The number of people have increased but it’s still not enough for the plan.

Twelve of the cat tribesmen that came under us are taking charge of  reconnaissance and surveillance.

I got two people stationed at the cliffs and the way towards the abandoned village in the mountain range. Sometimes these guys come back with preys for food.

Well the cat tribesmen seem to be hunters, so it is reasonable in various ways.

Three of them became a reconnaissance unit and went to the vicinity of the villages near the base.

Although they do not enter the village, they still report on the situation of soldiers every few days.

「As expected, weapons are only spears and axes….」

「I understand that you all want to use long swords, but please practice it only at the hideout.

There are not enough people yet.

If the enemy comes with a platoon, it’s possible that we will all be wiped out.」

Though I told so to Zairas san, but he still has that over-fettered face saying ‘I can’t give up on it’.

The dwarfs planned to refine charcoals but it will cause too much smoke to come out.

I could not permit that, but I find it pretty hard to tell them.

Nevertheless, there was a large  amount of charcoal in the barrels that those heavy units were transporting with the food provisions, so I handed it over to them to make weapons.

Food was obtained in large quant.i.ties, enough to fill a temporary cabin created using timber taken after wrecking the wagons.

It will be enough for a month if the number remains the same here.

Ten days pa.s.sed since we looted the heavy transporting units. Now only farmers appeared on the highway.

The 4 families that we undertook, readily agreed to develop the wasted village.

A family from the cat tribesmen accompanied them to the village as the supervisor.

They seemed to enjoy making houses and cultivating the land together.

If we want revenue, we would have to move here and there, and so we have to earn money as bandits.

I thought it was a good hunting place………

「No one is coming from either side of the highway.」

「They might be using sea routes to move towards other kingdoms. As expected, if there is no movement of goods from this road, then there will be no profit from the lost kingdom.」

I grew tired of practicing with swords and spears.

But for bandits to only wait for the enemies to arrive in their territory, is that the only way? We can actively attack our targets like thieves, but I feel we will forget about reviving the kingdom if we do that, so I kept silent.

「Now that you mention it, Banta, did you ask the dwarves to make a strange bow?」

「Ah, the crossbow. That’s right. For the time being, I told them to make only 3 of them. Its very powerful. The only difficulty is that it takes time to load the bow for next attack, otherwise anyone can become a master of the bow.」

The eyebrows of the magicians who were with the princess twitched as the listened to my words.

Magicians do carry a wand but, when they work as bandits, they use bows and arrows.

That skill is definitely top notch.

Even I have been saved.

「That bow is not that simple, right?」

「I also know that. That is why I am making that bow. This is the arrow that will fly but……….」

When I placed the crossbow bolt on the table, the princess immediately took it and looked at it with interest.

「It certainly is an arrow. It has a arrowhead and feathers on the back. But isn’t it a bit too short? Its almost half of the size of a normal one!」

She handed over the bolt to one of the mage behind her.

He is Reizan san.

He closely inspected the bolt.

He has a blond hair and would definitely look like a model if a camera crew were present.

Though its regrettable that it was a bolt and not flowers in his hands.

Eventually, he returned the bolts. I took them and placed it inside my bag.

「Do you use it by throwing?」

「No, the dwarves are making a different type of bow for this. It would be fired with that bow, but the problem remains with the power….」

「It can breakthrough the metal armor!」

「What did you say?!」

This time Zairas san spoke in a loud voice.

In spite of him unexpectedly standing up and shouting, I lowered my head towards the princess.

「The power of the arrow can be known you know. Have you ever thought about this? The power of any arrow is determined by its weight and the speed it  has when it leaves the bow. If the one pulling the arrow on the bow does not has much strength, the arrow released will have its power derived from these two factors. The crossbow that is being made doesn’t requires pulling the bowstring with either hand」

The princess may have become bored. But if the prey does not comes this way, we can only act like thieves.

That’s why I answered such to the irritated princes.

It will be convenient for me since it will be a way to kill time.

I did not use polite language to speak. These people seem to believe that anyone who lives in an environment surrounded by books cannot use proper language, and so their words are not marked as lese majeste.

I asked about the neighboring kingdoms which I was explained with a map. I also heard about magic and so went outside to see the effects of what I have learnt.

In order to use magic, does that magic needs to be remembered? When she heard of this, she happily nodded and leaned her upper body on the table.

No way, I never thought that I would need to carve magic patterns on my body with a knife.

It was very painful.

But thanks to that, I learnt to use the magic 【Guts】 which strengthens the body by 20 percent, and 【Clean】 to remove dirt.

