Chương 333: 329. Strike Back - I

Hyola's hand fell uselessly to her belt, fingers brushing against the leather, instead of the familiar wood of her crossbow. Why couldn't she be part of that counter raid too? She had begged to join, knowing that that bastard Nokozal must be amongst them, but the captain had still refused. He had explained that after the first volley of bolts, there'd be no time to reload the crossbows before they were upon the bandits, and she wasn't ready to meet their swords head-on.

She swallowed hard, resentment bubbling up even though she knew the captain was right. If only her crossbow could fire more than one bolt without stopping to reload, then she would have been able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other guards... Hah! What was she even thinking? How would such a thing be possible? Neither a bow nor a crossbow could shoot again without being reloaded after each use. She sighed, hoping she would get to be a part of Tiranat's ever-growing sword-arm in the future.

She searched the group of guards as they reached close to the gates, her eyes straining against the dark for the familiar cropped black hair she wanted to see. But the braziers had been doused to protect the men's night vision and to avoid the bandits noticing the firelight when the gates would open to let these men out, which left only starlight and the faintest slice of moon hanging in the sky to give shape to their bodies. She still thought she saw him - Calubo - but couldn't be sure.

The sound of a faint whistle carried up. She looked in the direction to see Feroy beckoning her. She hurried down the ladder, boots hitting the earth lightly, and jogged across the gathered group to meet him.

"Any changes with the bandits' positions?" the ex-mercenary asked, with Sir Duvas muttering something to Lord Kivamus who was standing next to him.

"None at all," she said.

"Still nearly a dozen men out there. Their fire's still burning too. Although they might put it out later, when the bastards are done cooking whatever they've caught." Feroy's mouth twisted into a half-smile.

"Good for us." He jerked his chin toward the ladder.

"Back up you go. Keep your eyes sharp and be ready to blow the horn if you see them move toward us. Otherwise, silence is golden." She nodded once, then quickly climbed back to her post. On the platform again, she steadied herself against the rail. She could just catch Hudan's voice below, low and steady as he gave his final instructions to his men before the waiting servants opened the gates to let them out. Hyola glanced upwards, and whispered a quick prayer to the goddess.

Keep them safe, bring them all back alive and with their limbs intact. Every last one of them. Especially Calubo...

~ Tesyb ~ Tesyb had been waiting for this night for months. That dark night when Torhan's men had burned his house and half the village was still as fresh in his head as if it had happened yesterday. He remembered how his father, Pinoto, and his mother had been forced to live in that burned shell of a house—the only thing left standing after the fire. His hands had itched every night since then to see Torhan's head separated from his shoulders.

He knew he couldn't track or fight a bandit group in those forests alone, so he hadn't even tried, but tonight could be the night he would finally get to keep the vow he had made to himself to take revenge. He had no way of knowing if Torhan was sitting in the northeastern camp or one of the others, or if the bastard had even shown up at all. But if Torhan was here and Tesyb found that bastard, he wouldn't be leaving this place alive. Then there was Nokozal.

That bastard had slipped out of Tesyb's grip twice before in a blade fight, but he was hoping that the giant would also be here tonight. That was one more bandit that needed to be put under the ground. As the wooden gates in front of him creaked open, he noticed the bandits' campfire glowing a few hundred paces ahead against the inky background. The captain walked out of the village first, before Tesyb began moving silently in the dark along with the others.

Around him the others were moving the same way, their boots making soft sounds on beaten earth. Soon, all twenty-one of them had moved outside and the servants were closing the gates behind them. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Hudan put a finger to his mouth, reminding them to stay quiet, before he crouched low and started moving quickly toward the bandit camp.

Tesyb waited for all the crossbow men to fall in behind the captain—with their crossbows ready in their hands, their swords sheathed and shields tied on their backs. He and the rest of the swordsmen moved up behind them with their swords out in one hand and their shields ready in the other, while Feroy was bringing up the rear. Hudan had also offered him a crossbow earlier, but there weren't enough of 'em to go around, so he had told the captain to give it to someone else.

He trusted his sword and knew it would be enough to send more than a few bandits to the goddess. He whispered a quick prayer as they kept moving while keeping their profiles low and small, hoping they'd remain unnoticed by the bandits. His prayers were seemingly answered, since they reached within a few dozen feet of the bandits without the bastards having any idea that they only had a few more moments left in this world.

Tesyb's heart was beating faster and faster, knowing each step was bringing them closer to what he'd been waiting for. He was hoping to pick out Torhan by his clothes—if the bastard was here, a single glance at his fancy attire might be enough. The bandits were staring at the pair of rabbits being roasted over the fire, while a few were already tearing into meat which had been cooked earlier. He also noticed their swords lying beside them on the ground, which made him grin at the sight.

This was going to be bloody, but it was going to be fun! They were closing in when Hudan glanced back at the crossbowmen and jerked his hand toward the bandit camp with a nod. All the ten men who had brought loaded crossbows with them, raised their weapons higher to aim, when one of them took another step to get a better angle, and stepped on a dry twig which snapped loudly under his feet. Tesyb's stomach dropped, fearing their plan would go to waste.

Most of the bandits turned their heads toward the noise, their eyes slow to adjust after staring into the fire for so long. That's when they must surely have noticed death looming in front of them - since one of the bandits opened his mouth to shout, but no sound came out. In that blink of confusion, the crossbowmen shot all of their ten bolts into that close-sitting group of bandits.

As soon as Tesyb heard the trigger clicks, he and the other swordsmen who hadn't brought crossbows and already had their swords out, rushed towards the bandits—shields up, swords in hand. However, before they had even reached the camp, he noticed the bandits slumping backwards one by one, a bolt sticking out of the chest of most of them, with blood gushing out in spurts.

By the time he reached the bastards who had been camping merrily, he realized that nine out of ten bolts had hit their marks and eight bandits had already collapsed to the ground with their eyes wide and mouths open in shock, with another one clutching his bleeding arm. He thanked the goddess for their luck in achieving a complete surprise over the bandits, which meant the bastards had forgotten to shout in alarm or to alert their other camps and were still trying to pick up their swords haphazardly.

He was already breathing hard by the time he reached the closest standing bandit, who was still fumbling with his scabbard, trying to pull his blade free. Tesyb didn't give him time. He closed on him, lifted his shield into position with his left arm, and stabbed his sword with everything he had. The blade met the bandit's chest and blood gushed out like a fountain as life left the eyes of the man, before Tesyb felt the dull, cold finality of it hit him for a heartbeat. No! He cleared his mind forcefully.

There was no time to get lost in such thoughts. These bastards had burned his home, looted their food and stole all his savings - making his parents go to sleep on empty stomachs. These bandits deserved everything coming to them tonight. When he looked around to see if someone needed any help, he realized Hudan had just killed another bandit nearby, his muscular arms making his sword pass through the bandit's neck like a hot knife through butter.

The man's head rolled on the ground for some distance, when he noticed Kerel plunging his sword through another bandit. Tesyb's pulse was still racing as he scanned for another target, when he realized the fight was already over. Most of the bandits were either dead on the ground or collapsing where they sat with a bolt sticking out of them.

A few guards were moving amongst the fallen, stabbing the bastards a few more times to make sure they were dead, while those who had brought crossbows had already started reloading them in the light of the fire. Feroy soon stepped up between them, his voice low but urgent.

"Come on! No time to stand here. We gotta circle around through the east and hit the next camp before someone comes to check on these bastards."