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Scouting
AN: I’m sorry for the many POV s.h.i.+fts. My organizational skills are bad.
“So, how is it?”
The whole area was once the domain of a bandit group. The bandit chief asked his underling, who had climbed on a branch of a tall tree.
“There ain’t been anything big since they camped out here. ‘Been a few scouts who left, but they’re not back yet.”
They were about a hundred Rools from the clearing where the Knight Corps advance party camped. (AN: 1 Rool is about equal 1 meter)
Despite the darkness of the forest at night, the knights were clearly visible in the light of the campfires.
The man who was observing the knights once worked as a hunter, and had the best eyesight among all of his goons.
‘I… didn’t think it would go this well.’
Without the cover of darkness, he wouldn’t have been able to observe safely from just a hundred rools away. In the daytime, a sharp-eyed person would have easily spotted him, and, in the worst case, he would be discovered by one of the reconnaissance units who were scouting the area.
‘Sheesh, if we didn’t know how they would move from the beginning, this wouldn’t have been an easy job.’
Relying on the moonlight, the chief looked down at the paper in his hands.
The paper contained orders dated two days ago and sported the Imperial Knight Order’s official seal. To be more precise, it was a duplicate. The real one should still be in the hands of one of General Feyl’s aides.
Rather, it would be a mistake to call that one the real one, because the orders in the chief’s hands were undoubtedly the orders from the main army, which departed two days after the advance party.
“Are there soldiers coming closer?”
“I don’t see nothin’. Those scouts went da way you said dey would, Boss.”
“I see. It seems that these orders are real.”
All of the Knight Order’s movements had been leaked.
He had heard that General Feyl had bribed a superior to obtain his position, and didn’t have the ability befitting a general. He would not go against the main army, or rather the Knight Order Headquarters, and follow the orders he received to the letter.
They had monitored the advance party ever since it had set off, not once did the party’s movements contradict its orders..
At first, the bandits were both terrified upon seeing the Knight Order’s armed might, and angry at being treated as sacrificial p.a.w.ns. However, since their lives were also forfeit if they disobeyed their instructions, they reluctantly started monitoring the Knight Order, but it was an easier job than they had thought, and they had more breathing room.
They had also become used to faking traces of their group.
At any rate, no matter where the Knight Order went, they would always be at a safe distance.
”Hey, Boss, are those guys really soldiers? Even da new guys could beat them to death.”
“Even the sentries are asleep, or drinking. Haha, I can see them clearly ‘cause of the fire.”
“Boss, can we attack them now?”
Hearing the report from the man on the branch, the other goons who were with the chief began to clamor.
“You buffoons! All we have to do is follow their orders! Is there any need to go out of our way to do more than what we are being paid for!? Life is precious![1]”
“… That’s right, ain&r
squo;t it, Boss?” However, they couldn’t be criticized for thinking like that upon seeing how lax the Imperial Knights were. ‘If there were even more troops…’ The Imperial army had too many troops for mere bandits like them. “Anyway, do it as we were told to. If we invite them as we were ordered, it should be fine.” “…Can we really trust them?”[2] “Whether or not we trust them, we can’t go disobey them.” The chief answered while laughing cynically. Even though they were ordered to do as they were told, those people probably didn’t even completely trust bandits like them. If the situation took a turn for the worst, they would definitely slaughter the whole bandit group, including the chief and his subordinates. There was only that level of trust between them. Either way, they could only act as they were told to. There were no other alternatives right now. “If anything changes, let me know immediately.” They were currently entrusted with reporting the condition of the Imperial Knight Order. As far as reporting their movements, their job was going smoothly. ‘That b.a.s.t.a.r.d better give me wine and women once we finish.’[3] “Did you say sumthin, Boss?” “I didn’t say anythin’.” “Oh, methinks one of the knight groups that went scouting just came back.” Acknowledging his underling’s response, the chief plopped down on the root of the tree that his underling had climbed. If they came here, he would have to be prepared. They couldn’t be considered negligent, but the laxity of the Imperial Knights was anti-climactic. That was why the sentries had also overlooked them. A reconnaissance squad had just returned, and appeared to be headed towards the advance party’s headquarters to report in. Leaving the captain behind, they took a strange path towards the camp, as if trying to avoid the other squadrons. There were six people in the platoon, in accordance with Imperial Knight Order regulations, but they hadn’t noticed that one more person had joined them.