In the process of cleaning up the mess, the escort team still noticed something strange.
The attackers' clothes looked like ordinary bandits, but the swords in their hands were not crudely made. Some of the escort members who were familiar with weapons and swords recognized that they came from the imperial capital.
In an instant, a chilling atmosphere filled the air.
In order not to disturb the people in the carriage, the guard captain promptly ordered the team members to control their emotions.
At this time, everyone was sitting in the largest carriage together, and the interior of the carriage was somewhat crowded. But this makes people feel at ease.
Someone in the imperial capital wants to take action against us...nobles?
An, who was forced to sit next to Meiko, was thinking.
It's not a small sum of money to equip a hundred or so people with swords. A well-made weapon can feed and drink an ordinary family for several months.
Only nobles can do this.
but why?
The theater troupe was just invited to perform a performance in the imperial capital. They left after the performance. How could they be hostile to the nobles and even be put to death?
An thought that he might be the reason.
I don't know how many people thought he was the missing imperial regent. It's also possible that someone who was hostile to the regent wanted to kill him.
But it’s even more inappropriate to think this way.
During the days when An was in the Imperial Capital, he deeply realized the admiration of the people of the Imperial Capital, including the nobles, for the Regent.
The current prosperity of the empire can be said to have been brought about by the regent.
Everyone in the empire expressed exaggerated gratitude to this legendary figure, and even An received a lot of preferential treatment.
If it is for profit, there is no need to kill a person who just looks similar and is not sure whether it is him or not, right?
Even if a deeply ambitious man really wanted to replace the regent, the news that the theater troupe was accompanied by a guard team would be known to many people. There should be no one who knows the strength of the guard team better than the people in the imperial capital.
Sending a team of people with unsatisfactory disguises and incomparable force would not come here to die, but would also expose clues.
The attack revealed contradictions everywhere.
It feels like the empire will not be peaceful in the future.
"What are you thinking? Are you scared too?" Mei Ke smiled and looked at An. After yesterday's attack, everyone didn't sleep well at night, and her voice sounded a little out of breath.
As a traveling performance group, the troupe has experienced some conflicts in the past, and its psychological quality is pretty good. It's just that both the guards and the bandits came here to kill each other. The brutality was much higher than what they had encountered before. It took everyone a whole night to adjust.
Even so, the atmosphere in the carriage was still not good.
The youngest Yinliu kept holding on to her brother, and Jerry gently touched her hair.
Miko meant that An was as frightened as Neru.
An was originally not in the mood to argue with her sister, but seeing everyone's expressions of gloominess, she thought it would be better to talk more.
"I'm okay, but I see you're still a little scared, otherwise you wouldn't have operated on me." An's mouth curved up in a provocative arc.
He paid attention to his words. If he said something too out-of-the-box, it could easily backfire.
What he said was what he thought was just right.
As for whether he stabbed Meiko in the back, that was not his concern.
"You brat, I'm worried about you!" Mei Ke's voice rose a little higher, and she raised her fist and hit An on the head.
The cooperation between the siblings is very tacit.
Everyone wanted to improve the mood of others, so everyone took the opportunity to joke around.
After going back and forth, the atmosphere in the carriage became much better, and a smile slowly appeared on Otoru's face.
"Bang bang."
An heard the sound of knocking on the carriage, and he leaned over. It was the guard captain who was driving the carriage himself: "Sir, we still have half a day to reach the last town on the border of the empire. I will sort out the convoy locally by then. Entourage. Please pay attention to your safety in the future!"
He was arranging things later and said hello in advance.
Ann nodded.
The escort has the responsibility to protect the imperial capital and cannot always follow the theater troupe. This is normal. The princess is already very generous and unprecedented in allowing the elite guards of the imperial capital to escort her all the way to the border of the empire.
"Don't worry, we will inform Her Royal Highness when we return. Her Royal Highness will definitely investigate the origins of those bandits." The guard captain said seriously.
"I'm interested." An smiled.
The guard captain in front of him had no pretensions at all, and he had worked hard along the way. Not only did he only sleep for a short while at night, but he also personally drove the carriage for everyone.
Even if they were attacked yesterday, no one would complain about the guard captain in front of them.
If it weren't for them, everyone wouldn't just be frightened.
The guard captain didn't say much. After saying this, he turned his head and looked ahead.
