CG Chapter 73: Good Brothers

The prince and his group neared the royal palace of Danloor at an astonishing speed due to their special mounts. These horses were the finest of breeds that the Astral family had, enabling them to cross in days that would take others weeks.

As they approached Danloor, the soldiers seemed to become more relaxed. They were thinking of the glory they would receive upon returning to their families and children after serving the crown prince himself.

When the night fell, they decided it was about time to let the horses rest for a couple of hours before continuing.

The peaceful atmosphere of the night filled the place, and the sound of fire crackling as it mixed with the smell of freshly caught game gave the soldiers a sense of complete freedom. This relieved the fatigue that they had built up from their long journey.

At this moment, when the soldiers' guard was at its lowest, a sudden bursting sound awakened them to a grim reality.

Whoosh

Chaos erupted, and Alexander's eyes reflected disbelief at what was happening.

“Bandit attack! All soldiers surround the crown prince, protect him with your life.” What seemed like the leader quickly shouted as he organized the soldiers in a matter of seconds.

Hearing the orders, the soldiers sprang into position.

Even if they might have let themselves relax, they were able to enter the formation when things came down to it.

Just seconds before the attack, Alexander and Tom were talking happily, and then out of nowhere, they were surprised by a rain of arrows that bolted toward them.

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Meanwhile, Tom outwardly appeared just as surprised by the attack as Alexander, though inwardly he was already calculating his next move.

He thought, ‘An attack, and when we have so many soldiers? Even the most foolish street rat wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.’

“Alexander, what is going on? I thought you told me that these were the best soldiers you had. Why are we suddenly being attacked in the midst of the night?” Tom asked Alexander, his tone full of fear at this disaster.

Unfortunately, when Alexander was about to reply, they suddenly heard:

“Breach, fill the gap!”

The bandits seemed to split into parties with a ranged and frontier party.

The first was shooting arrows at the soldiers, not giving them a second to breathe, while the second party held swords and spears as they approached the carriage of the prince.

Seeing the group coming to kill them, the two held their swords, ready to protect themselves from any enemy.

‘Hmm, the prince's reactions seemed genuine, too genuine in fact. Although he might have exaggerated his fear, the shock from the attack was still there.’ Tom was analyzing the situation while displaying the perfect mix of fear and anger that a person in his position would have shown.

Thud

The door of the carriage was jolted open by the bandits.

Holding their swords, Tom and Alexander began to try and push back the enemies while not leaving any room for the archers to have a clear shot.

Alexander, with the prowess of a formal knight, kept himself safe while trying to decrease the number of bandits quickly.

During this time, Tom stayed back, they thought that he was only a weak apprentice knight who wouldn’t be of much use.

This, of course, was to Tom's advantage, so he didn’t interfere much.

While Alexander was fighting, he kept on gathering information, wanting to understand where these bandits came from and what their purpose was.

He knew for sure that they were not just bandits, due to the fact that no normal bandit group would be this organized or powerful.

Fighting one or two of the royal knights might have seemed possible, but to have their carriage breached and to lose multiple knights wasn’t normal.

As the fight went on, Tom had a chance to examine one of the attacking bandits closer only to notice that the mud the bandit had on his face was still damp.

In the unlikely case, that a formal knight turned into a bandit, he wouldn’t get many chances to care for himself. So, normally the mud and dirt from living in the wilds would start to build up.

But with these bandits, they looked too good.

The bandits tried their best and took out multiple soldiers, but seeing that the situation wasn’t in their favor, it seemed that they decided to go for one final attack.

They gathered all of their forces into a single side, focusing on killing the prince.

The bandits ran into the carriage as if they were possessed by demons, determined to sacrifice themselves to reach the prince’s side and finish him off.

However, their efforts were met with a counterattack by the soldiers, who risked their lives to protect the prince.

After the dust began to settle, the prince started to pant from exhaustion, unaware of Tom, who grinned in realization behind him.

‘What good brothers you have, your highness. They really don’t seem to want the throne.’