[4] “Shelter commoners?” “Yes. She seems to be a survivor of a village that was raided. We found her wandering in the forest, and took her in.” “Don’t just do as you please… Even if we leave her in the back, there is still a possibility a battle will occur tomorrow. We can’t sacrifice war potential for the likes of a commoner.” “There must be another way, apart from taking her with us to battle. Luckily, we can make use of their experience.” “Put simply, if something happens, do you think you will get away with just a demotion, Lieutenant Royce?” “…Am I prepared to even be discharged and stripped of my knighthood, is it?” Feyl made a sour expression.[5] “Fine. Taking care of the commoner will be your job.” “Well, I don’t believe that there will be any knights stupid enough to lay their hands on the girl, but we will protect her carefully.” Royce merely kept up a serious countenance and saluted. He then left the tent that served as the headquarters, his bloated belly jiggling as he walked. Feyl saw him off with a contemptuous glare. “To speak like that in front of you, Sir… how disrespectful.” One of the aides beside him muttered. “…The holdovers from Zaunas’s faction must be thrilled. ” “General Royce… oh, he is now Lieutenant Royce. He is a threat. He didn’t take part in the coup, but why wasn’t he discharged from the army?” “He is a threat, and that is why he can’t be left to his own devices. We are monitoring him from within the Knight Order. That is my plan.” Feyl answered his subordinate’s question. “If we discharge him, he will return to his own territory. There, we won’t know what he is planning.” “I see.” ‘Of course, it would be fine if he returns to his Countdom.’ Feyl sipped the high cla.s.s wine that was allotted to the high-ranking officers. ‘Why should a great Marquis like me be afraid of a poor, debt-ridden Count? He didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the coup, but if we find a pretext to crush him, that would be good. With his bad reputation, he wouldn’t have any allies if he tried to gather an army. He doesn’t even have the money to hire mercenaries. He can’t do anything.’ “Whatever. Having commoners mixed in would hinder our military operations anyways. From now on, his squad will be stationed at the rear, even during battle. With that, they will lose out on military accomplishments. We don’t have to mention that they were protecting commoners. We just have to report that Royce’s squad moved on their own, and hindered the army’s operations. We can even give the higher-ups a recommendation that Royce be demoted.” His aides saluted, and then promptly went to summon their subordinates. Feyl watched them, then looked down at the doc.u.ments in his hands. Feyl had finally become a general after he turned fifty. On the other hand, Royce had become a general at the age of 30. He feared that Royce would borrow more money to pay his debts and buy status. Feyl himself came from a Viscount family, and acc.u.mulated large sums of money to obtain the rank of General. He was envious of the fact that Royce became promoted to the same level as he did at a younger age. They had met several times during strategy meetings, but each time, Feyl felt that Royce looked at him as if he were a mere peasant. ‘He has always looked down on me. Look on, as I rob you of even your rank of Lieutenant.’ Smiling darkly, Feyl continued to sip his wine. “Well, they probably a.s.signed us to the back for that sort of reason.” Royce met with his deputy, Kelvin, walking towards the tents exclusively for squad captains. “Feyl doesn’t want me to gain any achievements, so he stationed us in the back under the pretext of protecting the commoners.” “Our trump card is this way. Should we ignore the orders and go to the front?” “The person himself probably doesn’t want to fight. I would also like to avoid it if I could. From the intel, the Empire has the advantage in numbers. It’s fine for us to watch the developments from a safe place.” “…I also pity General Feyl.” Contrary to his words, Kelvin was smiling mirthfully. Royce scratched his bald forehead, and sat his heavy body into a chair. ‘I really am worn out.’ Royce had been preparing countermeasures for several days. Royce received no communications from General Feyl and his Aides, apart from the dispatch orders sent to all the scouts. Royce was not even summoned to the strategy meetings. His tent was in the same place as the other officers of the advance party, but apart from that, he was clearly being ostracized. Thanks to that, he was able to do his work well, so it wasn’t that bad. ‘Did my weight go down slightly? I miss seasoned food.’[6] Looking down at his rotund, fleshy, stomach, Royce went over the plans he had been setting into motion the past few days.
