The sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains when the column left Graymont.
Thirty men marched along the eastern road, divided into small groups and maintaining a much more orderly formation than Jhon would have expected a few weeks ago.
Aldren and Mathis rode on either side of the column.
Jhon marched at the front, and beside him were Ellaria, Victoria, and Tristan, who were traveling on foot because the territory did not have enough steeds for the three of them.
The plan had changed, and Edmund would remain in Graymont while letting the others deal with the situation.
Brogur was helping him develop a new steam engine, something Edmund considered necessary to improve the territory's weapon production capabilities, but the idea was beyond Jhon.
His job was much simpler.
Find the bandits and kill them if they were unwilling to surrender.
Thirty men were at his disposal, but only ten were equipped with bolt-action rifles. They had only had two days to practice and familiarize themselves with them.
He looked back, thinking about the change of heart he had had regarding this plan; he still remembered how he had called his lord crazy for suggesting it, but now it seemed like something easy to do. For years, Graymont's garrison had been little more than a group of men armed with spears, old swords, and a few bows.
Jhon had spent the last two months training them from dawn until shortly before nightfall, and he trusted the ten men he had personally chosen to handle the weapons.
They had chosen not only the men with the best aim, but also those with the strongest nerves. Edmund had insisted on the importance of the soldiers' composure and endurance when the training began, and only now did Jhon understand why.
The age of swords and spears had come to an end; soon, close-quarters combat would no longer matter if Edmund managed to equip every soldier in Graymont with a bolt-action rifle. With only two days of training, the ten men had managed to reload the weapons in eight seconds; that was half the time it took to reload a musket.
Jhon could see how the future of warfare would completely change as he knew it, and only Edmund seemed to know where it was going and how he would make it happen.
"I think we'll be close to the first group soon," Ellaria said as she began stretching her body. "I'll go ahead and scout the area."
Her speed was impressive as she moved naturally between the trees. Jhon, who was practically the commander of this operation, did not give it much importance; from the beginning, he knew he could not order around people who not only had more experience, but were more skilled than him.
"She seems excited," Tristan said, somewhat amused by the situation.
"You know how happy she gets when Edmund is the one who assigns her something to do," Victoria stated, who, like any Estalian, was a fan of a good conversation.
"Were they a couple?" It was a question that had been circling Jhon's mind for many days, just as it had everyone else's in the mansion.
"We don't know. Edmund has always been very reserved about his affairs, and he and Ellaria knew each other before he formed the group," Victoria replied.
"Was it my lord who created the group?" Jhon asked in surprise.
"Something like that. In Altdorf, there was a rumor that there was a mage who had retired from the Imperial Colleges to become an adventurer." Victoria did not care whether Jhon understood the importance of what she was talking about and continued. "They said that, together with his elven companion, they were fulfilling all the high-ranking requests without stopping." Find the original chapter at g.com.
"Dozens of us arrived with the intention of finding out the source of the rumors and, by a twist of fate, Edmund had been injured during a mission against a horde of goblins. When Ellaria saw the crowd, she declared that her group was accepting new members, and the three of us were chosen by Edmund after a few questions."
"When we asked him what the reason had been, he replied that we looked like a group straight out of the stories he used to read as a child," Tristan said with a laugh as he remembered those moments.
"So that's how it all began."
"More or less," Victoria replied. "Edmund was never very good at explaining his decisions."
"That still seems to be true," Jhon said.
Ellaria returned through the trees before Victoria could continue the conversation, her breathing barely agitated, demonstrating her abilities.
"I found them."
Jhon immediately became serious and somewhat nervous.
"Where?"
"A few minutes from here. There's a camp just outside the forest. There's a small clearing and a stream." Ellaria drew a simple map with the tip of her foot to explain it. "Some of them seem to be drunk, and they aren't watching their surroundings—"
Jhon was not impressed by the bandits' carelessness. They had been camping and raiding the lands for months without being threatened by any guards.
"How many?"
"About forty. Perhaps a few more inside the tents, but I couldn't get close enough to count them."
"Gentlemen, it's time to test what the territory of Graymont has to offer," Tristan said, noticing that everyone seemed nervous at the news, which seemed to work, as everyone gripped their weapons tightly with a determined look.
The formation Edmund had taught them was simple. The twenty men who did not have rifles had been given a spear and a sturdy shield. Their job was to protect the shooters and keep the enemies away while the ten men armed with rifles fired from behind them.
"We'll approach until we're within firing range," Jhon ordered. "The ten shooters will remain in the center. The others will form up in front and on the sides. No one moves ahead on their own."
Aldren and Mathis approached and positioned themselves alongside the spearmen. Their role was to keep everyone in formation and make sure no one died.
Jhon looked at Ellaria. "Can you circle around them and check if they have another way out?"
The elf smiled. "I already did."
"And?"
"There's a narrow path behind the camp."
Jhon nodded at Victoria and Tristan, who, understanding his intention, set off to secure the path.
He crouched behind some bushes and observed the camp.
Others were checking their weapons, and only a couple remained on the palisade, but they were talking among themselves.
Jhon raised a hand, and all the men emerged from the forest to take positions facing the forest, about two hundred meters away. It was not until that moment that some of the bandits noticed the group of soldiers beginning to form right in front of them.
"Prepare your weapons," Jhon said, ignoring the fact that they had noticed their position. "Fire!"
Ten shots thundered almost simultaneously. The roar tore through the forest, and the bullets traveled the entire distance at tremendous speed toward the enemy camp; two men fell immediately.
For several seconds, the bandits did not understand what had happened, and it was only then that the shouting began.
"They're attacking us!"
"To arms!"
Jhon did not give them time to organize.
"Reload!"
The ten shooters worked the bolts, and although their nerves kept them from doing it as quickly as during practice, the distance and the fact that two of their enemies had died so easily had given them confidence.
"Second volley!"
Another burst of gunfire tore through the camp, but this time none of their enemies died.
Jhon, noticing that the problem was the distance, ordered, "Advance!"
The twenty spearmen began to move. The shields were raised in front while the ten shooters advanced protected behind them.
The bandits began emerging from the palisade, confident in their numerical advantage and perhaps thinking they had to attack before the weapons could be reloaded.
But what they did not expect was for the ten rifles to roar again, and this time, eight of them had fallen.
"Don't retreat, finish off those bastards!" a man among them shouted as he took the lead with rage on his face.
Jhon could see some of the shooters and spearmen trembling as they watched the bandits running toward them.
"No, don't be afraid. Today, we'll finish off those leeches who have been raiding our lands for months." His voice was calm, but it reminded everyone of the hatred and resentment they held toward their enemies, and the fear was replaced by the burning heat of hatred.
The fighting continued for a few more seconds until the man who appeared to be the leader was killed by a shot to the head, along with seven of his men; the others, seeing that they had no chance, surrendered immediately.
I'll be posting two chapters a day there, unlike here.