed these guys for their shameless bullying. If these were genuinely ruthless bandits it would be one thing, but these guys were nothing more than a bunch of rascals. They probably didn’t have the capability to take over the village, but they were capable of causing chaos, taking advantage when there were fewer people to rob stuff, and sometimes, they came at night to destroy all the fishing boats and equipment. They were simply trying to stir up trouble. Making everyone pay tribute to them every month, no one was willing to do so. Fu Lei glanced once more at the Book of Lords and continued, “With such a small crew, you can’t eat that much grain. Why do you want so much food?” “Stop chatting and just follow my orders. I’ve already told you, I want both food and money. Can’t you understand?” The leader impatiently responded. He had no idea why the young man standing in front of him was rambling on instead of just complying. “Don’t get agitated, I need to understand clearly: how much money are you demanding from each village?” Fu Lei asked. “Each village should give us 100 silver a month. Not that much, right? We’re showing you mercy by not asking for more,” the leader, after glancing at his followers, continued. “Oh, by the way, what’s your name, boss, and how old are you…?” The leader’s face immediately became furious, and he cursed, “Are you out of your mind? If you don’t wish to pay, just say so. My brothers and I will pay you more visits in the evening. We don’t need to waste time discussing.” Fu Lei heard a prompt from the Book of Lords again. Upon checking, he continued, “That’s not what I meant. I agree to your terms. There are 6 fishing villages nearby, so I will prepare 600 silver for you all.” “Really?” The bandit leader was stunned. Could things go this smoothly? Did he ask for too little? “Of course, but you’ll have to wait a while. With such a large amount, we need some time to gather the funds,” Fu Lei casually glanced at the far end as he spoke. “Excellent, wonderful! Go and prepare it now. We give you our word; once we receive the payment, we won’t disturb you for the rest of the month,” with a slap on his chest, the bandit confidently assured. Inwardly, he was overjoyed, thinking about how easy it was to make money through robbery. With just a little intimidation, they were going off to prepare the money obediently. He indeed had the fate of a leader. “Good, good, I believe in your integrity. Then please wait a while, don’t go, or we won’t be able to find your fort,” Fu Lei said. “Hurry up, we won’t leave. Why are you hesitating?” “All right, we will go and collect the money now,” saying this, Fu Lei led his subordinates and the villagers back into the village. With a loud bang, the village gate was firmly closed. The sound of the gate caused the bandits to be stunned. They were just chatting nicely, but in the blink of an eye, the gate was closed. As if they were taking refuge. “Boss, do they not want to pay!” a minion asked. The leader also scratched his head uncertainly, “It doesn’t seem like it, why would they bother talking so much at the start if they didn’t want to pay.” Then one of the minions noticed something was not right, “Boss, something is wrong. Archers are on the walls. Are they trying to trick us?” Once the village gates were closed, the archers had ascended the walls. Although they were not attacking, they were on high alert. The leader cautiously took a look and said, “Let’s move back a little. I don’t believe they would dare to play tricks.” The bandits began to withdraw from the archers’ range, patiently waiting. After waiting for around 20 minutes, just as the bandits were getting impatient and about to question if the villagers had prepared the money, Suddenly, they heard the sound of frenzied hoofbeats in the distance. All the bandits turned their heads to look. They saw a thousand cavalrymen charging towards them. Everyone was stunned. What’s happening? How could there be cavalrymen here and such a well-equipped ones at that? “Boss, is it reinforcement called by those guys? What do we do?” Someone asked. But once everyone turned around, they realized their leader had run off with several others, already a dozen meters away. Still not looking back, they ran hard into the distance.