Chương 332: 328. Preparation

Feroy nodded.

"This trick will probably only work once, but it should still let us take out one bandit group with almost no losses. The cover of night will also help since tonight is a moonless night—at least until the moon rises near dawn, but that's enough time for us." Hudan rubbed his chin.

"Won't the other bandit camps be hidden from the sight of each other by the village walls? I think we might be able to repeat this tactic again, since the other bandit groups are unlikely to easily get any idea that one of their groups is wiped out. Sound carries far in the night, but they are still far enough away." Kivamus nodded.

"If we are lucky, yes, we might be able to repeat it. The layout of the village gates will also help us here. The southwestern and southeastern groups are relatively close and the bandits sitting in one of those groups can likely see the other group from where they are sitting, but the northeastern group is on the opposite side of the village from these two groups. So they will be completely out of sight of the other groups.

That's why we'll hit the northeastern group first—they're the farthest from the other bandit camps and an attack on them won't be noticed easily by the others." He continued, "This way, we can take out that group of eleven bandits easily. Then our men will circle around from the east, after reloading their crossbows, and we'll hit the south-eastern camp the same way, since that's the next closest camp.

Of course, the south-western camp will certainly notice that we are attacking that camp, but by the time they move, the south-eastern group will already be wiped out—first by a volley of crossbow bolts, and then by our swordsmen taking care of any survivors— if everything goes well." Hudan grinned.

"By then they'll have maybe ten men left against our twenty-one, assuming nobody gets hurt on our side. We can mop them up after that easily!" Feroy agreed, "Even if the southwestern group immediately rushes to help the southeastern one, we'll likely have time to reload the crossbows again after finishing the first fight. That will give us a huge advantage in thinning out the numbers from the last group, enough that the remaining bandits won't stand a chance."

Kivamus kept his face neutral, but inside he ticked off all the pieces that would have to line up—a silent approach, accurate volley of bolts, then the rush to attack, and a clean withdrawal if anything went wrong. However, with both of his guard commanders not voicing any opposition to the idea, he decided to finalize it. He folded his hands on the table.

"If all the guards go together, we need to decide who will lead them. We need one of you as the overall commander for the attack to prevent any confusion." Duvas blinked.

"Why? Hudan is the guard captain—each of our guards knows that."

"That's not the point," Kivamus replied.

"They've been following the lead of Feroy as much as that of Hudan." Hudan cut in, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're right. I know that no one here can beat me in a straight swordfight yet—Tesyb and Kerel come close, but Tesyb needs more experience before he can defeat me while Kerel's getting old. But being a captain isn't the same as leading a night assault. Even after the training I did as a squire in Cinran, and apart from guarding Madam Helga's inn for a few years, I don't have much experience of leading men in the darkness, but Feroy's lived in the wilds for years.

He's got far more practice fighting in forests and running raids than I do." Kivamus nodded.

"Exactly. For the foot charge to any of the bandit camps, you should be at the front where your skill matters. But I want Feroy mounted on a horse a little behind, watching the whole thing so he can make sure the plan goes as intended—and to change it if he has to. Is that fine with you, Hudan?" Hudan looked at Feroy, then shrugged.

"I was actually going to suggest the same. Feroy's three years older and far more experienced than me. Even if I'm the captain of the guards, I don't mind following his lead tonight." Kivamus turned to Feroy.

"What do you think?" Feroy shrugged.

"I'm fine either way. Hudan's learned a lot these last few years at Helga's inn. I think he can lead the guards just fine. But if you want me to lead, I will—though I don't need a horse. They will be a handicap in the dark at best, especially if we have to pass the treeline." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Sure, that's up to you," Kivamus said. He looked at everyone in turn.

"This is final, then. We attack tonight. Rest well, and give the guards an extra meal. They'll need the energy, since the night is going to be busy." Hudan and Feroy stood and left the manor hall together. Kivamus let out a long breath and rose as well.

"I'll try to get a few hours of shut-eye as well. I hardly slept last night, but we'll all need to be alert later." Duvas stood, smoothing his sleeves.

"I'll make another announcement to the villagers, telling them to return to their homes and rest properly today. They can even use this free day to visit the temple and meet Father Edric, since they rarely get the chance these days. I'll also speak with Madam Nerida about that extra meal for the guards. As little as we can spare it, tonight's attack going well is far more important than anything else right now."

Kivamus nodded and headed for the stairwell, hoping their plan would go well and not just blow up in their faces in front of such an overwhelming number of bandits or by something going horribly wrong.

~ Hyola ~ Night had fallen hours ago, and for tonight, Hyola was standing on duty for the night shift at the northeastern watchtower. For the past few days, she had the help of two other guards with her helping to keep an eye out, but all the men had been given the day off. Instead, another woman stood nearby after the old watchman had returned at dusk, her crossbow ready at the hip. However, Hyola's own weapon had been taken for the raid.

She had known about the upcoming counter raid all day—the captain had explained the plan clearly to everyone—but her hands still twitched now and then, reaching for something that wasn't there. The weight of her trusty crossbow had become so natural that it felt like a part of her, and without it she kept feeling off-balance. In fact, the swordsmen who guarded the gates all day had also been relieved of their duties to rest.

A couple of manor servants had stood there instead, ready to open the gates when required, not that it had been needed with all the villagers staying inside all day. From what she had found out, ten of their twelve crossbows would be given to the swordsmen, with only two left for them, plus Yufim and Nurobo with their warbows, which would put an archer or a crossbow woman on each of the four corner watchtowers.

Just enough to sound the alarm if needed and to thin out the bandits' numbers in case of an attack, but her empty hands still felt strange. Her fingers drifted upward instead, brushing through the hair that hung against her neck. It was almost to her shoulders now. After years of keeping it cropped short at the quarry—short enough that the bandits had one less reason to notice her—letting it grow felt like defiance and freedom, all at once. Calubo had teased her about it at first, but she knew he liked it.

Maybe if she let it grow long enough, he'd finally gather the courage to ask her what she'd been waiting to hear. But the idiot still hadn't popped the question. Well, perhaps she should learn to be patient. It wasn't like there was any rush.

Of course, she felt that every day that he hadn't asked her to marry him was a wasted day, but at least life in Tiranat was far safer than the years she'd lived at the quarry while wondering if she would live to see another day—whether because of hunger, or cold, or something even worse. Perhaps it was better to wait for him to feel ready for it, instead of trying to rush him and risk losing something good. She leaned forward on the railing, eyes narrowing at the fire burning far outside the wall.

The bandits hadn't doused their fire today when night had fallen. It was hard to make out from this distance, but it looked like they were hunched around it, maybe roasting something they'd trapped. Her stomach grumbled thinking of the smell and taste of freshly caught meat being roasted, and she pressed a hand to it, annoyed at the noise it made. Meat—real meat. She wished she could eat some meat too... It had been weeks since the last time she'd had anything more than porridge and bread.

That's when she noticed a low murmur from somewhere behind. She turned her head, then motioned to the other woman to keep watching outward. Moving back toward the ladder, she peered down into the shadows below. A chill went through her at what she saw. A column of heavily armed swordsmen was moving toward the northeastern gate. The burly guard captain was leading them, with his sword already drawn, and a shield in his other hand.

Behind him came nearly two dozen men, their leather armor dark against the faint light coming from somewhere in the village. They were armed with their usual swords, as well as their shields strapped to their backs—which Kerel had recently been training them in. Around half of them must also be carrying the crossbows, but it was impossible to pick out in the darkness.

At the rear, she spotted Feroy, walking close with the silver-haired baron and the majordomo, his head giving an occasional nod in their hushed conversation.