A short time before. A short while after setting off on horseback, the reconnaissance squadron led by Royce. Royce had given the signal to rest, then stopped his horse. His subordinates then dismounted and gathered at the place he had indicated. “Now then, it seems that there is a traitor among the top bra.s.s.” Royce announced that to his squad members with a grave expression, completely unlike Kelvin’s smiling face. At those words, Wynn frowned, and Locke sighed. Reeno and Wedge exchanged glances. “Well, I had kind of felt like that was the case, but why do you think so, Captain?” “There is somebody, either from the Petersian army itself, or somebody they paid off, planting the remains of the camps and the hoofprints, manipulating the actions of the scouts. Judging by how well they know the terrain, it’s probably a local they hired.” Perhaps it was for the sake of the squad members. Acting as their representative, Kelvin asked Royce a question. Royce stroked his plump, oily chin, took out the jerky that was part of their rations and started eating it. “But from Abel’s story, they are about 200 men strong. I don’t think they have enough people available to carry out these small tasks.” “Did reinforcements come from Petersia?” “That shouldn’t be the case. The Petersian border should be strictly guarded. If they really invaded, we would have heard of it long ago.” “That’s right. They would’ve been caught then.” Royce nodded at Wynn, Reeno and Locke’s appraisal. “I believe that there are people within the Knight Order who are guiding them, probably a n.o.ble. I also believe that their collaborator is from a territory near the border. Two hundred men, but there doesn’t seem to be supply unit. I thought that they were obtaining supplies from the previously attacked villages, but none of the villages seem to be pillaged. From this, it is clear that there is somebody supporting them.” “In the region near the border, there are four fiefs: the Valessia Countdom, Rembrandt Marquisate…” Locke named the n.o.bles who governed the territories in the area, while looking at Royce’s face. “Next is… the Elstead Countdom, and the Cliffdorf Marquisate. That’s all of them.” Wynn continued where Locke left off. “That’s right. Right now, among the four n.o.bles Locke listed, Lord Valessia and Lord Rembrandt are not related to the military. They are both advance in age and close to retirement. The Houses who are related to the military are the Elsteads and the Cliffdorfs.” “…Is there any evidence?” Hearing the accusation, Reeno timidly offered a question. “What I just said was just my intuition.” “Excuse me, Captain. It may be conjecture, but you are still one of the suspicious people.” “As a Lieutenant, what I can do is limited. Of course, it is still possible that I am guiding the Petersian army to impede the progress of the Knight Order. You can only believe in the fact that I didn’t need to tell you anything if that were true.” “I guess that’s right.” Wynn nodded. “Either way, the army is probably playing into the hands of the enemy. I apologize for involving you in a lost cause. That is why, I will play a few tricks of my own.” Royce grinned at his squad members, who were at attention. When they saw that smile, everyone thought: ’Whoah, he must be plotting something bad…’ “Sheesh. I didn’t think that I would be doing the same things as I did as an adventurer once I entered the Knight Order.” “I also thought so.” “Speaking of, you two are quite used to these movements, huh?” “…I had spent time working in the Adventurer’s Guild.” “After spending time with Wynn, you eventually end up like that…” Locke responded to Kelvin, who was walking behind him, with a dry smile. In order to carry out Royce’s trick, Vice-Captain Kelvin was in charge of Locke and Wynn as they made their way through a forest a ways from the highway. Naturally, they had to make their way through the forest trails, so they had to dismount from their horses and make their way on foot. The training for the Knight Order had included practice travelling in the wilderness. Searching for monsters in the Periodic Subjugation Mission also required them to make their way through the forest. Wynn led the way. Occasionally consulting the map for directions, he cleared away the obstacles as he moved. “Vice-captain Kelvin, do you have experience moving through the wilderness?” “I am ashamed to admit that I don’t have much experience. At most, I have gone on monster subjugation missions two or three times.” “I see. Locke and the Vice-captain, you both should watch your step. You can watch out for bugs, leeches and wet gra.s.s, but you should also watch for mud and branches.” “It would be helpful if bugs didn’t approach.” “As expected of the only person who has worked in the Adventurer’s Guild. ” “It’s because I was taught various things since I was young… it would be good if everyone is quiet.” Wynn’s pace dropped as he spoke. He expertly cleared away the branches, and pointed out the spots with solid footing to Locke and Kelvin, who were following him, as he went. Wynn instantly made an insect repellent salve. The insects could carry frightening diseases from monsters and beasts that hid in the thickets. It was possible to cure the diseases with magic, but they were currently going ahead alone, so there were no field medics who could use healing magic near them. Wynn’s experience as an adventurer surpa.s.sed Kelvin’s expectations. It had been a while since they had set off that morning, and the sun was already high in the sky. Wynn, who was more experienced within the forest, asked Kelvin’s permission to take a break for lunch. It was hard to see in the thick forest, yet Wynn noticed something moving in a thicket off to the right. ‘A monster? Or is it an animal?’ Wynn stopped walking, soundlessly signalling to Locke and Kelvin to be wary of what was ahead. ‘Since we entered the forest, I had felt a few gazes watching us, but…’ There was still some distance between the Wynn and the rustling. He didn’t know whether it was coming closer, but he was lucky to have noticed it. ‘What should we do?’ Wynn turned towards Kelvin, seeking his direction. Kelvin, as the Vice-Captain, was the one who had the authority to make decisions. Kelvin nodded, and drew closer to Wynn. “Do you know what is approaching us?” “No, but I know that it is headed straight for us. We could hide and let it go past us, but if it’s an animal, our scent will stand out.” “Hmm… I would like to avoid battling an unknown number of opponents, but it doesn’t seem like there are any alternatives if it’s moving towards us.” As softly as he could, Wynn drew his sword. He hadn’t yet channelled magic power. If it were a monster, they would be able to sense his magic. Wynn had just enough magic power to imbue the sword with it, but he didn’t want the approaching creature to sense him. Kelvin and Locke also drew their swords. They both didn’t bring their s.h.i.+elds along because they were moving through the forest, they held their swords with both hands as Wynn did. Since it was impossible to swing the sword with all the trees in the way, Wynn a.s.sumed a thrusting stance. Wynn would strike first. Locke and Kelvin supported him, just in case there were multiple targets, so that Wynn could have time to pull his sword out. Then, the creature jumped out of the thicket — “A Goblin!?” It was a devil-type monster. Smaller than a human, it possessed the intelligence to use tools and weapons. It wasn’t too hard to defeat if one had the experience, especially if they were prepared, like Wynn and the others were. The goblin had jumped out, paused for a moment when it saw the humans, and let out a strange cry, leaping at them. However, its straightforward movement exposed many openings. Wynn rushed forward and used his sword to stab at the goblin, who wielded a rusty hatchet. The tip of the sword impaled the goblin in the middle of its chest. “Are you alright, Wynn?” Locke called out to him as he came closer. “Yeah. It was easier since the goblin charged out forcefully. However, you shouldn’t let your guard down. It didn’t even flee after seeing us.” “Eh, this goblin was clearly running away from something else.” “What could it be…?” “Something is approaching fast!” Just as Wynn was about to pull his sword out of the goblin, he leapt backwards. An arrow appeared right where Wynn was standing moments ago. It was aimed at Wynn’s feet. “This isn’t what we were told, isn’t it… Captain?” Kelvin muttered, letting his sword drop to the ground. “…That’s right…” Locke also dropped his weapon and held his hands up, while Wynn raised the hand that was holding the dagger. They glared at the direction the arrow came from. Atop the branch of a large tree, looking down at them with bows drawn, were the rulers of the deep forest— the elves. 1 Rill 1 millimeter 1 Chel 1 centimeter 1 Rool 1 meter 1 Kerl 1 kilometer (TN: I made the table so it’s abit more organized)
squo;t it, Boss?” However, they couldn’t be criticized for thinking like that upon seeing how lax the Imperial Knights were. ‘If there were even more troops…’ The Imperial army had too many troops for mere bandits like them. “Anyway, do it as we were told to. If we invite them as we were ordered, it should be fine.” “…Can we really trust them?”[2] “Whether or not we trust them, we can’t go disobey them.” The chief answered while laughing cynically. Even though they were ordered to do as they were told, those people probably didn’t even completely trust bandits like them. If the situation took a turn for the worst, they would definitely slaughter the whole bandit group, including the chief and his subordinates. There was only that level of trust between them. Either way, they could only act as they were told to. There were no other alternatives right now. “If anything changes, let me know immediately.” They were currently entrusted with reporting the condition of the Imperial Knight Order. As far as reporting their movements, their job was going smoothly. ‘That b.a.s.t.a.r.d better give me wine and women once we finish.’