Chương 425: 420. Revenge - II

Tesyb watched the woman retreat toward the well. He couldn't tell if she understood what she was agreeing to, or if she was just doing the first thing that didn't get her slapped or beaten in this place. At the well, the older woman looked at her with a question in her eyes. The younger one didn't answer. She glanced quickly toward the gate once, then twice, then lowered her head and gripped the bucket handle like she needed something to hold. Tesyb checked the bandit sitting on the log again.

The man didn't seem to have noticed the movement. He was looking up at the clouds, head tipped back slightly, as if he was judging how long until proper dark and getting the roasted deer meat. Tesyb stayed still, his breathing shallow. His men waited behind him, silent. He slid back from the wall for a moment and whispered to his men.

"Spears down. No space inside for 'em." Five spears were set into the mud without a clink. Swords came loose in sheaths, but nobody drew yet. Tesyb left his shield on the ground as well—confident he wouldn't need it—and peered through the gap in the wall again. The younger woman just stood near the well with the filled bucket, not moving. He began to worry if she would even move from her place again. Then she looked toward the gate again, then turned to the bandit. She walked toward him, steps careful.

She stopped a few paces away and spoke—her voice loud enough to carry but not enough to be a shout.

"You're making us work too much," she complained. The bandit's head turned. He looked at her with annoyance, not surprise.

"Just keep doing what you're told if you know what's good for you." The woman hesitated. She glanced once toward the gate again, then fixed her eyes on the bandit.

"I've been working since the morning!" she said.

"I'm tired. You don't feed us enough. We don't ever get to go out of this compound. And I'm hungry again. This is too much." The bandit's posture changed. He planted his feet and pushed himself up from the log, face tightening. He started toward her. The woman flinched and leaned back, shoulders drawing in. Fear showed in her body before it reached her face. Tesyb didn't wait. He pointed at the men quickly, arranging them with minimal movement.

"Four of you brace. You! Climb over the wall with me." They shifted into place at once. Two men crouched low, backs set. Two more formed a second support, hands and shoulders ready. Tesyb stepped onto one guard's back with one foot, then set the other foot onto another man's shoulder. He steadied himself with a hand on the wall's branches. Beside him, another guard climbed the same way. Tesyb glanced through the gap one last time. The bandit was still walking toward the woman, his attention fully on her.

Nobody else in the yard was looking this way. Tesyb nodded to the other climber. They went over. Tesyb swung a leg across the top, kept his weight low, and lowered himself down on the inside while holding the branches to control the descent. Mud took his boots when he landed, soft and quiet. The other guard dropped inside a moment later with the same care. Tesyb pointed at himself then at the bandit. Then at the other guard, and at the crossbar on the gate.

The man nodded and moved at once, his hands hovering just above the bar, waiting to shift it up and out of place. Tesyb didn't wait for the gate to open. He drew his dagger and moved fast across the yard, staying low and using the cabin corners as cover. The younger woman was looking toward Tesyb now instead of the bandit. Her eyes were wide. The bandit saw her gaze shift and started turning his head to follow it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

But that was enough time for Tesyb to reach close enough. The older woman had also noticed his approach, but seemed too stunned to say or do anything. Tesyb closed the remaining distance in a few more steps. He came up behind the bandit, clamped a hand over his mouth before the man realized what was happening, and cut across the throat with a single hard slash. Warm blood spilled over his fingers.

The bandit jerked, elbows flailing, boots scraping on packed earth, all the while trying to scream but with no sound coming out. Tesyb kept his grip tight and held him upright until the struggle weakened, then guided him down to the ground so the body didn't thump. The younger woman's mouth had remained open. Her chest lifted sharply like she was gathering a huge breath to scream at what she had just seen. The older one was just shivering in fear. Tesyb raised a finger to his lips again and shook his head once.

Then he pointed down at the ground. The young woman looked at him fearfully for a moment, then dropped into a crouch and then sat, shaking, hands tight around her own arms. The older one just dropped in place, her feet giving up, but there was no time for Tesyb to ask about her well-being. Behind him, the north gate swung inward with a creak, and the other five guards jogged through with swords out, stepping around the gateframe and spreading quickly to avoid bunching.

Tesyb wiped his dagger on the dead bandit's clothing, shoved it back into its sheath, and drew his sword. At that moment, a series of whistles cut across the compound—sharp and fast, the prearranged signal. Perfect timing! Tesyb pointed at one of his men.

"Stay with them," he whispered, indicating the women nearby. The guard nodded and moved to stand between them and the open yard, sword down but ready. Tesyb and the other four moved deeper into the compound. He rounded the corner of the nearest cabin and entered the open area proper. The scene of carnage and the associated noise hit him at once—screams, shouted orders, the thunk of crossbow bolts striking wood, and the wet sound of impacts on flesh.

He looked to his right toward the western side of the compound, where half a dozen bandits were already down with bolts sticking out of them. Some lay sprawled on their backs, others twisted on their sides, limbs stiffening as they cried out in pain. He looked up and saw the guards standing on top of the clay pile outside the wall were already reloading their crossbows, heads down and hands moving with fast, practiced rhythm. Nearby, several slaves sat on the ground with their hands raised.

They looked frozen with fear, eyes darting, shoulders hunched as if they were trying to make themselves smaller. But Tesyb didn't have time to stay and enjoy the success. He grabbed one guard's shoulder and pointed toward the bandits who'd fallen near the western side.

"Check them," he said under his breath.

"If any are alive, keep them alive. We may need to interrogate them later." The guard nodded and ran that way, stepping around bodies and keeping his sword ready. Tesyb's eyes went ahead to the southern gate. A fight was happening there, close and violent. Crossbowmen near the entryway had already shot their bolts and were taking their blades out, while several bandits were already down. Hudan was in the middle of it with his men, cutting hard, not giving space, driving the bandits back from the gate area.

They outnumbered the remaining bandits at least three to one. It was clear the brawny captain didn't need help. Tesyb turned back to his own task. He took the remaining three men with him and ran toward the nearest cabin that was starting to open. The door swung outward, and two bandits stumbled out, faces confused, eyes trying to understand the screaming. Tesyb didn't give them time. He and his men closed in together.

The first bandit raised a short blade and tried to back up in surprise, but a guard's sword struck his wrist, and Tesyb drove forward, cutting into the man's chest. The second bandit turned to run, but another guard caught him from the side, and the fourth one finished him with a slash across the back of the neck. Both went down quickly. Tesyb didn't stop to stare. He pointed at the cabins.

"Let's clear 'em one by one," he ordered, and pointed at one of the guards.

"You keep a lookout here. Rest of you, follow me." They ran to the first cabin. Tesyb kicked the door open and peered see inside. Empty. No one hiding in corners. No weapons on the floor. Just a cot and a small table.

"Next," he said. They moved to the second cabin—the one the two bandits had come from. Tesyb shoved the door and scanned. Empty again. The place smelled of sweat and damp cloth, but there was nobody there. His jaw tightened.

"Third," he said, sharper. They reached the third cabin and pushed inside—and Tesyb stopped hard. A bandit stood inside with a knife pressed to the throat of a woman who was obviously a slave. The bandit was half dressed, trousers loose and shirt hanging open. The slave woman's eyes were wide, her face streaked with dirt and tears, and her hands were raised awkwardly at her sides like she didn't know where to put them. Tesyb's stomach tightened and his grip on his sword went hard. The bandit glared at him.

"Who the hell are you?"