Chương 127: Chapter 124 - The First Arrow

With the ape dead, our stop at the clearing had come to an end. The next morning, Sergeant Cole, Sergeant Darric, and I gathered in the center to plan the formation and route to Fort Dunvale. Sergeant Cole stepped forward to address both of us.

"Let's start. Sergeant Edward, your cart is small. I would suggest transferring the essentials to the supply carts and leaving your cart here. You can pick it up on the return. Even if it gets destroyed, it will not matter that much. You have the normal supplies given from the fort? We might have to discard the extra meat and some harvested beast parts. We will keep only those parts that could be helpful at Fort Dunvale."

"Yeah, we have also collected some herbs from the surrounding area with very potent healing effects—" A scoff from Sergeant Darric interrupted me.

"We do not have a healer. What are we going to do with herbs? By the time we reach Fort Dunvale they will lose their effect." Sergeant Cole raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"He is right. Discarding the herbs might be better, but even if you want to carry them, they would hardly weigh anything. The only thing they require is water." I cleared my throat and gave the same sweet smile to Sergeant Darric that I had given him yesterday.

"I am a healer." I never knew it could be so much fun proving people wrong, but I had been enjoying my time with Sergeant Darric. Especially the face he was currently making—it was the best thing I had seen in my whole life. Then, looking at Sergeant Cole with a controlled expression, I continued.

"My lieutenant is Lieutenant Cicero. I thought you knew. Though I am still not very effective at healing Tier-3."

"Huh. I thought you were assigned there because we were low on personnel," he said.

"This is good. A healer can be very useful in the wild. My squad lost our healer in the Grand Beast Tide. If you were not a sergeant, I would have asked for you," he said casually.

"We also have two Tier-3 mammoth eggs. I was hoping to exchange them for merit," I said.

"This is good. Sergeant Darric, please make sure we secure those eggs properly. Sergeant Edward, keep the important herbs on you," he said.

"Now, coming to security and formation during the march. I know you two have issues, so as the vanguard sergeant I will be taking responsibility for march security from here. Sergeant Darric, no use of Oath during the march. Criminals come strictly under Sergeant Edward, and only he is allowed to order them. Anyone else issuing orders to them during the march will be considered as endangering the mission." Sergeant Cole paused, making sure he got his point across to Sergeant Darric, who looked angry.

But before he could say anything, Sergeant Cole put his hand up.

"During the march, I will observe Sergeant Edward's squad closely," he said. Then, turning to me, he continued.

"I will observe everything, Sergeant Edward. It does not matter if it is your squad's fault; it will be on you. And if any criminal from your team tries to cause harm to a fellow soldier, it will be considered treason. I will execute them on the spot. If you fail to stop them in time, or if their actions cause any harm to any soldier, I will report you as unfit for leadership. Am I clear?" he asked. I simply nodded. He had already provided me with some of these details.

The treason part was a little scary, but the same thing also applied to Sergeant Darric.

'Endangering the mission' also meant treason in army terms. I did not think anyone in my squad was stupid enough to do something foolish with the vanguard present. Without them present, I was sure Varric and Barry would have tried to pull some prank on them. But the vanguard had two Tier-3 fighters walking with us, and only three members of their squad had brought down the ape my whole squad was having trouble dealing with.

Even after seeing that, if someone tried to pull something stupid, I could only hope their soul rested in peace. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. While I did not have a problem with the arrangement, the same could not be said for Sergeant Darric as he spoke up.

"Just observation? What if Sergeant Edward's squad fails to protect the supplies from a threat? What if the sergeant does not listen to my suggestion for his squad placement and someone from my squad gets hurt? Then what? I request at least one meat shield." My eyes widened. I knew a lot of people considered criminals as meat shields. I had even seen Sergeant Fenward use Kael as one. But openly calling people tools was not something I expected.

"No," Sergeant Cole said even before I could say anything, as if his reply was ready as soon as Sergeant Darric finished speaking.