[3] “Did you say sumthin, Boss?” “I didn’t say anythin’.” “Oh, methinks one of the knight groups that went scouting just came back.” Acknowledging his underling’s response, the chief plopped down on the root of the tree that his underling had climbed. If they came here, he would have to be prepared. They couldn’t be considered negligent, but the laxity of the Imperial Knights was anti-climactic. That was why the sentries had also overlooked them. A reconnaissance squad had just returned, and appeared to be headed towards the advance party’s headquarters to report in. Leaving the captain behind, they took a strange path towards the camp, as if trying to avoid the other squadrons. There were six people in the platoon, in accordance with Imperial Knight Order regulations, but they hadn’t noticed that one more person had joined them.[4] “Shelter commoners?” “Yes. She seems to be a survivor of a village that was raided. We found her wandering in the forest, and took her in.” “Don’t just do as you please… Even if we leave her in the back, there is still a possibility a battle will occur tomorrow. We can’t sacrifice war potential for the likes of a commoner.” “There must be another way, apart from taking her with us to battle. Luckily, we can make use of their experience.” “Put simply, if something happens, do you think you will get away with just a demotion, Lieutenant Royce?” “…Am I prepared to even be discharged and stripped of my knighthood, is it?” Feyl made a sour expression.[5] “Fine. Taking care of the commoner will be your job.” “Well, I don’t believe that there will be any knights stupid enough to lay their hands on the girl, but we will protect her carefully.” Royce merely kept up a serious countenance and saluted. He then left the tent that served as the headquarters, his bloated belly jiggling as he walked. Feyl saw him off with a contemptuous glare. “To speak like that in front of you, Sir… how disrespectful.” One of the aides beside him muttered. “…The holdovers from Zaunas’s faction must be thrilled. ” “General Royce… oh, he is now Lieutenant Royce. He is a threat. He didn’t take part in the coup, but why wasn’t he discharged from the army?” “He is a threat, and that is why he can’t be left to his own devices. We are monitoring him from within the Knight Order. That is my plan.” Feyl answered his subordinate’s question. “If we discharge him, he will return to his own territory. There, we won’t know what he is planning.” “I see.” ‘Of course, it would be fine if he returns to his Countdom.’ Feyl sipped the high cla.s.s wine that was allotted to the high-ranking officers. ‘Why should a great Marquis like me be afraid of a poor, debt-ridden Count? He didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the coup, but if we find a pretext to crush him, that would be good. With his bad reputation, he wouldn’t have any allies if he tried to gather an army. He doesn’t even have the money to hire mercenaries. He can’t do anything.’ “Whatever. Having commoners mixed in would hinder our military operations anyways. From now on, his squad will be stationed at the rear, even during battle. With that, they will lose out on military accomplishments. We don’t have to mention that they were protecting commoners. We just have to report that Royce’s squad moved on their own, and hindered the army’s operations. We can even give the higher-ups a recommendation that Royce be demoted.” His aides saluted, and then promptly went to summon their subordinates. Feyl watched them, then looked down at the doc.u.ments in his hands. Feyl had finally become a general after he turned fifty. On the other hand, Royce had become a general at the age of 30. He feared that Royce would borrow more money to pay his debts and buy status. Feyl himself came from a Viscount family, and acc.u.mulated large sums of money to obtain the rank of General. He was envious of the fact that Royce became promoted to the same level as he did at a younger age. They had met several times during strategy meetings, but each time, Feyl felt that Royce looked at him as if he were a mere peasant. ‘He has always looked down on me. Look on, as I rob you of even your rank of Lieutenant.’ Smiling darkly, Feyl continued to sip his wine. “Well, they probably a.s.signed us to the back for that sort of reason.” Royce met with his deputy, Kelvin, walking towards the tents exclusively for squad captains. “Feyl doesn’t want me to gain any achievements, so he stationed us in the back under the pretext of protecting the commoners.” “Our trump card is this way. Should we ignore the orders and go to the front?” “The person himself probably doesn’t want to fight. I would also like to avoid it if I could. From the intel, the Empire has the advantage in numbers. It’s fine for us to watch the developments from a safe place.” “…I also pity General Feyl.” Contrary to his words, Kelvin was smiling mirthfully. Royce scratched his bald forehead, and sat his heavy body into a chair. ‘I really am worn out.’ Royce had been preparing countermeasures for several days. Royce received no communications from General Feyl and his Aides, apart from the dispatch orders sent to all the scouts. Royce was not even summoned to the strategy meetings. His tent was in the same place as the other officers of the advance party, but apart from that, he was clearly being ostracized. Thanks to that, he was able to do his work well, so it wasn’t that bad. ‘Did my weight go down slightly? I miss seasoned food.’[6] Looking down at his rotund, fleshy, stomach, Royce went over the plans he had been setting into motion the past few days.