I was threatened by Zairas san  to stop when I wanted to carve a flashy attack magic saying that it was quite painful, but I saw four of the young ladies using it, so it might not be much.

That magic though, could be used only thrice a day. As expected, it seems its not suitable for me.

「Its the first time I am hearing that humans can use magic only thrice per day. Even the cat-tribesmen can use it at least 5 times. 」

「It cannot be used for war huh….  Well, since I have become the advisor, it is better for me to not take such risks.」

I am troubled now because of such talk.

It became common for us to protect the peasants on the main roads in the night.

The number of people living in ruined villages has increased to as much as 8 families 20 days after we looted the heavy unit.

They carry basketful of mulberries and walk along the main roads with changed clothes.

Seems like heavy taxes are imposed there.

I guess the effects of stealing the provisions are showing.

As expected, the crossbows made by the dwarves have very high power.

It will even penetrate the enemy wearing 2 layers of armor from 30 meters away.

Although it was difficult to shoot, Zairas san recognized its piercing ability.

It was temporarily agreed for the women who use magic to have it. Although in the future I would like to make a crossbow corps with only women.

There was still no target for us, so everyone’s irritation grew to limits.

Suddenly, the door flung open, and the messenger guy yelled.

「Its a group of wagons coming from the west. About 15 units. But its advancing very slowly.」

Immediately everyone started  panicking in shock.

「Please wait. Its not too late to cool our heads a bit. The problem is emphasized so plan accordingly.」

「Its impossible for such wagons to be so slow…. Is there a light infantry accompanying them?」

「Firstly, these is probably no mistake in that. It will be dangerous if we do not change our attack pattern. Ask the messengers to confirm the line up of the torches.」

An immediate reply came back from the tower.

The cups were arranged on the table to verify the positions.

Since they said that lamps are lined behind a torchlight, then it means there is a squad at the front.

The fact there are several torches among the lamps indicates the presence of more than 2 squads accompanying the wagons.

「This raid will be pretty dangerous. What will we do?」

「Let’s attack depending on the spoils present. What’s the strategy?」

It’s about the execution of the attack.

In this case, the attack will depend on the means to separate the wagons and soldiers.

Although the numbers here have increased, but they are still amateurs.

「Zairas san. Can you crush the front soldiers with one group?」

「Somehow it can be done. But, we will have to depend on long swords!」

「Throwing spears will probably be good. But first try with spears!」

「The problem is how to divide them form others. Let a big rock fall down from the cliffs. If we shoot arrows, the attacking units will not go on.」

When everyone nodded and were about to stand up, the cats men and dwarves came in.

「We are all same. We need to clear our heads for a while.」

It was a good thing to increase the number of people.

We immediately ran off towards the highway.

I was slowly following.

Zairas san ran down the cliff along the highway.

Our group had Bartz san and his squad and the princess and others.

Two magicians, hunters of the cat tribe and Rizer were waiting on stand by.

The stones and rocks carried in advance. Rizer said he will let it fall down.

Then, there will be arrow rain and flame shots to stop the other squad.

「Are we going out after the stones are thrown?」

「Yes. Please do not jump in since there are many opponents.」

If you are at a distance, you can shave of their numbers using the crossbows.

We have 6 bolts each, but will it be enough to annihilate all of them?

We all hid in the bushes, south of the cliff.

I already readied the crossbow and waited for the right moment.

I heard the voices of men talking, behind which the sound of rattling of wheels fell into my ears.

Finally. While counting the wagons according to the sound coming off the wheels, I held my breath and waited for the time to attack.

Boom! Boom! As the shockwave transmitted till here, the sound of something blowing up came.

「It’s an ambus.h.!.+ From that cliff」

When I turned my head, I saw the princess looking towards me.

I nodded. She got up and pulled the trigger of the crossbow to shoot a soldier about 10 m ahead.

「Uuoohh!」

Everyone jumped out at my yell.

Several men slid down from the top of the cliff.

Filling the entire width of the road with a line of spears, we started knocking them down with crossbows.

Arrows and flames poured down above the soldiers from the cliff and they instantly collapsed.

Next is towards the direction of Zairas san’s attack.

A soldier who escaped between rows of wagons was smacked down by Maira san’s frying pan.

I guess the attack went for about 15 minutes, isn’t it?

We removed the soldiers’ equipment and checked the contents of the wagons.

「What a surprise. They are all children!」

「Are they going to be sold? There are a few loaded merchants and their servants.」

「Take them out already. Slowly put them down. Rizer. I’ll leave the south to you!」

Several people took several bags and went towards south.

The children’s faces are pale, but if they eat properly they will get better soon.

We protected more than 30 children, took away the merchant’s daily necessities and returned to the hideout.