"This is Sergeant Edward's squad. If he is not using Oath for that purpose, neither will you. We are in the wild. It is Sergeant Edward's and my responsibility to protect the supplies, but even the supply squad are soldiers, and in the wild everyone has to make sacrifices. In case of an attack, as long as Sergeant Edward does not make a mistake, if someone from your squad gets hurt, they get hurt. That's it." Then, taking a deep breath, he delivered the final blow.

"It really might have been a mistake to give you that badge." I sighed in relief. I would not have allowed that, but having support from Sergeant Cole was a great weight off my shoulder. Sergeant Cole continued the discussion on formation and other details, giving him no time to recover. After making my way to my squad, I gathered everyone to brief them on the mission details. Once everyone stood in front of me, I looked directly at Varric and Barry.

"This warning is for everyone, but especially Varric and Barry. No testing the supply squad. Admittedly, even I would not mind you guys giving them a hard time, but Sergeant Cole will not allow it. He has already said that any slip from you all and he will execute the person at fault," I said. My choice of words might have been harsh, especially toward Sergeant Cole, but if my squad hating him prevented their deaths, I would not mind that.

"But we also have good news," I said, this time looking at Kael.

"Sergeant Darric does not have the authority to use his badge."

"Now, coming to formation. The supply squad will be stationed closest to the supply carts. Next will be our squad. Garran, your squad. Peter and Silas will be on the right, and Varric's squad, me, and Barry will be on the left."

"Vanguard will guard the front and rear of the caravan, one Tier-3 present at both ends. There will be one person from the vanguard joining us on the flanks, while two soldiers on each flank will be farther out in the forest for scouting and early warning. Sergeant Cole wants me to inform and warn you all, and I quote: 'If you see a vanguard member on your side, take a defensive position; you are to expect an attack coming even if you did not see or hear anything.'

So be on guard, this is why Peter and I are on different flanks." Then, looking at Peter, I said, "Peter, I want you to be extra careful. I do not know Sergeant Cole that closely, but a few times during the conversation his words felt like he was expecting something." Peter nodded.

"Get ready. We are leaving in one hour," I said. Once we left, the journey was smooth. We did encounter multiple beasts on our way, but most of them were dealt with by the vanguard squad, allowing only a few to pass through. I have to admit it was fun traveling with the vanguard. All of them were confident. Even after long marches, they always looked comfortable in the wild. The thing that surprised me most was that they did not care about the past of my squad members.

The conversation started with their interest in our new hammer, getting them familiar with Rokan and Deran, but over time it felt like a friendship had started developing between my squad and the vanguard. Each night we stopped, most of us would sit together and share the beasts we hunted. Only Silas was sad because the amount he had to cook increased. Varric and one of their newer Tier-2 members even had a sparring session. Varric was disappointed he did not get to fight someone stronger, but he enjoyed the spar.

The fight was close. Varric won mostly because I think the private was inexperienced and lower level than Varric. While the supply unit remained a little distant, one or two privates began to be affected by the atmosphere and joined us at the campfire a few times. Over the next week, the march settled into a routine. Aside from blossoming friendships, a few vanguard members were injured multiple times, which turned out to be a benefit for me. This was my first time treating people with high elemental affinities.

One of the most useful things I discovered was that when I used [Mana Manipulation] to analyze injuries, each element gave a different feeling. This could be very useful for me in the future. As long as I remembered that feeling, with [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] and [Mana Manipulation (UC)], I could sense what type of elemental attack was coming.

"We are taking a one-hour break. After the break we will pick up the pace. The fort is a two-day march from here, and I want to complete it in one and a half, reaching there before tomorrow nightfall," Sergeant Cole said as we entered a clearing, breaking me from my reminiscing. Slowly the supply privates sat down beside the supply carts, while most of us just stood a few steps away and drank from our waterskins, not completely dropping our guard.

Just as I was drinking water, with my spear resting on my shoulder and shield in my hand, Something suddenly entered my [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] range with high velocity. Instinctively, I dropped the water, grabbed my spear, and expanded my shield to protect myself. But even then, I was not fast enough. A burning arrow scraped the rim of my shield. Instead of piercing my eye, it grazed my cheek and shot past me.

"AMBUSH!" I shouted.