A short time before. A short while after setting off on horseback, the reconnaissance squadron led by Royce. Royce had given the signal to rest, then stopped his horse. His subordinates then dismounted and gathered at the place he had indicated. “Now then, it seems that there is a traitor among the top bra.s.s.” Royce announced that to his squad members with a grave expression, completely unlike Kelvin’s smiling face. At those words, Wynn frowned, and Locke sighed. Reeno and Wedge exchanged glances. “Well, I had kind of felt like that was the case, but why do you think so, Captain?” “There is somebody, either from the Petersian army itself, or somebody they paid off, planting the remains of the camps and the hoofprints, manipulating the actions of the scouts. Judging by how well they know the terrain, it’s probably a local they hired.” Perhaps it was for the sake of the squad members. Acting as their representative, Kelvin asked Royce a question. Royce stroked his plump, oily chin, took out the jerky that was part of their rations and started eating it. “But from Abel’s story, they are about 200 men strong. I don’t think they have enough people available to carry out these small tasks.” “Did reinforcements come from Petersia?” “That shouldn’t be the case. The Petersian border should be strictly guarded. If they really invaded, we would have heard of it long ago.” “That’s right. They would’ve been caught then.” Royce nodded at Wynn, Reeno and Locke’s appraisal. “I believe that there are people within the Knight Order who are guiding them, probably a n.o.ble. I also believe that their collaborator is from a territory near the border. Two hundred men, but there doesn’t seem to be supply unit. I thought that they were obtaining supplies from the previously attacked villages, but none of the villages seem to be pillaged. From this, it is clear that there is somebody supporting them.” “In the region near the border, there are four fiefs: the Valessia Countdom, Rembrandt Marquisate…” Locke named the n.o.bles who governed the territories in the area, while looking at Royce’s face. “Next is… the Elstead Countdom, and the Cliffdorf Marquisate. That’s all of them.” Wynn continued where Locke left off. “That’s right. Right now, among the four n.o.bles Locke listed, Lord Valessia and Lord Rembrandt are not related to the military. They are both advance in age and close to retirement. The Houses who are related to the military are the Elsteads and the Cliffdorfs.” “…Is there any evidence?” Hearing the accusation, Reeno timidly offered a question. “What I just said was just my intuition.” “Excuse me, Captain. It may be conjecture, but you are still one of the suspicious people.” “As a Lieutenant, what I can do is limited. Of course, it is still possible that I am guiding the Petersian army to impede the progress of the Knight Order. You can only believe in the fact that I didn’t need to tell you anything if that were true.” “I guess that’s right.” Wynn nodded. “Either way, the army is probably playing into the hands of the enemy. I apologize for involving you in a lost cause. That is why, I will play a few tricks of my own.” Royce grinned at his squad members, who were at attention. When they saw that smile, everyone thought: ’Whoah, he must be plotting something bad…’ “Sheesh. I didn’t think that I would be doing the same things as I did as an adventurer once I entered the Knight Order.” “I also thought so.” “Speaking of, you two are quite used to these movements, huh?” “…I had spent time working in the Adventurer’s Guild.” “After spending time with Wynn, you eventually end up like that…” Locke responded to Kelvin, who was walking behind him, with a dry smile. In order to carry out Royce’s trick, Vice-Captain Kelvin was in charge of Locke and Wynn as they made their way through a forest a ways from the highway. Naturally, they had to make their way through the forest trails, so they had to dismount from their horses and make their way on foot. The training for the Knight Order had included practice travelling in the wilderness. Searching for monsters in the Periodic Subjugation Mission also required them to make their way through the forest. Wynn led the way. Occasionally consulting the map for directions, he cleared away the obstacles as he moved. “Vice-captain Kelvin, do you have experience moving through the wilderness?” “I am ashamed to admit that I don’t have much experience. At most, I have gone on monster subjugation