“Captain!”
As the Captain of the guards approached them, the guards slowly turned, saluting their youthful leader.
And at this sight, little Levis was intrigued by the many armed men dressed in the same way, and even more, by the black-haired young man addressed as the Captain, especially by his almost full armour and his big broad sword which made him looked incredibly powerful, from his position.
But as the young Captain was approaching them, he did not miss little Levis's existence, and that of the light cloth man, as a frown appeared on his face while looking at them both.
“I presume this is a child from one of the villages. Somebody, take him to the right village! As for the rest of you, back to your positions! Adrian, let us go, you will brief me immediately.”
Though in a hurry, the young Captain made his orders known instantly, after which he and some of the newly arrived men, made their way towards the centre of the encampment, and then inside the large tent, where old Wan was already standing left to the most back seat in the hall where Captain Rowen took his seat.
Although two other men were already seated next to the young Captain, and for those who followed him, Adrian took a seat as well while the light-cloth man, stood in his feet, waiting at the front of the table, where the young Captain, the two other middle-aged men and Adrian were seated as well.
“So---, Adrian. What do you have to report back?”
“Yes. The villages that we were unable to provide full support, and left their seniors behind, had all their elders slaughtered. No survivors had been found, as we discovered only lifeless bodies, and so, we had to hold a prompt burial, to which I have to excuse my delay.”
“No need. I had an inkling that this was going to happen. The best we could do with our numbers was a round-up to gather the villagers. Still---, their deaths fall onto our delay. And now, it is clear that the bandits will attack us. And for the scouts, I see only one. Recount to me what happened.”
After Adrian's report, the young Captain continued to speak further, as his eyes fell on the man in front of the table, addressing him to speak, not a moment later after he was done elaborating his own thoughts out in the open.
“Yes, Captain. The scouting had been a success for the first two days, but as we were approaching the locations of the bandits, we were discovered by masked men, and as we made our escape,--- I lost sight of my companion. As I returned, I met with the vice-Captain and returned with him.”
“So you have a rough location of their base?”
But as the light-cloth man begin to talk, it was possible to observe his fear leaking out from his conduct, for he still seemed capable of recalling the surprised ambush in which his partner had most likely died.
“Yes.”
“Hmmm, this is good---, but the death of a soldier is still heavy. Old Wan prepare the remuneration for his closest of kin,”
“Yes, Captain.”
“You can proceed, and rest for the time being.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Captain.”
With the scout being excused and having walked out of the tent, only old Wan who stood at the young Captain's side, along with vice-Captain Adrian and the two more men remained to make the life of the tent. But the situation became somewhat tense, despite the relaxed attitude of the five men.
"We will lose, will we?"
"That is to be expected, if we look at their force as a whole. Although, in the case that the two rank 6 leaders will act, we----."
"Two rank 6 cultivators? Adrian---, are the previous reports truly accurate?"
But through the heavy tension, the two men near the young Captain begin to talk while also addressing the young Captain, as the two of them did not appear to have the confidence to confront the bandits.
Though similarly, Captain Rowen, seemed to respond to the two of them, but ultimately he faced Adrian with a question of his own, regarding the validity of the information which they held on the force of the bandits.
"I can not refute the reports. But even if---, the two leaders, Iron Grip and the one called Pervert are cultivators at rank 6, with two more ranks 5, several rank 4 and dozens rank 3, 2 and 1, we can still win. Even if the total number is up to one hundred ranked cultivators and two hundred regular bandits. Pitted against us in a typical case, will just result in us being swept away, but we can use our defence to our advantage. And with better equipment, we can endure two to three bandits for each one of us at one time. The only problem though---, is still going to be the two rank 6, and the vast number of ordinary bandits, for we can not see to protect every villager while we fight a force that is six to one against us. This is why, I suggest we make use of the men of the villages, giving them a short training on how to fight in groups, as for the lack of weapons, we can make wooden spears which will be more than enough, since we can mass-produce them and---."
"No need to say any more. Since I had already thought of the same idea, also, I have arranged for some guards to produce some spears and shields. As for the ranks 6 and 5, I alone can take them in a prolonged fight till you all end your fight, then you can support me until we slay them all."
"Captain, that is reckless! I am still of the suggestion that we are all better in trying to move the villager---!"
But after the long enunciation by Adrian, regarding the information they held for the force of bandits, Adrian continued to make his own suggestion clear to the young Captain, who had already foreseen the same conclusion and ideas prior to even Adrian himself.
But even so, one of the two men tried to intervene with them, as even with all that Adrian and Rowen had elaborated, their dangerous situation had not truly altered at all, as such he was just about to suggest they all move away as soon as possible. However, he was stopped by Rowen's raised hand, which cut his words short of their end.
"No! What was reckless was your decision to come with me, when the county wanted to do nothing with this remote place. In any case, the ones to die here are those who are already called to live in hell. So do not fret over minor details."
"Minor details! You want to take two on your rank and two on a higher rank than yourself. How is that a battle plan? It sounds like nothing more than a gamble to me, you can not be serious about this."
However, Rowen's words did not alleviate the man's fear, as from his perspective the plan was far too reckless and dangerous.
"Don't worry. It is not like I am going to fight without a plan. I have a good understanding of my own limits. That being said, you have your own problems, for you will all have to take two or more bandits of the same rank, plus some of rank 3. Now, as for the formation in the open, you just need to keep an equal number in each direction, but be always ready to move position in accordance with their movements. Moreover, I do not expect to capture them, so focus on killing them if they do not surrender, as I do not want to lose anyone. And we will have to speak to all the villages and their chiefs, about enlisting everyone who can fight, and prepare them adequately. You can start relaying the plan to your subordinates."
"This---, very well."
However, Rowen seemed unaffected by anything as he was already focused on what he was supposed to do, with nothing that could change his mind, which in turn made the man subside at the obstinance of the young Captain.
"Yes, Captain."
"Captain."
"Capt---."
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"I can not protect them, since my priority is the young master's safety. Nor I can be too far away from you during the fight. But I will kill anyone that will come closer, though, do not leave my side wantonly, am I clear."
As the meeting between the Captain and the three vice-Captains ended, and as they departed for the ten, Rowen turned to the old man who he called old Wan, ready to request something, but the old man beat him even faster, as he began to speak without any change in his expression, while looking into his eyes, so as to inform him of something.
This, in turn, made Rowen's eyelid twitch, as he knew that things would not move as he wanted, even as the old man was the safest and most victory-assured man in the camp.
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But as the argument between the young and the old continued inside the central tent, little Levis was being taken to a different part of the encampment, where his village, the younger generation of what was left of the Down River Village, presently stood and lived.
Although, right now, they could be called the oldest generation of the village, as the deaths of their seniors, meant the passing of all the responsibilities and duties onto their shoulders for the continuation of the village.