An Ye went back and sat down.
…
An inexplicable thought flashed through An's mind, and immediately after, it felt as if an electric shock had hit the back of her head.
He quickly asked the guard captain: "How far is it from that small town to the nearest village? What is the terrain like on the way?!"
The guard captain was surprised by Yu An's tone, but he still said calmly: "Because we are on the border, and the nearest villages and towns are also in neighboring countries. The straight-line distance will take about a day. When crossing the border, you need to pass through a valley, and there may be obstacles on the way. hold up……"
As he spoke, the guard captain also realized something and frowned.
An only felt that her forehead was numb.
The so-called bandit attack is probably just a bait!
The princess's order was to have the escort team send the theater troupe away from the empire. The original plan was to send it to the border. However, after encountering the attack by bandits, the escort team planned to prepare supplies for everyone in the last town in advance, and then He hurried back to the imperial capital to report to the princess and track down the "mastermind behind the scenes". There is also a reason why the imperial guards cannot cross the border, otherwise they will easily get into diplomatic disputes.
Objectively speaking, the escort does leave without a second thought. Because even if the escort reaches the border, it will take a long time to reach the next village or town.
If a large number of people are ambushed in the valley on the border, without the help of the escort team, and the opponent takes advantage of the absolute advantages of terrain and numbers, it will be difficult for them to escape no matter how powerful An is.
If the bandits are just bait, then the abnormalities in them make sense!
"If you don't want to cross the border, is it really because of the instructions from the nobles of the imperial capital..." The guard captain gritted his teeth.
He wanted to send the troupe to a safe place, but without the princess's order, his unauthorized actions were tantamount to treason.
An let out a long breath and controlled his emotions: "Can you take a detour? It doesn't matter if it's further away."
Although everything was just speculation, he didn't dare to take the risk.
If the speculation comes true, everyone in the troupe may have to be found in the valley!
The guard captain adjusted his breathing: "It's still late, but we won't be able to resupply halfway."
"It doesn't matter……"
An said, looking inside the car.
The movement here was not too big and did not disturb the people inside.
fine.
An leaned out of the car and faced forward.
He needs to calm down.
You can't let your guess be known to other people in the troupe, it will only increase your panic.
The guard captain understood what An meant and lowered his voice and said, "I will give the order."
"Thank you."
An only had his back in the carriage, and the curtains blew his hair in the wind.
Who is he, who is willing to use human life as bait to eliminate the last unstable factor in order to kill them?
No one noticed that a golden halo appeared from time to time in the black pupils.
…
It took the convoy another three days to reach the border.
During this period, some people also discovered the detour, but An found a way to fool them. As for how many people believe An's words, it's hard to say. Fortunately, everyone trusts An and will not question her.
The accompanying supplies were somewhat in short supply due to the long journey, so we had to save as much as possible. Fortunately, although we had spared the road, the next village or town would be closer to the border and could be reached in half a day.
The escort sent the troupe to the border and made sure the surrounding area was safe before apologizing and leaving. The murderous appearance actually made everyone in the theater group feel at ease.
After that, there were only two vehicles left to drive, one to seat people and one to pull goods. Jerry and An were each responsible for one.
When we arrived at the next large town, the carriage also needed to be replaced, and the scars on it were still somewhat obvious.
After getting some supplies from the nearby village, under An's suggestion, everyone went straight to a larger town further away without stopping to recruit people.
It took another half a day to see a tall city gate.
"Please stop for a moment and get checked."
The soldier guarding the city came over. His attitude was not bad. After knowing the identity of the troupe, he became even more enthusiastic.
This is someone who has seen the troupe perform in his hometown.
"What's the matter with the scars on the carriage?" Before An could answer, the soldier said clearly, "You must have encountered bandits. Fortunately, no one was injured!"
An's eyes darkened slightly, and he said calmly: "Yes, fortunately there was a guard, so we escaped... The bandits seem to be very rampant recently."
"No, I also heard that recently a very large group of bandits were looting along the border between the two countries. Many places have been affected, and the higher authorities are planning to send troops to exterminate them. Fortunately, you encountered Not these bastards!" The kind-hearted soldier looked resentful and thankful for the troupe.
"...Yeah, it's okay." An smiled lightly.
The soldier felt a gust of wind blowing inexplicably.