missions two or three times.” “I see. Locke and the Vice-captain, you both should watch your step. You can watch out for bugs, leeches and wet gra.s.s, but you should also watch for mud and branches.” “It would be helpful if bugs didn’t approach.” “As expected of the only person who has worked in the Adventurer’s Guild. ” “It’s because I was taught various things since I was young… it would be good if everyone is quiet.” Wynn’s pace dropped as he spoke. He expertly cleared away the branches, and pointed out the spots with solid footing to Locke and Kelvin, who were following him, as he went. Wynn instantly made an insect repellent salve. The insects could carry frightening diseases from monsters and beasts that hid in the thickets. It was possible to cure the diseases with magic, but they were currently going ahead alone, so there were no field medics who could use healing magic near them. Wynn’s experience as an adventurer surpa.s.sed Kelvin’s expectations. It had been a while since they had set off that morning, and the sun was already high in the sky. Wynn, who was more experienced within the forest, asked Kelvin’s permission to take a break for lunch. It was hard to see in the thick forest, yet Wynn noticed something moving in a thicket off to the right. ‘A monster? Or is it an animal?’ Wynn stopped walking, soundlessly signalling to Locke and Kelvin to be wary of what was ahead. ‘Since we entered the forest, I had felt a few gazes watching us, but…’ There was still some distance between the Wynn and the rustling. He didn’t know whether it was coming closer, but he was lucky to have noticed it. ‘What should we do?’ Wynn turned towards Kelvin, seeking his direction. Kelvin, as the Vice-Captain, was the one who had the authority to make decisions. Kelvin nodded, and drew closer to Wynn. “Do you know what is approaching us?” “No, but I know that it is headed straight for us. We could hide and let it go past us, but if it’s an animal, our scent will stand out.” “Hmm… I would like to avoid battling an unknown number of opponents, but it doesn’t seem like there are any alternatives if it’s moving towards us.” As softly as he could, Wynn drew his sword. He hadn’t yet channelled magic power. If it were a monster, they would be able to sense his magic. Wynn had just enough magic power to imbue the sword with it, but he didn’t want the approaching creature to sense him. Kelvin and Locke also drew their swords. They both didn’t bring their s.h.i.+elds along because they were moving through the forest, they held their swords with both hands as Wynn did. Since it was impossible to swing the sword with all the trees in the way, Wynn a.s.sumed a thrusting stance. Wynn would strike first. Locke and Kelvin supported him, just in case there were multiple targets, so that Wynn could have time to pull his sword out. Then, the creature jumped out of the thicket — “A Goblin!?” It was a devil-type monster. Smaller than a human, it possessed the intelligence to use tools and weapons. It wasn’t too hard to defeat if one had the experience, especially if they were prepared, like Wynn and the others were. The goblin had jumped out, paused for a moment when it saw the humans, and let out a strange cry, leaping at them. However, its straightforward movement exposed many openings. Wynn rushed forward and used his sword to stab at the goblin, who wielded a rusty hatchet. The tip of the sword impaled the goblin in the middle of its chest. “Are you alright, Wynn?” Locke called out to him as he came closer. “Yeah. It was easier since the goblin charged out forcefully. However, you shouldn’t let your guard down. It didn’t even flee after seeing us.” “Eh, this goblin was clearly running away from something else.” “What could it be…?” “Something is approaching fast!” Just as Wynn was about to pull his sword out of the goblin, he leapt backwards. An arrow appeared right where Wynn was standing moments ago. It was aimed at Wynn’s feet. “This isn’t what we were told, isn’t it… Captain?” Kelvin muttered, letting his sword drop to the ground. “…That’s right…” Locke also dropped his weapon and held his hands up, while Wynn raised the hand that was holding the dagger. They glared at the direction the arrow came from. Atop the branch of a large tree, looking down at them with bows drawn, were the rulers of the deep forest— the elves. 1 Rill 1 millimeter 1 Chel 1 centimeter 1 Rool 1 meter 1 Kerl 1 kilometer (TN: I made the table so it’s abit more organized)
